THE LUTHERAN May 2018

N A TIO N A L M A G A ZIN E O F THE L U THE RA N C HU RC H O F A U STRA LIA

MAY 2018

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VOL 52 NO4

Hearing Indigenous

VOICES

LUTHERAN

CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

EDITORIAL Editor Lisa McIntosh p 08 8267 7300 m 0409 281 703 e lisa.mcintosh@lca.org.au

BACK TO THEIR ROOTS

Executive Editor Linda Macqueen p 08 8339 5178 e linda.macqueen@lca.org.au

Margaret and Murray Klemm recently visited the church in Chlastawa (Klastawe), Poland, where Murray’s great-great-grandfather and his family worshipped prior to migrating to Australia in 1847. The Klemms are members at Holy Cross Lutheran Church Gruenberg, South Australia.

The photo was taken by local tour guide Dr Anitta Maksymowicz.

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LUTHERAN

Fiona Vaughan

CHURCH

Victor Harbor Lutheran Church, Victor Harbor SA

OF AUSTRALIA The Lutheran informs the members of the LCA about the church’s teaching, life, mission and people, helping them to grow in faith and commitment to Jesus Christ.

The Lutheran also provides a forum for a range of opinions, which do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or the policies of the Lutheran Church of Australia.

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The Lutheran MAY 2018

Teacher and congregational chairperson Enjoys coffee with friends and reading Fav text: Philippians 2:8

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APRIL

Special features EDITOR'S

Letter

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Of my years working in politics, one day 10 years ago stands out. I was blessed to be at Parliament House in Canberra for the National Apology to the Stolen Generations of Australia’s Indigenous peoples in February 2008.

Some people dismissed the move as ‘tokenistic’ or part of the ‘black armband view of history’. One common objection was: ‘I didn’t take kids from their families or push people off their land, so why should I say sorry?’.

Yet it was a profoundly moving and enlightening experience, though I had not been personally touched by injustices acknowledged that day. Afterwards I saw Lowitja O’Donoghue – a Pitjantjatjara woman and a renowned community leader, advocate and public servant. Lowitja was removed from her mother as a toddler and did not see her again for 33 years. After the apology, she was crying with joy. ‘It means so much’, she said. ‘I never thought I would see this in my lifetime.’

Yet ‘the apology’ was not a silver bullet. Nor was the government’s commitment to ‘Close the gap’ on Indigenous disadvantage. A decade on there remains huge inequality in life expectancy, infant mortality, health, education, employment and incarceration levels.

But we in the church treat each other all equally, regardless of where we come from, our ancestry and the colour of our skin, don’t we? Aboriginal people surely must have the same opportunities as non-Aboriginal people in the LCA. But is that the case? Do we non-Indigenous Lutherans equally encourage Indigenous Lutherans to become pastors, lay workers, leaders and teachers in our churches and schools?

Today there are more Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal Lutherans in Central Australia. And as one pastor who has worked alongside Aboriginal people for many years said to me, it’s time nonIndigenous Lutherans stopped treating Indigenous communities as mission fields and started genuinely treating Aboriginal people as brothers and sisters in Christ. Fraternal not paternal.

So what can we do to more effectively hear and value Indigenous voices in our midst? The LCA has a project with this exact aim and you can learn more about it in this issue. We are privileged to share stories of Indigenous Lutherans about their experiences in, and hopes for, the church. We’ve also included a themed Bible study and Bishop John Henderson’s message for Australia’s Reconciliation Week.

This coverage is far from comprehensive, but I pray you will find it meaningful and be challenged by voices you ‘hear’ here.

Because, as St Paul says in his letter to the Galations in chapter 3, we ‘are all children of God through faith’ and ‘there is neither Jew nor Gentile … for you are all one in Christ Jesus’.

Lisa

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Slow down to shape our shared future

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LCA Bishop’s Reconciliation Week message

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Hearing indigenous voices: our LCA commitment

10

Life in a northern church

12

Regulars Heartland

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Dwelling in God’s word

11

#youngSAVEDfree

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Go and Grow

15

The inside story

21

Going GREYT!

24

Reel Life

26

Notices

27

Directory

28

Your voice

29

Coffeebreak

30

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Our cover: Daphne

Puntjina, a parish worker at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Areyonga, in the Northern Territory, is also a member of the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir, which features in the new release documentary movie The Song Keepers. For an update about the film’s release, see Inside Story page 22.

JES U S I S G OD'S LOVE. HE G IVES U S NE W HE ARTS TO L AY AS IDE O UR OL D WAYS, TO B EL IE VE AND FOL LOW HIM, TO L IVE WI T H HIM E VERY DAY.

heartland

REV JOHN HENDERSON

Bishop Lutheran Church of Australia

LIVING G OD’S LOVE ‘Oh, faith is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, so that it is impossible for it not to be constantly doing what is good.’

Book of Concord, VIII Formula of Concord, II Solid Declaration, IV Good Works, paragraph 10 ‘Where love comes to life’ was the theme of the 2013 LCA General Convention of Synod. Today it is our church’s ‘tagline’, repeated almost anywhere one sees the LCA logo.

I recently received a letter asking the church to do more to inspire its members to live God’s love and not let it be just a tagline.

… good works is a faithless man, blindly tapping around in search of faith and good works without knowing what either faith or good works are, and in the meantime he chatters and jabbers a great deal about faith and good works’. In other words, too much to say and not enough action!

The explanation of our tagline in part says, ‘Life in the church is really a preparation and empowerment for a life of love in the world. As we hear the good news of Jesus Christ, as we receive his body and blood, we become ... The life of new people, with new potential for good, with new energy for a life a Christian is of love wherever God gives us the opportunity. Our families and our a life of faith communities, our workplaces and our ACTIVE in love, cultural settings can experience God’s love as it comes to life again in us.

EMPOWERED That’s the plan.

God gives us the Holy Spirit to help us live fuller, more responsive lives, and we should not block that.

‘Good works’, as they are called in theological shorthand, are as much by the love of 'The life of a Christian is a life of a part of the lives of baptised Christ himself. faith active in love (Galatians 5), believers as the air we breathe. In empowered by the love of Christ his Preface to the Epistle of St Paul to himself (1 Corinthians 13). Indeed, we the Romans, Martin Luther wrote, ‘It have no other obligation, except to participate in this is … as impossible to separate works from faith world transforming gift of God’s love (Romans 13)’ as it is to separate heat and light from fire’. (www.lca.org.au/about-us/our-logo-our-mission).

The Formula of Concord, one of our confessional ‘Where love comes to life’ has become a very useful writings, drives the point home: ‘Faith alone is the tagline. It points us to the love of Christ. It makes us mother and source of the truly good and Godreflect on how we live our lives. It reminds us that pleasing works that God will reward both in this and Jesus’ love is never far away no matter what our in the next world’. situation. It encourages us to do the good works Luther wrote harshly about Christians who want God has prepared for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). the benefits of faith without the bother of living And, with St Paul, we too believe that we can do a Christian life. Again quoted in the Formula of all this through him who gives us strength (Philippians 4:13).

Concord, he says: ‘Whoever does not perform

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Alice Springs Lutheran Andrea Mason, back right, with Lutheran women from Alice Springs, Hermannsburg and Areyonga, in the Northern Territory From left, LJ (Lizzie) Jako with Richard, Nunga (Marjorie) Williams, Lily Roennfeldt and Teresa Nipper

to

down our future

Andrea Mason has never been a spectator in life. As a teenager she won a netball scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport. After years of government and community service, she was named Telstra Australian Businesswoman of the Year, Centralian Citizen of the Year and Northern Territory Australian of the Year, as well as being awarded an honorary doctorate for her commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice. Despite her long list of achievements and a busy life, she knows the benefits of slowing down to listen to and learn from other Indigenous leaders. She is a Ngaanyatjarra woman on her father’s side and Kronie on her mother’s side. A member of the Alice Springs Lutheran Church, she shares her views on faith, community and her hopes for the future of our church.

by ANDREA MASON I grew up in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and went to school there in my early years. I then moved to Adelaide and did my high schooling there – I spent about 20 years living in Adelaide.

After school I did a degree in Aboriginal Affairs and Public Administration, then I worked for about 10 years in the South Australian public service. Most of my work was around Indigenous empowerment – housing,

employment, career development. In 1999 I went back to university to study law, before working in the South Australian parliament with Family First from 2003.

I left in 2005 to work in the Commonwealth public service in Canberra, and had a stint with Reconciliation Australia. I visited Alice Springs in 2008 as part of a work trip and I realised that this was where I was meant to be.

For those who do take this journey – and that’s both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people – and who offer their knowledge and skills to the congregation, they help all of us have a much richer experience.

At its most simple expression, learning one another’s languages is a mark of deep fellowship.

There is a phrase that helps to unpack the differences between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal culture. It’s said that Aboriginal people are driven by who they are and non-Aboriginal people are driven by what they do.

I’d always wanted to work in the bush and to work with my family in Central Australia – even though I didn’t know what the job was going to be, my part was to gather the skills and knowledge so that I could step into the opportunity when the door opened. Fortunately, NPY Women’s Council – a member-led, tri-state organisation formed by the Aboriginal women of the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara Lands in the cross border region of Western Australia, South Australia, and Northern Territory – offered me a position.

There is a huge VALUE within the Aboriginal community on being present, of listening and of hearing, and of just slowing down, and UNDERSTANDING what matters.

I moved to Alice Springs in 2008 and started attending the Lutheran church the following year. I wanted to be closer to hearing Aboriginal languages and be part of a community where that was encouraged.

I wanted to be somewhere where we were all attending that service together and sharing that diversity.

I think the one thing that really struck me right from the beginning was the foundation stone of the Lutheran faith, which is the message of grace. In my spiritual life, it’s what I treasure most.

One of the first things people realise, when they visit Alice Springs, are the hundreds of people who speak different languages, languages from Australia and overseas. What I have observed is that for those community members who’ve made a commitment to take a personal journey of learning languages, including First Nations languages and English, even if it’s a few words or phrases, their life experiences are incredibly deep and rich. I find they’re people who are very comfortable with who they are and whom they are with.

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So Aboriginal people are focused on the being; non-Aboriginal people are often focused on the doing. I acknowledge here that while this is a general statement of the distinction between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people, it is also a great starting point to discuss strengths and challenges, including how by being in a diverse community it can help members through genuine relationships smooth out corners and rough edges. So there is a huge value within the Aboriginal community on being present, of listening and of hearing, and of just slowing down, and understanding what matters. There’s also a value in non-Aboriginal people being present to be mentors, teachers and supporters and being willing to share their understanding of different aspects of life, including how they slow down and are present.

But for that to happen, we’ve got to be doing life at the same pace and sometimes the pace of nonAboriginal people is not the pace of Aboriginal people.

For those who do slow down, or for those who speed up, to be at the same pace, there is an amazing synergy that can happen – so one plus one equals three. In other words, we achieve more together than we can on our own.

I have been the beneficiary of that synergy as I have slowed down and spent time with senior Aboriginal women. I’ve become much more of a connected person in listening to and hearing people.

So, what is our place now as Lutherans? Where do we want our future to be? These are quite big questions.

Perhaps we just need people to slow down and, rather than deciding to do things by a certain time, let’s just make sure we speak to everyone who’s got a real interest in where we’re heading.

Aboriginal Lutherans want the opportunity to think about these complex questions and be given the time to do it.

My personal leadership motivation is always towards working with people to create a better community.

Left-hand page: Andrea Mason, a member of Alice Springs Lutheran Church, has worked for many years in government and community service.

Right: Andrea, second from left, meets with LCA Reconciliation Plan Project Team members Shona Reid, Tricia Davies and Pastor Neville Otto. Fellow team member Marilyn Wall took the photo.

See story page 10.

Below right: Andrea with Alice Springs Lutheran Church Pastor Ken Schultz and Aboriginal languages linguist and translator David Moore

Where are Lutherans in this discussion? There are close to 6000 Aboriginal Lutheran Christians in Central Australia, so more Aboriginal than non-Aboriginal Lutherans. Is this an army to do much good or a faith community to serve? Can we have both? How do we fire up both areas?

Should there be plans in place to have greater numbers of Aboriginal Lutherans completing high school, qualifying for a trade certificate and graduating from university?

In our community we would benefit from Lutherans in greater numbers sitting on boards and councils, becoming teachers, rangers, police officers, office administrators, health practitioners and mental health workers. And in family life, having strong marriages and families, inclusive of young men experiencing older men showing them the way, are worthy goals to pursue. In church life, we could consider how many people should there be in ministry, and so on.

I think these questions are critical. Ideally, we as Lutherans should be able to articulate our collective vision and how this connects to the church, the community, to family life and at an individual level.

connect Aboriginal people to their humanity. And of course this focus on legacy is being motivated by what we have received through faith.

Aboriginal people have been doing governance for a long time, so we should start there. Secondly, should we declare we are a community of Lutherans who desire to leave a legacy of faith and good works in all areas of life? And then explain simply and clearly how we see ourselves doing this? Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that!

Our Australian Lutheran story has chapters on how grace and faith entered the lives of Aboriginal people in Central Australia and these chapters have many stories of friendship and companionship.

I believe we are now poised to write new chapters telling the story of how we are relevant to sustaining the spiritual, community and civic life of Lutherans in the 21st century.

The opportunity to live this is in our hands.

I believe strongly that we could alter our communities in greater ways with support and companionship in the church. From my perspective, the message of influencing all levels of society for the benefit of all is an extension of the message of grace.

Grace focuses on what we have received, not on the doing. Grace also encourages us to consider the question of legacy and what we wish to leave behind as well as what we are taking with us. I see the Lutheran church embracing and respecting the pillars of Aboriginal society: language, our kinship system, culture and our love of country.

Each of these areas are threads to carry forward as we consider these big questions, because these pillars

Andrea Mason has been the Chief Executive Officer of the NPY Women’s Council, since 2009.

She is co-chair for both the Prime Minister’s Indigenous Advisory Council and for the Empowered Communities NPY Region. Empowered Communities is driving a national reform agenda, Indigenous empowerment is at the centre of it.

A M E S S AG E F R O M LC A B I S H O P J O H N H E N D E R S O N F O R

National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week 2018

The church is encouraged to pray that Indigenous and non-Indigenous Christians alike will define themselves as one people in Christ. Here members of the Lutheran community at Hope Vale in Far North Queensland come together for a confirmation service.

In Australia Saturday 26 May is National Sorry Day, followed

by Reconciliation Week from 27 May to 3 June.

We observe National Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week because, as a nation, we realise that Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians both share this land and have, therefore, a common future.

To be a truly ‘successful’ society we need the courage to confront aspects of our national character and our shared history, which challenge our assumptions and unsettle our self-image as a freedom loving, compassionate people.

Genuine reconciliation requires truth telling and for both parties to not only feel they have been heard, but for there to be a mutual understanding and agreement between them.

We are not seeking a hollow victory over each other, but the recognition of our common humanity and equal opportunity to flourish and grow as human beings.

For Christians true reconciliation, which is only available through Christ, is the same love of our neighbour that God already has for us in Jesus. Reconciliation then, is not a human achievement, but a gift from God in which he invites us to participate. So as Christ has reconciled all of us to God, let us then be reconciled to one another through him.

Reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in our church and in the wider community is an ongoing project. Let’s be part of it.

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Prayer points For Indigenous and non-Indigenous Lutherans and the work of reconciliation in our church and in the wider community •

God our Father, we thank you for reconciling us to yourself through the death of Jesus. Help us to see clearly that it is your will that Australia’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples be reconciled to each other, and help us to live out your will in our lives.

•

In this year in which we are encouraged to learn more about Australia’s Indigenous people’s experience of colonisation, we give thanks for the work of people who help us to better understand the nature and extent of harm done, and the ongoing consequences today. Open our ears to hear and our hearts to acknowledge this dark side of our history.

•

Help us to recognise and accept each other’s struggles with painful emotions like grief, loss, anger and guilt. Help us to be more empathetic and better able to provide constructive help to friends in need.

•

Help Indigenous and non-Indigenous Christians alike to define themselves first and foremost as children of God, one people united in Christ. Help all of us to avoid letting tribal attitudes, like pride in our ancestry and pride in our cultural heritage, stand in the way of right relationship.

RECONCILIATION then, is not a human achievement, but a GIFT from God in which he invites us to PARTICIPATE. •

Help us to appreciate the good things we each have to offer and to be open to being changed by each other for the better.

•

We give thanks for historical work in our church to establish and strengthen relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Lutherans. As we move forward, help us to listen well as we talk with each other, and to be humble and gracious in the way we act.

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We pray for the committee working on our church’s Reconciliation Action Plan (see page 10), that they can formulate a plan that is in line with your will, and that the church will embrace it and implement it joyfully.

For efforts at local, state and federal level to ‘close the gap’, to enable Indigenous children to have the same life chances as other Australians •

We pray for the success of efforts to address intergenerational Indigenous disadvantage and dysfunction, that the wisest and most effective actions will be taken, that these actions will involve listening to the voices of Indigenous people, and that Indigenous people will be instrumental in overcoming their problems.

•

We pray for efforts to strengthen families and communities, rebuild respect for self and others and a sense of responsibility to others where it is needed.

We pray especially that Christians can help those who have ‘lost their way’ find meaning and direction through faith in Jesus.

Aboriginal Lutheran Fellowship members at Ferryden Park, South Australia, acknowledge Reconciliation Week through various shared events. See also page 30.

For a positive way forward in the wake of the government’s refusal to accept the Uluru Statement from the Heart •

Lord, we understand that many Indigenous Australians and their supporters feel hurt and disappointed by the government’s refusal to accept the Uluru Statement from the Heart. We don’t know what will happen next, but pray for positive and meaningful action that will have majority support of both Indigenous and nonIndigenous Australians.

Recommended resources for congregations and individuals: 1

Go to the following links to read and watch more about these days of significance for Indigenous recognition and reconciliation in Australia: A

26 May is National Sorry Day, the anniversary of the 1997 Bringing Them Home report on the Stolen Generations.

On Sorry Day we reflect on the trauma associated with involuntary separation from family, land, language and cultural inheritance. http://education.abc.net.au/home#!/digibook/618742/national-sorry-day

B

27 May is the anniversary of the 1967 referendum, which was a major milestone in the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/27-may-referendum.pdf

C

3 June is the anniversary of the High Court’s 1992 Mabo land rights decision. The Mabo decision exposed the lie of the British assertion that the Australian continent was terra nullius (empty land, belonging to nobody). It recognised Indigenous Australians’ prior occupation of Australia and their claims and connections to land. www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/3-june-mabo-decision.pdf

2

Australians Together is a not-for-profit organisation committed to a brighter future between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It has produced an excellent (and free-to-view) four-part documentary series titled Sharing Our Story that is suitable for church small groups and can be found via the Churches tab on the website. The site’s Discover section teaches the truth of Australians’ shared history and how that history is still having an impact today. www.australianstogether.org.au

3

The Reconciliation Australia website also features resources for Reconciliation Week 2018, the theme of which is ‘Don’t keep history a mystery’. www.reconciliation.org.au

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ABC Radio National’s Speaking Out 'Living with the locals' shares six brief but extraordinary first contact stories of friendship and survival. www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-06/living-with-the-locals-stories-of-first-contact-survival/9613098

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