The Lutheran April-May 2024 Sneak Preview

SHINING A LIGHT ...

PHYSICALVIOLENCE

EMOTIONALBLACKMAIL

STALKING

COERCIVECONTROL APR–MAY

SURVIVOR

VERBALATTACKS HUMILIATION

NEGLECT

SEXUALASSAULT FINANCIALMANIPULATION

PERPETRATOR CHILDREN ADULTS THE AGED

SOCIAL ISOLATION

SPIRITUALABUSE

ON DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE

AGGRESSION

GASLIGHTING

LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

EDITORIAL

Editor Lisa McIntosh

p 08 8267 7300

m 0409 281 703

e lisa.mcintosh@lca.org.au

Executive Editor Linda Macqueen

p 08 8267 7300

e linda.macqueen@lca.org.au

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DESIGN & PRINT

Design & Layout Elysia McEwen

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The Lutheran is produced on the traditional lands of the Kaurna and Dharug peoples.

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LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

The Lutheran informs the members of the LCANZ 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 and New Zealand.

Fun, friends and fellowship

Before enjoying an after-service coffee with friends at Warradale Lutheran Church in suburban Adelaide recently, Genevieve and Stephen checked out the latest edition of The Lutheran. The duo is among a loyal contingent of Lutheran Disability Services (LDS) clients who make worship extra joyful for their Faith family. Stephen is also one of the stars of SA-based LDS’s new advertising campaign, which has been seen in local cinemas, on social media platforms and heard on commercial radio. LDS provides housing and in-home support for more than 90 people and is now seeking people within SA Lutheran congregations to become host families or housemates for people living with disability. Visit www.ldssa.org.au/services/ilo/ to find out more. You can check out the LDS ads at www.ldssa.org.au/2023/12/01/ldscommercials-2023/

Send us a photograph featuring a recent copy of The Lutheran and it may appear on page 2 of a future issue and on our website at www.thelutheran.com.au

People like YOU bring love to life

Joy Codrington

St Paul’s Lutheran Church Ceduna SA

Retired nurse who enjoys babysitting grandchildren, travel, cooking, reading and many volunteer roles

Most treasured Bible text: Ephesians 2:8,9

‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.’

Richard Hauser

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Noosa Qld

Retired Lutheran college principal, church historian

Most treasured Bible text: 1 Corinthians 13:12a

‘What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.’

Grace King

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Para Vista SA

Year 6 student at Good Shepherd Lutheran School Para Vista SA

Most treasured Bible text: John 3:16

‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.’

Let the light of someone you know shine through their photo being featured in The Lutheran and LCA Facebook. With their permission, send us a good quality photo, their name and details (congregation, occupation and most treasured text) and your contact details.

CAUTION: This magazine contains references to themes of domestic and family violence, which some individuals may find distressing. In Australia, call 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Lifeline on 13 11 14, or in New Zealand call Shine Helpline on 0508 744 633 or Lifeline Aotearoa on 008 LIFELINE (0800 543 354) for confidential telephone crisis support. Call 000 (Australia) or 111 (NZ) if you or others are in immediate danger.

Watching a British police drama on TV recently, I recoiled at seeing fictional yet still frightening depictions of domestic and family violence (DFV). A woman is grabbed, then thrown across the room by a controlling husband who keeps a lock on the fridge and flushes her prescription anxiety medication down the toilet. Desperate, she then behaves abusively herself, blackmailing her lover into providing somewhere for her to escape with her children. It doesn’t end well.

That may be just a TV script but, sadly, such abuse by a spouse, intimate partner, other family member or ex-partner is all too real. In November last year, four women died in South Australia within a week –allegedly all in cases of domestic homicide.

Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics around that time shows one in five Australian adults has experienced violence, or emotional or economic abuse by a partner. The survey found that more than 25 per cent of women and 15 per cent of men in Australia experience partner violence or abuse from the age of 15.

But even one case of domestic abuse is unacceptable. I believe Jesus weeps with us over this sin that tears families apart and leaves people of all ages with deep scars, whether they be physical, emotional, psychological, or spiritual.

For some years, our church has sought to address ‘the prevalence of family violence among us’, with the Hidden Hurts Healing Hearts awareness campaign resulting from a 2015 resolution from General Synod. Seeking to gain a deeper understanding of DFV, in 2019 the LCA commissioned the Religion and Domestic Violence Report, which was released last year (see pp 9, 22)

We may not know it, but someone we work or socialise with, a neighbour, a member of our family or even a member of our congregation may be experiencing violence or abuse – or abusing others. But even if we become aware of abuse, what can we do? Being alert to the signs and equipped with knowledge of what to do is a good start. So, in this edition, we share stories from members of our Lutheran family who have experienced or witnessed abuse, along with advice and opportunities for learning.

We’re also pleased to be able to share resources to support you in your faith life, a bumper news section and, for print subscribers, a bonus copy of LCA International Mission’s Border Crossings magazine. (Digital subscribers can access an electronic copy of the magazine at www.lca.org.au/international-mission)

God bless your reading,

I wish I’d known more … A pastor’s reflections on family violence

Learning can help bring change

How can I be a better bystander? Church seeks a deeper understanding of domestic and family violence

Our cover: iStock.com

Artwork by Elysia McEwen

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following pages may contain images of people who have died.

Because we bear your name

‘People were bringing even infants to Jesus that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they sternly ordered them not to do it. But Jesus called for them and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it”’ (Luke 18:15–17).

Our hands can be crushed into a fist, or our hands can be opened for a wave ‘hello’. Our hands can be used to violently strike, or they can be opened to gently cradle someone.

In Luke’s Gospel, we read of the Lord Jesus ‘touching’ children. In this 21st-century post-Royal Commission era of caution, we hear those words about ‘touching’ as potentially problematic. But in his action of placing his hands on little children, our Lord was showing his desire to bless them.

BISHOP PAUL’S LETTER

REV PAUL SMITH

Bishop, Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand

same time as Martin Luther, wrote a poem about ‘Christian hands’:

‘Christ has no body but yours, No hands, no feet on earth but yours, Yours are the eyes with which he looks Compassion on this world, Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good, Yours are the hands with which he blesses all the world.’

In verse six of the song for which this column is named –‘Because we bear your name’ – Dr John Kleinig, who wrote the lyrics and Dr Robin Mann, who wrote the music, also encourage us to use our hands in service of others:

OUR RISEN LORD CONTINUES TO BLESS OTHERS THROUGH OUR HANDS.

The experience of children in ancient Israel was so very different to the experience of children in modern-day New Zealand or Australia. At the time of Jesus, children were considered a gift from God, but children were also ranked very low in their society. The disciples thought they were doing the Lord a favour by keeping any potentially ‘unclean’ children away from him.

When the Lord blesses little children by placing his hands directly upon them in this way, he is declaring God’s heart and God’s way of using hands to do good for others.

Throughout the gospels in the New Testament, we are told how the Lord blessed outcasts and the ritually unclean by placing hands of compassion upon them. Often people around Jesus were shocked at the way he blessed people with his hands. Even when his hands are nailed to the cross with his palms opened to the world, our Lord still expresses his gracious heart praying, ‘Father, forgive them’.

Our risen Lord continues to bless others through our hands. Roman Catholic Mystic writer Teresa of Avila, who lived at the

‘Keep us from missing out on life; give hands that help, and single sight, and feet that walk your way – because we bear your name.’

In our modern world, many use their hands contrary to God’s heart. This edition of The Lutheran includes some difficult storytelling of ways in which people have used their hands to do harm to others, including to members of their own families.

We do not despair but call on the Lord of the cross and empty grave to change human hearts, including our own. In our Sunday liturgy we are reminded to regularly pray:

‘Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit’ (Psalm 51).

In Christ,