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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.
There’s no place like Frome!
On his way to volunteering as part of the livestream team at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Adelaide, Peter Wong stopped at an office building around the corner for a quick look. The building at 139 Frome Street will become the LCANZ’s new Church House when the Churchwide Office and Australian Lutheran College staff relocate from North Adelaide sometime in 2025. It will also be the place for members of the church to visit, attend meetings, get information and resources – and perhaps even renew your subscription to The Lutheran!
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
Judith-Anne Kleinschmidt (Hensel)
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Toowoomba Qld
Nurse, visitor to General Synod
Most treasured Bible text: Romans 8:38,39
‘For I am convinced that neither death nor life … nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’
Neil Huth
Peace Lutheran Church Gatton Qld
Research scientist, lay delegate to General Synod, chairperson at Gatton
Most treasured Bible text: Micah 6:8
‘He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’
Glenis Kupke
Tanunda Lutheran Home Congregation SA
Retired aged-care hostel supervisor; enjoys helping with music and PowerPoint during weekly services
Most treasured Bible text: Psalm 46:10a
‘Be still and know that I am God.’
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.
‘Life is a puzzle. Find the missing peace.’ So said the signboard outside a church I drove past the other day. Clever, I thought. A timely prompt as life seems to become increasingly hectic in the lead-up to Christmas. That’s what we’re all longing for, isn’t it? A bit of peace?
Maybe peace is lacking in our family, in our relationships with friends, at work, or even in our congregation. Perhaps there is no peace in our heads or souls, due to things we’ve said or done or things that have been said or done to us.
Or perhaps it’s all the noise – literal and figurative – that is the peace-killer in our world right now. The blaring announcements from our TVs, social media feeds and emails about ‘Black Friday’ sales (we don’t even have Thanksgiving here – how on earth did we get Black Friday sales?). Children stacking on a turn in the shops when Mum or Dad dares to say ‘No!’ to buying the toy every kid ‘needs’. Rage on the roads and in carparks. Too much work with too little time and too few resources to get it done ...
Oh, for some peace and quiet.
If we can find that missing peace, everything else will fall into place. The pieces will fit together, and we’ll see the big picture.
The signboard outside that church didn’t say where we’d find that ‘missing peace’, but we know, don’t we, even if we need reminding? We can find it in the word of God and in the Word of God. Jesus is the missing piece and the missing peace in our lives. And he’s ready to perfectly fill the hole in our hearts, making us whole again.
Yes, the quest for real peace all comes back to that baby born in Bethlehem. The true meaning of Christmas, the greatest gift: real joy, real grace, real love and real peace, all wrapped up in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. Contrast that with the world’s view of peace, as depicted by the universal symbols on our cover. Real peace is far more powerful than the laying down of weapons or warheads.
In this edition, we are privileged to share stories from across our church about the power of this real peace in our lives, in our churches and even as we face death. I hope you will be blessed by reading them. You’ll also notice a new-look resources section, now called Congregational Life, which is designed to share with you some of the vast array of helps found on the new web hub of the same name (www.lca.org.au/clh).
As this is the last edition for 2024, I would like to thank you, our readers, subscribers and group collectors for your support. My gratitude goes, too, to our wonderful team – Linda Macqueen (executive editor), Elysia McEwen (graphic designer), columnists Helen Brinkman and Bishop Paul Smith; proofreaders Lyall Kupke and Kathy Gaff; LCA Communications colleagues Elise Mattiske and Beth Marsh; Lyndal Fuller and Harry Phan for their help with subscription administration; and Trevor Bailey and all at Openbook Howden.
Have a safe, blessed and peace-filled Christmas,
What is real peace?
The path of peace –an Advent reflection
Restoring peace in our churches
Reconciling through shared stories
Peace beyond reason
80 years of sharing hope
Out of the mouths of babes …
Because we bear your name: Bishop Paul’s letter
in God’s word
Go and Grow)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following pages may contain images of people who have died. Our cover: iStock.com. Montage artwork by Elysia McEwen
BISHOP PAUL’S LETTER Because we bear your name
‘Joy, O joy, beyond all gladness!’ These are astounding and inspiring words from the rarely sung chorus of the Christmas hymn in our Lutheran Hymnal and Supplement (LHS) 32, written by 17th-century hymnwriter Christian Keymann.
The good news of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is deeper and lasting beyond simply happy feelings. The angel told the Bethlehem shepherds, ‘I bring you good news of great joy!’ The telling of the nativity story is great joy. God has become enfleshed and dwelt among us out of great love for all humankind.
This story began with God’s promise at the dawn of time, to send a saviour to ‘strike the head’ of the serpent. At Christmastime, we remind each other that the promise unfolds in the story of the manger and the cross. God will bring about that exchange of our sin for the righteousness of the sinless Son of God so that we would have peace with God. This is the good news of great joy!
The chorus of Keymann’s hymn continues, ‘Christ has done away with sadness. Hence, all sorrow and repining, for the sun of grace is shining’.
rising ‘with healing in its wings’. This image is also sung in the well-loved carol, ‘Hark! The herald angels sing’ (LHS 33).
As people of grace, the people of our Lutheran Church have been walking as sisters and brothers in Christ in the light of the ‘sun of grace’. We have travelled through 2024, during which our General Pastors’ Conference and Convention of General Synod met, and we resolved to remove our prohibition that required the ordination of only men as pastors in our church. We also resolved to continue as one church in which both the ordination of men only and the ordination of both women and men are received as faithful understandings of the word of God.
THE TELLING OF THE NATIVITY STORY IS GREAT JOY.
This does not mean Christians are free from feelings of sadness, sorrow or struggle. Rather, this ‘good news of great joy’ of the coming of Christ means that, whatever we experience or whatever comes our way, we walk as people of grace in the light of the gospel. Because of the manger and the cross, we know God is with us. Because of Christ Jesus, we know God is for us.
With this sure promise of grace over us, before us and within us, we come to God with complete confidence with all our weariness and heaviness. We join with the psalmist, praying: ‘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.’
The hymn’s image of the ‘sun of grace shining’ draws on another biblical promise spoken by the prophet Malachi where, in chapter 4, we read of the ‘sun of righteousness’
As we work through these things together as sisters and brothers in Christ, the words of Keymann remind us of the sure promises of God in all circumstances. We are people of the gospel who are given hope in what our Lord Christ Jesus has done for us: ‘Joy, O Joy beyond all gladness, Christ has done away with sadness.’
As we prepare for Christmas festivities, we know that around us are people who do not know or have forgotten the joy of salvation.
As the shepherds left their flocks to ‘make known’ what had been ‘told them about the child’, may the Lord give us the opportunity to give a good account to family, friends and neighbours of the Christmas hope and joy within us.
Keymann’s hymn ends with a beautiful and hopeful prayer:
Praise the Lord!
In Christ, ‘Jesus, guard and guide Thy members, Fill Thy brethren with Thy grace, Hear their prayers in every place Quicken now life’s faintest embers; Grant all Christians, far and near, Holy peace, a glad new year. Joy, O joy, beyond all gladness! Christ has done away with sadness. Hence, all sorrow and repining, For the sun of grace is shining.’
REV PAUL SMITH Bishop, Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand
WHAT IS REAL PEACE?
What is peace, real peace?
The first definition of ‘peace’ in a search of the Macquarie Dictionary is: ‘freedom from war or hostilities’. Admittedly, there are eight other definitions, but this first one is a pretty common one: Peace is the absence of war.
However, the 17th-century Portuguese-Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza didn’t agree. He opted, unsurprisingly, for a metaphysical explanation, saying: ‘Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.’
We know how our state of mind can be if there is no justice. Not exactly peaceful. People who live with anxiety and depression, guilt or shame, or who are burdened with grudges may long for peace. As do many who experience domestic and family violence.
But writer and lay theologian C S Lewis shared a belief that there is no real peace that is of this world, neither bought nor earned, when he said: ‘God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.’
Spot on. Real peace comes only from God. And he wants to shower us with it this Christmas if we’ll only stop trying to achieve it or buy it. Jesus is the only gift that brings the peace of God into our lives, as a colleague recently said during a staff devotion.
REAL PEACE COMES ONLY FROM GOD. AND HE WANTS TO SHOWER US WITH IT THIS CHRISTMAS IF WE’LL ONLY STOP TRYING TO ACHIEVE IT OR BUY IT.
Christmas is, sadly, a time when an honest wish list might put a sense of peace ahead of a gift that money can buy. Job insecurity, relationship breakdown, family feuds and loneliness can all add to causes of stress and feelings of hopelessness.
We might be tempted to look for peace in psychology books or self-actualisation courses, or even think we can earn peace by being ‘good Christians’ and helping others.
I was also reminded of the essence, promise and power of real peace recently during worship. In, with and under the forgiveness of sins, is the lifting of burdens that weigh us down, the release of chains that bind us – the outpouring of God’s grace, mercy and, yes, his peace.
Pastor Tim Klein encouraged our faith family after he spoke the absolution, with the words: ‘God bless you with peace. Live in that peace. Relish that peace.’
I do and I hope and pray that, as we look forward to what should be the season of peace, you do, too.
TO ALL OUR READERS THIS CHRISTMAS, WE WISH YOU THE REAL PEACE THAT ONLY THE GIFT OF JESUS CAN BRING.
– Lisa and Linda
‘When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them’. LUKE 2:15–20
THE PATH OF PEACE –
In the Book of Mark, he is described this way: ‘And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptised by him in the River Jordan. John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist and he ate locusts and wild honey. And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I baptise you with water, but he will baptise with the Holy Spirit.”’
For some reason, my brain connects so much more with the visual of this Grizzly Adams-type mountain man wearing a tunic of camel's hair and eating grasshoppers dipped in a bowlful of honey. Imagine one of John's after-hours parties – all the countryside and all the people of Jerusalem are out to hang out with him, the celebrity, and he says, ‘Hey, can someone pass the crickets? I've got the munchies’.
But he is a celebrity, it seems. He wanders in the wilderness, preparing
an opportunity for one who is greater than he is, one more powerful, one who can do much more than baptise with what little water can be found in the wilderness.
He is coming. And we believe, because they (celebrities) inhabit our minds through a screen. Celebrity is as celebrity does, as Forrest Gump should have said.
John the Baptist can't escape the celebrity status that he has gathered, but with it comes great responsibility. And, unlike present-day stardom, he is not drawing the light to himself. There is no self-aggrandisement, no braggadocio, no false sense that he thinks to himself, ‘Maybe I should think a little closer about my own sense of power’.
… THE PATH OF PEACE. ISN'T THAT WHAT WE ALL WANT THIS CHRISTMAS? IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY
CHRISTMAS I PROFESS PEACE WITH MY MOUTH, BUT IT IS STILL FAR FROM MY HEART.
He recognises that there is someone greater than he is and his job, as foretold by his own father, Zechariah, in Luke 1:76–79: ‘And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the most high; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare a way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven, to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.’
What incredible poetry (this is entitled ‘Zechariah's Song’)!
He is singing about his child's future right after he is born and with the vivid understanding that his son has a role in showing God's mercy, whose light shines down from heaven ...
And guides our feet into the path of peace.
Isn't that what we all want this Christmas? It seems like every Christmas I profess peace with my mouth, but it is still far from my heart. I wander around in a trance-like state, thinking about 'Christmassy' things, and yet the gift that I truly want is one that John brings to us first and foremost.
Peace on earth, goodwill to all people.
We're not told much about John's early life – only what Luke recalls after Zechariah's Song: ‘And the child grew and became strong in the Spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.’
JOHN WENT FROM PLACE TO PLACE AND TALKED ABOUT THAT WHICH WOULD SET THE PEOPLE'S FEET ON THE PATH OF PEACE: FORGIVENESS OF SINS.
Can you imagine the frustration of both Elizabeth and Zechariah at mealtime every night?
Elizabeth: Zechy, have you seen John? He's supposed to be washing up for supper.
Zechariah: (shaking his head) Last time I saw him, he was by himself, heading out into the hills.
Elizabeth: What does he do out there anyway?
Zechariah: Who knows? I tried to find him once, follow his tracks, but they always lead to beehives.
Elizabeth: What?
Zechariah: I have no idea. My guess is he likes honey. Good thing his metabolism is still working. Wait until he gets our age. He'll have to hit the YMJA (Young Men's Judean Association) and work off some of that desert fat.
Elizabeth: Well, I suppose it's true. He never seems to be hungry when he gets home. I just hope he is getting enough protein.
I would have loved to have heard what Elizabeth and Zechariah would have said when he showed up with grasshopper wings stuck in his teeth!
But the Scripture says that John lived in the wilderness. He wandered and waited for something. Perhaps he really didn't know what that would be or what that would look like. Maybe John just assumed that he was destined for nomadism and that after his parents passed on, it was only natural to think – just like the rest of the Jews living under Roman thumb – that God had forgotten them.
In St Luke’s Gospel we read: ‘During the priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, in the wilderness. He went into all the country
around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins’ (Luke 3:2,3).
John went from place to place and talked about that which would set the people's feet on the path of peace: forgiveness of sins. Here is the place where, in our spiritual lives, we find crooked paths of jealousy, rough roads of hatred and soaring mountains of pride. When baptism occurs, those potholes are filled in, and sin ceases to have power over our salvation (or damnation, as it were), because the power of Christ allows us to be 'baptised into a death like his', which gives us life with him.
It was in this wandering that John encountered the word of God at long last. Perhaps on a quiet morning when he least expected it, just finishing a morning stroll, and at the perfect time, God beckoned in his own way to this rugged man of the wilderness, who would soon be a celebrity in his own right, and said, 'Dearest John, I've got a plan, and I need you near the front and centre for a while’.
For this man who wandered, who probably was not unfamiliar with hardship, life would never be the same – and for one who wandered by himself, great crowds would probably have caused him great stress.
But it is in the wandering that perhaps all of us can encounter God and the call to something bigger than ourselves – to allow the light of Christ to reflect off of us to show others One who is greater than us. In this way, even in the midst of the struggle of making the path straight for God this Christmas, we might encounter the path to peace.
Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland. This article was originally published as ‘Advent II – The Wandering’ on his online blog https://ireid.blogspot.com
BY STUART KLEINIG
It would be nice to say the LCANZ is always the place ‘where love comes to life’. Too many times selfishness, manipulation, frustration, anger, division and self-centred behaviours also come to life. This shouldn’t shock us. It’s normal for us to practise both our saintliness and our sinfulness.
I’ve been called to serve as the LCANZ’s Interim Ministry Pastor, focusing on biblical reconciliation. I’m called by parishes, and assigned by the College of Bishops, to help bring about forgiveness, peace and renewed hope within parishes that have experienced conflict, division or troubles.
How do I do this? The following is a short summary of an excellent Bible study I use that has been written by Ambassadors of Reconciliation called ‘Conflict Resolution vs Reconciliation: A Bible Study on Reconciliation for Daily Living’.
REMEMBER WHOSE YOU ARE
We tend to label ourselves and each other. Some are good labels, such as ‘friend’. Some are negative, such as ‘enemy’. Unfortunately, labels also question our worth and can lead to us judging and punishing each other.
While Scripture tells us that, as a result of our fallen human nature, we’re enemies of God, sinful creatures, unclean, unworthy and condemned to be separated from God eternally, it also tells us that through faith in Jesus Christ, we’re now new creatures meant to be in fellowship with God. We’re now baptised children of God changed from enemies into precious and valuable heirs of the kingdom of God, and we’ve been forgiven, cleansed, made holy and ransomed by Jesus’ blood.
This is our new identity in Christ. This is who we are and whose we are through faith in Jesus. This is also how we’re to see and treat each other in Christ, even when they sin against us.
Believing and living under our identity in Christ has a huge impact on how we deal with conflict, especially with fellow Christians.
REPENT BEFORE GOD
It doesn’t matter who started any conflict. Jesus tells us to take the log out of our own eye first (Matthew 7:1–5). We’re to assess our own actions and reactions in the light of God’s holy instructions, such as in the Ten Commandments or other relevant Scripture passages (such as Galatians 5:19–21). It could be that our own sinful responses may indicate we could be fearing, loving or trusting someone or something else apart from God. In this case, it might be an idol.
Martin Luther warns us that anything (or anyone) our heart clings to and trusts in (apart from God himself) could be an idol.
Once we demand whatever we’re fearing, desiring or trusting must be satisfied our way, we go down a slippery slope toward conflict with God and each other. When our demands aren’t met, we get increasingly frustrated, judge others and seek to punish them. We need to repent of such idolatrous attitudes and behaviours.
RECEIVE GOD’S FORGIVENESS
Scripture calls each of us to be reconciled to God by repenting of our sin (2 Corinthians 5:18–20). Our repentance includes godly sorrow as we acknowledge how much we hurt God and those around us. Our repentance also includes faith in the forgiveness of sins won for us by Christ. In fact, Christian life isn’t about denying our sin, but one of regularly admitting and repenting of it. Reconciled to God, we seek to be reconciled to each other.
WE’RE TO GROW TO BE LIKE CHRIST IN ALL RELATIONSHIPS AND SEEK TO LIVE IN HIS WAYS OF MERCY, PEACE AND FORGIVENESS.
CONFESS TO THE OTHER PERSON
Ephesians 4:26–32 helps us consider the results of our angry words and the spiritual dangers of how our anger gives the devil an opportunity to divide us.
When we confess our sins, we also confess our faith in Christ and trust his forgiveness. Admitting our sins to each other is therefore a powerful witness to our faith in Christ. On the other hand, when we deny our sin, blame others, or justify our sinful words and actions, we confess faith in ourselves, which in turn confesses that we don’t need Christ’s sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins.
It can be helpful to remember the following when confessing sins to another person:
• Go as a beggar with nothing to offer in exchange.
• Acknowledge your sin with humbleness and sincerity.
• Identify your sins according to God’s word.
• Express sorrow for the hurt your sin has caused.
• Commit to changing your behaviour.
• Be willing to bear the earthly consequences.
• Ask for forgiveness (and allow time for them to forgive).
• Trust in Christ’s forgiveness, even if they can’t, or won’t, forgive you.
FORGIVE AS GOD FORGAVE YOU
In the Lord’s Prayer we pray for help to forgive each other as God has forgiven us. Since Jesus Christ died for us and effected the full forgiveness of our sins before we repented or asked for forgiveness, and since we’re to forgive as we’ve been forgiven by Christ (Colossians 3:13), the granting of forgiveness isn’t dependent on the other person’s repentance. On the other hand, the receiving of forgiveness is dependent on repentance and faith.
Of course, trust may have also been broken in the relationship. This may need to be rebuilt over time. However, forgiveness provides the foundation and opportunity for trust and respect to be re-established.
RESTORE WITH GENTLENESS
Our corporate witness of the gospel is compromised when members of the body of Christ remain unreconciled. In a similar way, if any of us seeks earthly forms of justice or makes our repentance and forgiveness conditional, our own witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ is compromised.
Sometimes reconciliation and peace in communities is achieved, but sometimes it is not. Second Timothy 2:24–26 gives good advice and encouragement on what’s our responsibility (such as being kind, patiently teaching and gently correcting), and what is God’s responsibility (i.e. he is the one who may grant repentance).
We’re to grow to be like Christ in all relationships and seek to live in his ways of mercy, peace and forgiveness, but only God can change people’s hearts. Until this happens, we’re kind, gentle and patiently teaching those around us about what Jesus Christ has done for us. After all, as far as it is possible, and as much as it depends on us, we’re to live at peace with everyone (Romans 12:18).
May God’s love come to life in your own family, congregation or across the LCANZ as you live out the daily pattern of confession and forgiveness as dearly beloved children of God for whom Christ has bled, died and risen again.
Pastor Stuart Kleinig is Interim Ministry Pastor at South Burnett Qld.
‘Conflict Resolution vs Reconciliation’ can be purchased and downloaded from, www.aorhope.org/downloadablebible-studies, and you can do your own free online study at www.aorhope.org/personal-peacemaking-top
Queensland First Assistant Bishop Ben Hentschke meets with St John’s Lutheran Church Kingaroy storytellers and friends and Lutheran Services staff after the Orana Aged Care storytelling session.
For nearly 90 years, Lutheran Services has been serving people and communities with aged care and community services. Emerging from the dreams and hard work of local Lutheran congregations, these services often pioneered new approaches in their regions.
To gain a deeper understanding of its origins and the people who shaped it, the Origin Stories project is being developed by Lutheran Services as part of its ministry within the Lutheran Church of Australia’s Queensland District (LCAQD).
For many years, these pioneering services were driven by highly capable committees drawn from local Lutheran congregations. In the late 1990s, increasingly complex funding and regulation requirements saw the LCAQD establish a central body – Lutheran Community Care – to ensure the ministry of care established by these founding congregations would continue. This body is known as Lutheran Services today and employs more than 2,000 staff and serves more than 6,000 people in Queensland.
BY ALAN JAMES
Lutheran congregations and friends and continued by Lutheran Services today. And, above all, it’s an opportunity to reconnect and embrace a shared future.
‘Centralising services successfully built and managed by local congregations was not without grief’, Pastor Russell says. ‘Going back to the “locals” who put their shoulder to the wheel in the first place, honouring their contributions, which can be too easily taken for granted, is an exercise in finding reconciliation after what were sometimes turbulent times.
Origin Stories helps us to articulate the “Lutheran” in Lutheran Services, strengthen our identity and reconnect with our founders.’
‘HUMAN BEINGS HAVE ALWAYS TOLD STORIES. THEY HELP US CONNECT WITH OTHERS, UNDERSTAND THEIR STRUGGLES, AND CELEBRATE THEIR TRIUMPHS.’
The Origin Stories project seeks to reinvigorate connections and inspire future collaborations by celebrating the remarkable achievements of local Lutheran congregations.
Playing a key role in the development of the Origin Stories project is Lutheran Services Director of Chaplaincy and Ministry Development, Rev Dr Russell Briese. He sees the project as an opportunity to celebrate the shared history – to acknowledge both the achievements and challenges, and honour the great endeavours and services founded by
For Queensland District Bishop Rev Dr Mark Vainikka, Lutheran Services represents the hands of the church, delivering vital services to the community while providing a visible, accessible interface for our church every day of the year. ‘Lutheran Services exists to serve – and serving others is at the heart of the church’s mission’, says Bishop Mark.
‘Stories have a unique power to shape and inspire, and the Origin Stories project brings the grace of God alive in the narrative of our church. Stories of how our congregations founded these services are deeply formative, grounding Lutheran Services in the church’s mission to serve. As we celebrate the origins of these ministries, we honour the legacy of those whose faith and hard work have made a lasting impact. This project strengthens our connections and reminds us that Lutheran Services embodies our church’s purpose of participating in God’s mission to the world.’
‘GOING BACK TO THE “LOCALS” WHO PUT THEIR SHOULDER TO THE WHEEL IN THE FIRST PLACE, HONOURING THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS, WHICH CAN BE TOO EASILY TAKEN FOR GRANTED, IS AN EXERCISE IN FINDING RECONCILIATION.’
As the journey is as important as the destination, the process for each Origin Story begins with a gathering at a local Lutheran church where congregation members, Lutheran Services and LCAQD representatives come together to meet, talk and listen. The project is explained, people are introduced, and ideas are shared.
Local Lutheran congregation members are central to shaping the Origin Stories by sharing histories, personal stories and heartfelt memories. Often, as many years have passed, it is younger generations recounting the stories and sharing the memories of their ancestors’ hard work and achievements. There is laughter and tears.
What begins as a relaxed chat over tea and cake in a church hall continues over several months. After these initial introductions and talks at the storytelling gathering, many more follow. Lengthy interviews are conducted. New friendships are made. New conversations begin. New understandings and insights are gained.
The completed story is shared after the Sunday service. Printed booklets are shared with contributors and congregation members and are available on the Lutheran Services website. Plaques are installed at the churches and services to commemorate the achievement and direct visitors to the story, and staff presentations are held.
In the process, congregation members and staff from Lutheran Services and the LCAQD strengthen and form valuable connections. The process is reinvigorating existing relationships and creating new partnerships with local Lutheran parishes, congregations and the many Lutheran Services sites and operations.
For Lutheran Services CEO Nick Ryan, sharing stories is a powerful way to foster unity. ‘Human beings have always told stories’, Nick says. ‘They help us connect with others, understand their struggles, and celebrate their triumphs. Ultimately, our stories define us. We're so grateful for all the Origin storytellers who have shared their personal experiences with us. Their stories have enriched our understanding of our history and inspired us to continue our mission.’
congregation members, and friends engaged in discussion during a story-sharing circle in Laidley, Queensland.
The Origin Stories project began in 2022 with Orana Aged Care and St John’s Lutheran Church in Kingaroy. St John’s Chairman Rodney Patch paved the way for the pilot Origin Story, connecting storytellers from near and afar.
‘We welcomed the opportunity to explore how we could celebrate the achievements of Lutheran congregations in building services for their communities’, says Rodney.
‘A plan of action was established to gain the support and cooperation of congregational and community members who had been a part of Orana’s history. This was also setting a blueprint for future discussions between Lutheran Services and other service providers in creating an Origin Story.’
The Orana Origin Story opened the door to strengthening old relationships and starting new ones while celebrating the foundations of the aged-care service.
‘It is pleasing to see the interest the story has received and involvement of the congregation and Orana continuing beyond the Origin Story’, Rodney says. ‘Recent times have seen members attending worship services at Orana and St John’s ladies fellowship group holding some meetings at Orana with residents involved.’
For Lutheran Services’ staff today, Origin Stories illustrates the diversity and long history of the organisation. It demonstrates the Lutheran ethos and heritage that underpins the workplace and work. And it articulates the organisation’s unified vision and values of grace, innovation, integrity and empowerment.
As aged-care and community services providers seek to strengthen connections with the communities they serve, and as churches seek to strengthen connections with their congregations and communities, initiatives like Origin Stories may be one pathway to consider when paving a road towards unity and prosperity.
Alan James is Lutheran Services Content & Communications Writer.
Learn more at lutheranservices.org.au/origin-stories
Lutheran Services’ Tabeel Aged Care staff, LCAQD representatives and local
BY NOEL
DUE
I’ve never seen such peace as when my first wife died from breast cancer. Not in me, but in her! She was upheld in a miraculous way all the way through – from her diagnosis and treatment to her eventual decline and death.
That’s not to say there weren’t plenty of tears. And I wouldn’t want you to think she was all stiff upper lip stoicism. No, there was plenty of grief and plenty of emotion, not least when it was just the two of us. But the peace was like a deep foundation. It supported every part of what she went through, especially in the last months, and even more in the last days. I’ve often said that in her last days, she was more in heaven than on the earth.
Not simply was she at peace within herself, but that peace radiated out. It affected people who came to see her. Friends who thought they might bring some comfort and consolation went away knowing they’d been on the receiving end! It was indeed, as Jesus said, ‘Peace that passes all understanding’.
I sat with her as she took her last breath and can testify that it was real. It was real all the way through, to the very end.
But if she were listening now, she’d be saying: ‘No, you’re getting the wrong idea. It wasn’t me! It didn’t come from me! It was just what Jesus said ... “Peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you”. It was peace that passed human understanding because it didn’t come from me! It came from him.’
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy ... peace. This peace isn’t natural to us. It’s the peace that comes from heaven. It’s not just beyond us to understand; it’s beyond us to reproduce or create. Jesus was called the ‘Prince of Peace’. He came from heaven, bringing the peace of God to earth. But that peace was too real for us. We didn’t like it intruding into our settled little kingdoms. He showed us that peace isn’t a warm and fluffy feeling – nor just a worthy sentiment – but a settled and established relationship.
When Jesus spoke about peace, he had in mind something we could never bring about. He had in mind ending our hatred
THIS PEACE ISN’T NATURAL TO US … IT’S NOT JUST BEYOND US TO UNDERSTAND; IT’S BEYOND US TO REPRODUCE OR CREATE.
of God, our distrust of his care, and our self-directed ways of living. He had in mind bringing us to love him and trust him.
It cost Jesus his life. But he did it gladly and freely. Why? Because he wanted us to know the peace that he has.
‘Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you.’
What’s his peace? It’s to share in his relationship with God our Father. To rest in God’s care. To know that you are loved by God, no matter what. To know that you’re held in his arms and carried to heaven, even as you take your last breath. To be settled in the fact that no-one or nothing can separate you from the love of God. Ever.
That’s the peace Jesus knew. That’s the peace he came to leave with us.
This article is an excerpt from a Lutheran Media Messages of hope program. You can listen to it in full at www.messagesofhope.org.au/peace-beyond-reason-4
Pastor Noel Due serves The Top End Lutheran Parish in the Northern Territory.
so a child can step up! Step out ...
When Jesus welcomed the little children, he encouraged us to follow in his footsteps in bringing love to life for those overlooked and forgotten by the world. Our Lutheran Church provides practical care to the world’s poorest communities through ALWS. In 2025, to celebrate 75 years of service, ALWS aims to support 75,000 children with the essentials for a happy, healthy life – food, school and safety.
You can be part of this bold ministry goal in ALWS Walk My Way.
Parks & River Walk
3 May
Riverside Walk Saturday 10 May DIY When you like, how you like – we’ll help you!
PRAYER POINTS
1–7 DEC
The millions of Australians and New Zealanders living with disabilities on the International Day of People with Disability (3 Dec)
8–14 DEC
That the world’s leaders would act with respect for the wellbeing of all citizens on United Nations Human Rights Day (10 Dec)
15–21 DEC
For all who are lonely or living with depression, particularly during the so-called festive season
22–28 DEC
All people to know the Christ-child, whose birth we remember and celebrate at Christmas, as our Lord and Saviour
29 DEC–4 JAN
For a new year filled with hope and opportunities to share the joy of the gospel with those around us
5–11 JAN
Organisers, leaders and campers preparing for or enjoying youth gatherings across the LCANZ
12–18 JAN
All students, teachers and school staff in Australia and New Zealand, as they prepare for the new school year
19–25 JAN
Those who are called to ministry in the LCANZ, including those who will begin ALC’s Midlife Masters program this month
26 JAN–1 FEB
Reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Aboriginal Australians on Australia Day (26 Jan)
DWELLING IN GOD’S WORD
Peace beyond all understanding
Can there be peace in the world? In our church? In your life? At Christmas time?
At times during my life, I have been very unsettled, arguing with and questioning God about what is happening. My sleep has been interrupted. I have been ill at ease. There’s been a definite lack of peace in my life. You may be in a situation like that at the moment. Or perhaps as you hear and read about wars, or corruption, or the breakdown of political and corporate institutions, you may be a little unsettled too. Where is that promised peace? What even is peace?
Read Jeremiah 6:13,14 and 8:11. Who can we trust to bring news of peace?
Read Matthew 10:34–36. Is peace promised? What is going on here?
Read John 14:27. What is different about this saying of Jesus?
Okay. Perhaps we need to rethink our understanding of peace.
Share what peace means to you, or write it down and see if you can expand the meaning.
The word peace in Hebrew is Shalom. There is no simple English translation. Peace does not capture all the nuances of Shalom. Shalom includes wellness, delight, living with good neighbours, a healthy life, a people that support one another, spiritual wholeness, nourishing relationships.
Which of those aspects of peace appeal to you?
Read Colossians 3:15, then the whole passage of Colossians 3:12–17. What does peace involve according to these verses?
As mentioned above, peace involves much more than we usually think of. In Jesus’ appearances to his followers after the resurrection, he speaks the words: ‘Peace be with you’, three times. It is interesting to look at the context of each of these sayings.
Read John 20:19–29 in three sections: vv19,20; vv21–23; vv24–29. In each of these sections, tease out the context. What situations does he address? What is happening, with Jesus and with his followers?
BY PETER BEAN
It seems to me that he addresses three different areas: the bodily (v20), the spiritual (v22), and the very common human setting of doubt (vv25,27).
Perhaps peace is actually offered to all, for every situation we can think of. Perhaps it is available in places we don’t think of.
Where do you believe peace is available? Where have you experienced God’s peace?
Certainly, it is offered in the Bible, and when we hear the forgiveness of sins spoken in worship. But God’s peace is not limited to those events. The Psalms suggest it is when we are in the presence of God.
Read Psalm 73:28; 29:11; 23:2. Where do you experience the presence of God?
Perhaps you experience God’s presence in a piece of music, observing a work of art, in the company of friends, as the blessing is spoken in worship, a walk along a sandy beach, or in the deepest forest. God is present in each of those places.
Wendell Berry in his poem ‘The Peace of Wild Things’ states the following:
‘When despair for the world grows in me …
I come into the peace of wild things … I come into the presence of still water … For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.’
The other night I couldn’t sleep. Sometimes, when that happens and I am restless, I move to one of our lounge chairs and drift off to sleep with the sound of frogs croaking from the dam near our house in the background. The Prince of Peace restores me to rest (and peace) through the grace of the world.
As we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace, be comforted that Jesus comes to us in our unsettled times, in a quiet voice, through the whisper of the Spirit, through the Creator’s gifts. And may you indeed know peace beyond all understanding.
Peter Bean is a retired pastor, with a love of creation, marvelling at God’s wonders constantly.
ngregat
SEE CHRISTMAS THROUGH NEW EYES
BY ANNE HANSEN
Sometimes things seem upside-down and back-to-front!
Like Queensland weather this year. In summer when we are meant to have rain, it has been incredibly hot and dry, while this past winter was wet and cold. This wasn’t what the many visitors who come to the Sunshine State in winter were hoping for!
But something constant is Christmas. It is always on 25 December, and we can always celebrate the coming of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem. It may even seem there is nothing new to hear in the story of Jesus’ birth.
However, this year, you may wish to find a new way to reflect on this coming. The sending of God’s Son to earth to save his children from sin was God’s plan hundreds of years before Jesus’ birth. In Isaiah 43:19, God says he has a plan to bring new life and refresh the souls of all his children.
UNLOCK THE REAL GIFT
This Christmas see Jesus' coming as a gift for you and your salvation, not just a nice story for children. Jesus comes to bring us new life. He is real and the forgiveness and love he gives are real. Share this real gift with family and friends.
Lutheran Tract Mission has many resources for Christmas and Advent. We have produced a new book for young children (aged 0-5) to tell them about Jesus and his love. At $1 it is a beautiful gift, and it matches the characters in the magnetic nativity ($3).
You could also choose some tracts instead of buying Christmas cards – and share the real meaning of Christmas.
Go to the LTM website at www.ltm.org.au and check out the Advent and Christmas categories.
SHARE THE REASON FOR THE SEASON
12 Days of Christmas is a resource you can share with children to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. You will read how Christmas is celebrated in countries where LCA International Mission partners are located, be invited to be involved with a craft/activity/recipe for each of the 12 days and be able to reflect on Jesus’ birth fulfilling God’s promise that he wants to bring us into his loving arms forever.
12 Days of Christmas is available to download from the LCA International Mission website. To order a printed copy, please contact Erin Kerber by email at erin.kerber@lca.org.au or by phone on 08 8267 7317.
Anne Hansen is Lutheran Tract Mission Development Officer.
BY ANGELA MAYER
PLANNING AHEAD FOR SEASONAL WORSHIP
BY BETHANY MARSH
With Christmas just around the corner and the new liturgical year already begun (Year C), we have been busy updating the Worship Planning Page with service resources for your congregation.
As always, you can find services prepared four weeks in advance. That means all Advent and Christmas services should already be available on the website when you read this.
Throughout early December, we will be publishing the Sundays and celebrations from Christmas until Epiphany is celebrated on 6 January 2025. That includes three Christmas Day services, Commemoration of St Stephen, St John the Apostle, Festival of the Innocents, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, the Name of Jesus, and more! Due to the Churchwide Office closure over Christmas and New Year, these services will be available six weeks in advance.
We will return to the regular four-week rotation early next year.
READY TO HELP YOU
LCA Communications is here to support you and your congregational needs. Please reach out to us at cow.commissiononworship@lca.org.au if you have any questions or issues with preparing services, and we will be happy to help.
Are you new to worship planning? You can find out more, including all service orders, readings, sermons, music, and arts and drama resources, by visiting www.lca.org.au/worship/wpp
LECTIONARY READINGS
8–14 DEC Malachi 3:1–4 Luke 1:68–79 Philippians 1:3–11 Luke 3:1–6
15–21 DEC Zephaniah 3:14–20 Isaiah 12:2–6 Philippians 4:4–7 Luke 3:7–18
22–28 DEC Micah 5:2–5a Psalm 80:1–7 Hebrews 10:5–10 Luke 1:39–45 (46–55)
29 DEC–4 JAN 1 Samuel 2:18–20,2 Psalm 148 Colossians 3:12–17 Luke 2:41–52
5–11 JAN Jeremiah 31:7–14 Psalm 147:12–15 (16–18) 19,20 Ephesians 1:3–14 John 1:(1–9) 10–18
12–18 JAN Isaiah 43:1–7 Psalm 29 Acts 8:14–17 Luke 3:15–17,21,22
19–25 JAN Isaiah 62:1–5 Psalm 36:5–10 1 Corinthians 12:1–11 John 2:1–11
26 JAN–1 FEB Nehemiah 8:1–3,5,6, 8–10 Psalm 19 1 Corinthians 12:12–31a Luke 4:14–21
For more prayer and devotional resources, including a listing of daily Bible readings for each day of the church year, go to www.lca.org.au/wpp/prayers-devotions • Lutheran Tract Mission also provides the readings in a booklet, which can be accessed electronically at www.ltm.org.au/tract/view/70593-daily-bible-readings-for-2024 or as a printed booklet through the LTM office (phone 08 8360 7222) for a donation of 20c per copy.
Bethany Marsh is the LCANZ’s Communications and Engagement Officer.
THINKING OF STARTING A NEW MINISTRY?
Among the helpful information on the LCA’s Congregational Life website hub are general resources for mission and ministry, including what to consider if your congregation plans to start a ministry.
Starting a ministry can be exciting and rewarding. It can also be unpredictable and frustrating and takes time and energy. Remember that if God leads you to start something new, he will be with you throughout.
DOES THE MINISTRY MEET A NEED?
Before starting a new ministry, it is important to consider whether it meets a true need in your community. Ask the following:
• Is the need real or imagined? Is there any data that you can gather?
• Is it a general need supported by most of the congregation or simply being championed by a few vocal people?
• Can the ministry offer a meaningful or effective way to meet the need?
• Is the need already being met elsewhere? There may already be another church or local organisation offering something similar. Maybe a partnership is a better idea. Your support could be more effective than creating a competing program.
• Is there something you should stop in order to start this? You don’t want to overstretch your resources.
TIPS FOR STARTING A NEW MINISTRY
Leadership is critical to the success of any ministry. For a new ministry to be successful, leaders must do lots of planning and work. Consider the following:
1. Establish support
Don’t do it by yourself. Build and develop a team which will go on the journey with you. Look for people who will share your passion and vision for the ministry you are proposing. Get to know them and their heart for ministry.
2. Mission and vision
Determine your ministry's mission and vision. Make sure it aligns with the congregation. What is your purpose? What are your goals? What group of people will you target? Incorporate your ministry focus into the ministry name if possible.
3. Develop a ministry plan
A solid ministry plan built on sustained prayer and practical strategies is important. Write down your goals and the strategies to achieve them. Ask what is needed to start the ministry, where you will get the resources, how much it will cost, how you will fundraise and who else you need to involve.
4. Establish a timeline
Set deadlines for building your team, doing the groundwork, raising your budget, launching your ministry, etc. Take time to complete each step before moving to the next. Track your progress and share it with your prayer team and congregation.
5. Communicate
Tell people in your congregation and parish you are starting a ministry. When the time is right, advertise and promote it in as many ways as possible – website, social media, fliers, bulletins and announcements.
6. Review and improve
Once you launch your ministry, the real work begins. Schedule regular reviews. Be proactive about getting people together to celebrate, share what you’ve learnt and talk about changes that can help to improve your ministry.
TIME TO PREPARE YOUR ACTION PLAN
Remember all congregations should now be undertaking a self-assessment and preparing their round 2 Child Safety Standards Action Plan. The due date for the action plans to be submitted via the online portal is 31 March 2025. See www.lca.org.au/child-safety-standards/childsafety-standards-action-plan
Child Safety Standards Implementation
Support Officer Nicole Hall and everyone on the Professional Standards team are happy to assist you and your congregation as you do this important work. Email css@lca.org.au or phone 08 8267 7300 or 0491 011 643.
CHILD SAFETY RESOURCE BOOST
BY TIM ROSS
Have you visited the LCA website’s Child Safety Standards resources page recently?
A large range of resources is available to assist congregations in implementing the 10 Child Safety Standards. Go to www.lca.org.au/ css-resources to view and download them. New resources include:
• I’m the Boss of my Body! – A leaflet that empowers young people regarding their body safety
• Your Rights – An LCA-produced poster that empowers young people about their rights (see Child Safety Standards 2.1 –‘We value, respect, and listen to children: We promote the childfriendly version of the LCA Child Safety Standards, as well as the “Your Rights” and “Speak Up” messages, in our spaces and in our communications, such as newsletters and social media posts’)
• The Child Safety Standards Activity Book – This fun book of colouring, drawing and puzzles includes a child-friendly version of the Child Safety Standards.
• Children’s Address – A children’s talk with a script and PowerPoint slides, which may be used as positive messaging about child safety and to encourage child safety discussions at home (see Child Safety Standards 1.4 – ‘Our culture, leadership, and governance are child-safe: Our pastor(s) and other leaders communicate important messages about child safety to our congregation’; 2.1 – see above)
LET CHILDREN KNOW WHO WILL HELP
The Child Safety Standards children’s address is designed to be used with another resource, Who keeps me Safe at Church?, a children’s activity that helps young people identify people they can approach if they feel the need to speak up about their feelings (see Child Safety Standards 2.2 – We value, respect, and listen to children: Our pastor(s), leaders, employees, volunteers, and ministry leaders value the opinions of children by providing children with age-appropriate opportunities to give feedback about their safety, to raise concerns, and to participate in decision-making).
A poster has been developed to encourage parents and serve as a reminder of our shared responsibility to keep children safe (see Child Safety Standards 3.4 – ‘We include families in child safety decision-making: Our leaders ensure parents and carers are aware that they share the responsibility for keeping their children safe during activities’).
IS GOD CALLING YOU TO SERVE AS A PASTOR?
It’s not too late to learn more about and join Australian Lutheran College’s (ALC) exciting new Midlife Masters program.
The program is a one-off accelerated pathway to the ordained ministry that aims to prepare candidates aged 40 to 55 for possible ordination as general ministry pastors in 2027. Starting with an eight-day intensive from 28 January 2025, the program has been developed by ALC with the support of the LCANZ’s College of Bishops.
Midlife Masters involves two years of intensive study and fieldwork scheduled over 48 weeks each year and will be followed by an in-service transition period. The transition may be served through a traditional vicarage placement, an internship, an appointment to a ministry team, or another directly supervised position. The program’s structure means participants may complete a three-year Master of Divinity or Bachelor of Theology in two years. For those who have previously completed relevant studies, the course will be customised.
DO I NEED TO LIVE IN ADELAIDE?
No. Fieldwork for Midlife Masters will be completed in the participant’s local congregation, and the congregation will provide mentoring, pastoral and prayer support to the participant. Residential intensives will be included, but most units will be taught via online webinars.
Unit fees apply; however, financial assistance is available in the form of fee scholarships, grants and congregational sponsorship. A small stipend will also be available to those accepted as candidates for ordination.
THANKFUL FOR MINISTRY PROGRAM
LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith said he was thankful to God for Midlife Masters as a means ‘by which the Lord of the church can raise up workers for the harvest’.
‘Throughout the history of the church, people have offered their gifts in service as churchworkers, at all stages along life’s way – some before they even start school, some after retirement, some in mid-life’, he said. ‘I commend to you this Midlife Masters program from ALC. This kind of study program is not easy but utterly worthwhile. I thank God that ALC has provided this program by which the Lord of the church can raise up workers for the harvest.’
WHO IS ALC SEEKING?
Midlife Masters participants will generally be aged 40 to 55 and feel called to ordained ministry. Women are welcome to apply, and all participants will be supportive of the female candidates studying alongside them, even if they hold to the practice of male-only ordination.
An extensive initial application process, which includes, but may not be limited to, evidence of academic capacity, self-reflective writing, references from family, peers and a pastor, and one or more interviews, will result in offers of provisional places in the program. During the first six months of study, the church will work through the remainder of its standard candidate confirmation processes. This includes psychological assessment.
Join us to thank God for our Lutheran Church’s 75 years of ALWS ministry to those the world has forgotten!
From humble beginnings at Bonegilla Migrant Centre near Albury NSW, welcoming and caring for people fleeing Europe after World War II … to serving more than 400,000 people last year in the world’s least-developed countries … God has blessed the compassion of our Lutheran family in Australia and New Zealand, working through ALWS to bring love to life.
All are invited to join ALWS in giving thanks for 75 years of God’s goodness and grace!
ALBURY/BONEGILLA: 22–23 March 2025
• Guided tours of Bonegilla Migrant Centre
• Unveil placards of Lutheran ministry
• Bonegilla Walk My Way
• Thanksgiving service
Lutheran Pastor, Ernie Kiss, was a child at Bonegilla
• Stories, songs and snacks!
• Table of Eight – book launch for memoirs of former ALWS and LWF Director Brian Neldner
ADELAIDE at ALC: Saturday 3 May 2025
• Farewell to North Adelaide site
• Lutheran Ministries Community Hub
• Guided tours of ALC buildings
• Parks & River Walk My Way
• Thanksgiving service
• Food, fun and festivities!
• Table of Eight – book launch for memoirs of Brian Neldner
PLUS Cultural Walk My Way – Tarneit, Melbourne, Friday 28 March
* Riverside Walk My Way – Brisbane, 10 May * walkmyway.org.au
ALWS is grateful for the generous support of Platinum Partner LLL
BY JOANNE CHAMBERLAIN
For eight decades, Lutheran Media has been providing Christian content for broadcast on radio stations in Australia and New Zealand sharing hope in Jesus.
In more recent times, this hope has also been shared across multiple digital platforms.
In 2025, Lutheran Media will be celebrating its 80th anniversary. With more than 7 million listeners and a faithful supporter base, we want to thank God for our people and communities and reminisce about what has been achieved.
Lutheran Media will highlight inspiring stories of hope as we gather for key events to mark this milestone next year. On Saturday 21 June, a VIP ‘thank you’ lunch will be held at Kies Winery in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, while on Sunday 31 August, supporters are invited to join us for high tea at Concordia Lutheran College at Toowoomba in Queensland. The celebrations will round out on Sunday 2 November 2025 with an 80th anniversary celebration service and lunch at St Michael’s Lutheran Church at Hahndorf in SA.
Lutheran Media has been sharing hope through Christian radio broadcasts for 80 years. Across that time, technology has changed dramatically, including from reel-to-reel tape (top left) to digital production. Top centre and top right: Former directors Pastor Richard Mau and Pastor Richard Fox. Left: The Lutheran Media office and staff in 2023, including current manager Dr Tania Nelson, third from left.
Thank you to our supporters who have helped transform the way we share Christ in the world through media.
Through our supporter survey and in conversation with our listeners, we’ve heard multiple stories of transformation and hope – like John who found our booklet on grief a muchneeded help when his mother passed away.
By far, the most watched video is our feature ‘Dementia – this is our story’, with more than 1 million views and 4,000 comments, which have been mostly from people sharing their own heartbreaking stories and giving thanks for a message of hope in difficult times.
THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS WHO HAVE HELPED TRANSFORM THE WAY WE SHARE CHRIST IN THE WORLD THROUGH MEDIA.
Our history booklet 80 years of blessings will be launched in 2025, too. Sharing the story of Lutheran Media across the years, it features messages from past directors and our present manager Dr Tania Nelson. It also includes stories from past and present supporters, staff, presenters, hosts and missional partners.
Over the years, Lutheran Media has expanded its reach across the airwaves and now produces printed and digital media and podcasts, and shares gospel messages on social media.
One supporter said: ‘I am always impressed when someone is in a bad place, and they hear a spot on Lutheran Media that changes their lives. God does great work through Lutheran Media.’
Romans 10:14 resonates with our mission at Lutheran Media. ‘How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?’
Let us continue to celebrate Lutheran Media and the ministry of Messages of hope as we work towards our shared vision of creating a world in which every individual finds hope, comfort and purpose through the power of uplifting and transformative Christian content.
Joanne Chamberlain is Communication Co-ordinator for Lutheran Media.
OUT OF THE MOUTHS of babes ...
BY REID MATTHIAS
It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
You might think I’m talking about Christmas – yes, and no ... In my school, St Andrews at Tallebudgera on Queensland’s Gold Coast, it’s crunch time in the primary school. The Year 4s have the chance during our sessions on ‘What is the Trinity?’ to stump the pastor/teacher/chaplain and leave them drooling at the front door.
I relish this time because kids process information and concepts in such different ways to adults. Even though we used to be them, we’ve forgotten what it’s like to be like them.
And so, these 10-year-old children have sharpened their pencils and wits, and done their very best to come up with both the vocabulary and questions to get me to say, ‘Frankly, children, I don’t know’. Thankfully, I’m quite comfortable living in the Lutheran land of ‘That’s an interesting question. We might have to live in the tension of not knowing!’
Here’s a selection of those questions (written as closely to the original spelling and look as possible):
‘If the god and the hole spirit are the spirit same then isn’t god a spiret?’
(Accompanying this one was a picture of a happy little ghost floating underneath)
‘do you have to be baptids to have the holy Spirit & spek lots of lagWigis?’
‘Why does the dove sibol peace?’
Would any of you like to have a go at answering these questions in front of 85 Year 4s? You should try it! It’s fun!
THERE IS SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY ABOUT WORKING WITH KIDS AND LIVING IN THEIR PERPETUAL WONDERMENT REGARDING THE WORLD AROUND THEM.
Truly, I believe this is the reason that Jesus said, ‘Let the little ones come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly, I tell you, anyone who will not receive [and ask questions about]* the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it’ (Mark 10:14b,15, *=my addition).
There is something extraordinary about working with kids and living in their perpetual wonderment regarding the world around them.
The way they process and activate their ‘questioniary’ glands is astounding and full of joy.
This Christmas, when kids ask questions like …
‘You know the star that followed Jesus? Where is it now?’
‘Did the baby Jesus wake up and wonder, “Where in the world am I?”’
‘Is it really true that Jesus didn’t cry when he was a baby?’
‘What happened to Joseph?’
… perhaps you can revel in the tension, and, like me, instead of trying to answer, first see how they got to the question. What do you think?
I can’t wait to hear their responses to you. Send them in to The Lutheran (lisa.mcintosh@lca.org.au or PO Box 731, North Adelaide SA 5006). Let’s get a few published for the things that kids say!
Reid Matthias is the school pastor at St Andrews Lutheran College in Tallebudgera, Queensland.
NEWS FROM AROUND OUR CHURCH ...
Mission-focused pastor takes on churchwide role
Pastor Mark Schultz has accepted a call from the LCANZ to serve as the church’s Assistant to the Bishop – International Mission from next year.
Despite serving for 18 years at Sydney’s LifeWay Lutheran Church, Pastor Mark wasn’t looking for a change. He often told people ‘God would need a sledgehammer’ to move him from his role as lead pastor at the multi-ethnic, multi-site church, which includes Chinese and online worshippers and worshipping communities at Newcastle, Illawarra, Western Sydney and Cambodia.
It turns out that the churchwide international mission role was the ‘sledgehammer’ God used to disrupt and eventually dislodge Pastor Mark from his ministry at LifeWay.
Pastor Mark said he didn’t give the LCA International Mission role any real thought when expressions of interest (EOI) were called for in August this year. ‘There was more than enough change and work to do at LifeWay, and I was happy to grow here for the rest of my ministry’, Pastor Mark said. ‘It wasn’t something I was looking for. I’ve always believed that the grass is greenest where you water it, and it is really lush here!’
However, Pastor Mark said God wouldn’t let him ‘find peace or let it go’. ‘I was restless, and everyone around me, to a person, expressed that they believed God had a bigger part for me to play in the church and that I should submit an EOI’, he said.
‘During this time, I had also personalised the vision prayer that we pray as a community, “Lord, prepare my heart for what you have for me next and give me a heart of faith to go where you call me to go” and added, “and use me where you can use me best for your kingdom purposes. Amen”. The peace returned the moment I pressed send on the email with the EOI attached!’
Pastor Mark will succeed Pastor Matt Anker, who served in the role from early 2019 until July this year. LCA International Mission Program Officer Erin Kerber has been Interim Assistant to the Bishop and will continue in that role until Pastor Mark starts early next year.
Pastor Mark was ordained in 1995 and first served in Auckland, New Zealand, in a community with more than 28 different languages. He then served at St Peter’s, Loxton, in South Australia’s Riverland, and moved to St Mark’s Epping, in suburban Sydney, in November 2006. In 2014, the congregation changed its name to LifeWay and embarked on a multi-site ministry.
During his time at LifeWay, Pastor Mark has led nine mission teams to Thailand and Cambodia and has been involved in running intensives on leadership, worship and law and gospel.
These ministry experiences, along with his service on the LCANZ Council for Local
Mission and as a current member of the Australian Lutheran World Service Board, have all been training grounds for this new role. ‘Looking back, it’s hard not to see how God has been shaping me for this new adventure’, Pastor Mark said.
He said he is excited about ‘reimagining what collaborative and interdependent partnerships can look like in this new era of mission and ministry’.
‘We are entering an interesting time in international mission, as Christian mission is no longer seen as emanating from the West’, he said. ‘As the LCANZ, we can gain as much from our partners as our partners can from us, and these insights will be critical on the local mission front as Australia's cultural diversity continues to increase. That is an exciting prospect.’
Pastor Mark will be installed in the role on 23 February 2025 at his home congregation in Mount Barker, South Australia, but will remain based in Sydney.
Above: Pastor Mark Schultz has led nine mission teams to Thailand and Cambodia during his service with LifeWay Lutheran Church. Pastor Mark (second from right) is pictured in Cambodia with LifeWay church planter Pastor Khit Vibol (right), Pastor Naro Tay (third from left), his wife Sovannara (second from left) and Hiy Yeang (far left), one of Tay's church members. Pastor Mark baptises Vun Phan, who LifeWay is sponsoring with an education scholarship, during a 2023 mission trip to Cambodia.
180th anniversary of mission school marked
Members of Victor Harbor Lutheran Church and representatives of nearby Encounter Lutheran College, the Miwi Inyeri Pel-epi Ambi Aboriginal Corporation and the local Ramindjeri Ngarrindjeri community gathered recently for a church service to mark a special anniversary for Encounter Bay on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula.
The day marked 180 years since, on 27 October 1844, Pastor Henry August Eduard Meyer opened the first mission school in the area. Pastor Meyer documented the Ngarrindjeri language – the language of the Indigenous people of the Southern Fleurieu – and taught the children in the language. Pastor Meyer’s approach would later become critical to the protection and celebration of the region’s language for teaching and cultural heritage.
Victor Harbor Lutheran Church’s Pastor Nigel Rosenzweig expressed gratitude for Pastor Meyer’s work and legacy and stressed the importance of being able to hear ‘the good news, the gospel truth’ in one’s own language.
‘We give thanks for the legacy of Pastor Meyer, his wife Friederike and people like them today whose focus is on building relationships and passing on the good news of the gospel in local language’, Pastor Nigel said. ‘Through their work, we come to know the truth that Jesus sets us free indeed. This freedom leads us to be reconciled to
Victor Harbor Lutheran Church's Pastor Nigel Rosenzweig spoke about the importance of being able to hear the gospel in your own language, during anniversary commemorations of the opening of a mission school by Pastor Henry August Eduard Meyer in the area in October 1844. Pastor Meyer documented the Ngarrindjeri language and taught the school’s children in the language.
Members of Victor Harbor Lutheran Church, South Australia, were joined by representatives of Encounter Lutheran College, the Miwi Inyeri Pel-epi Ambi Aboriginal Corporation and the local Ramindjeri Ngarrindjeri community to mark the 180th anniversary of the opening of a mission school in nearby Encounter Bay.
one another and to work together as one community.’
As part of the service, Ngarrindjeri elder Aunty Leonie McCallum sang ‘Amazing Grace’ in Ngarrindjeri, while The Lord’s Prayer, originally translated by Rev G W Taplin, was also spoken in the local First Nations language.
‘It’s very important to keep the language alive for the next generations’, Aunty Leonie said. ‘We weren’t allowed to speak our language growing up and now we are trying to revive it and bring it back.’
This heritage of language dating back to Pastor Meyer is one that Encounter Principal Kelvin Grivell is proud to carry on. ‘The Lutheran Church believes firmly in the power of language to spread the gospel’, Kelvin said. ‘The early missionaries of the Dresden Society, a Lutheran mission movement out
of Germany in the early-mid 1800s, believed that sharing the gospel in the local language was key.’
Teacher Nyree Davis said teaching the Ngarrindjeri language forms an important part of Encounter Lutheran College’s Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). ‘We aim to incorporate and normalise the use of language as much as we can’, she said. ‘Through our curriculum, our school signage and daily school life.’
The anniversary event also included an Acknowledgement of Country, led by Encounter Lutheran College student leaders Valentina Plisko, Tyler McCreanor and Jessica Jones.
Following the service, attendees travelled to the site of a monument marking the approximate location of Pastor Meyer’s school building.
Ecumenical dialogues mark milestones
The Australian Lutheran – Roman Catholic Dialogue reached a major milestone on 25 October, its 200th meeting, with a dinner to mark the occasion in Adelaide.
Much has been achieved by the dialogue since its inception in 1975, according to Merv Wagner, a founding Lutheran member, with documents of agreement on many pastoral and theological issues having been produced. ‘The more significant documents are probably the first one on baptism, in which each church recognised baptisms conducted by the other, and the 1998 statement on justification (the sticking point at the time of Reformation)’, he said.
‘Full communion between our churches … remains a hope’, said Rev Dr Stephen Hultgren, who has served as the dialogue’s Lutheran co-chair since 2017.
In the meantime, we’re ‘digging channels in the desert’, he said, paraphrasing Rev Prof Michael Root of the American Lutheran –Roman Catholic dialogue. ‘We cannot force the Holy Spirit to bring about unity. But we can help make our churches ready for it so that when God sends forth the Holy Spirit like water in the desert, the water will flow through all the right channels to reach its goal and to renew our life together in Christ.’
Roman Catholic co-chair Prof Gerard Kelly added, 'I hope the dialogue continues to spark the imagination of people in our churches so that hearing the word of God we may live as one body, one Spirit in Christ.’
The dialogue is working towards the 500th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession in 2030, with the hope the Roman Catholic Church will recognise the confession as a legitimate confession of faith for Christians in communion with Rome.
Similar dialogues exist between the Lutheran Church and the Uniting Church and with the Anglican Church.
The Lutheran – Uniting Dialogue, which met in November in Melbourne, will soon release a study version of the churches’ agreed statement on holy communion, called At the Table. Much has been learned and done throughout the 40-year journey of the dialogue, said Lutheran co-chair Rev Greg Pietsch. In particular, he noted the Declaration of Mutual Recognition, with its commitment to work toward formal altar and pulpit fellowship, and preparing resources for local cooperating congregations.
For more information, visit www.lca.org.au/ dialogues/catholic-lutheran and www.lca.org.au/dialogues/lutheran-uniting
Grants to restore old church buildings now available
Grants of up to $100,000 will be made available in 2025 to go towards the maintenance and restoration of old Lutheran churches and buildings of historical and practical significance to the LCA.
The grants are available thanks to a $1,000,000 bequest from the late LCA members Alf and Charlotte Stiller of Queensland, and applications close on 31 January 2025.
The Alf and Charlotte Stiller Fund, which will be managed by the LCA, is to be used to contribute towards financing upgrades to church buildings built more than 50 years ago. To be eligible, the buildings must be currently used either for worship
or other work or service provision by the Lutheran Church.
The grants will be conditional on a cocontribution of $1 for every $2 of grant funding and may range from a minimum amount of $10,000 up to $100,000.
The aim is to distribute all the funds during 2025. Applications should be marked ‘Alf and Charlotte Stiller Fund’ and submitted to the Secretary of the Church, either via post to PO Box 731, North Adelaide SA 5006, or via email to soc@lca.org.au
Applicants are to provide one valid quotation with detailed proposals that outline the objectives, expected outcomes, and budget requirements of their projects.
Henry Proeve had a long life of dedicated service to the Church – as parish pastor, Church Secretary and historian. His contribution to the church was immense. He was involved in many committees, including intersynodical, constitutions, CTICR, archives, liturgy and hymnbook committees. His memoirs have just been published. The Way I Remember … tells his story from his childhood and concludes with his life and work in his retirement.
ORDER YOUR COPY by contacting the publisher at www.immortalise.com.au or email info@immortalise.com.au or phone 0410 240 513
Continuing the practice of Kay Hoffmann
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Call for churches to join refugee support initiative
Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS) is calling on Lutheran congregations across Australia to form community supporter groups that will help some of the world’s most vulnerable refugees to resettle in Australia.
This community-based model hands the responsibility for refugee integration to local groups, fostering personal connections and meaningful support.
ALWS Executive Director Michael Stolz said the ministry aligns ‘perfectly with our faith’s call to welcome and care for the stranger’, as explained in Matthew 25:35–40. ‘It gives us an opportunity to inject the power of Christ's love and community into our immigration system, while also deepening the diversity and missional heart of our local churches’, he said.
ALWS has already begun partnering with LCA churches through the governmentbacked Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot (CRISP). A member organisation of Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia, ALWS has become actively involved in coordinating CRISP inspired by groups such as the one from Rockingham Mandurah Lutheran Church (RMLC) in suburban Perth.
Retired pastor and Western Australia District Bishop Emeritus Mike Fulwood is part of the community support group from RMLC that is currently assisting a Syrian family of seven who arrived in Australia after fleeing violence and hardship in Lebanon.
‘I have read about the staggering number of people displaced in our world – 90 million globally’, Pastor Mike said.
‘It’s easy to feel helpless in the face of such overwhelming numbers. But CRISP shows that while we may not solve the macro
by Emma Hansen
issue, we can make a significant difference on a micro level. We’ve helped our Syrian family with everything from schooling and healthcare to learning English. It’s busy but deeply rewarding.’
An innovative program, CRISP places community members at the heart of refugee support and offers a new approach to refugee integration, empowering everyday Australians to play an active role in the resettlement of individuals and families seeking refuge.
Through volunteers, this program provides refugees with hands-on support in navigating the challenges of settling into a new country –everything from accessing healthcare and education to learning English and finding employment. It allows local Australian congregations to take direct action, making a significant difference in the lives of those who have been displaced by war, famine or persecution.
Pastor Mike said for his group, the CRISP program is a mutually rewarding expression of love and a display of Christian faith in local communities. ‘Welcoming the stranger is not just a one-way street’, he said. ‘Our newcomers bring so much with them. We’ve been richly blessed by our involvement –perhaps, as Hebrews 13:2 says, we have “welcomed angels”.’
He also highlighted the joy his group felt when they were invited to a Syrian feast, at which the family expressed their gratitude for the support they had received. ‘The dad used a translation app to tell us, “You are our new family”’, Pastor Mike said.
ALWS can assist congregations to develop a settlement plan and fundraising strategy, answer all questions in the context of local communities, run practical training and provide support through all the dynamics and phases of the program.
Emma Hansen is ALWS Refugee Settlement Officer.
To find out more about the program and forming a community support group in your congregation or local area, contact ALWS Refugee Settlement Officer Emma Hansen via email at emmah@alws.org.au or phone ALWS on 1300 763 407.
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WA District Bishop Emeritus Mike Fulwood, Anny Sefton, Desma Kuchel, Frank Wittwer, Wendy Wittwer and Monika Tropiano are members of Rockingham Mandurah Lutheran Church’s community support group assisting a Syrian family through the Community Refugee Integration and Settlement Pilot.
Partnership solves puzzle of file storage
Reducing the amount of paper files at the LCANZ Churchwide Office has been a goal for some time, but with preparations underway for the move from North Adelaide to the new Church House in Frome Street, Adelaide, next year, that task has become more urgent for staff.
Human Resource Manager Michael Bowden’s search for a solution to the puzzle of cutting space taken up by physical files in the office led him to connect with an organisation appropriately named Jigsaw. Jigsaw Australia is a social enterprise with a simple vision: a future in which people living with disability are fully included in the workforce.
It was with this vision in mind that the Churchwide Office chose Jigsaw to assist with digitising boxes of documents for the LCANZ.
Operating in the Adelaide CBD, Jigsaw assists people living with disability to learn and practise work skills in a real workplace. Academy trainees, who may receive government funding support, and paid trainees, who earn an award wage, work together on delivering contracts for their business clients, such as the LCANZ. Sarah, a paid trainee, is one of the team who has worked on digitising LCANZ documents.
‘Every contract is different, and we try to match what every client wants and needs’, said Sarah, whose day’s work may include checking inventory, copying file names to a spreadsheet, setting the scanner to clientspecific settings, removing staples, fixing creases, scanning and, finally, double- and triple-checking for quality control.
Once part of Jigsaw’s academy program, trainees work to develop 20 capabilities, including reliability, prioritisation, focus, organisation, professional presentation, professional communication, following procedures and policies, problem-solving, teamwork, accuracy and accountability.
After this stage they may graduate to a role as a paid trainee, with the later possibility of going on to open employment.
Sarah, Stef, Joseph, Jason, Caelan, Helena and Josh – a mix of academy trainees and paid trainees – all have worked collaboratively to digitise 28 boxes of documents for the LCANZ.
Stef, who has been with Jigsaw for more than a year, enjoys ‘being challenged and extended’ by her work, while Helena loves the supportive atmosphere within the organisation, and Josh is hoping to have an opportunity for open employment down the track.
Wantok Place is on the move
Wantok Place, the LCANZ’s museum of Papua New Guinea (PNG) artefacts in North Adelaide, will be moving to the new Church House building at 139 Frome Street, Adelaide.
Sometime in 2025, the museum will change location and be incorporated into a wider museum and cultural centre in Church House.
‘Consequently, Wantok Place will be out of action for a while’, explained manager of the museum Timothy Pietsch. ‘So, come and see us before we pack up the collection.’
Featuring items acquired by Australian Lutheran mission staff and visitors to PNG, Wantok Place also tells the story of Lutheran mission work in the Pacific island country.
Wantok Place has about 1,000 artefacts on display, representing the culture and customs of the people of PNG.
These include shields, bows, arrows, spears, sorcery and magic bundles, bullroarers, flutes, tools, clothing and jewellery, pots, drums, conch shells, bilums and storyboards. Some items in the collection also have a significant cultural value.
Wantok Place is open at 175A Archer Street, North Adelaide, on Wednesdays from 10am to 4pm, and private viewings can also be arranged with Timothy by emailing wantok-place@lca.org.au or phoning 0419 606 707.
For more information about Wantok Place, go to the LCA website at www.lca.org.au/wantok-place
Museum manager Timothy Pietsch, right, with Bishop Jack Urame from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea PNG at Wantok Place.
Above: Jigsaw trainees Jason, Sarah, Josh, Stef, Caelan, Helena and Greg have been working on the digitisation of files from the LCANZ’s Churchwide Office. Above right: Among many other tasks, trainee Sarah has worked on checking the inventory for the LCANZ job, while Greg, Josh and Jason have also prepared files to be scanned.
CALLS
Extended
• Rev Greg J Bensted
St Peters Elizabeth SA to Bundaberg Qld
• Rev Brett A Kennett
Vic-Tas District to St Pauls Sydney NSW
• Rev Nigel J Rosenzweig
Victor Harbor SA to Manawatu NZ
• Rev Mark R Schultz
LifeWay Lutheran Church NSW to LCA
International Mission
Accepted
• Rev Greg J Bensted
St Peters Elizabeth SA to Bundaberg Qld
• Rev Matthew P Bishop
St Paul Blair Athol SA to Lecturer at Australian Lutheran Church SA (0.5 FTE)
• Rev Mark R Schultz
LifeWay Lutheran Church NSW to LCA International Mission
Declined
• Rev Levi D Graham
Dimboola-Natimuk Vic to South-West Queensland (Chinchilla Ministry Area) Qld
• Rev Nigel J Rosenzweig Victor Harbor SA to Manawatu NZ
INSTALLATIONS
• Rev Stuart P Kleinig – Installed as Interim Ministry Pastor at South Burnett Qld on 27 October 2024 by Qld District Bishop Mark Vainikka
• Rev Carl P Richter – Installed to Cummins Parish SA on 10 November 2024 by SA-NT District Bishop Andrew Brook
• Rev Geoffrey P Schefe – Installed to St Martin’s Gladstone and Lutheran Services – Wahroonga Aged Care Qld on 22 September by Qld District Bishop Mark Vainikka
CORRECTION
• Rev Mark A Hampel – Installed to Charleville Qld on 10 December 2023 by Qld District Second Assistant Bishop Rev Luke Spilsbury (incorrectly noted in August-September 2024 edition as installed to Chinchilla Qld)
ROLL OF PASTORS
• Rev Roger N Atze – Resigned from the LCANZ Roll of Pastors, effective 28 October 2024
• Rev Noel J Burton – Change of call eligibility status from General Ministry Pastor to Pastor Emeritus from 4 December 2024
• Rev Neville W Doecke – Change of call eligibility status from Specific Ministry Pastor to SMP Emeritus from 27 October 2024
• Rev Andrew Everson – Admitted to the LCANZ Roll of Pastors on 17 October 2024, and assigned to the SA-NT District
• Rev Greg R Graham – Change of call eligibility status from General Ministry Pastor to Pastor Emeritus from 8 October 2024
• Rev Neil M Guthrig – Resigned from the LCANZ Roll of Pastors, effective 5 October 2024
• Rev Richard J Haar – Change of call eligibility status from General Ministry Pastor to Pastor Emeritus from 22 October 2024
• Rev George Krzoska – Readmitted to the LCANZ Roll of Pastor as Pastor Emeritus on 17 October 2024
IN MEMORIAM
• Mrs Bronwyn Helen Strelan nee Burgess, widow of Pastor John ‘Joe’ Strelan, died on 21 October 2024. Her funeral was held on 26 October 2024 at St Andrew’s Lutheran Church, Tallebudgera Valley Qld.
• Mrs Helen Barbara Albrecht nee Kuchel, wife of Pastor Emeritus Paul Albrecht, died on 19 October 2024. Her funeral was held on 25 October 2024 at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, Magill SA.
• Mrs Heather Meta Koch nee Heidrich, widow of Pastor Clemens Koch, died on 8 October 2024. Her funeral was held on 23 October 2024 at Trinity Lutheran Church, Pasadena SA, followed by committal at Enfield Cemetery, Clearview SA.
ORDINATION ANNIVERSARIES FOR 2025
70
YEARS
Oscar Fuhlbohm (17 April 1955)
Norman Habel (10 November 1955)
Reinhard Mayer (16 January 1955)
David Paech (16 January 1955)
60
YEARS
Norman Bergen (21 February 1965)
Mervyn Heuschele (24 January 1965)
James Prenzler (17 January 1965)
Glen Schultz (26 January 1965)
50 YEARS
Ross Janetzki (12 January 1975)
Rex Mickan (12 January 1975)
Kenneth Pfitzner (5 January 1975)
Robert Sellars (5 January 1975)
Keith Stiller (28 December 1975)
Jim Strelan (5 January 1975)
Ivan Wooller (14 December 1975)
40
YEARS
Andrew Bettison (22 December 1985)
Wayne Boehm (15 December 1985)
Noel Due (20 September 1985)
Treva Gerschwitz (29 December 1985)
David Gogoll (6 December 1985)
Michael Jarick (15 December 1985)
Gary Kenney (8 December 1985)
Michael Mayer (22 December 1985)
Peter Miller (6 January 1985)
Gregory Schiller (8 December 1985)
Gregory Vangsness (15 December 1985)
Mark Winter (15 December 1985)
25 YEARS
Howard Beard (10 December 2000)
Ronald Buchold (10 December 2000)
Robert D’Antoni (10 December 2000)
80 TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
21 June 2025 – Thank You Lunch
Kies Family Wines, Lyndoch, SA
31 August 2025 – High Tea
Concordia College, Toowoomba, Qld
2 November 2025 – Worship Service and Lunch
St Michael’s Hahndorf, SA
All welcome!
LCANZ COMPLAINTS
Many complaints can be resolved before lasting hurt is caused, by addressing them quickly in a non-threatening manner and by raising the issue directly with the relevant person or organisation in a thoughtful and courteous manner. If this is not applicable or possible in your situation, you may lodge a complaint with the Professional Standards Department in any of the following ways: Phone the free-call number (Aust 1800 644 628 NZ 0800 356 887), email complaints@lca.org.au or write to Confidential, PO Box 519, Marden SA 5070.
Dieter Dell-Antonio (10 December 2000)
Mark Hansen (10 December 2000)
Stuart Kleinig (10 December 2000)
Matthew Schultz (10 December 2000)
Matthew Thomas (10 December 2000)
Christopher Tjanima (1 October 2000)
Michael Tjapiard (1 October 2000)
Frank Turner (30 September 2000)
Andrew Vanderwal (10 December 2000)
Mark Welke (10 December 2000)
Your Voice
Synod vote of thanks
Opinions expressed in letters are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand. Shorter letters will be given preference over longer letters. Subscribers’ letters will be given preference over those from non-subscribers. Letters longer than 300 words and those containing personal attack will not be published. No more than two letters from the same author will be published in a calendar year. Some letters may be edited for clarity.
We wish to express our thanks and appreciation to LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith for his chairing of the recent Convention of General Synod. Bishop Paul showed grace and skill in his management of challenging synod business. He exemplified in his chairing the motto of the host school Concordia College, ‘Fortiter in re, Suaviter in modo’ – which essentially means showing firmness in principle with gentleness in manner.
Bishop Paul was ably supported by then Assistant Bishop Neville Otto, Secretary of the Church Nigel Long and Parliamentarian Faye Schmidt. Thank you to you all!
Timothy and Ann Pietsch – Norwood, SA
3 WAYS TO ENJOY IN 2025
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9 February 2025
Laying of the church foundation stone 10am service with guest preacher followed by pooled lunch
9 November 2025
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Dedication of the church building 10am service followed by pooled lunch ZION MONARTO SA
Anniversary celebrations
21 September 2025
Dedication of the church building 10am service
Please visit https://mvlc.org.au for more information and updates. Or contact e: holycross.murraybridge.sa@lca.org.au or ph: 08 8532 4577
LET’S GET QUIZZICAL
You’ll find most – if not all – of the answers to these questions in the pages of
1. Two LCANZ agencies are celebrating major anniversaries in 2025. Who are they and what are the milestones they will mark?
2. What are their respective roles on behalf of our Lutheran Church?
3. Name three LCANZ entities that are moving to the new Church House sometime in 2025.
4. Where will Church House be located?
5. Name three of the Christian denominations with which the LCANZ has ecumenical dialogues.
6. One of those dialogues reached a significant milestone recently. Which dialogue and what was the milestone?
7. Which anniversary of the opening of a mission school was recently marked on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula?
8. Name the pastor who opened that school.
9. Who will be the new Assistant to the Bishop – International Mission for the LCANZ?
10. Which fund is providing grants for the restoration and maintenance of old Lutheran churches?
11. When will ALC’s Midlife Masters program begin?
12. What is the due date for congregations to submit their round 2 Child Safety Standards Action Plans?
IN A FEW WORDS
…
‘If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.’
MOTHER TERESA
‘Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.’
– ALBERT EINSTEIN
SUDOKU
Every number from one to nine must appear in each of the nine vertical columns, each of the nine horizontal columns and each of the nine 3 x 3 boxes. No number can occur more than once in any row, column or box. The solution will be printed in the next edition.
QUIZ ANSWERS
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Nilam Tharu, Nepal
You can bless others like Nilam by dedicating a gift in your Will to keep on helping people through ALWS. As you do, those you love will see the values precious to you live on. alws.org.au * 1300 763 407
Thank you!
During September, continuous rainfall caused devastating floods and landslides. 239 people were killed, 902 families displaced and 6,000 homes damaged or destroyed.
Through ALWS, our Lutheran Church is providing practical aid including temporary shelters, clean water, sanitation, clothing, dignity kits and extra support for people with disabilities.
At the same time, ALWS is supporting families as they battle the everyday challenges of farming. Pests. Fertiliser costs that keep going up. Market prices that often go down.
to groups of women farmers who previously had to queue to rent them (expensively) from a local landlord.
Local leader, Ms Sahansha Khan (on right in photo) says: ‘Before, it was very difficult to hire this spray tank in time to control the disease as many farmers have to wait in queue. Now, I have been able to plant potatoes, where I will use this sprayer to spray and control the disease.’
‘ … it was quite heavy for women to carry on their back. We used to have bodily pain if we use [it the] whole day.’
Simple examples of our practical Lutheran aid, delivered by ALWS partner LWF Nepal, are the spray tanks you see in the photo. These are provided
Another farm leader, Ms Sita Shah, explained: ‘The old spray tank required manual pumping before using it at the farm, and it was quite heavy for women to carry on their back. We used to have bodily pain if we use [it the] whole day. This new one has a rechargeable battery for pumping, which means we can pump easily while spraying by hand, as this is very light to carry.’
