The Lutheran December 2020 digital edition by Lutheran Church of Australia

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

DECEMBER 2020

‘One thing is needful’

Christmas

VOL 54 NO11

Print Post Approved PP100003514

LU KE 10 :4 2

without the trimmings

LUTHERAN

CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

EDITORIAL

Reconciliation – front and centre

Editor Lisa McIntosh p 08 8267 7300 m 0409 281 703 e lisa.mcintosh@lca.org.au Executive Editor Linda Macqueen p 08 8267 7300 e linda.macqueen@lca.org.au

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In the lead-up to Australia’s 2020 NAIDOC week (which celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ gifts, achievements, contributions, histories and stories), Pastor Marcus Wheeler and his wife Betty took time to reflect on The Lutheran’s Lutheran ’s coverage of the LCA’s Reconciliation Action Plan. Along with Betty, Western Arrarnta Pastor Marcus serves the people of Bethlehem congregation Hermannsburg (Ntaria) and the surrounding communities of the Finke River Mission in Central Australia, in a team with Pastor Rodney Malbunka and Pastor Neville Doecke.

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People like YOU bring love to life Amelia Adams St Luke’s Lutheran Church Parkwood, WA Year 5 student

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Most treasured Bible text: Matthew 20:1–16 The workers in the vineyard

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LUTHERAN

CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA The Lutheran informs the members of the LCA about the church’s teaching, life, mission and people, helping them to grow in faith and commitment to Jesus Christ. The Lutheran also provides a forum for a range of opinions, which do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or the policies of the Lutheran Church of Australia.

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Karolina: Mum and student; Przemek: architect ‘The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.’

Pearl Deemal St John’s Lutheran Church Hope Vale, Qld Retired Most treasured Bible text: John 3:16 ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ Let the light of someone you know shine through their photo being featured in The Lutheran and LCA Facebook. With their permission, send us a good quality photo, their name and details (congregation, occupation, what they enjoy doing, most treasured text in these difficult times) and your contact details.

December Special features EDITOR'S

let ter

Usually at this time of year, I would be busy helping members of my church family get ready to host an annual Advent community event for 120-plus people. Along with an invitation to worship with us at Christmas, these have often been advertised as fellowship, entertainment and a multi-course meal ‘with all the trimmings’. December calendars for many are full of social, work, school, sporting, family and church commitments. Pastors, lay workers and worship teams around our LCA/NZ would usually be looking forward to seeing their church buildings full to overflowing for Christmas services. Worship enhanced with beautiful Christmas trees, stars and decorations, carols, dramas or live nativities, big bands or specially convened choirs; home-baked goodies to give out; community events; donations of hampers and gifts for those in need, it’s all on the list for many congregations – in other years. And there’s nothing wrong with that but, of course, this Christmas will be different for many. Some of our treasured traditions will not be possible. And just as long-suffering Victorians are daring to dream of a more ‘normal’ Christmas than they expected even a month ago, South Australians are getting their heads around a raft of returning restrictions designed to outmanoeuvre another COVID-19 outbreak even as I write. The pandemic has left many people grieving, ill, financially ruined, anxious and depressed. But lives pared back by necessity have also forced us to re-order our priorities and to reassess our relationships with God and each other. There’s a saying I like that has seldom been more apt: When life brings you to your knees, you’re in the perfect position to pray. So when all the superficial shininess of Christmas is stripped away, we’re left with the ‘one thing needful’ – the Christ child, God with us, born to save a self-serving world. Rather than taking on all the stresses Martha endures in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus calls us to sit at his feet, like Mary, looking only into his compassionate eyes, hearing only his reassuring words, safe in his love. This edition we look at Christmas without the trimmings – sometimes known as trappings for good reason – and share stories of congregations planning for new ways of worshipping and connecting with their communities. There are ideas and resources to help celebrate the birth of Christ differently, whether at church or home, and we reflect on the blessings of a simpler life at this time of year.

Christmas without all the trimmings

Celebrating Christmas 2020-style

The gifts of a simple life

Regulars Heartland

Dwelling in God’s word

Go and Grow

Church@Home

Reel Life

The inside story

Directory

Sudoku

Your voice

Going GREYT!

Prayer calendar

As this is the last edition for 2020, I would like to thank you, our readers, subscribers, group collectors and other ambassadors, for your loyalty and we look forward to your continued support. Please keep encouraging others to join us – a subscription makes a great Christmas gift! My gratitude also goes to our wonderful team, which brings you The Lutheran. Lutheran. Thank you to Linda Macqueen (executive editor), Elysia McEwen (graphic designer), our regular contributors Helen Beringen, Rebecka Colldunberg and Mark Hadley, proofreaders Lyall Kupke, Kathy Gaff and Pastor David Strelan, and Trevor Bailey and all at Openbook Howden. Have a safe, joyful and blessed Christmas,

Lisa

Our cover: © Amy Dahlenburg www.amydeephotography.com

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

heartland

RE V JOHN HENDERSON

Bishop Lutheran Church of Australia

WHATE VER OUR SIN MAY BE, GOD’S LOVE IS UNCE ASING ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting’ (Psalm 139:23,24 NRSV). ‘Pastor, you’ve only got popcorn sins!’ That’s what a wealthy businessman and church member told me as he spoke of the personal cost of keeping his company afloat. In order to operate he needed to obtain sensitive environmental permits, which had drawn him into immorality and highlevel corruption in the industry sector and the state regulatory authority. The situation and what it was doing to him was causing my friend grief. Before

WE CAN ON LY REPENT AN D TH ROW OU RSELVES O NTO TH E M ERCY OF GOD W H O LOVES US U NCEASI NG LY, W HATEVER OU R SI N MAY BE. 4

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becoming a Christian he had played the game along with the worst of them. Now, as a follower of Jesus, he wanted a different life. He was facing some major choices about that. But how serious does sin have to be to be sin? In our daily rounds of family, work and society, we generally grade wrongdoing from lesser to more serious. That’s where my friend’s comment came from. Deeds that don’t break the law are sort of okay, even if we don’t approve of them. Lust, greed, avarice, slander, sexual immorality – up to the point of illegality our society doesn’t overly regulate such things. Before God, however, we know that’s not enough. Living within the law of the land does not make us righteous before God. Recently, I was walking in the streets around my office. North Adelaide is a leafy and expensive suburb of period mansions and prestige apartments, well beyond the price range of your average pastor. As I passed a For Sale sign, I had the involuntary thought, ‘I will never be able to afford a place like that, no matter how diligently and hard I work’. Was that thought a sin? In the street that day I was surrounded by God’s beauty in creation. Trees were blossoming, birds were singing, the

skies were blue and the grass green, and I felt safe and in good health. Jesus was my Saviour. Why, then, did I lust after something I did not have and did not need? Only because of sin, which always tries to make me dissatisfied with God’s good gifts. It’s insidious, subtle and evasive. Sometimes it’s obvious, but other times it sneaks up as a fleeting but persistent impulse. I may choose not to act on it, but at that moment an invisible barrier is thrown up between me and God. God knows what we are like, on the inside and on the outside. If we’re honest with ourselves, we know it too. God shows us in his word who we truly are. He holds up a mirror to us. And when we finally see the truth of who we are, it cuts through to the heart. We can only repent and throw ourselves onto the mercy of God, who loves us unceasingly, whatever our sin may be. It is now Advent. Once again, we are getting ready for our Saviour. The colour is purple for repentance and the arrival of the Prince of Peace. During Advent our true preparation will not be the decorations and purchasing of gifts, but the cleansing of our hearts through repentance and faith. Popcorn sins or not, we must turn to Jesus, our only hope: born as a baby, one of us, to deal with the insidious problem of sin once and for all.

Unable to gather onsite for Christmas Eve worship, St Michael’s Hahndorf, South Australia, will stream a service including a pre-recorded drama featuring Mikarla and Sam Papini and Oakey the donkey.

For many churches around the LCA/NZ, COVID-19 gathering and health restrictions may mean they are unable to host the large Christmas services they usually do or be involved in big community events such as carols by candlelight. We spoke with some congregational leaders about what they are planning instead to celebrate our Saviour’s birth.

Christmas without ALL THE TRIMMINGS

by L I S A M C I N T O S H Even though public worship returned in many churches in South Australia in July, Pastor Fin Klein has a seemingly strange message for members of St Michael’s Lutheran Church Hahndorf this Christmas Eve: Stay home. Of course, that’s not the end of the story. The idea is that each member family of the Adelaide Hills congregation will invite neighbours, colleagues, friends or extended family to their place to share fellowship, food and to watch 7pm worship via community TV or the internet. The hope is to have 50 to 60 St Michael’s members host as many guests as they are able, taking into account government regulations. In other years, St Michael’s would expect to welcome up to 800 people to its main Christmas Eve service. Those numbers mean the congregation, which has been live-streaming a weekly service for 10 years and partners with Lutheran Media in that space, needs

to take the service outside into its carpark. This year, with physical-distancing regulations still in place and, as of mid-November, increasing in South Australia, even the carpark won’t be big enough – hence the encouragement for congregation members to form a network of house churches. St Michael’s will advertise this different Christmas worship in the community through letterbox drops, banners and social media. And anyone who would like to join in can contact the church and be connected into a group. ‘We asked ourselves, “How do we make the most of the situation we’re in? How do we use this still to give God the glory at Christmas?”’, Pastor Fin says. ‘It’s a big step of faith to go down this path. We know what we’ve lost, but now’s the time to find out what we’ve gained in the process, including those smaller connections which are a gift from God.’ The Lutheran D EC E M B E R 2 0 2 0

‘One of the strengths of this is the relationship stuff’, agrees Music and Worship Coordinator Anna Klatt. ‘The outdoor service was an outreach event, where you can catch up a little bit, but it’s busy, so you can’t make any meaningful connections. But having it in people’s homes is a lot more intentional in terms of making connections. It also fits where we’re going as a congregation in terms of our discipleship culture.’ Christmas Eve hosts will be supported by receiving an intergenerational resource pack likely to include digital carols playlists, ideas around questions to discuss with guests, and activities and games for children. Pastor Fin says leaders can also attend an earlier home gathering to ‘demystify’ the experience of hosting people for Christmas. ‘Hopefully Christmas Eve will be a bit of an icebreaker where people will experience the joy of sharing their faith,’ he says. ‘And hopefully they can gain a little bit of confidence doing it and realise that these people are the ones that God has called us to. And if that’s what God is doing, then he’ll prepare the way. We can catch a bit of excitement, too, around what God is doing in the bigger picture.’

St Michael’s isn’t the only congregation which has needed to think creatively when it comes to Christmas worship or community outreach this year. Further north in the Adelaide Hills, Lobethal Lutheran Church for the past 28 years has presented a ‘living nativity’ to the crowds which gather for the annual Lights of Lobethal Festival. This year, with the festival cancelled, not only has the congregation had to call off the living nativity, but also an ecumenical carol service usually held in its church building as a prelude to the switching on of the lights to begin the festival. Lobethal Pastoral Assistant Janet Le Page says that, with the people of Lobethal still being encouraged to light their houses as usual, the Living Nativity committee has been planning a static display for the church amphitheatre, including a stable and manger with signage explaining that, ‘God-willing we will return next year’ and that ‘Jesus is still the reason for the season’.

‘ IT ’S A B I G STEP O F FAITH . . . W E K N OW W H AT W E’ V E LOST, B UT N OW ’S TH E TI M E TO FI N D O UT W H AT W E’ V E GAI N ED I N TH E PROCES S , I N CLU D I N G TH OS E S M A LLER CO N N ECTI O NS W H I CH A R E A G I F T FRO M GO D.’

‘As someone who has been involved in every living nativity since its inception and who is normally there every night in the cast or crew, this year I will really miss being a part of spreading the true meaning of Christmas to an audience of thousands, some of whom would otherwise not hear the truth’, she says.

For the members of St Paul’s Box Hill, Victoria, who moved church buildings just as the pandemic took hold and were unable to worship faceto-face for around eight months, just the prospect of any face-to-face worship in their new home has them excitedly looking to Christmas. If health regulations allow, they’ll have multiple small Christmas Eve services in the church and may use a combination of live and pre-recorded elements, as well as offering pre-recorded services on YouTube. Organ and Choral Music Coordinator Melissa Doecke also hopes to put together an intergenerational Christmas choir, with performances likely to be pre-recorded individually, then combined and included in worship. Child & Family Ministry coordinator Keren Loffler says St Paul’s will also support more children, youth and families from the congregation this Advent through the takehome ‘Advent in a bag’, which contains Grow Ministries Growing Faith at Home resources and activities. And, in terms of community outreach, they have taken inspiration from Melbourne’s lengthy time in lockdown, by creating a ‘Spoonville’ nativity for Advent. ‘Spoonvilles’ are communities of characters made out of decorated

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Right: The St Paul’s Box Hill congregation has created a ‘Spoonville’ nativity for Advent outside their suburban Melbourne church and are inviting the local community to add characters and make online connections to Christmas content and church service times. Opposite page: Members of St Petri Nuriootpa in South Australia recently filmed an online message for their local Messy Church community. Two of the congregation’s Messy Church team shared a skit about the true meaning of Christmas.

wooden spoons put into the ground in public places by passers-by. They sprang up around the Victorian capital this year, with people contributing during their permitted outdoor exercise time. ‘We’ve created a Spoonville nativity with the basic characters, with the idea being that the community can come and add spoons and we’ll be part of the Christmas story together’, Keren says. ‘And then we’ll have something like a QR code or link to the website on which we can show our Christmas story video or “Away in a Manger” virtual choir, so people can link in and see our service times.’ At St Petri Lutheran Church in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, the congregation usually hosts a gathering called ‘Christmas on the Green’ with nativity and carols in the town of Nuriootpa’s main street, which can’t go ahead. Child, Youth and Family Ministry Director Sharon Green says St Petri has decided to remodel its community outreach into ‘Christmas at the Mall’. There will be a nativity scene set up outside the local shopping mall before Christmas, while musicians and singers will share carols, members will hand out 200

Management Team or Manager for Tandara Camp Tandara Lutheran Camp is located at Halls Gap in the beautiful Grampians National Park, three hours west of Melbourne CBD. Halls Gap is a thriving tourist hub, with a range of restaurants, facilities and access to schools. If you have a heart for service, customer service experience and are practical and good natured, this could be an unusual and most rewarding opportunity. We also run an Intern program. The manager role is a Lay Worker Level 3.2 and a fully maintained house is provided. The role may suit a Lutheran couple or individual, either with or without children at home. Please contact District Administrator Stephen Mildred for a confidential chat on 0411 865 275. Start date late 2021.

Applications close 7 February 2021

Christmas bags for children and families, and a group from the church will be dressed as nativity characters. ‘After such a tough year for everyone, we are feeling privileged to share some Christmas joy with our township’, Sharon says. ‘We are excited about the aspect of going to the people in our community to “share the love and hope of Jesus with everyone” – that’s our mission statement at St Petri.’ St Petri has also filmed its fifth online message this year for its local Messy Church community, with the latest featuring a skit posing the question ‘What is the true meaning of Christmas?’. South of the Barossa Valley at Gawler Lutheran Church Christmas will sound a little different this year. An intergenerational ukulele group will provide a unique musical framework for the congregational Christmas play, “An Aussie Christmas”. The group features 14 regular players, including four children under 10 and four over-60s with the remainder aged between 25 and 40, who all ‘appreciate the chance we have been given to praise God and help others to do so as well’.

20TH REGUL AR CONVENTION OF GENER A L SY NOD GENERAL CONVENTION 2021

28 September – 3 October 2021 Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

1 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf, Melbourne Vic 3006

www.generalsynod.lca.org.au General Pastors Conference 5 – 8 July 2021

Lutheran Women of Australia Convention 23 – 26 September 2021

2–38 Burvilles Road, Armstrong Creek Vic 3217

91 River Road, Horsham Vic 3400

Geelong Lutheran College

Horsham Church of Christ Convention Centre

For all bodies eligible to provide delegates to Convention, remember to elect your delegates and notify the LCA for entry into LAMP2 by 15 March 2021. Nominations for LCA boards, commissions, councils and committees must be received by 15 May 2021 as there is no ability to nominate people from the floor of Convention. All details are correct at the time of publishing. All venue and date information is subject to change due to COVID-19 or other unforeseen events.

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Celebrating Christmas 2020 -ST YLE

BY LIBBY KRAHLING

COVID-19 restrictions, regulations and precautions have meant many changes to our lives – including to the way we have worshipped as faith communities, families and individuals. We hope that whatever your situation, Advent and Christmas are times of great joy and thanksgiving as we again celebrate our unchanging, ever-loving God coming to us in human form. To follow are some ideas to help you and your congregation navigate these special times in 2020.

A DV ENT I D E AS

S PR E A D T H E LOV E!

Lutheran Tract Mission has a new downloadable Advent devotional booklet, as well as many excellent Advent and Christmas tracts and resources for all ages (see (see also page 16). 16). Go to www.ltm.org.au or phone 08 8360 7222.

Sharing the good news of God’s love is always vital. But this year especially sharing joy with people who are lonely or struggling due to isolation or illness is a great way to bless them and to lift your spirits too.

Grow Ministries has a fantastic GIFT (Growing in Faith Together) pack for Advent (www.growministries.org.au). More ideas and resources include: • Advent wreath – light a candle each Sunday of Advent. Instructions for creating the wreath and liturgy to accompany the candle-lighting can be found on the Worship Planning Page (WPP) via www.lca.org.au/wpp/prepare-services, click on the date then the Church@Home tab. • Jesse Tree – an interesting alternative which helps you remember God’s promises and the path leading to the birth of the Messiah. Instructions for creating a Jesse Tree and devotions are on the WPP. • Advent calendars – open a window each day to build excitement. • Advent paper chain – a fun, easy way for people in their homes, aged-care residences or schools to focus on the meaning of Advent and Christmas – while making the place look festive! Instructions are on the WPP or at www.growministries.org.au. • Growing Faith at Home sheets – Grow has made these excellent weekly devotion sheets available for free. They include discussion starters, daily readings, creative responses and ideas for service. Access these on the WPP through Advent and Christmas.

• Put away the computer and write Christmas cards. During a year in which we have been separated more than usual, make someone’s Christmas by sending them words of encouragement in a hand-written card. • Donate food or toys as appropriate to your local community care organisation for those in need this Christmas. Contact your local LCA/NZ District office for suggestions on where to make donations. • Support ALWS Gifts of Grace and bring love to life for people from around the world, through a gift of school supplies, COVID-19 clinics, pigs and more, while blessing your friends and family, too. Go to www.alws.org.au/gifts-of-grace for more information or phone 1300 763 407.

PU B LI C WO RS H I P If your congregation is struggling with limited numbers or social-distancing requirements due to COVID-19 restrictions, consider these options: • Offer a combination of live and online service options. You might record a Christmas service for people who can’t be there in person and have ‘live’ services for those who can attend. • Change service venues. Can you hold Christmas worship services in a park, school or community hall to allow for more people? • Pre-record elements of the service. If you are running multiple services, or want to have a children’s presentation, consider pre-recording parts of the service such as the music or nativity play. That way you can share the joy with multiple services or online without a lot of extra work. Recording in advance also makes Christmas week not so hectic.

Left: For 29 years until this year, members of Lobethal Lutheran Church, in the Adelaide Hills, have staged a living nativity as part of the Lights of Lobethal Festival, which has drawn throngs of visitors and locals to the South Australian town for more than 60 years. The 2020 festival has been cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions. Below: Organised by Melissa Doecke, ‘virtual’ choirs including the one pictured have been part of the worship life of St Paul’s Lutheran Church Box Hill in Victoria in 2020. The congregation in suburban Melbourne is also hoping to have an online Christmas choir this year.

CH R IST M AS PL AYS Christmas plays are a great chance to involve children and others in the service. With restrictions, staging the traditional play might be more difficult. Here are a few ideas to adapt this beautiful tradition: • Pre-record your play and share it during the service. If you are sharing it online, make sure participants and their families know how it will be shared. This might be a good option if you have limited space and need to have several services. • Consider a Christmas play on an internet conferencing system such as Zoom – have families/ households act out different parts of the script. It doesn’t have to be perfect; it just needs to share the great news of Jesus’ birth! Scripts are available from the Christmas@Home section of the WPP. • Ask families to take photos or videos of themselves acting out different parts of the nativity story, and then use these to illustrate carols or readings during the service. • Rather than a play with multiple speaking roles, simplify things by using a narrator and having participants mime, so you don’t have to reuse microphones. Remember that people in the same household don’t have to physically distance, so perhaps have one household come up at a time. • Show a Christmas video – An Unexpected Christmas (https://youtu.be/TM1XusYVqNY) is a cute video from New Zealand and the church which produced it has given permission for public screenings (but not broadcasts). • Set up a nativity display outside and have a small devotional-style service so people can worship together in small groups or households. This could be a static display or incorporate scheduled times for a live nativity.

CH R IST M AS @ H O M E If you are unable to worship publicly this year or are separated from the people you love, you can still make this Christmas special. • Contact your local church and ask what they are doing for Christmas – they may have a way for you to worship with them. • Watch a service online. Congregations which will live-stream or pre-record Christmas services are listed on the WPP. If you live in Adelaide or Melbourne, you may be able to watch Lutheran services on TV. • Use the Church@Home resources for Christmas on the WPP. You will find: » a printable service order with a matching PowerPoint » links to YouTube online music video clips so you can sing along to the carols, hymns and songs for the day » printable Bible readings and prayers » links to a lessons and carols service on YouTube and digital music service Spotify » fun crafts and devotional activities to brighten your day and your home Wherever you are this Christmas, we pray that you are filled with the joy and hope of the Messiah’s birth! Libby Krahling is Administration Coordinator for the LCA’s Commission on Worship. The Lutheran D EC E M B E R 2 0 2 0

The gifts

O F A S I M PLE LI FE B Y C H R I S T I N E M AT T H I A S

AS A LWAYS , W E W I LL EN J OY T H E S I M PLE TH I N GS W E LOV E TO DO TOG ET H ER A N D, M OST I M PO RTA NTLY, CELEB R ATE T H E B I RTH O F O U R SAV I O U R J ESUS .

Lockdown. The word brings to mind images of prison. And that’s what it must have seemed like for some people around Australia, New Zealand and the world. I have felt deeply for those required to stay home, isolated and without friends and family. Here in South Australia, the lockdown wasn’t as severe or lengthy as in many places, but we have still had to adjust to changes in work, home and church life, and things are changing again now. Yet, as we moved to online school and university for our three daughters and restrictions for travel and shopping, we realised as a family that we already live a fairly simple life. All five of us love to cook, so we had more time to be creative in the kitchen. We love playing board games and watching movies. We have a large garden and enjoy spending time in it. We love walking and were grateful our restrictions allowed us to do that. And we spent many nights sitting around our ‘campfire’ sharing stories. On the other hand, our struggles were cancelled flights for visiting or hosting family and friends, both interstate in Australia and the United States. Not knowing when we will be with family again is a cause of grief. We recognise the importance of the touch of loved ones and the true joy of hearing their voices. As Christmas approaches, we enjoy saying we have an ‘occupational hazard’ when people ask what we’ll be doing. For reasons of faith and calling, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are always spent at church. We have to be creative in finding time to spend with each other, to open presents and to visit extended family. But we also have formed simple yet cherished family Christmas traditions. Over the years our girls have re-told the nativity story, acting it out and using stuffed animals, dolls, toys, drawings, stop motion videos, a knitted nativity set and other figurines to relay the message of Jesus’ birth. One Christmas we introduced a treasure hunt. The hunt is now an annual event which can take a whole day. One year, the first clue was a piece of music. So the girls tried playing cello, guitar, flute, violins and piano in an attempt to decipher it. But the notes were actually Morse code! So rather than spending hours shopping, we put hours into planning clues to stump them. The hunt is now the gift. Perhaps this Christmas, we will organise an online treasure hunt including extended family across the ocean and the states. That’s the way of life for us now – it is not the ending, but the journey that matters. It is about spending time together. So, while many things have changed this year, maybe our Christmas won’t be all that different. As always, we will enjoy the simple things we love to do together and, most importantly, celebrate the birth of our Saviour Jesus. Christine Matthias and her family are members at Good Shepherd Para Vista, South Australia.

ING IN L L E DW WORD S ' D GO

W ITHOUT S A M T S I CHR TRIMMINGS E H T L L A So 2020 did not run according to our plan and it looks as though our Christmas celebrations might be different from what we are used to, too. In the past, the weeks leading up to Christmas have generally involved scripting, decorating, prop making and rehearsing in preparation for the biggest church gathering of the year. Every year I have looked forward to seeing children, youth and adults dress up as angels, shepherds and wise men to retell the Christmas narrative around the manger in the lowly stable. Read Luke 2:1–20 and Matthew 1:18-2:12. Share your favourite memories of Christmas Eve presentations over the years. But what will Christmas be like in 2020? For many congregations, Christmas may feel a little different. We will still seek to creatively share the Christmas message but it might seem unfamiliar as we do so in a COVID-safe way. Personally, I will be ‘between parishes’. This will be my first year in 24 years that I have not led a congregation at Christmas time. This gives me a rare opportunity to ‘unplug’ from all of the Christmas trimmings and ask myself, ‘So what does it mean that Jesus was born for me?’ me?’ The Gospels of Mark and John remove the trimmings for us and give us stripped-back presentations of Jesus’ birth. Read Mark 1:1 and John 1:1–5, 9–14. What do you notice in these readings? These Gospel accounts focus us on the one who is at the heart of our Christmas celebrations. When we remove all the trimmings of Christmas, the one who remains is Jesus who has made his dwelling with us. Jesus is God with us. And no social-distancing restrictions or COVID-safe planning can take his presence from us! So why celebrate Christmas even if we do not have all the trimmings?

by Nigel Rosenzweig

Go back and re-read Matthew 1:21. Jesus came into the world to save his people from their sins. He came to redeem us from our sin. Into the mess that we make for ourselves, God sent Jesus. The promise of a Saviour is seen in many Old Testament passages. Read Psalm 130. What is the gift that is ours because of our Lord Jesus, whose birth and presence we celebrate at Christmas? We would like to think that we are able to live the perfect life on our own but we would be fooling ourselves to think so. The scriptures provide us with a mirror to show our need for a Saviour. Read Romans 3:23,24. What do these verses reveal to you? When all of the trimmings of Christmas are removed, we can see more clearly the gift God has for us. Read Romans 5:1–21. What does this chapter teach you about God’s gift to us? P R AY E R Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of your Son Jesus. Help us to let go of the trimmings of Christmas, turn away from our sin and fix our eyes on your son Jesus who came and suffered to save us. Thank you for bringing us peace, forgiveness and eternal life with you through Jesus. Holy Spirit, continue to grow our character in these challenging times that we may live with hope. Amen. Pastor Nigel Rosenzweig is concluding a termed call with both the LCA/NZ’s Grow Ministries Local Mission department and St John’s Lutheran Church Unley in suburban Adelaide. In 2021 he will take on a regular call as pastor at Victor Harbor, South Australia. The Lutheran D EC E M B E R 2 0 2 0

Attention: Farming Families Severe flooding in South Sudan has washed away the crops of farming families our Lutheran family in Australia supports through ALWS.

This destroys people’s food supply for now, along with grain they store to eat during the ‘hungry season’ while they wait for the new crop to grow.

Many farmers have also lost their seed for planting. This threatens to prolong the hunger crisis.

OUR AUSTRALIAN ACTION ALWS is working with our local partner LWF (Lutheran World Federation) to help farmers in South Sudan get back on their feet. Many farmers have already been trained in Farmer Field Schools about simple ways in which they can increase yield, including: • planting in rows

Protect against hunger A vegetable like pumpkin grows quickly. In just six weeks, vitaminrich leaves can be eaten Improve children’s health Vegetables provide extra nutrients for developing children. This can improve performance at school. Increase farmer income Having a wider variety of products to sell increases profit, which can be used to buy household essentials.

‘FARM RECOVERY PACK’ FOR FLOOD VICTIMS Through ALWS you can help flood victims with a Farm Recovery Pack of: • hoe • mattock • 3kg sorghum • 3kg maize • one seed sachet each of:

• composting • mulching • manure fertiliser.

» okra

» cabbages

» onions

» carrots

» pumpkins

» tomatoes

» eggplants

» watermelons

What farmers require now are tools – theirs were lost to the flood – and seeds to plant for next season’s crops – particularly maize and sorghum.

The investment for each Farm Recovery Pack is $97 (tax-deductible).

INTRODUCE VEGETABLES

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Farmers will also be supported to introduce vegetable crops. This has three benefits.

Here in Australia, we understand the challenges farmers face. Drought. Disease. Pests. Prices.

If this season you are blessed to be able to help farmers in South Sudan, you can donate $97 Farm Recovery Packs:

alws.org.au * 1300 763 407 NEW! DONATE GRAIN - AT SILO OR ONLINE Australian farming families can also donate grain. The table below shows what one tonne can do in South Sudan: Your crop

Price*

You help

Wheat

$300

3 farmers

Barley

$230

2 farmers

Canola

$580

6 farmers

*Indicative per MT from Port Adelaide 3/11/20

As you manage your grain in your bulk handler, simply transfer an amount to ALWS. You can do this at the silo using the ALWS NGR # (below) OR online using a ‘Warehouse to Warehouse’ grain transfer form from your bulk handler. ALWS NGR #: 13363329 ‘Buyer’: ALWS Address: PO Box 488 Albury NSW 2640 Phone: 1300 763 407 Contact: Russell Noske

ALWS will sell your grain donation. Your donation is anonymous, but help ALWS manage your grain donation efficiently by emailing alws@alws.org.au to let us know what you have done. NB: Donations of grain are not taxdeductible. Cash donations are.

MEET A FARMER YOU HELP ‘My old way of sowing seeds was to throw them around, but LWF taught me line planting. This makes weeding easier. ‘Even though we did not get a good yield this year because of flooding, we will continue. ‘You are helping us become selfreliant. So, please can you keep supporting us and help us with more seeds?’ – Deng Both

Sowing together to bring love to life!

LUTHERAN

CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

ES R ESO U RC ... O T U O FOR Y

T H E K E Y S T O F A I T H - Caring Conversations F I L L E D C H R I S T M A S Caring Conversations Faith becomes real when others can see God working in the lives of people. The Grow Ministries ‘Four Keys’ of faith practices are Caring Conversations, Devotions, Service, and Rituals and Traditions. These all provide ideas that can assist us in living out our faith.

Devotions Devotions

THEME: The Saviour of the world has been born in Bethlehem.

Caring Conversations Caring Conversations Christian faith and values are passed on to the next generation through supportive conversations. • At Christmas we celebrate the birthday of Jesus. Why is his birth something to celebrate? • What gift did you most enjoy giving to someone else?

Caring Conversations Devotions Devotions

Our faith shapes the whole of our lives and involves a lifetime of Bible study, reflection and prayer. Before you open your Christmas gifts have a household member read the Christmas story from Luke 2:1–20 or a Bible storybook. Ask each person to share their favourite part of the story. Then say together the following prayer.

Service Devotions Service Prayer for the Opening of Gifts: Lord God, we gather

today as a household to celebrate the gift of your Son Jesus. Be with us as we give gifts to one another. Draw us closer to you and one another and fill this home with love, peace and joy. Amen.

Service

Service Service

Serving others together provides an opportunity to see people’s gifts, faith and values in action. Write the names of your household members on slips of paper and randomly distribute them (make sure no-one has a slip with their own name on it). Ask each person to perform a ‘gift of service’ for the person named on their slip as part of your household Christmas gift-giving.

Rituals and Traditions

Rituals and Traditions These communicate meaning, values and the relationship that exists between people and God. Mealtime Prayer: God, thank you for this special day; bless all we do and all we say. May we each enjoy your blessings great, as Jesus' birth we celebrate. Amen. Blessing: May God’s gift of Jesus bring you peace and joy. May Jesus come into your heart this Christmas. Amen.

For more resources and ideas go to www.growministries.org.au Rituals and Traditions The Lutheran D EC E M B E R 2 0 2 0 13 Rituals and Traditions

L C A C H I L D Y O U T H & F A M I LY M I N I S T R Y

SHARE THE HOPE OF CH RISTMAS

MORE GIFT IDEAS

If you’d like to share the hope we have because of the birth of the Christ child with friends, neighbours, colleagues or family members at Christmas, Lutheran Media has something new to help. Their beautiful Messages of Hope Christmas cards feature a Christmas verse and Christian message inside and come in packs of five for just $5. To order your cards, phone 1800 353 350 or go to www.lutheranmedia.org.au and follow the links on the homepage or go directly to www.lutheranmedia.org.au/ store and sort the page by ‘latest’ to find them quickly.

C A L E N DA R S W I T H ST Y L E A N D S U B STA N C E Among the other wonderful resources you’ll find in the Lutheran Media online store or access by phoning the above number, are the free scripture calendars for 2021. Thanks to the many talented entrants in the photo competition, the calendar is full of stunning photos. Order one for yourself or to give as a gift.

Other ideal Christmas gifts include DVDs of lessons and carols services from Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Adelaide and Christmas DVDs for children, while there are also free Happyland Christmas cards for kids. Other new resources include free Messages of Hope postcards which mark Lutheran Media’s 75th anniversary this year. You can also support the life-changing outreach work of Lutheran Media by donating through the website at www.lutheranmedia.org.au or over the phone on 1800 353 350. There are also forms available for donations via email to luthmedia@lca.org.au or by post (197 Archer St, North Adelaide SA 5006).

Walk/wheel/woof … When COVID-19 forced ALWS to cancel Walk My Way, we learnt how creative our Lutheran family can be! 2838 walkers stepped out to help 6390 refugee children go to school! Now we’re stepping out again – in faith – and planning a fresh new Walk My Way for 2021:

Saturday 1 May * Barossa Valley, SA Walk through glorious autumn-hued vineyards. Enjoy Barossa hospitality. Explore our Lutheran heritage. Or do your Walk My Way wherever you live, whenever you want. Yes, Walk My Way is 26 kilometres ($26 supports one child go to school for a year) – but you can do your walk in stages beforehand. Be part of something powerfully positive! Watch out for more details in early 2021, but lock Saturday 1 May in your calendar NOW so you can walk …

…my way, your way, any way!

walkmyway.org.au

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LEARNING FESTI VA L FOR A N YO N E , ANYWHERE BY M E R RY N R U W O L DT

VO LU NTEER A N D SU PPO RT G O D ’ S M I S S I O N BY N E V I N N I TS C H K E LCA International Mission has many wideranging volunteer opportunities to be involved in bringing the life-changing news of Jesus Christ to the people South-East Asia and Papua New Guinea (PNG). • You could extend our number of congregational representatives from 50 to 51!

The 2021 Festival of Learning is an initiative of Australian Lutheran College (ALC) which brings learning to members and friends of the church in an easy, accessible and affordable way. To be held from 15 to 19 February 2021, the festival will comprise a range of sessions from ALC faculty and other LCA/NZ theologians and teachers. Participants can attend in person or online and join one session or attend a week’s worth. Some topics have one session, others are a short series and there are even opportunities to commence semester-length accredited subjects.

• Be involved in Stamps for Mission – $17,000 has already been raised this year. • Work with a group to pack Birthing Kits for the women of PNG or contribute to the development of the LCA International Mission timeline by collating stories of past missionaries. • Edit articles for our publications or put together resources for teaching English overseas.

More than 100 people joined online short courses earlier this year and the Festival of Learning will be another opportunity for those interested in enhancing their biblical and theological knowledge to meet and learn together.

• Clean our North Adelaide mission unit or help with the Border Crossings mail-out mail-out..

Appropriate internet download speed is required to participate online, but age, location or previous education are not barriers to being involved. Everyone is welcome.

We welcome you to help LCA International Mission proclaim Jesus with our partners and be a place where Jesus’ love comes to life.

At ALC we don’t just learn for interest, we learn for life (John 10:10). For further information about the program, please email events@alc.edu.au Merryn Ruwoldt is Associate Dean for Learning and Teaching at ALC.

• When international travel returns, host our overseas guests for outings.

Contact us for details: lcaim@lca.org.au or visit www.lcamission.org.au Nevin Nitschke is LCA International Mission Program Officer.

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BACK ON TRACT FOR CH RISTMAS BY A N N E H A N S E N

FOR OLDER CHILDREN

D E LV E I N T O S C R I P T U R E D A I LY

FOR YO U N G CHILDREN

The COVID-19 pandemic may have caused changes to our church gatherings and will likely affect Christmas worship and gatherings, despite restrictions easing in many Australian states and New Zealand. But one thing that hasn’t changed is Lutheran Tract Mission’s (LTM) support for congregations and individual church members by providing tracts which share the joy of the birth of Jesus. LTM has seasonal tracts for children, including activity sheets. Your congregation may wish to order these inexpensive tracts and send or letterbox drop them around your neighbourhood, school or within the congregation. There are tracts in the forms of postcards, leaflets, text cards and bookmarks for all ages. You can view them all on our website: www.ltm.org.au Anne Hansen is Lutheran Tract Mission Development Officer. LTM is an outreach ministry of the LLL.

Lutheran Tract Mission has supplied a Daily Bible Readings tract for the LCA each year since 2008 and the ‘Daily Bible Readings for 2021’ is already available for 20c a copy. Order one for yourself, for each family in your congregation, for your neighbour or for your school. Each reading is from the revised common lectionary of the LCA/NZ as followed by your church. This is one way to make reading the Bible a daily occurrence. You can order it or send the e-tract via the LTM website (search 'Daily Bible Readings'), at www.ltm.org.au or phone 08 8360 7222.

Goodness graceness! It’s not too late to order your ALWS Gifts of Grace to connect with loved ones this COVID Christmas. Build a house in Burundi. Plant tree saplings in Bangladesh. Supply uniforms so refugee children can go to school: • 21 gifts based on the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:34–40 (I was hungry …) • 5 gifts under $10 (Sunday school, primary school, grandchildren) • as many Grace Cards as you like (recycled, packed by volunteers)

Don’t miss out! Order now (post is slow), so Gifts of Grace can bring you close … no matter how far away you may be!

1300 763 407 * alws.org.au/grace 16

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G I V I N G 10 , 0 0 0 CHILDREN THE GIFT OF SCHOOL The LCA/NZ’s overseas aid agency, Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS), last month launched a 100-day campaign to support 10,000 children in refugee camps and other crisis situations to return to school when COVID-19 allows.

W H O W I LL TH E C A M PAI G N SU PPO RT? Children targeted are living at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, Displaced Persons Camps in Somalia, and in poverty-affected areas across South Sudan. According to ALWS Community Action manager, Jonathan Krause, these areas already know the critical value of Lutheran-supported education delivered by ALWS partner Lutheran World Federation (LWF). ‘Just as in Australia, where the word “Lutheran” signifies high-quality education from teaching teams that value each child individually, the same applies where our Lutheran family works through ALWS’, he says. ‘A classroom in a refugee camp may look very different from one at St Peters or Immanuel here in Australia, but there is no difference in the commitment to equip students with the skills they need to achieve their potential. And that’s something that’s been part of our Lutheran identity and ministry from when Lutherans first arrived in Australia in the 1830s.’

W H AT P R AC T I C A L S U P P O RT D O ES ‘ 10 , 0 0 0 C H I L D R E N … 10 0 D AYS ’ P R O V I D E ? ALWS says it can cost just $26 to support a child in their schooling for one year. This can help supply such essentials as school books, uniforms, school desks, training for refugee teachers, school lunches and clean water for drinking and for handwashing to protect against COVID-19. ‘Finding support over the next 100 days to get 10,000 children back to school is a big challenge, but at ALWS I am blessed every day to see the generosity of our Lutheran family in helping others’, Jonathan Krause says. ‘The ALWS GRACE Project, Walk My Way, Gifts of Grace – ours is a church where people want to get their hands dirty and make things happen. Not with big fanfare, but humbly and simply wanting to serve others. When this kind of love comes to life, it is a blessing always for those who are forgotten.’

W H AT ’S TH E M IS SI O N B EH I N D TH IS I N ITIATIV E? The ‘10,000 children … 100 days’ campaign was launched on Sunday 22 November because the gospel reading for that day is Jesus’ call to reach out and serve those ‘overlooked or ignored’ (Matthew 25:40 – The Message). ‘At ALWS our mission is to seek out those who might otherwise be forgotten, and enable our church to give the care that brings love to life’, Jonathan Krause says. ‘In everyday ALWS ministry, this includes people with special needs, the elderly in a community, those who may be rejected culturally or simply because they are a woman. In education, the forgotten may include older children who have missed out on school because they had to flee conflict, girls at risk of being forced into early marriage, orphans and children separated from family and, of course, children with special needs.’

Join the ALWS ‘10,000 children … 100 days’ campaign with $26 per child to support school for a year, tax-deductible: alws.org.au * 1300 763 407. The Lutheran D EC E M B E R 2 0 2 0

YOUR NEW LIFE Goodbye bleak rainy winters. Hello sunshine! Low humidity, great for health Long-established (140 years) and respected Lutheran heritage Schools, childcare, medical clinics and hospital, supermarkets, restaurants Daily flights to most capital cities Endless outdoor activities ... golf, hiking, 4WDing, camping

Sea changes are over-rated. Try a Red Centre change instead. We’re inviting Lutherans of all ages and life experiences to come to Central Australia to grow our community. Bring yourself, bring your family, bring your faith, bring your gifts, skills and talents - and we’re sure you’ll discover a God-designed place just for you.

Come for 6 months, 12 months, or stay for a lifetime. We need pastors, teachers, nurses, social workers, trainers, trades and maintenance people. There are loads of employment opportunities in the Centre, so your partner will find a job too. Plus, there are endless ways you can volunteer! The Lutheran Church in Central Australia employs more than 200 people, across the Alice Springs Lutheran Church, Finke River Mission (including the Historical Precinct and Hermannsburg Store), Lutheran Community Care, Yirara College and Living Waters Lutheran School. Together we are already a vibrant Lutheran community enjoying Christian service, fellowship and growth. All we need to complete us is you. Interested? Contact Tim Stollznow (chair of the Finke River Mission Board) for more information about opportunities and lifestyle for Lutherans in the Centre. Email lcica@lca.org.au

LUTHERAN CHURCH IN CENTRAL AUSTRALIA Colours c73 m77 y0 k26 c37 m39 y0 k13 c0 m66 y84 k6 c0 m0 y0 k23 c0 m0 y0 k12

20 Elder Street Alice Springs NT 0870 P: 08 8952 8877 E: admin@asprint.com.au

CHURCH

@home

www.lca.org.au/churchhome

MATTHEW 11:28

COME TO ME, ALL YOU WHO ARE AND BURDENED, AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST.

weary

Sharing blessings to support your everyday faith-life

Due to COVID-19, we know that not everyone has been able to return to in-person worship with their faith family in Australia and New Zealand. For this reason, and because even those able to attend face-to-face church services receive blessings through an active home-worship life, we will continue sharing special devotional materials to support LCA/NZ members. Most of these are from the Church@Home resources collection on a special webpage at www.lca.org.au/churchhome www.lca.org.au/churchhome.. There is also other faith-building content available through this page. If you have internet access and a printer, why not print off some resources and mail or deliver them to those who may otherwise miss out?

Lisa

DEVOTIONS FOR HOME WORSHIP These reflections are from a fresh set of devotions written for our LCA/NZ family and friends to help us to keep our eyes on Jesus. They can be used by families and individuals as part of the Church@Home resources. You can find these and more on the LCA website at www.lca.org.au/daily-devotion

A divided heart ‘You have not lied just to human beings but to God’ (Acts 5:4). Read Acts 5:1–11. When Christ calls us to follow him, the call is absolute. Drop everything, come. Jesus shakes up our world. Understandably, this can cause us some uncertainty or even anxiety. We want to follow Jesus, but we’re also scared about what it will mean for us. We’re nervous about letting go of our place in the world. These fears can lead to hypocrisy. We want to appear to our friends in the church to be trusting Christ, but sometimes the things we do in secret suggest otherwise. In our passage, we meet a couple, Ananias and Saphira, who struggle with this very thing. They are a wealthy couple who sell a piece of property, and they pretend

BY CHELSEA PIETSCH to bring all of the proceeds to the apostles to distribute according to need, as was the custom in the early church (see Acts 4:32–37 for further context). context). But in reality, they keep some of the money for themselves. When Peter asks them directly whether the amount they handed over was the full amount, they lie. He sees their lie and calls it out. But God sees their lie, too, and they fall dead. Their death is a result of their hypocrisy. Have you ever told a lie to preserve an image of yourself as an upright Christian? What are some things you are reluctant to relinquish for fear of losing your place in the world? Dear Lord, forgive us when we have lied to ourselves, to others, and you. Protect us from hypocrisy, and let your gospel bear fruit in us. Amen.

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DEVOTIONS FOR HOME WORSHIP

Attitude to authority

BY PASTOR JOSHUA PFEIFFER

‘Let every person be subject to the governing authorities; for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God’ (Romans 13:1). Read Romans 13:1–7. Sometimes Christians who claim to surrender to Christ as the Lord of their life are at the same time quite dismissive and even rebellious in their attitude toward other authorities, such as parents, bosses, teachers, or governments. Sadly, I know this from my own life (Psalm 25:7)! We learn from the Scriptures, however, that our attitude to authority is a spiritual issue. Luther picks up on this in his explanation to the fourth commandment, where we are called to honour our father and mother. He says, ‘we should fear and love God so that we should not despise or anger our parents and other authorities’. Notice the connection between our life before God and our life before others whom God sets over us. In our text, St Paul focuses on our attitude toward the governing authorities wherever we live. He says that when we consider how we act toward those in our governments, we do well to remember that all true authority finds its source in God and that the government, and those in authority, have been instituted by God for our good. We are to be subject to them as a fundamental attitude, and this means specific things, too, like paying our taxes. There are, of course, limits to this. For example, if we are asked by the government to engage in something that is an offence to God (Acts 5:29). But it’s quite likely St Paul was writing to Christians who lived under governments far less friendly to them than most of us do. God is rich in his goodness toward this world. Are we able to recognise that even our governing authorities are, in fact, a gift from God? Through them, he has provided a well-ordered society and protection for the weak and vulnerable. No government will ever do this flawlessly, of course. Still, we owe them our honour as those who exercise authority in this world on God’s behalf. Heavenly Father, thank you for our government. Please give wisdom to our leaders as they navigate the many complex issues facing our community. Lead us by your Spirit to subject ourselves to them and honour them. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

CHURCH

@home

DON’T BE AFRAID, FOR I AM . DON’T BE DISCOURAGED, FOR I AM YOUR GOD.

wit h you

ISAIAH 41:10

PRAYER Almighty God, Our personal suffering leads us to cry out in pain and we shrink in fear when we experience sickness, anxiety or the death of loved ones. Teach us to trust you, knowing that you bring good into all things. May the churches we belong to be signs of your providential care. Make us true disciples of your Son who taught us to listen to your word and to serve one another. In confidence we ask this in the name of your Son, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. – From the National Council of Churches in Australia’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Biblical Reflections and Prayers

Help ‘You are my help and my deliverer’ (Psalm 70:5). Read Psalm 70. There are those, both believers and unbelievers, who seem to think that if you are a Christian, then everything will always go well for you. You know that that isn’t true. You have your share of struggles. In fact, you may well have had more than your share. But if others know that you are a believer, if you have openly spoken about the goodness of God, then you open yourself up to ridicule. Your God is supposed to care about you and he’s supposed to be on your side. So how come you are in this predicament now? And that only makes things even harder. There comes a time when we can only cry out to God to bring us through. We do not deny our faith when we speak openly and honestly to God and let him hear our anguish. The psalms are full of this kind of thing. In this psalm, the lamenter is desperate for release and so asks

BY PASTOR JIM STRELAN God to deliver and to do it quickly. God is not only able to help and deliver, but he is also the help, and he is the deliverer. That’s his nature. That’s his desire. Not a magic wand waved over you so that it all disappears. Not always an instant cure or an immediate turnaround of circumstances. ‘Quickly’ is what you want, and when you express that, God understands the desperation of your situation. But he is true to himself. He will help, and he will deliver. Those who question your faith (that’s what some believers like to do) and ridicule you will be silenced. In the end, that is why we can rejoice and be glad in him, even while we cry out. God, help me. Look and see my struggles and deliver me. I put my hope in you. Amen.

God is our source of peace

BY KIMBERLEY PFEIFFER

‘My steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed’ (Isaiah 54:10). Read Isaiah 54:10–17. Do you ever dare wonder about the magnitude of God’s love for you? Do you ever wonder why he chooses to focus his steadfast love and compassion on you? Do you wonder why God wants you to prosper and for everything that comes from you, such as your children, to also flourish? Does it ever scare you a little and lead you to think, maybe God loves you more than you can love yourself? In the text from Isaiah 54, we are reminded that worldly calamities are real, and they can throw us off course. This text talks about natural disasters, violence, and oppression. Here, God offers comfort to the Israelite people, reminding them that his love is true stability and a source of peace. When life throws us a curveball, we tend to cling to visible things, usually people or possessions. But for us, the church, God has revealed himself as the true source of strength and stability. It is from him that we receive the very good gifts of stability and order in this world, such as loving families, safe homes, and peaceful communities. When we look for comfort in the things of this world, we will ultimately be disappointed. But when we look to God for comfort, his steadfast love flows into our lives and transforms the way we perceive all reality – even a reality that is frightening. This is the peace that surpasses all understanding that keeps our hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for revealing your true nature to us in the Holy Scriptures. Thank you for sending Christ to fulfil and be the way to your peace. Lord, strengthen us as we grow through hardship, joy, and ordinary times. Bless our hearts in our longing for rest in you. Amen. Amen.

BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO MOURN, FOR THEY WILL BE .

comforted

MATTHEW 5:4

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reellife COMMENTS ON C O N T E M P O R A RY C U LT U R E

by MARK HADLE Y

Meaning beyond the darkness DECEMBER FILM RELEASES

Three films worth thinking seriously about these summer holidays …

CHES THE WIT 0) (D e c e m b e

r 1

Formerly brought to the big screen by Jim Henson in 1990, Roald Dahl’s memorable children’s book The Witches returns to film as a dark comedy for families, this time set in America. The story opens in 1960s Alabama where a grandmother (Octavia Spencer) is raising her newly orphaned grandson. A dark shadow is cast over their growing happiness, though, when the boy captures the attention of a local witch. What follows is a desperate attempt at evasion that leads grandma and child to a hotel. However, the establishment turns out to be hosting the annual international convention for witches. There, the pair learns from the Grand High Witch (Anne Hathaway) of a nefarious plan to transform the world’s children into mice. The Witches sounds grim family viewing, but it’s laced with plenty of fun by veteran director Robert Zemeckis. Though while the content’s not scary, there’s still a certain creepiness about a world populated by witches, as well as a serious message. Dahl’s original warning that evil can lurk behind a nice exterior is still one children should be well aware of.

THE MIDNIG HT SKY (D ec em be r 10)

George Clooney directs and stars in a post-apocalyptic science-fiction film that firmly places our responsibility to others over our rights as an individual. Augustine Lofthouse is a lonely scientist based in a remote Arctic research station with his daughter. The emergence of a mysterious global catastrophe, though, leads them to believe that they are the last people on earth – and therein lies their responsibility. Ether Ether,, a spaceship that was supposed to be the last hope for humanity, is on its return voyage to earth. Augustine

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and his daughter must brave freezing temperatures, increasingly toxic air and the dangers of the arctic landscape to reach an antenna in order to warn its astronauts … not to return. The Midnight Sky includes all of the harrowing elements of zero-G tragedy matched against a frantic survival story. However, the overwhelming theme is the sacrifice of the few for the many. It’s an unusual lesson in terms of cinema releases today. Yet its value lies in reminding us of humanity’s most significant storyline: one man must sacrifice himself for all, if all hope to have a chance at living.

T H E FAT H E R (D ec em be r 26)

The Father will move anyone with an ageing parent to tears. Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman star in a story about a man in his 80s slowly falling under the spell of dementia. Anthony refuses all assistance until his daughter Anne employs a nurse so he can stay at home, and then moves in to keep him company. However, as the plot unfolds, this human drama begins to take on the characteristics of a psychological thriller. Anthony is mostly bright and cheery, but his failure to understand what is going on around him leads him to question his living arrangements and loved ones – even his sanity. The Father is both heartbreaking and groundbreaking because the story is told from Anthony’s perception, placing us directly in the mind of someone with dementia. Watching Hopkins’ character try to rationally explain his world to himself is both disturbing and moving. As a film, it also frames the Bible’s testament that we are powerless to prevent all things passing away. Best to remember our maker, ‘ … before the silver cord is severed and the golden bowl is broken’.

Church planter to take on local mission role Church planter Nathan Hedt will be LCA/NZ’s next Pastor for New and Renewing Churches. Pastor Nathan, who has served the Lakeside church plant at Pakenham in outer suburban Melbourne for the past six years, will take up the role early in 2021. He succeeds Rev Dr Noel Due, who is retiring after being in the position since January 2018 and having been a mentor to Pastor Nathan. Pastor Nathan will remain based in Melbourne for his new post, which also includes managing the New and Renewing Churches Department of the LCA/NZ’s Local Mission office. While he will be sad to leave Pakenham, he believes God has been preparing him for the new challenge. ‘I think God’s been shaping me towards a role like this for a while’, he said. ‘The church-planting experience is really difficult but is also incredibly joyful and has been really good in shaping me towards this. My heart of an evangelist which wants people to hear and understand the good news for themselves is important in this. And I think also I have an ability to teach and to convey some of the excitement and the content about evangelism and church planting.’ LCA/NZ Executive Officer for Local Mission Dr Tania Nelson said she was excited to have Pastor Nathan join the team in a fulltime capacity. ‘I know God has been at work developing in Nathan the skills required for furthering and inspiring the churchplanting movement in the LCA/NZ’, she

Church planter Nathan Hedt, left, will be the LCA/NZ’s next Pastor for New and Renewing Churches. He says his wife Yvette, right, has been ‘a great encouragement’ to other church planter couples during their six years serving the fledgling faith community at Pakenham, Victoria.

said. ‘He comes to us with a heart for God’s mission, a good understanding of church planting in action, membership of the former interim Board for Local Mission and the current Committee for New and Renewing Churches and postgrad studies in mission.’ She also paid tribute to Pastor Noel’s service. ‘Noel has been an integral part of the growth in the LCA’s churchplanting movement’, she said. ‘He has been a coach, trainer and pastor to many. We thank God for his pastoral care, his theological insights, his wise shepherding and wonderful contribution to local mission resources.’ New and Renewing Churches has a goal of planting 230 new churches in the next decade and while Pastor Nathan acknowledges that is ambitious, he believes it is what the Church has been called to do. ‘If we don’t aim for things that only God can do, then we’ll only see what we can do’, he said. ‘There are so

many things emerging that I look at and know it had to be the Holy Spirit at work. So, yes, it’s very ambitious, but we also believe it’s a faithful way of approaching what God wants to do. ‘For 25 years I’ve been praying for something like a church-planting movement within the LCA, so to see it actually happening, that’s been a wonderful privilege. I’m also hopeful and prayerful that the work will expand, but also that the culture change in the LCA will be in a missional direction and that we take up those words of Jesus, “As the Father sent me, so I am sending you”.’ Married to Yvette with three young adult daughters, Pastor Nathan was ordained as a pastor in the LCA in December 2003. He served Nambour parish on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast from 2004 to 2008, before becoming Pastor for Tertiary and Youth Ministry for the Victoria-Tasmania District from 2008 to 2014. The Lutheran D EC E M B E R 2 0 2 0

Lutheran response to SA abortion bill The LCA/NZ’s Lutherans for Life (LFL) last month responded to the new 'Termination of Pregnancy Bill 2020' which has been before the South Australian parliament, with a public statement and call to action for the church. Introduced into South Australia’s Legislative Council by Human Services Minister the Hon Michelle Lensink in October, it sought to remove abortion from SA’s criminal legislation, instead treating it as a health issue. However, the LFL response says ‘the detail of the bill tells a different story’. ‘Currently in South Australia abortion is available until a maximum cut off of 28 weeks gestation with the agreement of two doctors, or after that to save the life of the mother’, LFL says. ‘This new bill allows for abortion on request until 22 weeks and 6 days, and after that if two doctors consider it “medically appropriate”. In this latter category no upper time limit is given, nor is the term “medically appropriate” defined ... the extension of abortion effectively up until birth … will enable abortion of viable babies who would otherwise be capable of being born alive and living independently of their mothers.’ LFL, which is accountable to the church through the Commission on Social and Bioethical Questions, also called on all LCA/NZ members to pray and for those in South Australia to contact their local member of parliament about the bill. ‘We encourage all members of our Church to pray that our society is moved to the conviction that all life is sacred and so in need of protection’, the response says. The full response is available from the Lutherans for Life website at www.lutheransforlife.lca.org.au

SEEKING KOONIBBA ARTWORK Rozella Tschuna was a young Aboriginal girl in Koonibba Mission Children’s Home in SA in the 1950s and a very talented painter. Her children would like to speak with anyone who has her artwork, as they would like to view, photograph or, if possible, buy it back. Contact: Noeleen Cox – mobile: 0437 213 268 email: kuru.brown@hotmail.com

The Lutheran D EC E M B E R 2 0 2 0

Trio of honours for The Lutheran The Lutheran has received three honours in the Australasian Religious Press Association (ARPA) awards. Our churchwide magazine took out the gold award in the Best Feature Multiple Author category and a bronze award in the Best Headline category. The Lutheran was also highly commended in the Publication of the Year category, which was won by NZ Catholic newspaper. Also highly commended was Eternity news service and magazine, published by Bible Society of Australia, which took out ARPA’s premier annual honour, The Gutenberg Award. The Lutheran won The Gutenberg Award in 2011. The Lutheran received its gold award for a feature package published in the December 2019 edition under the theme ‘A God of Second Chances’. The judges said: ‘The vulnerability of these features demonstrates the high degree of trust the subjects of each story have in The Lutheran. Lutheran. These are stories of broken lives transformed by God’s love. The stories engage and move the readers, reminding us of our own brokenness and the power of a church in action at the coal face. ‘This feature is honest, vulnerable, raw and invitational’, they said. ‘God is alive today, intervening in individual lives, enabling people no matter what their past, to be reconciled and look to a new beginning.’ The judges congratulated editor Lisa McIntosh for framing the feature in her ‘wonderful opening letter’. The bronze award was received for

Lisa’s clever headline ‘Taking hay while the sun shines’, which was published in March 2019 on a story about Lutheran farmers making hay runs to help others doing it tough during times of drought. Linda Macqueen, LCA Communications Manager and former editor of The Lutheran,, is delighted to see our church’s Lutheran magazine continuing to thrive and serve the people of the LCA/NZ under Lisa’s editorship. ‘Lisa’s extensive talents and sheer hard work combine to create a gift of grace and excellence for our church every month’, Linda said. ‘It’s a huge accolade to win the top award in the hotly contested category of Feature Package. To also be one of only two magazines to be highly commended for Publication of Year is something we can all be proud of.’ ARPA is an ecumenical Christian communication network for Australian and New Zealand print and online publications and their editors, journalists, designers and contributors. It has a membership of more than 80 publications, as well as individual members and publication staff members.

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DIRECTORY

In Memoriam

CALLS

GRADUATE ASSIGNMENTS

Extended

• Roland Adams • Roland Call under assignment to Renmark and Paringa SA

• Rev Thomas Bohmert • Rev St Peters Lutheran College Indooroopilly Qld to Concordia Lutheran College Toowoomba Qld • Rev Joel S Cramer • Rev Salisbury SA to Emmanuel Toowoomba Qld

• Dr Philip W Bentley • Dr Call under assignment to Greenock Parish SA

• Rev Stephen L Cronau • Rev Townsville Qld to Endeavour College Mawson Lakes SA

• Stephen Noblett • Stephen Call under assignment to Southern Flinders SA

• Rev Joshua F Muller • Rev Eudunda-Robertstown SA to lecturer at Senior Flierl Seminary PNG

• Joseph D Theodorsen • Joseph Call under assignment to Top End Lutheran Parish NT

• Rev Joshua L Pfeiffer • Rev Bethlehem Adelaide SA to Morphett Vale SA • Rev Heath A Pukallus • Rev Call under assignment to Warwick Toowoomba-Cornerstone Qld

Martin Freund

INSTALL ATIONS • Rev Michael J Mayer • Rev to Trinity Ashmore Qld on 1 November 2020 by Bishop Paul Smith

• Rev Leon N Rosenberg • Rev Carlsruhe-Saddleworth SA to Ferryden Park SA

• Rev Tim Muller • Rev to Immanuel Woden Valley ACT on 1 November 2020 at Holy Trinity Catholic Church by Bishop Robert Bartholomaeus

• Rev John W Strelan • Rev St Stephens Adelaide SA to Woolloongabba Qld

• Rev Robin M Zadow • Rev to Alice Springs NT on 1 November 2020 by Pastor Basil Schild

Accepted • Rev Matthew P Bishop • Rev Morley WA to Blair Athol SA

L AY WORKER S

• Rev Nathan E Hedt • Rev Pakenham Vic to Pastor for New and Renewing Churches LCA/NZ

• Karen Armet, Deanna Cameron and • Karen Olivia Flesser Kitchen team, Luther Heights Youth Camp Coolum Beach Qld

Declined • Rev Paul A Hannola • Rev Tuggeranong ACT to Renmark and Paringa SA

• Phuong Nguyen Cleaning team, Luther • Phuong Heights Youth Camp Coolum Beach Qld

• Rev Timothy P Stringer • Rev Greensborough Vic to Wagga Wagga NSW

• Benjamin Traeger Office secretary, Christ • Benjamin Church Murray Bridge SA

Paul Haines

6 1

2 3

7 1

2 4 7

3 2

6 8

DBON

October's solution 8

Rev Paul Haines born 30 March 1964 (Ti Tree NT); married Janie nee Presley 1989 (Ti Tree NT); married Seraphina Presley; ordained 2 July 1995 (Ti Tree NT); served Ti Tree NT (mainly at Nturiya (Ti Tree Station community) and Pmara Jutunta (Six-Mile community); died 24 October 2020 (Alice Springs NT); funeral details to be confirmed; mourned by wife Seraphina and children Petra and families A S S O Cand I A Margelina T RE

SUDOKU

In Memoriam

• Robyn Amor, Amy Hill and Sean Toms • Robyn Programming team, Luther Heights Youth Camp Coolum Beach Qld

• Rev Leon N Rosenberg • Rev Carlsruhe-Saddleworth SA to Ferryden Park SA

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.

Rev Martin Clarence Freund born 26 May 1938 (Gawler SA); ordained 21 Jan 1962 (Bathurst NSW); married Margarrette Ann nee Matthews 9 Jan 1965 (Hectorville SA) (She died 9 Feb 1977); married Mary nee Alcock 8 Jan 1983 (Glandore SA); served Bathurst-Orange NSW (1962–1965); Broken Hill NSW (1965–1967); Yalata SA (1968–1970); Yaninee SA (1970–1976); Lameroo SA (1976–1983); Clare/Blyth SA (1983–1991); Esperance WA (1991); Kalgoorlie Boulder WA (1992–1995); retired 20 October 1995; died 22 October 2020 (Reynella SA); funeral 30 Oct 2020 (Morphett Vale SA); mourned by wife Mary, children Matthew and Melinda and families

OCIAT

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The Lutheran D EC E M B E R 2 0 2 0

YOUR VOICE Ad inclusion 'disappointing' Regarding the November issue of The Lutheran, Lutheran, on page 25 there is an ad for Women at the Well. I am aware of the disclaimer beneath it. However l am disappointed that your office has accepted and published it in the Church magazine, with the full knowledge that it is a group that publicly and in rebellion seeks to overturn the teaching of the Church which sustains us all, as well as being your employer.

Ingrid Finch – Stanthorpe Qld

God blesses service

What a blessing to see our Lutheran church alive and active bringing love to life in places like Mandurah in Western Australia and Mawson Lakes in South Australia (The (The Lutheran, Lutheran, November 2020). I thank God for the innovation, energy and commitment of church communities reaching out to meet people 'where they're at'. That same spirit has flourished in the ministry of the Lutheran Community Sewing Group in Adelaide, where dozens of volunteers have for nearly 20 years welcomed former refugees with sewing lessons, friendship and wonderful morning teas. While ministries (and volunteers) may have seasons, and COVID-19 may have ‘stitched up’ the sewing group this year, I pray God will enable this ministry to keep growing and serving – especially finding someone who feels called to help serve in the administration of the group. Jonathan Krause – Maslin Beach SA

Unofficial male headship ‘teaching’ divisive

Five Synods have now demonstrated that there are two seemingly different interpretations of the same scriptures regarding the ordination of women in the LCA/NZ. In listening to some church members and pastors, what seems to underlie one such interpretation is a teaching called ‘male headship and orders of creation’: simply put, it claims that because God created man first, men have spiritual authority – headship – over women. Paul writes in Ephesians 5:23: ‘For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour’. One interpretation given to ‘headship’ is based on the reading of the term ‘head’ as ruler or authority. But the Greek word for ‘head’, kephale kephale,, has a far deeper meaning – that of ‘source’. With Jesus as the ‘source of the church’ – our ‘Saviour’ – what grace is announced to us! Bishop John Henderson has made clear that the LCA/NZ does not endorse the teaching of male headship. In his Heartland eNews (14 November 2018) he wrote: ‘Some of us who hold passionately to a male-only pastorate … are tempted to include things the LCA does not teach, such as male headship and subordination based on orders of creation.’ Is it this teaching rather than the surface issue of women’s ordination that is dividing the church? Holding on to a principle of we humans ‘doing things in the right order’ puts at risk the very heart of the gospel: it is the work of Jesus that matters, not who was here first! Let’s put aside this teaching that is dividing our church, embrace the reconciliation Jesus demonstrates and walk forward together in the equity his grace brings as we follow him.

Brenda Jericho – Wirrabara SA

2020/21 YEAR B

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LETTERS S FROM MEMBER Z OF THE LCA/N

‘A united way forward’ for our church I write to support the first scenario in our leaders’ joint report on ordination: A single LCA/NZ synod, with one teaching and two practices (The (The Lutheran, Lutheran, October 2020). Eighteen years before union our forward-thinking forebears had already decided how to resolve doctrinal impasses like the one we now face. Admitting that the Bible is sometimes hard to understand and not all things are of the same importance, they wrote Principles governing Church Fellowship (TA 1, 1948), which shows how to settle long-running disputes and preserve the unity of the Church. These principles show that ‘divergent views’ cannot remain, or become, the teaching of the whole Church if the disputed views cannot be resolved after protracted churchwide theological debate, conducted in a true Christian spirit, with due regard for the wider biblical witness, and an insistence that the gospel not be put at risk. Male-only ordination has never been supported by more than 50 per cent of synod delegates, when voted on in 2000, 2006, 2015 and 2018. Nor can the whole Church move to women’s ordination when the vote still hovers slightly below the two-thirds majority required to do so. But surely some congregations could, where the support is overwhelming. There is only one Lutheran teaching on the ministry, clearly set out in Articles 5 and 14 of the Augsburg Confession and TA 6.1-10, and it makes no reference to gender. No new teaching on the ministry is necessary. Why not enact the principles outlined in TA 1 and drop 6.11, so that our divergent views can stop being ‘divisive of church fellowship’, and the two contending ‘theological opinions’ and the two ‘practices of the ministry’ can live side by side, with all of us agreeing to live together in mutual love and respect? Rev Dr Peter Lockwood – Semaphore Park SA

‘Sad to see’ disclaimer

How sad to see the disclaimer with the ‘Women at the Well’ notice (The (The Lutheran,, November 2020). Is the LCA Lutheran so legalistic that endorsement from the LCA is necessary to discuss an issue and, in this case, an issue that has caused significant angst? Steve Cramer – Horsham Vic

Opinions expressed in letters are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the Lutheran Church of Australia. 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.

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In Going GREYT! we feature stories of some of our ‘more experienced’ people within the LCA/NZ, who have been called to make a positive contribution in their retirement. We pray their examples of service will be an inspiration and encouragement to us all as we look to be Christ’s hands and feet wherever we are, with whatever gifts and opportunities we’ve been given.

God’s creation is

blooming marvellous BY HELEN BERINGEN

When the first flush of spring and summer flowers bloom, who doesn’t want to stop and smell the roses? So a rose garden planted lovingly as a heartwarming invitation to a church is surely going to be a welcoming sign, and an opportunity to witness to the beauty of God’s creation. Enter Bethlehem Lutheran Church, in suburban Perth, nestled amongst a sea of houses in Morley. Four years ago, the large grassed block received a magnificent makeover. The natives shrouding the front of the church had grown straggly with age. But from the few rose bushes hidden in their midst, an idea grew to develop a rose garden. Foundation members Ewald Schmidt, known as Wally, and his wife Ruth felt a push from Creation’s Chief Gardener to build the rose garden in a well-used thoroughfare to the local primary school and a beautiful local park. ’The church garden looked a bit sad and it brought tears to our eyes’, said Ruth. ‘And God said “don’t stand there, do something”’. So despite professing no green thumbs, the retired couple aged 86 and 83 respectively, did just that. ‘We took it on bit by bit’, they recall. This work continued until the entire garden was renovated.

‘As we are not fenced off from our neighbourhood, not only is it a testament to all the beauty of God's creation, it provides a lovely wider witness to caring for God's creation and the joy God gives us through serving each other’, says Bethlehem's Pastor Matt Bishop. ‘Moreover, on a late-October day when the roses are in their first full flush of the season, you can smell the delightful scents all around our block. Accordingly, we’ve had many positive comments from our neighbours, even from the local councillor.’ Who would have thought that a garden ministry could be created simply from proud perfumed stands of roses? From Double Delight to Cardinal and even Pope John Paul 2 varieties, the fragrant and sometimes cheeky choices now create a delightful and welcome experience for passers-by. And with 66 years of marriage under their belts, the Schmidts are inseparable in their weekly toil – pruning, trimming, fertilising, watering and tidying. ‘We get an old pillow and kneel side by side – never too far from each other’, says Ruth. ‘We’re not good gardeners but we like to tidy up! And you’re never too old to learn.’ And they certainly feel like the Chief Gardener is with them, as they have learnt along the way how to care for the roses. ‘We are just presenting God’s creation’, says Ruth. ‘They are easy to manage and ever so beautiful. ‘When we come home, we are not tired, we feel great. We’ve been working in God’s creation.’

‘ IT PROVI D ES A LOV ELY W I D ER W ITN ES S TO C A R I N G F O R GO D ' S CR E ATI O N A N D TH E J OY GO D G IV ES US TH RO U G H S ERVI N G E ACH OTH ER .’ 28

The Lutheran D EC E M B E R 2 0 2 0

Powered by God’s blessing of good health and strong work ethic, they ‘trust and obey’, in the words of a favourite hymn, knowing God will be there to guide them. ‘It’s been a privilege to work in the church grounds’, says Ruth. ‘We don’t have a walking stick yet. We just use a rake and a broom.’ The couple met in January 1954, when both were working in the timber town of Bridgetown in southern Western Australia. Both were refugees from World War II

Above: Foundation members at Bethlehem Morley in Western Australia, Wally and Ruth Schmidt have been married for 66 years. Above right, below right and bottom right: Volunteers Wally and Ruth have been renewing the church gardens for the past four years.

– Ruth from Lithuania and Wally from Germany. It was a whirlwind romance and they were married by that August. They have been blessed with three children, five grandchildren and one great-grandson. They were Morley members since its inception and Wally was among the men presenting the ’sacred vessels’ at the dedication of the present church site in 1972, captured in full-page spreads in the 23 October 1972 edition of The Lutheran! Lutheran! In September, the Bethlehem congregation honoured the Schmidts’ work with a little plaque in the rose garden, noting their loving nurture of the garden to the ‘Glory to God’. As Pastor Matt reflects, keeping gardens looking good is not without challenges though, so it’s great that others are pitching in, such as long-term pastoral assistant John Zadow, who for decades has kept on top of all the mowing and edging. He’s also one of the Morley team which provides a breakfast ministry to a local school (featured in this column in 2018). The humble service that keeps the flowers blooming is not only a blessing for the Morley community but also the gardeners. Ruth and Wally reflect how the Lord has blessed them, echoed in their favourite Psalm 103. ‘It’s not about us, it’s God’s creation. We are just going along, not wasting our time. He looks after us and gives our health as we present God’s creations.’

Helen Beringen is a Brisbane-based writer who is inspired by the many GREYT people who serve tirelessly and humbly in our community. By sharing stories of how God shines his light through his people, she hopes others are encouraged to explore how they can use their gifts to share his light in the world. Know of any other GREYT stories in your local community? Email the editor lisa.mcintosh@lca.org.au

Let this prayer calendar for next month encourage each of us to lift up our fellow LCA/NZ members and faith communities to God every day.

January 2021

S U N D AY

M O N D AY

T U E S D AY

P L E A S E P R AY F O R …

W E D N E S D AY

T H U R S D AY

F R I D AY

S AT U R D AY

The LCA/NZ’s Council for Local Mission, including Executive Officer Tania Nelson and Chairperson Monika Tropiano

Pastor Peter Traeger and members of the Blanchetown, Murbko, Nildottie and Swan Reach congregations in SA

LCA/NZ Graduate Pastor Roland Adams, his family, and the people of his first parish under assignment at Renmark and Paringa SA

The community, staff and children of Beenleigh Family Day Care in Qld

Those who are vision-impaired or blind on World Braille Day

Members of the Committee for Lutheran Archives, including Director Rachel Kuchel

Principal Mark Blackwell and the students and staff of Peace Lutheran Primary School Gatton Qld

LCA/NZ Graduate Pastor Philip Bentley, his family, and the people of his first parish under assignment at Greenock Parish SA

The management, residents and community of Zion Retirement Village at Gympie Qld

Pastor Murray Smith and the members of Trinity Bordertown and St Paul’s Keith SA

The students, staff and community of Geelong Lutheran College, St John's Newtown Vic, including Campus Principal Sue Ellis

Members of the LCA’s Standing Committee on Constitutions, including Chairperson David Dreckow and Secretary Pastor Wally Schiller

LCA/NZ Graduate Pastor Chris Johnson, his family, and the people of his first parish (yet to be announced at press time)

The staff, children and families of Calvary Lutheran Kindergarten Morphett Vale SA

Those planning to attend, lead and organise the SA-NT Blueprint Ministries SPIN Camp at Camp Kedron, Barmera, in SA’s Riverland

The leaders and members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Campbelltown NSW

The students and community of St Michael’s Lutheran School Hahndorf SA, including Principal Terri Taylor

LCA/NZ Graduate Pastor James Luk, his family, and the people of his first parish (yet to be announced at press time)

The LCA’s Standing Committee on Finance, Audit and Risk, including Chair Mel Zerner and Executive Officer of the Church Peter Schirmer

Pastor Noel Due, who has retired as LCA/NZ Pastor for New and Renewing Churches, and Pastor Nathan Hedt, who will succeed him

Members of Concordia Lutheran Church Duncraig WA and Pastor Michael Rudolph

The students and community of Good News Lutheran School Middle Park Qld, including Principal Adam Richardson

LCA/NZ Graduate Pastor Stephen Noblett, his family, and the people of his first parish under assignment at Southern Flinders Parish SA

Students, teachers and other school leaders and staff, as they prepare for the start of the school year

Staff and supporters of Koojarewon Youth Camp Highfields Qld, which will belatedly celebrate its 50th anniversary

The children and community of Living Waters Lutheran College Early Learning Centre Warnbro WA

Reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Aboriginal Australians on Australia Day

All whose families have been affected by the atrocity of genocide on the International Day in memory of the victims of the Holocaust

Principal Brad Williams and the students, staff and community of Loxton Lutheran School SA

LCA/NZ Graduate Pastor Joseph Theodorsen, his family, and the people of his first parish under assignment at Top End Parish NT

Members and leaders of CanberraQueanbeyan Lutheran Parish ACT and Pastor Gabor Szabo

The Lutheran D EC E M B E R 2 0 2 0

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SHORT MOVIE COMPETITION WINNERS ANNOUNCED Many thanks to those who made and entered movies in this popular competition across both the school and general categories. Find out the winners and watch the videos at www.lutheranmedia.org.au/competition or on www.youtube.com/messagesofhope in the Short Movie 2020 playlist. Feel free to use them in your school, congregation or small group.

Lutheran Church of Australia

VICTORIAN DISTRICT (including Tasmania)

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2021 SCRIPTURE CALENDAR Calendars are now available to pick up from Lutheran Media or you can order at www.lutheranmedia.org.au/calendar or by calling us on 1800 353 350.

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Join Richard and Celia each week through November for conversations and interviews about depression and mental health as well as sharing some peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s journey through and experiences of grief. Tune in on your local radio or go to messagesofhope.org.au or messagesofhope.org.nz

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SCHUBERT & SONS PTY LTD

Granite & Marble Memorials . Headstones restored and engraved . Foundation Stones . Bronze Plaques . Member of MMM of SA Inc 179 Flinders Street, Adelaide 5000 08 8223 2473 www.schubertandsons.com.au

LCA C O MPL A IN T S 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.

Thank you!

You help lift us up

ool and then got married at

‘I only went to class 5 at sch 13 years. ting wages are very low. I am hur I am working, but the daily en. ldr chi the d ney to fee because it is not enough mo ool t to send our children to sch You help lift us up. We wan . ers oth p – educated and hel so that they can be like you you are helping us – people We thank you that you don’t even know!’

- Awak Deng Bol

Photo: ALWS

You empower us

‘I was 16 years old when I got married. I never got to go to school. After the training I feel proud of the certificate and it feels good to show my childr en. I can do something! I thank God for the cou rage of those like you wh o help us here in South Sudan. We are in poverty, but you em power us to do something for our selves. I pray God you can he lp more women.’ - Ajok Kuir Atem

Our Lutheran family supported Awak and Ajok to learn catering. They can now support their families. Too many girls in South Sudan miss out on school. Through ALWS, you can help get 10,000 children back to school in the next 100 days ($26 per child per one year of school):

alws.org.au * 1300 763 407

Cooking together to bring love to life! LUTHERAN

CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA