The Lutheran February 2021 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

FEBRUARY 2021

‘As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another’

VOL 55 NO1

Print Post Approved PP100003514

1 PETER 4 :10

Fundraising for the kingdom

LUTHERAN

CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

EDITORIAL

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

CONNECT WITH US We Love The Lutheran! @welove_TL lutheranchurchaus

SUBSCRIBE www.thelutheran.com.au 08 8360 7270 lutheran.subs@lca.org.au LCA Subscriptions PO Box 731 North Adelaide SA 5006 11 issues per year

Good news in any language The Kope Bible translation team from Papua New Guinea’s Gulf Province says ‘Keito geega-ka’ or ‘a big thank you’ to everyone who has supported building the Oroi’io Madei (Living Word) Training Centre in Ubuo. The building is being used for meetings and translation work. Bible translator Hanna Schulz, says, ‘Thank you for praying, for giving, and for your encouragement’. And she says team members enjoy reading The Lutheran while waiting for meetings to start. LCA International Mission partners with Wycliffe Australia to support Hanna as she serves in linguistics and translation in PNG.

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

People like YOU bring love to life Rodney Malbunka

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Bethlehem Lutheran Church Hermannsburg, NT

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Arrarnta Pastor (Hermannsburg)

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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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Most treasured Bible text: 1 Kings 17:7–16 The story of Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath ‘For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord.’

Leonie D’Antoni Mount Cotton Woodridge Tingalpa Parish, Qld Hairdresser Most treasured Bible text: Psalm 91 ‘Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.’

Robert Gubbins-Hicks Nazareth Woolloongabba, Qld Retired Most treasured Bible text: Psalm 23 ‘Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.’ 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.

February Special features EDITOR'S

let ter

If you’ve ever belonged to an amateur sporting team, cultural society, arts or environment body, service club or charity, or if you’ve been part of a school or church community, you’ll undoubtedly be familiar with fundraising. I know what it’s like, working hard to stage that quiz night, gala dinner, high tea, concert, wine and cheese tasting, movie screening or strawberry fair and pleading with friends and family to attend and buy or sell raffle tickets. And what your club or community makes in return can hardly seem worth the effort. But we contribute physically and financially because we care about the cause. And there are always good causes to support, both within our home churches, our LCA/NZ and our wider communities. In 2020 the COVID-19 lockdowns and changing restrictions on gatherings made fundraising more difficult than ever. But as a result we saw some fresh and inspiring ideas come to life. And members of our Lutheran family gave generously. When, due to COVID, ALWS couldn’t hold large Walk My Way events around the country to support schooling for refugee kids, people walked alone or with family around the yard, the block or the local park, or committed to other challenges.

God multiplies our gifts

Get to know our new shepherds

When Lutheran pastors in the Philippines were left without financial support due to church closures and no government safety net, their brothers in the LCA/NZ (and some Lutheran congregations) sent financial support for several months. As it wasn’t possible to have a room full of trivia buffs ready to take on the toughest questions, the folk at Our Saviour Rochedale in Queensland hosted an online quiz night and raised thousands for a community project in Africa.

Fundraising for the kingdom

Regulars Heartland

Dwelling in God’s word

Go and Grow

Church@Home

The inside story

Sudoku

Going GREYT!

Directory

Your voice

Prayer calendar February

Prayer calendar March

Lutheran Women of Australia have continued their wonderful support of a wide range of local and international mission and service projects throughout COVID, holding innovative fundraisers such as ‘cakeless stalls’. And there are many more examples. In this issue we share some reflections on fundraising for the kingdom – and come to see that God multiplies our gifts. Watch out for more of these encouraging tales in coming issues, too, as these pages are so full of resources and information we couldn’t fit everything in this time. Another exciting development is that our new digital edition of The Lutheran is now available. All our regular features are online as well as in print, and print subscribers can access the digital version at no extra cost! To subscribe, give the new digital version as a gift, or to register for free digital access, go to www.thelutheran.com.au/subscribe God bless your reading.

Lisa

Our cover: A children’s project by Nunawading and Waverley Lutheran Church in Melbourne’s east raised money for the work of ALWS supporting schools for refugee children in east Africa. See page 5.

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

STAND FIRM AS GOD’S BAPTISED, REDEEMED FAMILY 2020 was a complex, confusing and sometimes difficult year. Our reactions were equally mixed – fear, frustration, anger, relief, grief, selfishness, pride, joy and disappointment, among others.

quickly became very good at making us do that. Soon, with the help of vaccines, we might just re-establish enough control to return to business as normal – or close to it.

Are we glad that our society has been spared the worst (so far at least) of COVID-19, or do we mourn those who have died, or who live in circumstances far worse than our own?

Human beings are great adaptors. And, at least in Australia and New Zealand, our lifestyles will probably be largely unchanged, except for a few things like travel.

Is self-protection paramount, or should we risk our safety for the welfare of others? You could say that our bubble of invincibility has burst, a perpetual lesson going back to the tower of Babel. In Genesis 11, God scattered people across the earth.

What have we learned from 2020? Once we know the answer to that question, we will know how wise or foolish we have become.

In 2020 we hunkered down. Essentially, we could only deal with the disease by hiding from it, and our governments

WE CAN STI LL STAN D TOG ETH ER CON FI DENTLY TODAY AS GOD’S BAPTISED, REDEEM ED FAM I LY OF SI N N ERS AN D SAI NTS . 4

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I pray for wisdom – the wisdom of knowing that we are not our own gods, but there is One, whom we know as Jesus Christ, who is Immanuel, God with us. And knowing him and trusting God’s Son, who was born for us, lived and died for us, conquered death for us is the way to eternal life, whatever ravages of this present life may confront us. Our faith is not reliant on our security in this world. It does not rely on successful systems which meet all our needs. It does not depend on maintaining the comforting, familiar structures of society and church. God would still save us without all these things. When the people of Israel, devastated and fearful, found themselves caught between a pursuing army and the

impassable waters of the Red Sea, Moses said to them, ‘Do not be afraid, stand firm, and see the deliverance that the Lord will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you see today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.’ Then God cut through the waters for them and they walked through on dry land. Our dry land, the bedrock of our faith, is Jesus Christ. The devil and the world have already done their worst to him, and he has overcome it all, even death. To paraphrase Moses, we now need to stand firm in our Saviour and keep still while the Lord fights for us. When distressed, Martin Luther would comfort himself by repeating, ‘I am baptised! I am baptised!’ When the world tries to destroy us, tempting us to abandon Jesus and justify ourselves, we too can reply, ‘I am baptised! God has given me faith in my Saviour Jesus Christ. In his name, I am washed clean.’ We can still stand together confidently today as God’s baptised, redeemed family of sinners and saints. With him there is enough love, and enough power, to save the whole world. Bishop John Henderson is on annual leave. This column has been adapted from his Heartland eNews published 16 December 2020.

A children’s project by Nunawading and Waverley Lutheran Church in Melbourne’s east raised money for the work of Australian Lutheran World Service supporting schools for refugee children in east Africa.

Fundraising for the kingdom – which servant are you? B Y J O N AT H A N K R A U S E

I learnt my first big fundraising lesson in the dusty warehouse of a noisy printing factory in an industrial suburb south of Melbourne. It was 1986. I had hair down to my waist. And I had the stupidest job in the world – writing poems for greeting cards. It seems I was the only person in the southern hemisphere with this job, which led New Idea to do a feature about it, and Gold Logie winner Ernie Sigley to invite me on to breakfast TV so he could crack jokes at my expense. Each week I would be assigned 50 greeting cards to write poems for. Thinking I already knew everything, I set out to change the world of greeting cards forever by vowing never to write a rhyming poem. No love/glove/dove for me … which is when my boss beckoned me to follow her into the warehouse. She pointed to a pallet of boxes of greeting cards – returned greeting cards from shops that couldn’t sell them. She said: ‘Jonathan, it’s not about you or what you want to write. It’s about what people want to buy.’

Fundraising is all about what you want to do for others. So, my fundraising job at Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS) is straightforward. I simply introduce you to people who need your help, support them to tell you what you can do to help and then leave you to decide what action you will take. Of course, I try to present people’s story as clearly as I can. And I look for exciting ways you can act, such as Gifts of Grace, the GRACE Project, Walk My Way. Of course, I respect you enough to be frank with you. Show you the urgency. Explain the challenges. Tell you what it costs. Then, ask unashamedly for your help. That’s Fundraising 101 – but really it’s one-to-one. My dad sometimes grumbles that he gets too many letters from charities. Other people ask not to receive letters, so they can save money for the charity and help lower ‘overheads’. I understand those feelings, especially when you help people (and animals) through multiple charities. The Lutheran F E B R UA RY 2 0 21

Pastor Stephen Schultz, the SA/NT District’s Assistant Bishop for Mission, is joining the 2021 ALWS Walk My Way after a quickly aborted attempt to do 8 kilometres – or 160 laps – around his backyard during a 2020 lockdown. (Cockie thought he’d lost the plot!) ‘I want to celebrate that I have the freedom to be out and about’, he says. ‘I also want to walk in solidarity and support for my refugee brothers and sisters … We are in this together.’

Ever since I was on the Student Representative Council organising ‘Rice Days’ at Luther College in 1976, I’ve been driven by the words of Matthew 25:34–40. This is the story of the sheep and the goats, where Jesus talks about his people feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, visiting the sick … and pointing out that when you and I do this for someone overlooked, ignored or forgotten, we are doing it for him.

However, in fundraising, we know that unless you talk to people at least every couple of months, they can forget about you, donations drop off, fewer people are helped, and ‘overheads’ actually go up.

FU N D R AISI N G IS A LL A BO UT W H AT YO U WA NT TO DO F O R .

So, my job in fundraising is to balance the ‘smell-ofan-oily-rag’ approach – over a five-year average ALWS ‘overheads’ are less than 15 per cent – with doing what my 30 years of experience have shown me to be the most effective, efficient way to raise money to help people. I’ve been blessed to be able to teach fundraising around the world – the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand and even to 500 hospital administrators in the middle of China! What I’ve found in all those places is that people always give from their heart. Someone’s need touches them, and they are moved to help. You cannot educate people into giving by teaching lots of facts or statistics to persuade them. It doesn’t work, because the ‘head’ is not strong enough to overturn a decision made in the heart. The only time fundraising should be about educating, is when we try to show you the most effective way for you to help others. For example: • DON’T send boxes of ‘stuff’ that cost a fortune to transport and can create ‘winners and losers in communities’. • DO support local communities with training and long-term development, rather than going and doing everything for them. • ALWAYS work hard to make sure no-one is forgotten, including people with disabilities, seniors and minority groups. There’s another ‘Boss’ who has taught me about fundraising – Jesus.

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others

What’s interesting is what Jesus teaches directly before that, in Matthew 25:14–30. Here, he tells the story of the Master giving his servants ‘talents’ – or in modern translations money – different amounts according to the servants’ different abilities.

When you read it in The Message version of the Bible, you see language that wouldn’t be out of place in a business operational plan: ‘delegated responsibilities’, ‘depending on their abilities’, ‘went to work’, ‘doubled his master’s investment’. For the first two servants, who worked hard and doubled the master’s investment, we read: ‘Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.’ However, when the master calls to account the last servant, who simply buried what he had been given because he was too scared – or lazy – to put it to work, we read: • ‘It’s criminal to live cautiously like that.’ • ‘If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least?’ • ‘… get rid of this ‘play-it-safe’ who won’t go out on a limb.’ Each day I must ask myself which servant I am. It’s a question we as the Lutheran Church need to ask each day too. As a fundraiser, I (and ALWS) try to be the bold, hardworking servant of verses 14–30 – inspiring you with ideas, being efficient with your donations, helping you have as big an impact as you can with the gifts God has given you … to bless others as we follow Jesus as the sheep of verses 34–40, feeding the hungry, giving water to those are thirsty, caring for the homeless and sick. For me, fundraising is a critical part of this ministry. I thank God I have been given the opportunity to serve this way and been blessed to see the transformation in people’s lives as we work – and raise funds – together to bring love to life. What a joy! Jonathan Krause is ALWS Community Action Manager.

G IN N I L L E DW R O D W S ' D GO

G I V I N G I N A W AY A S E E L S GOD P T A H T

In recent years I have witnessed the generosity of God’s people again and again. I’ve been blessed to see the LLL forgive a $75,000 loan to a congregation; humbled by a child sending the contents of her piggy bank to help build a muchneeded church, along with an older couple donating more than $1 million to the same cause. I’ve been astonished to see churches built in Africa with money that was donated with joy and seen the long-term blessings of gifts that fund theological education in Papua New Guinea and across South-East Asia. This all reminds me of a very generous widow in Luke’s gospel. Read Luke 21:1-4 What is your response to such generosity? While I’m certain we would all give thanks to God for the generosity of his saints, how does this make you feel deep down? As you search your heart is there any sense of guilt or shame that you haven’t acted similarly? Or does it encourage a sense of pride in how generous you have been? Do you despair because you feel unable to respond with such generosity due to life’s circumstances? Talk of giving inevitably raises all these reactions and more. So I want to say that your sins of pride, of stinginess toward the Lord, of trusting in yourself and not in the Lord, and of begrudgingly trying to please God through your giving – all these sins are forgiven and you are free because God did not hold back his only Son, but generously gave him up for us all. I proclaim this good news to you because it is intimately connected with faithful giving, and unless you receive the forgiveness Christ won for you, it is impossible to give in a way that pleases the Lord.

by Matt Anker

Paul is also acutely aware of their physical needs – how does he encourage them to continue in their generosity even in the face of such realities (v19)? How did God use their gifts to multiply the blessing they received? Read 2 Corinthians 9:6–15. What keywords does Paul use to describe Christian giving – both what it is and what it is not? What makes a Christian giver cheerful? According to verse 10, who is the ultimate owner of things we give? We are but stewards of God’s resources, tasked with the responsibility of managing what we have to bring glory to God and his mercy to our neighbour. As we give, God blesses us by drawing us deeper into his mission to forgive and save. Giving also helps us prioritise what is truly important and discourages us from laying up treasures on earth (See Matthew 6:19–20). 6:19–20). The impressive thing about the gifts I mentioned at the beginning is not their magnitude, but rather that they were given so that others could receive God’s grace through the ministry of the gospel. The gifts were inspired by the act of a generous God who did not hold back his own Son but willingly gave him up that we might have life in his name. How are your gifts blessing others, so that they may know the hope to which you have been called? The answer may be apparent to you, or perhaps not seen this side of eternity. But be encouraged that your giving, in response to Jesus’ gift to you, is being used by him for a work that will last for all eternity.

Read Philippians 4:14–19. What motivated the Philippians to support Paul and his ministry? (Chapter 1 gives you more insights.)

Pastor Matt Anker serves as Assistant to the Bishop – LCA International Mission. The Lutheran F E B R UA RY 2 0 21

Photo: ALWS/David Modra

Walk for the children! WHERE WILL YOU WALK?

WHY YOUR WALK MATTERS

GOOD NEWS! After COVID-19 cancelled ALWS Walk My Way last year, it’s time to step out in 2021 to help refugee children get back to school!

Your walk will help refugee children get back to school and to catch up on what they missed because of COVID-19 closedowns.

Join the main Walk My Way in the Barossa Valley on Saturday 1 May, enjoying vineyards, Lutheran churches and Barossa hospitality …

Our Walk My Way aim is to support 10,000 children plus show our Australian community what it means to be a church where love comes to life.

… or do your own Walk your Way wherever you are, whenever you like.

Through ALWS you help make sure no child is forgotten – giving special care to children with disabilities, orphans and older students who have been left behind.

Can’t manage 26 km? Do it in stages beforehand. Woof your Way or Wheel your Way. Each step you take, each $26 you raise, supports a refugee child in school for one year.

$26 helps get a refugee child back to school for one year! Photo: ALWS/Helene Wikstrom

Best of all, no-one can ever take away the education you give a child – you are a blessing ALWayS!

When: Saturday 1 May Where: Barossa Valley SA REGISTER NOW: walkmyway.org.au * 1300 763 407

Walking together to bring love to life! LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

GO D M U LTI PLI ES

our gifts BY WENDY HABEL

‘Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered’ (Proverbs 11:25). How do you motivate yourself? How do you do something day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year? It may not be exactly the same, but as I have found over the years since becoming a member of Lutheran Women of Australia (LWA), women have become very adept at fundraising for projects across the Lutheran Church. Time is a God-given privilege; it is measured out in seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and years by the grace of God. He alone knows how much time we have and when he will call us to our heavenly home. There is a catchcry among some women: ‘I’ll help. If I find time to help with the Lord’s work, I can be pretty sure he’ll give me the time to finish what I have to do!’ This is the motivation I see in the faces of beautiful ladies as I have travelled in my role on the LWA executive.

‘ I ’ LL H ELP. I F I FI N D TI M E TO H ELP W IT H TH E LO R D’S WO R K , I C A N B E PR ET T Y SU R E H E’ LL G I V E M E T H E TI M E TO FI N IS H W H AT I H AV E TO DO ! ’

Each state serves on the executive for a three-year term and we have 11 projects to support through fundraising. These include Aboriginal Missions; Australian Lutheran World Service; LCA International Mission programs and partnerships in Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand; support for overseas students studying at Australian Lutheran College (ALC); the ALC Women’s Auxiliary and the ALC Pastoral Ministry Assistance Fund. Between January 2019 and December 2020 an inspirational total of $251,924.15 was raised. Even during COVID-19 LWA women have continued in their support. Innovative fundraising activities have included ‘cakeless stalls’, brown-wrapped auctions, catering for fellowship luncheons and high teas, and giving through knitted

Top: Lutheran Women of Australia (LWA) President Wendy Habel (third from left) meets with former LWA leaders, from left, Daphne Miegel (1997-2000), Tuula Contarino (20152018) and Grace Bock (2009-2013). Above: LWA groups raise money for Lutheran Church programs through a variety of events and projects including this Mother’s Day fundraiser in which women from the Bethlehem Adelaide Sanctuary Guild sold flower arrangements.

or crocheted rugs, toys, children’s clothing and beanies for all ages.

We are privileged to serve and when each women’s fellowship gives – no matter how much or little – God multiplies our gifts and these monetary amounts are used to support many needs. Each state has projects, too, and these are also supported generously. Leonie from the Bethlehem Ladies Fellowship in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, sums up the women’s attitude to serving and giving in a quote from the Lutheran Women magazine article ‘Busy hands and thankful hearts’: ‘Being able to give so many items to those in need … is a double blessing. Our prayer is that we can continue to do our “work” in his name.’ It’s important to remember we are all special in God’s sight, not because of our talents and skills but because we are filled with the Spirit, which is how we serve God’s purpose. Wendy Habel is Lutheran Women of Australia President.

LWA is an auxiliary of the LCA. Lutheran Women magazine is issued bi-monthly in print and digital editions and is available at https://lutheranwomenofaustralia.org/ or through LCA Subscriptions via phone 08 8360 7270 or email: lutheranwomen.subs@lca.org.au The Lutheran F E B R UA RY 2 0 21

Get to know our

new shepherds

These Australian Lutheran College pastoral ministry graduates come from a wide range of backgrounds but will all be stepping out in faith to begin their first assignments as General Ministry Pastors in 2021. Read on to discover more about their ministry journeys.

PHILIP BENTLEY AG E : 57 FA M I LY: Wife Narelle H O M E C O N G R E G AT I O N: St Paul’s Mount Isa Qld A S S I G N E D TO: Greenock Parish SA

JAMES LUK

Who were the most influential people in your life as you were growing up? Too numerous to mention, but Jesus has been the most influential. Who are the most influential people for you now? Jesus. Before ALC? I have had numerous occupations along my life’s journey. The most significant would be 20 years’ service as a design and technology teacher. Who or what encouraged you towards pastoral studies? The Holy Spirit. What is your most relied upon Bible verse and why? ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls’ (Matthew 11:28–29 – NLT). I find it most comforting. The most important thing people need to know about God is … your Father loves you! You can know him and have a relationship with him through Jesus. You can trust his Spirit to teach and guide you. You can believe that he is who he says he is. You can count on him to keep his promises. Which privilege of being a pastor are you most looking forward to? Serving our living God. Being able to bring others to an encounter with our God who is revealed as a God of love; also being able to administer God’s gifts through the sacraments and the preaching and teaching of the gospel through God’s word. What is your favourite leisure activity? I like to run and play the guitar.

AG E : 56 Who were the most FA M I LY: Wife Sarah, seven children influential people in and five grandchildren your life as you were growing up? I was H O M E C O N G R E G AT I O N: born in South Sudan. St Peter’s Frankston Vic God called me through A S S I G N E D TO: my older brother Philip. Bethlehem Morley WA Then I was catechised by Peter Kay, who was the evangelist in the evangelical Presbyterian Church of Sudan. Who are the most influential people for you now? Dr Ken Bartel and Dr Greg Lockwood – both have supported me in one way or another during my studies at ALC and even when I was doing my Diploma of Theology 10 years ago. Before ALC? I was serving the Sudanese community for six years as Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) at St Peter’s Frankston in Victoria. What is your most relied upon Bible verse and why? One of my favourite Bible verses is: ‘Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come’ (2 Corinthians 5:17 – ESV). Which privilege of being a pastor are you most looking forward to? I look forward to serving the people of God for years to come in my new role as General Ministry Pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Morley, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. What is your favourite leisure activity? I enjoy reading stories in my leisure time. I also like to take a nice walk. If you could chat with any famous person, living or dead, who would it be and why? I would chat with Martin Luther if he was still alive because he rediscovered the truth of the gospel in the Scriptures, that we are justified through faith and not by our good works.

M Y M OST R ELI ED O N B I B LE V ERS E IS J O H N 3:16, T H ER E YO U H AV E TH E GOS PEL SU M M ED U P I N A S I N G LE V ERS E.

CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON AG E : 34 FA M I LY: Wife Melissa and daughter Phoebe H O M E C O N G R E G AT I O N: St John’s Southgate Vic A S S I G N E D TO: Nazareth Woolloongabba Qld

STEPHEN NOBLETT AG E : 48 FA M I LY: Single H O M E C O N G R E G AT I O N: Calvary Glandore SA A S S I G N E D TO: Southern Flinders Parish SA

Who were the most influential people in your life as you were growing up? From a spiritual perspective my mother Dawn – she made sure that I was at church and Sunday school each week – which in turn allowed my pastor and teachers to have their influence on me. Before ALC? I worked in the finance industry writing financial plans. Who or what encouraged you towards pastoral studies? Until a few years ago I never thought that it would be a path that I would take. However, various things happened that led me to realise that God was wanting me to make a change in direction. What is your most relied upon Bible verse and why? My most relied on Bible verse is John 3:16, there you have the gospel summed up in a single verse. The most important thing people need to know about God is … Jesus died for you, he took on your sins and through his work you are restored into a right relationship with God. That is how much God loves you. Which privilege of being a pastor are you most looking forward to? Sharing the message of Christ and what he has done for us with all people. What is your favourite leisure activity? I enjoy a game of golf, but most of the time I am happy tending my fruit trees. What is your favourite movie? If I had to select one as a representative of the movies I prefer perhaps The Titchfield Thunderbolt.. Thunderbolt If you could chat with any famous person, living or dead, who would it be and why? I would like to have a chat with Archimedes – he was a great problem solver who could come up with very innovative solutions to problems.

Who were the most influential people in your life as you were growing up? My family, my minister and my third-grade teacher. I learned a lot from Pastor Jarvis’s gentle and caring manner, and Mr Bussink challenged me to think critically and hear all the sides of a story. Before ALC? I travelled a fair bit. I’ve done a number of labouring jobs, from warehouses to picking fruit. My last major occupation before study was managing a tea shop. Who or what encouraged you towards pastoral studies? God put a retired pastor, [the late] Neil Hampel, in my path. Neil encouraged me to consider studying for ordination. What is your most relied upon Bible verse and why? I rely daily on the Psalms. For one specific verse, Jeremiah 29:11. This verse and the context around it are a constant reminder that God does have a plan for his creation, me included. The most important thing people need to know about God is … who God is: the creator of heaven and earth, the all-powerful being who sustains all life and creation. But far from being distantly high above, God condescends to us. God formed Adam with his hands. God knit us together in the womb. God humbled himself to become flesh and blood. God is all powerful, and yet he would and did die to bring us back into relationship with him. Which privilege of being a pastor are you most looking forward to? The special ways the pastoral office proclaims the gospel; absolving the sins of the congregation; proclaiming God's grace and peace in sermons; serving fellow Christians the meal of Christ’s body and blood for the forgiveness of their sins. What is your favourite leisure activity? I love to ride my pushbike. What is your favourite movie? The Princess Bride The Lutheran F E B R UA RY 2 0 21

JOSEPH THEODORSEN AG E : 38

RO M A NS 8 :35 IS A R EM I N D ER TH AT N O M AT TER W H AT H A PPENS I N TH E WO R LD, GO D’S LOV E IS A LL- EN CO M PAS S I N G .

FA M I LY: Wife Maricel, and children Aaron, Elijah and Abigail. H O M E C O N G R E G AT I O N: Hope Geraldton WA A S S I G N E D TO: Top End Parish NT

ROLAND ADAMS AG E : 34 FA M I LY: Single H O M E C O N G R E G AT I O N: St Luke’s Parkwood WA

Who were the most influential people in your life as you were growing up? My family, particularly my mother. She has been a solid Christian inspiration throughout my life. Who are the most influential people for you now? My mother is still such a great example of the faith. Also, many of the lecturers [at ALC], and congregational members and pastors that I have encountered. Before ALC? I was a taxi driver; prior to that a recruitment consultant, an accounts clerk, general clerk, and a service station attendant and manager. Who or what encouraged you towards pastoral studies? The congregation in Geraldton, as well as Pastor Dieter Dell’Antonio and his wife Monica. What is your most relied upon Bible verse and why? The whole of 1 Corinthians 13. Everything I want to do and be as a Christian and a minister in God’s church is centred around love. The most important thing people need to know about God is … that he loves you – so much that he gave his only Son to die for you. Which privilege of being a pastor are you most looking forward to? To minister to the sick and dying is something that I have found very humbling and honoured to be a part of.

Who were the most influential people in your life as you were growing up? My family has had a massive influence on me, along with teachers, sports coaches, and many other people that I have looked up to over the years. Who are the most influential people for you now? There are many people – from other pastors to people that I have interacted with, to some more famous people who serve as an example for me. Before ALC? I worked on the docks at Henderson in Western Australia in naval construction for BAE Systems. Who or what encouraged you towards pastoral studies? St Luke’s Parkwood congregation were among the most supportive, along with leaders of Lutheran Youth of WA, several pastors, and my family and friends. What is your most relied upon Bible verse and why? Romans 8:35 is a reminder that no matter what happens in the world, God’s love is all-encompassing. The most important thing people need to know about God is … God loves you, to the extent that Christ died for you.

What is your favourite leisure activity? My family and I are avid campers, we love to get out and about in God’s wonderful creation.

What privilege of being a pastor are you most looking forward to? Bringing people the forgiveness of God, along with the body and blood of Jesus in holy communion.

What is your favourite movie? The Matrix or Die Hard. Hard.

What is your favourite leisure activity? This depends on how I am feeling, from spending time with friends or with a book to gardening, or computer games.

If you could chat with any famous person, living or dead, who would it be and why? The Apostle Paul. He has been an inspirational character for me. To chew the fat with him about his experiences would be something else!

A S S I G N E D TO: St John’s Trinity Renmark and Holy Cross Paringa SA

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If you could chat with any famous person, living or dead who would it be and why? If I had the opportunity and language was not an issue, Jesus would be a good option.

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

REACH ING OUT – TO G E T H E R BY R I CH A R D F OX

Bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to people is not a solo exercise. As a church, we have opportunities to partner together to make a big difference in many lives. Your support enables the mission of Lutheran Media. This work shares Jesus’ message of hope through many resources – from radio spots, videos, booklets and online children’s ministry, to live-streamed church services, worship life CDs and DVDs, study guides, Scripture calendars and cards. Together we reach many more people than we could do on our own. Partnering with you through your prayers, encouragement and donations helps bring the gospel

to millions of people. Some whose lives have been changed are now supporting Lutheran Media so that more people can hear this life-giving news. God calls us to give generously to the mission of his kingdom. Support Lutheran Media and access life-changing resources at www.lutheranmedia.org.au or by calling 1800 353 350. 350. Pastor Richard Fox is Director of Lutheran Media.

M I N ISTR I ES ‘ EN CO U R AG E, CH ALLEN G E AN D B LESS’ ‘We listened to Pastor Richard's message broadcast by our local radio station and thank him for his encouraging and challenging words.’ – Ken and Danuta

‘Thank you for the blessings you bring to so many every day ... Would you kindly forward the Chronic Pain booklet to my daughter as I hope it will help her.’ – Kaye

‘Keep up the wonderful work in the digital space, providing confessional/ biblical truths to a post-modern Australian society!’ – Nathan

‘Thank you for the CDs. I am not computer-literate. I pray this pandemic will turn the people to Jesus. Keep up the good work you are doing.’ – Joy

‘We thank you for the [worship] service provided and pray that you can continue to reach many people for Christ.’ – Rodney

‘I really appreciated your newsletter, you are doing amazing work.’ – Peter

NEW VIDEO DEALS WITH GRIEF AND HOPE When Annette’s daughter died tragically, she felt trapped and lost in her grief. ‘The first year after Elise died was bad enough, but the second year was worse. I was bitter and I was twisted. I knew that I needed to do something’, she says. Watch Annette’s story and her struggle to find hope and freedom in the new video ‘Healing the Jagged Edges’ at www.youtube.com/ messagesofhope For more about dealing with grief, go to www.messagesofhope.org.au/grief

CO N FER EN CES TO C A PT U R E GOD’S MISSION VISION BY CR AI G H EI D EN R EI CH

If your heart longs to see Jesus honoured in our society, then the ‘New Horizons: bridging cultures with the gospel’ conference is for you. Hosted by the New & Renewing Churches and Cross-Cultural Ministry departments of LCA/NZ Local Mission, the conference will be held as a series of state-based events over the next 18 months. The first two are locked in, so if you are in South Australia or Queensland, save the following dates: • Adelaide – 13 and 14 Feb • Brisbane – 13 and 14 March. Our Lord’s statement that ‘the harvest is ripe’ rings in our ears and if you hear it too, please pray about joining us to capture his vision for 2021. Our heart is to find practical ways we can reach out and express his love and his message of hope. For more information, go to www.lca.org.au/new-horizons Craig Heidenreich is LCA/NZ CrossCultural Ministry Facilitator.

GUIDE FOR D E VOT I O N A N D P R AY E R

40 DAYS

a Lenten de

vo tion and p

rayer gui de

LCA International Mission’s 2021 Lenten prayer guide and devotional invites members of the LCA/NZ to join our mission partners, as together we pray for God’s global mission. The ‘40 Days’ guide is available in printed and electronic forms. You can download an electronic copy at the LCA International Mission website at www.lcamission.org.au/pray or request a printed copy by emailing lcaim@lca.org.au or phoning 08 8267 7330.

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P R AY E R T H E FOCUS FOR LENT BY A N N E H A NS EN

Our Christmas season is now over – the Christ-child promised to us has been sent by God to save us. Now we move forward 33 years to this promise coming to fruition as our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ journeys to the cross. Lent begins on 17 February with Ash Wednesday. This begins the 40 days – excluding Sundays – of walking to the cross with Jesus. Lutheran Tract Mission has produced another Lenten devotional for this year focusing on prayer. Prayer was very important to Jesus. It was a time he could talk to his Father to receive strength for his ministry and for all that lay ahead of him. Jesus used prayer not only to seek his Father’s help for himself but also for his disciples, others touched by his ministry and even us!

The new Lenten devotional ‘Hear our prayer’ by Lutheran Tract Mission is downloadable at www.ltm.org.au to be read as a flipbook on your electronic device or can be printed in booklet form. We encourage congregations to print them off for their members and as an outreach, adding church service times to the back! May your lives be blessed through this Lenten season – Lord, hear our prayer. Anne Hansen is Lutheran Tract Mission Development Officer

SU PPORT FOR FU N DRAISING EFFORTS BY TA N I A N ELS O N

From cake stalls to quiz nights, from car boot sales to stamp cleaning, congregations across the LCA/NZ have raised millions of dollars for their communities. What a blessing fundraising can be, as awareness is raised for a cause, funds are generated for a community project and people come together to improve the lot of others. The new New and Renewing Churches website features a fundraising toolkit, so please check it out. Perhaps your congregation will accept the challenge to raise funds so that the gospel can be shared across Australia and New Zealand through our church plants and sending churches. Elsewhere on the website, we invite you to take a look at what else the New and Renewing Churches

department of LCA/NZ Local Mission can offer your congregation. For example, you can browse our ‘store’ and see what Renew Mission Life is all about. May God bless your participation in the Spirit’s work a hundred-fold! For more information go to www.newandrenewingchurches.org.au Tania Nelson is the LCA/NZ’s Executive Officer – Local Mission.

R ES O U R C ES T H AT E Q U I P U S TO S E R V E Grow Ministries offers resources including Equipping Sheets, which are based on its guiding principles for intergenerational ministry and have been designed to encourage and inspire. They provide practical information and ideas to assist in creating a culture that nurtures faith for life. One of Grow’s equipping sheets is ‘Encouraging acts of service’. As we are told in the gospels, including in John 13 when Jesus washes his disciples’ feet, our Lord calls us to show love and serve one another. We grow in faith and discipleship by engaging in acts of service. These acts require us to focus on the needs of others.

W AYS TO S E R V E IN ALL SETTINGS

GROWING IN FAITH TOGETHER

Grow also has a GIFT (Growing in Faith Together) Serving Together resource which features ideas for ways to serve in different settings.

Ways to serve our church family • Help lead worship, read the Bible, lead prayers or be in the band. • Volunteer for a church spring clean or working bee. • Make encouraging cards for those who are sick or sad. • Help an older member of the congregation with gardening. • Bake some biscuits for a homebound member.

Ways to serve our community • Donate unused clothes to a community op shop. • Invite a friend and their family over for a meal.

• Visit residents in your local care home to sing or play games. • Support special projects and teachers at your school.

Ways to serve our world • Donate to Australian Lutheran World Service for their ongoing aid work overseas at www.alws.org.au • Encourage and support those who carry out mission work overseas through LCA International Mission – contact www.lca.org.au/ international-mission • Write to your sponsor child or consider getting a sponsor child as a family and church community.

Supporting the ordination of both women and men in the LCA/NZ Are you a delegate to General Synod in 2021? Are you and your congregation fully prepared to engage with this issue? The Streams in the Desert Community aims to inform, encourage and inspire individuals, delegates and congregations to address this matter. We are a growing group of Lutherans from all walks of life – women and men, pastors and laity – committed to honouring the contributions of women at all levels of our church, including ordination. For more information and resources, please connect with us through our new website at

www.streamsinthedesert.com.au Working together with Women at the Well and AIM Disclaimer: The Lutheran is the churchwide magazine of the Lutheran Church of Australia. While we sometimes promote events, programs or services that congregations, groups, agencies or individuals organise for the wider church, in the interests of transparency and accountability, we advise that this particular site is not officially endorsed by the LCA/NZ.

SERVING TO G E T H E R B U I L D S CO N N ECTI O NS Family life provides a foundational setting for developing a life of service. Children and adults are more likely to have a strong growing faith when their family serves others together. Congregations which nurture young people and allow them to be involved in serving opportunities find that they stay engaged in the church. When we serve together it develops community. Acts of service are a great way to create and develop intergenerational relationships. ‘Encouraging acts of service’ is at www.growministries.org.au/growresources/equipping-sheets-2

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

LUXURY ACCOMMODATION WITH POOL Highgate SA (Concordia location) www.cheltenhamcottagesa.com 10% of booking cost will be donated to ALWS. Email cheltenhamcottagesa@gmail.com and mention The Lutheran.

GET HELP If you or someone you know is affected by domestic and family violence, visit www.anrows.org.au/get-support or call 1800 RESPECT (24-hour National Sexual Assault Family Domestic Violence Counselling Service), or Lifeline Counselling (24 hours) 131 114. 114. In an emergency, call 000 000.. HIDDEN

HURTS

HEALING

HEARTS

LCA PREVENTION OF DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE

w w w.preventdf v.lca .org.au

YO U C A N ’ T CANCEL K I N D N ES S When COVID-19 forced ALWS to cancel Walk My Way in the Barossa Valley, Albury/Bonegilla, Melbourne and Gold Coast in 2020, there were fears children in refugee camps might miss out on Australian support to go to school. Yet our Lutheran family managed to find ways to overcome the COVID challenge. Walk My Way became Walk your Way and enthusiastic young people like Huon Stelzer from Rochedale in Queensland led the way. ‘I always feel bad that so many children don’t have anything, so I want to give back to them’, Huon said. He did a 10-kilometre walk and raised funds to support six refugee children to go to school.

B AC K O N T R AC K I N 2021 ALWS is looking forward to the first public Walk My Way for 2021, COVID-19 permitting, on Saturday 1 May in South Australia’s Barossa Valley. Community Action Manager Jonathan Krause says: ‘We have set a target of supporting 10,000 children for Walk My Way in 2021, to follow on from 10,000 children in our 100 day “Back to School” Christmas Action campaign.’ It costs just $26 to support a refugee child in school for one year. Everybody can be part of Walk My Way in 2021 – walking on the day, doing it in stages, walking where

you live when it suits, doing a Woof my Way with a four-legged friend, Wheel my Way with wheelchair, walker or pram … there’s even talk of a (Sleep) Walk my Way??? Despite COVID-19 cancellations in 2020, our Lutheran family has proven we can find ALWayS find ways to step out together to bring love to life. When: Saturday 1 May Where: Barossa Valley, SA Register: www.walkmyway.org.au 1300 763 407 Supported by: LLL

SCH OO LS STEP OUT FOR THE CAUSE Across Australia, more than 2000 students from Lutheran schools such as Tatachilla Lutheran College in South Australia (pictured) and LORDS in Queensland stepped out in 2020 for Walk your Way to make sure young people in refugee camps could receive a Lutheran-supported education too.

PETER KEEPS U P T H E PAC E More ‘mature’ folk stepped out too. ALWS Board member Peter Renner began his Walk your Way in March 2020 – and is still walking! Peter walks 15 to 20 kilometres every day. By 15 December, Peter had clocked up 4328 km! Peter plans to keep walking, ‘reaching’ Darwin by May 2021!

HERMANNSBURG GENERAL STORE – MANAGER The Finke River Mission General Store at Hermannsburg has a vacancy for the position of Manager. The role involves responsibility for the daily operations of the store, including customer liaison, staff management and store administration. Hermannsburg is an Aboriginal community 130 kilometres west of Alice Springs. It has a population of about 700 people. The store has around 15 staff and an active policy of employing and training indigenous people. The position represents an excellent opportunity for service to the church’s Aboriginal mission in Central Australia. A position description, duty statement and selection criteria can be found on the FRM website www.finkerivermission.lca.org.au/employment Applications and queries regarding the role, community life, accommodation etc are to be directed to Finke River Mission Operations Manager Wayne Bevan on 0448 336 128 or at wayne.b@finkerivermission.org.au

Applications close: COB Friday 26 February 2021

CHURCH

@home

www.lca.org.au/churchhome

DEUTERONOMY 33:27

THE ETERNAL GOD IS YOUR , AND UNDERNEATH ARE THE EVERLASTING ARMS.

refuge

Nurturing faith through home worship An active home-worship life helps nurture faith – including across generations. We pray that you will receive blessings from the devotional materials contained here and in the Church@Home resources collection collated and shared on the special webpage at www.lca.org.au/churchhome www.lca.org.au/churchhome.. There are also other faith-building and practical resources available through this webpage. If you have internet access and a printer, why not print some 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

Don’t look back ‘But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt’ (Genesis 19:26). Read Genesis 19:15–29. We know very little about Lot’s wife. We don’t know her name, but she has been called ‘Ado’ or ‘Edith’ in some Jewish traditions. We don’t know where she was from. What we do know is that despite the angel’s very specific instruction not to look back, she did. There are a lot of varying theories out there on why she looked back. Some say it was a punishment and that when she looked back at the cities that were so evil, she betrayed her secret longing for that way of life. Other much kinder theories speculate she was looking to see if her daughters were following. Regardless of the reason, Lot’s wife became an instant pillar of salt when she looked back. It seems very harsh. We can spend a lot of our lives looking backward for a whole range of reasons. Wondering ‘what if’, replaying

BY VERENA JOHNSON actions and conversations, and regretting things we’ve done or not done, to name a few. The new one for last year was, ‘If only I’d used all that time I had at home more wisely!’ We can spend so much time looking back that we don’t live in the moment and embrace all the joy and possibilities God gives us in the present. Thank God that he doesn’t turn us all into pillars of salt but forgives us every day. Thank him that because of his grace, we don't have to live with what-ifs, replays and regrets. In him, each day is a new beginning with new potential (Lamentations 3:22,23). Dear God, I thank you that you are a God of forgiveness and new beginnings. Help me not to look back. Help me to give you all my what-ifs, replays and regrets, and leave them with you. Help me to walk into each new day with you and embrace all the moments, joys and possibilities you give me. Amen.

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DEVOTIONS FOR HOME WORSHIP

The right time

BY NEVILLE GRIEGER

‘I can’t keep my mouth shut’ (Isaiah 62:1). Read Isaiah 62:1–5. Speaking of finding the moments and the right words, I am reminded of the well-known Aussie expression ‘to put a sock in it’. Most of us can probably recall occasions when we wished we had kept our mouth shut (or we regret having clicked Send on an email in frustration and haste). Once words are spurted out, they cannot be recalled, and the damage is done. On the other hand, there may be times when in hindsight, we wished we had said something when a small window of opportunity arose to influence or respond to a situation. Sometimes this may involve standing up and being counted, even if we are standing alone. Do we find it hard to keep our mouths shut in relation to the God stuff? Or have we missed an opportunity this week to initiate a spiritual conversation that may ignite a burning fire of spiritual growth for someone? For most of us, it’s probably having the courage to speak up, rather than struggling to keep our mouths shut.

Let’s remember that we may be the only copy of the Bible that some people will ever see! Lord, grant us the gift of discernment, which gives us the wisdom to know when to stay silent and when to speak out. Give us the courage to speak out for you when the moment arises, and always show people Jesus by our actions. Amen. Amen.

No lie comes from the truth ‘I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth’ (1 John 2:21). Read 1 John 2:18–23. In this last hour, it is so vital that we cling to the truth so that we might recognise a falsehood when we encounter one. We know that the truth we cling to is more than a set of ideas. We follow Jesus, who himself is the truth. No lie comes from the truth. Nothing false, misleading, manipulative, or deceitful comes from Jesus. As the Good Shepherd, he will not lead you astray. Consider all the promises God makes in his word. He will never leave or forsake you. He will keep you in perfect peace. He has overcome the world. He will counsel you with his loving eye on you. He will bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom to the captives, and release prisoners from darkness. He will bring justice swiftly to the oppressed. Nothing can separate you from his love. These are just a few of the promises God makes. Praise the Lord that we can trust what he says to be true. He does not speak in vain. None of his promises are empty. He cannot lie because he is the definition of truth. Take a

CHURCH

@home

BY ANNIE DUARTE

moment to recall your favourite promise from the Lord, and then rejoice because it is not a fairytale or a nice poem – it is the truth. Father, I thank you that your words are not empty. Your word always accomplishes what it sets out to do. I ask that your promises would come alive to me today. Please give me a renewed passion for your word. Amen.

FAITH MAKES US SURE OF WHAT WE FOR AND GIVES US PROOF OF WHAT WE CANNOT SEE.

hope

HEBREWS 11:1

Care of the new believer

BY TOM BRENNEN

‘I have baptised you with water; but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit’ (Mark 1:8). Read Mark 1:4–11. I came to faith as an adult. The first Christian community I encountered was welcoming, understanding, encouraging and supportive. However, not all of them were like that. I have a clear memory of a time before I was baptised. I was part of a travelling music group that was visiting a congregation when one church member told me: ‘Wrong, wrong, you have it wrong! You can't be a Christian and be a part of a church until you repent properly and are baptised.’ Even many years later, I feel the cut of those words. Baptism is an integral part of being a Christian. In baptism, we receive the gift of faith. We join the community of believers that reaches back into the generations.

Put on Jesus

We join our church mothers and fathers in declaring the glory of God. Let us never forget that ultimately baptism isn't our doing – God is at work. As John 15:16 reminds us, we do not choose God; he chooses us. As God's people, may we act and speak carefully and lovingly as we mentor those new to the faith. May we be that welcoming community where people can safely explore faith as guided by the Spirit. Let us never cease praying for the gospel to bring forth great fruit. Lord, we give thanks for your Spirit who works in all people to bring about faith. May we see the world through your eyes and support those new to the faith. Amen.

BY PASTOR MARK GIERUS

‘Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ’ (Romans 13:14a). Read Romans 13:11–14. When you wake up in the morning and put your clothes on for the day, how often do you stop to put Jesus on? Do you take the time each morning to clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ? Perhaps like so many people, there is just so little time to clothe yourself in your Lord Jesus, or perhaps you don’t even think of him when you are waking up in the morning. What a wonderful gift Jesus is to the whole church (not the buildings, but the people of God), and what a wonderful gift Jesus is to you. God sent his only Son to suffer and die for your sins and offer you forgiveness, eternal life and salvation, simply to be received in faith. When it comes to clothing yourself with Jesus, you don’t have to put on Jesus or God will not love you anymore. You don’t have to put on Jesus or you will be punished. You get to put on Jesus, clothing yourself in the Lord Jesus Christ for your benefit. You can do this not only in the morning but in the middle of the day, in the evening, and even during those 4.00am wake-up times when you just can’t sleep because of worry or fear. But how do you clothe yourself with Jesus? Praying, reading his word and spending time with others in fellowship united by the Holy Spirit in love. As you are clothed in Christ Jesus, you are protected from all evil, and you are safe in his love.

Do you know the best sermon you will ever preach is your life? Clothing yourself with Jesus means he is living in you. Jesus is for you, behind you, beside you and above you. Jesus is always with you, and when someone meets you, they will see Jesus. Dear Lord Jesus, cover me this day with your love, grace and mercy. Guard my heart and my mind so that in all my thoughts and actions, I may serve you. Grow your word deep in my soul so that I bear fruit, living as one who lives in the light of day. Amen.

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Attention: Farming Families 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

FLOOD - FAMINE? 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.

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

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:

• planting in rows • composting • mulching • manure fertiliser. 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.

INTRODUCE VEGETABLES Farmers will also be supported to introduce vegetable crops. 1.

Protect against hunger A vegetable like pumpkin grows quickly. In just six weeks, vitaminrich leaves can be eaten

» okra » onions » pumpkins » eggplants

» cabbages » carrots » tomatoes » watermelons

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

HOW YOU CAN HELP 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. UPDATE: 55+ tonnes Aussie grain already donated - thank you! (154 farm families can be helped.)

Sowing together to bring love to life!

LUTHERAN

CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

Child sex abuse redress applications update

BY LISA MCINTOSH

In the first year after being accepted into the Australian National Redress Scheme for people who have experienced child sexual abuse in institutional settings, 21 applications have been made to the scheme for redress by the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA). The LCA/NZ’s Professional Standards Manager Tim Ross said of the first 21 applications made, 10 offers of redress had been made to applicants by 11 January, with a total of $767,000

in monetary payments being offered. Three applications for redress by the LCA have so far been declined by the scheme but could yet be appealed, while eight applications were still under consideration as of 11 January this year. Mr Ross said applications could be made to the scheme for redress up until 30 June 2027. Executive Officer of the Church Peter Schirmer said the LCA’s participation in the scheme was part of its commitment

to support those who have experienced child sexual abuse in our church. ‘Protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities is of paramount importance as we endeavour to follow Christ’s example of love, care and compassion’, Mr Schirmer said. Meanwhile, the LCA/NZ’s Child Protection Project Team draft LCA Child Safety Standards for Congregations will be moving to a consultation phase from early this year.

ORDINATION JOY DESPITE LOCKDOWN Stanley led the communion liturgy after his ordination.

Despite a COVID-19 lockdown forcing a last-minute change of plans, Stanley Roberts was ordained in unique circumstances as a Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) at Papunya in the Northern Territory late last year.

Pastor Stanley, 45, is the son of the late Pastor Murphy Roberts, who 38 years ago became one of the first PintupiLuritja pastors ordained. While his father did not live to see Stanley ordained, one relative who did was a local pastor, who sadly died suddenly just four days later. Pastor Stanley said later: ‘He must have been waiting for me’.

LCA/NZ Bishop John Henderson had planned to conduct the ordination on 22 November at the Indigenous community 240 kilometres west of Alice Springs, but a snap lockdown announced in South Australia a few days earlier prevented him leaving Adelaide. However, local leaders decided to proceed, with Finke River Mission (FRM) fieldworker Pastor Paul Traeger ordaining and installing Stanley to his new roles (pictured). Pastor Stanley will serve as SMP for Papunya and the Pintupi-Luritja language area. It is believed to be the first time in the LCA that an SMP has ordained another SMP. More than 200 people attended the service held at the

Pastor Stanley was also presented with the late Pastor Max Stollznow’s robe. Pastor Max was serving as FRM Support Worker and pastor at Papunya when Murphy Roberts was ordained. local school basketball court due to the church having been damaged by a fire. After a procession of pastors and evangelists, Papunya Pastor Graham Poulson opened the service, conducted a baptism and preached, while Pastor

A former community night patrol worker, Pastor Stanley finished that role in 2019 to concentrate on ministry duties, having completed the FRM pastors’ curriculum. He is married to Sheila and has four children. – reporting by Pastor Paul Traeger The Lutheran F E B R UA RY 2 0 21

ALC BECOMES A CALLING BODY The Australian Lutheran College (ALC) Board of Directors is now a calling body of the LCA/NZ. The General Church Board (GCB) has approved the change, which is purely procedural, after a request by the ALC Board. Past practice has been for GCB, on the college’s behalf, to call all ALC teaching staff. This arrangement came from the time when the college council was a ‘committee’ of the church. More recently, as an incorporated entity, ALC has its own governance board, which requires a change to the calling arrangement to make it consistent with wider practice in the LCA/NZ. Before making its decision, GCB conducted an extensive inquiry with ALC’s Board of Directors, satisfying itself that the request: • Aligns with the rules and practices of the LCA/NZ • Will assist ALC in fulfilling its charter to serve the church through the implementation of its Strategic Direction (2017–2022) • Will not adversely affect any ALC staff currently serving under a call. In approving the request, GCB asked the ALC Board to reissue current GCB calls as ALC calls. The LCA/NZ will be advised of the calls using the normal church processes. The call to the ALC principal continues unchanged as a call issued by GCB.

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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.

The Lutheran F E B R UA RY 2 0 21

Lutheran study centre opens in Indonesia A long-held hope of the Lutheran churches of Indonesia was realised late last year with the opening of the Luther Study Centre (LSC) in Pemetangsiantar in North Sumatra. The centre was opened on 1 December with members of the Indonesian churches joined online by friends and partners from around the world. While COVID robbed participants of the chance to celebrate this milestone in person, the LCA/NZ’s Assistant to the Bishop – International Mission, Pastor Matt Anker, said it didn’t hinder the sense of enthusiasm and joy for what the new centre represents. ‘In recent years there has been an awakening among the churches we partner within Indonesia’, he said. ‘Key leaders have come to realise that, despite their historic connections to the Lutheran confession, their church bodies have often strayed from distinctive Lutheran teachings on sin and grace. ‘Recognising that this has the potential to rob people of the comfort of the gospel and the certainty of salvation through faith in Christ, they called out for help and LCA International Mission is privileged to be one of the partners who has been able to respond. The LSC is primarily about strengthening their understanding

Rev Dr Martongo Sitinjak, a leader of LCA partner church HKBP, at the opening of the new study centre in Indonesia.

and practice of theology that rightly distinguishes law and gospel, and that points people to the completed work of Christ on the cross.’ Rev Basa Hutabarat, the executive secretary of the National Committee of LWF churches in Indonesia said, ‘Our expectation is that the LSC will offer a program in Lutheran doctrine that will be compulsory for all theological students. Even teachers in Lutheran schools should take this program. From this doctrine we understand and know the relevance of Lutheran theology for our Christian life.’ In addition to providing financial support for the LSC, LCA International Mission is partnering with Australian Lutheran College (ALC) to provide both in-person and online seminars led by ALC faculty which will be offered through the LSC.

19 T H G E N E R A L S Y N O D P O S TA L V O T E A D V I C E General Church Board has authorised the Secretary of the Church to submit to the delegates of the LCA’s 19th General Synod a postal vote to authorise changes to the LCA’s bylaws. The ballot will request that 2018 delegates approve changes to the bylaws to enable Conventions of General Synod to take place by meeting in person or by electronic means. Further, the changes to the bylaws will allow procedures in transacting business and nominations and elections to be amended to suit the environment in which the meeting takes place.

faith freedom

future

The ballot papers with supporting information will be posted to delegates (at the home address listed on LCA files) in mid-late February. They will need to be returned to the Secretary of the Church in the prepaid supplied envelope by the postmarked date of 26 March 2021.

LCA farewells pastoral nursing pioneer Mrs Lynette Wiebusch, pictured, the founding president of the Lutheran Nurses Association of Australia (LNAA), has died, aged 79. The president of LNAA for 10 years after it was founded in 1991, Lynette was responsible for introducing the concept of what is now known as pastoral care nursing to the LCA. She was the Church’s first pastoral care nurse from 1996, serving at both Mount Barker and Dernancourt in South Australia. She was a founding board member of the ecumenical Australian Faith Community Nurses Association and chaired the board for several years. She was also a founding board member for the global network, Lutheran Parish Nurses International. In 2001 she received the National Health and Medical Research Council’s International Year of Volunteers SA Award for health education and promotion. Lynette was one of the first three graduates of Luther Seminary’s Graduate Diploma in Theology (Faith Community Nursing) and co-wrote LNAA’s Introduction to Pastoral Care Nursing course. The course was adopted by the Parish Nursing Council of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in the United States as its Distance Education program. The editor of the LNAA newsletter IN TOUCH from 1992 to 2018, Lynette was named an honorary LNAA Life Member in the LNAA’s awards on International Nurses Day in May this year. The wife of Pastor Robert (Bob) Wiebusch, Lynette died suddenly on 30 November 2020 of a stroke. Her funeral was held on 11 December 2020 at Trinity Lutheran Church, Hope Valley, South Australia.

SUDOKU

Every number from one to nine must appear in each of the nine vertical columns, each of the nine horizontal columns and each of the nine 3 x 3 boxes. No number can occur more than once in any row, column or box. The solution will be printed in the next edition.

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8 6 5 3

7 8

9 8 2

3 2

6 8

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The Lutheran F E B R UA RY 2 0 21

1 Peter 4:10

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.

Stamps make a

world of difference

BY HELEN BERINGEN

Who would have thought the once-popular children’s pastime of stamp collecting was still alive?

Pastor Ted Koch and Mr Ern Unger, who spent 65 years collecting stamps and building a national team of helpers.

Well, not only is stamp collecting still going strong, but it continues to make a world of difference to communities around the globe through the Lutheran Church of Australia’s (LCA) Stamps for Mission program.

Peter began following Ern’s footsteps after a chance meeting in Parkes in 2003 when Peter and his wife Margaret were travelling back to South Australia after living in Queensland for 15 years.

Since its inception more than 80 years ago, almost $446,000 has been raised for mission causes, says Peter Nitschke, Stamps for Mission national project director.

Peter had been an avid stamp collector since the age of seven when his aunt gave him stamps and an album for his birthday. As a carer to Margaret, who was ill with multiple myeloma, it was a job with the flexible hours that Peter felt he could help with.

The process of collecting, cleaning and sorting stamps has been an activity in many Lutheran youth groups across the country for decades. Funnily enough, it is often still those same people who are helping to keep the program going today. ‘It was still a youth activity as late as 2006 and we realised the youth who were involved in stamps for mission were now in their 80s and 90s’, says Peter, a retired teacher. ‘There would have to have been literally hundreds of people involved from all around the country. Even the youth at Lameroo [in South Australia] are still cleaning stamps and there would be many more congregations still collecting them.’ Stamps for Mission, a fundraising arm of LCA International Mission, was established in 1938 through the efforts of

‘It was something I could do any time day or night while caring for my wife’, he recalls. And so began almost two decades of support for an industrious team which gathers, cleans and sorts stamps. ‘I have one chap who is 96 and still sorting stamps’, says Peter. He is talking of Clarrie Schutz and his wife Marj from Campbelltown, South Australia. ‘Clarrie sorts the stamps and Marj groups them into bundles of 103.’ Why 103 stamps in each bundle? They always put in a few extra to ensure each bundle is never short of 100 good stamps. ‘I’ve only had one complaint, and that was someone who complained they were given too many in the bundle!’ he recalls. While millions of stamps go through Peter’s hands each year, occasionally he finds a high-value gem, such as a post-marked envelope worth $2500.

‘ W H EN YO U S EE TH E LI M ITED R ESO U RCES TH ES E PEO PLE H AV E A N D YET YO U S EE TH EI R LOV E F O R CH R IST A N D WA NTI N G TO S ERV E H I M , IT IS M I N D - B LOW I N G .’ 24

The Lutheran F E B R UA RY 2 0 21

‘Anything philatelic is saleable’, says Peter. ‘Whether it is mint stamps, used stamps, or stamps from overseas.’ Peter reminds us all not to forget about Stamps for Mission when you are having your next spring clean! ‘I am now starting to get collections from families clearing out their cupboards or from deceased estates’, he says. The stamps are boxed up and sold to local collectors and larger philatelic businesses. An A4 paper box

of stamps can be worth between $300 and $1100, depending on the stamps. With all this work, you’d think Peter would be dreaming of stamps. He doesn’t – but knows clearly what good they can do. Peter has seen firsthand the world of difference the funds raised from Stamps for Mission have made through a 10-day trip to Papua New Guinea in 2018. The trip included a visit to the Lutheran Highlands Seminary at Ogelbeng, near Mount Hagen, where seminary students grow food to support themselves while studying. ‘When you see the limited resources these people have and yet you see their love for Christ and wanting to serve him, it is mind-blowing’, Peter says. ‘We saw where they live, and their commitment, and boy it made me determined to continue our work … it’s made a lasting impression on me. If we can support them in small ways, they can do great things with it.’ The seminary is one of six $2000 projects Stamps for Missions provides to each year. ‘When I think what an Australian dollar does in places like these, we get eight to 10 times the value’, he says. ‘To me, these people have very little but they still have a real heart for the Lord, and that’s what motivates me. It’s about God’s love for us and what he has done for us.’ That is reflected in one of Peter’s favourite Bible verses, John 1:14: ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.’ Thankfully, Peter says there are no signs of stamp collecting dying out, with annual fundraising levels remaining consistent. And finding helpers became even easier during a year of COVID lockdowns! ‘When COVID first hit, I had three people come and ask for stamps as they didn’t know what they were going to do during lockdown’, he says. ‘I think we’ll be going for a long time yet, and while the post office keeps issuing more stamps year by year, we’ll carry on.’

Top left: Stamps for Mission national director Peter Nitschke (bottom right) enjoys time with his family, (top from left) Nick, Tim and Andrew, and Lisa (bottom left). Top right: During a trip to Papua New Guinea in 2018, Peter saw the difference Stamps for Mission makes, including at Lutheran Highlands Seminary at Ogelbeng, near Mount Hagen, where seminary students grow food to support themselves. Pictured here are seminary deputy principal Peter Gigmai with his mother and son. Above: While millions of stamps go through Peter’s hands each year, occasionally he finds a high-value gem, such as this postmarked envelope issued during the wharf workers strike at Port Adelaide in 1928, which sold for $2500.

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

DIRECTORY CALLS

Accepted

Extended • Rev Joel S Cramer • Rev Salisbury SA to Holy Trinity Lutheran Primary School Horsham Vic • Rev Stephen L Cronau • Rev Townsville Qld to Grace Secondary Lutheran College Rothwell Qld • Rev Nathan J C Glover • Rev St Andrews Lutheran College Tallebudgera Qld to Emmanuel Fellowship Toowoomba Qld • Rev Neil M Guthrig • Rev Leave of Absence to Tarrington Vic • Rev Adrian D Kitson • Rev St Petri Nuriootpa SA to Wodonga Vic • Rev Adrian M Kramer • Rev Ballarat Vic to St John Frobisher & St Peter Oxbow Saskatchewan, Canada • Rev Michael A Lockwood • Rev Redeemer Toowoomba Qld to Lutheran Theological Seminary Philippines • Rev Eugene G Minge • Rev St John’s Tea Tree Gully SA to PakenhamLakeside Vic • Rev Mike C Neldner • Rev Caboolture Qld to Wodonga Vic • Rev Heath A Pukallus • Rev Leave of Absence to Warrnambool Vic • Rev Geoff P Schefe • Rev Horsham Vic to Manawatu NZ

• Rev Thomas Bohmert • Rev St Peters Lutheran College Indooroopilly Qld to Concordia Lutheran College Toowoomba Qld • Rev Stephen L Cronau • Rev Townsville Qld to Grace Secondary Lutheran College Rothwell Qld • Rev Adrian M Kramer • Rev Ballarat Vic to St John Frobisher & St Peter Oxbow Saskatchewan, Canada • Rev Michael A Lockwood • Rev Redeemer Toowoomba Qld to Lutheran Theological Seminary Philippines • Rev Geoff P Schefe • Rev Horsham Vic to Manawatu NZ

Declined • Rev Joel S Cramer • Rev Salisbury SA to Emmanuel Toowoomba Qld • Rev Stephen L Cronau • Rev Townsville Qld to Endeavour College Mawson Lakes SA • Rev Adrian D Kitson • Rev Nuriootpa St Petri SA to Wodonga Vic • Rev Joshua F Muller • Rev Eudunda-Robertstown SA to lecturer at Senior Flierl Seminary PNG • 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 • Rev John W Strelan • Rev St Stephens Adelaide SA to Woolloongabba Qld

IN MEMORIAM • Mrs Lynette Wiebusch, • Mrs Wiebusch, wife of Pastor Robert (Bob) Wiebusch, died on 30 November 2020 at Hope Valley SA. Her funeral was held on 11 December 2020 at Trinity Lutheran Church, Hope Valley SA.

GRADUATE ASSIGNMENTS • Roland P Adams • Roland Call under Assignment to Renmark and Paringa SA • Philip W Bentley • Philip Call under Assignment to Greenock SA • Christopher M Johnson • Christopher Call under Assignment to Woolloongabba Qld • James H Luk • James Call under Assignment to Morley WA • Stephen J Noblett • Stephen Call under Assignment to Southern Flinders SA • Joseph D Theodorsen • Joseph Call under Assignment to Top End NT

ORDINATIONS • At Concordia College Highgate SA on • At Sunday 6 December 2020 by LCA Bishop John Henderson: Roland P Adams, Philip W Bentley, Christopher M Johnson, Stephen J Noblett, Joseph D Theodorsen. Theodorsen. (See also pages 10–12) • Stanley Roberts At Papunya NT on • Stanley 22 November 2020 by Rev Paul Traeger as Specific Ministry Pastor. (See also page 21)

ROLL OF PASTOR S • James H Luk Change in call eligibility status • James from Specific Ministry Pastor to General Ministry Pastor from 6 December 2020 The LCA/NZ welcomed five new pastors to its ranks on Sunday 6 December. LCA/NZ Bishop John Henderson, centre, ordained (from left) Roland Adams, Philip Bentley and Christopher Johnson, along with Stephen Noblett (second from right) and Joseph Theodorsen (far right). Bishop Henderson also confirmed the transition of Pastor James Luk, third from right, from Specific Ministry Pastor to General Ministry Pastor.

INSTALL ATION • Rev Stanley Roberts to Papunya NT (Finke • Rev River Mission Parish) on 22 November 2020 by Rev Paul Traeger

ORDINATION ANNIVER SARIES 70 Y E A R S Rev Thomas Reuther (14/1/1951) Rev Colin Henschke (21/1/1951) 60 YEARS Rev Victor Pfitzner (8/1/1961) Rev Paul Lohe (22/1/1961)

Rev Rev Rev Rev Rev Rev

50 YEARS Rev Gregory Lockwood (3/1/1971) Rev Hans Oberscheidt (10/1/1971)

40 YEARS Rev Michael Alfson (6/12/1981) Rev Mark Greenthaner (6/12/1981)

The Lutheran F E B R UA RY 2 0 21

Henry Palenschus (17/1/1971) Neil Stiller (17/1/1971) Ray Schulz (31/1/1971) Robert Voigt (12/12/1971) David Christian (19/12/1971) Horst Sauer (26/12/1971)

Rev Robert Paech (6/12/1981) Rev Geoffrey Kuchel (13/12/1981) Rev John Thiel (20/12/1981) 25 Y E A R S Rev Laurie Iso-Aho (10/8/1996) Rev Darrin Kohrt (4/8/1996) Rev Allan Taruste (23/10/1996) Rev Greg Graham (8/12/1996) Rev Eugene Minge (8/12/1996)

Rev Rev Rev Rev Rev

Greg Pfeiffer (8/12/1996) Nigel Rosenzweig (8/12/1996) Basil Schild (8/12/1996) Stephen Schultz (8/12/1996) Paul Thiele (8/12/1996) LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

In Memoriam

YOUR VOICE

LETTERS S FROM MEMBER Z OF THE LCA/N

God’s wisdom and order reveals deep love for all his children

Trevor Raggett Pastor Trevor Tjampitjinpa Raggett born 1954; ordained 14 Nov 2004 (Haasts Bluff NT); served Haasts Bluff, NT (2004–2020); died 26 Nov 2020 (Alice Springs NT); funeral 17 Dec 2020 (Haasts Bluff NT); mourned by his brothers Tobias, Murray and Anthony, sisters Tarna and Corama and families

In Memoriam

God’s worldview is bigger than ours, so often we come across apparent conflicts in the truths he tells us. Yet, if we take a step back to reconcile these truths – rather than choosing one truth over another – a fuller picture of God’s love is revealed. For example, non-Christians don’t believe God can both (1) hate the breaking of his moral order and (2) love us humans who break it. But Christians take a step back to see that both being true shows God’s love for us all the more. He created moral order so we could live perfectly happy lives and, despite us rejecting it, he still loves us and promises to conform our ways to his. In the ‘what headship means’ debate, we get tempted to think God can’t both (1) have created men first with a particular role in mind and (2) love women. But if we take a step back we see that both being true shows God’s love for women (and men) even more! By giving men the special – and heavy – responsibility of looking after the relationships God has with his church and family, God gives purpose to men’s lives and relieves women of the burden of feeling it’s all on their shoulders. Which is good, because we can’t do everything and God handcrafted women especially for the equally special – and heavy – responsibility of building relationships with and between the people he puts in our lives.

Geoff Noller Pastor Geoffrey David Noller born 14 Feb 1929 (Kingaroy); married Eleanor Joyce Dreckow 21 Dec 1951 (Bower SA); ordained 9 March 1952 (Toowoomba Qld); served Papua New Guinea (1952–1961), Marton NZ (1961–1965), Christchurch NZ (1965–1970), Natimuk Vic (1970–1974), Norlane Vic (1974–1978), Willaura Vic (1978–1984) and Rainbow Vic (1984–1994); retired 2 Jan 1994; died 4 Dec 2020 (Ararat Vic); funeral 18 Dec 2020 (Ararat Vic); mourned by wife Eleanor, children Stephanie, Vanessa, Trevor, Neville, Anthony, Christopher and Richard and families

In Memoriam

John Wilksch Pastor John Kenneth Wilksch born 7 May 1945; married Carol Elisabeth Proeve 4 Jan 1969 (North Adelaide SA); ordained 29 Dec 1968 (Gruenberg SA); served Coonalpyn SA (1969–1974), Bethany/Tabor SA (1974–1982), St Paul’s Walla Walla NSW (1982–1988), Moorabbin/Dandenong Vic (1988–2001), Hope Valley SA (2001–2012); retired 3 June 2012; died 11 Dec 2020 (Ashford SA); funeral 18 Dec 2020 (Hope Valley); mourned by wife Carol, children Simon, Matthew, Carl and Sarah and families

Christian life, joy and witness come through valuing and faithfully carrying out the different responsibilities God’s provided for us. Please don’t fall into the devil’s trap of thinking our unity of faith will grow if we reject God’s wisdom and order. Instead, let’s expect and look for proof of God’s love in everything he says. Sophie Hansen – Shea Oak Log SA

Our shared stories ‘part of striving to be the people of God today’

In reference to letters in The Lutheran in December, I also was somewhat bemused by the disclaimer attached to the ‘Women at the Well’ ad (The (The Lutheran, Lutheran, November 2020). I have no official connection with ‘Women at the Well’, but I am happy to state I support what they are trying to do. From my perspective, this is to share people’s stories – and aren’t people’s stories what makes us the people of God? Consider Jesus for a moment; it seems a majority of his ministry consisted of listening to people’s stories, or of telling stories, and most often leaving them hang, with no clear conclusion. He certainly didn’t seem too concerned with doctrine, except occasionally to have a go at those who piously expressed and taught their doctrine. Rather he chose to engage with the people of God, challenging and exhorting them, and presenting an alternative way of living. I encourage those of you with open hearts to visit the ‘Women at the Well’ website and read the stories. Listen to the heartfelt expressions of hope and disappointment, exhilaration and sadness, imaginings and reality. People of God expressing their thoughts and feelings. People of God striving to be people of God in today’s world.

Rev Peter Bean – Mount Barker SA

Scripture is the church’s authority

What do Jesus’ words tell us?

No-one denies that the head of every man is Christ. Our Lord is certainly not an oppressor lording it over us. No, he is our Redeemer who loved us to death. Paul calls on men to model their relationship with their wives on Christ’s love for us all, as he writes in Ephesians 5:25–33. By headship, the Bible means ‘loving, self-sacrificing, servant leadership’. Jesus and St Peter impress on pastors they must never ‘lord it over’ God’s people (Matthew 20:25; 1 Peter 5:3).

The disciples were having none of it and told him to stop immediately, expecting that Jesus would praise them for their actions. They were protecting the use of Jesus’ authority and asserting that they were the ‘in-group’.

The December letter to The Lutheran entitled ‘Unofficial male headship “teaching” divisive’ pinpoints a central issue in the controversy troubling the LCA. That the LCA has never pronounced on headship is irrelevant. Our authority is Scripture. Our divisions arise from varying interpretations of passages in the apostolic scriptures, notably 1 Corinthians 11:3: ‘The head of every man is Christ, the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.’ This serves as the heading to all St Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:3-16; 14:33b–38 and in his first letter to Timothy (2:11–15), about the respective roles of women and men in the church.

So why does our age take offence at the words, ‘the head of the woman is the man’? If it’s demeaning for the woman to see her husband as her head, then it’s also demeaning for Christ to see God the Father as his head, and for the man to be subordinate to Christ. Rebellion against apostolic teaching comes from an ideology that caricatures Scripture and divides people into oppressors and oppressed. The idea that the ‘deeper meaning’ of ‘head’ is ‘source’ rather than ‘authority over’ only became popular in the 1960s as a companion to the women’s ordination movement.

Rev Dr Greg Lockwood – Mount Barker SA

‘Walking together’ despite differences

I would like to register my appreciation for the balance shown in the November edition of The Lutheran, Lutheran, publishing letters taking contrary views [in this case, over the issue of the ordination of women in the LCA/NZ]. It was a fitting demonstration that we can take contrasting views and still walk together. together.

Rev Tim Castle-Schmidt – Woodside SA

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.

It’s mentioned just twice, in Luke 9:49 and Mark 9:38. Very easy to miss in the big picture of the gospels. ‘Teacher’, said John, ‘we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us’. Why is this incident recorded? Who authorised this man who casts out demons in Jesus’ name? How did he know demons would run at the name of Jesus?

Jesus responds: ‘Don’t ‘Don’t forbid him!’ him!’ Don’t put rules around whom the Holy Spirit works through to further God’s kingdom. Matthew Henry’s Bible Commentary on these verses is thought-provoking. Re Luke it says: ‘Jesus Christ chid (sic) them for what they did, and warned them not to do the like again … O what a great deal of mischief to the church … would be prevented, if this passage … were but duly considered!’ Re Mark: ‘But the Lord knows them that are his, however they are dispersed; and ... gives us a needful caution, to take heed lest we be carried, by an excess of zeal for the unity of the church, and for that which we are sure is right and good, to oppose that which yet may tend to the enlargement of the church, and the advancement of its true interests another way.’ As the Lutheran Church struggles with the issue of the ordination of women, may we prayerfully consider these words of Jesus, seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit and examine our motives and desires so we, too, do not oppose something Jesus has authorised. Joyleen Kuchel – Murray Bridge SA

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The Lutheran F E B R UA RY 2 0 21

walterirvine.com.au

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

February 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 members and leaders of Trinity Lutheran Church Cooma NSW, including Pastor Melvin Salzke

True and lasting peace wherever there is civil unrest, violence or war, both within countries and between nations

The directors, governing bodies, educators and staff of childcare, early learning centres and kindergartens, as they nurture and guide young children

Members and leaders of Holy Trinity Benalla and Zion Wangaratta congregations of the Wangaratta Parish Vic

Students, staff and community of St John’s Lutheran School Kingaroy Qld, including Principal Karyn Bjelke-Petersen

Those working to develop, test and distribute safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19 and other communicable diseases

New Zealanders on Waitangi Day. The Treaty of Waitangi between British representatives and Maori leaders was signed on this day in 1840

Leaders and members of Lutheran Women of NSW, including President Charmain Lieschke and Secretary Anne McVay

Members at Blyth, Brinkworth, Burra, Clare, Port Broughton and Snowtown from SA’s Mid North Lutheran Ministries, including Pastor Greg Vangsness

The community of St John’s Campus Concordia College Highgate SA, including Principal Michael Paech

LCA Queensland District’s Department for Ministry and Mission, including Director Pastor David Schmidt and Assistant Director Kathy Matuschka

Lutheran Youth of WA, including Youth Pastor Andre Meyer, Ministry Coordinator Maria Price and Director Serica Yurisich

The leaders and members of Grace Bridgewater SA, including Pastor Michael Dutschke

Reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians on the anniversary of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations

Members of Lutheran Men of SA, including President Colin Schutz and Secretary Danny Schmidt

Principal Jane Mueller and the students and community of Living Faith Lutheran Primary School Murrumba Downs Qld

LCA SA-NT District’s Lutheran Care (formerly Lutheran Community Care), including Executive Director Rohan Feegrade

Christians around the world on Ash Wednesday, as we begin the Lenten season of reflection and repentance

Pastor Tommi Vuorinen and the members and leadership of St Andrew’s Brisbane

The residents, management and community of Trinity Place Pasadena SA

Lutheran Education Victoria, New South Wales & Tasmania, including Executive Director Julian Denholm

Those who work in Bible translation globally, including Australian Lutheran Hanna Schulz, on UN International Mother Language Day.

The students, staff and community of St Jakobi Lutheran School Lyndoch SA, and Principal Julian Helbig

Pastor Matthew Edgecomb and the members of St Peter’s Callington, Peace Salem and Strathalbyn Lutheran Church SA

Managers and staff and all who stay at Luther Heights Youth Camp Coolum Beach Qld

The members and leadership team of Mallee Lutheran Parish, including parish pastors Peter Heintze, Dan Rooney and Tony Traeger

All those who endeavour to sustain ministries and support worthy causes through fundraising

The students, staff and leaders of Good Shepherd Lutheran College Noosaville Qld, including Principal Anthony Dyer

We know you love The Lutheran … now there’s a new way to enjoy our award-winning LCA/NZ magazine with our

new digital edition! edition!

It makes a great gift too – and current print subscribers can register for digital access at no extra cost!

Go to www.thelutheran.com.au/subscribe

J u st

$ 30

11 issues

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.

March 2021

S U N D AY

P L E A S E P R AY F O R …

M O N D AY

T U E S D AY

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 community and children of Calvary Lutheran Primary School Morphett Vale SA and Principal Angela Branford

Healing for those suffering from COVID-19 and those whose lives and livelihoods have been otherwise impacted by the pandemic

Pastor Levi Graham, leaders and the members of Immanuel congregation Edenhope Vic

Those participating in the WA District Convention of Synod, which is due to be held on 5 to 7 March

Principal Jodie Hoff and the students and staff of Lutheran Ormeau Rivers District School (LORDS) Qld

Pastor Matthew Schultz, leaders, members and kindergarten community of St Johns congregation Eight Mile Plains Qld

Members of the LCA/ NZ’s Standing Committee on Nominations, as they seek people to serve the church in various capacities

The staff and students of Redeemer Lutheran College Rochedale Qld and Principal Tanya Crooks

Members of St Peters congregation Elizabeth SA and Pastor Greg Bensted

The students and staff of Maitland Lutheran School SA, along with Principal David Field

The community, residents and management of Victor Harbor Lutheran Homes SA

Members of St Johns congregation Emerald Qld and Pastor Stephen Jaensch

The school community of Cornerstone College Mount Barker SA and Principal Craig Fielke

Members of the LCA/NZ’s Judicial Tribunal, including Administrator Peter Gerhardy

Principal Doug Braiden and the students and staff of Faith Lutheran College Plainland Qld

LifeWay Epping and Newcastle NSW and Pastors Mark Schultz, Mark Simpfendorfer and Mathew von Stanke

The students and staff of Grace Lutheran College Rothwell Qld and Principal David Radke

Members, leadership teams and ministries of Esk Lutheran congregation Qld

Life expectancy, health, education and employment outcomes improvements for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on National Close the Gap Day

Principal Heidi Hansen and the students and staff of Bethany Lutheran Primary School Raceview Qld

An end to the scourge of racism on the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Pastor Jason Pokela and members of St John’s Esperance congregation WA

All prison chaplains and the people they minister to and serve

The students and staff of Endeavour College Mawson Lakes SA, and Principal Heather Vogt

EudundaRobertstown parish SA, members and leaders, including Pastor Joshua Muller

Students, staff and community of Tatachilla Lutheran College McLaren Vale SA, including new Principal Noel Mifsud

Members of the LCA/NZ’s Convention of General Synod committee, as they prepare for convention later this year

Christian communities and congregations around the world who are marking Palm Sunday on this date

Principal Shane Altmann and the students and staff of Faith Lutheran College Redlands Qld

Members, leaders and ministries of St Pauls and Aboriginal Lutheran Fellowship Ferryden Park SA, including Pastor Leon Rosenberg

Members, leaders and ministries of St Matthew’s Footscray congregation Vic

The Lutheran F E B R UA RY 2 0 21

DISCOVER MORE AT

www.lutheranmedia.org.au Phone FREECALL 1800 353 350 luthmedia@lca.org.au

POPULAR COMPETITIONS RETURN IN 2021 The Lutheran Media Calendar Photo Competition is on again this year. After filling the current 2021 calendar with your photos, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re excited to share more of your amazing pictures in the 2022 calendar. Send us your best original and inspiring nature or landscape photo. Go to www.lutheranmedia.org.au/image for more details. Entries close 11 June 2021. The Lutheran Media Short Movie Competition has also begun. Create an original and engaging movie of shorter than four minutes in length that tells an encouraging and inspiring story. Go to www.lutheranmedia.org.au/competition for details. Entries close 3 September 2021.

LISTEN

Join Richard and Celia each week through February for conversations on keeping the romance and love alive and how to deal positively with anger. Tune in on local radio or go to messagesofhope.org.au or messagesofhope.org.nz

WATCH

LATELY?

Worship live or in your own time with St Michaelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lutheran Church from Hahndorf South Australia or Good Shepherd Lutheran Church from Toowoomba Queensland at www.lutheranmedia.org.au/worship. You can also order weekly worship DVDs or join us on our Lutheran Media Facebook page at facebook.com/luthmedia

PLAY

HAVE YOU LISTENED TO YOUR

Family fun at happyland.com.au Enjoy the Happyland app. Download it from the App Store on your iPhone or iPad. Happyland stories are now also available to watch on the website.

As COVID-19 keeps challenging, it's vital that children in refugee camps aren't forgotten. Just $26 can support a child at school for a year a blessing ALWayS! 5 MAR 2021

10,000 children!

11 Jan 2021

Thank you!!!

50 days (10 JAN 2021)

5,000

23 NOV 2020

1,000

THANKS

YOUR DONATIONS AND PRAYERS ARE HELPING TO COMMUNICATE CHRIST AND HIS MESSAGE OF HOPE TO MILLIONS OF PEOPLE.

Get on your bike, the rich Barossa lifestyle is proving to be very popular with the first of our newly released Tanunda homes snapped up in week one. View DISPLAY HOMES by appointment at ... 20 Schaedel Street NURIOOTPA 21 Langmeil Road TANUNDA

LIF

LEA

All homes offer excellent on-site facilities, boat and caravan parking, attached garages, pet friendly yards and a low maintenance lifestyle.

THE

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O G L

alws.org.au * 1300 763 407

DBON

A S S O C I A T RE

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OCIAT

RADBONE AND ASSOCIATES BARRISTERS AND SOLICITORS

Wills and Estates Lawyers

Peace of Mind 300 Flinders Street Adelaide SA 5000 Telephone: 08 8223 1388

Thank you! A widow. Landless. A son with a disability. Labelled as one of the poorest in her community. As COVID-19 hit Cambodia, the great danger was that people like Mrs Pring Rorn could be forgotten. ‘Before COVID-19 outbreak, my living depended on collecting crabs, wild vegetables and morning glory from rice fields and small jungles to earn income. I usually face food shortage and found a difficult time living with starvation.’ Thanks to Lutheran kindness through ALWS, supported by the Australian Government, Pring received help from ALWS partner Life with Dignity (LWD): • 50 kg rice

• 4 bottles fish sauce

• 2 litres cooking oil

• 2 kg salt

• 10 cans fish

• 1 kg sugar

‘Through the support, I can have stable food for at least two months during the hard time of COVID-19. Nowadays, I have stored rice and am not worried about a lack of food. I am grateful for the support to improve my food situation during COVID-19 pandemic.’

Photo: LWD

Safe from starvation, Pring still faced great danger from COVID-19. At age 66, (in a country where life expectancy for women is only 72), Pring was in the highest-risk category. ‘When the weather became colder, and the second wave of COVID-19 came, I was still afraid and scared … I did not know what will happen to me.’ Your ALWS support through LWD showed Pring how to protect herself from COVID-19. ‘I keep applying personal hygiene and wearing a mask, cleaning my hands and staying away from groups. For the future, I have learned that awareness and information on COVID-19 are important to me and my villagers. I have shared this to my relatives and others.’ Even though Pring was labelled by her government as one of the poorest, your support means she is now a health advocate to her community! That’s life transformation! Your generosity helps make sure no-one is forgotten, so your Christian kindness can be a blessing ALWayS. Thank you!

You are welcome to invite an ALWS speaker to your church, school or fellowship group, or Probus, to hear more stories of your impact on people like Pring through ALWS: 1300 763 407 * alws@alws.org.au

Caring together to bring love to life! LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA