The Lutheran September 2021 Sneak Preview

M A G A Z I N E O F T H E LUT H E R A N C H URC H O F A US T R A LI A & N E W ZE A L AN D

SEPTEMBER 2021

d gan a goo e b o h w ‘He will bring u o y in k r wo tion at the le p m o c it to s Christ.’ u s e J f o y da :6

VOL 55 NO8

Print Post Approved PP100003514

P H IL IP P IA

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How God uses

our journeys

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! lutheranaunz 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 (Feb–Dec) Print or print & digital Australia $45 | New Zealand $47 Asia/Pacific $56 | Rest of the world $65 Digital only $30

DESIGN & PRINT Design & Layout Elysia McEwen Printer Openbook Howden The Lutheran is produced on the traditional lands of the Kaurna and Dharug peoples.

ADVERTISING/MANUSCRIPTS Should be directed to the editor.

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LUTHERAN

CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

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

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Multitasking made manageable!

Even while preparing for the launch of the LCANZ’s new Christian Care Sunday resources last month, project officer Anna Kroehn was able to keep in touch with news and views from around the church, thanks to the online convenience of The Lutheran’s digital edition.

Developed from a proposal to the 2018 Convention of General Synod, the Christian Care Sunday project has gathered resources to help congregations celebrate, honour and bless people engaged in care. You can learn more on page 13 and at www.lca.org.au/ccs – and you can subscribe to The Lutheran’s digital edition, give it as a gift or register for free digital access as an existing print subscriber at www.thelutheran.com.au

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 Elise von Stanke LifeWay Lutheran Church Newcastle NSW Teacher, working in Distance Education Most treasured Bible text: Ephesians 4 ‘Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.’

Erick Maleko Faith Lutheran Church Warradale SA Entrepreneur Most treasured Bible text: John 1:1 ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’

Rika Udagawa Zion Lutheran Church Glynde SA Cross-Cultural Coordinator Most treasured Bible text: Romans 8:38–39 ‘Neither death nor life … nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.’

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.

September Special features EDITOR'S

let ter

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I am constantly inspired by God’s grace shining through the work of members of our Lutheran family in service to his kingdom.

So many of you lovingly serve God, his church and the communities in which he has placed you, whether as volunteers, paid lay workers or pastors, or as ministry supporters. You give unstintingly and almost inexhaustibly of yourselves by sharing your God-given time, talents and resources, and by your prayers.

Isn’t it wonderful (and mind-boggling) that he works through us in this way, according to our giftings and vocations, and despite our human failings? 2 Corinthians 12:9 springs to mind – ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’.

Thank God that this is the case throughout our lives. (If not, there would be some months The Lutheran wouldn’t be finished on time!)

What’s even more remarkable is that no matter how we serve – formally or informally, part-time or full-time, voluntarily or employed, in our congregations or the wider church – or where we’ve come from workwise or vocationally, God uses our life’s experiences to prepare us to bless others and grow his kingdom.

In this edition, we are privileged to share life-journey stories of LCANZ members who serve as pastors, lay workers and volunteers. Their backgrounds are incredibly diverse, and I have been amazed to learn of the many ways God has led these people to his service. I hope you, too, will find encouragement in these testimonies.

Of course, had this been an ‘ordinary’ year, this edition would have been completely different – themed around our upcoming LCANZ Convention of General Synod. But with the triennial meeting now to be held in two parts, including a two-day online meeting on 1–2 October and much of its business deferred until 2022 (see www.generalsynod.lca.org.au for more details) due to the extraordinary circumstances relating to COVID-19, we felt this was a great opportunity to share some personal good-news stories. With many in our two countries in lockdown as I write, I’m sure we can all do with more of those!

And, with our sisters and brothers in New South Wales suffering more than much of Australia and New Zealand, most of our prayer calendar this month is focused on the people and ministries of the LCANZ’s NSW District. Of course, as usual, there are devotions and a themed Bible study to foster our home faith life, too.

A shepherd’s path

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How God uses our journeys

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Regulars 4

Heartland

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13

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Dwelling in God’s word

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Go and Grow

13

Church@Home

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The inside story

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Directory

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Sudoku

25

Your voice

26

Going GREYT!

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Prayer calendar

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And you can read about some wonderful new resources from our church departments, agencies and congregations, including an encouragement to all congregations to recognise, bless and give thanks for those engaged in care in their communities through the Christian Care Sunday project (see page 13).

God bless your reading,

Lisa

Our cover: iStock.com The Lutheran S E P T E M B E R 2 0 21

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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

WA L K I N G T O G E T H E R I N FA I T H ‘God can bless you with everything you need, and you will always have more than enough to do all kinds of good things for others’ (2 Corinthians 9:8 CEV).

Grace and peace to you all in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

It’s nearly time for our church to gather as a synod once again, as we do every three years. The synod includes all our congregations and parishes across Australia and New Zealand, and representatives from various ministries, such as Lutheran schools.

When the LCANZ talks about ‘synod’ we mean ‘walking together’. When we gather as a synod, we call it a ‘convention’, a meeting at which we talk together. In formal terms, a convention of General Synod is an assembly of delegates to act on particular matters and the ‘highest constitutional authority of the Church’ (see LCA Constitution Article 7).

7). The 2021/22 synod meeting

(OU R) RESI LI ENCE IS BORN OF FAITH AN D TRUST I N OU R LOVI NG , G RACIOUS , PATI ENT AN D CO M PASSIONATE GOD. 4

The Lutheran S E P T E M B E R 2 0 21

will be the 20th general convention in the life of the LCANZ. This time, however, things being as they are, we will structure the meeting in a new way. God willing, we will hold it in two parts. Part one will be two days of online sessions (October 2021). Part two will be three days of in-person sessions (later in 2022 at a location to be announced). Both the online and the in-person sessions will be parts of the same convention, which we will adjourn for the intervening months.

While we’ve never done it like this before, we all know the reasons for the change. The church has certain business that it must transact this year, even though we cannot be in the same physical space. We have other important but more discretionary items that must wait until delegates can gather in the same room. Should an item that is scheduled for the online sessions prove to be complex or controversial and require fuller discussion, it will be held over until the in-person sessions. To be ready for the October 2021 sessions, delegates will need to have read the materials provided and accept that the online situation brings certain restraints.

The decision to organise the convention in this way was made responsibly to reflect the changing, fluid environment of border closures, lockdowns and meeting limits. COVID-19 has affected our lives on so many levels, including church worship. We are thankful that

we have been spared the worst so far, but humanly speaking, the situation still causes us unease and uncertainty.

These are uncharted waters. Where are we headed with all this?

Whatever changes confront us, the church is resilient because its people are resilient. That resilience is born of faith and trust in our loving, gracious, patient and compassionate God. As St Paul writes in Romans 8:38,39, ‘I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love – not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!’

The 20th Convention of General Synod is important to us, but it is only one aspect of the church. Our real life takes place at the ‘grassroots’, as we gather for worship, praise and thanksgiving, as we hear the word, and as the sacraments are administered. God is truly active in these things. Jesus is truly present, as he says he will be. His mission is enacted by the thousands of believers who carry his word in their hearts and reflect his love in their daily lives.

Please pray for our church and all its members and convention delegates, the planning committee, and all those who are working towards us having as fruitful and productive a meeting as possible. To God be the glory, now and always.

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