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God’s will always front of mind

by Anne Hansen

I remember sitting in front of the wood fireplace in Keyneton, in South Australia’s Mid-Murray area, with my Grandma Emma as a young girl. Granny didn’t have a television and so, when I stayed with her, we just chatted and crocheted.

She taught me many things (including how to crochet), but one thing I remember most, was hearing her say so often, ‘God willing’. When she tucked me into bed, I would say, ‘Goodnight, see you in the morning’, and she would reply, ‘God willing’. Everything she did was with God’s will at the forefront.

Do many of us live that way, today? Are we really open to God’s will being done in our lives? The faith and strength of our elderly members always have me in awe. I pray to have their faith, their strength to be able to leave my life totally in God’s will and keeping. God does provide for us every day and he does have our lives in his loving hands. Of this we can be certain.

TRACTS DESIGNED FOR ALL AGES

Lutheran Tract Mission provides tracts for all ages – there are many for children and the elderly and every age in between, for men and women. Many are large print for those with sight difficulties. We have recently had a print run with some specially designed with older people in mind.

Pick one up, take it to an elderly neighbour, family or friend and read it to them – and, in doing so, bring them God’s reassurance of his love and care for them.

There are more than 950 to look through but use the categories listing on our web page to help you find what you are just needing. Check our website: www.ltm.org.au

God willing, each day is a new day to begin with a smile, word of encouragement and time to share a word of love from God!

Anne Hansen is Lutheran Tract Mission Development Officer.

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Opportunity to pick up visiting tips

Are you happy to visit people but don’t know how to start? Or have you been a long-term visitor who wants to improve your skills? Then this month’s LCANZ Care Ministries ‘Tips for congregational visiting webinar’ is for you.

Pastor Peter Miller has a wealth of experience (and stories) to share through the online seminar and he’ll put participants’ minds at ease about sharing the love of Jesus with others.

The hour-long webinar will be held on Friday 8 April from 2pm ACST (2.30pm AEST, 12.30pm AWST, 4.30pm NZST). To register as a participant, go to

www.lcaregister.online/cong-visiting and click on the ‘Register Now’ button. For those unable to attend on the day, the webinar will later be available to watch on demand online – along with other care ministry webinars – at

www.lca.org.au/care-ministries/events-training-resources

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Chance to engage with church history

by Rachel Kuchel

Have you ever heard of Friends of Lutheran Archives (FoLA)? If not, or even if you know the name, did you know that FoLA is a community of people from around Australia, New Zealand and the world that is interested in preserving, hearing and sharing the stories of our church and its history?

FoLA was established in 1990 to support the work and mission of Lutheran Archives. We are proud to have maintained that community for more than 30 years with nearly 300 members – some of whom are from as far afield as Germany. FoLA branches exist in Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.

TECHNOLOGY OPENS MEETING DOORS

A FoLA journal containing historical articles, research, book reviews and newly translated documents from the Archives’ collection is published each year. But another much-loved feature of FoLA has, until now, been available mainly only to members in or near Adelaide – regular meetings with guest speakers. A dedicated volunteer committee curates an annual program each month from February to October, with meetings held at an Adelaide church. Now, thanks to the wonders of livestreaming, ‘attending’ these events will be open to people from anywhere.

Expert speakers come from a wide range of fields, and while many have undertaken research at Lutheran Archives, they may not otherwise be connected with the LCANZ – which helps bring a diversity of perspectives. Topics vary from the experience of migration to individual members, pastors, congregations, synods, institutions and practices of the church.

Livestreaming details will be published in the days before each meeting at www.lca.org.au/archives

WHAT’S COMING UP?

19 May, 7:30pm (CST)

Topic: German Internees at Loveday internment camp

Speaker: Peter Monteath

Loveday internment camp in South Australia’s Riverland was the largest Australian internment camp. At its peak in World War II, it held more than 5000 civilians from all over the world. A professor of history at Flinders University, Peter will speak about the German internees in the camp, with a particular focus on several hundred German men who had been arrested and detained in Persia before being deported to the Antipodes.

23 June, 7:30 pm (CST)

Topic: Researching Native Title

Speakers: Tom Gara, Skye Krichauff, Clara Stockigt

Within the legal setting of native title, historians, anthropologists and linguists are engaged by the Federal Court to provide expert and non-advocatory opinions about Aboriginal societies that have maintained traditional and customary rights and interests in country since their earliest contact with Europeans. Lutheran missionaries recorded languages, births, deaths and marriages, the movement of Aboriginal people and their relationships with Europeans and neighbouring and distant Aboriginal groups. Their diaries, correspondence and vocabularies are crucial primary documents that deepen current understanding of Aboriginal culture and society. In this presentation, three experts who have drawn heavily on records held by Lutheran Archives demonstrate how access to this material has enriched their findings.

For more information or to join FoLA, go to www.lca.org.au/fola or email fola@lca.org.au

Rachel Kuchel is Director of Lutheran Archives.

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What’s the antidote to loneliness?

by Richard Fox

According to recent government surveys, one in three people feels lonely. On Messages of Hope in April, Rachel and Emma share their stories of loneliness and where they find hope.

Problems in Rachel’s life led to her being ‘completely cut off’ from people she loved. ‘My marriage ended. My friends didn’t want anything to do with me’, she says. ‘I’d lost my job. I had to start again with nothing. It’s unknown and the unknown is what fear lives from.’

Rachel shares her experience of the unknowns, isolation and lost connections with family and friends. Listen to what she learnt and how she found the strength to face the unknown on Messages of Hope at www.messagesofhope.org.au/fear-to-hope-rachels-story-2

NOT FITTING into ‘SOCIETY’S BLUEPRINT’

Almost 40, with no partner or children, Emma is constantly faced with questions around her single life. She’s also been given plenty of unwanted advice!

She explains: ‘I call it the society blueprint. You finish school, you get a job, you get a partner, you buy a house, children, retire. So, if you don’t fit the blueprint, where do you fit in society?’

Listen as Emma shares how she navigates society’s expectations as a single person, and the hope she has discovered in embracing being single on your Messages of Hope at www.messagesofhope.org.au/single-but-not-lonely

Watch the short video on Loneliness at YouTube.com/Messagesofhope

Pastor Richard Fox is Director of Lutheran Media.

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Easter activities for home or church

Looking for some enjoyable Easter activities to do in your home or at church? Grow Ministries can help.

Grow has many ideas available in its GIFT Lent resource. You will find excellent resources for all ages, including craft activities, worship ideas and dramas. Go to www.growministries.org.au/product/gift-lent-final/ for more information and free download samples!

For many other ideas check out the Grow Ministries Easter Pinterest page at www.pinterest.com.au/growministries/lent-easter/

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Church@Home April 2022

CHURCH@HOME www.lca.org.au/churchhome

Comfort in difficult times

With many people still facing uncertainty or grief two years into the COVID pandemic, plus the devastation of floods and bushfires close to home and war overseas, we can all benefit from encouraging words, uplifting Scripture and a sense of God’s closeness. Nurturing our faith at home through regular devotions strengthens our relationship with Jesus. We pray that you will be blessed by the devotional materials here and in the Church@Home resources collection online at www.lca.org.au/churchhome

      Lisa 

Psalm 27:4b,5

This only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

DEVOTIONS FOR HOME WORSHIP

These reflections are adapted from a collection of devotions written for our LCANZ family and friends to help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus no matter what we face. You can find the full versions of these and others on the LCA website at www.lca.org.au/daily-devotion 

Comfort his people by Sal Huckel

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God (Isaiah 40:1).

Read Isaiah 40:1–5,11,12.

The headline here is also the words of a very famous aria from Handel’s Messiah. Glorious! As I first read this passage, I was immediately drawn to find the music to listen along to. I strongly encourage you to do the same, with your Bible open. Find an image in the Scripture to meditate on.

What struck me as I listened was the comforting nature of the strings and harpsichord supporting the soloist. The overall effect, I realised, was perfect: Handel has written a perfectly comforting aria to highlight this wonderful Scripture.

We open this passage with an instruction to comfort God’s people. We find later in verse 11 a beautiful picture, pastoral in nature, of the Lord tending his flock like a shepherd, carrying the lambs in his arms close to his heart, gently leading those with young. Let’s think more about this instruction to comfort God’s people. Do we still have this gentle touch, or are we feeling worn and jaded? Do we have the patience and gentleness, fruits of the Spirit, in abundance to care for each other in the manner we see the Shepherd in verse 11 in our mind’s eye?

In these trying days, come back to this picture. Listen to this comforting music; lose yourself in this passage we are likely so familiar with that it can just become a memory verse we skip over as we read. Find a way to slow down – and take in the Lord’s words to you – not least this instruction. ‘Comfort my people.’ Who can you encourage and comfort? As our society becomes so preoccupied with our own individual health and freedoms, whom are we leaving behind? We might be surprised who needs our comfort. Comfort his people.

Lord, where we are too occupied with our own comfort to heed your words and comfort your people, please forgive us. May we remember you are the Good Shepherd who carries the lambs and gently leads those with young. May the fruit of the Spirit grow and flourish in our lives so that we can bring your comfort to hurting people in a hurting world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Praise the Lord and press on by Pastor Joshua Pfeiffer

I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:14).

Read Philippians 3:12–20.

‘Praise the Lord and press on!’ These are words I’ve heard several times from a much-loved Christian brother in the LCA circles. Some of you probably know of whom I speak. No matter the conversation or circumstances, he almost always leaves on this note: ‘Praise the Lord and press on!’ I find it a simple yet profound Christian encouragement. The temptation is always to look back and dwell on past hurts, sufferings, wrongs, failures and sins. But Christ would have us look forward in hope. He is the goal and prize of our Christian life, so we can confidently ‘praise the Lord and press on’.

This little motto is seemingly drawn from – and inspired by – the Apostle Paul’s words in the verse above. It’s worth remembering in that context that on his Christian journey, the Apostle Paul knew hardship, suffering and obstacles. You can read the full list of these experiences in 2 Corinthians 11:23–12:10. It even appears that as he wrote this very letter to the Philippian Christians, he was, in fact, imprisoned and perhaps literally in chains. Even in these circumstances, he maintains what could be called his ‘holy optimism’, saying not once but twice: I press on.

Paul was under no illusion that he could persevere and gain eternal life by his own strength. He says he can ‘press on to make it his own because Christ Jesus has made me his own’ (verse 12). The ‘goal’ and ‘prize’ he is striving toward is, in fact, a call of God in Christ Jesus. In other words, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is drawing him graciously to himself. Yet, in the mysterious interaction between the grace of the Almighty God and the redeemed will of the Christian believer, the Apostle Paul does ‘strain forward’ and ‘press on’.

You may be facing situations in your life that hold you back, weigh you down, and even tempt you to give up. Be encouraged: Christ Jesus has made you his own, so whatever you face, you can press on.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the prize of your heavenly call in Christ Jesus. When I am downhearted, encourage me by your Spirit to press on. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

PRAYERS 

APOLLO 8 PEACE PRAYER

Give us, O God, the vision which can see your love in the world in spite of human failure. Give us the faith to trust your goodness in spite of our ignorance and weakness. Give us the knowledge that we may continue to pray with understanding hearts. And show us what each one of us can do to set forward the coming of the day of universal peace.

– Frank Borman, Apollo 8, 1968, from justprayer.org

 

DEEP PEACE BLESSING 

Deep peace of the shining star to you,
Deep peace of the running wave to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
Deep joy of the leaping fire to you,
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.

– An adaptation of an old Celtic Blessing. By Sister Susan, Nada Hermitage, Colorado, from justprayer.org

Nahum 1:7
The Lord is good … He cares for those who trust in him.

No more quid pro quo by Pastor Noel Due

If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them (Luke 6:32).

Read Luke 6:27–38.

Jesus, as always, puts his finger directly on the spot. His teaching – especially in his parables – emphasises the difference between our normal ways of acting and relating to one another and God’s ways of acting and relating to us. Our default principle is quid pro quo: a favour for a favour. We’re so familiar with the ‘I’ll scratch your back; you scratch mine’ approach to life that we don’t begin to think of how wrong it is. But Jesus exposes the folly.

The real world (that is, in the kingdom of heaven) doesn’t operate by that principle at all. It’s not just that Jesus teaches us about the difference; his incarnation is the proof of it. It’s not just word – but deed. In Jesus, God comes to a hostile world with mercy in his hands and love in his heart. He loves those who hate him (us) and rescues those who despise him (us again).

There’s nothing quid pro quo about that – it is all sheer grace. Jesus’ words expose our tawdry, conditional ‘love’, and his presence reveals the true nature of God and his universe. His death and resurrection enact God’s saving love. We earn none of it. Hell is where quid pro quo rules; heaven is where that principle has been obliterated forever.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that you do not treat us as we deserve. Thank you that your kingdom is so different from our wrong-headed attitudes and actions. Thank you for your kindness to us in Christ. Amen.

Cup full and overflowing by Norma Koehne

What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he reveals his glory; and his disciples believed in him (John 2:11).

Read John 2:1–11.

What is revealed about Jesus in this his first miracle? First of all, it reveals him as truly human. Here, he is seen as a man enjoying the wedding of a friend or relative, at home with everyone. These were probably people he had known and worked with, played with and shared in their everyday life.

But he is also different, as his mother realises as she tells him that the greatest embarrassment has occurred, ‘They have no more wine’. What did she expect him to do – go to the corner shop?

Even though Jesus almost rebukes her, she tells the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you’, and they follow what must have seemed rather bizarre instructions, filling 6 stone jars with water, 120 gallons in total. That would have taken some time. Then they take the water turned into wine to the master of ceremonies, and it turns out to be the best wine ever.

A miracle to help and save his friends and their family from shame. Jesus shows he is truly God, a saving God.

Most importantly, it is revealed that Jesus, as truly God, gives the best to us and in abundance. Christians are not cup-half-full or half-empty people but are blessed people whose cup is always full and overflowing (Psalm 23:5b). We are triply blessed. We have a loving Father who showers us with his love. We have Jesus, our brother, who gives us his hard-won forgiveness and clothes us with his righteousness. We have the Holy Spirit, our friend and guide, walking beside us every day to strengthen and protect us. Praise God for his abundant goodness!

Loving Saviour, my brother and Lord, thank you that through your saving death, I have life in all its fullness as you shower me with an abundance of blessings. Amen.

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Cracking the code of our hidden stories

Going GREYT! 1 Peter 4:10

In Going GREYT! we feature stories of some of our ‘more experienced’ people within the LCA, 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.

by Helen Brinkman

At Lutheran Archives in suburban Adelaide, up to 100 years of stories from Australia’s past are disguised in a largely forgotten handwritten German cursive script known as Kurrentschrift. And, just as archaeologists decipher hieroglyphics, the LCANZ has its own sleuths decoding the amazing stories contained in writings of this ancient German script, to share them with future generations.

Early this year, Australia recognised one of our supersleuths who has spent the past 30 years transcribing and translating Kurrentschrift to reveal its stories.

Dr Lois Zweck’s decades of research were recognised when she was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her service to community history in the Australia Day 2022 Honours List.

‘Our local stories can be as dramatic and significant and inspiring as any history anywhere’, says 74-year-old Lois.

The volunteer transcriber, translator and research assistant has been at the forefront of deciphering Kurrentschrift, a feature of many records of early Lutheran history in Australia. ‘Lutheran Archives has 80 to 100 years of records not only in a language few of our people understand, but also in a handwriting even fewer can read’, says Lois. That presents a great challenge for anyone who wants to research the history of their family, their congregation, church, or missions.

That’s where Lois, a member at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Adelaide, feels so grateful for having acquired the skills that make it possible for her to help researchers access those stories.

‘You get addicted to following stories, to finding the answers … to following the trail and seeing how the stories help you understand what our church is and what it has been in the past’, Lois says.

A Lutheran Archives volunteer since 1992, and a life member of the Friends of Lutheran Archives, Lois is one of about 10 people who can read Kurrentschrift in the Adelaide-based archive. This houses correspondence and minutes in the script, and printed sources from the advent of church papers in the 1860s.

From 1920, English become the official language for synod reports and other official documents, as English began to predominate in church life.

Decades of German language studies and 10 years of formal tertiary study, including a PhD in German Studies and two post-doctoral years in Germany, laid the groundwork for Lois to crack the code of the Kurrentschrift telling the firsthand stories of Australia’s first Lutherans.

But her academic history alone was not enough.

Like her colleagues, she taught herself to read the script in 1988 to translate documents for the centenary history of Adelaide’s Concordia College, using an old textbook with the German alphabet. It went from there.

Her mastery of German also led to her work for two cardinals at the Vatican for 17 years from 2002, translating papers and speeches. She was even presented to Pope John Paul II in St Peter’s Square in Rome.

That’s not bad for a person who was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa aged 17, on entering the University of Adelaide, and who later was assessed as legally blind. Her condition means Lois has a small section of central vision (5-10 degrees), instead of up to 180 degrees. Fortunately, that’s all you need to be able to read.

Added to that was the fact that, while her brothers Trevor and Glen were seminary graduates, Lois was part of the first generation in her family to attend university.

She was born 11th of 12 children and raised on a farm near Blyth in South Australia’s Mid-North. She also grew up among the post-war generation of rural families which sent their daughters to boarding school, completing her secondary schooling at Concordia College.

Her love of language has been life-long. Supported by encouraging people, she’s gone further than she ever imagined. ‘I’m enormously grateful to those people for being God’s guiding hand to put me in the place where I am, doing what I enjoy most, in an area where I can best contribute to my community’, Lois says.

‘The more I look back, I can see everything I had done was leading me precisely there. It was giving me the capacity to do it and the time to do it, it was all a gift. It is very gratifying to do what you enjoy doing and to see other people acknowledge a value in it.’

Among Lois’s favourite Psalms are Psalm 77 and 78, describing why we need to remember God’s ‘wonderful works’ in the past and tell it to future generations so they too ‘might set their hope in God’. Psalm 77:11 – ‘I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord’, appears on the dedication plaque of the original LCA Archives, where this story began 30 years ago.

The LCANZ’s new churchwide Bishop Paul Smith quoted Psalm 77 in a congratulatory letter to Lois after identifying a Zweck at the bottom of the honours list in the newspaper.

He said that honouring ‘those who have gone before us is a call to continue this work for the sake of those who come after’.

‘You cannot give thanks if you don’t know what you have been given’, Lois says. ‘We have to tell future generations about what God has done for us and those before us.

‘I cannot imagine a better life for myself than the life I have been given.’

Helen Brinkman 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   

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Sun shines on hearts of gold

by Lisa McIntosh

A series of ‘God-incidences’ has turned a Lutheran farming family’s surplus hay paddock and 30,000 sunflower seeds into a golden field of hope for children with congenital heart disease in South Australia.

That’s the belief of Freeling farmers Sherinne and Gavin Schuster – along with their sons Leighton, Harrison and Corbin and their families – whose unconventional crop of sunflowers recently yielded more than $14,000 for the HeartKids SA charity.

And, as the not-for-profit’s corporate sponsorship doubles donations during February, due to the 14th being International Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day or Sweetheart Day aka Valentine’s Day, the money raised will grow to more than $25,000 from an initial donation of $12,644.

The family property west of the Barossa Valley hosts a barn that the family – members of Light Lutheran congregation – hires out for functions. So, with the idea of a picturesque photographic backdrop in mind, the Schusters planted a hectare of sunflowers last November in a paddock usually used for hay.

It was something they’d thought of doing for some years but the 2021-2022 summer was the first in recent times promising climatic conditions conducive to growing sunflowers. When the speculative planting produced spectacular results in the lead-up to Valentine’s Day, Corbin had an idea – why not invite people to come along and pick a sunflower for a gold coin donation to help others?

The Schusters decided any money raised would go to HeartKids as they knew two people through family and local connections who had lost children or grandchildren to congenital or childhood-acquired heart disease.

Sherinne thought they might raise a few hundred dollars after Corbin posted the ‘sundraiser’ on Facebook and an artist friend-of-a-friend painted a hay bale sign advertising it. About 50 cars arrived within two hours of the post and, within a week, more than $12,000 had been raised as individuals, couples, families and even busloads of people and HeartKids beneficiaries came to enjoy the beautiful sight and pick a single stem or a bunch.

‘Some people picked one, some people picked bunches, some people picked eight and gave me $50’, Sherinne says. Soon the Schusters, their function centre and the sunflowers were highlighted by a variety of media outlets – something Sherinne and Gavin felt a little uncomfortable about, as the fundraiser was motivated by their desire to help others, spurred by their Christian faith.

‘I feel a bit embarrassed because it’s not meant to be about us’, Sherinne says. ‘That’s not what it’s about. I’m very much a believer in helping other people and we’ve had an opportunity to do it. There are always bad things around and if you focus on the bad, that’s all you’ll see. But if you focus on the good, you’ll see a lot more good. I’m a firm believer in that.’

However, when a HeartKids representative told the Schusters how positive the publicity had been for their cause, it made Sherinne very happy. ‘I thought, okay I’ll put up with the embarrassment of being on telly because it’s doing some good’, she says.

Along with donations being doubled and the sunflower currently being used around the world to show support for the people of Ukraine, Sherinne and Gavin say they’ve seen many ‘God-incidences’ through this experience.

‘[One day] a lady was picking a whole heap of flowers and I said, “Have you got a celebration or something?” and she said, “No, I’m taking them to my daughter-in-law who is Ukrainian, who lives in Adelaide”’, Gavin says. ‘“Their national emblem is the sunflower, and her parents are in Ukraine at this time”.

‘It’s a God-incidence – we have a lot of those.’

‘They’re all around if you look for them’, Sherinne adds. ‘It’s amazing. It’s nothing we ever planned. The Lord is good. Everything we did just got better and better [because of God’s hand in it] and we’re just so thankful.’

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Sharing life-giving water with the community

The biblical symbolism of life-giving water is not lost on members of Good Shepherd Lutheran congregation in Traralgon in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley as they look at the new water fountain out the front of their church.

The installation of a public drinking fountain in front of the church as a community service was proposed at a congregational church council meeting in 2020 and late last year that idea became a reality. A new walking and cycling path had been extended linking Traralgon with the nearby town of Morwell, with the nearest water fountain 1.7 kilometres away. So the Good Shepherd leadership thought that out the front of their church would be an ideal location for a drink stop for thirsty walkers and cyclists.

Congregation elder and Gippsland Parish treasurer David Mirtschin says the next step in the process was to apply for a grant through Gippsland Water’s community support program in the hope of funding the purchase of a fountain. The application was successful and, after negotiations with Gippsland Water and the Latrobe City Council, the council also arranged and paid for the installation of the fountain, connecting it up with Traralgon Lutheran Church’s water meter. This means that the congregation only has to pay for the water used by joggers, cyclists, walkers, ‘woofers’ and any other users, which David says was an extra, unexpected blessing to come from the congregation’s initiative.

‘God blessed us with extra help and now all that we need to do is pay for the water usage’, he says. ‘The idea was to provide a community service and, at the same time, let people know there’s a church here.’

The fountain is complete with a dog bowl and a park bench has also been installed at the site.

David says the congregation is also keen to allow members of the public to use the church carpark while they go for a walk or cycle along the path and hopes to gain approval for the erection of signage advertising this extra free service. The possibility of church toilets being made available to path users while the building is open is also being investigated, while David says the church is keen to put up a sign near the fountain promoting its use and evoking Jesus’ promises at the same time, with wording such as: ‘Come and drink the Water of Life’.

This story has been expanded from ‘Water for the thirsty’, first published through the LCANZ Vic-Tas District’s eVoices.

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Joyful reunion for church friends

The relaxation of Australia’s border restrictions has led to many happy reunions between long-separated family members and other loved ones.

And it was a similarly joyful reconnection between international church friends when Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP) President Reverend Antonio del Rio Reyes visited Adelaide recently for the installation of LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith. The three-day visit was President Reyes’ first to Australia, but it offered the opportunity to catch up with Lutheran leaders and members, including Bishop Paul, whom he had met previously, or connected with online.

President Reyes attended the installation as the Asia-Pacific representative of the International Lutheran Council (ILC) and conveyed greetings from the international body and LCP. He also thanked the LCANZ ‘for the love and support you gave to our church workers … at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic’, referring to financial support sent to assist pastors who were without income.

While the LCANZ and LCP are still working towards an official partnership, the two churches have forged a strong friendship. Pastor John Henderson, immediate past bishop of the LCANZ, and Pastor Matt Anker, Assistant to the Bishop – International Mission, are among those who have worked to build on the close working relationship with LCP.

According to President Reyes, the Philippines church’s membership of ILC and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has resulted in an ‘automatic relationship’ with the LCANZ, which is an associate member with both bodies. But, he says, the fruits of the friendship attest to a shared commitment to ‘walk and work together’ for the sake of the gospel and Lutheran Confessions. ‘I look at the LCA as being also a partner in the proclamation of the gospel in doing good works, because in Ephesians 2:8,9 it says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your work, it is God’s gift lest you should boast”. And then verse 10 says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good work”’, President Reyes says.

‘Doing good works collectively as children of God is one thing I look at in this relationship – so we walk together, we work together, we study together and how can we manifest the fruits of our faith together? We have different gifts we can put together and then we work as one body.’

Pastor Matt says he is inspired by the Philippines church for several reasons: ‘The first is the depth of understanding and living in the scriptures and the confessions that I see in their church workers, which then inspires them to be very mission-focused. Secondly, they are so ready, as Saint Peter says, to give a reason for the hope that is in them. That kind of evangelistic passion and readiness and zeal is something that we can learn a lot from.’

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