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Cross-Cultural Ministry training opportunity

The LCANZ’s Cross-Cultural Ministry Department is teaming up with Australian Lutheran College to offer an online training resource for congregations. The training will allow individuals and congregational teams to work through sessions focused on developing cross-cultural ministry in their local context. Using LCANZ-specific videos and content, this training will be supplemented by personal support from the LCANZ’s Cross-Cultural Ministry team.

The online training will be available next month. If you are interested, sign up for Cross-Cultural Ministry eNews (go to www.lca.org.au/ccministry-signup) to receive further details or keep an eye on the department webpage at www.lca.org.au/cross-cultural-ministry

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Let’s talk about supporting cultural diversity

by Jodi Brook

What is Australian culture? How about New Zealand culture? How do you think Australians and New Zealanders embrace cultural diversity?

Do you know what it means to be a refugee? How do we embrace our own First Nations cultures?

These and many other questions are part of the Grow Ministries Talking Points session called ‘How do we support cultural diversity?’

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, ‘Refugees are people fleeing conflict or persecution. They are defined and protected in international law and must not be expelled or returned to situations where their life and freedom are at risk’.

HOW CAN WE SHOW LOVE TO STRANGERS?

It is God’s will that we show love to the vulnerable and the stranger because our hearts have first been filled and transformed by the love, forgiveness, healing and help we’ve received from him through Jesus. ‘Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another’ (1 John 4:11).

We pray that we – our countries of Australia and New Zealand, the church, our local communities and our families – will be places in which the stranger is welcomed and cared for because of their value as a human being made in the image of God. What can you do to love others?

These topics are part of volume 3 of Grow Ministries’ Talking Points resource. Created to encourage adults of all ages to journey in faith together in discussing a range of topics, Talking Points comes in four volumes.

Talking Points Volume 3 includes:

  • How do we support cultural diversity?
  • How can Christians remain united?
  • How do we determine our identity?

More about Grow’s Talking Points

  • Designed to create an open discussion platform
  • No pre-reading or planning required
  • Created to be as flexible as needed
  • or can be followed as prescribed
  • Available to download, print and distribute

For more information or to purchase a copy of Talking Points, please visit the Grow Ministries website: www.growministries.org.au

Jodi Brook is Director of Grow Ministries.

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The best message in times of crisis

by Richard Fox

Why do bad things happen? And where is God in times of suffering? During a crisis these may be familiar questions. And these are the types of topics that Lutheran Media’s Messages of Hope address.

Listener Kathleen heard Messages of Hope about crisis on her local radio station and wanted to know more about how God helps in times of suffering. So, she got in touch: ‘I wanted to speak to you about “Why do bad things happen? Courage during difficult times”. I was after a couple of copies please if you’ve got them.’ You can listen to the radio message Kathleen listened to at www.messagesofhope.org.au/crisis

You can order the booklet or download an electronic version at
www.messagesofhope.org.au/bad-things-happen

There are videos and other podcasts about crisis and suffering too at
www.messagesofhope.org.au

POSTCARDS OF HOPE

Lutheran Media also offers free postcards of hope to be enjoyed and shared. Maria and her young daughter appreciated this wonderful yet simple way to share the hope of Jesus Christ. Maria says: ‘My nine-year-old set up her new bookshelf and loves this card so much it became a main feature! Thanks for spreading hope.’

To order postcards, go to the website: www.lutheranmedia.org.au/postcards or call 1800 353 350.

Pastor Richard Fox is Director of Lutheran Media.

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Church@Home March 2022

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

Encouragement along our faith journey

With many people facing uncertainty, loss, or grief two years into the COVID pandemic, we can all benefit from encouraging words, uplifting Scripture and a sense of God’s closeness. Nurturing our faith at home through regular devotions can help strengthen 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

Isaiah 41:13
I am the Lord your God. I am holding your hand, so don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.

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

Structures or relationships? by Pastor Peter Bean

As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his followers said to him, ‘Look, Teacher! How beautiful the buildings are!’ (Mark 13:1).

Read Mark 13:1–8.

Perhaps you have visited some of the cathedrals of Europe, or possibly, like me, each year watching the Tour De France, you become mesmerised by the ancient monasteries, basilicas and churches. They are indeed beautiful. The stonework is often amazing. I usually wonder how they managed to construct these buildings without modern equipment. Marvels of the modern world!

This follower obviously thought the same of the temple in Jesus’ time. And perhaps rightly so. The temple was, after all, where God resided and where the high priest encountered him. Why would it not consist of beautiful buildings?

Yet Jesus was not interested in or impressed by this sort of beauty. He focused on the beauty inside a person. Jesus was not interested in God being confined to a particular place. In fact, as The Message version of John 1:14 puts it, God has moved into the neighbourhood! That’s Jesus. His focus is on people, on relationships.

Buildings have their place and serve their purpose. If they reflect the glory of God in their design and structure, that is even better. But they will rot; they will eventually fall down or be replaced.

Jesus’ relationship with us is constant; it is secure. We could even say it is beautiful.

Jesus’ love for us will continue no matter what wars, earthquakes or famines come. Our reality is to walk and live in that relationship; allow the love of Jesus to permeate our lives; live in the gifts of grace and forgiveness; and gain our security from a God who became a human being in Jesus Christ, who lives in and with us wherever we are.

Value your churches; admire the cathedrals; praise God for the human effort that went into glorifying God in these buildings. But above all that, value the presence of Jesus in your heart. Allow the Holy Spirit to enable you to see God’s beauty everywhere.

Thank you, God, for the gift of beauty. Thank you for loving us, for gifting us grace and forgiveness. Help us to live as your people wherever we may be. Amen.

By force or by grace? by Pastor Reid Matthias

The kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and violent people have been raiding it (Matthew 11:12b).

Read Matthew 11:11–15.

I stare incredulously at the news.

Every day, serious broadcasters stare with sombre eyes towards a teleprompter reminding us that the world is not a safe place. Around every corner, danger sneaks into the night like a thief, waiting to steal our most prized possessions: our wealth, health, time and reputations. Thus, we isolate ourselves behind closed doors to avoid the violence that the broadcasters so quickly warn us about.

Contemporary culture is fuelled by pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth. This endless machine of sin promotes violence against the very things of God. In our context, we tend to think this violence is the media attacking Christian worship services or Christian freedoms. No, I believe this violence against the kingdom of heaven has more to do with what Jesus considers important – the foils of those seven deadly sins: faith, hope and love.

Today, we are still distracted by the powerful. Jesus wanted people to understand the Messiah would be about the blind receiving sight, the unhearing receiving the sound of music. Those paralysed can now move, those cast out are now included, and those who were dead can live again. And most blessedly, the poor (not just financially) can receive the greatest news of all (Matthew 11:4,5).

That the Messiah, Jesus Christ, had come to deliver them from the power and violence aimed against the kingdom of heaven was the greatest gift of all.

John the Baptist railed against the violence of the unjust against the kingdom of heaven. He was the prophet who pointed all people to Jesus, even those who would commit violence against him. Now John, the last of the prophets, points us towards Jesus. His words capture our imagination.

Jesus Christ has come, and though the world seeks violence against faith, hope and love, he has already won the war.

I pray that you will encounter the one John the Baptist pointed to, Jesus, the Messiah.

Holy Jesus, protect me from the violence of the world and help me be brave in standing up for those who need to see you. Amen.

PRAYER

HYMN OF THE LIFE-GIVING CROSS
O Christ our God
Ceaselessly we worship
Before your cross
That gives us life;
And praise your resurrection,
When on that third day
You made anew
Our failing nature
Showing us so clearly
The way back to heaven.
For you alone are good,
The Lover of humankind.

– John Damascus (676–749 AD), from justprayer.org

Psalm 34:8
Find out for yourself how good the Lord is. Happy are those who find safety with him.

How do you look from a distance? by Kathy Matuschka

Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; but the proud, he knows them from afar (Psalm 138:6).

Read Psalm 138.

Picture this. God (as a person – we call this anthropomorphism), standing up the road, noticing someone in the distance coming towards him. God can tell by this person’s silhouette that they are haughty – proud, overconfident in their own abilities, judgemental of others.

Haughty people can be quite easily spotted by their body language … although, people who are using bravado to cover up for their insecurities can come across the same way.

Another time it can be difficult to spot haughtiness is when it’s yourself since you can’t see yourself from up the road! Sometimes, I am most likely to be haughty in my work within the church. As I start to see the fruit of my labour, I can hold too tightly onto God’s mission and claim it as my own. When I get on the treadmill of investing too much time and energy in ‘the cause’ instead of resting in God’s grace and God’s provision, haughtiness overtakes me. Then I hurt myself and others.

We all do it, and God continues to forgive our pridefulness and restore us.

It is time to let go and remember it is by God’s authority – and not our own – that God’s work is done. In trust and hope, we are invited to pray with the psalmist (verse 8) …

Your love, Lord, endures forever – do not abandon the work of your hands. Forgive my pride and help me grow to trust you more deeply. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Beautiful feet by Ruth Olsen

Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame (Romans 10:11).

Read Romans 10:11–17.

Have you ever felt embarrassed or shamed for trusting someone or something? I imagine this has happened to everyone at some point, also because that is how our spiritual enemy likes to work – shutting us down. After all, he specialises in accusing the followers of Jesus (see Revelation 12:9–11) – or anyone, really.

Each of us may face attempts to shame or embarrass us for being a follower of Jesus. Maybe those doing so are testing us to see how we will respond. Perhaps they have a genuine question they don’t know how to ask or who to ask. How we answer them can be a turning point for them.

The verses preceding today’s reading speak of believing with your heart and confessing with your mouth whom you believe, speaking of trusting Jesus (Romans 10:6–10). This contrasts with the efforts of the Jews (Israel) to get right with God, keeping the law instead of trusting in him. Taking God at his word and trusting him in and through Jesus is a ‘stumbling stone’ to fallen human nature that says, ‘I’ll do it my way’. But God’s ways of our being made right with him are not by our efforts or works, but by our trusting the one he has sent to us (Romans 9:30–10:10; John 6:29). As Isaiah wrote: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed”’ (Isaiah 28:16).

Is the message of Jesus a ‘stumbling stone’ to us also? Or do we believe that Jesus is the precious cornerstone and sure foundation, totally reliable and trustworthy – because of who he is and not because of what we are like? And are we willing for the Holy Spirit to lead us in sharing that message and thereby have ‘beautiful feet’?

Holy Spirit, help us do the ‘sweet swap’ and leave our embarrassment and shame at the cross of Jesus in exchange for courageous love. Embed it in our hearts that ‘anyone who trusts in Jesus will never be put to shame’. Bless you! Amen.

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Finding a gift in the wood

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

One of the first wood carvings Albert Noll ever created was a carved wooden message: ‘Blessed by the grace of God’.

It was two years ago, just before turning 90, that Albert tried out the scroll saw at his local men’s shed at Waikerie in South Australia’s Riverland.

The sawn message has not only remained a favourite carving, but its creation instilled in him a passion for this new hobby.

It’s also turned into an unexpected fundraiser for Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS).

Faced with requests to sell his carvings, most of which are Christian-themed wooden ornaments, 92-year-old Albert felt uncomfortable making money from his hobby. So, he decided to direct the funds towards something else that has always brought him joy – raising money for ALWS.

A couple of hundred carvings later and he’s already raised more than $800 from giving his wares to friends and local groups in return for a donation.

Albert’s farming background means he’s always been good with his hands, turning odds and ends from the shed into useful fixes.

He used the shed men’s scroll saw to make name tags out of wood for everyone attending his 90th birthday in January 2020.

‘Then I bought my own scroll saw and that’s when I started making my crosses and religious signs, seeking inspiration from books’, Albert says.

Albert has been inspired by his love of wood – sourcing a range of wood including walnut, mallee, redgum or black oak so hard it breaks a lot of saw blades!

‘I was walking through the property of a friend, Graham Smith, when we found a whole acacia wattle tree that I’ve cut into timber with a band saw 10 to 15 millimetres wide’, recalls Albert. That’s become the fodder for much of his wood carving to date.

‘I can look at a piece of wood and image something into it’, he says. ‘One of my favourite ones is a dove cut out overlayed into the top of a cross – it involves two different coloured pieces of wood.’

It usually takes Albert just as long to finish a piece as it does to cut it, the finishing work including sanding the piece smooth and varnishing it with four coats of varnish. Some pieces take him only a few hours in total, while others require many hours of work. ‘If I charged an hourly rate, ALWS would be the richer’, he says cheekily.

‘It’s just an offshoot of what I have done all my life. If we were farming and something broke, you just went and you made it. I have made some weird and wonderful pieces of machinery!’

He gets requests from people for his wooden creations and a popular one is a carving of a man in an outside lounge chair saying: ‘It’s not my problem, retired’. But most are Christian ornaments.

And, as a longtime supporter of ALWS, he’s pleased his handiwork can support the mission of the LCA’s overseas aid and development agency to bring love to life for people hurt by poverty, injustice and crisis.

Albert’s also been shaped by a strong faith nurtured in the congregation he’s been a member of since birth in 1930 – Bethlehem Lutheran Church at Murbko, about halfway between Morgan and Blanchetown on the eastern side of the River Murray.

The little white stone church at Murbko was built with hand-cut Murray cliff stone on land which was donated by his great-grandfather, Christian August Noll, in 1904.

Christian Noll was also the first person buried in the nearby church cemetery in 1906.

Albert and his wife of 66 years, Gladys, drive a round trip of 70km, past two other Lutheran churches, to worship at Murbko each Sunday, in a parish led by Pastor Peter Traeger, who also serves three other congregations in the region.

There may only be 10 members at Bethlehem now, ‘but we still manage to make our local budget’, says Albert, who is congregational treasurer and chairman, as well as curator of the church cemetery. He’s giving up his second stint as chairman at this year’s annual general meeting.

He’ll keep up his treasurer duties, assisted by the clever spreadsheets set up by their daughter Meredith, a retired accountant, to assist his task.

Albert and Gladys, 88, feel blessed that they remain living independently and still both drive. Their faith has supported them through tough times, including the loss of two of their three children in separate car accidents.

Crafting wood has been a comfort and solace in these past few years.

‘Six years ago, it was confirmed that I have Parkinson’s. It was diagnosed so early that I can manage it well’, Albert says. ‘I can still get a glass of port up to my lips without spilling it.

‘If I keep myself busy with the woodwork it helps every time. It keeps my brain busy and my hands busy.’

And, as Gladys says: ‘A lot of love goes into it’.

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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Lutherans honoured in Australia Day awards

Long-time Lutheran Archives volunteer researcher Dr Lois Zweck is among LCANZ members honoured in the Australia Day 2022 Honours list.

A volunteer transcriber, translator and research assistant at Lutheran Archives since 1992, Lois is a member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church Adelaide. She was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for her service to community history.

Mr Robert (Rob) Krause, who has served the LCANZ as a volunteer at congregational, district and churchwide levels for more than 60 years, also received an OAM for service to the community of Marburg, a rural town in the Ipswich area between Brisbane and Toowoomba in southern Queensland.

A joint winner of the History Council of South Australia’s Life-Long History Achievement Award in 2017, Lois has been a Lutheran Archives advisory committee member since 1998 and a committee member of the Friends of Lutheran Archives (FoLA) since 1992. She served as chair of FoLA from 1995 to 2014 and was made a life member of the group in 2014. She is a founding committee member of the community history collaborative German Heritage Research Group,

Lois’s work at Lutheran Archives includes transcribing and translating the Kurrentschrift German handwritten script, which is a feature of many records of early Lutheran history in Australia.

Lutheran Archives Director Rachel Kuchel said she was ‘thrilled’ that Lois – a ‘researcher extraordinaire’ – and her service and contribution to community and Lutheran church history had been recognised through the award.

‘Lois has an eye for detail, an incredible memory, and will follow all avenues to pursue a record and discover what it can tell us about our church’, Rachel said. ‘Her truly special talent, however, is to inspire other people to explore one’s congregation story or one’s personal connection to our collective church story.’

Former director Lyall Kupke, who served in the LCA role from 1995 to 2014, said Lois ‘gives her help freely and with much enthusiasm’. ‘With her expert knowledge of German and the old German script, and her excellent knowledge of the history of the Lutheran church in Australia, Lois is a most valuable support to the staff at Lutheran Archives and also to researchers’, he said.

Lois, however, said she was ‘shocked’ to receive the award and almost deleted the initial email notifying her of the honour.

‘When I got the first email about it, my cursor was hovering over the delete rubbish bin, thinking it was a scam’, she said. ‘I was shocked of course because you look at people who have spent lives in really significant causes who receive awards, but then I guess you realise that this cause is a significant one. You have to realise that dedicating some of your time and some of your efforts to something like history is considered valuable by the wider community.’

A member at St Matthews Lutheran Church Rosewood, Queensland, Rob Krause has given many years of service to Lutheran youth, schools, his home congregation and the Marburg Show Society, as well as to other community organisations.

Rob said it was ‘quite a surprise’ to receive a call from the Governor-General’s office about his award.

‘It was certainly an initial surprise, but it was then a bit of a thrilling feeling to think that you’re on the list for Australia Day’, he said.

Rob was inspired to volunteer in his youth days by the preaching of Pastor (later Dr and LCA President) Les Grope, on the story of Ezekiel’s reluctant service and God’s promise to help him.

‘There have been many times when matters have been difficult, but I have seen the hand of God help in many ways in youth, school and church activities’, Rob said.

A former LCA General Synod and Queensland District Synod delegate, Rob was a planning committee member for Faith Lutheran College Plainland and served on its college council from 1999 to 2009.

He was also a member of the board of Bethany Lutheran Primary School Raceview for more than a decade and has previously served as chair of his congregation. A former state secretary of Lutheran Youth of Queensland, Rob was also involved with the establishment of Luther Heights Youth Camp at Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast in the late 1950s.

His community roles have included being a former treasurer of the Marburg Rural Fire Brigade and serving as Marburg Show Society President from 2006 to 2017. A society member since 1964, he was made a life member in 1994.

The congratulations of the church are offered to these recipients and any other members honoured with awards.

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ALWS recommended for top rating

Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS) has again been recommended for the highest accreditation possible from the Australian Government as a not-for-profit agency.

Every five years, the Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) reviews the work of aid and development agencies, and the results are linked to government funding and viability. The process aims to give the public confidence that the government is funding well-managed, professional, accountable organisations capable of delivering quality development outcomes.

If agencies pass the review, they receive one of two levels of accreditation – base or full. Full accreditation, for which ALWS again has been recommended, provides capped funding, along with access to a share of pooled funding which varies annually, depending on government budget allocations.

This accreditation is awarded by the government to organisations that are highly effective and meet strict criteria across a range of areas, including accountability and transparency, program management, approaches to partnership, risk management and ethical communications and fundraising.

The official wording of the accreditation is as follows: ‘ALWS is accredited by DFAT, responsible for managing Australia’s development program. To maintain accreditation, ALWS systems, policies and processes are rigorously reviewed by the Australian Government. ALWS receives support through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program.’

ALWS Community Action Manager Jonathan Krause said the ‘exhausting’ and exhaustive DFAT review involved ‘hundreds of pages of reports, days of interviews, more than 70 questions to be answered from those reports’.

‘Success in the review means a number of wonderful things for our church’s ministry through ALWS’, he said. ‘First, ALWS continues to receive grants from the Australian Government to multiply the impact of donations through ALWS. Over the next five years, we estimate this may add more than $9 million value to what our church can do through ALWS. Second, accreditation means ALWS is in a good position when other opportunities for support from the Australian Government are offered.

‘Third – and important for us Lutherans who like ‘value for money’ – accreditation is assurance donations are put to work with strict standards of accountability and proven effectiveness in making a lasting difference in people’s lives.’

The accreditation recommendation outcomes will be known later this year.

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Chance to start babies off on right (scriptural) foot

This month is the last chance to register children born in 2021 for the Bible Society’s Bibles For Bubs program.

Registrations for the popular Scripture program, which has given away 10,000 toddler Bibles in its first five years of operation, close on 31 March or when 2000 babies are registered, whichever comes first.

Babies in the program also receive birthday cards for five years and an age-appropriate Bible on their fifth birthday, along with parent guides which encourage family faith-building activities and Bible-reading times. This year will see the program’s first cohort of infants graduate to receive their ‘big kid’ Bible, the CEV Big Rescue Bible.

Since Bibles For Bubs began, 23,000 birthday cards have been handwritten and posted to mark participating children’s special days. Each card is accompanied by a message for their parents with ideas on engaging with the Bible relevant to their child’s age. The concept has now taken root overseas, with Bible Society Northern Ireland having launched a Bibles for Babies program following Australia’s model.

Belinda Faulks, who heads up the Bible Society’s International Missions program, is responsible for the thought bubble that grew into an ongoing project.

‘When we dreamt up the Bible For Bubs program, we never expected that it would be as wildly successful as it is today’, she said. ‘What a privilege it is for Bible Society Australia to play a small part in making sure that families have the resources and are equipped and encouraged to introduce their little ones to the word of God!’

To register children born in 2021 to become a part of the program and to receive a toddler Bible, go online to www.biblesociety.org.au/bubs

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PNG synod an ‘overwhelming experience’

by Murray and Tracy Smith

Attending the recent opening ceremony of the 33rd Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (ELC-PNG) was an overwhelming experience – but not because it lasted approximately six hours or because there were an estimated 10,000 people present.

Instead, what made this event overwhelming was that for the duration those attending celebrated being together, renewed friendships, created new ones and prepared delegates for the important business of the church for the next two years.

The procession around the athletics track of Port Moresby’s Sir John Guise Stadium began at 9am on 9 January and featured almost 1000 people. The line behind ELC-PNG Bishop Dr Jack Urame included church administration staff, international guests, pastors and delegates. Many delegates were making their first visit to Port Moresby, so the atmosphere was electrifying.

Dance or ‘singsing’ groups introduced the national flag-raising with the national anthem, which was followed by Bishop Urame’s opening speech, greetings from guests of the Bavarian Lutheran Church and the LCANZ, and the appearance of Papua New Guinea’s Lutheran Governor-General, the Hon Sir Bob Dadae. A further highlight of the ceremony was the ordination of the first pastor from the Central (Port Moresby) District.

Dancing and singing continued throughout the day. The first break came after the day’s proceedings, when we were ushered into a room where guests and members of the church administration were offered a feast of pork, chicken, fish, sweet potato, taro, sago slab, cooked banana, greens and tropical fruits.

ELC-PNG church business was conducted over the following four days, with the synod theme – ‘As for my family and me, we will serve the Lord’ from Joshua 24:15b – featuring strongly throughout. Each day opened with worship or ‘Lotu’, including a half-hour Bible study. The ELC-PNG’s 17 districts each presented a report of its projects and activities.

Synod business was interrupted by the appearance of PNG Prime Minister James Marape, who gave an inspirational Christian message.

Church issues were dealt with by committees, which broke into small groups taking time in discussion before each presenting reports with recommendations to the synod.

Final reports were presented to the synod on 15 January and the synod convention concluded with a divine service including holy communion for 1000 people.

The closing ceremony included more ‘singsing’, an address by the Governor-General, closing remarks by Bishop Urame and a ceremonial passing of the synod shield from the current host district to the next synod host. After the formalities, we once again retired to the ‘feast’ room to share a final meal.

The next couple of days saw many visitors return home to all parts of PNG. It was truly an amazing experience.

Pastor Murray Smith is serving as an LCA missionary lecturer at the ELC-PNG’s Senior Flierl Seminary at Logaweng, PNG. He and his wife Tracy attended the ELC-PNG’s Synod 2022 as guests of the PNG church.

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Sharing love is no small bickies

by Lisa McIntosh

We can never comprehend the power of the Holy Spirit to turn a seemingly small act of kindness into a love-filled, life-changing gift.

But that was what small a packet of homemade honey biscuits represented for Craig*, a recent inmate at the Adelaide Remand Centre (ARC).

The story behind those honey biscuits is that members of Lutheran women’s fellowships from around South Australia have been making and giving out the traditional festive treat since Christmas 1968 when 3250 bags of biscuits and sweets were distributed.

Now known as Christmas Cheer, the project has operated under various names and committees’ direction since it began, with the input of thousands of volunteer bakers and people in hospital or with other needs receiving biscuits.

Most recently, biscuits and a Christian tract were given out to people including those at aged-care homes, corrections facilities such as prisons; mental health services, disability support services and community care organisations across Adelaide.

Richard Hawke, who visits the ARC as a chaplain, says handing out the cellophane packs of biscuits to inmates across the prison was ‘such a privilege’.

‘The men, many of whom were in lockdown due to COVID restrictions, expressed their deep gratitude, especially [as] the biscuits were homemade’, says Richard, who passed on their thanks via the LLL which produces the tracts through its Lutheran Tract Mission outreach. ‘Many inmates were also able to receive a second packet on Christmas Day. That was pretty special.

‘Perhaps the highlight of the ministry was the feedback from Craig, who was arrested and came to the ARC just prior to Christmas. He had attempted suicide only hours before police caught up with him.

‘Craig says, “If I hadn’t come to prison, I would probably be dead by now. But what really touched me was receiving those biscuits. When I opened up the pack there was a leaflet inside with the words: ‘For God so loved the world he gave his only Son, that whoever should believe in him, shall not perish but have eternal life’. Straight away I felt deep emotion come all over me … I knew God was speaking to me. It was a reminder that God hadn’t forgotten about me”.

‘Craig is desperate to break his addiction to drugs and made a decision to renew his commitment to follow Jesus. All of us at the Remand Centre are very grateful for the contribution made by the Lutheran ladies … none more so than Craig.’

Lorraine Kempf, a member of St Pauls Lutheran Church Ferryden Park, who coordinates the project and has been involved with Christmas Cheer since 2011, says Craig’s story is encouraging for the 61 women’s fellowship groups who baked enough biscuits to fill 1160 packets in 2021.

‘That brings tears to my eyes’, she says. ‘We might think, “What’s a packet of biscuits?”, but to hear what it means to people makes it worthwhile. It gives you great encouragement to hear that.’

*Not his real name

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