Archive for category: February–March

by Lisa McIntosh

It’s not overstating things to say that it’s been a rough few years for some in many parts of Australia and New Zealand. Even apart from the tragedies and disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, floods, fires, droughts and more floods have destroyed lives, homes, businesses, property, land, livestock and livelihoods. Through it all, prayers, and financial and practical support from our Lutheran family are continuing to bring hope and shine Jesus’ love and light into dark days.

By the time Advent began last year, Pastor James Leach from the New South Wales Central West Lutheran Parish had been offering support, listening to, and talking and praying with people worst hit by the flood emergency in and around Forbes for several weeks.

Thanks to the support of our wider Lutheran family through donations being deposited in the LCA Disaster & Welfare Fund and assistance distributed under the direction of the NSW and ACT District, Pastor James and his wife Adele had been able to prepare and share home-cooked meals, other food and drinks, gift cards, tracts and other items in the first few weeks of the crisis.

With gifts of food and on gift card envelopes, Pastor James attached a note including the following wording, along with the LCA logo: ‘We know you must be dealing with so much right now, but we just wanted to reach out and tell you that you are in our hearts. Please know that there are people throughout Australia praying for you … If there is any way I can provide assistance, please just ask.’

While almost 100 families have now been helped through small financial gifts, and a further 40 to 50 families have accepted prayers or food, Pastor James knew many more families were struggling and in need.

One day in December, he was wondering whether what they were doing was enough. Then a parishioner told him about a news item on Channel Ten’s current affairs and talk show, The Project. Rebecca, a local pregnant mother of three, was being interviewed about having lost the family home and almost everything in it in the floods – and then to looters. Despite having to live in a tent with her partner and children and being in and out of hospital with early labour concerns, she said she was incredibly thankful for the support of locals, including home-cooked meals from the Lutheran Church.

It was the boost Pastor James needed – and evidence of ‘God’s timing’, he says. Not because of the recognition – it was the fact that ‘small gestures’ of love have meant so much to people who were suffering.

‘I was feeling a little bit low and vulnerable. And then I got to watch this interview on The Project of a person we’ve just been loving as much as we could – it was amazing’, he says.

Pastor James had prayed with Rebecca that her unborn baby would go to full term. He had given a reference and advocated for the family in their search for accommodation. Baby Sadie-Anne was born safely on New Year’s Eve after 38 weeks of pregnancy and, in the second week of January, the family secured accommodation for six to 12 months. Despite the house not being in the best condition or the best neighbourhood, Pastor James says Rebecca and her family are incredibly grateful to have a home – and for the ongoing support of and connection with the LCANZ.

Pastor James, too, is very grateful for donations from the wider Lutheran family. As of mid-January, around $15,000 had been distributed, and he expects to give out about $5000 more.

He said the support of the church had been both ‘humbling and empowering’ as they have reached out to those in the community with practical and moral support.

‘We are so thankful for the support that we’ve already received’, said Pastor James, who added that he was ‘blown away’ by the response to the appeal. ‘It means more than I can express. The encouragement that has given me that the church was praying for us – it’s uplifting, humbling and empowering.

‘I was also able to put together a number of small Christmas hamper boxes for the families that we’d already helped, as a second point of contact. I figured we’d go back to those people and see where we’d already planted some seeds of hope and see how we could help again.

‘We’ve been asked by a few of the bigger families whether we could help any further, which we have. Just because we were there initially, there have been a number of doors open up where people are a lot softer to being with us.’

Adele Leach said beyond the devastation they had seen and the heartache they felt as they headed around Forbes to see people, offering sandwiches, water, tea and coffee, they were left with a ‘feeling of privilege’. ‘[We felt] that we were welcome to step into people’s lives at their most devastated’, she said.

One example was when Pastor James was contacted by the single mum of a three-year-old foster daughter, who was asking for help. ‘She told me how her daughter was really struggling because she was wondering how Santa was going to work out where to put the presents this year, as their Christmas tree had been washed away’, Pastor James said. ‘It just broke my heart. So, I organised a Christmas tree. We got decorations, and I went over and decorated the tree with the daughter.

‘All of the drywall and insulation has been removed from their house due to the flood damage, so you could see from one side to the other. When I asked the little girl where she wanted the tree, she said, “Right here”, pointing to the middle of the house. When I asked, “Why’s that?”, she said, “Because no matter where I am in the house, I’ll be able to see the Christmas star, and that will make me happy”.’

And then there has been great support from the wider community – people outside the church with whom Pastor James and Adele have connected. When Pastor James reached out via social media to locals for a spare second-hand Christmas tree for another family, he ended up with 13 under his verandah!

NSW–ACT District Administrator Russell Veerhuis said what has happened in the Central West Parish is ‘the church in action’. ‘This is an example of the church getting out there and loving people, fulfilling our call as Christians to love all people, not just other Lutherans’, he said. ‘This is the church in action.’

Ways to donate can be found on the LCA website at www.lca.org.au/disaster-welfare

For more stories about flood responses and support in Lutheran communities in other areas, see the LCA website at www.lca.org.au/category/news

Visit the Worship Planning Page for prayers for flood-affected communities at www.lca.org.au/worship/wpp/lutheran-family-rallies-around-flood-hit-communities  

by Christine Matthias

Along the roadside, a crowd gathered.

Jesus, leading his disciples and those who wanted a piece of the action, heard someone crying out over the din of those closest to him. ‘Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!’ This was Bartimaeus, a man who couldn’t see, asking for the opportunity – begging for the chance – to see and be seen.

Some wanted Bartimaeus to be quiet, but Jesus stopped and brought silence. All the clamouring voices paused while he called Bartimaeus to him. ‘What do you want me to do for you?’, Jesus asked. The blind man said, ‘Rabbi, I want to see’. ‘Go’, said Jesus, ‘your faith has healed you.’ Immediately, he received his sight and followed Jesus along the way.

This story from Jesus’ ministry as recorded in Mark 10:46–52 has parallels today. For decades, the church has been crying out for young people to take part in the journey of Jesus towards discipleship and hope. Often, we hear the refrain, ‘Where have our young people gone?’. And yet we forget that we were those same young people once. ‘Jesus, have mercy on us! We want to see you! We want to be seen by others!’

Now with God’s great timing, the church, which may have become blind to some amazing young people in this current generation, can see them again. And hear them. Because it is their faith, their hope, their love that will lead us into the future.

Not so surprisingly, there are young people in our midst who are longing to follow Jesus and lead the church. Perhaps if we, the clamouring crowds, would gently step aside, the faith of those calling out will heal us all.

Last September’s LCANZ Young Adult Forum is still reaping benefits for participants. The forum gave young adults an opportunity to spend a weekend together learning about the church. Churchwide leaders gave presentations on topics such as public theology, the work of Jesus through the Lutheran church today, the purpose of General Synod and the topics to be discussed at this month’s in-person sessions in Melbourne.

It was an extraordinary, uplifting weekend – and not just for the 24 participants. The LCANZ leaders involved unanimously say they were inspired by the passion, interest, support and dedication of these young adults.

LCANZ Church Worker Support Manager Dr Chris Materne found it ‘truly heartening’ to meet a committed group of young people ‘who truly care about their church’.

‘Their passionate faith and the commitment they showed to live it out in their lives was inspiring’, she says.

‘They wanted solid answers to deep questions and, clearly, they are thinking deeply about the role in society of our church and Christianity more broadly. We need to hear their voices and work to support them to continue to build the church – not forgetting the past but building on it to enable them to share the eternal gospel message in a changing world.’

Dr Tania Nelson, the LCANZ’s Executive Officer for Local Mission, agrees, saying she was encouraged by the vision and leadership skills shown by the participants. ‘The calibre, thoughtfulness and conscientiousness of the young adults give me added assurance and hope that God’s mission will prevail as the next generations reach out in new and creative ways with the good news of Jesus’ love to our largely secular society’, she says.

This hope resonated beyond the forum weekend as participants from Western Australia, Queensland, South Australia and Victoria were able to make connections and find ways for future networking.

After the forum, participants were encouraged to arrange a meeting with their LCA district leaders. In early November, the Queensland participants met their district leaders and then were invited to present to Queensland’s District Assembly. At the assembly, they shared their experiences which instigated an excellent time of discussion and questions from the more than 30 leaders in attendance. The buzz in the room was palpable – as was the sense of hope for our church.

LCA Queensland District Bishop Mark Vainikka said he was ‘delighted’ to meet with the young adult representatives who attended the Churchwide Young Adult Forum from his state.

‘The passion, insight and love for the church that the young adults embodied was a joy to observe’, he says. ‘I wasn’t surprised, however, since all the young adults I have met in our district have been insightful and inspirational. I have realised that I have a lot to learn from our young adults.

‘As we were about to have our District Assembly, which is a meeting of the district’s senior executives and members of our governing councils, we invited the young adults to share about the forum there as well. They interacted with the assembly participants with insight, good humour and confidence, sharing their observations about the church, our challenges and joys.

‘As I listened to them speak so confidently about their faith and their church, it became obvious to me that these young adults are not our future; they are our present. But if we don’t empower them to engage with the church in a way that is meaningful for them today, they will not be with us tomorrow.’

Young people are indeed the ‘present’ of the church, even though, as Bishop Mark points out, sometimes they are referred to as simply its future. We must not underestimate the passion and leadership skills with which God has already gifted them. If we encourage them to use their gifts for God’s glory and the spread of his kingdom, we will have many reasons to remain full of hope for the future of our church.

Christine Matthias is the Grow Ministries resource coordinator and was one of the organisers of the LCANZ’s Young Adult Forum.

by Lisa McIntosh

Despondency. Hopelessness. Despair. These are feelings that can take over our whole existence. People in their throes may believe life is not worth living.

The death of a loved one can start us down that path, as can serious illness, the breakdown of a marriage or close relationship, a loss of independence due to age or disability, the destruction of home and property through natural disasters, the failure of a business, work redundancy and other causes of financial insecurity.

As a financial counsellor with more than 20 years of experience in listening to, working alongside, guiding and empowering people with serious money problems, Jan Bean has seen first-hand the pain of despair and hopelessness and how debilitating financial stress can be. Even if people know that they can seek help, Jan says some are too embarrassed to do so.

‘People are often anxious and that blocks their brain from thinking clearly and making good decisions around their finances’, Jan says. She says domestic and family violence and other traumas are prime examples.

‘The most common factor in financial stress is that Centrelink payments are below the poverty line’, Jan explains. ‘This is compounded as rents and power prices soar.

‘One client I saw had a job, she had a boyfriend and was renting a nice little unit. Everything was fine. Then she started to lose her eyesight. So, she lost her job. She lost her boyfriend and then she lost her unit because she couldn’t pay. She was living in her car in the front yard of a friend’s place. So, that was all within a few months!

‘That makes you think this can happen to anybody. How close are we to being destitute or losing our house or our rental? Nothing is secure here on earth. So, as God said, do not store up riches on earth.

‘Also, for those on say, middle incomes and who have a job, who aren’t managing, they probably feel like they should be managing.

‘I saw a retired couple and he had been a chief executive officer of a small-to-medium business. He was losing his hearing and was forced to retire before he was ready. Their mortgage was in default and the bank was encouraging them to sell. When he first walked into my office, the husband was like a broken man. He was leaning over, head drooped, really embarrassed and had no hope.’

However, Jan says, just listening to people and sharing with them the tools they can use to begin to ‘right the ship’, take back some control and have their dignity renewed, can make all the difference. It can also restore hope.

‘As we worked together and started looking through all the bank accounts, he started taking on some of those things himself’, she says of the former CEO. ‘I slowly did less and less for him and then by the time I’d worked with them for over a year, he could walk out with his head held high because he worked through the whole thing, and they were able to get a good result.

‘He was back in a position of empowerment and for me to see that, it gives me tingles now thinking about the change in them. Just by giving people knowledge about the financial system and options and their own choices, many people then can do what they need to do to get themselves back on their feet.’

Jan believes the pressure from society for everyone to keep spending and accumulating things, no matter what their individual situation might be, is one of the main causes of financial stress.

‘The consumerism pressure in society is always encouraging you to get more, buy more, beyond what your means are’, she says. ‘With most people I see, being in financial hardship is often circumstantial. It could be a marriage breakup, a loss of a job for unknown reasons, or illness that contributes.

‘And if they don’t seek help, it can become worse and worse. And that can affect relationships, marriages and families, and it could affect their mental health.’

She believes that 90 per cent of people under monetary stress leave it very late to seek help – some may not even know financial counselling services exist, especially if they’ve never needed them before.

Jan’s path to becoming a financial counsellor began about 25 years ago when she started volunteering at the then Lutheran Community Care (now Lutheran Care) in South Australia as an emergency relief interviewer. Seeing her gifts and abilities in action in that role, her boss suggested she be trained as a financial counsellor, and she eventually landed a part-time paid position. And she loved it from the start.

A lifelong Lutheran who now worships at St Michael’s Lutheran Church Hahndorf, in South Australia, she says her desire to care for people now in a voluntary capacity in semi-retirement comes from her values and Christian faith.

‘My faith is important. The fact that I have Jesus in my life and Jesus saves me, died for me and loves me, is the key thing. Jesus walked simply in life. So, it’s natural that I also walk more simply in life. I want to help people, to share the love of God. I love working with the people I see; I just love them all. My heart goes out to them.’

Jan says that while hearing the stories of people’s struggles and crises is ‘always a challenge’, she mostly finds the process of journeying with people uplifting, especially when she asks God to be the ‘sponge’ which absorbs the hurts and any sense of hopelessness.

‘It’s very heavy to listen to a lot of stories’, she says. ‘But God is there with me to take on those stories. He’s the one who absorbs all the mess. I don’t have to take on board everything because I can’t. I listen and I help to empower them and help them take the next steps. God has them in his hand. He’s the one – I don’t have the power to change people. It is so important for all of us to listen to other people’s stories before making any assumptions about their situation.

‘But there is help – even if you’re in absolute financial crisis. There are people who will listen, and there are services that are free. And there is hope. So please talk to someone you can trust. You don’t have to do it on your own.’

And, of course, Jan says, ‘You’re not alone. God is always with you, too’.

This story has been adapted from the Messages of Hope program ‘Financial Stress’, which is available as an audio program and as a transcript of the interview by Celia Fielke at www.messagesofhope.org.au/financial-stress-2/

Lifeline in Australia (13 11 14) and Aotearoa New Zealand (0800 543 354) offer crisis mental health support

Lutheran Care provides financial counselling in South Australia and Northern Territory – phone 08 8269 9333 or visit www.lutherancare.org.au

Australia’s National Debt Helpline (1800 007 007 and https://ndh.or.au) also offers financial counselling