, , ,

Learn more about prayer

Are you looking for ways to encourage others to get involved in prayer? Looking for ideas on how to pray? Or ways to teach prayer to children? The Grow Ministries GIFT Prayer resource offers resources to help us learn about the importance of prayer in our Christian lives.

Learn about the origins of prayer and practise some fun and simple ways to pray through drama and activities. GIFT stands for Growing in Faith Together; therefore, these resources have been designed as a way of bringing all generations together to learn, discover and build relationships. Congregations that have already used these resources find that bringing generations together provides benefits and blessings for the congregation, families, individuals of all ages, and the wider community.

GIFT Prayer is a great resource for congregations, schools and homes. There are many activities and templates, including worship and event ideas. It is filled with intergenerational activities and take-home sheets for families.

WHAT’S INCLUDED?

Inside the GIFT Prayer resource, you will find:

  • worship ideas
  • dramas
  • worship activities
  • activities
  • take-home sheets for families
  • and so much more.

There are free samples available through the Grow Ministries website, at www.growministries.org.au/product/free-resource-sample-downloadable/

To order your copy for only $10, go to www.growministries.org.au/product/gift-prayer-e-resource-2/

For more information, contact Jodi Brook (jodi.brook@lca.org.au) or Christine Matthias (christine.matthias@lca.org.au).

Already a subscriber? Click here to login and read this article.
Not a subscriber? Click here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full
/by
, , ,

Bishops release Voice referendum discussion guide

To assist LCA members as they pray and prepare to vote in the Australian referendum on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament in October, the College of Bishops has overseen the production of a guide on this matter for the communities of the church.

This discussion and information paper has been prepared in collaboration with Nick Schwarz, the Assistant to the Bishop – Public Theology, and with the input of leaders from Australian Lutheran Indigenous communities.

It also includes a ‘Bible and theology’ section as a reference for study groups; a guide for discussion outlining the background to the referendum and summaries of the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ cases; and documentation relating to the referendum.

This paper is intended as a reference guide as members of the church prepare to participate in the 14 October referendum; it is not an official statement of the church. You can download it at www.lca.org.au/voice-referendum-guide

Already a subscriber? Click here to login and read this article.
Not a subscriber? Click here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full
/by
, , ,

Better understanding the handbook of faith

by Jodi Brook and Christine Matthias

‘Living the Catechism’ is a new resource designed to introduce your household, family or small group to Martin Luther’s Small Catechism and to help them learn about the teachings of the Christian faith.

Luther felt strongly about the need for a clear explanation of faith and life! His Small Catechism was written to be the family’s Christian handbook. It is an excellent summary of what the Bible teaches us, including subjects such as repentance, faith, prayer, forgiveness, daily prayer and our daily work.

WHAT IS THE SMALL CATECHISM?

Luther’s Small Catechism is a collection of questions and answers on the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, holy baptism, confession and holy communion.

Also included are daily prayers, a table of duties for Christians in their various life callings, and a guide for Christians to use as they prepare to receive holy communion.

WHY STUDY THE SMALL CATECHISM?

God uses the precious truths of his word to keep us strong and growing in our faith in Jesus. The catechism helps us understand God’s law, which shows us our sin and how we are to live as his people. The catechism beautifully articulates the gospel, the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection for our salvation.

WHAT DOES ‘LIVING THE CATECHISM’ INCLUDE?

Our team has prepared 28 easy-to-use sheets, which teach three topics: the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed.

Each sheet follows a basic framework to help discuss each topic and relate it to everyday life. It consists of the following elements:

  • What does this mean? This explanation correlates to Luther’s Small Catechism and explains the specific petition or commandment to discuss.
  • Conversations: Hearing each other’s faith story provides an opportunity for openness and relevance to the topics being discussed.
  • Bible readings: Our faith shapes the whole of our lives and involves a lifetime of studying the Bible.
  • Action response: Serving others together provides an opportunity to see people’s gifts, faith and values in action, and to show practically how the topic relates to everyday life.
  • Prayer: Rituals and traditions such as prayers and devotions communicate meaning and relationships that exist between the people of God.
  • For further study: Another opportunity to find out more about our faith and each other.

Grow recommends that the resource be used alongside a copy of Luther’s Small Catechism. Households can use a different sheet each week, fortnight or month, depending on how much time they can dedicate to family devotion time.

We pray that this resource provides you and your household, family, or small group with a wonderful opportunity to share and discuss life and faith together.

Jodi Brook is Grow Ministries Director. Christine Matthias is Grow’s Resource Coordinator.

Already a subscriber? Click here to login and read this article.
Not a subscriber? Click here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full
/by
, , ,

Creation comes into focus

by Libby Krahling

LCANZ congregations are being encouraged to hold a special service on 3 September to mark the start of the ‘Season of Creation’ and new worship resources have been launched for this occasion.

An ecumenical response to the environmental crisis impacting the world, the Season of Creation is a time of prayer and action for the environment. It is celebrated from 1 September to 4 October as an alternative to the regular time after Pentecost. Each year the event has a particular themed focus connected with an aspect of the environment, to raise awareness and inspire responsible environmental action. The 2023 theme is ‘Let Justice and Peace Flow’, based on Amos 5:24.

NEW WORSHIP RESOURCES

The LCA Season of Creation worship resources, launched by the church’s Commission on Worship in collaboration with Lutheran Earth Care Australia and New Zealand, endeavour to point God’s people to the hope that we have in the midst of environmental chaos – Christ as the redeemer of the world, who sustains all things by his powerful word and will make all things new.

There are two suites of resources congregations can choose from: the first is more foundational and general in nature and could be used in any year, while the second suite has been tailored for the 2023 theme.

To view the LCA Season of Creation resources, visit the Seasonal Resources page, www.lca.org.au/worship/wpp/seasonal-resources

For more information about the Season of Creation, visit the Season of Creation website at seasonofcreation.org

Libby Krahling is Commission on Worship Administration Coordinator.

Already a subscriber? Click here to login and read this article.
Not a subscriber? Click here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full
/by
, , ,

Trust God’s faithfulness

by Anne Hansen

How often do we pray expecting an answer that next minute? Then, when it goes unanswered that day, we decide that God doesn’t answer prayer!

I think we have all come to that conclusion more than once, but how untrue and unfair this conclusion is to our loving Heavenly Father. Our God is a God of miracles who finds delight in answering the prayers of his people as he sees fit and in his timing.

As Christian author Lysa TerKeurst said, ‘God’s not ignoring you. He just loves you too much to answer your prayers at any time than the right time’.

God has always proven his faithfulness to his people by rescuing them from trouble and answering prayers in miraculous ways. Just read through the stories in the Old Testament! God is always faithful and trustworthy. He hears our prayers and knows all our needs, even before we ask. So, if you have prayers that you have been praying for some time, keep the faith. God is at work behind the scenes.

RESOURCES TO SUPPORT YOUR PRAYER LIFE

Lutheran Tract Mission has many resources for you about prayer. Some help you pray personally and give tips on how to pray for others. Others encourage you to pray at all times and in all ways. Stick a postcard or text card about prayer on your refrigerator to remind you to pray. Find a bookmark about prayer and put it in a book.

Look at our website to find what you need for your ministry: www.ltm.org.au

Please share stories with me of how tracts have spoken and reached you and others in your community! Give others new ideas as to how to use tracts in sharing God’s love!

Nothing is impossible for God, and he always hears you!

Anne Hansen is Lutheran Tract Mission Development Officer.

Already a subscriber? Click here to login and read this article.
Not a subscriber? Click here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full
/by
, , ,

Join in online monthly prayer

Lift up the ministry of LCA International Mission and our Lutheran overseas partner churches in prayer by joining an online monthly prayer time.

Held on the last Tuesday of every month at noon (ACST) via Zoom, each meeting has a prayer theme.

Upcoming themes for the gatherings are:

29 AUG           Lutheran Church in Malaysia’s Orang Asli Ministry

26 SEP             HKBP Deaconess School, Indonesia

31 OCT           Myanmar Lutheran Church

28 NOV          Home of Grace, Thailand

Please contact Erin via email at erin.kerber@lca.org.au if you have any questions or to receive the Zoom link for these prayer gatherings.

PRAY WITH AND FOR OUR MISSION PARTNERS

Prayer is a vital part of engagement in God’s mission. Through prayer, we hear God’s voice, and he helps us to see people and situations the way he does.

Every member of the LCANZ is invited to join in God’s mission by praying for (and with) our partners in mission, month by month. Access LCA International Mission’s monthly prayer calendar online at https://lcamission.org.au/join-gods-mission/pray/

Already a subscriber? Click here to login and read this article.
Not a subscriber? Click here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full
/by
, , ,

New opening hours for Archives

by Bethany Pietsch

For many years, Lutheran Archives has been closed to the public on Wednesdays to allow our archivists the time and space to work on large collection management projects. Last month, the Archives introduced new opening hours of 9.30am to 3.30pm on Tuesdays to Thursdays.

There are two reasons behind this change. Condensing our reference services into three consecutive days will keep things simple and convenient for visiting researchers, particularly those coming from interstate. Our reference team will continue throughout the week to work on access requests received via email and phone and there should be no change to our level of service.

Secondly, condensing our opening hours will grant us an extra day to focus on collection management priorities, including processing the backlog of deposited but unrecorded material and working with your ministries, congregations and entities in determining what records to create and what permanent records to deposit with the Archives.

As always, if you would like to visit Lutheran Archives for research or to deposit records, we encourage you to get in touch and organise an appointment. Email lutheran.archives@lca.org.au anytime or phone 08 8340 4009 on Tuesdays to Thursdays, between 9.30am and 3.30pm.

MUCH-NEEDED RENOVATIONS

Lutheran Archives volunteers undertake a wide variety of projects including the digitisation of photographs, indexing registers of pastoral acts, transcription and translation of German records, and creating a searchable spreadsheet of all congregation records in our holdings.

Our volunteer workspace has needed renovation and, thanks to the generosity of members of the Friends of Lutheran Archives, these began recently.

SUPPORT VOLUNTEERS

There are currently 22 regular volunteers at Lutheran Archives who support our small team of 2.7 (full-time equivalent) archivists. If you would like to be involved but are short of time, or not located physically close to Lutheran Archives, you can support the work of our volunteers through a ‘sponsorship’ program.

We suggest a tax-deductible donation of $1080 to sponsor a volunteer for a year, providing the essential resources they need to carry out work on the records of your congregations and ministries.

Donations can be made by direct bank deposit:

Name: Lutheran Archives
BSB: 704 942  •  Account no: 100846262

or the LCA Online Donations portal:
https://donation.lca.org.au/project?id=P21025

Bethany Pietsch is Lutheran Archives Reference Archivist.

Already a subscriber? Click here to login and read this article.
Not a subscriber? Click here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full
/by
, , ,

Listen while you work, walk or relax

The LCANZ is shaping communications to the ways you as members of the church like to receive information.

Many of you prefer to listen rather than read. So, we are trialling fortnightly podcasts, which will cover a wide range of issues relevant to congregation leaders and members.

Our Laudio (Lutheran audio) podcasts will keep you up to date with what’s happening around the church while you are on your daily commute, driving the header, or pounding the treadmill.

Listen to any of our Laudio podcasts at www.lca.org.au/podcasts or better yet, subscribe to receive alerts in your inbox every time we add a new podcast by pressing the ‘Sign up to Laudio’ button on the above webpage.

Already a subscriber? Click here to login and read this article.
Not a subscriber? Click here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full
/by
, , ,

Progress made in child safety

by Mary-Ann Carver

LCA congregations have been making important progress in the child safety space over the past few years.

More than 82 per cent of congregations have this year either submitted a Child Safety Plan outlining their commitments for 2023–24, or an assurance that they have no children in regular attendance at their churches.

The plans have been developed in response to the LCA Child Safety Standards for Congregations. Introduced for implementation in all Australian congregations in 2021 and 2022, the standards require that plans are developed, submitted, and implemented by every congregation with children in regular attendance.

This is a promising development for the LCA and we are encouraged that child safety is being prioritised at the congregational leadership level. The progress in this area also pleasingly suggests congregations are embracing their new responsibilities in constructive and positive ways.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER

Please pray for our congregations – almost 250 in total – which have developed their child safety plans and made a clear commitment to developing a child-safe congregational culture.

Please also pray for them as they embrace their child safety challenges and embark upon their implementation journey during the remainder of 2023 and into 2024.

We also ask you to remember that our children are a precious gift from God with unique vulnerabilities requiring special care and consideration. Please pray for all our children, for their ongoing safety and wellbeing, and for their families too.

Mary-Ann Carver is LCA Child Protection Project Officer.

Already a subscriber? Click here to login and read this article.
Not a subscriber? Click here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full
/by
, , ,

Feeling lonely? You are not alone

If you ever feel lonely, you are not alone … in more ways than one!

At least one in four Australians are lonely. And, more importantly, you are not alone because God promises to always be with us, through the Holy Spirit.

Through Jesus’ lonely death on the cross, God knows what it is like to feel alone. We have hope in Jesus Christ, who is always there to listen to our cries.

For stories and encouragement to help when you are feeling lonely, Lutheran Media’s Messages of Hope offers a free booklet on loneliness. Go to www.messagesofhope.org.au/loneliness to download or order it today.

Already a subscriber? Click here to login and read this article.
Not a subscriber? Click here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full
/by