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Generosity brings gratitude

by Peter Ziersch

Good on you, Australian Lutherans!!

That’s the sentiment of people you have been

able to help through your generosity in responding to the appeal for those affected by the Western Australian fires and, in particular, the Pinery fire in South Australia.

It has been a privilege and a joy to represent all of you who so generously donated, as I have handed over cheques and vouchers which have brought so much happiness to so many.

The appeal raised more than $300,000 from around Australia, a marvellous effort from people, who, by and large, are not wealthy. In all I was able to distribute more than $130,000, which you so generously gave in response to this appeal.

St Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11: ‘Remember this: … God loves a cheerful giver … and God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work … You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God’.

That has been the hope that, as Paul says, ‘your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God’, through your donations to this appeal. With this in mind, I have been hand-delivering the cheques and vouchers in most cases, to show the ‘human face’ of the church to those devastated by this fire who may not be Lutheran, or even active church attenders.

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‘Mum, Dad, I’m gay’

Having a son or daughter ‘come out’ as homosexual is not something many parents expect or are prepared for – especially within the church. How would you respond if this happened to you? One family shares the story of their journey since that day 20 years ago.

What do you say when your child tells you, ‘I’m gay’?

I still remember that day and the words I spoke; how I wish I could take them back, but their angry barbs found their mark. I remember that face marked by fear, those hurting eyes, and the fragile heart placed in my hands by someone I love. This is the one I wept for joy for when born; the one I taught to ride a bike, whose scraped knee I kissed, and whose trembling hand I held while getting stitches. How quickly the years pass. Now we stand face-to-face and my child’s sense of peace, identity and acceptance needs a response in real-time; in a moment my opportunity is gone.

What do you say? That’s a question my family faced 20 years ago. We are not alone. That’s a question many congregational families have faced and will continue to face in future. That’s a question the LCA faces beyond public statements made by bishops and theologians.

This is my story. I tell it not because it is unique or particularly special, but because it gives voice to the unspoken; makes visible what we choose to keep invisible. My story is typical of Christian parents who respond to the news that the child they love and admire is gay. Maybe it will help other stories to be told, and memories to be healed, as we as church look for ways to stand together in face of a reality that will not go away.

I told my son I didn’t believe him; I didn’t want to believe him. Much of what I knew about homosexuality I had read in books, or seen in movies. Then there was what I had learned in church: that God created people male and female for the purpose of reproducing the human race and established marriage as the proper setting; same-sex relations are to be seen as a distortion of nature and prohibited by God.

This was not my son. He didn’t fit that image of a homosexual. He was bright, talented, funny, caring, honest, ethical, a person of faith. If he thought he was gay, there must be a reason for his confused state. ‘When the right girl comes along’, I thought, ‘he will resolve it; he will be alright.’

As my denials continued, so did my efforts to explain it. Was it some recent trauma and depression that were the reason for his confused state? Or had he deliberately chosen to rebel against nature and God’s will? Or, as parents, had my wife and I unknowingly contributed to some perverted development of his sexuality? But we couldn’t realistically see where that had been the case. So we continued to search for explanations.

We learned that there is more than one theory about the causes of homosexuality: genetic, hormonal, environmental, social. Each of these factors may contribute in varying degrees to the sexual orientation of a particular individual. Unfortunately, none of the theories agree sufficiently with each other to form anything that looks like a consensus on the subject – except, perhaps, that sexuality is a ‘given’ rather than a choice.

So where do you go when you cannot deny it or explain it away? The next steps in our journey involved prayer and psychotherapy. As my son grew in awareness and acceptance of his sexual identity, as a Christian he also was acutely aware that in the church homosexuality was seen as something unacceptable to God.

He believed he was acceptable to God through baptism on account of Christ, but felt marginalised in the life of the church and denied at the altar. He believed that God loves people unconditionally and offers change and renewal to those who come to him with humble and penitent hearts. But God did not change him. Neither did God’s people welcome him. So what did this experience do to his mind, heart, and spirit?

In the face of social shame and personal pain, impulses for acting out and the dark urges of suicide, we encouraged our son to seek counselling and psychological support. Yet, as we were soon to discover, counselling services and psychotherapy have long since been convinced that homosexuality is not an illness and there is no known treatment to change it. Certainly, behaviour can be changed or constrained towards celibacy, but the basic affective orientation and makeup of homosexuals is not changed. There is no fix. So therapy helped my son come to accept the reality of his being, thankfully, before the social shame and his growing inner alienation climaxed in any threatened premature death.

As parents, we faced two choices at this point, both involving some form of loss – if not death. One choice was to reject and separate from our child: treat him as an outcast, as if he were dead to us. That’s the sad choice many parents have taken and many congregations approve in relation to gay and lesbian members.

However, this is not the choice we have taken. Ours was another choice: to die to our ignorance, prejudice, and misunderstandings. It’s a choice that has cost us in grief and loss. Gone is our nice tidy worldview, with black and white answers to complex human realities. Lost is a level of openness, support, and comfort within our church community. Lost is our security in a handful of Bible verses to justify our actions. Lost are some hopes and dreams we held for our son’s ‘ordinary’ happiness in church and society. A final form of grief and loss has been the realisation that our pain and suffering were secondary to our son’s experiences. Now we choose to be supporters of the life God blessed us to bring into the world.

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Walk a mile in our shoes

Being discriminated against because of traits we were born with – race, gender, disabilities – can be a deeply painful, even soul-destroying, experience. For people who are homosexual, the prejudice and the hurt is the same. And sadly this type of suffering goes on in our churches and schools, as well as in the wider world. Can you imagine what it would be like to walk a mile in their shoes? One father challenges us with that question.

Imagine you are a black child growing up in the United States in the 1960s, or in South Africa under the rule of apartheid. Every aspect of society labels you inferior. You are verbally and physically abused and feel isolated as you go about your normal life. You are not welcome to eat, travel, or worship with white people. You did not choose to be black. You cry yourself to sleep in your mother’s arms wondering what you did to deserve the punishment you are receiving.

How would you feel?

You hear stories of people fighting for your rights and you hope change comes within your lifetime. You still hurt from the death of a friend who could not bear the cruelty and literally got to the end of his rope. You have even considered what a sweet release that could be for you. Some members of the white church claim your friend could not cope with the shame of being black. You internally struggle with the desire to be fully proud of the way God made you despite what they say.

Unfortunately this emotional and spiritual pain and the experience of being treated as a second-class citizen are all too familiar for thousands of people in Australia and New Zealand in 2016 – because they are gay. My daughter is one of them. Some of our society, both within and outside of our church, tell her she is abnormal, disgusting and a threat to society. But that is not who she is to me. She is one of the most beautiful creations I have met.

She has struggled through the deepest depths of despair, wishing she could be ‘normal’ or even not be at all. She is now proud of the way God made her and I am writing this to encourage other people like her and especially the parents of homosexual children.

I admit finding out my child was gay was something I hoped I would never have to deal with. Now I am ashamed of some of the attitudes I used to hold. My background in and knowledge of science and mathematics meant I had already begun the transition from believing sexual orientation was a choice to the realisation that a person is born with their sexuality, just as they are born black or white, male or female. The first support video my wife and I watched reinforced this idea very strongly.

I previously had the notion that my child will never be gay if I ‘bring them up right’. Now I believe that was a ludicrous idea and that ours will be a better world when young people no longer have to live with cruelty and misunderstanding in their homes and schools.

It may surprise people to know how many gay people are born into our Lutheran church. You will not openly hear of the ones who have taken their own lives, but it happens. They are driven to it, not because they cannot bear the shame of their sexual identity, but because of the abuse they are subjected to. They did not choose to be gay. They just are.

Those who are brave enough to come out to their church and families are often despised and rejected. To be told you are no longer loved and welcome in your family home, perhaps because you are a mistake caused by a fallen human race, must be a gut-wrenching, heart-rending experience.

I have not personally witnessed the discrimination gay people face, but my daughter has. I am ashamed of the rallies which target homosexual people with abuse and/or physically sabotage and disrupt the activities of a minority group peacefully planning or conducting a gathering.

Whenever we realise that, through our actions or inactions, we are perpetrating injustice, we must work to create a better world. My hope is for Christian gay people to be free to live in the kingdom of God into which they were baptised and be active members of our church.

I hope my words will assure our Christian gay community that they have support. You are not alone. Many people in other denominations and the ACCEPTS group (with members from our own Lutheran church) are working on your behalf.

I want to encourage more parents and children in this situation to bravely face their family, friends and colleagues in calling for love and compassion rather than discrimination and condemnation. Disabled people are not meant to be outcast from society. Women have a right to vote, work and play alongside men. Black people are not a result of the fall of mankind into sin. Equalising the rights of blacks and women had to happen. So, too, must we now move on to the next discriminated group.

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Homosexuality: what the LCA says

Do people choose to be homosexual?

When we think of ourselves as God’s created beings, we remember that God created us to share life. Included in our shared life is the desire for an intimate sharing with another person.

For most people this is a desire for intimacy with a person of the opposite sex. For a minority it is a desire for intimacy with a person of the same sex.

A homosexual preference can be strongly internalised, and there has been a long debate as to whether it is innate or learned unconsciously early in life. People do not generally choose to be homosexual. Others choose to experiment in their sexual life, and we may feel that current social standards encourage this.

Can a homosexual person be ‘cured’?

Some have viewed homosexuality either as a disease or a perversion and have attempted to change people’s sexuality by psychological or spiritual programs. Such attempts might be (sometimes) well meant, but they are abusive and can contribute to incidents of self-harm and suicide.

It is more helpful to respond pastorally, to help people understand that it is our relationship with God, rather than sexuality, that is the basis of human identity. Christians can support and guide each other to make healthy choices in how we express our sexuality. Jesus always made it his priority to show love for all people – meeting, speaking and sharing meals with them – without discrimination.

Is it a result of the Fall?

All people receive the blessings of God’s gift of sexuality but Genesis 3 shows how God’s good gifts have been marred by human sin. God’s people believe that the gift is enjoyed to the full when we follow his word and live faithfully. We are called to faithfulness in relationship, yet we are tempted towards unfaithfulness. There is tension between the right use of our sexuality, and the selfish use.

If we agree that God created male and female to share intimately with one another, then we might view the inability to share sexually with the opposite gender as one of the losses caused by human sinfulness. However, our response to that reality is one of understanding and care, rather than of negative judgement.

What does the LCA say about same-sex marriage?

Marriage is a divine order created by God for the good of humanity. The gift of marriage has three main parts: lifelong love and fidelity between husband and wife, the enjoyment of sexual intimacy within the context sanctioned by God, and the potential privilege and challenge of bearing and raising children.

When a society, perhaps with the best of intentions, legalises committed same-sex relationships as marriage, it diminishes the uniqueness of the life-giving male-female relationship which we believe a marriage properly is. The church acknowledges the right of the state to recognise civil unions between people of the same sex and to accord them full legal recognition and rights. 

Does a homosexual Christian have to be celibate for all their life?

All Christians need to seek God-pleasing choices about the way they live their lives. Homosexual Christians will seek God’s guidance for their life choices.

Some are convinced that God’s will is that homosexuals live a celibate life and seek their life fulfilment without a life partner. They may see the celibate life as an opportunity to offer another form of Christian service. Others believe that God’s will allows them to express their sexual feelings in some form of intimacy, and may form a friendship in which they can do so.

It is important to remember that there are many dimensions to intimacy and commitment, including care and support. There is spiritual and mental, emotional and social intimacy, as well as physical intimacy, and there are different expressions of physical intimacy. All of us should make responsible judgements about our sexuality, and be careful about making judgements regarding each other.

These answers were prepared by Pastor Jim Pietsch, who was commissioned by the Commission on Theological and Inter-Church Relations to prepare a set of studies to accompany the commission’s statements on Human Sexuality, released in 2015. His answers to this Q&A are informed by the LCA’s statement, but are not on behalf of the CTICR. These are intended to be an introduction to this conversation.

For further exploration of the commission’s study, read their paper, ‘Human Sexuality: Three Key Issues’ in Section C at www.lca.org.au/dstos The set of study guides, including one titled ‘Sexuality and Homosexuality’, is available at www.lca.org.au/studyguides

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Re-formation today

by Geraldine Hawkes

As part of the lead-up to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, an ecumenical working party of Lutherans and Catholics has been planning a program of projects and events to jointly commemorate the occasion. One is a series of articles, written by Lutheran and Catholic authors from around Australia, to be published in both Lutheran and Catholic publications. The final piece in our series of six is by Geraldine Hawkes, Ecumenical Facilitator of the South Australian Council of Churches (SACC). She was also the first Catholic to hold the role of Executive Officer of the SACC.

It seems timely to be writing on the subject ‘Re-formation today’ as we journey through spring, towards summer. When I think of these months, I think of how our landscape in the southern parts of Australia is transformed, as rain and cloud give way to warmth and light. So it is also on the ecumenical journey, especially as we ponder 500 years since the Reformation, a time that radically changed the landscape of our ecclesial life. There are signs that the climate between us as Catholics and Lutherans is changing: that warmth and light guide our journey together, and that re-formation – or perhaps, transformation – is possible.

When I think of the individuals from the time of the Reformation, and beyond, I give thanks for all who, in seeking faithfulness to the gospel, drew attention to or acted on aspects of our faith life together in which some of us may have been living in the shadows. I like to think that such insights were both offered and received in a spirit of faith, hope and love. However, I do wonder to what extent the internal disposition informed or inhibited gracious listening and learning.

Today I am inspired by two movements, both of which invite us into a new disposition towards one another.

The first is Receptive Ecumenism, which offers a fresh ecumenical methodology emphasising listening, learning and receptivity; about learning from others in order to learn about ourselves. It requires openness to the Holy Spirit, and calls for a spirit of self-awareness, vulnerability and humility. The potential of Receptive Ecumenism is that our structures, systems, practices and processes may be transformed to more clearly radiate the warmth and light of Christ.

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United – despite our differences

by Janette Lange

Celebrating 50 years of the Lutheran Church of Australia offers a wonderful opportunity to step back, reflect and thank God for his blessings.

This month sees the 50th anniversary of that historic Union Day. Some say we shouldn’t live in the past, but how can we really know who we are if we do not know where we came from? How can we appreciate our God-given unity if we ignore the prior division? How can we be good stewards of the church we have inherited if we have no concept of the one that existed before?

Like many family trees, our church’s is a bit messy. There were unions but also divorces. The most significant split was at the 1846 Bethany Synod, SA, when disagreement over church governance and confessionalism saw the convention break up. What followed was 120 years of division!

Over time there were more splits, and with further migration, new synods. By 1907 there were seven synods in Australia, two in New Zealand, and numerous independent ministers and congregations.

Apart from their diverse origins, it was the sourcing of pastors from Protestant – not confessionally Lutheran – seminaries that caused issues for the confessional synods. Their sensitivity to the threat of Lutheran/Reformed ‘unionism’ is understandable – after all, the rejection of such a stance was the reason the first Lutheran migrants came to Australia. How could such disparate groups ever unite?

Commitment to Aboriginal mission brought the original South Australian synods together in a ‘confessional union’ in 1864, but this ended in further splits, again largely over affiliations.

However, a crucial milestone was reached in 1921. Having agreed on doctrine, five of the synods came together as the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Australia (UELCA). In 1926 another synod joined them.

There were now two synods of similar size, with different cultures and backgrounds. The other was the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Australia (ELSA, later ELCA), which had been sourcing pastors or training in America, and had widely introduced the English language. Until the disruptions of war, UELCA had largely used German seminaries to train pastors and its links with Europe and the German language remained stronger.

In the 1920s and 30s the differences between the synods were highlighted in bitter articles and pamphlets. Worship, communion or marriage with those of ‘the other side’ were frowned upon; even joint prayer was considered ‘sinful unionism’.

But there were shared schools, and joint cemeteries, church buildings, youth groups and mission work. The Australian Lutheran Association provided fellowship across synod lines, and later played an integral role in uniting the church.

In the 1940s the focus shifted to points of agreement between synods and their minimum requirements for union. What constituted God-pleasing unity? A joint intersynodical committee formulated theses of agreement. There was much rejoicing when in 1949 the joint meeting opened with prayer for the first time, and in 1952 when they reached agreement on most differences.

Union seemed imminent and some ELCA and UELCA congregations in Queensland and South Australia built combined churches. But in 1956 an ELCA convention rejected an offer of altar and pulpit fellowship from UELCA. Despite a desire for unity, relationships with overseas church bodies – Lutheran World Federation, the churches involved in New Guinea missions – impeded fellowship. Hopes for union were fading.

Then came a breakthrough! Concordia and Immanuel seminaries drafted ‘a common theology of cooperation and fellowship’ which became the basis for the Document of Union in 1965. This was endorsed at the ELCA synod in April and the UELCA in October.

On 28 November 1965 thousands of Lutherans gathered at Adelaide Oval, Melbourne Town Hall, Brisbane, and centres throughout Australia to celebrate the Declaration of Altar and Pulpit Fellowship. Combined services and functions were held but there were practicalities to be addressed. What would the new church be called? How would it be structured? The Joint Union Committee planned the organisational and legal steps for amalgamation, including a constitution, the transfer of properties, and the merger of departments, magazines and seminaries.

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Our church yesterday & today

by Lance Steicke

In 1966 the leader of the Queensland District of the LCA was a Schmidt; now it is  a Smith. Then it was Pastor Schmidt; now it is Bishop Smith. In 1966 the leader of  the LCA was a Lohe; now it is a Henderson. Then it was President Lohe; now it is Bishop Henderson.

I’m not suggesting the amalgamation in 1966 was the merger of two German clubs. But I am suggesting there has been a shift in the composition and demographics of the LCA. And that there is a very important shift from president to bishop, and not just in name only. Our bishops now exercise more fully pastoral and episcopal leadership and oversight in the church, and the College of Bishops plays a crucial role in the ministry of the church.

The early days of the LCA focused on cementing the union. And that was important. No-one wanted the new church to fall apart or to split again. Care was taken to have almost equal representation from the two former synods on boards and departments. The unity of the LCA is still important, although the context is quite different. Now we see it to the fore in the discussions on the ordination of women.

Eventually, when it was realised the union was cemented, the focus moved outwards. And so in 1987 the church adopted Vision 90 with its key premise: ‘Every congregation is a congregation in mission. All pastors and all members are missionaries’. What happened to that? Well, for one thing, now, many years later we have a renewed emphasis on church planting.

In 1966 and years immediately following, theological issues were prominent. Conventions featured a theological essay. The Commission on Theology was a key group in the church. Maybe this is still the case but generally some see a shift to the practical and pragmatic. Today moral and ethical issues perhaps preoccupy us more than theological ones.

The interpretation of Scripture was on the agenda in the early years of the LCA, resulting in the Consensus Statement of 1984-1987. It is still high on the agenda today, especially in dealing with the question of the ordination of women.

In 1966 we severed all overseas connections (with the exception of Papua New Guinea) for the sake of union in Australia. After letting overseas relations with other churches lie in the early years, we have since formed relationships in earnest. We have become an associate member of the Lutheran World Federation. We have worked closely with ‘partner churches’, especially in South East Asia, which we have declared an area of special focus. We have entered into an agreement with Lutheran Church – Canada. At home we have become a very active member of the National Council of Churches in Australia. Most of these are moves we would not have dreamed of 50 years ago.

But what does the LCA look like on the local congregational level? Walk into many of our churches on a Sunday morning and you see an ageing membership in declining numbers.

And perhaps, in some instances, a tired membership. Look at some rural areas and you will see Lutherans worshipping with Uniting churches and/or Anglican churches. You will hear reports of working groups looking at better ways of serving given areas with possible realignments, rationalisation of resources and the like. Some of this is driven locally; some of it the initiative of church leaders.

Walk into a Lutheran congregation at worship 50 years ago and you would use a set liturgy in common with all other congregations, with the Lutheran hymnbook as your only resource for hymns, which were played on an organ. Now you will be confronted with a variety of service orders, hymns and songs from a wide ranges of sources, many different musical instruments, and most likely no hymnbook, with everything appearing on an overhead screen.

In the early days Lutheran colleges existed primarily to prepare candidates for the office of public ministry. Now not many ministry candidates come straight from our senior schools. Candidates are more likely to be entering a second or third career and, of course, are therefore older.

There is also often a hiatus between the worship life of our schools and our congregations, something not in existence at all 50 years ago.

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50 years from now

We asked six Lutheran young people what they thought the LCA/NZ could look like in 50 years, and what it would take to get there.

MATT SCHUBERT, 20, WA

I hope that in 50 years our church is zealous for God’s glory, obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit, abounding in our use of the spiritual gifts, mentoring the young, and taking ministry risks for the sake of the gospel.

What will it take to get there?

The gospel prompts us to reach every demographic, so we need to carefully listen to what our young people are saying and to train them up to effectively lead other young people to Christ. This may require radical new approaches to ministry and questioning if our practices are bound by our interpretations of Scripture or by tradition. I hope that we continue to stand on the authority of God’s word. Young people don’t want watered-down teaching that makes us feel comfortable; we want to be challenged by the life-transforming commands of Jesus Christ.

ZACH STORM, 23, ACT

From what I have seen, there won’t be a Lutheran church in 50 years. Youth and young adults are not only leaving Lutheran churches but many are leaving their faith because there is no example or challenge to develop their relationship with Jesus. Churches are structured, not relational. There is little or no teaching on how a teenager can live a Christian life in this world, which leads to so much compromise and confusion in their Christian journey.

What will it take to change this?

We need to teach people how to read their own Bible and discover the promises of God for themselves. Then teach them how to speak those promises over their own lives and step into the life God wants for them. With all the liturgy, we’re spoon-feeding them baby food and wondering why there is no growth. We need to progress to getting people to feed themselves solid food to start producing genuine mature Christians.

Alaina Brinkmann, 20, Qld

I would like our church to still be alive, and full of people who are passionate about being there – and these people would be from different nationalities and backgrounds, with different life stories. I would like to see us being not just a church building but a known safe place for people to come and be immersed in the unconditional love that comes from God.

What will it take to get there?

We need to start doing things! We can keep on talking about what we can achieve until the cows come home – but it is action that will keep passion alive and bring other people into our community of faith. We need to reach out our hands into our surrounding communities; even when they slap it back.

ASHLEE SCHULTZ, 22, VIC

I want to see a church that is more a family than community – a family that is honest about where it’s at, no matter how bad it’s mucked up – and a place where it feels safe enough to share that truth.

What will it take to get there?

My vision of the kingdom of heaven on earth isn’t that it’s perfect but that it’s honest – honest about the flaws we have and the struggles we face. As a church we need to be more vulnerable about our faith journeys and our personal issues. Old and young, I think the key to being empowered people and to being a closer, more forgiving family of God is just being vulnerable.

KATE McLAUGHLIN, 22, SA

I hope that in 50 years our church will be very different – because society will be very different.
I pray that we can find the courage to live out a more uncomfortable, diverse, genuine and active faith every day.

What will it take to get there?

I could make all kinds of recommendations for song choices and program structure etc, but there is just one thing we need to do to survive and thrive: people need to be able to look to the church and find Jesus. They need to walk through those doors and find rich, deep community – not gossip and politics. They need to meet you on the street and find acceptance and healing – not indifference or judgement. Church shouldn’t be far away from the rest of society. We need to get to know the people and the culture outside of our church; we need to meet people where they are and bring them to Jesus.

JESSE SPIKE, 17, VIC

In 50 years I want to see our church evangelising and growing, sharing Jesus’ message and love through our actions. I do not want to see the Lutheran Church divided over various social issues.

What will it take to get there?

We need to make use of everything available to us to communicate what we believe and clarify this for people who cannot understand why we believe. We need to put Christ above what the world is trying to enforce on us, and we need to never sacrifice Scripture and doctrine in order to be more accepted. Society will be incapable of respecting us and our beliefs if we forfeit what we stand for in order to deflect negative attention away from ourselves.

 

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Restoring unity in truth

by Stephen Hultgren

As part of the lead-up to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017, an ecumenical working party of Lutherans and Catholics has been planning a program of projects and events to jointly commemorate the occasion. One is a series of articles, written by Lutheran and Catholic authors from around Australia, to be published in both Lutheran and Catholic publications. The fifth piece in our series of six is by Dr Stephen Hultgren, lecturer in New Testament at Australian Lutheran College and director of the Australian Lutheran Institute for Theology and Ethics (ALITE).

Despite the division of the church in the 16th century, we need to remember that the Lutheran confessors intended unity. The Augsburg Confession (1530) proposes a doctrinal basis for it.

A Lutheran reflection on restoration of unity in truth and in the gospel does well to begin with article 7 of the Confession. The confessors state ‘it is enough for the true unity of the church to agree concerning the teaching of the gospel and the administration of the sacraments’. This statement is both essential and dangerous.

It is essential, because it indicates what is non-negotiable in Lutheran confession: the right teaching of the gospel. The statement is dangerous because Lutherans have too often viewed this in an overly simplistic way. If agreement on the ‘teaching of the gospel’ means agreement on the doctrine of justification, then Lutherans might conclude justification is the only doctrine that matters for unity.

Article 7 does not intend this approach; rather it rejects the notion that unity requires agreement on traditions, rites or ceremonies instituted by humans. The confessors had in mind various non-biblical ceremonies and ordinances that were of human institution rather than of divine mandate.

But the Lutherans would have been first to argue that unity requires agreement on all doctrines deriving from the Bible. After all, article 7 is embedded within a presentation of 21 articles the confessors say are in accord ‘with the pure Word of God and Christian truth … teaching [that] is clearly grounded in Holy Scripture and is, moreover, neither against nor contrary to the universal Christian church’.

The restoration of unity in the truth presents an ongoing challenge. Will Lutherans, while rightly insisting on the doctrine of justification as central, resist the temptation to read article 7 in an overly simplistic way? That runs the danger of denying the shared heritage of Lutherans and Catholics across 2000 years. Will the Roman Catholic Church, while rightly insisting on the unity of all truths of faith, be careful never to obscure this most precious truth of justification? The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, agreed to in 1999 by the Lutheran World Federation and the Roman Catholic Church, is a sign of hope.

In paragraph 18 Lutherans and Catholics agree:
‘[T]he doctrine of justification … stands in an essential relation to all truths of faith, which are to be seen as internally related to each other. It is an indispensable criterion which constantly serves to orient all the teaching and practice of our churches to Christ. When Lutherans emphasize the unique significance of this criterion, they do not deny the interrelation and significance of all truths of faith. When Catholics see themselves as bound by several criteria, they do not deny the special function of the message of justification.’

May God restore our unity in truth!

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Partnership starts at birth

by Keren Loffler

Churches are recognising the importance of partnering with parents and resourcing faith in the home, as well as the vital role intergenerational relationships and participation in a church community play in growing faith in children. The Lutheran congregation at St Paul’s, Box Hill, in Melbourne is implementing strategies to walk alongside families as they learn about God’s grace and Jesus’ love for them.

The partnership with the child and their family starts at their birth and baptism.

At St Paul’s, new babies are welcomed through our cradle roll with a card and gift. From the time of the child’s baptism we assign congregational sponsors to welcome the family, pray for them, walk with them on their faith journey, make contact on baptismal anniversaries and present a ‘faith chest’ (pictured below).

Faith chests include articles such as bunny rugs and baptismal cloths made and embroidered by members of St Paul’s, a photo book, tracts and other items, and are a place to store reminders of the baptism. They were introduced in 2002 as a way of linking more closely with those who are baptised into God’s family and become part of our local church family. These are another way of encouraging the family and stressing our involvement in this amazing event.

Following the baptism the family is let know about available resources and ministry opportunities they will be invited to over the years. This includes a first baptism anniversary milestone, when the children gather with family, godparents and congregational sponsors to share memories of the baptism day, celebrate and learn about some of the resources for faith at home. Baptism birthdays are celebrated with a card and tract sent each year – one girl was so grateful to receive hers she made a thank you card.

Children and parents/carers are invited annually to take part in our Milestones Ministry (similar to Grow Ministries ‘Faith Trail’). These include steps such as first communion and receiving a Bible, as well as beginning school and prayer.

During worship the child is blessed and presented with a handmade milestone pebble. The pebbles remind the family of the event and encourage further discussion at home – one family has displayed their collection of pebbles on a board at home, and are thrilled when they can add a new one. We then have a teaching session in which families explore the topic with activities and discussion.

Participation in intergenerational worship is valued at St Paul’s, with children welcomed with toy bags and activity sheets related to each week’s Bible readings. We have members present children’s addresses and children can also serve as acolytes. The Creative Worship Team seeks to consider the needs of children and families in worship, especially during church festivals and seasons.

Each Sunday morning we have a time of children’s ministry called FISH. FISH stands for Families Integrating Sundays and Home, implementing the vision of the child, youth and family team linking what happens in worship on a Sunday with supporting families in their faith journey throughout the week.

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