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A Congregational Life website designed to support congregations and agencies in areas including worship, pastoral care, discipleship and faith teaching, outreach and church planting, and community service is being developed by the church. It is one of the outcomes of a report addressing the LCANZ’s ministry challenges.
Hedley Scholz credits dairy farming for giving him his strong voice. To be more precise he says it’s a credit to the cows and the working dogs which herded them. It’s this upbringing that has established a voice perfect for lay reading, a service that Hedley has provided to his local Lutheran congregations for the past 70 years.
Some years ago, Angela Mayer says God led her to work in men’s behaviour change programs and, through the people she met, she became passionate about working to improve the lives of families experiencing domestic violence. ‘We can change people’s lives, increase safety and help them feel the love of God in their homes and families’, she says.
Pastor Richard Schwedes will be the next bishop of the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory District of the LCANZ. Pastor Richard, who will also have oversight of the Lutheran Church of New Zealand, was elected during the district’s 40th Convention of Synod at Wagga Wagga NSW in March.
In the Hoff family, teaching isn’t the only thing that runs in the blood. So does the sentiment embroidered on a family tapestry hand-sewn by Rob Hoff’s maternal grandmother Elsa Sickerdick: ‘Faith without service means nothing.’ It is a motto that Elsa’s grandson Rob Hoff takes to heart.
There’s special symbolism in a small wooden Christmas tree sitting in the local Lutheran church in the regional Victorian town of Nhill. Not only does it remind us of the birth of Jesus Christ, but this tree’s peculiar decorations also remind us of the new life Jesus brings. This is because the adornments completely covering the tree’s trunk and boughs are damaged, used postage stamps.
With the Lutheran Church of New Zealand unable to elect a bishop at its 2023 Synod, the LCANZ’s College of Bishops has asked the NSW and ACT District to provide oversight for the LCNZ until the next synod in two years, including the NSW-ACT bishop making two-week visiting tours of all New Zealand churches twice yearly.
While it’s not overly long, I know my nose has long been the butt of jokes (perhaps a mixed metaphor…) among some of my friends and family.
You see, I gained a chickenpox scar on the end of it at around the age of four, took a fine slice off the tip at 15 when I fell through a glass door, began sporting a crooked septum after a run-in with a flyball during a softball game in my 20s and, more recently, was left with a dent at the end from shingles.
I’ve tried at times over the years to disguise these flaws – none of which wiped out the others, unfortunately – with make-up. But I’ve since given up worrying about them. Scars are meant to add character after all. And there are my crooked teeth, weak chin and many more things to add to my list of imperfections, in any case.
What about you? When you look in the mirror, do you focus on the wrinkles or age blotches on your face? If you’re still on the younger side, perhaps it’s difficult to see past the pimples or acne pocks.
Do you examine the stretchmarks on your body, or try to extend your neck to eradicate your double chin? Do you curse the grey or unwanted hairs, or despair at a receding hairline?
Perhaps rather than focusing on all of your so-called imperfections – like my nose – you instead smile at the visage reflected back at you, knowing that those attributes are just part of the physical you, the body God gave you (and fearfully and wonderfully made – Psalm 139) to house your mind, soul and spirit. A body and face he adores so much that he gave up his Son for each of us, as we’ll reflect on especially in the upcoming seasons of Lent and Easter.
Most of us are taught when we’re young that looks aren’t everything. That having a beautiful heart is more important than a beautiful face. That being kind is better than being good-looking or fashionable.
But do we really believe those things? Or do we fall for the ‘beauty myth’ and the pressure that advertising, social media and our peers can put on us? Do we waste time, energy and money on trying to look the way models, actors, sportspeople or ‘influencers’ do?
In this edition, members of our Lutheran family address some of these questions, as well as Christian views on self-worth and how we see ourselves as beloved children of the Creator. We also introduce you to our newest General Ministry Pastors, as they begin parish ministry and update you on the LCANZ’s Way Forward project.
As usual, too, we bring you the latest news from across the church, a range of resources to support home and congregational faith life and our popular regular columns.
God bless your reading,
Lisa
Most people want their church to look good! We want to apply the same rigorous routines we apply to our bodies and wardrobes to our church! We do this both to the building but also to congregations.
Of course, we must listen to the wisdom of the people in the field of church planting. People from outside a church need to know that the place is cared for. There is an intuitive awareness that goes on in the mind of a visitor to the church – ‘If these people care for their church building, then maybe they will also care for me’. Up-to-date websites, ease of parking, clear signage and friendly welcomes at the church door are vital for congregational vitality.
But deep down we know that church is not about looking good. It is about the goodness of God for us in Christ Jesus our Lord.
As I write this to you, the season of Epiphany is upon us. In our culture, Christmas seemed to come to an abrupt end with the Boxing Day sales. Hot cross buns went up for sale along with ‘back to school’ resources. Businesses in New Zealand and Australia target us with so much marketing that it is very easy to drift into a mindset that we are simply ‘consumers’ needing to consume more!
In the Epiphany gospel reading from Matthew chapter two, we hear of the wise men who follow the star until they meet with King Herod in Jerusalem. They are then directed to Bethlehem where we are told, ‘they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy’ (Matthew 2:9,10).
Travelling through life, walking by faith in this story of the manger and the cross, is about joy. Joy was proclaimed by the angel to the shepherds at Bethlehem, ‘I bring you good tidings of great joy’. Joy was the experience of the disciples when the Lord Jesus appeared to them behind closed doors after his crucifixion and resurrection, ‘The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord’.
The scriptures speak of this joy as the joy of salvation. God has come into our midst to break down the dividing wall so that we would have peace with God. On the cross, our Lord brings the great exchange: our sin for his righteousness. We are baptised into his death that we would walk in newness of life. We bring nothing, he gives everything. Because of this great exchange, we come to God with complete confidence, as children to a loving Father.
But we know that the story of the wise men takes an ugly turn. This is an event that is often skipped over in the romantic portrayals of the Christmas nativity. The wise men are warned in a dream, not to tell King Herod of the baby. When Herod finds out he rages, and he orders all the little ones around Bethlehem to be murdered. This is a horrific story, showing the human heart that is in all of us. Herod is set against the way of God and provides an alternative to God’s way. Even in the Garden of Eden, Adam declared to the Lord God, ‘It was the woman that YOU gave me’.
Scripture tells us that the wise men left ‘by another road’. They did not go the way of Herod. Herod’s way was to seek to thwart the good and gracious will of God. Herod’s way was human scheming and the destruction of human lives.
Christian faith is this ‘other road’. Our gracious God sends us along the way of the gospel of Jesus Christ to stand against the ‘way of Herod’. On this ‘other road’ the people of the church work together to keep our focus on the Christ and the work of his cross as the fulfilment of God’s plan of salvation. On this ‘other road’ the people of the church speak out against the use of power to destroy others.
As the church travels this ‘other road’ sometimes it might not look so good to others. But, in the name of the Lord, it will bring God’s peace and joy, that is the forgiveness of sin.
See hymn 804 LHS.
In Christ,
Paul
Lord Jesus, we belong to you,
you live in us, we live in you;
we live and work for you –
because we bear your name.
by Bethanie Mann
When I think of the concept of ‘body image’, I think of the questions, ‘How do I look?’ and ‘What do others see when they look at me?’
I find the biggest influences on our understanding of body image come from various streams of media and the people around us. I’m working as a sales assistant in a clothing retail store, and daily engaging with both men and women about their bodies and their criticisms of their own image. This deeply upsets me, yet how much more would God’s heart ache to hear these things?
This has led me to fear that in today’s society, there is an underlying expectation to impress each other with a certain body shape, owning the trendiest brands, or layering ourselves with expensive items. This is driven by the idea that by complying with these expectations, you can increase your level of beauty and add to your value. However, I have found that these expectations do the opposite.
I didn’t realise how much I cared about other people’s opinions, until one day at school I overheard someone ask, ‘Who’s that fat girl?’ And the response came, ‘That’s Bethanie’. ‘Is that all I am?’, I thought to myself.
I had never previously cared about how I looked and was comfortable with being called weird, even taking it as a compliment. But fat? ‘Is that all my worth comes down to?’, I asked myself.
This stewed inside me until I ended up losing 20 kilograms in 20 weeks. The method I chose though was by no means a healthy way to lose weight. Yet, I still did not value myself or like the way I looked – even though I seemed to have more friends and got the boys’ attention.
I also soon discovered that a friendship or relationship built on seeking other people’s approval is built on sand. When the storms hit, my so-called friends disappeared.
This led me to engage in comfort eating, and I found myself back at square one with no friends and loathing myself even more than I first did. When I looked in the mirror, all I could hear was a little voice that echoed, ‘Who’s that fat girl?’
I have since matured in my faith, grown from experiences and learnt to find my worth in Christ. But I would not, however, suggest that appearances do not matter. Rather, how we present ourselves is a reflection of what is on the inside.
Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians chapter six, ‘Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price’.
While we may stare at the mirror, highlighting the things we do not like about ourselves and how impossible it is to attain society’s expectations in the realm of body image, we should ask ourselves instead, ‘How does God see me?’ After all, is his opinion not the only one that matters? God created us and he does not make mistakes! We are made in God’s image, we are his ‘very good’ creation, his ‘handiwork, created in Christ Jesus’ (Ephesians 2:10).
However, what about the items we wear on the outside? The style and brand of clothes, hair, make-up, jewellery, tattoos. Do we use these things to ensure we are honouring God? Peter does warn against wearing lots of expensive clothing and jewellery, as beauty comes from within (1 Peter 3:3,4).
Yet this doesn’t mean we can’t have these things. Rather, we must examine whether they honour God. A wedding ring, for example, though it may be expensive, brings glory to God through his gift of marriage and the vow made between a husband and wife.
I have two tattoos, which give me an opportunity to share the gospel when I’m asked about them. One depicts a cross, and the other is a sunrise/sunset as a representation of Lamentations 3:22,23 – ‘Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.’
So, do looks really matter? Firstly, God is more concerned with what is on the inside rather than outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7). And I think the more important question is, ‘Do we reflect Christ?’ We can also ask ourselves, ‘Are our bodies reflecting God’s image for others to see?’ As we live in a world of sin, this image will always be distorted yet, with the help of the Holy Spirit, perhaps we can treat our bodies as God would like us to.
My encouragement is to consider the fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22,23) as a way we can honour our bodies and give glory to God. We can show love and joy towards ourselves and others no matter what our or their outward appearance. We can be at peace with the body God has given us and show kindness towards our body in how we care for it.
We can show goodness and gentleness as we consider the planet and the clothes we wear; show self-control through the types of food and drink we consume, or the amount of clothes we own.
No matter what shape we may be, or what we wear on our bodies, Paul encourages us in his letter to the Romans, ‘I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God – this is your true and proper worship’ (12:1). Therefore, let us worship God with our bodies, giving all the glory to him.
Bethanie Mann serves as Child, Youth and Family Worker at The Ark Salisbury Lutheran Church in Adelaide’s north-east. A former trainee at Tandara Lutheran Camp at Halls Gap in Victoria, she graduated from Australian Lutheran College with a Bachelor of Ministry in 2023. Along with working jobs in retail and hospitality, she is also a director of the Lower Murray South East Christian Life Week in South Australia.
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