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261

Locals get vocal on wellbeing

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by Jess Smith

Ten South Australian Riverland locals – most of whom are Lutherans – are getting loud on mental health, taking part in a wellbeing movement that’s having a significant impact on the community.

The Vocal Locals are prominent Loxton community members, either farmers or with agricultural connections, who have been working with wellbeing group ifarmwell to share their mental health journeys via social media. Each member has undertaken workshops and a coaching program, as well as learning strategies through ifarmwell online modules and other resources they’ve been able to share to help others facing similar challenges.

The program aims to normalise conversations around mental health, strengthen wellbeing and build drought resilience, helping people to realise they’re not alone.

The backstory to Vocal Locals began when Little Town Productions theatre show Kick off ya Boots premiered last year. The production told the story of a typical Australian farming family, the Conners, and revealed the often-unspoken side of life in a rural community. One of the production’s main goals was to start the mental health conversation, after its creators recognised the community need for practical, targeted support.

‘When we first developed Kick off ya Boots we were very conscious of not having people attend the show, having a great night of fun and laughter, but then promptly forgetting about it two months later’, says John Gladigau, Kick off ya Boots producer-playwright, Vocal Locals project coordinator and member of St Peter’s Lutheran Church in Loxton, from which Little Town Productions hails.

Little Town worked with UniSA’s Dr Kate Gunn, ifarmwell’s founder, to create a production that went far beyond merely entertaining its audience. Galvanised by the overwhelming response, and with funding from the national not-for-profit Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal, the Vocal Locals initiative was conceived. Little Town Productions remains a supporting partner, as does St Peter’s Lutheran Church, which has opened its offices for wellbeing coaching sessions.

Vocal Local Leanne Kaesler, who is also a member at St Peter’s, was the coordinator of Kick off ya Boots and is part of a farming family. She knows firsthand the struggles that many farmers face – often in silence.

‘I have struggled with anxiety and depression issues, and suffered burnout quite a few times’, says Leanne. ‘It really excited me to be invited to become a Vocal Local and to be given the opportunity to focus on learning new skills and tools to manage my own wellbeing, and to also be able to share my journey to help others.’

John says the community response has been exceptional.

‘Mental health and wellbeing is something we all seem to agree should be part of our normal conversations’, he says. ‘We all talk about how we should be open about it, but we rarely do it. We’ve seen through the Vocal Locals posts how much people appreciate the engagement and open conversations, and the community has been very engaging, supportive and encouraging not only of the Vocal Locals but also of each other.’

This story first appeared in the LCA South Australia – Northern Territory District’s Together magazine.

262

Schools on the march for refugee kids

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by Jonathan Krause

If you look at a map of Australia, it’s hard to find two places further apart from north to south than Darwin in the Northern Territory and Victor Harbor on South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula. And both places are a long way from the refugee camps at Kakuma in Kenya.

Yet more than 700 students from seven Christian schools – six of them Lutheran – have stepped out in those two areas in Australian Lutheran World Service’s Walk My Way to help more than 6,000 refugee children to go to school at Kakuma. And in SA, the school walkers were joined by members of Lutheran congregations and the wider community.

Anita Synott, Year 12 Team Leader at Good Shepherd Lutheran College in Darwin, says Walk My Way was so popular with the school community, they held two events this spring. In total, Good Shepherd raised more than $16,800 – enough to support nearly 650 refugee children in school for a year.

‘We are incredibly proud of our college community for recognising this initiative as being something very special, with the ability to make a huge difference to others less fortunate than us’, Anita says.

The first walk featured Years 6–12 students and parents and involved more than 170 people. Participants could ride, run or walk the 26-kilometre trail from the Leanyer Campus in the northern suburbs of Darwin to the Howard Springs Campus 25 minutes south of Darwin.

Good Shepherd followed up its first Walk My Way with its junior school students organising a successful ‘coin trail’ activity and completing round-robin events held during lunchtimes.

Meanwhile, at Victor Harbor, approximately 80 kilometres south of Adelaide, six schools came together in October for the inaugural combined schools Walk My Way.

A total of 569 walkers from Concordia College, Rivergum Christian College, Encounter Lutheran College, Immanuel College, Cornerstone College, and Endeavour College could choose either a 13-kilometre course or a 20-kilometre course. Each course included a circuit of local landmark Granite Island and started and finished at Encounter Lutheran College, just north of the town centre.

Before the Victor Harbor walk, ALWS Emergency Coordinator Peter Egesa reminded students why their help was so important, saying: ‘The UNHCR (United Nations Refugee Agency) estimates there are 89 million refugees and internally displaced people globally [and] 41 per cent of these refugees are children – one-and-a-half times the population of Australia. As you walk today, think about a child in Djibouti who is in a tent as a classroom and the temperatures are over 45 degrees and there is no cooling facility.’

As of 16 November, the Victor Harbor walkers had raised $62,912, enough to support 2,419 refugee children to go to school.

The Victor Harbor and Darwin events are part of a nationwide Walk My Way effort, with members of our Lutheran family taking part from congregations including Cowell on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, Unley in Adelaide, and Rochedale in Queensland, as well as through Lutheran Services in the Sunshine State. As of 16 November, 1,035 walkers had raised $169,956 across 10 walks and supported education for 6,537 refugee children.

ALWS Executive Director Michael Stolz has praised the way so many parts of the LCANZ are forming partnerships to support refugee children and show the community our church at work. ‘Seeing Lutheran schools come together like this, encouraged by Lutheran Education Australia, supported by the LLL and LCA, welcomed by the hospitality and volunteer time of local Lutheran congregations – this is a snapshot of what it means for us to be a church where love comes to life’, he says. ‘It’s a privilege for ALWS to bring Walk My Way to our Lutheran Church’s ministries so that we can “walk in the way of love” to help refugee children who are so vulnerable, and in danger of being forgotten by the world.’

LLL Australia is a major sponsor of Walk My Way, while LEA, ‘The School Photographer’ and local businesses also supported the Victor Harbor event.

Jonathan Krause is ALWS Community Action Manager.

263

Taking Jesus’ love to the streets

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Australia’s largest regional inland city, Toowoomba in southern Queensland, is well known for its stunning gardens. For one month each year, the city’s green spaces, homes, schools, aged-care services and businesses attract visitors from across the nation to a carnival highlighting the region’s floral abundance. As its centrepiece, an annual parade showcases the beauty of flowers. This year, local Lutherans led an ecumenical group that captured the event’s colourful spring spirit – and took the message of Jesus’ love for ‘all sorts’ on parade. Monika Bennett explains.

Toowoomba’s annual Carnival of Flowers marks that special time of the year when the region’s gardens are at their glorious best – spring. The pinnacle event, which captures this best, is the Grand Central Floral Parade.

This year members of Emmanuel Lutheran Fellowship led a group of Toowoomba Christians on a creative journey of a different kind.

The parade theme for each float to follow was ‘Connect, Reflect and Sparkle’ – and we did precisely that! After many planning phone calls, emails, Zoom online meetings, craft days, engineering feats and lots of prayers, we came up with an idea for our group motto: ‘Jesus Loves All Sorts’.

We painted boxes and made skirts to look like liquorice allsorts, made funky headpieces out of pizza boxes and paraded the most stunning, reflective, sparkly cross made from recycled cardboard covered with cut-up CDs.

Together an ecumenical group representing around a dozen churches from a broad selection of worship styles walked the streets of Toowoomba, singing worship songs loudly and brightly to the thousands of people who were present at the street parade.

It was such an overwhelming, uplifting experience! Meeting so many Christians from different churches, building relationships around crafting, flowers, building props, singing and praying boldly was as much a positive blessing as walking and singing in the parade itself.

It was truly amazing to participate in this venture. Many parts of the one body came together to publicly profess the love and promise of Christ – he loves all sorts, every sort, no matter who you are!

Monika Bennett is the coordinator–administration officer at Emmanuel Lutheran Fellowship Toowoomba.

264

A time worth celebrating

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by Erin Kerber, Nevin Nitschke and Matt Anker

At the LCA International Mission office, we love Christmastime – spending time with our families and friends, eating delicious food, opening presents and watching Christmas pageants. But, most importantly, Christmas is a special time to remember how God our Father sent his precious Son to be born as a gift for the entire world.

In Australia and New Zealand, Christmas is a popular holiday, but not every country celebrates the way we do. If you went to a country that does not celebrate Christmas at all, what would you tell them about this special day?

LCA International Mission has friends who live in different countries, and we thought it would be interesting to share with you how those who do celebrate Christmas do so where they live. What might you see, hear, cook or make in one of those countries at Christmastime?

EXPLORING A WORLD OF CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

The 12 Days of Christmas – otherwise named Twelvetide – mark the period between the birth of Jesus and the visit from the wise men. For Christmas this year, we are providing Australian and New Zealand families with a resource they can use with their children during the 12 days of Christmas.

Entitled ‘Joy to the World – 12 Days of Christmas Around the World’, it shares some insights into the way Christmas is celebrated among our partner countries and churches. We hope that it will encourage families to spend time reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas.

We have also included some activities in the booklet for readers to do which they can pass on to friends and relatives who aren’t Christian. So, this is designed to be both a faith-building and faith-sharing resource.

There are three parts to each day (and country) in the booklet – firstly, information about Christmas in that country; secondly, a Bible verse and a few words about the verse; and, thirdly, a craft, activity, or recipe to do or make related to the country and/or the Bible verse. The Bible verses tell the story of Jesus’ birth as you go through the booklet.

THE TRUE HEART OF THE SEASON

We hope you enjoy travelling with us around the world this Christmas and, while doing so, remember that Christmas is not just about carols, decorations, beautiful lights or the gifts that we give and receive. It is about Jesus Christ. Jesus’ birth fulfilled God’s promise that he wants to bring us into his loving arms forever.

Will you join us as we prepare for Christmas by spending 12 days reading and reflecting on Jesus’ birth? Order your booklet by emailing lcaim@lca.org.au or by phoning 08 8267 7317, or download one at https://lcamission.org.au/joy-to-the-world-12-days-of-christmas/

Pastor Matt Anker is LCANZ Assistant to the Bishop – International Mission, while Erin Kerber and Nevin Nitschke are LCA International Mission Program Officers.

265

New resources enhance seasonal worship

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by Libby Krahling

Perfectly timed for Advent and Christmas, the LCANZ’s Commission on Worship has launched the fourth volume of LCA Music Resources, which presents 100 hymns and songs for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Available for the first time as individual digital downloads, the collection can also be purchased as a spiral-bound hard copy. The provision of chords and three-part settings make the songs accessible for musicians of varying experience. Copies of LCA Music Resources Volume 4: Songs of the Church – Advent, Christmas and Epiphany can be purchased through Australian Christian Resources at www.shopACR.com.au

AUSTRALIA DAY SERVICE ON THE WAY

A new Australia Day worship resource will be released this month. It replaces the existing National Day resource and reflects the complicated nature of Australia Day in the 21st century. The resource features alternate Bible readings, new song suggestions and updated liturgy and prayers. An accompanying resource related to the Acknowledgement of Country is also being prepared. These will be made available through the Worship Planning Page at www.lca.org.au/wpp

RECORDINGS HELP FOSTER SUNG LITURGY

Our church has a rich history of sung liturgy. Mindful that not every congregation uses sung liturgy in worship, the Commission on Worship has created resources to assist congregations to learn and use sung liturgy in their services. Pastor Andrew Brook and the choir of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Adelaide have recorded the sung liturgy from both page 6 and page 58 services of the Lutheran Hymnal with Supplement. The recordings may be especially useful for congregations without organists or strong cantors. There are also PowerPoint slides with the music lines to insert into worship services, as well as image files for use in bulletins and song sheets. Congregations can also access PowerPoints with embedded MP3 music tracks ready to play. All these resources may be used freely in worship, with LCA permission. Visit www.lca.org.au/wpp/sung-liturgy

2023 ART EXHIBITION PROMISES FEAST FOR SENSES

‘Come to the Banquet’ will be the theme for the 2023 LCANZ Simultaneous Art Exhibition. LCA Visual Arts invites congregations, schools and aged-care facilities to stage exhibitions in their local communities in August 2023. The theme provides a rich opportunity to explore the many passages in the Bible connected to food and feasting, to celebrate the great banquet of holy communion and the wedding feast awaiting us in eternity. Groups might also like to brainstorm ways of incorporating hospitality into their exhibitions. Artists using any media and with any level of experience are encouraged to explore the theme, using resources developed by Visual Arts. It includes a devotion, suggested Bible passages for study and a range of activity ideas suitable for workshops or individual use. Registrations close on 30 May 2023. To register your interest and obtain resource packs, poster templates and information on hosting an art exhibition, visit the LCA Visual Arts website at https://visualarts.lca.org.au

Libby Krahling is Commission on Worship Administration Coordinator.

266

Helping kids grow in faith

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by Christine Matthias

As the LCANZ’s child, youth and family ministry department, Grow Ministries’ mission is to serve, partner and resource congregations and families to share and foster the faith journeys of people of all ages.

As part of this commitment, Grow has developed the new children’s ministry resource GROW Kids. This is a lectionary-based children’s ministry curriculum designed for cultivating lifelong faith. Providing a lesson plan for each Sunday of the church year, it helps you share Jesus’ love with children in your congregation. As you lead each session, you in turn are helping to ‘grow kids’ in knowing Jesus through storytelling and in responding to his love through worship and service.

We understand that often groups of children who gather for a children’s ministry program are small and that the ages vary. This resource provides opportunities for you to tailor the sessions to meet the needs of the children in your group.

See a sample of GROW Kids or buy it as an instant download at www.growministries.org.au/00-grow-kids-curriculum/

You can also save 25 per cent when you buy GROW Kids as part of a YEAR A resource bundle.

CONNECTING WORSHIP WITH HOME

Growing Faith at Home is another weekly lectionary-based resource from Grow Ministries. It connects weekly congregational worship with the faith life of the home from Monday to Saturday and is designed to help parents and grandparents pass on the Christian faith away from church or school. There are aids for individual or household devotions, including Bible readings, prayers and blessings. It includes ideas and suggestions to help households live out, share and celebrate faith together throughout the week, every week.

Growing Faith at Home Resource for Year A – 2022/2023 is available now at www.growministries.org.au/02-2022-2023-year-a and as a bundle with GROW Kids and children’s addresses.

TAKE TIME TO REFLECT ON THE SEASON

We all know Christmas is coming and it’s easy to miss the joy and importance of Advent – the time when we reflect on and count down to Christ’s coming. Grow’s GIFT (Growing in Faith Together) Advent resource provides a time to share Advent rituals and traditions passed down through generations, as well as make new ones.

Designed to serve congregations, schools and homes, GIFT Advent includes activities and templates, worship and event ideas and is filled with intergenerational activities and take-home sheets for families. You can buy GIFT Advent as an instant download at www.growministries.org.au/product/gift-advent/

Christine Matthias is Grow Ministries Resource Coordinator.

267

Sharing joy this Christmas

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by Anne Hansen

Christmas is a time of joy for most families. I love everything about Christmas and especially setting up my more than 45 Christmas nativity sets around the house!

The birth of a child is joy in its purest form. Jesus’ birth was a time of not only joy but a time of sacrifice for God. He sent his beloved Son to earth to be one of us and to bring joy, peace and the assurance of his love for all the earth. Every nativity set I have seen shows the joy, peace and love of this blessed child in the faces of its characters.

This year, Lutheran Tract Mission (LTM) has produced a new nativity set for you to press out and set up to share the joy of Jesus’ birth. For a $2 donation per set, you can give one to children, family, friends, the elderly, playgroups and congregation members to enjoy.

RANGE OF RESOURCES READY FOR OUTREACH

Remember to look through LTM’s extensive range of Christmas resources, including those listed below. These resources are designed for you to share in schools, aged-care facilities, hospitals, and congregations, and as an outreach into your community. We want to provide a variety of ways for our church members and others to reach those around them with the joy that God brings us at Christmas. Look at our website to find what you need for your ministry: www.ltm.org.au

We also enjoy hearing how you use the LTM resources in your ministry. Feel free to share with us how God is working!

CHECK THESE OUT!

  • Magnetic nativity set ($3 donation)
  • Christmas chatterbox (25c donation)
  • 15 Christmas stickers ($1 donation)
  • Two different Christmas Advent sticker calendars ($1 donation each)
  • The free downloadable Advent devotional ‘Gifts from God’
  • And more than 100 other Christmas tracts in the form of leaflets, postcards, bookmarks and text cards

Anne Hansen is Lutheran Tract Mission Development Officer.

268

New coordinator for ALC’S Discover

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Emma Graetz will be the new Discover program coordinator for Australian Lutheran College (ALC). Discover is a vocational formation and discernment program that aligns with completing an ALC higher education qualification.

Emma takes over the role from Kerrin Huth, who has been the coordinator for the past two years and is returning to primary school teaching after recently completing doctoral studies.

ALC Principal Pastor James Winderlich says the college is thankful to Kerrin ‘for her vision and guidance of the program, and for the way she has supported the students from her home base in Queensland’.

Kerrin says she has enjoyed coordinating the program and has been ‘encouraged to see God at work in so many lives’. ‘It has been a privilege to share in each person’s journey as they learn more about God, the church and themselves, as they discern God’s call on their lives’, she says. Kerrin will continue to teach as a casual academic in ALC’s education program in 2023.

Emma brings more than 20 years of experience working within the LCANZ, half of which have been in the teaching community at ALC. Emma has supported student formation through ALC’s Vocational Education Training qualification and ALC Training workshops and programs.

Emma says taking on the role will be ‘a fantastic opportunity to engage with and support those who are discerning their calling within the church, whether it be as a pastor, teacher, lay worker or other ministry role’.

MORE CHOICES TO COME IN 2023

In 2023, the Discover program will offer the choice of the new ALC qualification of a Diploma in Ministry or a Diploma in Theology, while post-graduate studies can also be considered. The program enables students to study remotely while completing the program with the support of their pastor or supervisor and a mentor. Students also have opportunities to engage in various ministry experiences, including through online community sessions and local practical placements.

WHAT STUDENTS SAY ABOUT DISCOVER

One of this year’s Discover students, Corrie Steel, who is based in Townsville, says the program has allowed him to ‘look at the church from a broad perspective and get involved in areas I might not normally have thought of’. ‘It has broadened my perspective and helped me to view all the different aspects of the Lutheran Church, all working together and doing their part in serving the church’, says Corrie.

Another student, Anthony Fawcett, who is based in Sydney, is approaching the end of his first year in Discover, which he is taking part-time. ‘It has been a theological revelation, deepening my faith and my certainty in the calling to pastorage’, he says.

Throughout December and January, Emma will host online information sessions for anyone interested in Discover. Session dates and how to register are available on the ALC website at https://alc.edu.au/discover   

Enrolments for study in 2023 at ALC, leading to academic qualifications, are now open. More information: https://alc.edu.au/study   

269

Sharing Advent’s giving spirit

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Going GREYT! 1 Peter 4:10

Over the years, this column has celebrated how God’s light shines through those who share their talents in his service. Those interviewed are but a small reflection of the many quiet workers in God’s vineyard. This month, as we observe All Saints’ Day, we bring you a posthumous Going GREYT! account of a couple recently called to their heavenly home, whose story shows how God works through the joys and heartbreaks of our lives and remains with us always.

by Helen Brinkman

Picture a big box of kindness filled with Christmas goodies and pantry staples, a Christmas tree full of gift baubles, and gift catalogues supporting people in developing nations.

This is the spirit of Advent shining from Melbourne’s St Paul’s Lutheran Church, Box Hill. The congregation’s Advent Action program unveils giving opportunities throughout this church season.

The congregation’s volunteer Justice and Mercy Ministry Team, a small band of volunteers mostly aged over 60, run the program as one of a range of social justice causes in their local community and beyond.

The group may be small, but its secret is working together with like-minded groups in the local community through the Whitehorse Churches Care group network. Whitehorse Churches Care involves 30-plus churches working together across the council area to support the community’s most vulnerable. It runs a range of outreach services, from a community pop-up space in a local shopping centre to providing care packs. This strengthens their impact and the bonds between the churches, connecting people across denominations, and encouraging opportunities for charitable collaboration.

For example, the Big Boxes of Kindness that Box Hill members are filling this year with festive foods and pantry staples came through another church, also in Whitehorse Churches Care, which offered the Lutheran congregation spare boxes and resources.

Complete with a letter of instruction, the full Big Boxes of Kindness are donated to the local migrant information centre for distribution to new migrants and refugees. The empty box comes with an Advent calendar for volunteer participants to scratch a daily bauble to reveal a pantry item to include. A pack of kindness cards accompanies the resources, with each card depicting a simple act of kindness that families can use throughout the season.

Box Hill Pastoral Care Coordinator Cathy Beaton, 60, also volunteers with Whitehorse Churches Care. She says this is the second year in a row that St Paul’s has been offered the boxes for the congregation to fill.

‘It’s an amazing group – I would not have known about the Big Box of Kindness if it were not for Whitehorse Churches Care’, she says.

Cathy says the Christmas hampers are greatly appreciated by the recipients: ‘I spoke with one of the migrant centre workers earlier this year and she said there was great joy and rejoicing over the hampers, it brought much delight to the people.’

That is only one of the Advent giving choices on offer at Box Hill. Another is the bauble gift tree, an outreach of the Prison Fellowship Australia’s Angel Tree program. Each bauble collected from the Christmas tree in the church’s foyer includes the name and address of a child or grandchild of a prisoner in one of Victoria’s prisons.

With the bauble, the donor gets some guidance on what the child might like to receive, then buys and sends the gift to the recipient on behalf of the prisoner, accompanied by their message.

Thirdly, Australian Lutheran World Service’s Gift of Grace program is promoted as another way to support the season of giving on a global scale. Giving Grace cards as a Christmas gift to family and friends acknowledges a donation of presents – from goats to toilets – to communities in need around the world.

The St Paul’s Justice and Mercy Ministry Team is not your normal committee, says Cathy. Each participant is an ambassador for a justice and mercy cause, from refugees and migrants to Indigenous reconciliation and more.

‘Team members are called ambassadors, as our members are passionate about a justice and mercy cause’, she says. ‘A handful of dedicated people can make a difference.’

And with most members in the group older than 60, age is no barrier to helping out. ‘In fact, it can give people a bit more time to be involved, and to action what they think is important’, Cathy says.

Last year alone, 34 huge red boxes were delivered to the local migrant information centres in Box Hill and nearby Ringwood, about 120 gifts were sent to the children and grandchildren of Victorian prisoners, and many ALWS Gifts of Grace brought joy to children and communities in need.

Justice and Mercy team leader John Hinz and Box Hill Pastor Neville Otto are among the ambassadors in the team, which has run Advent Action for the past three years.

Cathy says it is just the latest in a long involvement for St Paul’s of supporting local organisations, ministries and charities. ‘I think in some ways during COVID we became a bit insular, and everyone was isolated during lockdown. So, it was really important that we could provide a way for people to look outward again’, she says.

And size doesn’t have to be a barrier to action. St Paul’s has shown that working together with others, such as local churches, or the local council, can create opportunities to help.

‘Sometimes we don’t have the resources to do something on our own. But (working) together encourages each other, builds a network of relationships, and together, people can do things that they could not necessarily do on their own if they don’t have enough people’, says Cathy. ‘This gives us a way of connecting with our neighbours, of serving and loving our neighbours.’

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

270

Strategic plan to guide reorganisation at ALC

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Like many parts of the LCANZ, ALC has been struggling financially for some time. Low student numbers, increased expenses – including rising wages and costs associated with maintaining a large but underutilised campus – and a decrease in external funding all mean that the college, like many congregations and parishes, is needing to reorganise itself.

While reorganisation will address the low student-to-staff ratios and ensure the rationalisation of resources, ALC remains open for business and committed to its students’ learning and formational success. Students will not be adversely impacted by this reorganisation, which has been deemed necessary by the ALC Board and endorsed as a ‘major reorganisation’ by the LCANZ’s General Church Board.

As part of this reorganisation, which is being guided by Towards 2028, Our Strategic Direction, the ALC Board held a call meeting on 1 November. New part-time calls were then issued to five of the college’s ordained staff. These calls reflect the reduced teaching loads associated with smaller class sizes and, in accordance with ALC’s Constitution, the calls are for a specific time period, namely three years from 1 February 2023. Staff in ALC’s library are facing similar cost-cutting measures.

These actions bear no reflection on any staff member’s ability, capacity or generosity towards the college and church. They are entirely due to external factors that impact the college’s financial viability.

ALC remains committed to serving the LCANZ and its partners and looks forward to providing post-secondary and tertiary theological education for many years to come.

ALC’s strategic direction is available at https://alc.edu.au/strategic-direction