New Search

If you are not happy with the results below please do another search

871 search results for: church

391

Sharing life-giving water with the community

/in , , ,

The biblical symbolism of life-giving water is not lost on members of Good Shepherd Lutheran congregation in Traralgon in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley as they look at the new water fountain out the front of their church.

The installation of a public drinking fountain in front of the church as a community service was proposed at a congregational church council meeting in 2020 and late last year that idea became a reality. A new walking and cycling path had been extended linking Traralgon with the nearby town of Morwell, with the nearest water fountain 1.7 kilometres away. So the Good Shepherd leadership thought that out the front of their church would be an ideal location for a drink stop for thirsty walkers and cyclists.

Congregation elder and Gippsland Parish treasurer David Mirtschin says the next step in the process was to apply for a grant through Gippsland Water’s community support program in the hope of funding the purchase of a fountain. The application was successful and, after negotiations with Gippsland Water and the Latrobe City Council, the council also arranged and paid for the installation of the fountain, connecting it up with Traralgon Lutheran Church’s water meter. This means that the congregation only has to pay for the water used by joggers, cyclists, walkers, ‘woofers’ and any other users, which David says was an extra, unexpected blessing to come from the congregation’s initiative.

‘God blessed us with extra help and now all that we need to do is pay for the water usage’, he says. ‘The idea was to provide a community service and, at the same time, let people know there’s a church here.’

The fountain is complete with a dog bowl and a park bench has also been installed at the site.

David says the congregation is also keen to allow members of the public to use the church carpark while they go for a walk or cycle along the path and hopes to gain approval for the erection of signage advertising this extra free service. The possibility of church toilets being made available to path users while the building is open is also being investigated, while David says the church is keen to put up a sign near the fountain promoting its use and evoking Jesus’ promises at the same time, with wording such as: ‘Come and drink the Water of Life’.

This story has been expanded from ‘Water for the thirsty’, first published through the LCANZ Vic-Tas District’s eVoices.

392

LCANZ bishop installed

/in , , ,

Pastor Paul Smith has been installed as the sixth churchwide leader for Lutherans in Australia and New Zealand since church union in 1966, in a service of celebration at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Adelaide.

Pastor John Henderson, who served as LCANZ bishop from 2013 until his retirement in December 2021, installed Pastor Paul to the role of bishop on 20 February at the same church where the new churchwide leader was ordained in 1988.

At Bishop Paul’s request, South Australia-Northern Territory District Bishop David Altus focused his sermon on St Paul’s words in Galatians 5:1 – ‘For freedom Christ has set us free’. Bishop David encouraged the new church leader with a reminder that God’s saving work through Christ Jesus sets us free to live and work for him, unafraid of making mistakes in our quest to share the gospel.

‘Paul, you don’t need me to remind you it’s a daunting task that you have accepted at the call of the church’, Bishop David said. ‘And God says we are accountable to him, the Chief Shepherd, and the bar goes up a few notches for those of us who would be overseers of his church.’

However, Bishop David said the freedom won in Christ ‘is not an escape’. ‘It’s a gift and a life we can all enjoy together in God’s church and share with the world’, he said. ‘The Christian faith says that in his love, God stepped into our shoes, lived a life of perfect love and then willingly took our place, dying for our imperfect lives. God has already stepped forward and taken your place Paul, and you have stepped into a life of freedom with him.’

In his remarks at the end of the service, Bishop Paul asked for the prayers of the church and highlighted a commitment to servant-leadership in relating his response to Lutheran school students who had asked him what a bishop does. ‘I [explained] that the word bishop was a technical church word for “foot washer”’, said Bishop Paul, who has spent many years as a school pastor as well as being the immediate past district bishop of Queensland.

‘Having just washed his disciples’ feet, our Lord Jesus says, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord – and you are right, for that is what I am. So, if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”

‘I ask you to pray for me and for all the people of our evangelical Lutheran Church in New Zealand and Australia and for the people of all Christian churches of the world, that we would gladly serve in the Lord’s name.

‘As we all travel purposefully together in this mission life as the church of the Lutheran witness to Jesus Christ, let us hold fast with joyful hope to our Lord’s sure promise – that he will always continue to build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail.’

The service included recorded songs from the Ntaria Choir of Hermannsburg Northern Territory and the St Peters Lutheran College Chorale from Indooroopilly Queensland, and a setting of Psalm 37 written for the occasion by Lutheran Church of New Zealand Bishop Mark Whitfield.

To watch a recording of the service, go to www.lca.org.au/livestreams/

393

Knitting together past and future: the new ALC

/in , , ,

‘Like a piece of knitting, we hold in tension what is already there and what is emerging … who we are and who we are becoming.’

Principal of Australian Lutheran College (ALC) James Winderlich has used a knitting analogy to explain the two guiding principles for the college’s new direction: its identity deeply embedded in the history and life of the LCANZ, and the need to embrace and respond to the diverse needs of a 21st century learning church. Explaining the vision of ALC’s recently unveiled strategic plan ‘Towards 2028’, Pastor Winderlich said, ‘We are not always who we once were, and we need to balance this with who we are becoming and need to become’.

The ‘new ALC’ has been shaped by feedback from members, congregations, leaders and agencies, gleaned from various churchwide surveys in 2021. One key theme was the need to focus on being gospel-centred and knowing how to minister to people. There was also widespread reluctance to move to Adelaide to receive training; this was seen as a ‘deal breaker’.

‘We’ve listened to you, we understand your training needs, and we are responding’, Pastor Winderlich said.

The change of name from Luther Seminary to ALC in 2004 was a major step in promoting the college as the LCANZ’s training institution for not only pastors and teachers but for all people of the church. The new direction builds on progress made in creating learning hubs that equip LCANZ people for mission and ministry wherever they are serving or will serve. A stated aim of the plan is to ‘affirm people in their vocation and reflect the diversity of the contemporary, missional church’.

The days of teaching exclusively via classroom lectures at the North Adelaide campus are long gone. Under the new plan, ALC is embracing practice-driven learning and experience in the field, while ensuring that the college is ‘a safe place for learners (staff and students) to wrestle with questions of theology and faith’, Pastor Winderlich said.

Digital learning capability will be enhanced to engage with learners as they remain connected to the community in which they live, worship and serve. Flexible and responsive learning programs will be key components of the new ALC.

Increasingly, the staff team will reflect the diversity of the communities in which LCANZ people serve.

Cheryl Bartel, vice-chair of the ALC Board, said the changing profile of the church ‘is triggering a need to understand what it means to be inclusive’. ‘We need to visualise what a connected, intercultural learning community looks like, and to value the richness that this brings to our church’, she said.

Reflecting on the recent ALC Festival of Learning, which was held under the theme ‘Speaking Many Languages, Hearing One Voice’, Mrs Bartel said it presented ‘a rich and diverse opportunity to engage with practical theology and contemporary issues’.

‘We need to be proactive and initiate opportunities to be visibly present in the life of the church as it grapples with what a contemporary missional church looks like’, she said.

Pastor Winderlich and the ALC Board encourage congregations, schools and other agencies to discuss their training needs and to share them with ALC.

A copy of ‘Towards 2028’ can be downloaded from the ALC website at https://alc.edu.au/about

394

‘Please keep praying’ for flood-hit communities

/in , , ,

While deadly floodwaters in eastern Australia have receded and the clean-up continues in the wake of the tragedy, praying for affected communities is more important than ever, say Lutheran church leaders in some of the worst-hit areas.

At least 22 people have died as a result of the floods in south-east Queensland, Brisbane, northern New South Wales and Sydney, while the cost of the damage is expected to be billions of dollars.

Hundreds of residents were forced to evacuate from their homes and at least two people died near Gympie, about 170 kilometres north of Brisbane. However, Pastor David Seligmann of Zion Lutheran Church there believes each of his members is safe and none has lost their homes, something he describes as ‘an amazing blessing’.

But, he says, some business owners are doing it tough due to flood damage.

He encourages members of the LCANZ to keep praying for the people of Gympie and everyone affected by the floods: ‘Praying is absolutely the most important thing people can do.’

Like Gympie, the town of Lismore in northern New South Wales has been one of the worst-hit by the disaster. But Good News Lutheran Church president Glenn Faulkner said thankfully none of the congregation’s members has suffered significant losses.

The church property, located on higher ground at Lismore East, is unscathed, and Glenn said the congregation was keen to rent out the building for much-needed office space for the town. ‘We’re just so grateful [that our members are okay] – this flood was two metres higher than the highest ever’, Glenn said. ‘Everyone has gone and done their bit to help out. Yes, prayers would most certainly be appreciated.’

Members of the church are also invited to donate to help Lutherans and their communities (tax-deductible) via the LCA Disaster & Welfare Fund at www.lcadonate.online/lca-disaster-welfare-fund

395

LCA Insurance in safe hands

/in , , ,

The LCANZ welcomes experienced insurance manager Lucinda Osborne as the new manager of LCA Insurance.

Lucinda succeeds Graeme Tscharke, who is transitioning to retirement after managing LCA Insurance for 37 years. Graeme will work alongside Lucinda until at least 30 June this year to facilitate a smooth handover.

‘Graeme is renowned for his outstanding service to our insurance members and the knowledge he has built up will be missed, as will his kind and friendly nature’, Lucinda said. ‘The church gives thanks for his amazing contribution!’

While she said Graeme’s were ‘big shoes to fill’, Lucinda is looking forward to her role managing insurance and risk for the LCA. ‘I am excited to have the opportunity to further serve our LCA community on this new journey and look forward to getting to know everyone further’, she said.

Lucinda has worked for the LCANZ for the past five years, firstly as project officer for the NSW Website integration project and, most recently, as Local Mission Coordinator. She worked in the insurance industry for more than 20 years, holding roles including state manager, and has qualifications in insurance, management and governance. She is also vice-chair at Our Saviour Lutheran Church Semaphore in suburban Adelaide.

LCA Insurance has served the church since 1983 by administering a comprehensive insurance portfolio, assisting congregations and church agencies by sourcing suitable policies and premiums, and helping with claims. With LCA communities working as a collective, LCA Insurance is able to negotiate a broad range of tailor-made policies which minimise costs and safeguard the church and its auxiliaries, including schools, colleges, aged-care facilities, churches and community care services. LCA Insurance is now within the Churchwide Office at 197 Archer Street North Adelaide. Contact them by phone on 08 8267 7330, or via email at insurance@lca.org.au

397

Knitting together past and future: the new ALC

/in ,

Principal of Australian Lutheran College James Winderlich says there are two guiding principles for the college’s new direction: its identity deeply embedded in the history and life of the LCANZ, and the need to embrace and respond to the diverse needs of a 21st century learning church.

398

Cracking the code of our hidden stories

/in ,

Dr Lois Zweck has a passion for history and a rare gift for languages – both of which mean many mysteries of Australian Lutheran history have been deciphered and can be understood and preserved. Her talents have also taken her from small-town SA all the way to the Vatican.

399

Because we bear your name

/in , , ,

Bishop Paul’s letter

Rev Paul Smith
Bishop, Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand

When I became the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church, North Adelaide, some of the parish folk told me the story of the recent time when the church building had been broken into. The thieves took the historic ‘mission field’ crucifix from the altar. Thankfully, after a statewide appeal, it was returned. The story told to me was one of the confident witness of God’s people: ‘They can never take the cross out of the church.’ The members would explain to me that even though the crucifix from the altar had been stolen, the sign of the cross was still everywhere: on the paraments, on the font, on the doors, on the pastor, on the charity box at the door, even on the front of each of the hymnals.

We cherish this sign that the Lord has placed over human history as his seal of promise that we have a God who is gracious and merciful. A God who will suffer and die for the forgiveness of sin.

For Martin Luther, the sign of the cross was central to his passion in seeking to reform the church. In one of his early writings, Luther invites us to become ‘theologians’ of the cross. This is when we take stock of everything around us through the lens of Jesus’ death on the cross and through suffering. Martin Luther suggests that when we do this, we will be honest about the world and about ourselves. We will see more clearly sin at work in the world and in our own selves.

When I entered the Lutheran Church through St Peter’s Lutheran College in Brisbane, I was helped to reflect on this way of the cross through the architecture in the chapel building. The St Peter’s college chapel has a large cross at the front in the sanctuary, starkly positioned in front of a plain white wall. This is God’s marker over all time. But then in the private prayer chapel on the side of the main space, is an almost life-size carving of the Lord’s body in pain on the cross. This is the space where I kneel alone before this image of my Lord and confess, ‘He has done this for me. He has done this out of love for me. He died while we were yet sinners, out of his love for the world’.

As I write to you, Lent 2022 is near. In this third year of COVID-19, we are deeply aware of human frailty. We are reminded daily that we are dust and to dust we shall return. We have images on television and our personal devices, showing that human greed and power reign throughout the world as we see places where people are too poor to have access to hospital care and life-saving ventilators. Lent is the season to be ready for the message of the cross, on Good Friday. Historically, Lent was the season of preparation for people who were ‘catechumens’ – that is women and men preparing for baptism. These folk fasted for 40 days, as Jesus did in the wilderness, to be ready for their baptism over the Easter weekend.

Lent eventually became a common tradition for Christians in many places. In our modern society in New Zealand and Australia, fewer people celebrate Lent. However, for many in our schools, aged-care communities and other similar places, ‘Pancake Tuesday’ (or Shrove Tuesday) has become a bit of a regular festival. However, as with Halloween, there is often little awareness of the significance of the pancake tradition. (It was to eat up fatty foods before the fasting of Lent.)

I believe the popularisation of Pancake Tuesday is a gift to the people of the church. It’s an opportunity to be ready to give a good account of the hope within us, of the gracious work of God in the way of the cross. It can help us to bear witness to our faith at work in the Lenten journey, that ‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life’.

Your fellow 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’

400

I’m not racist, but …

/in , , ,

We all know racism is a sin, even though we’d like to think it’s one we’re not guilty of. But do we always think, speak and act in love and without prejudice towards people whose race or ethnic background is different from ours? We asked Craig Heidenreich, the LCANZ’s Cross-Cultural Ministry Manager, to explore this complex but crucial topic.

by Craig Heidenreich

If someone accused me of being racist, I think I would feel quite defensive because of all the negative connotations around that term.

I would probably defend myself with the thought that I am more tolerant and open-minded than that other bigoted person I know – that person who says what the rest of us only think (from time to time).

Let’s be honest, humans experience this strange tension along racial lines that is almost as old as history itself.

What is this driving force in our nature that will justify ourselves by putting someone else down?

Sadly, this is as old as sin itself, as old as Adam justifying himself by putting Eve down – ‘this woman you gave me caused me to eat the fruit’. It wasn’t Adam’s finest moment to focus on gender that day and about as silly as our focus on genetics.

Racism is part of the air we breathe in this fallen world and is fed by our insecurities.

We squirm when family members or certain politicians overtly appeal to the worst in our tribal natures, but we also contend with it in many subtle ways.

We need to fight this instinct if we choose to follow Jesus and be anything like our Heavenly Father.

In heaven, when ‘every tribe and tongue’ are worshipping, there is simply no racial hierarchy.

Jesus left his followers with a final request – that we should go out among all the nations to invite them back into a relationship with him.

The Father loves the whole world. Probably the most quoted verse of the New Testament would be John 3:16, ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave …’.

Our Heavenly Father invites us to love like he loves and enter into his joy as each lost sheep is found.

Let me offer a stark challenge: Racism is one of Satan’s primary attacks against God’s plan to gather all people back to himself!

Satan tempts us to judge the very people that Jesus died to save, the people we are called to love.

We need to see this attack for what it is and not tolerate it – it is as deadly as the self-righteousness that stops me associating with a sinner when I should be ‘the beggar showing another where to find bread’.

As we adjust our thinking to value what the Lord wants, let’s take in something of his sheer delight in the diversity of the humans he has made.

This is not about tolerating each other. This is about celebrating each other. This is about a church that is enriched and completed when we all come together.

So, what does this all mean in practice?

If we as individuals are to be free of this subtle racist pull, we probably need to ask the Lord to wash our minds of attitudes that we have taken in from our parents, our schooling, the impact of media, and even our church life. He may bring attitudes to mind that we should repent of.

Just think of the strong confirmation bias that happens when we access the internet and get our news from limited or similar sources. We think that we are sophisticated enough to spot the prejudice, but our minds can be shaped by what we see and hear.

I am aware of a dislike of certain nations or ethnicities that have lodged in me after watching some movie (maybe 30 years ago). The movie was probably quite biased, but at the time it suited my fallen nature to dislike those people. All these years later I find myself reacting to certain accents when I hear them.

How easily we start to judge other nations or ethnic groups for systemic injustices while self-righteously thinking, ‘I am not like that’. This is very thin ice!

We need to go through the Lord’s washing machine as much as Peter did in Acts 10. A voice from heaven said to him that day, ‘You must stop calling unclean, what God has made clean’.

When we meet together in church, our human instinct is to gather with others like ourselves and to seek leaders who look like us.

This attitude keeps reinforcing certain things and leads to a mono-cultural environment.

Is it possible that our church experience should be less about our comfort and more about our growth in love?

Humans contend with all sorts of tensions that play out along generational, gender, social and intellectual lines. These are the contexts for us to ‘prefer one another in love’ (Rom 12:10). Our racial differences are also a great context to act maturely and, in a world riven by racism, our mutual respect (across racial lines) is a clear witness to the work of our Lord.

Recently I was in a church service watching people line up to take communion and the line that day was a veritable ‘united nations’. It made my heart feel glad to see the transforming work of Christ in action among our Lutheran family.

Let’s lift our gaze to focus on what the Lord has in mind.

As we read in Revelation 7:9–11:

‘After this I looked and saw a multitude too large to count, from every nation and tribe and people and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb”. And all the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. And they fell facedown before the throne and worshipped God.’

Come, Lord Jesus!!