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141

Chance to learn more about digital ministry

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With the doors of the church being opened online and digital mission and ministry opportunities growing, LCANZ Local Mission is hosting an online Digital Mission and Ministry Forum next month.

Designed to help support, inspire and connect people serving in this area of mission and ministry, the forum on 5 November will include presentations and discussions on the opportunities, challenges and supports available to help you and the people in your church. Keynote session topics will include Digital Evangelism, Digital Discipleship and Opportunities in Digital Mission and Ministry, while there will be panel discussions on the topics: digital word and sacrament ministry, digital tech possibilities and what’s happening in digital mission and ministry in the LCANZ and what are we learning?

Speakers will include LCANZ pastor Rev Dr Tim Stringer, CV Global’s Director of Innovation Stuart Cranney, Greg Murray of Alpha Australia and Glenice Hartwich of St John’s Lutheran Church Unley in South Australia.

For more information, including registration details, go to www.lca.org.au/local-mission 

142

Church@Home October 2022

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Strengthening our relationship with God

Even though COVID-19 restrictions have eased in Australia and New Zealand, some members are still missing out on worship with their local congregations due to being unwell or caring for those who are. However, these devotional pages are not just for those unable to get to church. We can all benefit from reading or hearing some encouraging words and experiencing a sense of God’s closeness during the week as well as at Sunday worship. Nurturing our faith at home through regular devotions strengthens our relationship with God. We pray that you will be blessed by the devotional materials here and in the Church@Home resources collection online at www.lca.org.au/churchhome

Lisa 

John 16:22
So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.

DEVOTIONS FOR HOME WORSHIP

These reflections are adapted from a collection of devotions written for our LCANZ family and friends to help us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus no matter what we face. You can find these and many others on the LCA website at www.lca.org.au/daily-devotion and you can subscribe to receive them daily via email by clicking on the link on that same page.

When blessings become god by Eden Bishop

Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress (Judges 10:14).

Read Judges 10:6–16.

We rely on many things to provide us with ‘blessings’. These can include our own abilities, money, family and hobbies. Yet, these things are gifts from God, not things that provide us with blessings. And, if we aren’t careful, these things can start to take over all our spare time, and we can begin to give them credit for our happiness.

The Israelites worshipped other gods, falsely believing this would lead to more blessings than simply relying on the one true God. It had quite the opposite effect, bringing suffering and misery because it cut them off from God, the one true source of all blessings. This failure becomes quite apparent in their distress: the false gods cannot save them, and they must turn to God for deliverance.

In this text, we can hear God’s exasperation with his people, just like an exasperated parent. God was the one who brought the Israelites out of Egypt and provided for them in the desert, yet the Israelites continuously turned to other gods for provision. God’s response highlights how false these other gods are – we trust them to bring us good things, so why don’t we trust them to provide deliverance? Why do we call on God only in times of distress? The false gods can’t actually save us, which reveals how they also fail to provide us with good things. It is God who blesses and delivers.

This text also highlights God’s great love for us. Despite his exasperation, he still had mercy on them and delivered the Israelites when they turned back to him. God is forgiving and truly loves his people. God wants to provide for us.

Dear Heavenly Father, we are sorry for the times we have turned to false gods, such as our possessions and hobbies, to bring us happiness. Please forgive us for failing to trust in you to provide us with blessings. Thank you for your mercy. Amen.

Holy glasses by Annie Duarte

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matthew 10:28).

Read Matthew 10:24–39.

Do you have the lens of eternity? A heavenly lens is just one of many gifts you receive as a Christ-follower. When you put these special glasses on, you can see things as they ought to be. As much as the Father reveals, you can see what is happening behind the scenes.

With the lens of eternity, you are given a filter for what is important. You can look at a desert and witness springs bursting forth. You can look at dry bones and see that flesh will return to them. You can carry an umbrella during a drought in faith. You can face the bitterness of death and loss with the hope of the resurrection.

This anointed lens of eternity also empowers you to sift through deception and discern what is true, what aligns with God’s word. You can see the brokenness of a heart though it is disguised in the defences of harsh language or violent behaviour. You can see the loneliness and longing buried beneath a mask of aloofness. You can see a rotten core inside of a shiny, attractive exterior.

This is the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The same holy perspective is necessary when you face opposition and adversity especially because of your faith. I have heard it said that fear is having faith in the wrong kingdom. To fear humans – and those who kill the body but not the soul – is to have more confidence in their ability to destroy than in God’s ability to save and redeem.

You are running the marathon, bound for eternity! Place your faith in the one who can actually impact eternity, the one who has won it for you – Jesus. Slip on your lenses of eternity to see things as he sees them. Don’t waste your time and energy fearing people or fretting about earthly problems when the victory has already been won.

The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. Amen.

PRAYER

LORD JESUS THINK ON ME       

Lord Jesus, think on me,
and purge away my sin;
from earthbound passions
set me free,
and make me pure within.

Lord Jesus, think on me
by care and woe oppressed;
let me your loving servant be,
and taste your promised rest.

Lord Jesus, think on me,
amid the bitter strife;
through all my pain and misery
become my health and life.

Lord Jesus, think on me,
that, when the trial is past,
I may your radiant glory see,
and share your joy at last.

– Synesius of Cyrene, (373-414AD). Translated by Allen William Chatfield.
Sourced from justprayer.org

Matthew 10:30,31
Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid.

Being prepared for an unknown deadline by Pastor Steve Liersch

It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. He will dress himself to serve, make them recline at the table and wait on them (Luke 12:37).

Read Luke 12:32–40.

Recently, my wife and I went away with friends for the weekend, sharing our return time with one of our children still at home. We had discussed coming home on Monday evening, but around 2.00pm on Sunday, we received a call ‘just checking’ to see if it was Sunday or Monday we were returning as a small number of tasks hadn’t yet been completed. For example, bringing in the washing and vacuuming the floors.

Mild panic can set in when we know we haven’t achieved all that must be done by a given deadline. Distractions abound these days – especially social media time lost, not to mention TV, friends and hobbies, along with the busyness of life. Sometimes the essentials of life can be left to the last minute, and for some, this can also include giving appropriate attention to spiritual and eternal needs.

When Jesus reminds his disciples and us that we must be ready for his return, being watchful, dressed and expectant, he is forewarning us (and the world for that matter) that he will return. He wants to find us ready and waiting for the blessings he has in store for us eternally. Only God knows when that ‘deadline’ will eventuate, and so these words help prepare us to be recipients of his grace.

There’s also something wonderful in the image of Jesus dressed to serve us in heaven, blessing us with his heavenly banquet at the table he has prepared for us.

How well prepared are you to meet Jesus should this life’s deadline come tomorrow?

Heavenly Father, thank you for your willingness to give us a place in your kingdom. Help me treasure what this world can’t provide, namely your Son Jesus as our Lord, Saviour and Servant King. Prepare my life with your Spirit and word every day. Amen.

It is time that nations honour Jesus by Craig Heidenreich

And they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles (Isaiah 66:19b).

Read Isaiah 66:18–23.

I suspect that most of us reading this today are not Jews. That means you are numbered (with me) among the Gentiles referred to in this passage.

The Lord uses Isaiah to open up some new thinking for the Israelites and begin shifting their focus to his greater purpose – to ‘win the Gentiles’. God had spoken to Abraham many centuries before, saying, ‘all the nations will be blessed through you’, but the Israelites had become habitually focused on themselves.

Thank God for the prophetic insight given to Isaiah and for men like Paul who understood that the Jews were God’s chosen people – to be priests to the nations, not just to themselves.

Most of us are old enough to have seen a dramatic shift in the ethnic mix of Australia and New Zealand over the past few decades. Are we seeing an outworking of these verses in Isaiah? Are we in a time when God is choosing to declare his glory among the Gentiles? Last time I checked, God uses his people to declare his glory!

In Exodus 33, Moses asked the Lord, ‘show me your glory’, and he responded by saying, ‘I myself will make all my “goodness” pass before you’.

Perhaps we are to show the goodness of God to newcomers in our midst so that they get to see his glory. Surely the gospel is good news and unique among the messages of the world religions. People should have the opportunity to taste it.

Lord, help me lift my eyes above my own situation and show your goodness to others who have come from afar. May we come to your holy mountain together. Amen.

143

God’s own adventure

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Going GREYT! 1 Peter 4:10

In Going GREYT! we feature stories of some of our ‘more experienced’ people within the LCA, who have been called to make a positive contribution in their retirement. We pray their examples of service will be an inspiration and encouragement to us all as we look to be Christ’s hands and feet wherever we are, with whatever gifts and opportunities we’ve been given.

by Helen Brinkman

When John Belani arrived as a young single man in an Austrian refugee camp in 1957, he was seeking a life of adventure in the Congo.

At 23, the cabinet maker had left his homeland of Slovakia and knew no-one in the camp of 2000 people. He was set on migrating to the central African nation in search of rainforest hunter-gatherer people (pygmies) and wild animals.

However, the sound of hymns coming from a nearby hall led him not only to his future wife, but an unexpected change in plans.

‘I was walking through the camp and heard singing at a church service, led by a pastor from Slovakia who was preaching in Hungarian’, recalls the Victorian octogenarian.

‘After the service, there was a young girl and we met. She wanted to go to Australia, but I wanted to go to Congo. I was a silly young man looking for adventure.

‘No-one could convince me otherwise, and I didn’t know whether I should follow my brain or my heart.’

That lovely ‘young girl’ was Anna, who was from a town 25km from John’s hometown, who would become his wife and life-long companion – in Australia.

‘I thank God every day that he brought me to this lucky country through my wife’, says John, who’s now 87.

The Lutheran World Federation sponsored the pair to travel from Austria to Australia by ship in January 1959.

Their first stop was the Bonegilla Migrant Centre near Wodonga in Victoria, where they stayed for several weeks, awaiting the start of the Mildura grape harvest.

On their third day there, the camp chaplain organised for John and Anna to be married at the Lutheran church in nearby Albury, New South Wales, lending them a small van. The entire wedding party squeezed in for the trip.

After the grape picking season, they settled in Melbourne, welcomed by the local Slovakian community, and John went back to his trade as a cabinet maker.

Instead of pygmies and wild animals, they found peace and freedom.

But they certainly haven’t missed out on adventure!

They have made mission trips to Papua New Guinea and South Sudan.

‘My wife and I love to travel and have been truly blessed to be able to see many places where we have had the opportunity to serve our Lord by sharing our time, talents, and resources’, John says.

Their year in PNG in 1962–1963 was a personal favourite. Sparked by an article in their church paper calling for builders to volunteer their time to teach the locals the trade, John and Anna journeyed to the island of Siassi, also known as Umboi, off the coast from Papua New Guinea’s second biggest city of Lae. There, they built a classroom, house and dormitory for the local high school.

Two trips to South Sudan in 2007 and 2010 also remain close to their hearts, where they were moved by faith to plant a Lutheran church, school and orphanage, which they still support.

John still recalls his most dangerous activity during his African travels – taking a dip in the crocodile-infested River Nile. He couldn’t resist the lure of the mighty river he’d heard of all his life! He emerged unscathed.

‘We thank God every day we have been blessed with good health’, John says.

‘God blesses us with more than we need, many times more, and we’re just giving it back to those who need it.’

Just after his 80th Birthday, John was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his services to his local Laverton community. This includes co-founding the Good News Lutheran College in Tarneit, Melbourne’s west, and the Slovak Social Club in Laverton.

John also donated land to build the Christ the Lord Slovak Lutheran Church in Laverton in 1974, where the pair still worships. They’ve been active members since, coordinating a monthly lunch and fellowship group for pensioners for almost 40 years.

John still works four days a week in his Laverton construction company with son Joe. He spends Thursdays with Anna and works in his garden, tending his vegetables.

‘Family is my single-greatest passion, and I am humbled to share my table at our weekly family dinner with my children, grandchildren and now also my grandchildren’s partners’, he says. ‘Together we pray and give thanks for our time. Lively conversations covering many and varied topics are keeping my mind active and connected across the generations.’

Reflecting on his life, he adds: ‘I strongly believed God had a plan for us. Philippians 4:19 tells me that God knows me, he knows me as a sinner and he tells me that I am his and he is mine, there can be no closer relationship.

‘And whatever I need he will provide. Nothing and nobody can upset me because God is with me, he is guiding me, and he will provide for me and everybody despite our sins.’

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  

144

Young adults hopeful for LCANZ

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When 24 young Lutherans gathered in Adelaide for the LCANZ’s Young Adult Forum last month, their sense of hope for their church’s future inspired presenters and participants alike.

Aged between 18 and 26 and representing rural and city congregations from across Australia, forum participants heard about and discussed key issues facing the church and gained a deeper insight into how the church functions.

The event was also an opportunity for LCANZ leaders to hear the needs and thoughts of our young people,

Facilitated by Grow Ministries, the forum also included sessions about worship, the work of the LCANZ in local and international mission, ministry support and public theology, issues to be discussed at next year’s Convention of General Synod and conversation time with Bishop Paul Smith.

Grow Ministries Director Jodi Brook said being among the young adult participants was ‘a blessing’. ‘To listen to the passion that they have for their church, to see their understanding of how the church functions grow and to be inspired by the hope, generosity and positivity which they spoke about the church was such a blessing’, she said.

Bishop Paul said while discussion tables during the forum each included a church leader to guide conversation among the young adults, ‘they really didn’t need the guide’. ‘Each time the groups were assigned a task, they launched into discussion and collaboration with passion and pastoral support for one another’, he said.

‘It was a joy to serve with them. They will certainly be praying for their church.’

Participant John Hillier from South Australia said he ‘gained a sense of hope about a wide range of things’ at the forum. ‘It was good to hear the wisdom and experiences of others’, he said. ‘It took a lot of the sourness I had when I think about the future of the church. It was great to see that our church has many people who are aware of the challenges we face. To me, it was a good reminder that no matter what happens, the church can and will prevail.’

Other participants also said they were encouraged to do more in their home congregations and communities, thanks to their experiences at the forum. Stephanie Swift, from Western Australia, said, ‘I am feeling encouraged to find ways to serve my congregation, such as joining a committee or starting a small group’, while Queensland participant Christian Hansen said: ‘I think being enthusiastically involved in the body of the church is something I’m looking forward to doing more of.’

145

Remembering Strehlow a hundred years on

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The life of Lutheran missionary Carl Strehlow was celebrated recently in Central Australia with a series of commemorative events. Carl and his wife Frieda are remembered for their service among the Western Arrarnta people, and Carl’s legacy includes extensive Bible translation work.

146

God’s strength provides a career in caring

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Every morning when Shirley Klinge looks out of her window at the Tabeel retirement village at Laidley, she gazes at the hills and they remind her of her favourite psalm, and the source of her strength: ‘I look unto the hills, that is where I get my strength from’ (Psalm 121).

147

New worship resources set for release

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The Commission on Worship (CoW) is launching two new musical worship resources to assist congregations – a new LCA Music Resource, ‘Songs of the Church – Advent, Christmas and Epiphany’, and Sung Liturgy Recordings.

SONGS OF THE CHURCH MUSIC PACKAGE VOLUME 4

CoW’s Music and Song working group has prepared a new volume of music for the church. Available initially as digital downloadable music, each song in the collection of 100 songs is available individually and includes a three-part accompaniment for the not-so-confident keyboard player, with guitar chords and lyrics. Many songs feature fresh arrangements of old favourites, as well as some less-familiar songs to brighten your Christmas worship. Songs of the Church will be available from Australian Christian Resources at www.shopACR.com.au from Reformation Day, 31 October.

SUNG LITURGY RECORDINGS

For congregations without a strong cantor or musicians, CoW has recorded the sung liturgy from the Service with Communion (page 6 of the Lutheran Hymnal). Featuring the voices of Pastor Andrew Brook as cantor, and the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Adelaide choir singing the responses, the recordings are available free on the Worship Planning Page as both MP3s and .wav files.

Melody lines have been produced by David Simpfendorfer to assist musicians and singers.

These are available in PDFs for easy printing and JPEGs for insertion into bulletins. PowerPoints (PPT) in both standard and widescreen formats have been created for each piece of liturgy with the melody lines included. Full PPT service orders with embedded MP3s are also provided. Resources for The Service – Alternative Form (page 58 – Lutheran Hymnal) will be released later in 2022. You can find these resources at www.lca.org.au/worship/wpp/sung-liturgy

148

Spring in their steps and love in their hearts!

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Along with being the first month of spring in the southern hemisphere, September is a huge month for Walk My Way, which supports refugee children to go to school through Australian Lutheran World Service.

Walk My Way group events are being held in at least four states and territories of Australia this month featuring the community of Tatachilla Lutheran College, south of Adelaide; at Caboolture, north of Brisbane, which will bring together the combined Lutheran ministries there; west of the Queensland capital at Concordia Lutheran College, Toowoomba; in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, organised by Good Shepherd Lutheran School at Angaston; in Darwin among the community of Good Shepherd Lutheran College; and in the New South Wales Riverina organised by St Paul’s Lutheran College at Walla Walla.

Each of these walks is tailored to its community. Some participants will walk around school ovals, others will trek between school campuses, some will walk past and through local Lutheran services, and others will tackle walking trails in a nearby forest region.

WALKS HAVE COME A LONG WAY – LITERALLY

From one ‘little walk’ of 26 kilometres in the Adelaide Hills in 2017 to more than 30 walks of varying distances around Australia in 2021, Walk My Way continues to inspire people to change lives.

Walk My Way is part of The GRACE Project, which has helped more than 62,500 refugee children to go to school since 2019. So, while the location and distance of every Walk My Way may vary, the heart behind it remains supporting education and opportunity for these precious kids.

Another blessing is the way the walks build community. ALWS representatives say they repeatedly hear how Walk My Way has bought people together – across generations and differing abilities.

‘THE WAY OF LOVE AND COMPASSION’

Pastor Dean Zweck has taken part in every Walk My Way in the Adelaide Hills and Barossa Valley since 2017. He says he keeps participating ‘because it is an ongoing way of walking alongside those who tread the path of poverty and want and supporting them on their journey’. ‘Jesus calls us to Walk his Way, the way of love and compassion. Walk My Way is an invitation to respond to Jesus by walking alongside those whose need calls out to us.’

MORE CHANCES TO JOIN IN

Lutheran schools will host a Walk My Way in which anyone can take part at Victor Harbor, South Australia, on Friday 21 October. You can also register to walk on your own at any time, anywhere, arrange a walk with family or friends or organise a walk where you live for your church, school, group, or local community. And, of course, you can visit the website below and donate and sponsor others who take part. Just $26 helps to support schooling for a refugee child for a year. For all the details, visit the website at www.walkmyway.org.au or email walkmyway@alws.org.au

149

And then there were eight!

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by Joel Pukallus

There were seven young people enrolled in the year-long confirmation class at St Mark’s Lutheran Church Dalby in Queensland’s Western Downs region when it began in mid-2021.

The congregation’s confirmation team of five members ranging in age from 24 to 80 had decided to use Grow Ministries’ Grow Disciples material for the course. The team allocated a mostly unused choir loft to the confirmation class, furnishing the area with beanbags, ottomans and couch cushions, and encouraging the young people to make it their space. Instead of a whiteboard, the confirmees could use window chalk pens on the windows upstairs.

After a short course of first communion study, the young people were admitted to the sacrament of the altar. The next week, one of the confirmees brought his friend Ben along to worship. Ben sat in on the confirmation class. He came back every week after that and, after a few months, shared that he believed in what we were teaching and would like to be confirmed with the class.

We spoke with Ben about baptism and holy communion and decided that it would all happen for him on the day of confirmation.

So, on Pentecost Sunday this year, Ben was baptised and then the eight young people were confirmed. Queensland District Bishop Mark Vainikka shared a pre-recorded greeting, including a special message for Ben. This was a special moment for each of the confirmees.

TEENS GROW IN FAITH TOGETHER

The window chalk is still there, and we are finding it hard to want to clean it off. The young people enjoyed the course so much they have asked whether they could keep meeting after it finished and they almost all attend our fortnightly youth group.

Sadly, the eldest member of the team could not be there on confirmation day but hearing the young people’s collective disappointment that an 80-year-old man could not attend reinforced the importance of intergenerational ministry.

Other highlights of the course were sharing in the highs and lows of the teenagers’ weeks and watching them grow in their faith and discipleship. We are very thankful for the Grow Disciples material and will use it again in the future.

Pastor Joel Pukallus serves the South West Queensland Parish (Dalby Ministry Area).

NURTURING YOUNG DISCIPLES

In 2014-15 Grow Ministries conducted research specific to confirmation within the LCA. Online surveys targeted pastors and instructors of confirmation programs, parents of young people who had completed confirmation and young people who had been confirmed in the previous 10 years.

The recommendations to come from this research resulted in the Grow Disciples resource. It is designed to assist congregations in providing a clear and engaging pathway for the faith formation journey of young people which includes families and congregations. However, the book can also be used as a discipleship tool for any age and stage of the faith journey.

To find out more about Grow Disciples and its supporting curriculum and modules, go to www.growministries.org.au/grow_disciples_book

150

Leadership and learning go hand in hand

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by Merryn Ruwoldt

The intentional development of those called to be leaders is of deep significance to the future of the Lutheran education system. The link between school leadership and student outcomes is well established.

In terms of school-based factors, leadership is second only to classroom instruction in its influence on student learning. A system that concerns itself with student outcomes will therefore also concern itself with developing leaders. In a Lutheran context, these leaders hold the uniquely Lutheran approach to education in their hands.

Lutheran Education Australia partners with the Graduate School of Business at Queensland University of Technology and Australian Lutheran College (ALC) to provide a Leadership Development Program (LDP) for aspiring leaders in Lutheran schools and early childhood services.

As part of this program, ALC Principal Pastor James Winderlich and I recently led workshops for emerging leaders in both Victoria and Queensland. Deep conversations about the way in which Lutheran theology informs practice in Lutheran schools were a feature of both workshops. During the sessions, we challenged participants with contextual scenarios to assist them to engage with theological concepts in meaningful ways. This in turn helped participants to grow in their understanding of themselves as leaders in a Lutheran context.

MORE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS

In addition to LDP, ALC also offers courses designed for the professional development of teachers, including a Graduate Certificate in Leadership, a Graduate Certificate in Education and Theology and a Masters in Education and Theology.

Online service learning and community engagement workshops are also offered throughout the year. Learn more by visiting the ALC website: https://alc.edu.au/study/courses-for-in-service-teachers/

Dr Merryn Ruwoldt is ALC Dean and Coordinator of Education Studies.