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81

No vacancy

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by Lisa McIntosh

The pulpit is empty come Sunday morning. The manse is unoccupied. (I write figuratively, of course, as pulpits are used far less these days for preaching and some pastors do not live in manse accommodation).

Like dozens of others around the LCANZ, this congregation is without a pastor.

And the pastoral ’vacancy’ rate across our churches, schools and aged-care communities is climbing, with a larger cohort of pastors reaching retirement age together than ever before and fewer people studying for ordained ministry.

Along with falling memberships and decreasing attendance at worship in many parishes, some commentators would suggest our church worker shortage is another symptom of a dying church.

But is that it for our Lutheran family and some other Christian denominations across Australia and New Zealand?

Or is God calling us to open our hearts to see how he ‘is doing a new thing’ (Isaiah 43:19)? Is he hoping we’ll seek his guidance and trust in his provision, as we work for his kingdom with whatever support and skills he gives in each place and for each season?

Could he be coaxing us to lay down our fears, turn our focus outwards and get on with being gospel-sharers among our faith communities and, crucially, in the world around us?

No matter where we are, how small our worship community may be, or how dispirited we may feel about not being able to ‘attract’ or finance a pastor, we are not alone. As the South Australia – Northern Territory District’s Assistant Bishop for Mission, Pastor Stephen Schultz, says, congregations in vacancy may be without a pastor, but they are never without a shepherd.

‘One thing I usually do at pre-call meetings is to ask people how many vacancies there are in the LCANZ currently’, he says. ‘Once they have a stab at guessing, I tell them there are zero vacancies in the LCANZ – at which point they look at me as though I have lost my mind!

‘I then tell them that Jesus is the head of the church, of every congregation, and that he hasn’t retired or accepted a call elsewhere. They may have a pastoral vacancy, but the chief shepherd/pastor of the church is still very much in office and at work among them.’ Capitalising on Jesus’ ever-present and ongoing work among all our faith families, the LCANZ, its districts, parishes and congregations are endeavouring to meet worship and ministry needs in a wider range of ways than before.

As well as increasing support for lay readers and ministry coordinators, these include having more approved lay people licensed for word and sacrament ministry; identifying members to become Specific Ministry Pastors in their local context; and considering shared church worker, administration and lay leadership support and ministries across regions. These benefits can also come within multi-site churches whose locations may be geographically distant but which have common values and mission goals. An example of this is LifeWay Lutheran Church in New South Wales.

Even with these and other ‘strategies’, our pastoral shortage will remain. But perhaps through it, we can pray that God will show us how we can all minister to and care for others.

82

What’s the future of ministry in the LCANZ?

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Last year the College of Bishops met with district and churchwide leaders to address the LCANZ’s church worker supply shortage. Victorian Bishop Emeritus Greg Pietsch was appointed to oversee the Ministry Future project and report to the 2024 General Synod. To follow is an excerpt of his first progress report for the church.

The Ministry Future project has been established by the LCANZ’s College of Bishops (CoB), with the support of the General Church Board, to consider and develop a coordinated response to the decreasing number of pastors in the church and the changing nature of our communities.

Our ‘Baby Boomer’ pastors are retiring and only a very small number of pastoral ministry students are graduating. This reflects demographic change – fewer of the younger generations are practising the faith and offering themselves for vocational service. As church communities age, they find it difficult to finance a pastor. The Ministry Future project aims to help the church respond to these changes in ways that still let the word of the Lord flourish among us today, for it is the word of God that brings us Christ and all his benefits.

The difficulties facing the church are clear – a large number of pastoral vacancies, long periods in vacancy with frustration over the call process, communities struggling to afford a pastor even in the parish structure, large colleges unable to have a school pastor and more. Yet ministry needs and mission opportunities continue in the Lord’s harvest field. Each district has been responding as best it can, such as drawing on retired pastors and, in some cases, appropriately licensing lay people to undertake what would otherwise be tasks of an ordained pastor.

CoB tasked the Ministry Future project with developing: a regional rather than solely congregation or parish approach to organising pastoral ministry; suitable pathways into general and specialised service – both lay and ordained; and a regular way of ordering the service of lay people involved in word and/or sacrament ministry. This is in addition to the existing preparation and call of Specific Ministry Pastors (SMPs), who have a reduced level of training for particular/specific service by contrast with General Ministry Pastors (GMPs).

The project gathered data on the present situation and shaped broad proposals in response. Further consultation and collaborative response design will continue through 2023, with reporting to the 2024 General Convention.

Data was gathered from each of the LCANZ’s six districts on individual pastoral ministry positions. In all, details of 656 ministry positions across 352 organisations/faith communities, served by 583 individuals, were recorded as at early December 2022. There were 211 GMPs recorded in service, with 62 GMP vacancies – a vacancy rate of 23 per cent, clearly very high and increasing. Nineteen GMPs were serving across the districts other than congregation word and sacrament or schools, mostly in bishop or ministry support positions.

The data gathered reinforces the need and urgency of this project and informs some of the work to be done.

THE WAY AHEAD FOR CONGREGATIONS

So how does the church respond to this situation and even turn it into a creative opportunity in the Lord’s gospel mission?

One way is to multiply the ministry of pastors by working in teams across communities – so-called regionalisation. Regionalisation envisages a zone or region of congregations and parishes being served with word and sacrament ministry collectively, led by an overseeing GMP with the possibility of other GMPs or SMPs in the team as well. Each worshipping community will continue its own lay leadership and volunteer ministry roles, possibly supplemented by a local SMP or designated lay person with a pastoral leadership role.

Regionalisation also responds to the financial pressures faced by many parishes and the limits of feasible re-alignment and provides the opportunity for collective administration, worship support, ministry sharing and the like.

Local specialist ministries, such as school or aged-care chaplaincy, can be built into the plan, providing GMP oversight of lay ministries there. And new church planting can be parented within the region as well.

LifeWay Church in New South Wales, with the central hub in Epping, is perhaps the fullest expression of regionalisation in the LCANZ, with five locations across Sydney, Western Sydney, Newcastle, and Wollongong, served by a team of five pastors (not all full-time), including two SMPs, a Cambodian pastor, a lay church planter and multiple lay ministry coordinators.

Conversations between neighbouring congregations about closer cooperation are accelerating across the LCANZ, especially when pastoral vacancies occur. These conversations and the journey toward a regional approach are being facilitated by district bishops and mission directors.

While the shape of each region will depend on the local context, the Ministry Future project is working with district mission directors to develop a standard model as a resource.

There will be both challenges and opportunities in moving to a regional ministry approach, keeping in mind that the primary purpose is to let the word of the Lord flourish among us – and to enable this by the ministry of both pastors and lay alike.

Thank God that lay people are responding by taking up ministry service in many ways – service which needs affirmation, training and support. So, another response to our situation is to understand, appreciate and advance the service of lay and ordained alike with education and training to match – pathways into service and for service development.

Australian Lutheran College is actively responding to needs as they are identified, and offering a distributed learning approach, that is, using a combination of online and in-person teaching, so that people can learn in their own local ministry context.

The Ministry Future project hopes to record the diversity of ministry roles and training in an LCANZ ministry framework, so that people can see the opportunities for them and their community. Included in that is comprehensive training and development for much-needed General Ministry Pastors. We also thank God for the lay folk who serve under licence by their district bishop in ways usually reserved for pastors – mostly by conducting holy communion during a vacancy or sometimes in support of a pastor serving multiple distant locations.

The question now is how best to regularise or rearrange licensing – how to order it – for the ongoing life of the church. CoB has asked the Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations to contribute to this. Whatever is done needs the blessing of the whole church, to be transparent and supported, with good training and oversight.

THE NEXT PHASE

This project now moves to collaborative response design, working with leaders across the church, with accountability to CoB and reporting to the 2024 General Convention. We do this with the hope and prayer that the word of the Lord may flourish among us today.

So, please pray for this project as it seeks to support and develop our Lord’s ministry of word and sacrament among his people, and his mission to the world.

Read the full report at www.lca.org.au/ministryfuture
If you would like to provide feedback to Pastor Greg, you are welcome to do so by emailing your contribution to greg.pietsch@lca.org.au

83

Still seeking a shepherd

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by Lisa McIntosh

While David Preston says a long pastoral vacancy is ‘not something to be welcomed’ by a congregation, he knows it can bring the talents and commitment of its members to the fore.

David is the secretary of St Pauls Lutheran Church Wellington in New Zealand, which has been without a permanent ordained shepherd since Pastor Jim Pietsch left there in August 2022. However, as Pastor Jim was on sick leave before his departure, the congregation has essentially been without a pastor for almost a year.

‘During this period the lay members of the congregation have had to step up and cover the provision of services and other duties usually carried out by pastors’, David explains. ‘Fortunately, we have a number of members willing to act as lay worship leaders. A distinctive feature of this period has been the contribution of women as well as men as lay worship leaders, which has been well received by the congregation. We have also had services conducted by some visiting pastors.’ With lay-led worship, David says St Pauls usually splits the service into two main parts – the liturgy and sermon, with one person acting as liturgist, and the other reading the sermon.

For this, he says they have made ‘significant use’ of the LCANZ’s Worship Planning Page of sermons and other worship resources.

David himself is a lay worship leader and, with his wife Alison, hosts the congregation’s home group each Tuesday night and serves as a Sunday school teacher. His role as the secretary also involves dealing with congregational correspondence, minutes of meetings, facilities bookings and a range of other tasks.

Outside of the congregation, David is a member of the LCNZ Financial Advisory Committee and is the Lutheran representative on the NZ interdenominational InterChurch Bureau, dealing with legal and financial issues affecting all churches, such as the new laws and regulations on accounting, auditing, taxation, charities and insurance, and also other issues such as health and safety and abuse in care.

What do they say? ‘If you want something done, ask a busy person …’

However, David says, the effort put in to keep the worship life going at St Pauls is a team one.

‘Ministry work, including lay worship leadership, is spread amongst a number of people’, he says. ‘Several including myself are essentially retired, but others are working part-time or even full-time.’

Two St Pauls members have also been authorised by New Zealand Bishop Mark Whitfield to administer communion during services. ‘We have also been blessed by the continuing contribution of a number of talented musicians’, David adds.

Bishop Mark, who during his service as LCNZ Bishop has been based in Wellington, has also occasionally led worship at St Pauls.

While some LCANZ congregations which don’t have a pastor are no longer looking to call one full-time due to their financial limitations, St Pauls is seeking to call a pastor but so far has found this difficult.

David says given the significant number of vacant parishes across the church, Wellington has employed a multi-faceted strategy for its search. ‘Initially, Bishop Mark put out a request to all LCA pastors for expressions of interest about receiving a call from us. This produced zero response’, David says. ‘The second approach was for Bishop Mark to personally contact several identified pastors and ask them if they were open to a call. Again, there were no positive responses, at least in terms of their current situation. This has left us somewhat unsure about what to do next. However, Bishop Mark is continuing to approach other individuals to see what might be possible. In the interim, we are also actively seeking to obtain the services of locum pastors.’

St Pauls has faced a significant decline in worship attendance in recent times, which David believes is partly due to the ongoing impact of the COVID pandemic. The most recent membership count for the New Zealand capital congregation listed 70 baptised members of whom 68 were confirmed – down from 103 in 2019. Weekly attendance there fluctuates and currently is usually between 30 and 40 people.

‘In Wellington, we have traditionally had a flow-through of people arriving and leaving the city’, David says. ‘Since COVID the movement has been almost entirely outward. This has been made more extreme by local families with children moving out of the city because of the very high housing costs here. This has shrunk the Sunday school to a residual level.’

However, on a positive note, he says a new youth group mainly for teenagers has started up at St Pauls and the congregation’s home group is functioning well with increased attendance.

With fewer people attending the church regularly, David says they are also short on filling some positions, such as the role of chairperson and elders, the latter of which has limited the level of pastoral care. But, again, lay people have been playing their part, he says. ‘To fill part of the gap, a number of members have privately stepped up visiting. And, as we were unable to fill the role of chairperson at our recent AGM, the chairmanship operates on a revolving basis at each of our ministry council meetings.’

Despite their lower numbers at worship, the congregation’s finances are ‘holding up fairly well’, as giving has dropped less than attendance, says David, a former economist who worked in policy advice and management in NZ government departments and the International Monetary Fund. The lack of a pastor at St Pauls also means that the church has been able to rent out its manse, which provides a welcome income stream.

‘A long pastoral vacancy is not something to be welcomed, but it has made a number of members step up in terms of their support for keeping our services and activities going’, David says.

‘I suppose one lesson of this situation is that the Lutheran Church has not in the past done sufficient to equip its members for lay ministry and evangelism outreach. The resources on the LCA website are a big help, but more needs to be done. The greatest challenges are to try and cover as much of the work that a pastor would do and find ways to reach out with the message of Christ to others.’

After all, that’s the most important function of any church – with or without a pastor – sharing the gospel.

84

From burnout to blessing

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From grief to joy, burnout to blessings – church members serving their congregations in times of pastoral vacancy can go through the full gamut of states and emotions. We spoke to Sabine Haeusler and Adam Morris about the surprising ways God can meet our needs, provided we’re open to his guidance.

When it comes to the pastoral shortage in the LCANZ and the church’s ability to survive and thrive in spite of it, Sabine Haeusler is optimistic – but conditionally so.

‘I’m optimistic as long as we concentrate on our mission – which is getting the gospel out there – then we’ll be doing our job as members of the church and as faithful Christians’, says Sabine, from Outer Eastern Lutheran Church in Melbourne’s outskirts, and the chair of the Victorian District’s Council for Ministry Support. ‘But if we are just looking to support ourselves and our congregations and looking inward, then I’m not confident, I’m not optimistic. We need to concentrate on getting the gospel out and the other things will flow from that.’

When Pastor Tom Peitsch retired in 2020, Sabine, who was then Outer Eastern chairperson, wasn’t sure when or even if the congregation would have another pastor. It was during the first year of COVID and churches were unable to open for worship, let alone consider calling a new pastor.

‘It was a matter of looking at ourselves and asking whether we could actually afford to call another pastor’, Sabine says. ‘And whether that was the sort of call someone would want to accept – to a very small congregation where not much was happening.

‘We were an older congregation with not many families with children. And a lot of those families decided to go somewhere where their children would get more out of it, which was understandable. But we kept going. And when we reopened, it was just small numbers.’

Formerly worshipping at both Immanuel Lilydale and Luther College in Croydon about 10 kilometres to the west, the congregation decided to revert to just one site – Lilydale. Members also started looking at how they were going to survive without a pastor. ‘We’d already started this work when we knew Pastor Tom was retiring’, Sabine says. ‘We worked out how to run the congregation, who would look after pastoral care. So, we were ready for his vacancy. But then COVID hit, and we were locked down. We were able to have Zoom meeting services but having COVID and the vacancy together just really hit us badly.’

After reopening, they had lay readers in place and a staff member to take care of administrative duties and some pastoral care. But when that person resigned, they advertised the position unsuccessfully. It led to a re-think of their priorities.

It also led to an unexpected blessing, as members stepped up to fill the needs. ‘We then got volunteers in to do things – volunteers to organise the services, volunteers to do the weekly newsletter, all those sorts of things’, Sabine says. ‘Pastoral care was seen as a big issue. However, a core group were already attending worship, engaged on rosters and/or attending Bible study, Shedmen or other congregation activities. Pastoral care was already going on simply in what one person identified as their “trust group”. What a blessing!’

But what came next for the congregation in December 2021 was a truly unexpected joy. ‘We’d written to the District inquiring about our alternatives’, Sabine says. ‘Could we employ a pastoral care worker rather than a pastor? Could we have a lay person licensed for word and sacrament ministry? And then comes the blessing that one of our members said he felt called to serve our congregation in that sort of role!’

That member was Ed Blow, who about four years earlier had joined the Lutheran Church through his family contact with Lutheran schools in Melbourne. Originally a Catholic, he had studied for the priesthood about 40 years prior. ‘We were absolutely over the moon to have someone to apply to be licensed and willing to take that role’, Sabine says. ‘The proposal went to church council and then to the congregation to see whether they would be willing to go down that path. And it was met with joy.’

After an approach to District Bishop Lester Priebbenow, Ed completed the requirements and was licensed and installed into word and sacrament ministry in 2022. He is currently part of the LCANZ’s Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) program and is mentored by Pastor Tom. As well as conducting at least two services each month at Lilydale, Ed also leads worship once a month for the Doncaster-Ivanhoe congregation, which continues an agreement between the two churches that started during Pastor Tom’s tenure.

As Ed is 70, Sabine says Outer Eastern is also preparing for the time when he retires and staying open to how God will lead them into their next season of ministry among their members and mission within their community. ‘On Easter Sunday, OELC celebrated God’s renewal of the congregation as being different from that of the past – from a pastor-centric model to a volunteer lay-led model’, Sabine says. ‘To God be the glory.’

Just beginning a new season of vocation and ministry, church worker Adam Morris knows only too well what being without the leadership of a pastor can do to the morale of a congregation. And he’s experienced the worst and the best effects as both a regular member and a serving lay worker.

Now the Australian Lutheran College (ALC) training support officer and theology and ministry student feels called to further support congregations without an ordained leader by serving as a lay worker at two churches.

‘Vacancies are hard because it always feels like a church goes into caretaker mode’, says Adam, who is a member at Our Saviour Aberfoyle Park in Adelaide’s south. ‘And my journey through that has been to ask, “How do you still keep the church engaged and functioning?” In a time of more and more vacancies, we need to make sure we don’t do less and less, while simply waiting for the time when the next pastor comes.

‘I’m fortunate enough to be able to ask, as a church worker, how do I support the congregation? I’m here with a skill set I’ve gained. But I also want to do that in a way that honours the Lutheran Church.’

Aberfoyle Park’s current year-long vacancy is Adam’s third experience of being at a congregation without a full-time pastor.

His first was at Immanuel Woden Valley in the Australian Capital Territory, where he served as a lay worker for nine years from 2005, in the areas of worship coordination and youth, family and small groups ministry. The two-year pastoral vacancy there was tough. ‘That was a really hard, long vacancy, which as a church worker put me over the edge’, he says. ‘I suffered burnout.’

During Adam’s next lay worker role at St Johns Unley in Adelaide’s inner south, the congregation had a part-time pastor, but its lead pastor position was vacant for 12 months of the three years he served as Congregational Life Adult Education Director there until 2016.

He has since been a Church Worker Support Officer in the LCANZ’s Churchwide Office for five years and has been at ALC since October last year. In both these latter roles, Adam has been able to walk alongside church members dealing with the challenges of pastoral vacancies.

Thankfully, he says, things have changed a lot since his experience in Canberra. ‘The LCA provides a lot more resources to support lay people’, Adam says. ‘There are really good worship resources, there are videos online and lay preacher training and resources. The church leadership now recognises the skill sets of lay readers, for example.’

Since the SMP program began in the LCANZ, the role has been almost exclusively filled by a member of the local worshipping community, who is ordained to serve specifically in that context. What makes Adam’s case unique is that not only has Aberfoyle Park applied for him to be accepted into the SMP program, but Mawson Lakes Community Church congregation in Adelaide’s northern suburbs is considering making a joint application for his admission to the program. In fact, it was Mawson Lakes’ call for expressions of interest in an SMP role there early this year that started Adam’s journey on this path.

He believes the time may be right and that he may be the right person for God to use in this unusual collaboration between two churches located approximately 40 kilometres apart. ‘There’s been a shift and COVID has allowed churches to be more open to sharing resources and more open to doing things differently’, he says. ‘The landscape feels appropriate for this innovative way of not only dealing with the vacancy question but also the way we train and equip appropriate lay people.

‘How do we equip our ministries and continue going? It’s like you are saying to people in vacancy, “We need to take responsibility”.’

85

Time with God June–July 2023

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Resources for your time with God

Introduced during a time of COVID-related church closures and restrictions, our devotional pages under the Church@home banner have been very popular with many readers. But spending time with God throughout the week isn’t only a blessing when we can’t get to church on a Sunday. It’s an important boost for our faith every week. Therefore, you’ll continue to find support for your devotional life on these pages – and the LCANZ has plenty of other resources which we’ll highlight for your information, too.

– Lisa

DEVOTIONS

Encouraging those who labour among us by Craig Heidenreich

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you (Hebrews 13:17).

Read Hebrews 13:17–25.

Who would choose to be a leader when, so often, the outcome is ‘groaning’? It’s not easy being a leader – in fact, anyone who seeks leadership (for its own sake) probably needs their head read.

People are so different that almost any decision a leader makes will displease someone. True leadership is not a popularity contest – it is a calling to serve.

The concept of obedience and submission to other humans is less accepted today, but one way we can show a supportive attitude is to affirm our leaders.

So, who are these leaders?

When reading a verse like this, we would usually think of our pastors, as they are obvious, visible leaders, but there are various leadership roles that are important for a congregation to function well. Let’s encourage all our leaders.

One of the spiritual gifts mentioned in Romans 12:8 is the gift of encouragement, and we know that encouragement goes a long way. Our determination to be encouraging also keeps the ‘accuser of the brethren’ at bay (Revelation 12:10).

I was once sitting in a church service (just as a congregation member), and as the meeting ended and announcements were about to happen, I suddenly had a ‘prompting’ to go to the front and publicly thank the pastor for his ministry. It felt a bit risky, but the congregation got my drift and spontaneously joined in affirming the pastor (who was obviously very moved).

He later told me privately, ‘In my years of ministry, no-one has ever affirmed me publicly’.

It’s tough being a leader!

Let’s encourage our leaders so there is less ‘groaning’ and more ‘rejoicing’ among us.

Thank you, Lord, for gifting your body with key leaders who ‘keep watch’ for our welfare. Strengthen them today and bless them in their work. Forgive me, Lord, for times I criticise rather than bless – and show me how I can encourage those around me. Help me to see the moment in every day. Amen.

Sacrificial faith by Libby Krahling

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God (Hebrews 13:16).

Read Hebrews 13:1–16.

Hebrews reminds us that life is like a race.

We have the ‘great cloud of witnesses’ cheering us on from the sidelines, with the Holy Spirit as our coach. Submitting to the Father’s discipline is like training for the race; the more we endure, the more we are strengthened and prepared for greater challenges. We can focus on the ‘finish line’, our eyes fixed on Christ, because we are assured of God’s grace.

As a natural outpouring of Christ-like faith, in this passage we are exhorted to live Godly lives, in which we emulate Jesus’ sacrificial love for us in the way we deal with the world around us. Echoing Jesus’ words in Matthew 25, we are to show hospitality to the stranger and care for those in prison, sacrificing our comfort and possessions for the welfare of others. We should live in accordance with the commandments, keeping our marriage vows and being content with the blessings we have received from God, rather than coveting new partners or more money and possessions. Our sacrifice is letting go of our wants and desires and trusting that God has given us everything we need.

Sometimes, we might be tempted to fill our emptiness with ‘strange teachings’. Hebrews reminds us again to look to the example of faithful people before us, both the heroes of old and those who taught us the faith. Looking at their lives, we can remind ourselves again that ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever’. Good models of faith show us that true faith fixes its eyes on Jesus, trusts that God will provide and is able to withstand all kinds of trials for the ‘greater reward’.

When we consider everything that God has done for us, it is almost overwhelming. He gave his only Son to die for us. He sees all our dirt, all our shame, and still loves us, and calls us to join him in his banqueting hall. What can we do in response?

‘Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.’

Loving Lord, we thank and praise you for your constant love and presence in our lives. Help us to love each other as you have loved us, ready to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of your kingdom. Amen.

To receive the LCA daily devotion each morning in your inbox, go to www.lca.org.au/communications/enews and select Daily Devotions from the Churchwide list after entering your email address. These can also be printed off from the LCA website at www.lca.org.au/daily-devotion

LECTIONARY READINGS

Week Sunday readings
4–10 JUNE Genesis 6:9–22; 7:24; 8:14–19 Psalm 46 Romans 1:16,17; 3:22b–28 (29–31) Matthew 7:21–29
11–17 JUNE Genesis 12:1–9 Psalm 33:1–12 Romans 4:13–25 Matthew 9:9–13, 18–26
18–24 JUNE Genesis 18:1–15 (21:1–7) Psalm 116:1,2,12–19 Romans 5:1–8 Matthew 9:35–10:8 (9–23)
25 JUN–1 JUL Genesis 21:8–21 Psalm 86:1–10,16,17 Romans 6:1b–11 Matthew 10:24–39
2–8 JULY Genesis 22:1–14 Psalm 13 Romans 6:12–23 Matthew 10:40–42
9–15 JULY Genesis 24:34–38,42–49,

58–67

 Psalm 45:10–17 Romans 7:15–25a Matthew 11:16–19,25–30
16–22 JULY Genesis 25:19–34 Psalm 119:105–112 Romans 8:1–11 Matthew 13:1–9,18–23
23–29 JULY Genesis 28:10–19a Psalm 139:1–12,23,24 Romans 8:12–25 Matthew 13:24–30,36–43
30 JUL–5 AUG Genesis 29:15–28 Psalm 105:1–11 Romans 8:26–39 Matthew 13:31–33,44–52

For more prayer and devotional resources, including a listing of daily Bible readings for each day of the church year, go to www.lca.org.au/wpp/prayers-devotions 

Lutheran Tract Mission also provides the readings in a booklet, which can be accessed electronically at www.ltm.org.au/tract/view/70579-daily-bible-readings-for-2023 or as a printed booklet through the LTM office (phone 08 8360 7222) for a donation of 20c per copy.  

PRAYER POINTS

4–10 June: The LCA’s Qld District, which has met for its annual Convention of Synod on 2-4 June

11–17 June: Synod delegates and organisers of the Lutheran Church of NZ’s Convention held on 9-11 June

18–24 June: People displaced by war, persecution or famine on World Refugee Day (20 June)

25 Jun–1 July: Torres Strait Islander peoples, for Coming of the Light, marking the 19th-century adoption of Christianity in island communities (1 July)

2–8 July: Australian First Nations peoples during NAIDOC Week, which Recognises First Nations History and culture

9–15 July: Those who serve on the LCANZ’s commissions on worship, social and bioethical questions, and theology and inter-church relations

16–22 July: All who work to support justice and advocate for victims’ rights on International Justice Day (17 July)

23–29 July: The Lutheran Nurse of the Year for 2023, Sharon Berridge, and all who serve as nurses in a range of settings

30 July–5 August: People who are considering studying at Australian Lutheran College, with the hope of serving the LCANZ in some capacity

86

Lay training helps fill ministry need

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Since its launch in 2021, Lay Preacher Training from Australian Lutheran College (ALC) has drawn more than 25 enrolments from all districts and countries of the LCANZ.

Commissioned by the LCANZ’s College of Bishops, this training is one way to support congregations in a time of pastoral vacancy and is available to both current and future congregational lay preachers. The Lay Preacher Training course is designed as self-paced training in which an individual works through the content within ALC’s iLearn platform, and with the support of a mentor pastor.

Within iLearn, the individual journeys through five content modules that help to lay a solid foundation for learning to prepare and deliver a sermon. The content of the Lay Preacher Training mirrors what pastoral students learn within the ‘Preaching the Word’ unit at ALC. This provides coherency and consistency between the pastoral office and the service of lay preachers.

PREPARING CANDIDATES

After completing the modules, the individual then writes and preaches sermons under the supervision of their mentor pastor. Each time a sermon has been preached, the individual goes through a process of gaining feedback and conducting self-reflection, as well as then applying any changes to content and delivery style before preaching another sermon.

To complete the Lay Preacher Training, an individual submits a portfolio of evidence that shows how their sermons have been prepared, proof of sermons that have been preached and a feedback report from their mentor pastor.

Doing the Lay Preacher Training does not immediately qualify an individual to be appointed as a lay preacher. Appointment can only be made by the District Bishop after they have engaged in discussions with the individual candidate and their congregation and mentor pastor and reviewed the portfolio of evidence. An appointment as a lay preacher is only valid for 12 months at a time.

HOW TO REGISTER

To find out more and to register for the training, visit
https://alc.edu.au/training/professional-development/lpt-enrolment/ or email training@alc.edu.au

87

Support for worship life

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The LCANZ provides a variety of resources for congregations to use when they don’t have a pastor, including the Worship Planning Page (www.lca.org.au/worship/wpp). There also are videoed sermons to download and online worship services available through Lutheran Media (https://lutheranmedia.org.au/worship-life/). Some congregations also use the interview and discussion videos, podcasts, scripts and booklets from Messages of Hope in their worship services, small groups and mission efforts when in pastoral vacancy, says Lutheran Media Director Richard Fox. Discover these and much more at www.messagesofhope.org.au

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Listening to the Spirit’s prompting

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Have you ever had a feeling you should call or visit someone? Then, when you respond to that feeling and it works out that it was precisely the time that person needed you. I have come to learn that this is the Holy Spirit prompting me to listen and respond to that feeling.

Since the time of lockdowns and isolation for so many, I have tried to respond to that prompting and allow the Holy Spirit to guide and lead me to help those in need.

What would happen if each of us made this a priority to listen to the ‘still, small voice’? I imagine that a lot of God’s work would get done through his faithful people.

Christian young people I have spoken to seem very tuned in to the Holy Spirit and his leading. As we get older, I feel that maybe our ears aren’t quite as tuned in to listening to the Spirit’s guiding, rather feeling that they have already done their work and that it’s now someone else’s job. We are all God’s workers and disciples – whatever age or stage of life – and we can all grow in our listening for that prompting. I encourage you to continue to lead a life of learning, listening and growing to know what it is we are to do to spread God’s kingdom here on earth.

CHANCE TO OFFER MEANING

Lutheran Tract Mission (LTM) has many resources for just this ministry – for you to share and perhaps give to someone seeking and searching for meaning in this confusing life.

Pick up one for yourself and one for a friend or neighbour. As it says in Matthew 28:19, ‘Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples’ (GNT). Listen to the Spirit’s prompting – maybe he is calling you to be an apostle or pastor to help teach others.

Look at the LTM website to find what you need for your ministry: www.ltm.org.au

SHARE YOUR STORIES AND INSPIRE OTHERS

Please share stories with me of how tracts from Lutheran Tract Mission have spoken and reached you and others in your community.

Give others new ideas as to how to use tracts in sharing God’s love! Keep your ears open – there may be a need only you can fill!

Anne Hansen, Lutheran Tract Mission Development Officer

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Sending love to Somalia

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Creative, colourful and a little crazy, our Lutheran family is …

Sending love to Somalia

From baking and brightly decorating spectacular cakes to donning and displaying crazily patterned socks, from staging yabby and cockroach races to serving up steaming hot bowls of porridge with all the trimmings, members of our LCANZ have been getting creative to support children in drought and famine-hit Somalia to go to school – and have a full tummy.

THE ICING ON THE CAKE

While they weren’t competing in a TV baking contest or devising a dessert recipe for a grand occasion like the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, students from Cornerstone College at Mount Barker in the Adelaide Hills nonetheless gave a right royal performance in the kitchen recently. Most importantly, the effort put in to make 52 stunning sweet creations was not just about winning the college’s seventh annual bake-off competition, this year it was also a way of supporting the work of Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS) and its partners in Somalia. Somalia is in the grip of harsh drought and resulting famine and ALWS has secured an 18:1 matching grant from church partners in Europe and the US, which means that for every $10 donated, a child’s education is supported for a year.

Cornerstone Wellbeing Director and ALWS Board member Morgan Brookes said the school community was excited to have raised $2217 through cake sales, which will support 220 Somali children at school. ‘We are always incredibly heartened by the commitment that Cornerstone College students show on days like this’, Morgan says. ‘Not only do they step up and produce wonderful and inventive items to share, but they also take part, wholeheartedly, in selling and/or buying every single slice of cake to raise funds to help those in need.’

GO CRAZY AND PUT A SOCK ON IT!

Naomi Kotzur, a teacher from St John’s Lutheran School Kingaroy in Queensland, says students from her school community have put their best foot (or feet) forward for children in Somalia. The school encouraged students to wear their ‘craziest’ socks and bring a gold coin donation to send love and care to Somalia.

They were hoping to contribute $1 per student or $521 toward the cause, which with the matching grant would mean a total donation of more than $9,000 – or support for 48 children.

Along with money raised through its participation in the Queensland recycling scheme Containers for Change, St John’s donated $1180 after its Crazy Sock Day – enough to support 118 children at school in Somalia. Naomi says the school was also looking forward to being involved in its first Walk My Way last month, as part of efforts to look beyond their own community and think of others. ‘Kids are not too young to have a positive impact on someone else’s life’, Naomi says. ‘As a teacher, I have the perfect opportunity to inspire children – I don’t want to waste it.’

SOWING THE SEEDS FOR CHANGE

The Barossa North Lutheran Parish from South Australia have also been quick off the mark lending their support to children in Somalia in creative ways.

Along with the annual parish Blessing of the Seed, Soil and Water service led by Pastor Mathew Ker in late April, about 150 members and 20 children enjoyed fantastic fun and fellowship, including yabby and cockroach races, a billy boiling competition and a community lunch.

Held outside a century-old shearing shed near Truro, the event made a real connection to the land and elements for those who attended, ALWS Community Action Manager Jonathan Krause says. ‘This, in turn, connected us to Somalia where families also depend on the land – raising sheep and cattle and growing sorghum’, Jonathan says. ‘The parish congregations have donated more than $2200 to ALWS – enough to support 220 children to go to school for a year, plus have a daily school meal of porridge!’

THAT IS HOW YOU MAKE PORRIDGE

When ALWS Board members and staff met in Albury, New South Wales, earlier this year to mark 75 years since the Lutheran Church’s ministry to refugees in Australia began, there was no grand party to celebrate the milestone. Instead, they shared bowls of porridge for breakfast, followed by a thanksgiving service!

The porridge was made to the same recipe used by ALWS’ international partners to feed children threatened by famine in Somalia. Instead of payment, staff and guests donated to ALWS’ 18:1 Matching Grant, with every $10 funding a year’s education (including a daily meal of porridge) for a child in Somalia.

Renowned community leader the Reverend Tim Costello (below left) was the guest speaker for the gathering and keenly joined the breakfast. The leader of the Help Fight Famine campaign through interdenominational advocacy group Micah Australia, Rev Tim reflected on Jeremiah 29 and ALWS’ commitment to global justice in his message. He also encouraged those gathered to continue to serve as God’s hands and feet wherever they are placed.

The thanksgiving service was held at ALWS’ head office in Albury, not far from the Bonegilla Resettlement Centre where thousands of European Lutheran refugees were temporarily housed after World War II. Pastoral support provided to Lutheran refugees 75 years ago by local Lutheran Pastor Bruno Muetzelfeldt began the Lutheran Church’s ministry to refugees – and was the forerunner to the establishment of what became the LCA’s overseas aid and development agency – ALWS.

Why not hold your own ‘Power Porridge Party’ and support children at risk due to the famine in the Horn of Africa? For more information, go to the ALWS website at www.alws.org.au or call 1300 763 407. Each $10 donated will support a child in Somalia at school for a year with a daily meal of porridge, a school uniform, a desk, renovated classrooms, facilities and assistive devices for children with special needs, training for teachers and dignity kits for girls.

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Serving the maker of heaven and earth

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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 LCANZ, 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.

by Helen Brinkman

Being good with numbers has been a blessing for the man believed to be the LCANZ’s longest-serving congregational treasurer, Glen Kraft.

The 74-year-old member of Burnie congregation on the north-west coast of Tasmania has spent the past 50 years as treasurer of his home congregation and is still going strong.

Glen is comfortable sticking with numbers: ‘I’m not one who can go out and witness. God gave me a gift of numbers so I can thank him for that. Doing that, I can give something back to the Lord.’

Glen was only 24 years old, and fresh off the mainland when he became treasurer in May 1973. He had moved to Burnie in 1971 from South Australia’s Barossa Valley.

His first job out of university was working as an industrial chemist in a local paper mill. He said he’d probably stay for four to five years when he was interviewed for the role. Fifty-two years later he’s still here, ‘and I’ll probably die here’, he says.

‘Part of the reason I looked for a job in Tasmania was because I didn’t really like the hot climate in South Australia’, he says. ‘While at uni I did some internships, one in Tasmania, and the other in Dampier, northern Western Australia – with temperatures as high as 50 degrees – and I was counting down the hours until I finished. It sort of pushed me to Tasmania.’

Growing up in the small Barossa town of Stockwell, Glen didn’t like the big city, so he was quite happy moving to Burnie with its population of about 20,000 people.

And of course, Glen liked the cold! So much in fact that he decided to try snow skiing. While he admits he wasn’t very good to start with, his persistence paid off. By 1979 Glen had his first winter holiday in the ski fields of New Zealand.

‘When it is -5 degrees on a sunny day, it’s lovely’, he says.

Glen has never looked back, skiing at many of the world’s major ski fields until about 20 years ago when he decided the Canadian snow resorts were his favourite – and they became his go-to destination until COVID hit. Aside from his ability to work with numbers, skiing has given Glen another blessing – access to some of the best mountain views in the world.

‘Picture a clear blue day, with such crisp clean air and the sun shining on white snow so it just gleams’, he shares. ‘The snow just hides all the scars in the earth, and for me, that has absolute beauty.’

It reminds Glen of his favourite worship song, Robin Mann’s ‘How shall I call you?’, with the lyrics ‘How shall I call you? Maker of heaven, poet of sunset and painter of sky’ (song number 43 from the All Together Now songbook).

‘When I am standing on the top of mountains and looking down at mountain peaks covered in snow, that song used to buzz around in my mind’, Glen says. ‘Everything is crisp, clean and beautiful – and you think God’s created all this, and he looks down and everything’s perfect.’

Fast forward to 2023, and Glen is hoping to plan his next ski trip to Canada in 2024. ‘That may be the last, as age is catching up with me’, he says.

But Glen is keeping fit as a fiddle for skiing by walking kilometres each day up and down the hills between his home and the Burnie church manse. This is because he’s not only the congregational treasurer but is also looking after the manse while the parish awaits a new pastor.

Oh, and he’s also treasurer of the North Tasmania Lutheran Parish, which includes the congregations of Devonport and Launceston, as well as Burnie. His maintenance and information technology skills have also been put to good use developing the weekly service orders, PowerPoint presentations and service arrangements for the three congregations.

As for his treasurer’s duties, Glen has noticed the changes in the role over the decades.

‘It’s certainly become more complicated over time’, he says. ‘These days you need to do a lot of reporting. Compliance is important.’

While he serves the parish in multiple capacities, Glen believes keeping the congregations functioning well, especially during pastoral vacancy, is a team effort. ‘I am just one of the people helping to keep the church working’, he says.

When it comes to serving, Glen’s advice is to seek God’s guidance: ‘You just need to pray. If people are really motivated to serve, God will lead them to find what suits whatever they can do. ‘There’s lots of little ways they can help. Anyone can push a mower around, as long as you enjoy doing that. God’s given everyone different gifts. Without those little jobs, the church couldn’t exist.’

And the final verse of his go-to Robin Mann’s song reminds us all of God’s faithfulness: ‘How shall I call you? Master and servant, lord of the seasons and lord of the years; faithful and constant in loving and mercy, giver of laughter and taker of tears.’

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