Meet Pastor Philip Wilyuka
Pastor Frank Turner at Camel Camp
Pastor Philip Wilyuka and his wife Marcia Alice Where is your congregation? Titjikala, approx 100km south of Alice Springs. Tell us about your family. I have a wife, Marcia and two sons. One’s in his mid-30s and the other works at the Maryvale school. We have some pets. I have about 5 dogs and a pig. What is your favourite AFL team? Hawks always! Do you have anything to do with your local football team? Yeah, I used to manage and coach the Titjikala Hawks, but now I’ve given it over to the young blokes. I still manage and organize football carnivals. Where were you born? In Maryvale (Titjikala). I grew up there and still live there! What languages do you speak? Yankunytjara, Pitjanytjara, Eastern and Western Arrarnta and English. Tell me about your schooling? I went to Maryvale School, then to Kormilda College (Darwin) in Year 7. I finished Secondary school at Anzac High in Alice Springs. When did you become a Pastor? I started as an evangelist in the 1980s and was ordained in 2008. What’s the best thing about being a Pastor? My Dad was a Pastor and I’m following in his footsteps.
Tara Community
Pastor Frank Turner at Rocket Range
Altars in the Desert By Pastor Ray Morris
Lutherans believe that worship isn’t so much about what we do, but about what God does for us. We simply respond in prayer and praise to the God who comes down to our level. The focus in Lutheran worship is not on how we feel but on how God comes to us. We believe that worship is a treasure because it is as close as we get to heaven on earth, because God is there, forgiving, speaking, listening and feeding us getting us ready to worship him in the world: with the gift of our lives.
In central Australia this theology continues to be taught and put into practice.
So the public gathering of God’s people in Christ’s presence around his word and his special gifts of baptism, absolution (forgiveness of sin) and holy communion, is all about God serving us.
Many of the northern Lutheran communities, supported by Finke River Mission, worship in the open spaces of God’s creation. There is still a great respect for the importance of the altar even though it may take different shapes and forms!!
Lutheran worship has a distinctive shape which speaks of the God who is with us at our human level serving us. God comes to us in a way that we can hear, see and taste. In his amazing grace, God initiates worship. He gathers us, forgives us, speaks to us, listens to us and sends us out renewed.
The important thing about an altar is that it is the place where the Lord’s Supper is prepared and from where it distributed. It is also the place where prayers are offered to God.
Lutheran worship in central Australia may not have stained glass windows, heated pews and marble altars. It may have dogs, dust, flies and improvised altars, but God is still the centre of worship!
“Worship is at the heart of the church’s life.
Pastor Frank Turner at Arlparra
It’s here that God serves his people through his holy word and sacraments, and empowers them to participate in mission to his world.”
What’s the worst thing about being a Pastor? It puts a lot of weight on me. Many responsibilities. People look at me, I think about temptation and other things happening. What other work are you doing at the moment? I’m supervisor for a Remote Jobs Community Project run by Catholic Care. What are some jobs you’ve done in the past? I was a teacher’s assistant at Maryvale School; worked for the Santa Teresa Progress Association in housing; and was a stockman for many years on Maryvale Station and other stations around the place. What is your favourite bible verse?
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Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
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