The Lutheran August-September 2023 Digital Edition

EDITORIAL

Editor Lisa McIntosh

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e lisa.mcintosh@lca.org.au

Executive Editor Linda Macqueen

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LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA

The Lutheran informs the members of the LCANZ about the church’s teaching, life, mission and people, helping them to grow in faith and commitment to Jesus Christ. The Lutheran also provides a forum for a range of opinions, which do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or the policies of the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand.

Lapping up a great read

Cavoodle Jimmy jumped into prime reading position when ‘Grandma’ Janine Uebergang came to visit his family, including Janine’s son Brett, in Melbourne recently. Janine is a member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Warrnambool in Victoria, where her connection to her church is an important part of her social and spiritual life. Janine’s daughter-in-law Sharon Campbell took the photo.

People like YOU bring love to life

Bethlehem Lutheran Church Adelaide SA

Information Management Team Leader/Committee of Lutheran Archives member

Most treasured Bible text: Matthew 6:25–34

‘Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’

Ev Leske

Langmeil Thanksgiving Lutheran Church Tanunda SA

Retired teacher and volunteer at Lutheran Archives

Most treasured Bible text: Psalm 133:1

‘How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity.’

Larissa Paynter

The Ark, Salisbury SA

Lutheran Education SA-NT and WA Executive Assistant/ Committee of Lutheran Archives member

Most treasured Bible text: Psalm 23

‘He makes me lie down in green pastures ... he refreshes my soul ... Surely your goodness and love will follow me all my life.’

Let

Paula Heinrich

I have what could be considered in some circles a shameful secret. Church meetings that start with long prayers and devotions make me fidgety and impatient – frustrated even.

Probably like yours, my life is extremely busy, and my spare time is limited. I feel much more comfortable when agenda items are ticked off quickly and action is the name of the game. Why take three or more hours to achieve what could have been done in 60 to 90 minutes?

I still believe that but, after editing the beautiful stories, testimonies and devotional resources in this edition, I was reminded of something critical: Prayer always comes first. Before we decide. Before we act. Even when the need is urgent – like sharing the hope of the gospel with those who don’t yet know Jesus.

As Pastor Nathan Hedt writes on page 5: ‘I’m convinced that the first step in vibrant, joyful mission is learning from what Jesus said in Luke 10:2. Mission doesn’t begin in action … The praying precedes the going. The command (and invitation) to pray precedes the command and invitation to go. Prayer is a vital foundation for mission.’

Pausing to pray – even momentarily – is the best antidote to impatience. It is the best insurance that our next act will be what Jesus would do. And prayer is a really good investment of time before we speak (or write) too, especially in difficult, urgent or vexed situations. These prayers don’t need to be long; they don’t need to be complex. Just ‘Show me your will, God’ or ‘God, help me’ surrenders us into his loving hands, expresses our reliance on God, pushes down our pride and can soothe our anxieties.

I always need to pray before, during and after writing these editorials, that God will give me words to encourage and build up you, our readers, and, perhaps, challenge each of us a little, too. This edition we are focused on the LCANZ’s Season of Prayer, which may seem strange as we’ve already established that every season is a season of prayer. But this particular two-week, three-Sunday observation scheduled in September is designed to hone and unite our churchwide prayer efforts. It is prayer with an intentional, coordinated, concerted quality about it and a theme of mission, church renewal and church planting. So, among the many resources you’ll always find in The Lutheran, there are those to support your participation in this year’s Season of Prayer observation.

As well as our regular columns, news and views, too, our print subscribers receive a copy of Border Crossings, which shares more exciting and enlightening stories about LCA International Mission’s work with our overseas partners. (Digital subscribers can head to www.lca.org.au/international-mission to access a digital copy under the Resources tab.)

May God bless your reading – and your praying!

PS – We apologise that some subscriber invoices have been delayed and have been working hard to remedy the issues causing this. Thank you for your patience and support.

Our cover: iStock.com.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following pages may contain images of people who have died.

Because we bear your name

At the beginning of this century, I was called to serve as pastor for the people of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in the rural Queensland city of Toowoomba. This congregation of our Lutheran Church was a place full of passion for the mission of God. The congregation’s ministries included an outreach kids club for local families. The congregation supported Concordia Lutheran Primary and Salem Lutheran Aged Care.

Good Shepherd also had all your standard Lutheran congregational things such as Sunday school, confirmation, women’s guild, fellowship groups, a parish worker, youth group, ‘shut-in’ ministry and support for the wider church. When I arrived in 2001, Good Shepherd had grown to be one of the largest congregations in our church in Queensland.

I share this with you to point to a key part of the congregation’s history. Less than 50 years before I arrived as pastor, under the ministry of Pastor A H Koehler, Good Shepherd had been started as a church plant in what was originally an industrial transport hall in the growing southwest part of Toowoomba. With the opening service in 1964 with sermons from pastors K Marquart and N Habel, this new church was ‘planted’ by its neighbouring congregation, Redeemer.

Our history in the LCANZ is a history of church planting. From Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Hermannsburg Northern Territory to St Martins in Marton, New Zealand; from St John’s in Hopevale, Queensland, to Hope in Geraldton, Western Australia, to St Andrews in Nightcliff NT and St Peters Hobart in Tasmania, we Lutherans have been busily church planting for generations.

This is our heritage because this is our Lord’s command and promise. When we learn Martin Luther’s catechism, we are given Matthew 28 to memorise. ‘Go to all nations’, commands our Lord Jesus. ‘I will be with you always!’, he promises.

In June this year, I was privileged to be the guest preacher for the 150th anniversary of Trinity Lutheran congregation, just outside of Appila in South Australia’s Mid North. Their Scripture reading for the Sunday service was Matthew 28. This was most fitting for the occasion. For 150 years this congregation has had an extraordinary impact on the life of our Lutheran Church,

BISHOP PAUL’S LETTER

REV PAUL SMITH Bishop, Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand

especially in the formation of many church workers who have served at home and abroad.

It is significant that the text of Matthew 28 tells of the risen Lord sending ‘doubters’. Verse 17 reads, ‘When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted’. But our Lord does not divide the disciples into the ‘doubters’ and ‘the rest’ so that he can avoid sending the doubters. Verse 17 is followed by the command we know as the Great Commission, spoken to both the doubters and the rest.

The Lord gathers us into his mission with all our struggles and uncertainties. The people of Trinity Appila would gladly acknowledge that they are ordinary people caught up in the extraordinary mission of God.

In our modern Lutheran Church in New Zealand and Australia, we are seeing significant changes. Like many congregations, both Trinity Appila and Good Shepherd Toowoomba are no longer the size they were at the turn of this century. But this change in demography must not distract God’s people from the Great Commission. The mission field may have changed but the mission has not.

Matthew 28 commands us to go to all nations, making disciples and teaching them to obey everything that our Lord commanded. In our contemporary communities in New Zealand and Australia, we study Scripture with fervour and purpose, to discern what the Lord wants us to ‘teach’ in his name.

Matthew 28 commands us to go to all nations, making disciples and baptising. In our contemporary communities, we are called to cherish baptism in our own lives and in the lives of others. In public media and online, we rarely hear of the precious gift of baptism. We who are baptised into Christ declare to the world, with St Paul, that we were buried with Christ by baptism into his death and raised to walk in newness of life.

‘Go to all nations’, commands our risen Lord Jesus. In Christ,

CHANGE IN DEMOGRAPHY MUST NOT DISTRACT GOD’S PEOPLE FROM THE GREAT COMMISSION.

THE MISSION FIELD MAY HAVE CHANGED BUT THE MISSION HAS NOT.

T HE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL, SO .

A CALL TO A SEASON OF PRAYER

BY NATHAN HEDT

Do you long to see your local congregation playing a vital role in growing God’s kingdom? Would you love to see new people coming to faith in Jesus through your local church? Do you sense the call of God to be more focused on reaching out beyond your church walls and programs into the community with the gospel?

If you answered ‘yes’ to even one of these questions, please read on. I know that these characteristics of a vibrant, thriving church can seem like a distant reality. We can all feel discouraged sometimes about having too little time, energy or know-how to play a role in the Great Commission with our faith family.

A congregational pastor contacted me recently lamenting the lack of a mission heart and asking questions like the ones above. ‘But where would we even begin if we wanted to become more outwardly focused?’ he asked.

I think my reply might have surprised him. It wasn’t about a new outreach program or mission group – or even about doing anything visible. It was about whether there were people praying for these things in the local congregation.

I’m convinced that the first step in vibrant, joyful mission is learning from what Jesus said in Luke 10:2. Mission doesn’t begin in action, getting out there and doing something. It begins in the heart of God. In Luke 10, Jesus sends out 72 local

missionaries to proclaim the kingdom of God. He says to them in this passage, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few … so go!’

Hang on a minute! That’s an intentional misquote, isn’t it?

In fact, those words are more like what I would have said if I were Jesus: ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. There’s no time to waste; get your skates on and get moving. There’s not many of you and there’s a lot of work to do! So GO!’

But what Jesus actually says is unexpected and surprising. ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. So pray. Pray to the Lord of the harvest, beg him to send out workers into his harvest fields.’ The word he uses has the meaning of ‘plead with, beg, ask urgently’ for God to send out harvest workers.

The praying precedes the going. The command (and invitation) to pray precedes the command and invitation to go. Prayer is a vital foundation for mission.

One of the best definitions of prayer that I have heard comes from Queensland District Bishop Mark Vainikka: ‘Prayer is being present to the presence of God.’

Prayer comes first. In mission and in our life as Christians, prayer – as a relationship with God – is foundational to everything else we do.

TRULY, IF YOU DWELL IN GOD’S PRESENCE IN FAITH, YOU CAN’T GET PRAYER ‘WRONG’.

Prayer brings mutual encouragement for the church planting team in Canberra's Molonglo Valley, which among other things, holds an Easter dawn service in the local community. Photo: Mark Aartsen

By prayer, I don’t just mean laying a ‘shopping list’ of requests before God. Prayer is first and foremost about a relationship. Prayer is about being present to the presence of God, deepening the relationship of intimacy with the Father, conversing and listening to the Spirit, and walking with Jesus. In prayer, we receive a heart that beats in time with God’s heart of love for a lost and broken world.

Out of this intimacy with God will grow forms of prayer such as:

• Worship: reverencing and adoring God for who he is

• Petition: asking God to provide good gifts for his children and the world

• Intercession: praying deeply for the needs of others and ‘standing in the gap’ for them

• Thanksgiving: giving thanks and praise to God for his good gifts and what he has done

• Confession: bringing our sins and failings in honesty before our loving and forgiving God

• Repentance: a turning away from everything that breaks intimacy with God and brings harm to us or others and

• Contemplative prayer (simply sitting silently enjoying the presence of God).

So, first, pray. Everything begins with prayer. As Paul wrote to the Colossian church: ‘Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful’ (Colossians 4:2).

Or, as we see the early church doing in Acts 2:42–47: ‘They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.’ And what was the result of this? ‘The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved!’

In Acts 6:4 we hear the apostles saying, ‘… we will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word’.

GUILT VS INVITATION

Talking about prayer can often lead us to feel guilty that our prayer life is not what it should be. It can be seen as a burden, just another thing we must do, especially when it comes to intercessory prayer.

But our life of prayer is not a demand – it’s an invitation! The Triune God graciously invites us deeper into his life, his heart, his love, his joy, his peace. Remember that prayer is primarily about relationship, not about doing things! God meets you where you are at in prayer! Jesus is interceding for you!

The Holy Spirit is translating your perhaps fumbling attempts at prayer! The Father’s heart rejoices to have you bask in his presence!

Truly, if you dwell in God’s presence in faith, you can’t get prayer ‘wrong’.

Like all relationships, prayer requires an investment of time. Jesus often withdrew from his ministry among the crowds to pray – that is, to dwell in the presence of his heavenly Father. Prayer can involve specific action – perhaps putting petitions, intercessions, repentance etc, in words to God, silently or spoken aloud; or putting aside time for these aspects of prayer. But this is action that comes out of identity. It is doing that comes out of being.

Left and adjacent page, top right: Prayer has been a crucial part of members of Gawler Lutheran Church South Australia planting the New Life Church at the local school.

THE COMMAND (AND INVITATION) TO PRAY PRECEDES THE COMMAND AND INVITATION TO GO. PRAYER IS A VITAL FOUNDATION FOR MISSION.

St Paul writes in Philippians 4: ‘Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’

This rejoicing, and this peace of God, is in the context of prayer, and this prayer is in the context of being present to the presence of God. ‘The Lord is near.’ Therefore, we can live without anxiety. Therefore, we can present prayer, petition and thanksgiving. Therefore, we have the peace that passes understanding.

SEASON OF PRAYER ACTIONS AND RESOURCES

In this spirit of invitation deeper into the life and joy of God, the Local Mission department calls the LCANZ to a specific and intentional annual Season of Prayer.

We invite you and your congregation to join the Season of Prayer, and to pray specifically for spiritual revival, hope and joy in our church, for the mission call of our local congregations, for new people to come to see Jesus, and for God to raise up and send out harvest workers into the plentiful fields of people in Australia and New Zealand who don’t know Jesus yet.

The Season of Prayer is set aside for two weeks from 10 to 24 September. However, our hope and prayer is that this will be a catalyst for an ongoing life of deepening prayer in our churches.

Some people may be moved by the Holy Spirit to take up the spiritual discipline of fasting along with the season of prayer. Some may want to get together with others to intercede specifically for their congregation and community. Some may want to use prayer resources in their family or small group. Some may take the invitation to pray alone. And you can read individual reflections shared on these pages. Resources are being provided for various aspects of the Season of Prayer, including material to be used in public worship on the three Sundays of the season.

Testimonies and encouragements will come from real people who have experienced the power of prayer in real ways. Themed devotional resources are also being made available for families and individuals and others themed on intercessory prayer will be offered aimed at congregations and communities who are praying for God to send harvest workers and that they themselves will be revived and refreshed and joyful in their mission.

You can find these at www.lca.org.au/season-of-prayer

I believe God is calling us to plant a church in Gawler, north of Adelaide. This may sound counterproductive to some, considering there is already a Lutheran church in Gawler, of which I’m a member. But the call came when we prayerfully discerned what God was up to in our community.

Through COVID-19 restrictions, we were unable to access our normal worship routine, but found a unique opportunity to worship in the local school. It was through prayer, that God provided a vision for reaching the school community, and this is the beginning of our journey.

Under the body of Gawler Lutheran Church, New Life Church is an intentional move to incorporate worship and a faith community at the school. As with any new venture, we have had challenging moments of doubt, resistance, and even health challenges.

At our most challenging times, we’ve intentionally set aside time for deep prayer. In these moments, God has actively been present in affirming our work, redirecting our vision and encouraging us in profound ways. The power of prayer has been integral in our journey. The Lord has prepared hearts and minds, protected us from threats of doubt, fear and resistance (‘the enemy at the gate’), and kept us firm in his promises.

I urge and encourage all congregations to seek out specific ‘prayer warriors’ in your church community. They are the lifeblood of any church vision. God bless your journey.

– Joanne Chamberlain

There is great encouragement and comfort in the knowledge that you are being lifted up to God in prayer. I hope you have experienced this in your life.

I’d like to share my experience of this welcome encouragement during the LCANZ’s first churchwide Season of Prayer for church planting in 2019.

I have been involved in a missional community and church planting team for many years. Working in this space has its highs and lows, times of joy and discouragement.

We want the wider church to be encouraged by the joys and to pray with us in challenging times, but sometimes it feels like we’re on the edge of the church, with most of the LCANZ unaware. However, when the first churchwide Season of Prayer was held, it brought a focus to this missional work. The wider church had a chance to hear and be encouraged by the work of Local Mission, as well as joining in prayer for God to raise up and send out harvest workers into his fields.

And for me, there was something powerfully encouraging in knowing that Lutherans in congregations all across Australia and New Zealand were united in this prayer.

I pray that this year’s Season of Prayer can again bring mutual encouragement as we pray together for renewal, mission, evangelism, church planting and discipleship in the LCANZ.

– Kate Traeger

HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED IN PRACTICAL WAYS?

• Contact your church council or worship planners to focus on prayer during between September 10 and 24 –SAVE THE DATES!

• Join the Epaphras project (see article on pages 10–12) and participate with prayer warriors in every place

• Join the pre-existing fortnightly national prayer Zoom online meeting

• Organise a once-off prayer group or prayer vigil

• Start praying with a prayer partner or prayer triplet

• Pray with the resources provided in your family or small group

• Include one of the video testimonials about prayer in your public worship

• Pray for people by name who don’t know Jesus as Saviour and Lord using a downloadable prayer card

• Contact Local Mission to be updated

• Record a brief testimonial about specific answers to prayer on your smartphone

PRAYER IS FIRST AND FOREMOST ABOUT A RELATIONSHIP.

QUESTIONS TO REFLECT ON – ASK YOURSELF …

• Do I long to see my congregation reaching out more effectively with the good news of Jesus?

• Do I experience the call to prayer as a burden or an invitation? Why do I think that is so?

• What good news might Jesus want to bring me about my life of prayer?

• What would it look like in practice if my congregation were ‘devoted to prayer’?

• What is the Holy Spirit inviting me to pray for during the Season of Prayer?

• For whom is the Spirit nudging me to pray, that they may grow closer to Jesus?

• With whom might I deliberately spend time praying in the Season of Prayer?

For more information, contact Local Mission on 08 8267 7300 or at localmission@lca.org.au

Pastor Nathan Hedt is LCANZ Pastor for New and Renewing Churches.

About 10 years ago, Pastor Fred Veerhuis organised some NSW District gatherings and from one of these, a district intercessory prayer team was started.

As we became aware of various prayer needs of the district, they were shared via email with the team.

When Fred retired a few years later, he asked me to oversee this group. This continued, until we realised a glitch had deleted most of the email addresses we had. We would have to rebuild the list from scratch. At about the same time, the pandemic sent our ministries into survival mode, so this was postponed.

Later, Pastor Nathan Hedt invited me to join his Local Mission prayer group on Zoom. I received considerable encouragement and healing through this.

In mid-2022, a discussion with District Bishop Robert Bartholomaeus led me to consider my district roles and my giftings. I felt God prompting me to ask to be released from one district role and devote time into cultivating prayer ministry in the NSW & ACT District.

Bishop Robert was overjoyed. He had just finished reading Anatomy of a Revived Church by Thom S. Rainer. Rainer surveyed many churches that had nearly died but which God had revived.

While some things varied from church to church, there were seven key findings that were present in every case. One reason God revived all these churches was because they ‘committed to powerful prayer’.

He writes,

‘I have yet to see a sustained church revitalisation that was not undergirded by a powerful movement of prayer. … We have seen churches turn around for a brief season with a

BY DARREN KUPKE

new methodology or a new emphasis. We have seen some churches reverse their negative trends briefly with a new pastor or dynamic staff member. But we have yet to see a sustained church revitalisation that was not undergirded by a powerful movement of prayer. (Rainer 2020, p.59)

This renewed focus on prayer in the district has become a highlight for me and the bishop.

So far, two projects have helped cultivate prayers in our district. Firstly, we have re-established a list of email addresses for district Intercessors. This is used as certain specific prayer needs arise.

Secondly, each month I collate prayer points from those in our district prayer calendar. These are then shared with pastors, congregations, ministry leaders and intercessors in our district. This reminds them to pray and helps them to pray specifically. I continue to receive much positive feedback in this regard.

The next step is to cultivate the network between intercessors. I’m starting to gather a team to organise a gathering of district intercessors.

We believe God has placed intercessors in every congregation and we want to encourage them by gathering and praying together. I’m also exploring the best way for our district intercessors to connect and share insights and encouragement. As we commit to powerful prayer, may God revive our church.

Pastor Darren Kupke is Prayer Cultivator for the NSW & ACT District and serves the Lutheran communities at Temora, Trungley Hall and West Wyalong.

WE BELIEVE GOD HAS PLACED INTERCESSORS IN EVERY CONGREGATION AND WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE THEM BY GATHERING AND PRAYING TOGETHER.

BY NATHAN HEDT

What or who on earth is an Epaphras?

Epaphras is a biblical character who is only mentioned in four verses of the New Testament. He is not exactly the most famous or glamourous person but for the little Christian church in the city of Colossae, he was one of the most important people!

First, Epaphras was an evangelist. He was one of the first to share the gospel with the people of Colossae (Colossians 1:6–8). But just as importantly, Epaphras also served the Christians of his city in a different way; a behind-the-scenes way that quietly and powerfully shaped the church.

St Paul tells us that Ephaphras was ‘always wrestling in prayer’

The Epaphras Project

for Christians, so that they might ‘stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured’ (Colossians 4:12). Epaphras is working hard in prayer! We might call him an intercessor or a prayer warrior.

Do you know someone in your congregation who has a calling from God to get on their knees and beg God for the spiritual maturity, Christlikeness and mission of the people of the local church?

Or perhaps, does the description of Epaphras stir and excite something in your own heart?

I dare to believe that in every place, in every church, God graciously puts at least one person like Epaphras. In every place, God provides people whose gifting and calling is simply to pray, intercede and be persistent with him for the growth and maturity of the congregation.

I also believe that spirit-empowered, persistent prayer is the foundation of each ministry and mission opportunity of every congregation.

That’s why LCANZ Local Mission is launching the Epaphras Project. The project aims to identify, equip, affirm and network the intercessors – the Epaphrastype people – in every congregation across the church.

We recognise that the ‘renewing’ part of our work is vitally important. Our work is to see congregations of the LCANZ renewed in their mission, become healthier and make new disciples of Jesus. And that really can’t happen without a foundation of persistent, focused prayer, just as Epaphras was praying for the Christians at Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis.

Usually, a few members – perhaps one, two or three – are faithful in prayer for church revitalisation. But God uses these few for this ministry of prayer.

It often takes several years of persistent prayer for the congregation to move from decline or stagnation to revitalisation and growth.

IN EVERY PLACE, GOD PROVIDES PEOPLE WHOSE GIFTING AND CALLING IS SIMPLY TO PRAY, INTERCEDE AND BE PERSISTENT WITH HIM FOR THE GROWTH AND MATURITY OF THE CONGREGATION.

Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured.

Thom Rainer, a church consultant in the USA, has helped hundreds of congregations revitalise and step into God’s vibrant future.

Out of his practice and research, he’s written a book called The Anatomy of a Revived Church, which you’ll see cited on page 9, too. He concludes a chapter on prayer in this way:

‘If you are seeking immediate application to the principle of powerful prayer in your church, begin praying God will provide a prayer warrior. Even more, ask the members in the church if God might be moving in their lives to lead a ministry of prayer for revitalisation.

‘We have seen again and again in our anatomy of revitalised churches that every sustained church revitalisation is undergirded by a powerful movement of prayer. Every. Single. One. It’s just that important.’

So, I’m starting the Epaphras Project firstly by praying. I’m praying that God will raise up and bring forth one or more ‘Epaphrases’ for every congregation of the LCANZ.

HOW CAN WE GET INVOLVED?

Firstly, and most importantly, you can get involved by joining me in this prayer: ‘Loving God, please raise up the Epaphrastype people in our congregation. Please affirm and equip our intercessors to provide persistent prayer. Align our hearts with your heart.’

You can also help identify and talk to the Epaphras-type person (or people) in your congregation.

Ask them to read this article if they haven't already done so. Ask whether they are willing to join the movement of prayer, and pray specifically for spiritual maturity, renewal and mission in your congregation.

If you are in congregational leadership, you can approach your ‘Epaphrases’ and ask them to pray specifically for ministry and

PRAYER IS THE WORK!

On 29 January 2023, the day of the Epaphras Project rollout in Victoria’s Ringwood Knox Parish, I heard it expressed for the first time in Lutheran circles that prayer is the most important thing we can do. Prayer is the work!

The call to action was challenging and encouraging. And God laid it on the hearts of nine brothers and sisters at Ringwood to pray together for his work.

So, we gather on Sundays to talk about the things God has laid on our hearts and minds during the week. Then we pray our agreedtogether prayers. We thank and praise God for his love and care. We pray for our pastor/s, for inspiration by the Holy Spirit with every word God knows we need to hear, for the direction of our congregation and that God will take us to those who don’t yet know Jesus as Lord and Saviour. We pray for many other things, too!

The ‘enable, grow and go’ aspects of our congregation remain a work in progress, but there is a vibe around answered prayer. We are hearing of individuals asking for particular Bible studies and prayer regarding evangelism, and we are providing copies of Australian evangelist Sam Chan’s book How to talk about Jesus (without being that guy) for inspiration.

We know God wouldn’t lay prayers on our hearts if his answers to these prayers were not already set in motion!

– Liz Weiland

SPIRIT-EMPOWERED, PERSISTENT PRAYER IS THE FOUNDATION OF EACH MINISTRY AND MISSION OPPORTUNITY

OF EVERY CONGREGATION.

mission in your congregation. I guarantee if you find them and ask them, they will be delighted to do so. This is their God-given gift and joy! Affirm and encourage them.

Or you might find yourself resonating with what I’ve written here. I’d encourage you to ask, ‘Holy Spirit, might I be one of these intercessors? How do you want me to use this gift to serve your people?’ If you sense you are an ‘Epaphras,’ please get in touch! You can email localmission@lca.org.au

Our hope and prayer is to network the prayer warriors in the LCANZ and provide recognition, encouragement, training and suggestions for prayer.

BE LIKE EPAPHRAS

COLOSSIANS 4:12

Anyone who really knows me knows that prayer for others – intercession – is part of who I am. It’s part of standing in the gap for other people, inviting the Lord’s touch into their lives. And the Holy Spirit has led me on many adventures in intercession, and also in recognising answers to prayer.

To heed this call to pray for others, to follow the Spirit’s leading in taking God at his word, is to discover a reach beyond ourselves, asking the Lord’s working into the earth-realm. It’s a journey of growth, available to anyone!

In February 2023, I joined Emeritus Pastor Fred Veerhuis in teaching, via Zoom, Lutheran pastors and leaders in Vietnam. In one of my sessions on prayer, I focused on Epaphras, Paul’s co-worker. I encouraged them to take notice of who among their people is like an Epaphras, to encourage them.

People who pray for others help prepare the ‘soil’ in people to be receptive to the ‘seed’ of God’s word, the good news of Jesus. We will only find out in heaven the difference it has made. I look forward to that, as well as being available here now!

– Ruth Olsen

We long to see everyone and every congregation ‘stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured’ (Col 4:12). We long to see people be able to ‘make the most of every opportunity’ for mission in their conversation and action (Col 4:5,6).

Who on earth is Epaphras? He is an intercessor. Who on earth are the Epaphrases in your congregation? They just may be among the quietest, least famous, but most vital people in your church!

Will you join the Epaphras Project?

PRAYER SUGGESTION:

Gracious Triune God, we thank you that you invite us deeper into your life and mission through prayer, which is not just asking you for things, but dwelling with you and letting your word permeate our lives.

Would you please raise up someone like Epaphras for (my congregation), and encourage them in the ministry of intercession? Would you please provide prayer warriors in every congregation of the LCANZ, and empower them to wrestle in prayer for your people?

Would you please continue to pour out your Spirit on the members and congregations of the LCANZ, to bring renewed life, a vibrant future and a deep joy in our shared mission with you? Would you please use our local congregation to help people to get to know Jesus, and to help people walk with him more closely?

Thank you for your gracious gifts, including prayer warriors and intercessors like Epaphras! We pray in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.

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.

RESOURCES FOR YOUR ... DEVOTIONS

BY COLLEEN FITZPATRICK

Answer me quickly, for I am in trouble

(Psalm 69:17b).

Read Psalm 69:7–10, (11–15)16–18.

In 1963, Jimmy Little recorded a song called ‘The Royal Telephone’. The words of the chorus are:

‘Telephone to glory, oh, what joy divine!

I can feel the current moving on the line. Made by God the Father for his very own, You may talk to Jesus on this royal telephone.’*

It’s a nice image, isn’t it? I remember back then picturing Jesus at the ready, waiting for that royal telephone to ring so he could pick it up, listen to whatever I had to say, and then he’d get busy fixing whatever was bothering me at the time.

How blessed we are to be able to talk to God any time, any day, anywhere, in any language or in no language. We don’t even have to formulate words.

I love to pray. It’s so good to be able to share whatever is on my heart and know that my heartaches and joys are shared –that someone cares about what is happening to me and that someone is bigger than me or anything that can happen to me.

How do we know our prayers have been answered? It’s not as if God sends an answer via a messenger angel. Sometimes, prayers are answered in an obvious manner – the cure of a disease or the easing of a situation. Sometimes, the answer comes from friends or strangers reaching out with words of comfort or wisdom. At other times, it may be a sense of inner

peace, comfort and strength that enables us to keep going, knowing that we are not alone.

We have a prayer group at my church – actually, it is two: an online group and an in-person group. Prayer requests are shared, and it is wonderful to know that we’re not alone in taking these requests to our gracious, generous, attentive God. I also like that I can ask people if it’s okay for my prayer group to pray for them. No-one has said no to that request. It’s easy to say, ‘I’m off to my prayer group. Do you have any requests?’ And often, they do.

And back to that royal telephone. Maybe, it is an even better metaphor for our prayers now, given the constant presence of our phones, the information they contain, and the control they have over our lives. May your prayers provide the comfort and strength you need today and every day – you can pray even when you’ve left your phone at home!

Patient God, thank you for always hearing and answering our prayers. Thank you for the surprises you provide. Help us to be patient when things don’t turn out as we hope and plan and trust that all things will work together for our good – no matter what happens. Amen.

*Frederick M Lehmann (1868–1953), ‘The Royal Telephone’ (public domain), made popular in Australia by Jimmy Little

BY TOM BRENNEN

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers (Acts 2:42).

Read Acts 2:36–42.

A note in my study Bible on this passage reminds us that to be devoted is to give rapt attention to that particular thing. So the early Christians gave rapt attention to teaching, being a community and sharing the sacrament of communion and prayer.

When was the last time you could honestly say your church had your rapt attention? More importantly, when was the last time that God had your rapt attention?

Sometimes members of younger generations are tagged as selfish. These younger generations are also generalised as always being on their phones and technology. As a teacher, I see my students struggle to manage technology use.

But they are not alone. Just last week, outside my school, I saw two of my students on their phones, joined by their parents and one of their grandparents. All five of them were sitting there on a glorious late spring day, heads down, consuming whatever was on their screen. The screens had their rapt attention.

I don’t believe that technology is more evil than good. Having a myriad of resources at my fingertips helped me write this series of devotions! But we must be careful.

We must be careful not just with technology but with all of our endeavours. Perhaps our work has more attention than our relationship with God? Maybe our hobbies have more attention than our involvement with our church community?

As Matthew 6:21 reminds us, ‘For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also’.

The early church grew off the back of rapt attention to worshipping in word and sacrament, being a Christian community and prayer. What might your life look like if this area of your life had your full attention? What changes do you need to make so that it is?

Start small. Maybe you’ve fallen out of the habit of weekly worship or daily prayer? Perhaps you’ve not connected with a fellow congregation member for some time? Perhaps your Bible has gathered a bit of dust? Pick one area and work on that.

You – and your community – will be blessed, I’m sure.

Lord, forgive us when we give you and your church less than our full attention. Guide us as we seek to live lives that are full and bless others. 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

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

6–12 AUG

First Nations people around the globe on the United Nations’ International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (9 Aug)

13–19 AUG

Peace among nations at war on the anniversary of the end to WWII hostilities in the Pacific (15 Aug)

20–26 AUG

Communities scarred by slavery, on the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition (23 Aug)

27 AUG–2 SEPT

Those who care for God’s creation, as the Season of Creation – a worldwide ecumenical movement focused on prayer and creation care –begins on 1 Sept

3–9 SEPT

All fathers, those who are missing their dads and those who have longed to be fathers, as we mark Father’s Day (3 Sept)

10–16 SEPT

That God will raise up workers for the harvest of souls, as the church celebrates the Season of Prayer for mission (10–24 Sept)

17–23 SEPT

An end to discrimination preventing universal suffrage on the anniversary of NZ’s 1893 Electoral Act, which gave women the vote (19 Sept)

24–30 SEPT

Pastor Andrew Brook, as he begins his service as bishop of the

BY JACOB TRAEGER

One theologian has described mission as being caught up in the ‘heartbeat of God’. One of the most important ways in which we’re drawn into God’s heartbeat is prayer. In this edition of The Lutheran, we’re going to explore how Jesus shapes us for mission through the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13 – NRSV).

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Read Matthew 5:43–48. What does it mean for us to call God ‘Father’? Does this change the way that we relate to other people?

The beginning of the prayer invites us into a new identity, giving us a new status as God’s children. This means God’s holiness is reflected in us and when Jesus teaches us to pray to ‘our Father’, he shares with us his own relationship with God.

In the Letter to the Hebrews, we hear that ‘now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters’ (Heb 2:11 – NLT). By inviting us into God’s life, the beginning of the prayer joins us to Jesus’ mission. It is only because ‘the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost’ (Luke 19:10) that we can even begin this prayer.

Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. Read Matthew 6:25–33. What things do you worry about? What would it mean for the kingdom of God to dominate your thoughts as much as these things?

Before we pray for our own needs, Jesus teaches us to pray that God’s kingdom comes, and for God’s will to be done on earth as in heaven. This prayer draws us beyond ourselves.

Most of us in modern Australia and New Zealand think we need more things in our lives than we actually do. By teaching us to pray for God’s kingdom and just for the needs of today, not tomorrow, Jesus sets us free from worry about getting what we think we need so that we can simply live out God’s mission as we love God and our neighbours.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Read Matthew 18:23–35. In what ways has God’s forgiveness shaped your life? Can you recall a time when God’s forgiveness worked through you for someone else?

If Jesus had just left things at ‘forgive us our debts’, that would be a worthy prayer, but it wouldn’t draw us into Jesus’ mission. By asking us to pray ‘as we forgive our debtors’, Jesus invites us to be ambassadors of the kingdom of God. As forgiven people, we are forgiving people – not people worried about what others owe us, or what we think we might deserve. We are drawn further into Jesus’ mission and present God’s compassion, mercy and grace to other people.

And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. Read Matthew 7:24–29.

Just as the beginning of the prayer invited us into God’s life, its conclusion invites us to continue trusting God. We are reminded that we do not need strength to endure trial, but we need rescue. Jesus did not save himself from the cross, but the Father raised him from the dead. In our lives, we are part of Jesus’ mission when we build our house on his rock. Our hope for our lives, our mission, our church and our world doesn’t come from our own strength and wisdom but is grounded in God’s deliverance. The Lord’s Prayer leaves us relying on Jesus’ resurrection and ascension – the completion of his mission – as our hope for the future and it shapes us to participate in his ongoing life.

Pray the Lord’s Prayer – slowly. As you do, reflect on the invitation that God is offering to you in each petition. How does this prayer affect your life and relationships? You may wish to make this a regular habit.

Jacob Traeger leads a church plant in Canberra’s Molonglo Valley and serves as Mission Facilitator at the Immanuel Woden Valley sending church.

SA – NT District of the LCANZ

BY LIBBY KRAHLING

CREATION COMES INTO FOCUS

LCANZ congregations are being encouraged to hold a special service on 3 September to mark the start of the ‘Season of Creation’ and new worship resources have been launched for this occasion.

An ecumenical response to the environmental crisis impacting the world, the Season of Creation is a time of prayer and action for the environment. It is celebrated from 1 September to 4 October as an alternative to the regular time after Pentecost. Each year the event has a particular themed focus connected with an aspect of the environment, to raise awareness and inspire responsible environmental action. The 2023 theme is ‘Let Justice and Peace Flow’, based on Amos 5:24.

NEW WORSHIP RESOURCES

The LCA Season of Creation worship resources, launched by the church’s Commission on Worship in collaboration with Lutheran Earth Care Australia and New Zealand, endeavour to point God’s people to the hope that we have in the midst of environmental chaos – Christ as the redeemer of the world, who sustains all things by his powerful word and will make all things new. There are two suites of resources congregations can choose from: the first is more foundational and general in nature and could be used in any year, while the second suite has been tailored for the 2023 theme.

To view the LCA Season of Creation resources, visit the Seasonal Resources page, https://www.lca.org.au/ worship/wpp/seasonal-resources/ For more information about the Season of Creation, visit the Season of Creation website at https://seasonofcreation.org/

Libby Krahling is Commission on Worship Administration Coordinator.

PRAYER IS ALWAYS IN SEASON

The LCANZ’s Local Mission department is inviting members of the church to share in a special Season of Prayer next month.

You can read more about this ‘specific and intentional annual season’, which is being held from 10 to 24 September, on pages 5 to 8 of this edition. There are other stories, too, in these pages about prayer for mission, which is always in season. As Pastor Nathan Hedt says, the hope – and prayer – is that this two-week, three-Sunday observance ‘will be a catalyst for an ongoing life of deepening prayer in our churches’.

‘We invite you and your congregation to join the season of prayer, and to pray specifically for spiritual revival, hope and joy in our church, for the mission call of our local congregations, for new people to come to see Jesus, and for God to raise up and send out harvest workers’, Pastor Nathan says.

Resources have been developed to support congregations through the Season of Prayer, including material to be used in public worship on the three Sundays of the season. Resources include a video, testimonies and themed devotional content.

You can find these at www.lca.org.au/season-of-prayer

BETTER UNDERSTANDING THE HANDBOOK OF FAITH

BY JODI BROOK AND CHRISTINE MATTHIAS

‘Living the Catechism’ is a new resource designed to introduce your household, family or small group to Martin Luther’s Small Catechism and to help them learn about the teachings of the Christian faith. Luther felt strongly about the need for a clear explanation of faith and life! His Small Catechism was written to be the family’s Christian handbook. It is an excellent summary of what the Bible teaches us, including subjects such as repentance, faith, prayer, forgiveness, daily prayer and our daily work.

WHAT IS THE SMALL CATECHISM?

Luther’s Small Catechism is a collection of questions and answers on the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, holy baptism, confession and holy communion. Also included are daily prayers, a table of duties for Christians in their various life callings, and a guide for Christians to use as they prepare to receive holy communion.

WHAT DOES ‘LIVING THE CATECHISM’ INCLUDE?

Our team has prepared 28 easy-to-use sheets, which teach three topics: the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer and the Apostles' Creed. Each sheet follows a basic framework to help discuss each topic and relate it to everyday life. It consists of the following elements:

• What does this mean? This explanation correlates to Luther’s Small Catechism and explains the specific petition or commandment to discuss.

• Conversations: Hearing each other’s faith story provides an opportunity for openness and relevance to the topics being discussed.

• Bible readings: Our faith shapes the whole of our lives and involves a lifetime of studying the Bible.

• Action response: Serving others together provides an opportunity to see people’s gifts, faith and values in action, and to show practically how the topic relates to everyday life.

• Prayer: Rituals and traditions such as prayers and devotions communicate meaning and relationships that exist between the people of God.

• For further study: Another opportunity to find out more about our faith and each other.

Prayerisanactofworship,andanexpressionofourfaith.Wecommunicatewith GodtheFather,throughJesusChristtheSon,bythepoweroftheHolySpirit.

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WHY STUDY THE SMALL CATECHISM?

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Conversations Bible Readings Forfurther study

God uses the precious truths of his word to keep us strong and growing in our faith in Jesus. The catechism helps us understand God’s law, which shows us our sin and how we are to live as his people. The catechism beautifully articulates the gospel, the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection for our salvation.

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THE FIRST COMMANDMENT: IamtheLordyourGod.Donothaveanygodexceptme. “IamtheLordyourGod,whobroughtyououtofEgypt, outofthelandofslavery”. EXODUS 20:1-2 Whatdoes thismean? Action Response

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Grow recommends that the resource be used alongside a copy of Luther’s Small Catechism. Households can use a different sheet each week, fortnight or month, depending on how much time they can dedicate to family devotion time.

We pray that this resource provides you and your household, family, or small group with a wonderful opportunity to share and discuss life and faith together.

Jodi Brook is Grow Ministries Director. Christine Matthias is Grow’s Resource Coordinator.

TRUST GOD’S FAITHFULNESS

BY ANNE HANSEN

How often do we pray expecting an answer that next minute? Then, when it goes unanswered that day, we decide that God doesn’t answer prayer!

I think we have all come to that conclusion more than once, but how untrue and unfair this conclusion is to our loving Heavenly Father. Our God is a God of miracles who finds delight in answering the prayers of his people as he sees fit and in his timing.

As Christian author Lysa TerKeurst said, ‘God’s not ignoring you. He just loves you too much to answer your prayers at any time than the right time’.

God has always proven his faithfulness to his people by rescuing them from trouble and answering prayers in miraculous ways. Just read through the stories in the Old Testament! God is always faithful and trustworthy. He hears our prayers and knows all our needs, even before we ask. So, if you have prayers that you have been praying for some time, keep the faith. God is at work behind the scenes.

RESOURCES TO SUPPORT YOUR PRAYER LIFE

Lutheran Tract Mission has many resources for you about prayer. Some help you pray personally and give tips on how to pray for others. Others encourage you to pray at all times and in all ways. Stick a postcard or text card about prayer on your refrigerator to remind you to pray. Find a bookmark about prayer and put it in a book.

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

Please share stories with me of how tracts 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! Nothing is impossible for God, and he always hears you!

JOIN IN ONLINE MONTHLY PRAYER

Lift up the ministry of LCA International Mission and our Lutheran overseas partner churches in prayer by joining an online monthly prayer time.

Held on the last Tuesday of every month at noon (ACST) via Zoom, each meeting has a prayer theme.

Upcoming themes for the gatherings are:

29 AUG Lutheran Church in Malaysia’s Orang Asli Ministry

26 SEP HKBP Deaconess School, Indonesia

31 OCT Myanmar Lutheran Church

28 NOV Home of Grace, Thailand

Please contact Erin via email at erin.kerber@lca.org.au if you have any questions or to receive the Zoom link for these prayer gatherings.

Prayer is a vital part of engagement in God's mission. Through prayer, we hear God's voice, and he helps us to see people and situations the way he does.

Every member of the LCANZ is invited to join in God's mission by praying for (and with) our partners in mission, month by month. Access LCA International Mission’s monthly prayer calendar online at https://lcamission.org.au/join-gods-mission/pray/

Anne Hansen is Lutheran Tract Mission Development Officer.

NEW OPENING HOURS FOR ARCHIVES

BY BETHANY PIETSCH

For many years, Lutheran Archives has been closed to the public on Wednesdays to allow our archivists the time and space to work on large collection management projects. Last month, the Archives introduced new opening hours of 9.30am to 3.30pm on Tuesdays to Thursdays.

There are two reasons behind this change. Condensing our reference services into three consecutive days will keep things simple and convenient for visiting researchers, particularly those coming from interstate. Our reference team will continue throughout the week to work on access requests received via email and phone and there should be no change to our level of service.

Secondly, condensing our opening hours will grant us an extra day to focus on collection management priorities, including processing the backlog of deposited but unrecorded material and working with your ministries, congregations and entities in determining what records to create and what permanent records to deposit with the Archives.

As always, if you would like to visit Lutheran Archives for research or to deposit records, we encourage you to get in touch and organise an appointment. Email lutheran.archives@lca.org.au anytime or phone 08 8340 4009 on Tuesdays to Thursdays, between 9.30am and 3.30pm.

MUCH-NEEDED RENOVATIONS

Lutheran Archives volunteers undertake a wide variety of projects including the digitisation of photographs, indexing registers of pastoral acts, transcription and translation of German records, and creating a searchable spreadsheet of all congregation records in our holdings.

Our volunteer workspace has needed renovation and, thanks to the generosity of members of the Friends of Lutheran Archives, these began recently.

Above: Lutheran Archives, which is served by Collections Archivist Angela Schilling, Reference Archivists Bethany Pietsch and Ben Hollister and Director and Archivist Rachel Kuchel, is now open to the public on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Below: Merryn Wallace is one of 22 regular Archives volunteers who help with a variety of tasks including listing. You can sponsor a volunteer to support this important work.

SUPPORT VOLUNTEERS

There are currently 22 regular volunteers at Lutheran Archives who support our small team of 2.7 (full-time equivalent) archivists. If you would like to be involved but are short of time, or not located physically close to Lutheran Archives, you can support the work of our volunteers through a ‘sponsorship’ program. We suggest a tax-deductible donation of $1080 to sponsor a volunteer for a year, providing the essential resources they need to carry out work on the records of your congregations and ministries.

Donations can be made by direct bank deposit:

Name: Lutheran Archives

BSB: 704 942 • Account no: 100846262 or the LCA Online Donations portal: https://donation.lca.org.au/project?id=P21025

Bethany Pietsch is Lutheran Archives Reference Archivist.

LISTEN WHILE YOU WORK, WALK OR RELAX

The LCANZ is shaping communications to the ways you as members of the church like to receive information.

Many of you prefer to listen rather than read. So, we are trialling fortnightly podcasts, which will cover a wide range of issues relevant to congregation leaders and members.

Our Laudio (Lutheran audio) podcasts will keep you up to date with what’s happening around the church while you are on your daily commute, driving the header, or pounding the treadmill.

Listen to any of our Laudio podcasts at www.lca.org.au/podcasts or better yet, subscribe to receive alerts in your inbox every time we add a new podcast by pressing the ‘Sign up to Laudio’ button on the above webpage.

PROGRESS MADE IN CHILD SAFETY

BY MARY-ANN CARVER

LCA congregations have been making important progress in the child safety space over the past few years.

More than 82 per cent of congregations have this year either submitted a Child Safety Plan outlining their commitments for 2023–24, or an assurance that they have no children in regular attendance at their churches.

The plans have been developed in response to the LCA Child Safety Standards for Congregations. Introduced for implementation in all Australian congregations in 2021 and 2022, the standards require that plans are developed, submitted, and implemented by every congregation with children in regular attendance.

This is a promising development for the LCA and we are encouraged that child safety is being prioritised at the congregational leadership level. The progress in this area also pleasingly suggests congregations are embracing their new responsibilities in constructive and positive ways.

FEELING LONELY? YOU ARE NOT ALONE

If you ever feel lonely, you are not alone … in more ways than one!

At least one in four Australians are lonely. And, more importantly, you are not alone because God promises to always be with us, through the Holy Spirit. Through Jesus’ lonely death on the cross, God knows what it is like to feel alone. We have hope in Jesus Christ, who is always there to listen to our cries.

For stories and encouragement to help when you are feeling lonely, Lutheran Media’s Messages of Hope offers a free booklet on loneliness. Go to www.messagesofhope.org.au/ loneliness to download or order it today.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PRAYER

Please pray for our congregations – almost 250 in total – which have developed their child safety plans and made a clear commitment to developing a child-safe congregational culture. Please also pray for them as they embrace their child safety challenges and embark upon their implementation journey during the remainder of 2023 and into 2024.

We also ask you to remember that our children are a precious gift from God with unique vulnerabilities requiring special care and consideration. Please pray for all our children, for their ongoing safety and wellbeing, and for their families too.

CALENDAR PHOTO COMPETITION

Thank you to everyone who entered the Lutheran Media calendar photo competition, sharing your gifts to bring hope to the thousands of people who order the 2024 calendar. We were overwhelmed by the number and quality of entries.

We received more than 200 wonderful photos, so the judges had an extremely difficult task. Congratulations to all entrants and especially to the category winners: Animal – Pastor Mike Fulwood, Amy Dahlenburg, James Wilson; Landscape – Tim Nuske, Genevieve Clark, Rudolph Kotze; Architecture – Rebecca Zadow, Christine Matthias, Lyn Schneider; Nature – Peter Janetzki, Sandra Heintze, David Craig. Honourable mentions go to Stephen Jericho, Paul Bitzer, Heath Pukallus, Tim Eckert and many others who contributed great photos.

The calendar is scheduled to be available next month (September). Keep an eye out on the Lutheran Media website at www.lutheranmedia.org.au

If you or someone you know is affected by domestic and family violence, visit www.anrows.org.au/get-support or call 1800 RESPECT (24-hour National Sexual Assault Family Domestic Violence Counselling Service), or Lifeline Counselling (24 hours) 131 114. In an emergency, call 000

www.preventdfv.lca.org.au

Mary-Ann Carver is LCA Child Protection Project Officer.

Trans-Tasman treasures join Australian archive

With a total weight of almost a tonne and measuring more than 30 linear metres, a precious collection of documents, books, magazines, audio-visual items and photographs that tell the story of the Lutheran Church of New Zealand across 180 years were officially ‘welcomed’ to Lutheran Archives in Adelaide on Saturday.

The 180 boxes of historical material from the New Zealand district and its congregations left Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa (the National Library of New Zealand) in Wellington earlier this year to join what is now the LCANZ’s churchwide archives.

The ceremony to officially acknowledge the arrival of records and to introduce and bless them was held in NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee) Week and Kaurna elder Uncle Mickey Kumatpi O’Brien performed the Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony. LCNZ Bishop Emeritus Mark Whitfield, a member of the fifth generation of Lutherans in Aotearoa New Zealand, gave an introduction and led a blessing of the three-pallet load of records, noting that they hold taonga (treasure in te reo Māori language), both historical and spiritual –sacred even.

‘As we commended the taonga of our history as church in Aotearoa to its safe journey to Australia, we acknowledged that our story in Aotearoa is part of God’s whole story with his creation and his people from the beginning of time’, Bishop Emeritus Mark said. ‘It is a story of grace and love, most beautifully demonstrated in Ihu Karaiti, his Son, Jesus Christ. As our archival material has been recorded and preserved over these past 180 years and now as it resides here in Kaurna land, we pray that it will serve to keep alive the memory of the church in Aotearoa and the work God has done in and through it.’

Lutheran Archives Director Rachel Kuchel and LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith committed the Lutheran church in Australia to preserve the precious stories entrusted to it.

‘Thank you to New Zealand Lutherans who have entrusted their records to Lutheran Archives’, Rachel said. ‘We will continue to preserve these records and will undertake indexing, cataloguing and digitisation on them so that they will be accessible for generations to come.

‘When we look at the records of our church, we can be encouraged that our congregations and ministries do not exist in isolation, and see all the wonderful and diverse ways that God blesses us and works through us as the LCANZ.’

Bishop Paul said the archived materials are ‘precious story from the mission of God at work amongst the Lutheran people in Aotearoa’. ‘From this side of the Tasman, we thank God that these treasures of story have arrived safely here in South Australia. We commit ourselves to watch over what has been handed into our custody, and we appreciate that these archival records tell a specific story – of faithfulness to God and of God’s faithfulness to us.’

Lutheran Archives Director Rachel Kuchel, Collections

Archivist Angela Schilling and Project Archivist Susan Kreymborg with a 17th century Bible from the Lutheran Church of New Zealand collection.

The Alexander Turnbull Library (which holds non-government archival material) had been the custodian of the collection since 1976, but the LCNZ archive had always remained the property of the church. Almost four years ago, the LCNZ Synod voted to send this collection to Lutheran Archives so that the history of Lutherans in New Zealand and Australia would be able to be told side-by-side.

A Poroporoakī (sending) was held on 19 January at the National Library and the records were received at Lutheran Archives on 2 March. The welcome and blessing ceremony on 8 July also included aspects of the Poroporoakī, as well as a song of thanks in te reo Māori, German and English, and prayers and blessings in Māori and English.

In Adelaide, the New Zealand collection is being described, arranged and rehoused by Project Archivist Susan Kreymborg, with support from Collections Archivist Angela Schilling.

The collection will remain accessible to New Zealanders and other international researchers through the Alexander Turnbull Library digital catalogue.

–

Lisa McIntosh and Rosie Schefe

New bishop for SA-NT District

by Jess Smith

Pastor Andrew Brook was elected unopposed as the next bishop of the South Australia – Northern Territory District at the district’s Convention of Synod at Victor Harbor, south of Adelaide in May.

He will succeed Bishop David Altus who did not seek re-election after 13 years in the role. Pastor Andrew is the lead pastor at St Johns Lutheran Church in suburban Unley and previously served in the Victoria-Tasmania District.

Pastor Adrian Kitson, who serves the congregation of St Petri Nuriootpa, has replaced Pastor Andrew as First Assistant Bishop, while Pastor Joel Cramer, of The Ark Salisbury, continues in his role as Second Assistant Bishop. Both assistant bishops were installed during the May Synod.

The SA-NT Synod approved a new Assistant Bishop for the Northern Territory position, which will be based in Alice Springs to support all ministries within the NT. A call committee will be formed, and it is hoped that a pastor would be called to this role before the end of the year. The District and Finke River Mission have committed to a four-year funding partnership for this position.

It is anticipated that Bishop-elect Andrew will be installed as district bishop in early September. Bishop David has been serving in the role in 'caretaker mode' since the convention.

In a message to the district after his election, Bishop-elect Andrew said that, for as long as he could remember, he had wanted to be a pastor.

‘I’m immensely thankful to God for being able to follow this calling’, he said. ‘I feel both excited and daunted as I prepare to serve as your District Bishop. My ordination text encourages me in what I know will be both demanding and fulfilling work: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

‘I also know that God’s power is made perfect in weakness, including mine. That’s a great encouragement for the church as we face significant cultural headwinds. We have the good news that the world needs: the God who created the world and everything in it, who loves us in his Son, Jesus Christ who died on the cross to reconcile us to God, and who through the Holy Spirit calls us to live

9am Sunday 27 August 2023

13th Sunday after Pentecost Festival Eucharist

Guest Preacher Pastor Gordon Wegener

Bisher habt ihr nichts gebeten in meinem Namen BWV87 for 3 soloists, choir, strings, 3 oboes including 2 oboes da caccia and continuo

Christopher Roache (countertenor)

Timothy Reynolds (tenor)

Oliver Mann (bass)

Bach Cantata Services

fully and purposefully in the community of his church. Real grace. Real life. Real community.’

Before taking up the call at Unley in 2017, Bishop-elect Andrew served in five different ministries, including three parishes: Burnie–Devonport in Tasmania, and Good Shepherd, Ringwood, and St Paul’s Box Hill, both in suburban Melbourne. He also served as the Victoria–Tasmania District Pastor for Child, Youth, Tertiary and Family Ministry and was a tertiary chaplain at the University of Melbourne, and pastor to the student congregation meeting in St John’s Southgate, in central Melbourne. He is married to Jodi, who serves as director of the LCANZ’s Grow Ministries, and they have three adult children, Henri, Emilia and Thomas.

9am Sunday 29 October 2023

Reformation

Festival Eucharist

Gelobet sei der Herr, mein Gott BWV129 for 3 soloists, choir, strings, 2 oboes, flute, 3 trumpets, timpani and continuo

10am Monday 25 December 2023 Christmas Day

Festival Eucharist

Und es waren Hirten in derselben Gegend BWV248/ii the second cantata of the Christmas Oratorio for 4 soloists, choir, strings, 4 oboes including 2 oboes da caccia, 2 flutes and continuo

St Johns Bach Choir and Orchestra directed by Graham Lieschke

LCA South Australia – Northern Territory District Bishop-elect Pastor Andrew Brook, far right, with fellow District bishop team members Pastor Stephen Schultz (Assistant Bishop for Mission), Pastor Adrian Kitson (First Assistant Bishop) and Pastor Joel Cramer (Second Assistant Bishop). Photo courtesy of SA – NT District

Story courtesy of the LCA SA – NT District

Members keen to engage with church’s Way Forward

LCANZ members are ‘reflecting deeply’ on the church’s future and are keen to engage with and contribute to its Way Forward project.

The Way Forward project team of Stella Thredgold, Tim Niewand and Tony Vong have been impressed with the engagement of the LCANZ community in developing a positive future. The project team is charged with ensuring project disciplines and management help to deliver a proposal to the next General Synod outlining how the LCANZ could operate as ‘one church with two different practices of ordination’.

After a churchwide call for ‘one church, two practices’ models in June, members made more than 100 submissions to the Way Forward. The project team asked for models that reflected our synodical commitment of ‘walking together’ and that aspire to maintain the unity of the church.

While submissions ranged in detail from fully formulated models to suggestions and ideas, it was clear to the project team that great time, thought, and effort had been invested into each of them. Submissions were received from across the LCA, including lay people, active and emeriti pastors, and congregational teams.

‘As expected, we received submissions representing a wide range of opinions about ordination and about the Synod resolution to explore a framework for “one church,

two practices”’, Tim Niewand said. ‘Without exception, however, every submission was proffered with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

‘Every voice across the LCA is valuable and every person has the opportunity to be heard. We are grateful to every person and group of people who made a submission, including those who shared their heartfelt thoughts.’ Regardless of the position people hold on ordination, there is a commitment to grappling with God’s word and earnestly listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying to the church at this time, the project team said. They said the number of responses received indicates that members of the church are ‘reflecting deeply’ about the way forward. ‘People are having conversations – in their congregations, among their family and friends, and in their social networks’, the

project team said. ‘They recognise that the LCA is at a critical juncture, and they are contemplating what the future might look like.’

Criteria for assessing the models are in the process of being developed with input from the broader team supporting the project, including the eight Way Forward working groups and other subject matter experts supporting the project in coordinating the Way Forward response. The broader team collectively bring broad experience and expertise to the project. As well as providing advice and guidance to the project team on churchwide processes, emerging issues and conflict resolution, they will work with the team and working groups to develop the evaluation framework to guide the selection of a Way Forward model. The project team has been responding to every submission to acknowledge receipt and offer this in a body of work for assessment and submission to the General Church Board and College of Bishops for consideration. ‘We want the model put to the 2024 General Synod to be one that most people in the church can support in good conscience’, Project Director Stella Thredgold said. ‘We are looking for models that address the General Synod resolution intent and that honours God and respects every person in the church regardless of the position they hold on ordination.’

2024 General Synod theme and logo launched

Grace as God’s unifying gift to his church will be the thematic focus of next year’s LCANZ 21st Convention of General Synod in Adelaide.

The theme, ‘The Gift of God – it’s grace that unites us’, is based on Ephesians 2:8, ‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God’, and has been approved by the General Church Board, along with an accompanying logo. The General Synod logo was created by Elysia McEwen, a member of the LifeWay congregation in Sydney and designer of The Lutheran

‘Developing the logo was a challenge’, said LCA communications manager Linda

Macqueen. ‘While the concept of “grace” is well known by us Lutherans, it is difficult to convey visually.

‘We thank God for the gifted graphic designers we call on for assignments such as this. They are members of Lutheran congregations and therefore they understand the foundations of our Lutheran teaching. I love watching

how they bring theology and creativity together to serve the church in this way.’ Elements of the Synod logo include:

• The hand of God holding us emanates from the cross, which is the means through which God has reconciled us to himself.

• Grace flows to us through the cross and from the cross – it is God who moves towards us. The people are passive –we cannot earn grace; it is God’s gift.

• God’s grace holds us together as one body. We are joined together in his embrace, united for now and eternity as his dearly beloved and baptised children.

Synod will be held 4 – 7 October 2024.

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.

A life walking with God is something to sing about – at any age. And for one of the Lutheran Church’s oldest choir members, it’s a blessing he’s still singing about at the age of 96. A simple statement in Genesis about a chap named Enoch walking with God gets to the heart of God’s love for us, says Emeritus Bishop Pastor Reinhard Mayer.

Found in Genesis 5:24, the four words ‘Enoch walked with God’ form Reinhard’s favourite Old Testament Bible passage.

‘It just tells you everything about who God is and his place in our lives, that he just comes to us and walks with us’, Reinhard says.

That has kept the tenor as an active member of the St Peters Lutheran Church choir in Indooroopilly, in suburban Brisbane.

In February this year, the congregational choir celebrated Reinhard’s 96th birthday at its regular practice. Reinhard’s role as a choral tenor is likely to make him the oldest active tenor in the church.

He’s keen to see how long he can keep going, noting: ‘It is a little unusual, as your voice loses its flexibility and resonance.’

‘The moment you think you have reached your use-by date – it is still worth keeping on going, as once you stop that, you lose something’, he says. Reinhard takes that same message to heart in his daily life – he still lives independently and drives.

BY HELEN BRINKMAN

Reinhard’s tenacity has shown throughout his eventful life, which began in 1927 in the small wine-growing village of Nierstein on the banks of the Rhine River in Germany. When he was one, his family emigrated to Queensland’s Darling Downs, swapping vineyards for a dairy farm.

It was a tough time. After surviving the Great Depression, and the drought of 1935-6, World War II ended Reinhard’s youth abruptly. The need for local workers forced the then 15-year-old to the local cheese factory where he took on the back-breaking work of several men, heaving 35 to 40-kilogram blocks of cheese onto cold room shelves.

Post-war the family moved to Brisbane, managing a milk run. After five years of working from midnight til morning, Reinhard began feeling he wasn’t fully using his God-given abilities. ‘I had a growing feeling I should do something else but had not gone beyond Grade 7 at school’, he recalls.

When Pastor Max Lohe from his local Nazareth congregation at Woolloongabba in inner Brisbane suggested he join the seminary, Reinhard responded with an absolute ‘no’. He not only was very shy and lacked confidence, but Reinhard had left school in Grade 7. ‘The thought of becoming a pastor scared the living daylights out of me.’

However, the seed was sown. ‘After a year of telling God “No, find something else for me”, all of a sudden, things changed’, he says. Reinhard’s younger brother Rolph was partway through his own seminary studies, prompting Reinhard to consider whether he could have taken a similar path, given changed circumstances.

Within a month of his parents realising Reinhard’s ambition, he was enrolled at Brisbane’s St Peters College, 10 years after he’d first left school. Aged 22, Reinhard achieved his leaving certificate by cramming four years of studies into 18 months.

‘It took a lot of effort, but I was determined. I set my mind to it and got through. I went on to the seminary, and the rest, as they say, is history.’

In 1955, Reinhard Mayer was ordained at Nazareth Lutheran Church, four years after his younger brother Rolph, who went on to become chaplain at Immanuel College, in Adelaide, and then principal of Lutheran Teachers College.

‘IT JUST TELLS YOU EVERYTHING ABOUT WHO GOD IS AND HIS PLACE IN OUR LIVES, THAT HE JUST COMES TO US AND WALKS WITH US.’

Right: Reinhard Mayer’s family, pictured, emigrated to Queensland’s Darling Downs from Germany when he was one and settled in Brisbane after World War II. The Mayers are, from back left, Ruth, George, Reinhard, Esther, and front row, Helga, Karl, Christina, Jakob and Rolph.

Far right and below middle right: Reinhard Mayer, who began his working life in a cheese factory as a 15-year-old and later became a pastor, teacher, school chaplain and district president (bishop), has written his memoirs for his family.

Bottom right: Pastor Reinhard Mayer is believed to be the oldest active choral tenor in the LCANZ, at age 96.

Despite a heart for the country, Reinhard only spent three years in parish ministry, serving in Mildura and Loxton after his ordination. He went on to serve a total of 25 years as chaplain of St Peters College, Indooroopilly, which included a full-time teaching role – not only religious studies but also Latin, Greek and Mathematics!

‘I love Maths, and they were some of the happiest years of my life, so I became a teacher as well as a pastor.’

After 16 years, his chaplaincy was interrupted by 12 years as Queensland District President from 1974 (now known as District Bishop). He then returned for nine further years at St Peters until retirement in 1995, aged 67.

Reinhard’s connection to St Peters had begun in the late 1940s when the college was under development, heavily supported by volunteer labour. As his milk run hours were midnight to 8am, Reinhard and brother George used their milk trucks and muscles to cart sand and gravel, mix cement or dig foundations during the day.

When he returned to St Peters as chaplain in 1958, he was accompanied by his wife Thelma, whom he married 18 months after his ordination. During their 60 years of marriage, they welcomed six children.

Reinhard says that since Thelma’s passing seven years ago, living alone means he doesn’t use his voice as much. That’s one way the choir has helped. He’s been blessed to have his son Greg as the organist and choir accompanist, and his daughterin-law Tricia Elgar as the choir conductor.

And so, the singing continues, as does Reinhard’s walk with God.

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

It was a simple plan. Maybe they are the best, I don’t know, but this was indeed simple. Invite a friend. The simple thought behind it was, that if everyone brought a friend to church, we would have double the people there.

And that was the plan.

So I started to cast the vision, presenting the day as one to which we could invite a friend. The promotion started six weeks beforehand, as it needs to. I have found that you can talk about things long and hard, and still, half the people won’t know about it. But I still didn’t know if it would work. People seem to be quite selective with their involvement.

We planned the Sunday, with some good songs, a couple of old ones and a couple of new ones. I had written a parody of ‘I’m a Believer’ as sung by The Monkees. We had planned a bang-up morning tea, and we were ready.

Come Sunday morning, the service was ready to begin, and a few people started coming in. It was about 20 mins before the service. There were only a few people there, and one lady came up to me, touched my arm and said, ‘It’s exciting, isn’t it?’

Nothing had happened yet, but I knew we had hit a sweet spot. Whether many people came or not, it was a success. People were getting excited about outreach. As it happened, we more than doubled our attendance that day. One lady, while walking

BY ROB EDWARDS

in, flanked by two friends, proudly announced, ‘I brought two!’ Many more told me how they had invited someone who couldn’t come this time but might next time. We had found a way.

Next time we would need to do more and include follow-up, but for now, we were off to a start, and it was working. We had people in church who were not normally there. This was our first ‘Bring a Friend Sunday’.

We have just had our second. And this time, though we didn’t have as many people, the excitement is mounting. There was still a difficulty in getting the word out, particularly to those who don’t attend regularly, but there were new people in church and some who used to come but hadn’t lately. We had a few regulars who are now getting quite good at inviting a friend.

This time, it was a normal Sunday service. We had our normal two services on a Sunday, and a barbecue afterwards. Quite a few people stayed to chat. It seems that while we see a few new people in church, the greater benefit is that mission is no longer seen by our members as out of reach: it is possible, it is not too difficult, and we are doing it.

Pastor Rob Edwards serves the community at Peace Lutheran Church Gatton, in Queensland’s Lockyer Valley region.

MISSION IS NO LONGER SEEN BY OUR MEMBERS AS OUT OF REACH: IT IS POSSIBLE, IT IS NOT TOO DIFFICULT, AND WE ARE DOING IT.

BECAUSE AT ENDEAVOUR COLLEGE YOU ARE ONE IN A MILLION

We may have more than 750 students in Years 7-12, but each child in our community is treated as an individual. That’s because we have children from a rich diversity of cultures, backgrounds, and religions, each with unique abilities. Endeavour seeks to educate the whole child – academically, spiritually, physically, socially, and emotionally to enable them to thrive for decades to come.

Directory

CALLS

Extended

• Rev Mark P Blackwell

Leave of absence to Good Shepherd

Toowoomba Qld

• Rev Matthew B Edgecomb

Strathalbyn SA to Bethania Qld

• Rev Matthew B Edgecomb

Strathalbyn SA to Nunawading-Waverley Vic

• Rev Greg J Fowler

Golden Grove SA to Para Vista SA

• Rev Greg J Fowler

Golden Grove SA to Crows Nest Qld

• Rev Greg J Fowler

Golden Grove SA to Faith Lutheran College

Redlands Qld

• Rev Jonathan M Goessling

Tatachilla Lutheran College McLaren Vale SA to St Lukes Albury NSW

• Rev Mark C Hansen

Noosa Qld to Port Lincoln SA

• Rev Mathew D Ker

Barossa North SA to Tabor Vic

• Rev Andrew R Koehler

Tallebudgera Qld to Eudunda SA

• Rev Andrew R Koehler

Tallebudgera Qld to Aberfoyle Park SA

• Rev Lucas E Matuschka

Rainbow Vic to Cleve SA

• Rev Raymond T Morris

St Marks Caloundra Qld to Alberton Qld

• Rev Hansanand F Peethala

Living Waters Liverpool NSW to Horsham Vic

• Rev Lionel R Rohrlach

Pittsworth Qld to Zion Gympie Qld

• Rev Andrew L Vanderwal

Ceduna SA to Blackwood SA

Accepted

• Rev Mark P Blackwell

Leave of absence to Good Shepherd

Toowoomba Qld

• Rev John M Borchert

St Pauls College Walla Walla NSW to Walla

Walla Parish NSW

LCANZ COMPLAINTS

Many complaints can be resolved before lasting hurt is caused, by addressing them quickly in a non-threatening manner and by raising the issue directly with the relevant person or organisation in a thoughtful and courteous manner. If this is not applicable or possible in your situation, you may lodge a complaint with the Professional Standards Department in any of the following ways: Phone the free-call number (Aust 1800 644 628 NZ 0800 356 887), email complaints@lca.org.au or write to Confidential, PO Box 519, Marden SA 5070.

• Rev Richard W Fox

Lutheran Media to Glynde SA

• Rev Mathew D Ker

Barossa North SA to Tabor Vic

• Rev Hansanand F Peethala

Living Waters Liverpool NSW to Horsham Vic

• Rev Andrew L Vanderwal

Ceduna SA to Blackwood SA

Declined

• Rev Matthew B Edgecomb Strathalbyn SA to Cleve SA

• Rev Matthew B Edgecomb Strathalbyn SA to Bethania Qld

• Rev Matthew B Edgecomb Strathalbyn SA to Nunawading-Waverley Vic

• Rev Greg J Fowler Golden Grove SA to Para Vista SA

• Rev Richard W Fox Lutheran Media to Para Vista SA

• Rev Mark C Hansen Noosa Qld to Port Lincoln SA

• Rev Andrew R Koehler

Tallebudgera Qld to Pacific Lutheran College Caloundra Qld

• Rev Andrew R Koehler Tallebudgera Qld to Eudunda SA

• Rev Lucas E Matuschka Rainbow Vic to Cleve SA

• Rev Raymond T Morris St Marks Caloundra Qld to Alberton Qld

• Rev Neville R Otto Box Hill Vic to Blackwood SA

INSTALLATIONS

• Rev Ben C Pfeiffer installed to Alice Springs NT on 14 May 2023 by Bishop David Altus

• Rev Joel S Cramer installed as SA-NT Second Assistant Bishop at Encounter Lutheran College, Victor Harbor SA, on 21 May 2023 by Bishop David Altus

• Rev Adrian D Kitson installed as SA-NT First Assistant Bishop at Encounter Lutheran College, Victor Harbor SA, on 21 May 2023 by Bishop David Altus

• Rev Geoffrey P Johnston installed to St Andrews Glynde SA on 28 May 2023 by Rev Stephen Schultz

• Rev Edward James Szabo installed to Woodridge Trinder Park Aged Care Qld on 13 June 2023 by Bishop Mark Vainikka

• Rev Michael Grosas installed to Living Faith Murrumba Downs Qld on 9 July 2023 by Bishop Mark Vainikka

ROLL OF PASTORS

• Rev Michael Jacobsen – Change in call eligibility status from General Ministry Pastor to Pastor Emeritus from 26 May 2023

• Rev Darryl J Mattner – Leave of Absence extension approved to 3 June 2024

• Rev Stephen J Pietsch – Granted peaceful dismissal and removed from the LCANZ Roll of Pastors, effective 9 July 2023

• Rev Gregory B Schiller – Change in call eligibility status from General Ministry Pastor to Pastor Emeritus from 9 July 2023

• Rev Richard C Taylor – The status of Richard Taylor on the LCANZ Roll of Pastors has lapsed and he has been removed from the Roll, effective 11 May 2023.

• Rev Peter W Traeger – Change in call eligibility status from General Ministry Pastor to Pastor Emeritus from 30 June 2023

IN MEMORIAM

• Mrs Rosemary Winderlich nee Hanckel, widow of Rev Robert Winderlich, died on 27 May 2023. The public memorial service for Rosemary Winderlich was held on 17 June 2023 at St John’s Lutheran Church, Tea Tree Gully SA.

• Mrs Audrey Emilie Larsen nee Wuersching, widow of Rev David Larsen, died on 31 May 2023. Audrey’s funeral was held on Wednesday 7 June 2023 at T.S Burstow Chapel, Kearneys Spring Qld, followed by the committal at Toowoomba Garden of Remembrance, Kearneys Spring Qld.

Vernon Kleinig

Rev Vernon Paul Kleinig born

30 July 1948 (Kapunda SA); ordained

17 December 1972 (Christ Church Murray Bridge SA); married Judith Annette Kleinig nee Hepner, 19 April 1981 (St Johns Geelong Vic); served Albany WA (1974–1977), Melbourne Vic – Tertiary Chaplain (1977–1982), St Peters Lutheran College Indooroopilly Qld –Chaplain (1982–1986), Nuriootpa SA – Director of Christian Education (1986–1989), Minyip Vic (1989–1995), Ballarat Vic (1995–2006), Angaston–Penrice SA (2006–2015); retired 1 November 2015; died 28 May 2023 (Angaston Hospital SA); funeral 6 June 2023 (Zion Angaston SA). The service can be viewed online at https://streamadelaide.live/pastor-kleinig; mourned by wife Judie and children Anita, Esther and Andreas and families

In Memoriam

Ronnie McNamara

Rev Ron (Ronnie) McNamara born 1941 (Glen Helen Station NT – exact date unknown); married Agnes (predeceased Ronnie, date unknown); married Rita (predeceased Ronnie, date unknown); ordained 23 February 1992 (Napperby NT); served Laramba (Napperby) Aboriginal Congregation NT (1992–2023); died 15 June 2023 (Warren Creek NT); funeral to be held 12 September 2023 at 10am at Mount Liebig Amunturrngu Martin Luther Congregation NT; mourned by children

Freda, Anita, Stephen and Anthony and families

ADELAIDE ACCOMMODATION

Self-contained 1 or 2-bedroom city cottages and 3 or 4-bedroom beach houses – 4

Details: www.harrietscottage.com.au or Rob Fitzgerald on 0408 083 584

Work together to understand what God approves

In response to Rev Castle-Schmidt’s letter (Differing conclusions can co-exist, The Lutheran, June-July 2023, page 29), I have to agree that there must be respect for one another even on issues where we disagree.

When it comes to co-existing with two different views on whether or not Scripture allows for the ordination of women, the apostle Paul would not agree that two different versions of the truth was a good outcome. He said this in 1 Corinthians 11:19 (NIV), ‘No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you has God’s approval’.

Paul isn’t suggesting that there can be numerous versions of a particular scriptural truth, but rather that we work together to understand what does have God’s approval. And, of course, Scripture beginning in Genesis should be the only basis for challenging Scripture that has been taught, practised and approved by many great theologians since the church began. The idea that women should be approved as pastors/ overseers of the church is relatively new.

Beth Theodorsen – Geraldton WA

Opinions expressed in letters are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand. Shorter letters will be given preference over longer letters. Subscribers’ letters will be given preference over those from non-subscribers. Letters longer than 300 words and those containing personal attack will not be published. No more than two letters from the same author will be published in a calendar year. Some letters may be edited for clarity.

LCANZ LOCAL MISSION ANNUAL APPEAL

Support and encourage young people as they develop their leadership potential to serve the LCANZ community locally and nationally by helping us to raise $50,000 so that Grow Leadership can continue to develop future leaders.

LET’S GET QUIZZICAL

You’ll find most – if not all – of the answers to these questions in the pages of The Lutheran (as well as below the Sudoku).

1. What was officially welcomed to Lutheran Archives in Adelaide on 8 July?

2. Who is the director of Lutheran Archives?

3. Who is the Bishop-elect of the LCANZ’s South Australia – Northern Territory District?

4. Whom will he succeed when he is installed?

5. The mini magazine of LCA International Mission is included with this print edition of The Lutheran What is it called?

6. When does the Season of Creation begin?

7. What is the Season of Creation?

8. Who is believed to be the oldest active choral tenor in the LCANZ and how old is he?

9. What will the theme be for the 2024 Convention of General Synod?

10. Who was Epaphras?

SUDOKU

Every number from one to nine must appear in each of the nine vertical columns, each of the nine horizontal columns and each of the nine 3 x 3 boxes. No number can occur more than once in any row, column or box. The solution will be printed in the next edition.

June-July’s solution

IN A FEW WORDS …

‘Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God's gift of himself.’

– MOTHER TERESA

‘It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without heart.’

– MAHATMA GANDHI

‘Any concern too small to be turned into prayer is too small to be made into a burden.’

– CORRIE TEN BOOM

1. The Lutheran Church of New Zealand’s archival collection

2. Rachel Kuchel 3. Pastor Andrew Brook

4. Bishop David Altus 5. Border Crossings 6. 1 September 7. A worldwide ecumenical movement focused on prayer and creation care.

8. Reinhard Mayer, 96 9. ‘The gift of God – it’s grace that unites us’

10. An early church evangelist and ‘prayer warrior’

‘Before the Posyandu Health Post, the children were just given green cassava leaves and bananas to eat. They were getting sick all the time, as they had no nutritious food.

The pregnant women were the same. They did not have money or knowledge to get different foods. Then, when the time for birth came, we had no equipment to help them. We would make a cord from the local grasses, and sharpen a bamboo stick, so we could cut the cord from the mother to the baby. Now, we have equipment to help us with the births and the work afterwards.

I became a carer in 1996. After eight years I wanted to stop, but the midwives told me I had to stay because my knowledge and wisdom were needed. So, I am still here!’

Kartina, 71, Indonesia

You can bless others like Kartina by dedicating a gift in your Will to keep on helping people through ALWS. As you do, those you love will see the values precious to you live on. See full story on the back cover.

alws.org.au * 1300 763 407

Thank you!

There are 4.2 million Australians aged 65 years-plus. While some may retire from formal work, it can also be a fresh time to bless others with volunteer service.

Robin and Dorothy Mann have inspired our Lutheran family and many others with their faith-fuelled music ministry for more than 50 years.

Now, as volunteer ambassadors for the ALWS Lives you touch program, they are using songs and stories to share how a gift in your Will can help transform the lives of people in places like the remote villages of Mentawai Island in Indonesia.

Here Robin and Dorothy saw firsthand the special power of ALWS-supported mangroves (Manngroves?!) to help people adapt to the impact of changing climate. Mangroves help prevent sea erosion and lessen the impact of high tides and dangerous waves. Mangroves also create habitats to increase stocks of fish and crabs, providing food and a source of income.

Local community member, Kartina, is 71 years old, and happy to plant mangroves too.

here!’

(See story inside back cover.)

Kartina also volunteers at one of the local health posts – Posyandu – our Lutheran family supports through our Indonesia partner CDRM&CDS. She says that before the Posyandu and the training in improved agriculture, children had only cassava leaves and bananas to eat. Many became sick. Pregnant women also suffered.

Thanks to your ALWS support, that’s changing! Children are healthy and strong!

Like Robin and Dorothy with their music ministry, Kartina shows there is no age limit to the good we can do for others when we use our gifts and energy to bring love to life!

Robin and Dorothy will share stories from Indonesia, and songs from 50 years of music ministry, at ALWS Asante events around Australia.

To find out more, or invite an ALWS guest speaker, simply contact:

1300 763 407 * alws.org.au

‘… my knowledge and wisdom were needed. So, I am still

Kartina, 71 years