Queensland’s Sunshine Coast was once a string of small holiday towns. It is now the tenth largest urban area in Australia and each week 150 more people make it their home. This is a big challenge for the Lutherans at St Marks, Caloundra.

The congregation has two services. The 8.00 am group worships in a small church in the central business district, and the 9.30 am group meets in an undercover area at Pacific Lutheran College. The combined attendance at both services is around 120.

Our small congregation has a big heart, however, and the blessing of a Lutheran school. Pacific Lutheran College opened in 2001 and now has nearly 900 students.

This mission field constantly faces the questions: How can we share the gospel with the wider community and how can we connect with the families at Pacific College? The answer is: in as many ways as possible!

In the early years St Marks ran the Alpha course, which helped to establish the 9.30 am worshipping community at the college.

I make regular visits to the kindergarten and junior school to lead chapel services and labyrinth workshops, which are also fruitful. There have been many baptisms, and recently six school children began First Communion classes in the congregation. The strong teamwork between the college chaplain (Pastor Paul Smith) and me is also very important.

Another important link are the class visits to the 9.30 am service. Every term, classes from the junior school lead a service. For parents, children and church members it is always a time of great celebration. The families discover that the church is not boring; rather it is a place where they are appreciated and experience God’s love in a wonderful way. One school parent recently commented how the class visits had helped her to feel part of our church.

Senior students at the school are also regularly involved in worship through a band led by David Simpfendorfer, Pacific College’s head of music.

‘Adopt a Class’ has also been a great success. This program was modelled on one already working well at neighbouring Immanuel congregation.

In Adopt a Class, members of the congregation go into a class each week and help out in any way they can. It is wonderful to see how enthusiastically both teachers and participants have embraced this program. Church members who previously felt little connection to the school are now valued parts of the school community. Some regularly go to Friday chapel and even bake cakes for staff morning teas.

St Marks senior members have also forged links with Pacific College through an annual morning tea. Members of St Marks Golden Oldies group join the junior school for the chapel service and then stay for morning tea. This is prepared by the food technology students. Junior school leaders attend to the tables and everyone has a wonderful day.

Another activity that has proved a great way to link the school with the 8.00 am traditional service is ‘Hymns We Love’. The first ‘Hymns We Love’ service was held in 2002. It began after I watched the ABC TV program ‘Hymns of the Forefathers’ and suggested that a similar service would be a good way to connect with the local community. ‘Hymns We Love’ is now a much loved and eagerly anticipated annual event at St Marks.

Every year the worship team meets several months ahead to decide on a theme for the year’s service. They then set about the task of choosing eleven hymns to develop the theme. This regularly produces ‘robust debate’, as the parliamentarians put it! No matter what hymns are chosen, care is always taken to ensure that the selected hymns are easy to sing and will connect with the local community.

In recent years Pacific Lutheran College senior students have become an integral part of the service. This year the theme was ‘Eleven Favourite Hymns’, and the college choir, led by Adrian King, sang O Sacred Head, Panis Angelicus and the modern classic In Christ Alone.

In this way ‘Hymns We Love’ has become a wonderful link between the St Marks traditional service and the school community.

Reflecting on the service, Adrian said, ‘”Hymns We Love” is special to me as I was immersed in the Anglican tradition of sung Eucharist and Evensong at my old school and parish church in England. It is also gives me very great pleasure in sharing the love and experience of hymn-singing with the younger choir members, whether it be in the “modern idiom” or the “traditional”’.

The St Marks Singers, led by Viola Lange and accompanied by Joy Hill, are also a vital part of the service. This year they sang Mary’s Boy Child.

Instead of a sermon being preached, the narrators tell the history of each hymn, which is then sung by the congregation or a choir, or played by instrumentalists.

The service seeks to feature the best church music: old and new. This year the service began with Father Welcomes, which recognised the great contribution that Robin Mann has made to worship music in the Lutheran Church and beyond.

Next year ‘Hymns We Love’ celebrates its tenth anniversary. As Bach would have written, Soli Deo Gloria — to God alone be the glory!

At St Marks we know that, while much has been done to link church and the school communities, much more needs to be done. We pray that God will continue to give us the vision and plenty of fresh ideas.

Richard Zweck is the pastor of St Marks congregation, Caloundra, Queensland.