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2

Your new Church House is ready to welcome you

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LCANZ Churchwide Office (CWO) staff moved into the new Church House in Adelaide’s CBD last month and, as of 1 December, are ready to welcome visitors to the 139 Frome Street premises. As well as offices, the five-storey building will be a hub to support mission, ministry and collaboration across the wider church.

3

LCANZ Church House move nears

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The refurbishment of the new LCANZ Church House in Adelaide’s CBD is progressing steadily, with the project now in the final stages of building services replacement and interior fit-out. Staff are expected to move into the new premises at 139 Frome Street by no later than November. The five-storey building will also include spaces available for use by the wider Lutheran family.

4

Mission-focused pastor takes on churchwide role

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Pastor Mark Schultz has accepted a call from the LCANZ to serve as the church’s Assistant to the Bishop – International Mission from next year. Despite serving for 18 years at Sydney’s LifeWay Lutheran Church, Pastor Mark wasn’t looking for a change. However, God had a new plan for the lead pastor at the multi-ethnic, multi-site church.

5

New home purchased for churchwide bodies

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A five-level building in the Adelaide CBD will become the new home for Australian Lutheran College and the Churchwide Office. The building is located at 139 Frome Street, Adelaide, in close proximity to Bethlehem and St Stephen’s Lutheran churches. The acquisition of this property follows the sale of the LCANZ’s properties in North Adelaide.

6

Church to explore domestic violence report findings

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The LCANZ is continuing its efforts to prevent domestic and family violence (DFV) among its members, in the wake of the release of a report which finds that some religious beliefs about gender can be used to justify DFV.

Commissioned by the LCA in 2019, the Religion and Domestic Violence Report is the result of research done to help church leaders understand the core issues and address domestic and family violence in the LCANZ, and in our wider community.

‘It is important to note that the Religion and Domestic Violence Report is not a theological statement of our church’, said LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith. Instead, as the contribution of professional researchers, Bishop Paul said the report would help the people of the church explore how to better understand and address domestic and family violence, both in New Zealand and in Australia.

A 2015 directive from General Synod ‘to commit resources to address ‘the prevalence of family violence among us’, resulted in the domestic violence awareness campaign Hidden Hurts Healing Hearts and the establishment of LCA’s Taskforce on Domestic and Family Violence.

‘Upon receipt of such a significant report, we need to determine how best to respond to its findings and recommendations’, Bishop Smith said.

At its December 2023 meeting, the General Church Board resolved to establish a Religion and Domestic Violence Report Response Group (RDVRRG), whose primary role will be to collate responses to the report and to present recommendations to the General Church Board. The group’s work is to be completed before the 2024 Convention of General Synod.

Invitations for membership of the RDVRRG are extended to the members of the LCANZ. Applications will be accepted and processed by the Nominations Committee. Applications close on Friday 16 February 2024.

Visit the Religion and Domestic Violence Report webpage at www.lca.org.au/rdvr to:

  • read the terms of reference for the RDVRRG and download a nomination form
  • read or download the Religion and Domestic Violence Report.
7

Can I come to church?

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by Rob Edwards

‘Can I come to church?’ You get a lot of different calls as a pastor, but this phone call was particularly unusual. It started quite normally, but the purpose was a bit surprising. The young lady on the other end of the line was asking if she could come to church.

I could have simply said ‘yes’, and hung up, but there seemed to be more to the question. After a few niceties, a few more questions and a bit of awkward silence, she asked, ‘How do I come? Can I just come in the front door? Do I have to be a member?’ The questions sounded strange, but it occurred to me that I don’t know how difficult it is to get into church because I’ve always been ‘in’.

Sure, I’ve visited churches where I am not a member, churches of other denominations with unfamiliar practices, but always with a basic working knowledge of churches.

In this case, I asked her if she wanted a ‘dry run’ – in other words, to visit the church. I could show her through, where she could sit, and how to ‘come in’. She loved that idea, and when she came, we talked for more than an hour.

How and why this all started is another story, but it made me realise that many people won’t just come to church. A lot needs to happen first, and most of it is in relationship-forming. Our plan to welcome new people into the church, therefore, may need to start potentially years before they sit in a pew.

We always need to ask the ‘new person’ question when we do anything in the church. How will this impact the new person? What will the new person think of this activity? Where will they sit? Will they be able to get a coffee afterwards? Do they know that they are allowed to?

Well, she did come to church and seemed to enjoy it. The following week, she brought her daughter and two grandkids. A little while later, two other daughters. A series of studies later, half a dozen baptisms ensued. While they will never be your ‘usual’ Lutheran members, and there will often be some unusual questions, lifestyle choices and more, they now know they can come to church.

Pastor Rob Edwards serves the congregation of Peace Lutheran Church Gatton in Queensland.

This story first appeared in LCA Queensland District eNews and on the district’s website at https://qld.lca.org.au/2023/10/10/can-i-come-to-church/  

8

Safe Church training to become live online training

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Some changes are planned for the way Safe Church training will be delivered across the church. Live online training will be phased in during 2024.

‘We’ve listened to the feedback from people who have attended our workshops’, Professional Standards Manager Tim Ross said. ‘While there has been overwhelmingly positive support for our trainers and the content of the workshops, some people have told us that the face-to-face workshops are longer than they would like. It’s also hard for some volunteers to get to a physical training location.’

As well as reducing the time and travel burden on volunteers, live online training has the potential to reach more people and thus have a greater impact across the church.

‘All of our Safe Church training has been available online, in a self-paced format, for a number of years’, Tim said.

‘Participants can complete this training at home in their own time. We will be continuing to offer the self-paced training. However, we have found that some people do prefer a live training experience.

‘Live online training will deliver the best of both worlds. Participants will be able to attend an online training session at the scheduled time that best suits them; they will not need to wait for a trainer to visit their region or parish for a workshop. They will still have direct interaction with their online trainer and have their questions answered.’

It is anticipated that face-to-face training will be phased out during 2024 and that training will be conducted exclusively online by the end of the year.

The Safe Church team is confident that live online training will be user-friendly, even for those with little technical know-how or limited connectivity. This form of training will also be suitable for physically gathering as a local group, if necessary, to connect with the trainer live online.

‘We will be seeking some guidance and assistance from local Safe Church Coordinators regarding suitable venues and equipment for group gatherings’, Tim said.

‘In any event, it is clear there is now greater technological literacy, in post-COVID society, with so many services and facilities having moved online. Our Professional Standards Officers will be working hard to ensure that people across the church are supported, as they make the transition to online Safe Church training.’

Information about the rollout of live online training will be available on the Safe Church webpage at www.lca.org.au/safechurchtraining and updates and alerts will be provided via LCA eNews (to sign up, go to www.lca.org.au/lcaenews-signmeup).

9

Called to service in the church

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Michael Bowden was happy in his work and not looking to change employment in September this year when the Human Resources Manager role for the LCANZ popped up as an automatic job suggestion in his LinkedIn business networking feed.

That was on a Friday afternoon. The then HR Business Partner for Calvary Health in Adelaide said within two days he knew he was meant to apply.

A lifelong committed Christian, Michael believed that God was calling him and that all his previous experiences in professional life had prepared him to serve in this way.

‘So many of the items in that advert just resonated with me’, Michael said. ‘I saw it on a Friday afternoon and Sunday afternoon I was convicted to apply, and I applied.

‘My wife said, “What are you doing?”, because I just disappeared into the home office. I said, “I’m applying for a job”, and she said, “What? Why?”. And the only answer I could give her was, “God’s told me to”.

‘There was a real touch in my heart – in my spirit – to apply. I was happy. There were none of the logical reasons that are normally there when you look at moving on.’

Michael started his working life as an apprentice boilermaker welder, holding roles in manufacturing and then factory management, before moving into the recruitment sector, unemployment services, education, aged care, and human resources.

His appointment as Human Resources Manager follows the seven-year tenure of Dr Chris Materne, who served as Church Worker Support Manager since 2016.

Michael said the concept of servant leadership was a very important model for him as he takes on the task of ‘serving the congregations of the church, and the people who assist the congregations, and the workers within the congregations’.

‘For me, it’s always been about serving and supporting the teams that I work for rather than being a figurehead’, said Michael, who has a Diploma in Human Resource Management, a Graduate Diploma in Management and a Masters of Business Administration. ‘I very much look at leadership as a reverse concept – the people in my team don’t work for me as a manager; I work for them to help them do their job.’

Unlike Michael, Stephen Kroker had already worked for LCANZ agencies for more than 25 years when he took on the role of Financial Controller at the Churchwide Office this month.

Stephen, who most recently served at Australian Lutheran World Service, initially as Operations Support Manager and then Finance and Administration Manager, was Lutheran Education Australia’s Business Manager between 2012 and 2021. For part of that time, he also served as a finance analyst with the then Lutheran Schools Association of SA, NT and WA. Originally a chartered accountant in the private sector, Stephen began his church work in 1995 as Business Manager at Immanuel Primary School.

Stephen said serving the church – whether in paid employment or in voluntary roles he has held at congregational, district or churchwide level – was ‘an opportunity to respond in a small way to God’s infinite grace and love’ – and use the gifts he has been given.

‘I’m thankful when I’m reminded how blessed the LCA is by the people I’ve had the chance to serve alongside’, he said.

Stephen joined the Churchwide finance team after Debbie Venz, who served for 13 years as Business Manager, returned to her home country New Zealand. She has since taken up the role of District Administrator for the Lutheran Church of New Zealand.

10

Bishops call for day of prayer, church unity

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The LCANZ bishops have called on the people of the church to set aside Sunday 8 October for a churchwide day of prayer focusing on the unity of the church. This is a significant day as it is just a year from the 2024 Convention of General Synod.

At the in-person sessions of the 2021–23 Convention of General Synod, the General Church Board and College of Bishops were asked to consider possible ways forward in the decades-long ordination debate. The Way Forward project is working to develop a framework whereby the LCANZ could function as one church with two different practices of ordination. It is intended that this proposal will be brought to the 2024 Convention of General Synod, 4–7 October 2024.

‘Across the church’, said LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith, ‘there are sisters and brothers in Christ of our Lutheran communities who are working together in the Way Forward project to guide our church to consider what is required for us to properly address what has been asked for by the resolution of General Synod.

‘We are asking the entire church to pray for these sisters and brothers, our leaders, and everyone who is affected by these conversations. We are calling for focused churchwide prayer on Sunday 8 October, and for ongoing prayer in the congregations and households of the church.

‘The prophet Zechariah declares a promise of our gracious God, “They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God’.”’ (Zechariah 13).

Congregations have been asked to mark 8 October on their calendars for the churchwide Call to Prayer, while ongoing prayer on this matter throughout October and beyond is also encouraged. Worship orders, including the Call to Prayer elements, are available on the Worship Planning Page at www.lca.org.au/wpp