Archive for category: Uncategorised

by Sally Sandford-Morgan

Next year Endeavour College will celebrate its 20th anniversary. Since its humble beginnings, serving others has always been a highly valued activity. Connections with other Lutheran organisations are greatly appreciated and our link with Lutheran Community Care (LCC) gives our students the chance to step outside their comfort zone to help others.

LCC at Ingle Farm is located within the local primary school. This means they can provide a range of support services to families from both within and outside of the school community. One of their projects involves Year 9 students from Endeavour College and some students from Ingle Farm Primary School working on activities together. This is the second year the program has been run and it has been greatly enjoyed by all the participants.

Diana, one of our Endeavour students, has said about her experience: ‘The children we helped to cook have learning disabilities, but they enjoy the time away from class and that it is a way for them to take their minds off things’.

The program was started last year as an alternative to voluntary participation in sporting teams on Tuesday afternoons. It was originally anticipated that a team of six to eight students would visit LCC once a fortnight, but after a larger-than-expected response two teams were established and they participate in the program in alternating weeks. Students are committed to being part of the service team for the duration of the term.

Students in the Special Needs class at Ingle Farm Primary are unable to participate in some events, such as excursions. A staff member said, ‘Many of them prefer not to access the playground area at recess and lunchtime due to their lack of confidence. But one time each week they are able to participate in an activity where they feel special, and they really look forward to it. If they arrive and the Endeavour students aren’t there yet, they are very disappointed, as they think the older students aren’t coming at all. But when they do arrive, excitement takes over, their faces light up and they have an enjoyable time.’

The activities are coordinated and organised by the staff and volunteers at LCC. These vary on a weekly basis but often include a cooking and/or craft component. Students from both schools work together to complete tasks.

‘Seeing the rest of the service team working with the kids and the way they talked to them was really cool to watch’, said Meaghan, one of our Endeavour students. ‘It made me realise that even small things such as talking can make a huge difference.

‘The more the kids got to know us, the more comfortable they became and they were excited to tell us about what they have been doing. Cooking with them has helped me to be a patient person, as the kids did not always know what to do with different steps in the cooking process.’

For me, the most satisfying thing about this project is the knowledge that our students are becoming more understanding of people outside their usual circle of experience. At the same time they are learning about part of an organisation that they might contribute to as volunteers or employees in the future.

Sally Sandford-Morgan is Service Learning Leader at Endeavour College, Mawson Lakes, South Australia.

Subscribe here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full

by David Grulke

St Luke’s Albury, which is located in southern New South Wales, on the northern side of the Murray River border with Victoria, is a uniquely gifted congregation which has planted several ministries over its 80-year history.

These include Lutheran Aged Care Albury, the largest aged-care provider in the region, and St Peter’s Lutheran Church, in nearby Lavington. St Luke’s also assisted the setup of Australian Lutheran World Service, which operates out of Albury.

Consequently, when the congregation was offered the opportunity to join the LCA’s church-planting initiative, the people of St Luke’s didn’t hesitate. It was a natural fit.

The journey towards partnering with the LCA’s New and Renewing Churches department began several years earlier. After deciding not to merge with St Peter’s Lavington, St Luke’s looked for a new direction. NSW District’s Bishop Mark Lieschke asked me to help St Luke’s consider what this future may be. I was Assistant Bishop at the time and was transitioning out of defence chaplaincy.

After opting for a mission-based future, St Luke’s called me as its pastor and began journeying towards being a missional church. Over the next 18 months they contemplated what this kind of church could look like and reflected on the opportunities of doing something new, rather than renovating the old.

The congregation then met with the LCA’s Church Planting Mentor and Mission Facilitator Dean Eaton, and collectively agreed that mission was the focus they wanted to take.

The journey towards being a sending church began in 2016, during which 25 of the congregation’s leadership spent time with Dean to explore what ‘a sending church’ really was.

Subscribe here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full

Former Lutheran Women of WA president Rosemary Davidson has willingly given of her time and talents in many ways in her church and community over 50 years.

But she doesn’t think of herself as a volunteer, rather those who know her would say helping others has just come naturally to her. Some people she has cared for see Rosemary as a mentor and an inspiration.

One of her inspirations is from Ephesians 2:10, in which St Paul says: ‘For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them’ (ESV).

As a young wife with three children, in the country town of Pingelly, approximately 150 kilometres south-east of Perth, she and husband Robert volunteered in community clubs, sports clubs, the theatre and through school and church connections.

Later, she was on the Christian Women Communicating International committee, was a KYB (Know Your Bible) study leader, was involved with prayer groups, taught dancing and organised debutante balls. She also helped out through connections with local Christian churches, taught first aid for St John Ambulance and became a Grade 2 ambulance officer.

For 10 years she taught Scripture lessons at the local school and became
an accredited first aid trainer. Later, while living in Perth, first aid training became her paid employment. One door that work opened for Rosemary was the chance to go to Bali to teach first aid with longtime Lutheran friend June Westhoff.

In the early 1980s, during her work as a part-time nursing assistant at Pingelly Hospital, Rosemary was nominated for the Mrs WA Quest to raise money for cerebral palsy support. It was a daunting experience, but turned out to be a wonderful witnessing opportunity.

‘As a 29-year-old country girl, I had hardly been to Perth, so it was a shock to be attending the judging with 43 ladies in career and homemaker sections’, she says. ‘I received the award and I knew that I was to speak about my faith as a Christian and sharing knowledge about those who were disabled.

‘I thanked God and told the parents that one day, in heaven, their children would be running free and beautiful. They were crying with faith and hope of this, as life is not easy with disabilities.’

Rosemary was also presented with a Community Service Award by the Pingelly Shire in 1984-85, while her husband Robert was awarded the Pingelly Sportsman Award in 1986-7. ‘This was a tremendous honour for me as there are so many other people who work quietly and faithfully for years’, she says.

Rosemary believes that when people use their gifts and talents to serve others, this builds community – and allows God’s will to be ‘done, on earth as it is in heaven’. However, she believes when we judge others or fail to show gratitude to our volunteers, we risk turning people off being involved.

‘The church would draw people to want to belong, if only we could care and serve with more love and outreach, and less judgement’, she says. ‘If a volunteer becomes tired – or even perhaps sick and tired! – they need a rest. Our mental attitude to serve needs to be willing, able and joyful, with thanks to God for being able to serve. When volunteers become critical, snappy, judgemental and bitter because of their commitments, we are allowing ourselves to drive away those who are watching our actions, hearing our comments, complaints and disputes.

‘To remain joyful in volunteering, one has to feel wanted and appreciated.’

Subscribe here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full

by Kenneth Stringer

For St Matthew Lutheran Church in Hamilton on New Zealand’s North Island, having a public school just up the road has been a wonderful outreach opportunity.

Whitiora School was established in 1919 and today serves about 180 students in years 1 to 8. About half of the students are from migrant families, 35 per cent are Maori and the remaining 15 per cent are New Zealanders of European heritage.

The description of the primary school on its own website reflects its community interest: ‘a great little school in the heart of the city’. Visitors are struck by the school’s long history of community involvement when they are greeted at the main gate with a memorial to 31 former students who served in World War II.

Many of the migrant students live in the small flats which are the predominant residences in the area. This does not offer much space for these children to play in a safe environment, so the school opens its grounds on a 24-hour basis to the community.

The school community also has been developing gardens, allowing the children to learn to grow tomatoes and other edible produce in pots and raised garden beds. This teaches them the value of growing food in small areas, which is suitable to their home environments.

Principal Paul Cooper has served Whitiora School for many years. This dedicated man has a heartfelt empathy for the welfare of his school and its students, enhanced by his previous overseas mission experience.

These values led Paul to discuss the need for a voluntary chaplain with the school’s Board of Trustees. At the time, the school had a counsellor and social worker, who visited weekly to look after students’ emotional and physical needs. But it was agreed this was not enough, so about five years ago the school decided to find a chaplain who could relate to students’ spiritual needs in a multi-faith environment.

The school chaplain would need to be sensitive and not openly preach Christianity, but was entitled to answer questions from students and to show Christian values
in a practical way. Whitiora School received support for the project from Lifewalk Chaplaincy Service, which provided a lay pastor, who served in the role for four-and-a-half years.

Lifewalk then offered to find a replacement, knowing the school’s preference for someone from the local community who understood the sensitivities of working in a multi-faith environment. Pastor John Davison and St Matthew Lutheran Church Ministry Council recognised the need as a way for the church to connect with the local community.

Through Lifewalk, the congregation approached the school to suggest Pastor John for the role. He had previous experience in school chaplaincy at Parkview Public School in Leeton, New South Wales. Lutheran Church of New Zealand Bishop Mark Whitfield enthusiastically endorsed the opportunity.

Kenneth Stringer is a member at St Matthew Lutheran Church Hamilton in New Zealand.

Subscribe here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full

by Lisa McIntosh

For Barbara Schmidt being a mum and grandma has been a huge blessing full of times to treasure.

While she did receptionist and office work before she was married and finally realised a long-held dream of being a nurse for 17 years when her children were older, motherhood has been her most cherished role.

Marriage to a pastor – Kevin Schmidt – naturally meant multiple moves around Australia. Their four children were born during service in three different parishes, often away from extended family support.

As adults, Barbara and Kevin’s children Julie, Phil, David and Tim have also been scattered in different states, following their own vocations and families.

Despite these separations, Barbara has placed a high priority on being involved with her children and their children as much as possible, at times through interstate visits. In fact, she and Kevin have been an important presence for each of their seven grandchildren.

‘We just feel very blessed at having had that opportunity to spend time with them. I’ve just loved every minute of it’, she says of school pickups, sleepovers, bicycle rides and general babysitting with Kate, Sam, Ruby, Matilda, Oscar, Cooper and Miranda, who are now aged between 29 and six.

‘I’ve also seen people who’ve had very little input with their children or their grandchildren and I think they’re missing out on so much. Just having that love and that connection with each one is precious. Just to see your grandchildren following their chosen field is wonderful.’

Barbara says she and Kevin wanted their children to choose what they would do as adults. Two sons, David and Tim, have followed their father and studied to become pastors. David Schmidt serves as youth and family pastor at Prince of Peace Everton Hills, Queensland; while Tim Castle-Schmidt, a former teacher, is in his final year at Australian Lutheran College and is doing his vicarage at Faith Warradale, South Australia. Elder son Phil Fagan-Schmidt works for the South Australian government in housing, while daughter Julie Wiesner, a former teacher, works on her family’s farm at Walla Walla in New South Wales.

Barbara and Kevin Schmidt are members at Our Saviour Lutheran Church Aberfoyle Park, in Adelaide’s southern suburbs.

Subscribe here to receive stories & upcoming issues in full