Dec2015
One chapter ends, another begins
by LCA Communications
On 8 November, during a regular worship service at her home congregation (Faith, Warradale SA), Lisa McIntosh was installed as the sixth editor of The Lutheran by LCA Bishop John Henderson. Once assistant to former editor Pastor Robert Wiebusch, Lisa returns to the LCA’s national magazine 21 years later to take on the management role…. Read more
Dec2015
Twin arson attacks on NSW church
by LCA Communications
Arsonists attacked St Peter’s Lutheran Church, Orange, in central western New South Wales, twice within three days. In the first incident, overnight on 21 November, vandals threw what was believed to be a molotov cocktail through a window and painted the words ‘ISIS’ and ‘Allah Akbar’ on an outside wall of the church. Police told… Read more
Nov2015
Ordination in the desert
by Tim Stollznow
On Sunday, 15 November, at Kiwirrkura, which must surely be the most remote community of the Lutheran Church in Australia, 33-year-old Aboriginal man John West was ordained by LCA Bishop John Henderson. Kiwirrkura, population 200, is in Western Australia, around 700 kilometres west of Alice Springs. It was established in the 1980s when the last… Read more
Nov2015
‘Welcome home!’ ALC says to veterans in need
by LCA Communications
In an unprecedented move, Australian Lutheran College (ALC) in North Adelaide is opening up part of its accommodation wing to homeless veterans. Homes for Heroes is a joint initiative of ALC and the RSL, which wants to provide emergency housing and support services for veterans down on their luck. The program to support ‘vets’ was… Read more
Nov2015
Luther’s catechism gains new traction in Malaysia
by LCA Communications
Dr Professor Eric Trozzo visited Australian Lutheran College (ALC) in October to discuss the ongoing relationship between ALC and the Sabah Theological Seminary (STS), where he is a lecturer and director of the Lutheran Studies Centre. Since 1988, STS has been training pastors and lay workers for service in the Protestant churches of Sabah, Malaysia’s… Read more
Nov2015
God was here – even as the fires burned
by LCA Communications
Kapunda parish pastor Les Pfeiffer knows exactly where God was during the bushfire which razed parts of the Mid North of South Australia late last month. God was alongside the volunteer firefighters and farmers braving the deadly flames and choking smoke. He was with the sheep saved by sheltering in a derelict old house. He… Read more
Nov2015
New boots for well-trodden tales
by LCA Communications
It’s not often that you see bibles in a retailer’s window in the heart of an Australian city. Yet this is what Dymocks on Adelaide’s busy Rundle Mall did earlier this year, to promote Valerie Volk’s latest book, Bystanders. Trevor Klein, sales manager of Wakefield Press, who published Bystanders, Valerie’s sixth book, said it looks… Read more
Oct2015
‘Cling only to Christ’, bishop reminds LCA
by LCA Communications
‘The gospel of the love of Jesus Christ and our safety in God is the only message that can give comfort in a world of fear’, LCA Bishop John Henderson said in a statement published following the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris on 13 November. ‘Lutherans in Australia and New Zealand, together with people of… Read more
Oct2015
Synod says it’s not okay
The time devoted to the ordination conversation did not prevent this General Convention of Synod supporting four proposals that commit the LCA/NZ to social involvement and action.
Jul2015
Pastors focus on ordination question
by LCA Communications
For the first time in LCA history, General Pastors Conference has been held several months before General Convention of Synod. The ordination question is considered so important that church leaders wanted pastors to have opportunity to properly explore the proposals coming to Convention and to give Synod ample time to consider their theological advice. General… Read more
