Jul2016
Music stirs memories
by Heidi Smith
Since her childhood Heidi Smith has known about the influence music can have on people’s physical and mental wellbeing. And having played organ and piano for church services in congregations and aged-care facilities since she was a teenager, she has seen positive changes in people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Now… Read more
Jul2016
School for 100 Kakuma kids
by LCA Communications
One hundred extra children will be able to attend pre-school at Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya for a year, thanks to a marathon run thousands of kilometres away in Queensland. After seven months of training, Pastor Mark Vainikka from St Andrew’s Lutheran Church, Brisbane City, ran his first competitive 42km race in the Gold Coast… Read more
Jun2016
Lutherans honoured in Queen’s Birthday List
by LCA Communications
Former Lutheran Education Queensland executive director Dr Roger Hunter has received an Order of Australia award in the 2016 Queen’s Birthday Honours List for service to education, and to professional organisations. Roger, from Indooroopilly Queensland, also was a board member of Australian Lutheran College from 1990 to 2010. He headed up Lutheran education in Queensland… Read more
May2016
Where next for Unity Candle?
by LCA Communications
The giant Unity (or Christ) Candle has started this month at Caloundra, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, for that state’s meeting of District Synod on 3–5 June. The candle, which also recently attended the SA/NT District Convention in the South Australian Riverland and the Lutheran Women of SA/NT’s 50th anniversary at St Petri Nuriootpa in the… Read more
May2016
Marathon effort for camp kids
by LCA Communications
Running a marathon may be tough for even the most training-hardened athletes, but it pales into insignificance when compared with the challenges children face every day in refugee camps. That’s the view of Mark Vainikka, pastor at St Andrew’s Lutheran Church, Brisbane City, who will run his first 42km foot race at next month’s Gold… Read more
Apr2016
Lessons of creation
by LCA Communications
When it comes to caring for God’s creation, it seems some of the youngest members of our LCA community can teach the rest of us a lesson or two. As they learn, students in many parts of the Lutheran Education Australia system are working to protect and preserve our environment as a unique, delicate and… Read more
Apr2016
Making peace the Bible’s way
by Dawn Humphrey
Our Redeemer congregation at Toowoomba, Queensland, had been through a challenging time of conflict. Some members were leaving or worshipping elsewhere, we had dropping attendance numbers – and feelings about each other that didn’t glorify God. ‘People’s hearts change as they engage with God’s word.’ A chance meeting in 2015 between our recently installed pastor,… Read more
Mar2016
Prayer for new beginnings
by Lester Reinbott
Imagine being threatened with death for being a Christian in this day and age. What would you do? A young Iranian family facing that terrifying reality risked everything for the hope of a fresh start and a new life in Australia. This is their story. Why would a young family suddenly leave their home and… Read more
Mar2016
Beyond Church planting dreams
by Dean Eaton
It was the night the Living Faith Lutheran Church community at Murrumba Downs in northern Brisbane had been planning and praying for. On 14 June 2015 the latest church plant in the LCA was launched with more than 100 people attending worship. Called Beyond Church and based at Living Faith Primary School, Murrumba Downs, it… Read more
Mar2016
Partners grow life-long disciples
by LCA Communications
Australian Lutheran College (ALC) has joined forces with Lutheran Youth of Queensland to light the way for young people wanting a life-changing experience through the Luminate program. Luminate is a year of Christian discipleship in which faith is fostered through formal learning, a strong peer community and ministry experience. There are three components to the… Read more
