3 April 2013

Prayer points

• That each of us may share with others our joy in Christ’s resurrection
• Delegates preparation for the Convention of Synod
• Our Church partners in Papua New Guinea and South East Asia
• That the Church’s lay workers may continue to be a blessing to the Church

On a personal note, my wife and I have been blessed to have a third grandchild. A little girl called Kate who, born prematurely, continues to need extra oxygen to help her breathe for life.

When it comes to our life with the Risen Lord Jesus, the apostle Peter’s question ‘Lord to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life’ John 6:68 is gifted to us. Inspired and Inspiring God’s Word enables us to Grow and Go as is the emphasis for our Church under the tagline of ‘Where Love Comes to Life’.

The Holy Spirit builds us up in our faith and we become witnesses of eternal life in Christ.

Soon we will welcome guests to our Church. Pastor Erik Trovall from the Lutheran Church-Canada will exchange pastorates with Pastor David Wear of Hamilton, Victoria, for the next few months. We welcome Pastor Erik and his family.

The President of the Lutheran Church-Canada, Rev Dr Robert Bugbee, will be our guest for the upcoming General Pastors Conference and Convention of Synod, April 17-24.

Rev Dr Greg Seltz and his wife Marie will be here for the 175th celebration for Lutherans in Australia on Sunday 21 April at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Alive!175 is a daylong celebration you will not want to miss. Dr Seltz, the Lutheran Hour Ministries international speaker, will be the preacher for that celebration.

From our partner churches in South East Asia our guests for the week will be Rev Wenge, Bishop of ELC-PNG; Rev Dr William Chang, Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Area Secretary for Asia; Rev Willem Simarmata, Bishop of the Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP) Indonesia; and Mr Ridwin Purba, Education Secretary for the LWF Indonesia National Committee.

We pray for safe travel and a productive time for them as they bless us with their presence.

We certainly trust that you have made your plans to take the opportunity to celebrate as a Church in Worship and an afternoon presentation on 21 April.

Please see below for more important information on matters before Synod for the whole Church, particularly Synod delegates.

ONLY 18 DAYS UNTIL ALIVE!175

Thousands of Lutherans across Australia and New Zealand have indicated they will be attending the LCA’s 175th anniversary celebration, ALIVE!175, an all-day event at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Sunday, 21 April. It will commence with a worship service (10.00 am), followed by a packed lunch (12.30 pm) and the afternoon program (2.00-4.30 pm), which will be a combination of live performances and multi-media presentations.
Thank you for continuing to promote this once-in-a-generation event in your congregations, schools and aged-care centres. We are seeing the results of your work, as the momentum and enthusiasm for the event is building. On the ALIVE!175 webpage, you will find a number of promotional materials. The handy FAQ (frequently asked questions) might be your first port of call, but you will no doubt find other helpful resources there too, including PowerPoint presentations. More are being added every few days.
Don’t forget you can also keep up to date on events (including ALIVE!175) before, during and after General Convention. Since you already receive the President's Page eNews, you should click the ‘Manage your LCA eNews Subscriptions’ link on the email, select the ‘LCA General Convention News’ list and click ‘Submit’.

175 STORIES
where history comes to life!
86 stories about everyday Lutheran men and women who exemplified service or who figured in significant events in our Lutheran narrative are already available to view on the LCA website at www.lca.org.au/175-stories.html. What stories do you know of people, now deceased, that help to reflect the history of Lutherans in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and South East Asia? While we realise that not everyone can write confidently, suggestions and ideas for stories are also invited. Please send your stories (around 500 words), with a photo if possible, and suggestions for stories to Dr John Koch: John.Koch@lca.org.au or 34 Gallery Road, Highbury SA 5089. Also include the author’s name and contact details.

TABLETALK
A new LCA web-based forum, called TableTalk, has been launched. Table Talk has been set up to with a view to encouraging hearty and respectful dialogue on theological, cultural, social and bioethical issues and current affairs. It is expected that contributors will be people who support the ethos of the Lutheran Church of Australia and who will listen respectfully to the discussion, so that they might learn from each other, encourage and support each other in their faith journeys, and grow together as the people of God.
To read posts you will need to register as a subscriber. To register, go to www.tabletalk.lca.org.au and click on Register. Once you have registered and logged in, don't forget to click on Subscribe forum under the forums you would like to follow. You will then be notified by email whenever new posts are added to these forums. TableTalk is moderated and subscribers are expected to adhere to the forum’s Terms of Use. Views expressed will not necessarily represent the official position of the LCA, its pastors, lay workers, officers, councils, boards, commissions or committees.
After you have registered you can go to www.tabletalk.lca.org.au at any time to login and follow, and contribute to, discussions.
A number of forums have already been set up in TableTalk with the aim of promoting questions, comments and discussion. These include
- Same-sex Marriage
- Women’s Ordination
- Worship
- Social and Bioethical Questions
- Royal Commission into Child Abuse
- Proposals to General Convention
- The Lutheran – feature stories and letters to the editor
If you have ideas for improving how TableTalk is being used, or for new forums please add a post to the TABLETALK Suggestions forum.

THE LUTHERAN
Along with the usual PowerPoint slide and pew-bulletin inserts, The Lutheran team is now producing a YouTube clip to assist you in promoting each edition. Please use the April one to promote The Lutheran in your congregations: http://youtu.be/RCJqnrhJecc  This clip, together with all the other promotional materials, is available for download from The Lutheran website: www.thelutheran.com.au   Annual renewals will be posted out shortly, so please use every opportunity to bring our multi-award-winning magazine to the attention of your people. Remember, too, that the March edition is available as an app, and the April one is due for release before Easter or just after. Check at iTunes.

MEN’S SHED MINISTRY AT AUSTRALIAN LUTHERAN COLLEGE
Ian 'Watto' Watson, a leader in men's shed ministry and author of ‘Every bloke’s a champion… even you’, will be giving a public lecture at Australian Lutheran College on Wednesday, 1 May 2013 at 12pm. All are welcome to attend this event. To learn more about Ian and shed ministry, visit lca.org.au/shed-night or http://shednight.com/.

AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR CHRISITANITY AND CULTURE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Charles Sturt University’s Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture (ACC&C) is looking for a new Executive Director to take over from Professor James Haire who retires from the position later in 2013. The ACC&C is looking to appoint an Executive Director with a proven record and recognition in a Christian denomination, a commitment to ecumenical, interfaith and reconciliation dialogues. For a copy of the position description and criteria please contact Larissa Helbig at the National Office, larissa.helbig@lca.org.au or 08 8267 7300.

HERMANNSBURG GENERAL STORE POSITIONS VACANT
Do you want to work as a baker and kitchen hand, drive a truck, sell clothes, do administration, be a mentor and train aboriginal store workers, do accounting, do building maintenance … if so there is a job for you. The Finke River Mission of the Lutheran Church of Australia is currently seeking expressions of interest  for several permanent and casual workers at the Hermannsburg General Store, Northern Territory. No qualifications or experience required. Hermannsburg is an aboriginal NTER Community Growth Town 130 km west of Alice Springs with a population of about 1000 people including 50 or so visiting staff  who are involved in the historical precinct, school, police station, clinic, council and other enterprises. The Hermannsburg General Store actively trains and employs local aboriginal staff.  Queries regarding the roles, community life, accommodation, etc are to be directed to the Manager Selwyn Kloeden 08 8956 7428, frmstore@bigpond.com  or the Finance Secretary  Stephen Hoffmann  08 8267 7300 stephen.hoffmann@lca.org.au

CALL INFORMATION

EXTENDED
Mark Vainikka Concordia College Toowoomba QLD to Moorabbin/Dandenong VIC
Ben Hentschke Birdwood SA to Ipswich QLD
Rodney Witmitz Southern Flinders SA to Bunbury WA

ACCEPTED

DECLINED
Matthew Anker Goulburn VIC to Dernancourt SA

PARISHES IN THE CALL PROCESS
New South Wales: Albury; Burrumbuttock; Griffith/Leeton; Sutherland;
New Zealand: Manawatu;
Queensland: Ipswich;
South Australia/Northern Territory: Ceduna, Dernancourt, Eudunda, Morphett Vale, Mount Barker - St Marks, Salisbury, Wudinna
Victoria: Greensborough; Horsham; Moorabbin/Dandenong; North West Regional, Wodonga
Western Australia: Bunbury

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN LAY MINISTRY
ALWS Secretary – Albury NSW – Full time
Hermannsburg Store – Finke River Mission - various
Sudanese Lay Worker – Gippsland Parish, Vic – Full time
For more information please visit the LCA web site: http://www.lca.org.au/employment-opportunities.html

The Convention of Synod

A view into a part of the President’s Report to Pastors - not normally shared with the wider Church, but which follows on from the pre-Easter edition of the President’s Page.

It is the task of the President of the Church to clarify issues before delegates who, while representing parishes, are delegates of the Church and are not to be directed locally but charged to make decisions for the greater good of the LCA. To know the local viewpoint is responsible, but it may only be a part of the total consideration of an issue before the Church and the delegate must weigh the information available to be able to vote with integrity.

The concept of ‘synod’ is to encourage us to ‘walk together’ in compassion, understanding and respect. While we cannot always identify with each other’s feelings we can recognise and acknowledge them.

‘Synod’ provides us with accountability as we keep each other focused on the good news of what God in Christ has done in redeeming us. We have the best news ever. We need to be accountable to each other.

Our attitude toward each other is in itself a witness to the love we have from Christ.

The structure of the LCA synod provides us with the family strength to train pastors, teachers and laity for the good of the Church. It is a powerful way of providing help to the needy of the world. Most importantly, with the combination of congregations large and small, we have the ability to partner in mission the indigenous members of our Church and partner churches to our north in Papua New Guinea and South East Asia.

Congregations in one body (synod) enable us to work with Lutheran World Federation which, while it may trouble us with its emphasis of being a ‘communion’, does give us a voice, particularly in matters of justice. We are, given our association with the International Lutheran Council, participants in discussions between seminaries in various parts of the Lutheran World and in the discussion of theological and pastoring issues facing us all.

Of special importance is our relationship with another synod, that of the Lutheran Church – Canada, from the northern hemisphere.

Our current involvement with all parts of the Lutheran World is serving us and worldwide Lutheranism in a measure disproportionate to our size. Many across the Lutheran world see us as trustworthy enabling us to broker relationships where there is no other obvious facilitator.

Most important, however, is the unchangeable statement of our constitution (Article II) which is clear that Scripture, inspired of God, is the only norm and source of all teaching. This calls us to accountability and upholds the ‘Scripture alone’ pillar of the Reformation.

Inspired and inspiring, the Bible is God’s written word, the only source of faith and all matters of life. Jesus Christ is the Word made man – human flesh. ‘Lord to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life.’ (John 6:68)

As per Article II of our Constitution, we accept in their entirety the Confessions of the Church as in the Book of Concord of 1580, because they are correct expositions of the Scriptures and make clear our understanding of Baptism and Holy Communion and grace and faith, all coming from Christ alone.

On this basis we were able to benefit from the amalgamation of two Lutheran synods in 1966 to form the LCA. The Thesis of Agreement (TA) from this time sets out our teaching as we have agreed from the Scripture and Confessions.

What brought us together, keeps us together. Under the Scriptures and Confessions the TA may have its individual statements challenged from time to time. That sends us into studying the Scriptures and Confessions anew to which we and our teachings are accountable.

This is the heart of the synodical concept that we uphold, to guard us from splintering and dissipating, and which enables us with confidence and integrity to speak to other Lutheran leaders, denominations, ecumenical bodies, governments and to each other within one body. We have a base from which to focus the ‘grow and go’ call by our Church.

Of course we can add the many practical issues in such things as salaries, professional standards, and insurances to name a few other benefits from being synod.

To be synod means that we require the Church to be prepared during the synodical term to discuss teaching or constitutional issues which may come before the Church.

The synod structure preserves an orderly process by which to address theological and teaching issues of the Church as well as those of administration.

The process on matters of theology calls for study, for consensus and reminds us that we fear God and not people.

In the case of issues before this convention of synod, there is the matter of the status of the Thesis of Agreement.

Should the Church ever wish to make a decision consigning the Thesis to historical status or a ‘guide’, that would effectively call an end to the LCA as we know it. We would need to replace our statements with others, so that we have an identity as a body.

In the matter of Lutheran World Federation full membership on the agenda, as opposed to our current associate status, where we are deprived of nothing except a vote, significant guidance would need to be considered, taking into account our associate membership in another expression of the Lutheran world, that is the International Lutheran Council, which may adversely affect our being served and being able to serve in both with integrity. This also has practical applications for overseas mission and balanced theological input from Lutheranism in general.

As was stated in the President’s Page before Easter, in the issue of the ordination of both genders it is clear we need more work on the areas of what ‘consensus’ means in a confessional church. A paper researching this has not had, ironically, consensus!

It is obvious that previous synodical studies on the biblical teaching we currently have, do not satisfy consensus by any interpretation and very definitely we need to look at interpretation of the Scriptures themselves as we bow in humility to hear God speak, rather than see democracy (a tool in the service of being together) or culture or politics or some inner feeling determine what God says.

We convened a hermeneutics symposium in October 2011 to glean help from across the worldwide Lutheran spectrum on just this matter of ‘How are we hearing Scripture?’ It is in the hearing and studying that our interpretation is formed.

We need to be diligent in hearing Scripture or we will open ourselves to the danger of lurching from one issue to another with little or no accountability or oversight.

A principle of interpretation for Lutherans is ‘Scripture interprets Scripture’. But the question is while in the case of this matter, such a text as Galatians 3:28, which is in the context of baptism with no reference to Christ’s ordering of the public office of the ministry he has given to his Church on earth, whether this can apply to the two texts upon which our current male pastorate teaching is based (1 Cor 14:34, 38, 1 Tim 2:11-14).

Should ‘there is no longer male nor female’ (Gal 3:28) be the overriding factor in interpreting the 1 Cor and 1 Tim texts, then by extension it may also open a very different approach to same sex relationships, a matter which surely should not be related to ordination and gender.

Our question is ‘Does Scripture permit the ordination of both genders?’ Our attention needs to focus on such issues as whether the verse following 1 Cor 14:34-36, verse 37 which says ‘what I am writing to you is a command of the Lord’ refers to the text on which our current stance is taken.

I hope this helps you to see that the matter is a real issue in interpreting Scripture. It is not a simple matter and we have work to do. A work which begins by understanding the current teaching first before we can then make a judgement.

Not all who ‘feel’ a call to serve as pastors are called by the Church. There are endless ways to serve our Lord in God given occupations.

We do not reduce God’s word to our ability to accept it or judge it. So much to finite beings like us seems irrelevant, and out of touch. Do we fear God or popular opinion and understanding? Appeals to numbers of those who ordain both genders are not the final word. Would we make a point that most Christians are members of Churches which do not ordain both genders?

Our job is not done. The group requested by the last convention of synod is just getting into its dialogue at this time.

It is to be noted that the Ordination Dialogue Group has achieved much more since the report to the convention was written and individuals from a wide spectrum of the Church have sent papers addressing the interpretation of the texts being studied. This is as it should be. A very healthy development which has integrity and can lead us to a ‘better place’, so to speak.

A history of the matter so far is spelled out in the Synod Book of Reports (available on the LCA synod website www.lcasynod.org.au).

In short, the actual question of whether the LCA assures its people that Scripture permits the ordination of both men and women cannot in our structure be decided at this convention, as no studies have been presented to the Church, District Pastors Conferences and the General Pastors Conference during the current synodical term for guidance to the Church for Convention.

The General Church Council will present its proposal on the issue.

When matters are referred to the Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations (CTICR) the commission does not determine the teaching of the Church but rather reports its findings to the Church. It may also give advice. CTICR studies are submitted to the Church through the College of Presidents, the General Church Council, and Pastors Conferences before any presentation to the synod in convention (see LCA Constitution and By-Laws).

At least a two thirds majority vote of delegates at a convention is required for matters of high importance, teaching or constitutional, so that the synod does not lurch from one convention to another as simple majorities change.

In the matter of theology, at least a two third majority vote is a minimalist, pragmatic way to deal with major issues when we strive for consensus. Consensus on teaching builds our unity.

In the matter of consensus, our Church reached a high point in the amalgamation of 1966. God willing we will celebrate 50 years of that blessing of unity in 2016.