Lay Ministry bits and pieces...

A reminder to update your details in LAMP for the 2016 Yearbook – the cut-off date for this is October 30th

Employers - once you have advertised a position –could you please advise us if you have appointed someone into the role!

The National Lay Workers Conference has been booked for the 4th to 7th September 2017 – to be held at the Maroochy Waterfront Conference Centre Sunshine Coast Queensland!!  Keep these dates in your diaries!! If you are interested in being a part of the planning team please contact us.

A review of the Department for Lay Ministry will be underway, probably by the end of this year, to assist the transition to a Church Worker Support Department. You will have the opportunity to take part in a survey and give your feedback. Look out for this and please...take part so that we can refine the support offered to you!

There are now 201 Lay Workers on the Lay Ministry roll with another 45 pending (their application to be on the roll is in the process)

If we can help in anyway as you work in your communities as mission & ministry encouragers, let us know.

Congratulations to Ruth Borchard for being the recipient of the LCA Servant of Christ award. Ruth is a voluntary Deacon at St Matthew's congregation in Footscray

The award citation reads, ‘The Footscray congregation is a migrant and refugee community that does not attract attention and recognition. But the response to the gospel, as depicted through Ruth's service and example, is of the highest quality and is deserving of the recognition and acknowledgement in bestowing the honour of the Servant of Christ Award.’

The award recognises the faithful and often unseen service of laypeople within the LCA. For many years awarded annually through Australian Lutheran College, the Servant of Christ has from 2014 been conferred through the Office of the Bishop.

Verena, Glenn and I really enjoyed catching up with lay workers who stopped by at the Synod stand last month. A special thanks to Sarah Kubenk and Danielle Robinson who talked about their lay ministry story as part of our Synod presentation.

She leaves for home feeling weighed down, depressed and exhausted by the needs of the people she’s talked to. She doesn’t know what to do with it…
He struggles with knowing where the boundaries are between pastoral care and counselling When does he say no or refer on? And how can he say it to them…
She doesn’t know who to talk to or debrief with about this person. If only she had someone outside of her setting to talk to…
He’s got so many questions about what happened. Did he just stuff it up completely? Did he get anything right? If only he could get some professional advice…
In their travels around Australia Verena and Glenn are noticing that lay workers engaged in a fairly high amount of pastoral care often struggle with the sorts of scenarios raised above and can be prone to ‘care’ burnout.
If you can relate to any of these scenarios then you might consider getting some professional supervision. In most secular professions where people are engaged counselling or pastoral care professional supervision or counselling is a requirement at least once every two months if not more. Professional supervision is a place for debriefing, for growing and learning as a pastoral carer, for talking through issues, questions and problems that arise, for developing good life balance, boundaries and professional ethics.
The Clinical Pastoral Education course is another extremely effective way that you can review and grow in your pastoral care skills. This is offered at ALC and elsewhere.
We would be interested to know if any of you if have received professional supervision or counselling and how it impacted your ministry. We would also like to hear from those of you who have done CPE about how it impacted your pastoral care.
If you have any professional supervisors or counsellors you could recommend we would love to start compiling a list.
If you have any questions or would like to talk to Verena or Glenn about professional supervision or counselling please contact them.

New
Donna Albrecht – Family Ministry Worker, Warradale Faith Congregation, SA
Karen Cotter – Ministry Support Officer, Ipswich Lutheran Parish, Qld
Sharon Green – Child, Youth & Family Ministry Director, Nuriootpa St Petri Congregation, SA
Christiaan Hersevoort - SA/NT District Hospital Chaplaincies in Greater Adelaide, Chaplain Lyell McEwin Hospital
Carla Lynch – Office Secretary, Murray Bridge Holy Cross Congregation, Qld
Michelle Yarrow – Professional Standards Officer & Ministry Support Officer, Ipswich Lutheran Parish, Qld
Sandy Schuster – Coordinator, Christian Community Hub, Tanunda, SA

Left Positions
Judi Doecke – Office Assistant, Halls Gap Tandara Lutheran Camp, Vic
Beth Doohan – Child, Youth & Family Ministry Coordinator, Bundaberg St Johns Congregation, Qld
Jacob Fanning – Youth Coordinator, Rochedale Our Saviour Congregation, Qld
Monty Lysne – Director of Discipleship, Loxton St Peters Congregation, SA
Robyn Phillips – Student & Family Welfare Worker, Halls Head Living Waters Lutheran College (K-7), WA
Shannon Schuster – Godly Play Coordinator (Voluntary), Bethany-Tabor Parish, SA; Voluntary Grow Ministries Advocate, LCA Grow Ministries
Stephen Wal – Assistant Finance Manager, Frankston St Peters Worship Centre, Vic

Changed Positions
James Doecke -Assistant Manager, Halls Gap Tandara Lutheran Camp, Vic to Human Resources Liaison Officer, LCA National Office
Michael Jang – Pastoral Ministry Assistant to Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP), Moorabbin/Dandenong Parish, Vic

Accreditations
Vicki Park - Pastoral Care Support: Ipswich Parish, Qld
Eunice Steinhardt - Royal Brisbane Hospital, Brisbane, District Hospital Chaplains & Christian Pastoral Support Worker, Ipswich Parish, Qld

 

If you would like to welcome or congratulate these people or the writers of the stories in this edition, click on their name to send an email

God’s hand at work
The dates had been set. Peter, a recording engineer from South Australia, was to record Kriol Scriptures in Katherine. However there were some major details to organise. Please help me Father God!
First, where would we record? The Resource Centre in Katherine still does not have a permit to occupy. However, at Humpty Doo, Alan was working hard on a Mobile Recording Studio (MRS). He worked to the last minute to get it to a useable stage before he flew out to a Conference in Thailand. I was reluctant to drive the van to Katherine. Phil, a Palmerston colleague, offered to drive it, firstly carefully checking it, and then, 30 km down the road, doing some brake adjustments to deal with an overheated tyre. Thank you Father God for Alan, Phil and MRS.
My second concern was how to manage facilitating the recording and cater for it as well. Please Father God will you find a solution? Then about 3 weeks beforehand I had a phone call from Ursula and Colin asking if they could help me in any way! Could they ever! They were heading to Katherine from Geraldton in WA and were willing to look after meals. Wow! Thank you Father God! Your timing is amazing!
The third concern was the biggest! School holidays in the Top End are jam-packed with activities: a Kriol youth camp beginning that week, NAIDOC celebrations in a community and a funeral in a remote community.  Please Father God will you send some readers?
Marie, a Kriol speaker who was keen to help, phoned the week before to let me know what was happening. She was going to be in Katherine, as well as her son, Randall, currently undergoing dialysis there. They committed to helping. During the first week Marie read all of Romans and she and Randall completed the reading of all of Hebrews! Thank you Father!
In the second week Marie had organised other family members to come and record. Clinton and Alan, another 2 recording engineers, arrived so they worked with Mandy, Jojo and Junita to complete 1 Corinthians and Estelle, Sharon and Veronica worked with Peter and me to complete Matthew. Thank you Father God for each person and all that was accomplished!
The faithful love of the Lord’s great love never ends!  His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness. Lamentations 3.22,23 (New Living Translation)   Margaret Mickan

You're invited to come and see what Godly Play is all about or to come and revisit the Advent story

click here for details

click here to acess

"God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply" — Hudson Taylor

"God isn't looking for people of great faith, but for individuals ready to follow Him" — Hudson Taylor

(New Full time for an Ordained Pastor or Lay Worker of the LCA)

Zion Aged Care Home, Nundah, Brisbane Qld.

Lutheran Community Care (LCC) Zion is a 100 bed residential aged care facility, set in the growing suburb of Nundah, Brisbane Qld

Both LCC Zion Aged Care and St Pauls Lutheran Church are situated next to each other and form a partnership of ministry to the local community.

Expressions of interest are invited for this new position of Full time Chaplain at LCC Zion from pastors or lay worker of the LCA

The role of the Chaplain is to
1. provide and direct the provision of Christ-centred care for the spiritual and emotional needs of the residents.
2. depending on the person offered the role, to facilitate  the Word and Sacrament ministry
3. be apart of the senior management team in supporting the work of the Home and the Church’s mission.
4. work in a team ministry with the St Paul’s Lutheran Pastor

Previous Experience is desirable in
•  Aged Care Ministry, Chaplaincy, Pastoral Care experience or similar.
• Theological and pastoral care training (CPE etc.)

A USB is available with documentation for the positon and to assist in the registration of interest in this position. The expression of interest closes, 21st November 2015.

Contact Pastor Paul Semmler, LCC Director of Chaplaincy by email to express your interest.   paul.semmler@lccqld.org.au

We can help with:

• ministry plans
• setting up prayer/support teams
• training options
• developing a ministry team
• employment agreements
• a listening ear