A few happenings in Lay Ministry:

• We are currently looking at Lay Worker salaries in  relation to how they link into Pastors salaries, to the AWE and how the % to this has declined over a number of years. We anticipate a recommendation being made to the Board by October.
• Discussions are still happening regarding the establishment and form of a Church Worker department (Lay Workers, Church Workers and Pastors) to replace the current Lay Workers department during 2016.
• Glenn Schultz is away on holidays overseas and will return on August 12...just in time for Spring!
• Verena is making plans for a work road trip through Victoria and New South Wales in August. If you'd like to catch up with her and haven't made a time, contact her.
• The Germany Study Tour has 23 people booked. The maximum number we can take is 32. If you'd like to join us for the July 1-14 tour, contact me
• The proposed dates for the next Lay Workers Conference is 4-7 September, 2017 in Qld...set the date aside now :-)
• We now have almost 80% of Lay Workers with a photo on our wall in the National Office...and what a beautiful portrait you all make! We will also be using these photos and information sheets as the basis for our Lay Ministry display at Convention (Synod) in Queensland this September/October. Seeing you in photo form puts faces to ministry and has real impact on the people wanting to understand what Lay Ministry is and does.
• I'm always looking to tell God's story through your ministry. Send me your story so we can share what's happening in Lay Ministry across the LCA.

We love the work God does through you! If we can help in anyway as you work in your communities as mission & ministry encouragers, let us know.

Keep a watch out for  the July edition of the Lutheran... there is an article on Lay Ministry with 3 of our Lay Workers sharing their story.

Below are links to resources from the Conference that you may find useful.

The Journal                             Sam Chan's grace          

Bible focus                              Bible focus powerpoint    

Examen Booklet                     Stillpoint brochure

New lay workers:

Elaine Bailey - LCAQD Hospital Chaplain, Bris. Wesley Hospital, Qld
Abbey Bensemann - Youth Worker, Upper Moutere Parish, NZ
Karen Cotter - Ministry Support, Ipswich Parish, Qld
Carl Eckermann - Ministry development Coordinator, Rochedale Good Shepherd Congregation, Qld
Jodie Hauser - Site Coordinator, Koojarewon Youth Camp, Lutheran Youth of Queensland
Anna Kroehn - Interim Director of Children, Youth & Family Ministry, SA/NT District
Annette Maroske - Office Secretary, Toowoomba Good Shepherd Congregation, Qld
Mal Maroske - Deacon/Pastoral Care, Toowoomba Good Shepherd Congregation, Qld
Rebecca Miegel - Events Coordinator, Lutheran Youth of Queensland
Christine Pickering - Visiting & Reconciliation , Toowoomba Good Shepherd Congregation, Qld
Deborah Salzke - Events Coordinator & Office Volunteer, Toowoomba Good Shepherd Congregation, Qld
Joanne Wood - PA to Pastor, Rochedale Our Saviour Cong, Qld

Lay Workers left positions:

Kellie Langer - Child & Youth Coordinator, Hahndorf St Michaels Congregation, SA
Carl Janetzki - Intern, Warrambui Retreat & Conference Centre, NSW
Tricia Williams - Intern, Warrambui Retreat & Conference Centre, NSW

Accreditations:

Tim Kelly - Coordinator Young Adult Ministry, Rochedale Our Saviour Congregation, 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

Ministry in a Lutheran Secondary school is hard to define.  Yes, there are the mechanical bits and pieces that hold the ministry program together, e.g. chapels, devotions, worship services and a host of other things.  However, those elements, in and of themselves don’t define what ministry in a secondary school really looks like.  If I had to put it in words I suppose it would sound something like this, “Ministry to secondary school students is about taking the 2,000 years old message of the gospel and helping a radically post-modern, post-Christian generation appreciate its ability to explain not only themselves but the world in which they live.”
It is important to remember that the vast majority of students in Lutheran schools will never have an on-going relationship with a Christian organization, Lutheran or otherwise, once they leave school.  We only have a few precious years to help them understand the radical and unbounded love that God has for them and the life that God offers them both now and into eternity.  By my estimation this makes Lutheran schooling the Church’s largest and most urgent mission field.  I suppose that is way I love my job so very much.
Where else can you be standing in front of a thousand people, delivering a weekly chapel message about authenticity one minute and then find yourself chatting with a transgender student who happens to be an atheist about his family breakdown in the next?  In what other vocation can you discuss the origins of the New Testament with a YR 12 student in one lesson and then go to lunch and judge a middle school talent contest?  In what other role can you support a student with an eating disorder and then turn around and help a dozen YR 11 students complete a Certificate III in Christian Ministry and Theology?  Working in a secondary school has taught me that God is so much bigger than the theology I use to define him and he is at work in peoples’ lives in ways that I can barely comprehend.
Yet, in many ways, the traditional rules about ministry are hard to apply in this context.  Some of the traditions and teachings of the church are radically foreign to students who didn’t grow up with them.  Preaching the Gospel has to include a level of practicality and relevance for students who care more about their upcoming footie game than a crucified carpenter who died thousands of years ago.  Our understanding of worship and liturgy has to move beyond the formulas laid out in the Lutheran Book of Worship so that a new generation can come to appreciate what faith is really about.
Ministry in Lutheran Secondary schools is an every evolving experience that changes as the students change.  Yet, in the midst of this chaos is the ever fixed reality that Christ is reaching out to our young people with a hope that the world can never offer and for some strange reason he lets us get in on the act too.
God Bless,
Adam Yeager, College Chaplain
Cornerstone College, Mount Baker, SA

“God has equipped us with his Holy Spirit simply to tell our own story---the good, the bad, and the real. The best part is no one can argue with us. It's our story. And when others realize you don't need a degree in evangelism, they become empowered to tell their own God-story. It's not that complicated. Maybe the early church thrived because they didn't pay people to be the professional 'church people'---they all were 'it.”
― Thom Schultz, Why Nobody Wants to Be Around Christians Anymore: And How 4 Acts of Love Will Make Your Faith Magnetic

Merry Waller began her Lay Worker role at Good Shepherd Toowoomba working with small groups but as needs have changed, so has her role. Merry now also has a focus on Baptism families – visiting them, providing resources to help parents and families grow in their faith while encouraging their children to attend Sunday School - another of Merry’s roles.

I really enjoy working with the young families as I remember how hard it was and enjoyed the encouragement I received. Now I can pass that encouragement on to the next generation.  Another role Merry loves is the Holiday Bible Adventure where she works with primary aged children for 3 mornings in the New Year. I have held differing jobs in this ministry outreach but love working together as a team sharing the Good News of God’s love.

One of the hardest things is working by yourself, but I know that the Lay Worker Formation Officers, Verena and Glenn, are there to help answer questions and when I need someone to talk to. Even though I’m now working in a volunteer capacity, I’m continuing to visit the young families in our church and still getting wonderful encouragement from the Lay Worker Team.

Our church is changing over to a ministry team that can help and support the pastor in a number of different roles. This has been helpful as we share the leadership and help and encourage each other.

I love to see the children get so excited about coming along to learn.

Anne Hansen has sent through the latest editions she has added to the Lutheran Tract stock. To see this range, click on the link below.

new tracts

There are 23 paople (maximum number of 32) who are booked to go on the Lay Worker/Study Tour in July next year, if you'd like to join us...even if you are not a Lay Worker...or currently studying, email Nevin This should be a really enjoyable 12 days!

We can help with:

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