SPECIAL SYNOD EDITION 28 March 2013

Prayer points
• Celebration of 175 years of Lutheran activity and those involved in the planning of Alive!175
• Delegates preparation for the Convention of Synod
• Those planning and organising General Pastors Conference, Lutheran Women’s Convention and the Convention of Synod next month

‘This is the day the Lord has made’ Ps 118:24. That day is every day for each day belongs to our Lord and each day we have his abundant grace and each day will bring us something different. What is special about Easter is that it comes after the forsakenness of Good Friday. And yet Good Friday is the day our Saviour placed himself where we should have been left and abandoned. Now each day is lived wrapped in eternity with the breaking of the power of death at Easter.

Every day, no matter our circumstances, we can praise our Lord for the resurrection of Christ, which now by faith guarantees ours.

SYNOD AGENDA AND BOOK OF REPORTS
The Agenda and Book of Reports for the upcoming Convention of Synod are now available to view on the LCA Synod webpage at http://www.lcasynod.org.au/index.php/the-business-of-synod/ . Printed hard copies for registered delegates and pastors will be mailed out over the next week.

Please also take some time to read my letter at the end of these notices.

GENERAL CONVENTION TRAINING
For newcomers (and old hands, too), the business sessions of General Convention can be daunting. Even if you have something to say to Synod, you might not have the confidence to stand up at the mic and say it. That’s where General Convention Training can help. At 8.00 am on Monday, 22 April (immediately before the opening devotion), Grassroots Training will be hosting a training session for new (and not-so-new!) delegates. The session will cover aspects of Convention, how it works and the role and voting responsibilities of delegates. There’s no need to register; just turn up at the Immanuel College Auditorium at 8.00 am on Synod Monday with pen and notebook in hand.

ONLY 25 DAYS UNTIL ALIVE!175
ALIVE!175 has captured the coveted Page 3 position of The Barossa Herald, which reaches 25,000 homes. Read the story on the LCA website: www.lca.org.au

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) and will be followed with 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. For those of you who live far from Adelaide and cannot attend, please join us in prayer as we thank God for his faithfulness over 175 years and ask for his guidance into the future. It will be a special time for our Lutheran family to come together as one in repentance, prayer and praise.

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. South Australian and Western Victorian subscribers will receive the FAQ brochure in their April edition of The Lutheran. Be prepared to answer their questions about transport arrangements from your congregation.

Do give your members every opportunity to attend this event. Please don’t let anyone say to you after the event, ‘Why wasn’t I told?’
More information:
• ALIVE!175 webpage and its sub-pages: FAQ, Promote, Facebook
• Debbie Venz (LCA National Office): 08 8267 7327, debbie.venz@lca.org.au

OVERSEAS GUESTS AT SYNOD
We look forward to welcoming to the LCA Synod, special international guests from our Asia-Pacific mission partnerships. Rev Bishop Willem Simarmata is the new bishop of the largest Lutheran Church in SE Asia.  The Huria Kristen Batak Protestan(HKBP) has close to 5 million members (Lutherans!). Bishop Simarmata will be accompanied on this vist to Australia and the LCA by his wife Hen. Rev Dr William Chang is the Area Secretary for Asia and the Middle East, Palestine and the Pacific, Department for Mission and Development (DMD), Lutheran World Federation (LWF). William was a former recipient of an LCA Board for Mission scholarship and a Masters student at Australian Lutheran College in the 90’s. Rev Bishop Giegere Wenge and his wife Lucy will be travelling from Papua New Guinea. Bishop Wenge is leader of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in PNG (ELCPNG) which has more than one million members. Mr Ridwin Purba is the Educational Secretary of the LWF National Committee, Indonesia. With support from the Lutheran Church of Australia Ridwin has taken on the role of leading the education reform and the development of best practise in the many schools of the 12 Lutheran Church synods in Indonesia.

Rev Greg Seltz, Lutheran Hour Ministries, will preach at the Sunday 21 April service and President Robert Bugbee from the Lutheran Church-Canada, with whom our Church has a special relationship, will also be in attendance. We particularly welcome all of these guests to Australia. You’re invited to meet and speak with these guests in person during their time in Adelaide at Immanuel College for the convention of Synod.

DELEGATE REMINDER FOR SYNOD
A reminder to all parishes and congregations in relation to their delegates:
All parishes are entitled to a lay delegate to General Convention on the basis of one lay person for every 400 18+ year old members.
These delegates need to be registered both in LAMP (www.lamp.lca.org.au) and the registration system (go to www.lcasynod.org.au) by 1 April 2013 to ensure their attendance is processed in time for book of report delivery and meal ordering.
Any queries please call the LCA offices on 08 8267 7300 or send an email to debbie.venz@lca.org.au

KEEPING YOU POSTED – GENERAL CONVENTION eNEWS
This afternoon we’ve launched an eNews List to keep you 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’.
All pastors, lay workers and registered Convention delegates are automatically included on the LCA General Convention eNews list.

Dear Pastors, Parishioners and Synod Delegates,

At the instigation of the College of Presidents I communicate this pre-convention letter to you.

Our Synod meets in Convention under the theme ‘Where Love Comes to Life’. ‘Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth, so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart’ (1 Peter 1:22)

We have the best news ever to tell the world. It is the gospel of salvation. It is the love of God in Christ.

God in Christ who has enacted our redemption has also in his abundant graciousness given us means to spread this good news. We have communication media not dreamed of 175 years ago when Lutherans first organized worship and mission in Australia. As an example our Media Ministry now reaches a million people each week with the gospel.

It is to be regretted that unauthorised communication using the same God given technology has given rise to false expectation in regards to matters on the Convention of Synod agenda. Groundless expectation can only lead to disappointment and even anger. I refer both to the matters themselves and the constitutional process in place for synod to maintain its unity while difficult issues are under discussion.

The status of the Thesis of Agreement, the ordination of both genders and the standing of the LCA in the Lutheran World Federation will all be processed according to the ways of the Church, which accepts that Scripture is the only norm for its teaching and upon which its unity is drawn.

The Lutheran Church of Australia is a community of God’s children, not an entity reliant on legal argumentation, culture, electioneering, politics, or populist pressure, which if used to settle issues of teaching may demean the very issue being addressed. We fear God rather than people. Our unity is a gift to be celebrated. The Church studies Scripture and the pastors who are called to speak to and for the Church need to be able to give guidance to the synod on matters of theology. This is how the Thesis of Agreement came into being to bring us together. What brought us together keeps us together.

Our commitment and accountability to each other in Synod shows through in our respect, understanding and compassion for each other especially when we recognize hurt. Loving each other is a witness to our culture and society. The apostle Paul spoke to the people of Ephesus and said (Eph 1:15, 16) ‘I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers’.

For a change of teaching the synod, seeking to preserve its integrity, points us toward finding consensus. Biblical studies are required for the constitutional requirement that pastors guide delegates, in decision making. Our previous papers for the study on the ordination of male and female have not satisfied the Church. The Church has put in place an Ordination Dialogue Group which will report to the convention. The General Church Council will offer a proposal to the Synod to progress what has already begun with the Dialogue Group.

There is every reason to be positive about all serious study of the inspired Word of God.

We are charged to speak into the culture in every era, as culture does not determine the interpreting of God’s Word. It is a matter of fearing God rather than culture (1st Commandment).

The importance of how we hear God’s Word is being addressed with a beginning at a symposium (Oct 2011) with presentations from across the Lutheran world. One booklet to help understand our Lutheran approach to interpretation has been produced. Interpretation itself is not a gender issue. We have also looked at what consensus means for the LCA which for pragmatic reasons uses the minimalist constitutional requirement of at least a two thirds majority vote at synod but which does not itself guarantee consensus. What is our understanding of consensus in a confessional church? Both the matters of ‘interpretation’ and ‘consensus’ need further study and discussion. These are vital in establishing teaching in the Church.

The Church has not been preparing for the major theological issues mentioned above. What is presented for possible discussion and direction does not make it ready for decision on the subject itself.

There has been no study before the Church in this synodical period for decision on ordination. The last Convention of Synod requested the following, ‘… the General Church Council to establish a dialogue group with balanced representation from all sides of the issue, to work toward consensus within the group itself and across the Church…’. To shortcut the process would adversely affect the integrity of the Church and set an unwanted precedent for the handling of future sensitive issues.

It is recognized that divided opinion on the ordination matter is a reality and that some particularly with entrenched stances feel threatened, upset and even intimidated when addressing this teaching of our Church. In Synod we understand and have compassion for deep feelings as we continue to pray for and support each other. No-one likes protracted discussion, but it takes patience to achieve consensus across a diverse church.

We have looked to a newer generation of pastors to give their attention to this matter so that the unity of the Church may be strengthened and we can walk together informed by God’s will. That involves consensus in the Church and most importantly how we are hearing and therefore interpreting Scripture.

To demand God’s will according to us, to be enacted on our time schedule, is an approach which finds a better home in sectarianism, rather than synod. Our Synod guards against that. Lobbying also falls short of the ideals of synod as it does not provide the substance of reformation and renewal.

The Church has a teaching on the issue of ordination (Thesis of Agreement: Thesis on the Office of the Ministry VI.II) and we are studying if there is biblical permission for a change with regard to gender.

The Christian church on earth has a future. A future which waits on the Lord and his will. All things are according to his timeline. Patience finds its home in trusting him. Let Scripture teach us the patience we need to move forward together.

Looking to God’s Word when facing these issues provides an opportunity to strengthen our unity. It is not that the inspired Scriptures are unclear, but rather it is we who suffer from unclear understanding.

As we celebrate this Easter we will see once more that Love comes to life in the sacrifice of Christ. We live under his cross with his open tomb providing our path to life eternal.