Random community
Last weekend I joined a Park Choir session. For an hour, a group of random strangers sat on rugs under the trees learning Wham!’s ‘Last Christmas’ in 3-part harmony, gave a final rendition and then drifted back to our normal lives. It was only a short walk from my house but, talking to my fellow sopranos, some had come over 20km for this brief encounter. The age range was about 6 months to 80 years with many diverse backgrounds on display.
It got me thinking about opportunities to form random communities with people you might not normally come across or seek out. Schools and early childhood services are one of the few places in modern Australia that throw a lot of different people together. This can get a bit interesting at times, especially at the end of the year when people are tired. But it is also a wonderful opportunity to define belonging as being relational with people who are not like you.
As we spend time with the Christmas story, we see Mary and Joseph leave their circle of family and friends, home and work, and go somewhere with ancestral connections, alone. Then the baby arrives, and shepherds come to visit. Imagine what it must have felt like to receive visitors in a place where you had felt so alone? It is the Christ child who brings people together, one in the love of the Father, through the Son.
I pray you have a blessed Christmas, a restful break and renewed purpose in the new year.
LExICON Project Update
LExICON is getting an upgrade! LEA has embarked on a project to upgrade LExICON. The Project Team within the LCA's IT Department is working with a Stakeholder Consultation Group of Lutheran Education staff from schools and regional offices across Australia to ensure the success and relevance of the final product. We are aiming to reach the testing and implementation phase in Term 1, 2025.
We need your help! Before we migrate the data across, we need to clean it up as much as possible. Please encourage your LExICON Administrators to check that staff records are up to date and, if needed, to reach out to lexicon@lutheran.edu.au.
LEA office Christmas closure
The LEA office will close for the Christmas period on Friday 20 December 2024 and reopen on Monday 6 January 2025. We wish all staff a happy and restful Christmas and New Year season.
Lead & Thrive Early Childhood Leadership Program
Registrations are now open for this new LEA program written specifically for leaders in our Early Childhood services. The program is suitable for currently serving directors and supervisors and can optionally lead to accreditation as an Early Years Leader (AeL). More information can be found in the brochure here.
Ministry Personnel Workshop
Do you have ministry personnel staff who may be interested in Accreditation? Let them know that registrations are open for the Ministry in Lutheran Education Introductory Workshop in 2025. This workshop has been designed to support the wide range of ministry personnel in Lutheran schools and Early Childhood Services.
ACLE 2025
The seventh Australian Conference on Lutheran Education (ACLE7) will be held in Brisbane in October 2025. With the theme Free to Flourish, and with generous support from the Queensland Government and LLL Australia, ACLE7 will be an exciting opportunity for Professional Development or networking for Lutheran educators. Register now to secure the early bird rate. More information is available below.
ALWS Celebrates 75 Years
In 2025 our church will celebrate 75 years of service through ALWS with a series of Walk My Way events across Australia. Come and join us as we step out to continue our church's ministry of welcome, care, and compassion. Find out more about walks near you below.
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