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Welcome to the November edition of
Cross-Cultural Ministry eNews
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Hello everyone,
Greetings from the Cross-Cultural Ministry desk!
I have watched with interest the drama unfold around the recent abduction of little Cleo in WA and the outpouring of relief when she was found. Her miraculous rescue filled the news for a couple of days and captivated the nation.
She who was lost has been found!
We saw how one 4 yr old girl is so precious and rejoiced that she was spared. Surely this is a glimpse of God's amazing love for each individual. A love that took Jesus to the cross and is poured out in our hearts when we reach out to those around us.
We prayed for little Cleo and her family even though they were strangers to us, so let's pray that God's love for other strangers who haven't heard the gospel yet will move us to open up and talk to them
God bless
Craig Heidenreich Cross-Cultural Ministry Facilitator
Our Local Mission teams are keen to generate conversation about how we can all live missional lives. Please email me at craig.heidenreich@lca.org.au if you have something to contribute or questions we can help you with.
A soft heart in the shopping mall
Let me tell you a simple story about what happened recently to highlight how the Lord is working all around us even when we don’t expect it.
It was our wedding anniversary, so my wife and I decided to visit the upmarket Burnside Shopping Centre and pick up some perfume.
We were having a sort of ‘day off’ spiritually, but the Lord wasn’t, and he had prepared a heart as a special ‘gift’ for us.
Testimony of a courageous Muslim convert - a modern-day St Paul
If you have any lingering sense that middle-eastern people are not part of the family of our Lord take a few minutes with a coffee and listen to this guy called Mohammad Yamout showing the way in Lebanon.
Cross-Cultural Advocates
Would you consider becoming a cross-cultural advocate for your congregation and joining in a churchwide conversation about what we are seeing the Lord do?
This is not a plug to recruit you to a time-consuming program, but an opportunity to be mutually encouraged.
Perhaps you are aware of new mission fields opening up as people of different ethnicities move in around you. If you share what you are observing we can be praying for you as you step out.
I am convinced that as we 'go' the Lord is already at work and things will start to happen. Let's share these stories of His grace breaking through in daily life, so we can rejoice together.
If this resonates, please email me at craig.heidenreich@lca.org.au and make yourself known.
Pray for the work in Shepparton Victoria
For many years the St Paul’s team have been ‘casting the net on the other side and are a real blessing amongst new arrivals in their area. Please pray for them at the moment and consider backing them with time or finances.
Due to several factors outside of their control, there is now a significant funding shortfall to keep the two key staff employed. Perhaps you or your church are in a position to make a donation towards 2022 expenses. To help click on the "Donate Now" button and in the comments please type in Shepparton so we know who you would like to help.
Ps Matthias Prenzler and the team are also looking to partner closely with like-minded congregations so please email him for details about how to be involved at matthias.prenzler@lca.org.au
Launching the Tamil Fellowship on Sat 13th Nov
Keep Michelle Filipovic and the Geelong team in your prayers as they start a new fellowship meeting for a growing number of Tamil enquirers. Due to a gift from the US we were able to purchase a few Tamil language bibles.
'May your favour be on this special part of your harvest field Lord and open their eyes to your great love'
An Update from Bethlehem Morley
The congregation is blessed to have James joining us as pastor this year. He has quickly adapted to our needs and programmes and is fitting in well to congregational life. He has made it a priority, with his lovely wife Sarah, to visit members in their homes in order to get to know them better and conversely for members to get to know him and Sarah. His sermons are easy to understand and they are available in printed form for those people who may find his English dialect a little hard to follow. He is well-supported by Sarah and the family appear to have settled in well to their new environment. We have been blessed too with some members of the local Sudanese community joining us in worship. God is good!
Keith Kowald (Secretary)
New Horizons conference Victoria
50 people joined us online for the final New Horizons Conference for 2021 and there was a real buzz among the delegates. It was encouraging to be together and explore practical ways to connect with people of other cultures. To keep the momentum, the Vic/Tas district have agreed to host an Action Network (via zoom), kicking off Tuesday, November 16th from 7:30 pm -9 pm.
Lutheran Theological Journal
Cross-Cultural Ministry themed edition
The latest edition of the LTJ has some great material highlighting aspects of Cross-Cultural ministry.
Tamils in Australia
In each edition, we focus on a different part of the world and this time we are looking at the Tamil ethnic group. Their religious orientation is Hindu and there are now over 70,000 in Australia. The Tamil heartland is south India but their influence spreads to the northern part of Sri Lanka (a majority Buddhist country). About a third of the ethnic Tamils in Australia are Sri Lankans.
Many of these are asylum-seekers who fled as a result of a brutal 26-year civil war with the Sinhalese majority government, which ended in 2009. This included serious allegations of genocide. It is estimated at least 100,000 Tamils died in the final stages of the war. Even though disputed officially, the post-war period has also been marked by the ongoing persecution of the Tamils in Sri Lanka. Like many asylum-seekers in Australia, these Tamils are refused permanent visa's which means an uncertain future, and they rely on goodwill from others to survive.
A great story has been developing since 2013 in the Geelong area after a group of Tamil's started approaching St Paul's Grovedale for help back. To their credit, the local congregations responded and the blessing has flowed both ways ever since. The Geelong response to this opportunity is a good example of congregations uniting around a common goal to help support and fund a part time worker. We need more of this.
Click on the button to view a conversation between Michelle Filipovic and her Tamil friend Mary
Greetings in Tamil
Hello Vanakam
Thanks Nundri
Friend Nunban
Jesus Yesu
Take note that the Cross-Cultural Ministry department currently has Major and Minor grants. The Major grant round has now closed for 2022, but remember that the Minor grants (up to $1000) are open year-round and advertised on the CCM webpage. We will happily work with you if you want to take a risk to reach out and 'spend' some of this money.
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