NATIONAL MAGAZINE OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA
Print Post Approved PP536155/00031 VOL 46 NO 2
MARCH 2012
The Lutheran March 2012
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EDITOR/ADVERTISING
phone 08 8339 5178 email linda.macqueen@lca.org.au
SUBSCRIPTIONS
phone 08 8360 7270 email lutheran.subs@lca.org.au
www.thelutheran.com.au We Love The Lutheran!
Paws off! It’s mine!
As the magazine of the Lutheran Church of Australia (incorporating the Lutheran Church of New Zealand), The Lutheran informs the members of the LCA about the church’s teaching, life, mission and people, helping them to grow in faith and commitment to Jesus Christ. The Lutheran also provides a forum for a range of opinions, which do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or the policies of the Lutheran Church of Australia. The Lutheran is a member of the Australasian Religious Press Association and as such subscribes to its journalistic and editorial codes of conduct.
Sunday the cat spends a rainy afternoon curled up with The Lutheran. Photo: Julie Kleidon (St Johns, Eight Mile Plains, Qld)
Send us a photograph featuring a recent copy of The Lutheran and you might see it here on page 2 We Love The Lutheran!
CONTACTS
Editor Linda Macqueen PO Box 664, Stirling SA 5152, Australia phone (+61) 08 8339 5178 email linda.macqueen@lca.org.au Beyond10K Project Officer Janise Fournier phone 08 8387 0328 email janise.fournier@lca.org.au
People like you are salt in your world [ Matt 5:13 ]
National Magazine Committee Wayne Gehling (chair), Greg Hassold, Sarah HoffZweck, Pastor Richard Schwedes, Heidi Smith Design and layout Comissa Fischer Printer Openbook Howden
ADVERTISEMENTS and MANUSCRIPTS Should be directed to the editor. Manuscripts are published at the discretion of the editor. Those that are published may be cut or edited. Advertisements are accepted for publication on a date-received basis. Acceptance of advertisements does not imply endorsement by The Lutheran or the Lutheran Church of Australia of advertiser, product or service. Copy deadline: 1st of preceding month Rates: general notices and small advertisements, $18.00 per cm; for display, contract and inserted advertisements, contact the editor.
SUBSCRIPTIONS and CHANGES of ADDRESS LCA Subscriptions PO Box 731, North Adelaide SA 5006 phone 08 8360 7270 email lutheran.subs@lca.org.au www.thelutheran.com.au
Alex Arnold
Heather Waring
Arthur Schuster
Zion, Berri SA
St Stephen’s, Adelaide SA
Good Shepherd, Chisholm ACT
Student
Executive Assistant, Lutheran Schools Association
Retired
Enjoys mountain-biking, skiing, reading Fav text: Jer 29:11
Enjoys art and craft, live theatre
Enjoys serving weekly breakfast and mentoring a student at local school Fav text: John 3:16
Fav text: Col 1:15–20
11 issues per year— Australia $39 New Zealand $41 Asia/Pacific $50 Rest of the World $59 Issued every month except in January Vol 46 No2 P42
Miss Perry was my first boss. I was fresh out of high school, bursting at the seams with youthful bounce and exuberance, and so I found Miss Perry’s measured, perpetually patient approach to life quite exasperating. Particularly annoying was her habit of always finding the best in people. You could never whinge to her about anything or anybody. Miss Perry was the dearest, kindest Christian lady, but she was surely no fun.
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Miss Perry, I recall, was pouring her morning brew into her rose-tinted teacup. Ever so quietly she said, ‘Linda, are you sure you will still be warming a pew when you’re their age?’
21 Now or Never 24 Still Shaking, Still Waiting
COLUMNS
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This edition of The Lutheran is dedicated to all the old Christian soldiers like Miss Perry, who guide young hotheads along life’s way by their gentle, enduring faith and by soft wisdom fashioned from a lifetime of bumps and scrapes. We’ve started a new series of stories about the contribution they make to our church and world—and to the life journey of every one of us. Look for the going GREYt! symbol in this and future editions of The Lutheran.
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04 From the President 08 Reel Life 12 Little Church 13 Inside Story 17 Letters and Directory 18 Stepping Stones
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20 Notices 26 Heart and Home 28 World in Brief 30 Coffee Break
‘By then you’ll have experienced much heartache and disappointment, with people and with God. Are you sure you’ll be as strong in your faith then as you are now?’ See what I mean about Miss Perry being no fun?
05 The Secret Life of G and We 09 Someone to Lead Me
This one Monday morning I was all hot and bothered because the old people at church had trampled all over my brilliant idea about a youth service. ‘Why are old people so boring? Why aren’t they passionate about their faith?’, I railed at Miss Perry. ‘Why don’t they ever do anything? Why do they think that being a Christian is just warming a pew on Sunday mornings?’
FEATURES
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'Today’s headlines and history’s judgement are seldom the same', said Condoleezza Rice, former USA Secretary of State. What were the headlines at Jesus’ death? ‘Pretend Messiah’? ‘Hope destroyed’? ‘Told you so’? ‘Pathetic followers mourn the loss of their rabbi’? What is history’s judgement? ‘Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again.’
Rev Dr Mike Semmler President Lutheran Church of Australia
Keep up to date with news, prayer points and call information by visiting www.lca.org.au/president or by subscribing to the president’s electronic newsletter. To receive the newsletter, send an email to itofficer@lca.org.au giving the email address you would like included. All LCA pastors and layworkers are automatically included in this list.
In a world shaped by headlines and too quick to judge, truth and certainty can become casualties. Many Christians who have conscientiously studied the Scriptures, when confronted by life’s problems ask themselves, ‘What would Jesus do’? In a way it can be useful to ask that question, but really it presupposes that we know the mind of God. That is unattainable for us. Just as Jesus baffled his followers by taking the path to the cross, so he continues to amaze us. Ms Rice was talking of matters political and events of the state, but in what she says there is truth for us in our life in Christ as well. We may presume that we can know what God would have us do in our challenges and experiences in a way that makes headlines in our own thinking at the time. In God’s history with us, however, we will realise that we could not get it right, and his judgement surprises us. No doubt it is God’s will that everyone should be saved. And that is in spite of ourselves. It is God’s will that we listen to him in his Spirit-inspired word in Scripture. Surely we pray in faith the
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In a world shaped by headlines and too quick to judge, truth and certainty can become casualties. prayer, ‘Your will be done on earth as in heaven’. His walking with us, his people, according to his will, on almost all occasions, will amaze us. It will take history to show that. We take comfort in knowing that we are part of God’s history in caring for us, his children. We are invited to reflect on that in this Lenten season. This is not mere consideration and understanding on God’s part. It is the costly giving up of his Son which for all the world appeared not only to be a loss to God but also seemed to dash all the life hopes we can ever have. It is life and death. In fact, it is life from death—not at all what the first impressions and headlines tell us at the ugly scene on Calvary. Ugly it was, and yet out of it comes our salvation and life eternal. The violet colour of paraments at this time of the church year depicts both penitence and royalty. For us Christ died. His death for our sin. Our Redeemer triumphs. He is king. Vol 46 No2 P44
Rebecka Colldunberg
An old man lived alone. A young couple needed to save some money. Rebecka Colldunberg came up with a happy solution for all of them—and discovered something about respect along the way. Our housemate G has an amazing ability to drive my husband Adam and me up the wall at times. For a start, he has absolutely no respect for anyone else’s sleep. He never offers to pitch in for groceries, but is quite happy to eat everything we buy.
them his and squirrelled them into his ‘special’ biscuit box. When I made a futile attempt at protest he said I was more than welcome to eat them so long as I remembered to replace them. They remain in the ‘special’ box to this day.
But if we dare to so much as nibble anything he has bought for himself he will enter a morbid state of sulking until it is replaced. Don’t even get me started on the orange Tim Tams I bought a year ago!
I suppose it’s all standard housemate gripes, really. I constantly catch him gossiping on the phone about me. He insists on turning the fan on in midwinter, and the heater on the moment the mercury dips below 35 degrees. He puts the milk in the sugar bowl, and the sugar in the milk jug, and it’s not unusual to find his hearing aid contentedly wedged in the butter.
The moment I brought them home he decided he liked the look of them so much that he promptly declared Vol 46 No2 P45
Perhaps the latter incident is not among the top ten all-time housemate grievances. But then, a 91-year-old does not make it onto the top ten list of most common housemates, either. When I tell people that I live with my grandfather I am guaranteed one of two reactions. The first is verbal: ‘Aren’t you a saint? How very selfless of you! Isn’t he lucky?’… followed by a long gaze of awe befitting a Nobel Prize winner. The second reaction is a look of absolute pity, ineptly masking the thought: ‘The poor girl—and just newly married, too—being forced to The Lutheran March 2012
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live with a breathing corpse. I wonder what terrible financial woes have befallen her.’ The truth could not be further from either the ‘piety’ or ‘pity’ thought strands. My grandmother was the love of G’s life. They were one of only two couples I have ever known who were genuinely crazy in love long, long, long after the honeymoon tan had faded. They lived for each other. I can still recall the way they’d look at each other, as though there was nothing and nobody in the world but them. As a young thing I remember praying that God would give me a love like theirs. When my grandmother died suddenly nine years ago, no-one thought G would survive even a month. Within one week he went from an energetic, bouncy, life-loving young man to a hobbling old geriatric who prayed for nothing but death. But God has a funny way of not answering some prayers. For seven years G lived alone in his big, empty house. My dad, aunt and uncle tried to ensure he was visited three times a week and was called on the off days. He would occasionally shuffle down to the shop to buy oranges and tinned asparagus. My grandmother had prepared gourmet meals for him every day of their marriage; he had never learnt to cook for himself, and he had no will to start. This was life for G. Just before Adam and I were married in 2006, he suggested that we move in with G in order to save some money. I was very reluctant to ask. After Grandma died I had gone headlong into high school and ‘never had time’ to visit a boring, miserable old man. After seven years I didn’t even know him anymore. But the thought of saving money was appealing and I 6
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figured I could ‘survive’ so long as it was limited to six months at the most. G agreed to our proposal immediately, and our six-month residency started the day we returned from our honeymoon. Two years later he’d be hard pressed getting rid of us even if he wanted to. It took us only one or two months to accept his deafness, his blindness and, hardest of all, his daily dose of orange juice with an egg mixed in. By month three we stopped focusing on his health as our primary source of conversation and forced him to discuss issues beyond his insulated universe. By month four G had started to lighten up. In fact, he became quite amusing. By month five we were seeing him not as a decrepit old man long past his use-by date but as a regular human being. After that, life was easy … er. By this time I was starting to ponder a problem I had never thought about before—Western society’s treatment of the elderly and, further to that, Western society’s model of the family unit, and, further to that, Western society’s ‘creed’ about the elderly. As far as I can see it, here’s how it goes: life is busy and this is a good thing; you are useful while you are busy. Therefore, when you are no longer busy you are essentially useless and a burden to people who are busy and useful. If busy and useful people do occasionally spend time with you, you absolutely must consider yourself to be extraordinarily lucky. But don’t worry if you forget, because if there is one thing busy people are never too busy to do, it is to remind you how lucky you are. But where is the respect in all of this? The same Christian parents who force-feed their children the commandment to respect father and mother can forget that it applies to
Within one week he went from an energetic, bouncy, life-loving young man to a hobbling old geriatric who prayed for nothing but death. But God has a funny way of not answering some prayers. them, too. The Fourth Commandment has become a fluffy bedtime talk intended for children alone. Following either the look of awe or pity, most people I talk to about my 91-year-old housemate confess that they are just too busy to find time for their parents or grandparents. But if you truly have respect, real respect, can you be too busy? Consider this: while Jesus was incredibly busy dying for our sins, he managed to find time to ensure that his mother was cared for by the apostle John. It wasn’t just, ‘John, mate, could you try to visit Mum every now and then?’ Rather, upon Jesus’ word, ‘She is your mother’, John knew very well his responsibility. He was to take Mary into his own home. So where does that leave us? The Western world is in recession. Elderly widows and widowers are abandoned in empty houses with spare rooms, but they feel comfortable there and they don’t want to leave all those memories. And with house prices and rent soaring, more and more young Vol 46 No2 P46
people are losing all hope of achieving ‘the great Australian dream’ of owning their own home.
Courtesy Rebecka Colldunberg
I (well, Adam, really) have found one solution to these two problems—a solution that really works. I don’t think it’s original; I just think the Western world has forgotten it. Adam and I have officially made a commitment to stay with G until his final day, whenever God decides that will be. We can never fill the gap Grandma left, but the sparkle I see in G’s eye from time to time indicates he is no longer bitterly lonely. In return, we are unlikely to ever suffer from financial stress, and that’s good because it means we can afford a $2.50 packet of biscuits from time to time. In fact, today’s the day I will eat one of those orange Tim Tams. Postscript: I wrote this story in 2008. G died in November 2009, just a month after my son Tevye Klaus was born. He had a fall in July and his health declined rapidly after that. He held on just long enough to meet his greatgrandson. I feel truly blessed that I was able to take pictures of them together. Now, my disclaimer: I do not for a second believe that our multigenerational lifestyle could work for everyone. In fact, if we had tried to live that way with my grandmother, well … let’s just say I’d be telling an entirely different story. But if any of this story about G resonates with you … go on, give it a go. Rebecka Colldunberg was the assistant to the editor of The Lutheran when she wrote this story. She is now working full-time as wife to Adam and mother to Tevye (2) and Rivka (3 months).
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'Adam and I have officially made a commitment to stay with G until his final day, whenever God decides that will be. We can never fill the gap Grandma left, but the sparkle I see in G’s eye from time to time indicates he is no longer bitterly lonely.' The Lutheran March 2012
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parenting and its perils I’ve never really appreciated the suggestion that the two topics you shouldn’t bring up at dinner are religion and politics. I think this polite exclusion existed for previous generations because those topics were considered to sail too close to personal identity to suffer any real criticism. However, we seem to live in a society that’s both post-faith and post-ideology, and for precisely that reason religion and politics are now some of the safest subjects. Few people are offended by topics they care nothing about. No, if you really want to start a conversation that strikes at the heart of a person, talk to them about their parenting. Carnage’s opening titles roll over a wide shot of a New York park where boys are playing in the background. You can’t hear their words but it’s clear an argument is developing. The situation escalates and one boy hits the other in the mouth with a stick. The credits end and we find ourselves in the company of two sets of parents dealing with the aftermath. Jodie Foster is Penelope, a highly organised mother with a keen sense of social justice; John C Reilly her peacemaking husband, Michael.
Rating: M Distributor: Studio Canal UK Release Date: 1 March
Their son Ethan lost two teeth in the altercation. Kate Winslet plays the perfectly poised Nancy, housewife of the Blackberry-packing, corporate lawyer Alan (Christoph Waltz). Their son Zachary dealt the blow. But there’s apparently no acrimony; these civilised parents have come to a civilised solution. That is, until Penelope makes a passing reflection on Nancy and Alan’s parenting: ‘We told Ethan that if we were this boy’s parents, we would want to know.’ It’s just a snowflake’s worth of inflection, but it’s enough to set in motion an avalanche of emotion. The couples first needle, then poke and finally club their opposites and their partners with their parenting positions. Parenting is emotionally fraught territory. Any mums or dads who have considered their responsibilities for more than a second become aware of a serious pressure. Their children can’t just be healthy; they have to be confident, artistic, athletic, intellectual, musical … the list goes on. We sense we’re supposed to be producing not just adults but also balanced human beings. The problem lies in defining what that means. Even couples can’t agree, as Carnage demonstrates when Nancy reveals that her son Zachary hit Ethan because he wouldn’t let him join his gang. This sets off a spirited discussion about the virtues or otherwise of boys being involved in gangs. Where one parent sees violence and the end of civilisation, the other sees strength and the development of masculinity. Neither can convince the other because in this postmodern age one opinion is as valid as another. Carnage descends into chaos and ends with an admission that we’re all wrong, because no-one can point to a standard that is self-evidently correct. And so we arrive at the problem at the heart of modern parenting. It’s not a joke when mums and dads tell each other, ‘We’re making it up as we go along’. So long as we parent without an external standard we’re doomed to parent in the dark. We Christians refer to God as our heavenly Father not because he is like a cosmic dad, but because it’s from him we draw our idea of what a father should be. The Bible may not have a verse for every childhood crisis but it does present us with the goal that gives mums and dads direction.
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Vol 46 No2 P48
Tom Schmidt
by Tom Schmidt
Wujal Wujal… a place where God is evident not only in his majestic creation but also in how he is working in the local community
through the faithful prayers of the elders The elders of Wujal Wujal had one simple request when we asked them how we could partner with them: ‘Come, bring your young people and hang out with our young people’. Wujal Wujal is an indigenous community about an hour south of Cooktown in Far North Queensland, on the banks of the Bloomfield River at the top end of the Daintree rainforest. It is a place where God is evident not only in his majestic creation but also in how he is working in the local community through the faithful prayers of the elders. The elders of Wujal Wujal faithfully strive to hold their community together through prayer and responsible leadership. Unlike much of Australian culture that tends to segregate generations, at Wujal Wujal the elders are seen as the spiritual and cultural leaders of the community. They make decisions that guide the whole community, and their opinions and influence are respected. Vol 46 No2 P49
Our team of 25 people from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland represented a wonderful mix of ages, backgrounds and skills—from 4-yearold Jason to 75-year-old Tony. It was a team that God brought together to fulfil his purpose. It was a vivid illustration of the body of Christ at work. Each member and each age group played their role and were supported and encouraged by the others. Our own elder, Tony, was a constant calming presence and an ever ready source of wisdom for the younger ones. It was reassuring to have some older and wiser people on the team to keep us going and focused. And the young people were an inspiration to the older ones, too, living out their life in Christ with great energy and enthusiasm. As we pursued the vision to which God had called us—something bigger than any one of us or any one age group—we soon realised how much each generation had to
contribute and how much we needed each other. Our plan was to intentionally hang out and see what happened. This led us into many beautiful situations and gave us many wonderful relationship opportunities. As our time there progressed, we were able to really get to know some of the kids and build close relationships—through making bracelets, playing sports, face-painting and playdough fights. Emma Wong was blessed to be able to share the gospel with one of the young girls from the community. ‘We had invited Allie along to church on the Sunday afternoon and as we were going up to communion, she started asking what it all meant. As I explained, she asked me about Jesus and why he is so special. I was able to share the gospel with her and she was so interested; it was just amazing.’ Cedric, a local man, invited us down to the beach. He was excited to share his story and his heritage with us. The Lutheran March 2012
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Tom Schmidt
Tom Schmidt
Tom Schmidt
The multi-generational team at Wujal Wujal (left): 'We learnt how to slow down long enough hear God speaking to us through the stories and life experiences of older generations. We saw how he is working through the prayers of those faithful Aboriginal elders.'
He talked about the history of the area and his own land over the hills. He shared with us some of the traditions and stories about the local sacred sites, and showed us how they go spearfishing. His wife, Gladys, cooked us up some damper in the fire and we all enjoyed a hot billy tea. Cedric’s uncle Jim, the traditional owner of the land on which we were staying, also shared some of his stories with us. One of the most memorable parts of the trip was when Jim invited us to take part in a smoke ceremony. Each of us walked through the smoke of green leaves burning on the fire. Cedric explained that this meant we were welcome back to this land whenever we wanted. This was a very significant moment for many of our team. Tiago Vieira reflected, ‘Learning about and experiencing the indigenous culture was a huge highlight for me. This was something I never knew before, and to be able to learn from Cedric and hear his stories was pretty cool.’ A highlight for many of us was getting to know the elders of the community—Doreen, Lily and Kathleen—and seeing their strong faith. By the time we left it really did feel like we were a part of the family. ‘To see the love that came out of those women—people we had never met before—made a big impact on me. It was incredible to see how much love they could give’, Jess Lee said. After dinner one night the ladies from our group went and sat under the mango tree for a talk with the elders from 10
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Wujal. They shared their pain and their struggles, how they are persecuted for their faith, the hardships that they have had to go through with their community. They also shared their faith in God and how they have never stopped praying and have seen God answer their prayers. They prayed for a police station, and now they have two officers. They prayed for a dry zone, and now the town has been turned around with the introduction of the zone. They prayed for sick family members and friends who were never supposed to return from hospital, and now those people are home and healthy. They told us they are now praying that God would send them a pastor. The faith of these women inspired many of us. ‘The incredible Christian faith and prayer shown especially by the matriarchs for an extended period of time, under very difficult circumstances made a huge impact’, said Tony Ewart, our church chairman. ‘This is a great example for us all. We need to continue to pray for Wujal.’ We will have many fond memories of our time in Wujal Wujal. We know that God led us there and used us in exactly the ways he wanted. We learnt how to slow down long enough hear God speaking to us through the stories and life experiences of older generations. We saw how he is working through the prayers of those faithful Aboriginal elders. We now have brothers and sisters in another culture and another part of this great country. Vol 46 No2 P50
the faithful few by David Spanagel
Following the establishment of Hope Vale Mission in 1886, the early Lutheran missionaries sent a team to Bloomfield River to assess the mission opportunities here. They found that the people were living across a large area and in very difficult terrain. The missionaries did not lack Godinspired determination, but the conditions finally took their toll and the venture was abandoned. Another effort was made again around 1930. This was also discontinued due to inaccessibility.
of other minority denominations, drug abuse, family dysfunction, bad language, social media and the attraction towards destructive lifestyles. These can so easily become the norm.
Anyone considering becoming a volunteer at Wujal Wujal needs to:
Due to these negative influences, the faithful in Wujal Wujal may be few. But we focus on keeping these few strong in their faith with God central in their lives.
• have a passion for ministry to people of another culture
We will not abandon the work of the Lord in this remote rainforest community, even though financial stresses have forced us to use alternative methods in order to allow continuity of ministry.
• have a desire to serve God
• be patient • be understanding • be non-judgemental • be focused on changing lives through the gospel.
One bite isn’t enough, is it?
Finally, under the supervision of Pastors Kernich and Wenke and missionary Clarrie Hartwig, the Lutheran Church began its work in Wujal Wujal in 1957. Even today, while Wujal Wujal remains the closest northern Aboriginal community to Cairns, it is still the most inaccessible due to terrain and weather extremes.
Since 1994 we have been using volunteers, supported by me in my capacity as coordinator of the Far North Queensland Mission Committee. But our goal will always be to have Lutheran Church representation fulltime in Wujal Wujal.
For more information, contact David Spanagel on 0419 023114.
2012 begins with some uncertainty, however, as there is no volunteer in the wings. Without a financial base for a full-time ministry and very limited housing available, we have a number of challenges as we move forwards. But we know that our Lord will never abandon us.
Here’s how to get the whole apple.
The church, which was built in 1986, is centrally located in the township. The congregation of Living Waters is a11 small but integral part of the issues per year; community. each issue 36-40 pages
Subscribe to The Lutheran.
TheAustralia population$40 of Wujal Wujal is New Zealand approximately 400. $42 Attendance at Asia/Pacific Lutheran services$51 fluctuates greatly, Rest of as the $60 for a with as few sixWorld worshippers regular Sunday service, climbing to 30 on some occasions. For a baptism this may reach 100, and other special or contact Subscriptions: services are wellLCA attended.
David Spanagel is the pastoral carer for the Far North Queensland Mission areas.
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