Important dates Date Event Location

25 October Reformation Festival Eucharist Cantata Eine feste Burge ist unser Gott BWV 80

St John’s Lutheran Church Southgate

25 October Longest Lutheran Lunch www.longestlutheranlunch.org

See the LCA website to for information

01 November Service of Farewell for Pastor Cecil Schmalkuche

St Matthews Lutheran Church, Footscray

01 November Servant of Christ presentation to Ruth Borchert

St Matthews Lutheran Church, Footscray

13-14 November

Soul Nurture Network Overnight Retreat Spiritual Director Paul Spence

Palotti College Millgrove

14-15 November

25th Anniversary of the dedication of the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Traralgon

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Traralgon

17 November Friends of Lutheran Archive AGM with talk on ‘The Other Kavels” 7.30pm

Holy Trinity German Lutheran Church

27 November Taize Service 7.30pm for 8.00pm start

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church Knoxfield

27, 28, 29 November

Christmas Tree Festival Hand made decorations, gifts and more

St James Lutheran Church Moorabbin

05-06 December

Scandanavian Christmas Bazaar Swedish Consulate, 21 St Georges Rd, Toorak

Swedish Lutheran Church

20 February 2016

Empower Conference for those supporting youth and young adult ministry

St Philip’s Lutheran Church, Werribee

30 April 2016 Lutheran Women of Victoria 50th Anniversary Convention

Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Hamilton

19-21 August 2016

Lutheran Men Victoria Young Men’s Camp

Tandara Lutheran Camp Halls Gap

07-09 October 2016

LCA Victorian District (inc Tasmania) Convention of Synod

St Paul’s Lutheran Ch. & Africa House, Shepparton

Lutheran Church of Australia VIC/TAS

Ph. (03) 9236 1200 Email admin@vic.lca.org.au

755 Station St Box Hill VIC 3128 website www.vic.lca.org.au

The District Office will be closed on Monday 2nd & Tuesday 3rd November

District Voices News from the Vic/Tas District October 2015

National Convention 2015

Back in February 2015 Bishop John Henderson wrote ‘This will be a convention worth attending. It is your chance, and that of your parish to make a difference. So please pray for your delegate...that (they) may participate fully in the spirit that is intended—that of love, compassion and hope.’

The theme of the Convention, the LCA tagline Where Love Comes to Life is effectively interpreted in the media clips shown at the start of each day. Take a look at the daily Vox Pops in the Convention Life section of the synod website where delegates and visitors answered questions on love. These brief clips compile responses that are sometimes amusing, but also personal and poignant.

The emphasis on worship, including Holy Communion at the beginning of each day, was a precious element of the event and the sermon messages focussed delegates on these three qualities for the business sessions.

The strong preparation for Convention, including delegate training and the dialogue sessions, was foundational to a sense of unity and understanding. The commitment to real listening and respect were key to the mood of Convention. even where different points of view were expressed.

Presentations by National Boards and Ministries were given, and attendees were made aware of the impact these ministry areas have on community within and beyond our Lutheran sphere.

Find out more about National Convention at the LCA synod website http://www.lcasynod.org.au/ for information on business sessions and news or talk to your synod delegate.

John Henderson leading worship

beside the Synod Candle which

was present at business sessions

as well as worship, symbolising

our unity in Christ.

Photo provided by Andrea

Winter.

From our Bishop...

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

The LCA’s 18th General Convention held in Brisbane has come and gone. The General Synod is the Lutheran Church of Australia’s highest authority, and its delegates meet every three years to be together in Christ and to decide key matters brought by its congregations and other bodies. Your parish will have had at least one delegate there and perhaps your pastor was a delegate too (about half go as pastor delegates of the District). Perhaps you followed events closely on the LCA website.

It’s hard to convey the exact nature of this Convention, partly because its program and way of doing business was unlike any Convention before – just as General Pastors Conference was different in July. Convention once again considered a proposal to ordain women, about which there are very different views across the LCA. But this time there was a great sense of unity and peace, even after the proposal was voted on and lost (not achieving the two-thirds majority for adoption by just a handful of votes). This was to a large part because we began each day with a full service with holy communion, all the bishops assisting together and in turn presiding and preaching across the days. Our unity wasn’t manufactured; it was given as always by Christ himself as he drew us together into his one body afresh each morning. This continued as delegates moved to a separate auditorium and sat in table-groups of eight – the same eight throughout Convention, including for two sessions of dialogue on the ordination matter and three more for the subsequent plenary debate and vote. Delegates pastorally cared for one another regardless of their position – letting Christ’s personal service carry us through the necessary business. Please talk to your delegate and pastors to get a fuller picture, and if you are troubled by the outcome, please meet with them and let Christ himself be our peace together into the future too.

There’s much more to say but that will be for other forums. One thing though: Convention asked the Commission on Theology to draft a doctrinal statement for the ordination of both men and women. This will enable the Church for the first time to look at a properly prepared teaching, taking into account all of the issues put by the for and against sides, rather than being asked to choose between two different actions with opposing papers behind them. I believe this is the right way to proceed, in line with the way differences were overcome to enable the union of the two previous synods to form the Lutheran Church of Australia in 1966.

Jesus Christ himself is our peace, forgiving us, healing us and uniting us through his word. May you be at peace yourself and at peace with others in him.

Bishop Greg Pietsch +

Text: Christ Jesus himself is our peace. (Ephesians 2:14)

District Events

Christian Life Week

Position Available Part time Professional Standards Officer

Ideally working out of the Victorian District Office, and reporting to the National LCA

Professional Standards Director, attending to the provision of Professional Standards

training, compliance and response in the Victorian District.

Phone or email Tracey Spence 07 3512 7284 Tracey.Spence@lca.org.au for more

information.

Christian Life Week is over for another

year! This year the theme was ‘Back to the

Future’ where the studies focused on

seeing our part in God’s big story, by

looking back to our Biblical history and then

forward to what we anticipate in the

Resurrection, and working out how this

affects our lives today = being co-creators

with God, serving and working with him

wherever he has placed us.

Thank you to all who attended and to all

the volunteer leaders who helped make it

happen, especially the CLW Committee.

Words: Jemimah Juers

Lutheran Women of Victoria Retreat

Anglesea Araluen Camp welcomed the most recent Lutheran Women of Victoria Retreat, led by Karen Kerber. A highlight of the weekend was the sharing of stories between women of very different backgrounds and experiences. Hats and high tea were a feature of the weekend as pictured here Pictured: Retreat attendees enjoying high tea. Picture by Pamela Dalgliesh

Pictured: Shak, the LYV Mascot attempting the high ropes course.