Lutheran Women of Vic-Tas Annual Convention
The 56th Annual Convention of Lutheran Women of Victoria and Tasmania was held on Saturday 20th May 2023. It was hosted by Trinity Lutheran Church Warrnambool and catered for by the Parish ladies from Warrnambool, Ayrford and Hawkesdale. The Theme for the Convention was ‘Patient Endurance’ based on Revelation 13 v 10b. Opening Worship was conducted by Pastor Heath Pukallus from Warrnambool, after which Congregational Chairperson, Christine Sawyer welcomed the 76 attendees and LWVT President, Jenny Gellert opened the Convention.
The Guest Speaker for the day, Pastor Matt Anker, Assistant to the Bishop and International Mission, spoke about the work that Lutheran Women are supporting in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Later as Chairman of the Board of Lutherans in Africa he showed slides and talked about the combined work being done by the USA, Australia, Canada and Finland in Africa. A PowerPoint provided by Hanna Schulz about her translation work in New Guinea, was accompanied by a commentary read by Jenny Gellert. Maureen Turner, Vice President of Lutheran Women of Australia delivered the annual report and spoke about the Lutheran Women Magazine.
Pastor Lucas Matuschka, LWVT Spiritual Advisor, conducted the Bible Study based on the theme, where he reminded us that while the people of God constantly face attack by the devil, the world and our sinful selves we can win the struggle by fixing our eyes on Christ who has done everything for us. We need to remain under the umbrella of God’s protection, be patient and take Him at His word.
Memorial Candles were lit in memory of 7 ladies who passed away during the year. Greg and Helen Noll sang ‘Though our Life is like a Scroll’ and ‘There is a Time for Everything’ which was written by Stephen Starke in 2002 as a response to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre Towers in New York. The Warrnambool ladies sang ‘Seek, O Seek the Lord.’ A display of banners inside the church building, with explanations by Jenny Gellert provided extra interest.
To close the day Bishop Lester Priebbenow provided an up-date of church news and conducted the closing devotion, during which he presented special encouragement cards to the LWVT Executive Members. The Offering of $2,010 was shared between Hanna Schulz’s project and International Mission.
