Empower 2024
LYV Empower is our annual event to equip our leaders in their ministry to the youth. This year we met on Saturday 10 February at Wyndham Hobson’s Bay Lutheran Church, Tarneit, and also online. Our focus was on inclusiveness and difficult conversations – a topic chosen at the request of leaders who have had to deal with this over the last few years, and who needed information on how to respond in a Lutheran environment.
A quote that summed up our discussions came from a story in ‘The Lutheran’ from November 2016: “We would rather err on the side of helping hurting people than on hurting helpless people.”
During the morning sessions, we focused on ways leaders could handle difficult subjects through the lens of our Christian faith, if it comes up in large groups, small groups or in individual conversations. The main overall message was on love and care, not condemnation. Material we covered included LGBTQ+ terminology, suicide statistics, and ‘Homosexuality: what the LCA says’ (lca.org.au/homosexuality-lca-says/). If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at: lyv@lca.org.au.
We had other electives in the afternoon, including camp directing, being on a committee, and leading a simulation game.
We finished the day by launching our new website: https://www.lutheranyouthvictoria.com.au/
Next year’s Empower will take place on Saturday 15th February 2025 – claim the date!
