Victoria Tasmania District of the Lutheran Church of Australia

1201 Riversdale Road
Box Hill South VIC 3128
Phone 03 9236 1200

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Adult Baptism at Outer Eastern Lutheran Church, Lilydale

Outer Easter Lutheran Church celebrated a very special event on Easter Sunday.

We were blessed to have Bishop Lester baptise JJ, who had come to the strong personal conviction that he wished to be baptised.

It has been a long time since OELC has been able to celebrate an adult baptism, and it gave us great joy to share this occasion with JJ and his family.

JJ spent considerable time working his way through the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand’s publication ‘God for Us’.  This small book has been produced as a guide for adults new to the Christian faith, and provides an outline and explanation of the key beliefs and understandings of Christianity and the teachings of the Lutheran Church.

JJ was helped in this journey by Barry Petering, a long-time member of the congregation.  Barry worked one-on-one with JJ, responding to questions and filling in the gaps.

This time last year, the congregation celebrated its own renewal as it transitioned from a pastor-centric model to a lay-led model.  It has been a year filled with blessings and many learnings.

Photos supplied by Sabine Haeusler

The Heart of Bethany

On Tuesday 13 February, Good News Lutheran College, Tarneit, held a ceremony to name and dedicate the Bethany Building (formerly known as the Junior Years Building). The building has been renamed in honour of Bethany Lutheran Church in Sunbury – a church that holds a special place in our community. The church is renowned for its four beautiful lead-light windows, which were designed by Raelene Kempe in 1982. The church was built from mud bricks sourced from a local farm.

Through the dedication of this building, Good News Lutheran College hopes to capture the heart of Bethany. It serves as an inspiration for the College to be resourceful when building facilities and relationships, keep service as an integral part of what we do, and ensure that we learn from the rich experiences of those around us. Just as the Biblical town of Bethany was a place of refuge and renewal, we pray that this building be a sanctuary where knowledge is imparted, character is shaped, and faith is strengthened.

To pay homage to the Bethany Lutheran Church, we have recreated the stunning leadlight window artwork in the Auditorium. This is a beautiful and meaningful reminder of the heart of Bethany. Bethany holds special significance in Biblical history as the town where Jesus spent time with, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Through His actions in Bethany, Jesus exemplified inclusive service leadership in various ways.

May the Bethany Building be a beacon of hope, a haven of learning, and a testament to the enduring values of compassion, integrity, and service. We hope that all who enter here will be inspired to live lives of purpose, wisdom, and grace.

Note: those attending the LCAV District Convention of Synod in July 2024 will be able to see this lovely artwork firsthand, as we will hold our business sessions in the Auditorium.

Photos below were provided by Good News Lutheran College:

Fiona McAuliffe, Principal of Good News Lutheran College (standing), and Pastor Lester Priebbenow, Bishop LCAVD (seated, first on left).

   

Mrs Rae Kempe, the original creator/designer of the leadlight window designs at the Bethany Lutheran Church in Sunbury.

The recreation of the GNLC Bethany Building windows, with permission of Rae Kempe, was crafted by Maree Svanborg of ‘Madmouse Graphic Design’ in South Australia.

LYV Summer Camp 2024

The 2024 Summer Camp, run by the Christian Life Week Committee, was held at Araluen Lutheran Campsite in Anglesea from 19-22nd January. This camp involved a total of 38 campers (10 of which were first time campers) and a total of 13 leaders and personnel.

To see this camp come to fruition and be such a great success in its first year was truly a blessing. The CLW committee had been throwing the idea around about running a ‘summer CLW’ for about 4 years, and in July last year, after such a successful CLW, we made it our real mission to make Summer Camp happen this January. It was such an absolute success, and from a committee point of view we are all incredibly proud to have seen it be so wonderful.

The weekend offered a number of small group study sessions focusing on stories from the Bible themed around water (Jonah and the whale, Jesus feeds 5000, etc). This gave the campers a choice of which parts of the booklet they wanted to study, which was a new concept to us and something that was very well received.

There was also an abundance of social activities for the campers, including water games on the oval, beach games, a large-scale simulation game, as well as a movie night. The CLW committee wanted to give Summer Camp a different feel to CLW, which meant there was more free time than we usually would have, which was very well received by the campers because it gave them more time to connect and form friendships with those around them.

Our Worship services were different each day, and included testimonials from leaders, Worship on the beach, and even having our campers help run the Worship services throughout the week (which is different to how we do it on CLW) – these different types of services were a highlight for many.

Summer Camp was a great way to kick off the year of camping Ministry, and we had such wonderful feedback from campers, leaders, and parents.  The team are very excited by the success of this camp, and hope to see Summer Camp (and CLW) grow more in the future.

 

Christian Life Week (CLW) Report

Christian Life Week, fondly known as CLW, has made a terrific start to their 2023 program. We recently enjoyed 5 days at the beautiful Tandara Lutheran Camp, in Halls Gap, and were blessed with record numbers of new campers, with 51 campers and 21 personnel attending.

As always, the Tandara Lutheran Camp staff were incredible hosts, and we are so grateful for their continuing support. We were also blessed to be joined by two pastors, Pr Josh Muller from Wodonga, and Pr Levi Graham from Natimuk/Dimboola. They both have extensive experience in camping ministry, adn were an incredible blessing to both campers and leaders throughout the week. We were also joined by Russell and Debbie Schultz, from Warracknabeal, who joined us as ‘camp parents’ and ensured that all campers and leaders felt loved and supported while away from home.

Our theme this year is the ‘Ride of Your Life’, with the bible studies focussing on identifying and appreciating the highs and lows that we experience throughout our lives, and ensuring that we always give thanks to God for our challenges and blessings! There are also dedicated quiet times throughout the week where campers and leaders are encouraged to sit and spend one-on-one time with God – praying or reading the Word. This time alone with God is incredibly rewarding and we encourage campers and leaders to continue this habit when they return home. The studies were also broken up with plenty of icebreaker activities, worship services, service activities, and team sports. The jam-packed schedule is a highlight for the campers, with every camper finding an activity that they love!

As leaders, we are indebted to the parents who support these young people to attend our camps, through paying camp fees, transporting people to camp, and trusting us to look after them for the week. We understand that the cost of camp can be a barrier to some campers attending, and we encourage people to contact us for financial support. If you would like to give a financial donation to our ministry, please get in touch.

We are very thankful to parents, pastors, and youth workers who support these people in their home congregations. The continual support of a young person’s faith is very important – older Christian mentors in home congregations and youth groups are an important part of this. We love to see how the campers have matured from one year to the next. Also, we love seeing a young person transition from being a shy camper, to a more confident and experienced camper, and even continue on to become a leader or committee member. We are always looking for new leaders and committee members. If you feel called to this, please do get in touch.

We have recently sourced some merchandise items, including LYV tote bags and beanies, CLW t-shirt, and CLW stickers. These can be purchased at CLW, and at our fellowship days – but keep a look out for when we arrange a system for mail orders!

The CLW program will be re-run September 25th-29th 2023, with all high-school age students invited to attend.
Please contact Abbey Morrow for details – 0474 047 950, clw.lyv@lca.org.au
You can register for the CLW Orange camp HERE.

Please visit and like our Facebook page: “LYV’s Christian Life Week“.

We will also be having a CLW catch-up day on 19 August 2023, at Tarneit.
Youth of all ages are encouraged to attend!
Please register your interest at this LINK.