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Wodonga Lutheran Parish Family Chapel Service

A Special Night of Faith and Fellowship

On Friday 20 June 2025, we gathered for our monthly intergenerational Family Chapel Service, and what a memorable evening it was!

Over time, we’ve seen God working powerfully through this mission area, gradually expanding our outreach into Victory Lutheran College. One of the most beautiful signs of this growth came when Aahana, a Year 3 student at Victory, expressed a desire to be baptised after attending a few of our Friday Chapel evenings.

Following her request, Pastor Graham Zweck, Jenny Simboras (Pastoral Assistant), and Andy Enever (Aahana’s classroom teacher and member at WLP) visited Aahana and her family to discuss Baptism. Aahana shared that she would prefer to be baptised during a Friday evening service, and she asked that Andy and myself be her Godparents. This was a profound and humbling honour.

While we normally serve a sausage sizzle, the chilly weather called for a menu change – this time we warmed up with hot dogs and soup. The evening began with tea at 5:30pm, followed by the chapel service at 6:00pm.

During the service, Pastor Graham led the Baptism, sharing a powerful message with Aahana: that out of the 100,000 people in Albury/Wodonga, the most important event happening that night was her baptism. Andy then continued the service with a message on Baptism and the Holy Spirit. The music, the message, and the community spirit made the evening one of joy and reverence.

We give thanks to God for blessing us with almost 70 people in attendance!

A huge thank you to our wonderful volunteers who made this event possible, from preparing and serving food, managing the sound desk, welcoming visitors, leading worship, and helping with setup and pack up. Their support is invaluable and deeply appreciated.

We also extend our heartfelt thanks to the LCANZ – without the generous Local Mission Fund grant, this event and our ongoing outreach wouldn’t be possible.

God is so good, and we are so grateful!!

Closure of Holy Trinity, Leopold

J. Paech, secretary of St Johns Geelong Lutheran Congregation, at the opening of the Leopold Chapel in 1976, noted that, “The Spirit of the Lord is undeniable. It is only through His mercy and grace that this church has managed to continue and grow. ”

On 22nd October 2023, the members of Holy Trinity celebrated the 50th Anniversary, which recalled much history in the Lord’s mercy and grace. Now, eighteen months later on 27 April 2025, we came together to observe the Rite of Closure. There may be sadness and a sense of loss in closing this consecrated place of worship. Yet it is with thanks that we acknowledge the Lord’s mercy and grace in the work of the founding members, and life of the Congregation.

We look back to learn, to gain endurance and encouragement, so that we can look forward with unity and hope. Our celebration honours God encourages hearts and fosters belonging. When we celebrate the past, it is easier to believe in a bright future. There has been so much life and ministry happening over five decades. The most important thing you can do is lean on prayer and scripture.

The Old Testament records many festivals and holidays. When the church celebrates together, life is more fun. Do not underestimate the value of fun in the health of the church. In January 2025, we joined the Living Faith Lutheran Church Greater Geelong, together with St Davids Freshwater Creek, St Johns Geelong and St Pauls Grovedale. We take the memories that we hold, along with a new vision of the future. We have new energy for our ministry, new enthusiasm for what the church can accomplish. Celebrations help to bring out the gold and the gifts in the members as they offer their best to the Lord and His people.

Today we thank Pastor Boyd for leading the Closing Rite for this church building. We thank the Pastors throughout the years that have encouraged us in the faith here. We fondly remember Pastor Fritch who passed from this life on 8 February 2023. We recognise and celebrate the lives of people who are making, or have made, an impact on our lives. We acknowledge R. Pearce, J Pohl, J Paech, L. Hepner, E. Schultz, R. Bothe, S. Cioch, I Stasinowsky.

Our association with St Johns has always been there. Records show some of the ways they helped with their skills and talents. For example, a St Johns member audited our Treasurer’s books for us. Since 2014, when our treasurer asked for assistance with the Telco Towers, a St Johns member has helped us, also helping with land sales, etc. We are deeply indebted to him for his mentoring and commitment, using his God given skills. We have so many people to thank who have helped in various capacities over the years. We have also benefited from St Johns musicians and Lay Readers; Holy Trinity and St Johns have both been blessed with many resourceful members.

The old quarterly minutes and documents give us a walk down memory lane. They record a wonderful, accomplished group of Holy Trinity and St Johns members using their God-given talents to help each other throughout the years. What a blessing on our doorstep! This celebration is enriched by recognising that where we are now, is the fruit of St Johns ministry, which God worked through them and their investment of time and resources.

Thank you to both congregations for 50 years of friendship.

Scripture has lots of verses about worship, prayers, relationship, etc. It does not say much about closing a church. Thats because God sees church differently than we often do; we might focus on the beginning and end of a legal entity or a building, however, Jesus said, “I will build My church, and the gates of HELL will not prevail against it.” The church, as the Body of Christ, will never fade away, it will never be defeated.

Let us pray:

Lord grant us the wisdom to make decisions that honour You and benefit our community.
Help us to live with integrity, humility and compassion, reflecting Your everlasting love in all our actions.
May the power of Your Holy Spirit guide us in our work and cause us to listen to Your voice in every decision we make.
We ask for Your blessing in our efforts and that Your spirit will empower us to fulfill our responsibilities with grace and strength.
In Jesus’ name, we pray.
Amen

We acknowledge and celebrate the ministry of Living Faith Leopold worshipping centre that is coming to a close. We close the church building with integrity and hope.

A walk down memory lane…

Photos supplied by Leopold Congregation.

Easter Camp 2025

Easter Camp 2025: ‘Let’s Get Real’ ran over the Easter long weekend at Araluen Lutheran Camp, Anglesea. It was a lovely weekend with many fun activities and wonderful moments of reflection and worship.

This year was the first year since 2019 that we invited ages 16+ on camp. We had 4 participants under the age of 18, who praised the camp for its ability to “bridge the gap” between youth camps, such as CLW, and the young adult community of the LYV.

Our guest speaker this year was Jordan Moore, who delivered some incredible upfronts, going into depth about “getting real…with relationships”, talking about relationship with self, God, and others. The small group time was innovative and thought-provoking, providing the participants the space to share their thoughts and questions.

The activities on camp were also a highlight, with whole group activities such as trivia, line dancing and even a team-based Easter egg hunt being a source of joy for all involved.

Many of the participants came away from camp acknowledging the transformative power that Easter Camp had on their faith, with the ability to have deep conversations with others and the reflective worship times centred around Jesus’ death and resurrection. These worship opportunities are central to the camp every year, and create an atmosphere that is spiritually, emotionally, and even physically, renewing. This year Pastor Nathan Hedt joined us as camp Pastor.

Overall, this year’s Easter Camp was a profound and valuable experience for the young adults who attended.

Photos supplied by Sylvia Hedt.

A Special Cross-Cultural Weekend at Our Saviour’s, Knox

Last weekend saw Our Saviour’s Knox experience 3 special cross-cultural occasions. On Friday evening, the Parish youth hosted the South Sudanese youth (and families) for a sausage sizzle and Freestyle Dance session, led by Justin Seidel of Freestyle Dance Ministry. Justin’s passion for dance and for the Gospel provided a wonderful encouragement and atmosphere for everyone (even parents!) to learn some new dance moves, hear about God’s love and enjoy some great fellowship. The evening was filled with much joy, laughter and, at times, chaotic activity – but importantly, a time for building enriching relationships.

Parish Youth and South Sudanese families gathering for Freestyle Dance with Justin Seidel

Saturday morning brought together Knox leaders and Parish members for a Cross-Cultural Workshop led by Erin Grainger. Through role play and much discussion we began exploring the lenses through which we view our world, coming to more fully appreciate the challenges experienced by people of different backgrounds and cultures, especially in church and worship settings. This was a small step in our on-going learning, understanding and journey of building a supportive relationship with the South Sudanese community who use our church each week. Erin’s experience, expertise and encouragement was invaluable and greatly appreciated.

Some Cross-Cultural Workshop participants.

Sunday morning presented a different cross-cultural opportunity, when we joined the Finnish Lutheran Congregation (who use our church building each month) for a multi-lingual worship service. Pastor Ian Vainikka led worship in Finnish and English, and together we sang hymns in both languages and shared the Lord’s Supper. The shared barbecue lunch, and special Finnish cakes and sweets which followed the service, provided further opportunity for rich conversation, connection and fellowship.

Pastor Ian Vainikka leading joint worship at Our Saviour’s, Knox

This was a very special weekend that has brought enormous blessings to all who attended the events, and even greater encouragement to continue to connect with, care about and pray for those of different cultures.

Photos provided by Judy Bowman (Knox) and Erin Grainger (LCAVD).

New Members Welcomed at St John’s, Wodonga

Great things are happening in the Wodonga Lutheran Parish—thanks be to God!

It has been a journey of prayer and dedication spanning nearly 30 years. You may remember the joyful day on 18 August 2024, when the new St John’s Lutheran Church was consecrated and officially opened. Under clear blue skies, a capacity crowd gathered on the grounds of Victory Lutheran College, celebrating this milestone. We remain deeply grateful to the teachers and parents who volunteered their time and generously donated food to make the day a resounding success.

I am pleased to share that on Sunday, 16 March, the Wodonga Lutheran Parish welcomed five new members into our church family, including Eunice (Mt Pleasant), Karen (Culcairn), and Fergus, a student at Victory Lutheran College, and his parents, Vaughn and Susanne (Kangaroo Island). The Rite of Welcome was performed during the traditional service in the beautiful new St John’s Lutheran Church, and officiated by Pastor Brett Kennett, District Pastor for Congregational Support from Melbourne.

The congregation warmly received the new members with enthusiastic applause, followed by a celebratory morning tea, where new members and visitors enjoyed complimentary barista-made coffee from our new professional coffee machine. This marks the beginning of what we pray will be a steady stream of new members joining St John’s in the coming year, as the College and Parish continue to collaborate on new initiatives to support families in their faith journey.

We are actively promoting the opportunity to connect with us to explore our St John’s community and the teachings of Jesus Christ with the 920 students, parents and teachers at the College.

Upcoming Events:

Sunday Worship: A traditional service is held every Sunday at 9:30 AM, followed by fellowship and morning tea.
Family Chapel Service – Friday, 21 March:
- 5:30 PM – Sausage Sizzle (gold coin donation)
- 6:00 PM – Family Chapel Service

We look forward to sharing more exciting updates with the LCA community in the coming months.

God’s Word is Our Great Heritage

It’s great to celebrate the heritage of the church. This week we celebrate the festival of the Reformation. Last weekend I attended the 100^th anniversary of the dedication of Zion Lutheran Church in Walla Walla, NSW, where I had served as pastor in the 1990s.

The current church building, whose dedication in 1924 was attended by over 3,000 people, was the third Lutheran church building in Walla Walla. The previous two were outgrown as the congregation increased in number.

It wasn’t just the building’s heritage that was celebrated last Sunday. Before the service, worshippers were reminded of the heritage of faith that was passed down through the generations. So important was the Christian faith to the original families who arrived in covered wagons after a long trek from the Barossa Valley, that they had put their resources into building a ‘house of God’ for worship before they built houses for themselves. Current worshippers expressed their thanks for the way that their forebears had diligently passed the Christian faith down throughout the generations.

After serving as pastor in that community for over eight years, revisiting Walla Walla nearly 25 years later was also a celebration of our heritage as a family. We were part of their heritage, and they ours, for almost a decade of that 100 years.

Beneath all this rests a far greater heritage – the Word of God – as Nikolaj Grundtvig wrote in the hymn, ‘God’s Word is Our Great Heritage’ (LH 266). This hymn is usually sung to the same tune as Martin Luther’s famous hymn, ‘A Mighty Fortress is Our God’.

God’s word is our great heritage,
and shall be ours forever;
to spread its light from age to age
shall be our chief endeavour.
It guides on life’s way,
in death is our stay.
Lord, while worlds endure,
may we retain it pure
throughout all generations.

This ‘great heritage’ surpasses that of buildings, history, and people. Peter reminds us, quoting Isaiah 40:8, ‘The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of our God endures forever’ (1 Peter 1:24).

Our ‘chief endeavour’ remains to pass on this great heritage ‘from age to age’ as did the faithful folk of Walla Walla, and of many other places.

There is nothing besides the Word of God of which it can be said, ‘It guides on life’s way, in death is our stay.’

What a blessing it is to hear the apostles and prophets confidently confess, as St Peter did in one of the readings in last Sunday’s anniversary service, ‘For it stands in Scripture…’ (1 Peter 2:6), and to know that we can have the same confidence whenever we read God’s Word.

And, as we give thanks for the great heritage that is God’s Word, may we pray with the hymnwriter, ‘Lord, while worlds endure, may we retain it pure throughout all generations.’

Wodonga Lutheran Parish News

The Now

It is with long awaited excitement and anticipation the Wodonga Lutheran Parish will, God willing, very soon, be moving into their new worship centre. The building, which was completed at the end of February, is still waiting for the power to be connected by Ausnet (at early June). The hope is that by District Convention we will have a date for when we can open and consecrate this beautiful place of worship. All in God’s timing!

Forward into the Future

Late in 2023, the Parish Council formed a ‘Moving Forward’ team. The MF team began looking at ways in which the Parish could continue in their mission and ministry in Wodonga and, most importantly, how to use the wonderful new building in the area of West Wodonga and to the Victory Lutheran College community. The Lutheran Church is the only church in West Wodonga and so the Lord’s harvest is well and truly ready.
The members of the Parish were asked for their input into how they saw the Parish moving into the future. There were many amazing ideas, suggestions and thoughts, most of which, in time, will become with God’s help and blessing, a reality. At the moment we are focusing on what we can do well with the human and material resources we have now.

The Moving Forward Team presented to the Parish the need for a Ministry Coordinator to oversee the outreach ministries of the Parish. At a Parish meeting at the end of 2023, it was decided to employ someone to fill this role.

The financial support from the LLL Mission Outreach Grant for $25,000 to partly fund this vital position was a real blessing for the Wodonga Lutheran Parish.

On 10^th March 2024, Mrs Lisa Enever was installed into the position of Ministry Coordinator for the Wodonga Lutheran Parish, by Pastor Joshua Muller.

Lisa has been very busy since her installation meeting with Pastor Josh and planning for the future. Working in a confined space (the only space the Parish has at the College) together with the Administration Officer has not been ideal so moving forward plans are on hold until the move but is ready to hit the ground running as soon as that happens.

Even though the Parish has employed a Ministry Coordinator, members of the Parish are being encouraged to use the gifts God has given them to reach out to those He has sent to us. There will be many ways in which all members, whatever their age, can minister to others.

There is a plan to have the church open for the school hours so that anyone can pop in at any time for a chat and coffee and many other activities such as mid-week service, Bible study, Ladies Fellowship, craft groups etc.

A Friday evening family service is also being planned where families can come and worship in the style of the College chapel service and to enjoy a meal together.

One very small change that will be implemented immediately when we move, is that all ‘duty rosters’ will be referred to as ‘Ministries’. Members will see that being ‘rostered on’ is not a duty but an opportunity to minister to God’s people and in the end a service to God.

Working Together

Early 2022, a Parish/College Mission and Ministry team was formed to implement ways in which the Parish and College could work together in Mission and Ministry.

Over the past years the Parish and College have supported each other in many ways including

members go to the College library and cover books every week
members provide morning tea each Friday morning after the junior chapel service for parents and friends
together we organized a very successful Walk My Way fundraiser
a coffee station for the Parent/Teacher interviews was provided
invitation to Award ceremonies, beginning and end of year services
together in a Carols at the College evening
Victory Sunday

In the future

having the junior chapel services in the church
displaying children’s artwork in the foyer of the worship centre
inter-generational activities
class visits to the church

The joint mission and ministry between the Parish and the College after a slow start is now working really well. The Parish worshipping in Luther Hall for the past twelve months and having the College community seeing the building of the new church progress over the months has brought the two communities together – two communities, one mission.

The Wodonga Lutheran Parish has certainly been blest with a very generous member who faithfully followed the Lord and gifted us our beautiful new worship centre. The Parish took a step in faith to accept this gift and now has the responsibility to use it to proclaim God’s glory in our community.

In everything we do ‘to God be the glory’.

St Peter’s Hobart – 75 Years of Blessing

St Peter’s Congregation, Hobart, Celebrates 75 Years of Blessing

On Sunday 9^th June the St Peter’s Lutheran Congregation in Hobart, Tasmania, celebrated 75 years of God’s blessing.

The thanksgiving service was led by current pastor, Peter Noble, and included music led by congregation members and students at Eastside Lutheran College. Bishop Lester preached the sermon and conducted a rite of thanksgiving, during which the history of the congregation was represented by the reading of a poem composed by Irma Baumeler.

Congregation chair, Kim Baumeler read greetings, while verbal greetings were brought by Bishop Lester from the Vic Tas District, LEA Director Lisa Schmidt, Acting Principal of Eastside Lutheran College, Ruth Ferguson, and former St Peter’s pastor, John Heidenreich.

The service was followed by a fellowship lunch and the cutting of an anniversary cake by some of the eldest and youngest members in attendance.

57th Annual Convention of LWVT – Saturday 4 May 2024

The 57^th Annual Convention of Lutheran Women of Victoria and Tasmania was held on Saturday 4^th May 2024. It was hosted by Our Redeemer Lutheran Ladies Guild, Warracknabeal. The Theme for the Convention was ‘Bread of Life’ based on John 6:35. Opening Worship was conducted by Pastor John Weier from Warracknabeal, after which Ladies Guild President, Avril Hein welcomed the 91 attendees and Kylie Zanker, Mayor of Yarriambiack Shire spoke about highlights around the Shire with special reference to the Silo Art Trail. President, Jenny Gellert opened the Convention.

Guest Speakers for the day, included a presentation from Lutherans for Life led by Rose Graham, Beth Matuschka and Hayley Simons. Audrey from the Wycliffe Bible Translators informed the Convention that 1.5 billion people in the world still can’t access the Bible in their own language and stressed that God’s word needs to be accessible to all. A complex process is involved in translating. They started with the shorter books of Ruth and Jonah. Jonah is being published now and an app has been produced so that more books can be added when translation is completed. John Keller spoke about the work which he has been involved in with Mission Teams in Cambodia, Laos, Bhutan, Nepal and Burma. Denise Meikle informed the gathering about the Leprosy Knitting Project. She is a member of Horizons, which has been involved with Mission work in Africa for many years and seeks help to provide knitted beanies, scarves, jumpers and socks for children and adults with leprosy.

Pastor Lucas Matuschka, LWVT Spiritual Advisor, conducted the Bible Study based on the theme, where he reminded us that while we need food we can’t live on the wrong food. He cited the example of Chris McCandless, the American adventurer, who lived on berries but allegedly died of starvation in the Alaskan wilderness. As God’s people we need food for our bodies and our souls. God has provided us with Jesus, the true Bread from heaven, who gave us eternal life by giving His life for us.

Avril Hein provided an interesting history of the Warracknabeal Ladies Guld which celebrated its 100 year anniversary in 2024. Nineteen ladies, with Mrs Starick as President, met on 4^th May 1924 and were asked to donate one penny every meeting. This was soon raised to one shilling a month. A collection of photos in the Hall showed many of the highlights and achievements over the years. 93-year-old Ruth Shaw, who played the organ for the Convention, and Elaine Schultz, both of whom had links with the founding members, cut the celebratory 100^th Birthday Cake.

LWA President, Grace Kroehn presented her report and spoke about the LWA Magazine and arrangements for the LWA Convention to be held in October at Murray Bridge.

Memorial Candles were lit in memory of 10 ladies who passed away during the year.

To close the day Bishop Lester Priebbenow provided an up-date of church news and conducted the closing devotion, during which he installed two new Executive Members, Secretary, Krista Thiele and Extra Member, Debbie Schulz. Special encouragement cards were presented to the LWVT Executive Members. The Offering of $2,680 was shared between Lutherans for Life and John Keller’s Mission work.

Photos from the Lutheran Women of Victoria and Tasmania Facebook page

Embarking on a Mission: A Recap of the LCA-NZ Collaborative Mission Retreat

One of the privileges of my role is working collaboratively with a wide range of members of the LCANZ. This includes my interstate pastor colleagues Ian Rentsch (NSW), David Schmidt (QLD), and Stephen Schultz (SA).

As part of our support role to the Bishops, we recently organised a 3-day collaborative mission leaders’ retreat. Thirty-five staff from the LCANZ and Districts were able to gather in Sydney for a time of prayer, reflection, brainstorming, and collaboration. Bishops, mission directors, pastors, and laypeople were all part of the mix.

Our key goals were to pray for each other, for our leaders, and for the pressing issues facing the LCA-NZ. We wanted to set aside time to prayerfully reflect on our service as leaders, the ministry and mission context of the LCANZ, and to discern God’s guidance. The retreat also aimed to provide spiritual refreshment to those in attendance.

On day one, the focus was on taking stock of the current landscape, naming the many challenges, and getting real about the issues.

What really struck a chord, though, was the reading from Mark 6:45-56, where Jesus joins the disciples, who are ‘straining against the oars’ in the midst of a wild storm.

We spent considerable time reflecting on the story:

⁴⁵Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

⁴⁷Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. ⁴⁸He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, ⁴⁹but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, ⁵⁰because they all saw him and were terrified.

Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” ⁵¹Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, ⁵²for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

⁵³When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there. ⁵⁴As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus. ⁵⁵They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

By day two the conversation shifted to where the group sensed God wants His church to be. The participants discussed their shared vision for the mission of God’s church. They spent time exploring the difference between technical problems which leaders can usually fix with elbow grease and commitment – by rowing harder (!) – and adaptive challenges, the bigger, much more challenging problems that leaders cannot ‘fix’ alone. These require new learning and community-wide efforts – and most of all dependence upon God. And sometimes God leads us to entirely different outcomes than we have been planning for.

The day ended with a sense of purpose but also some perplexity. The group wasn’t quite sure how to summarise their reflections.

On the final day, things started coming together. After some reflection and prayer, the retreat’s facilitators presented four key areas of focus for the participants: collaboration and networking, fostering a missional culture, enabling leadership, and spiritual growth through prayer.

The participants agreed with these priorities and divided into groups to discuss key actions that might be taken.

St Mark’s account of the fearful and tired disciples in the boat, with Jesus joining them, reassuring them, and leading them – to a different beach than they had anticipated (see verses 53-56 above) – remained as a theme. We were constantly reminded that the church is on a journey, navigating through uncertain waters – but that Jesus has not abandoned us, and often redirects us on the way.

The retreat wrapped up with a renewed sense of commitment and a simple acronym to guide each participant’s servant leadership: SAIL (Spiritual maturity, Active mission culture, Intentional networking, and Learning and Listening along the way).

I give thanks for the opportunity to be part of the organisation of the retreat. May I encourage you to continually hold up our leaders, the Council of Bishops, the General Church Board and all those serving to support us at the LCANZ and District levels in prayer. Thank you for your prayers for us.

Image: Pastor Stephen Schultz (SA District Assistant Bishop for Mission) leads a devotional bible study on Mark 6 at the recent LCA NZ Collaborative Mission Retreat.

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