St John’s opens homes with a missional heart

A dream 10 years in the making has come true for the congregation of St John’s Lutheran Church, Tea Tree Gully SA, with the official opening dedication and blessing of a visionary disability housing project.

In an inspiring example of cooperation between the congregation, Lutheran Disability Services (LDS) and LLL, an unused piece of church land has been transformed.

With the aid of a tailored LLL Loan, three houses were built to the exacting specifications of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), with St John’s to welcome six LDS clients into their community.

LLL Chief Relationship Officer Scott and Communications Officer Jason were honoured to be invited to enjoy an uplifting morning of fellowship to celebrate the culmination of years of hard work and dedication by the congregation.

‘There were a few challenges that popped up from time to time, especially early on,’ congregation project co-leader Stephen Pfeiffer said of the initiative that was first considered in 2014.

‘But it didn’t matter what happened. Someone seemed to be led to us, to help and guide us, and that happened far too often to be a coincidence.

‘We feel like we were led along the way by God, and to finally get here is great.

‘Scott and his team at LLL have been very helpful through the whole process … they shared our passion for this project.’

The event began with a wonderful church service, conducted by Pastor Rolly, attended by approximately 125 people, including state and federal members of parliament, the Tea Tree Gully Mayor and leadership representatives from the LCA SA-NT District and LDS, and included a blessing of the houses and an LLL-sponsored lunch.

‘There are two things that spring to mind when I think about this fantastic project,’ Scott said in his address to the gathering.

‘One is “determination”. There are a lot of reasons why a project like this may never have eventuated, but there is one thing that ensures that it will and that is determination.

‘The second is “partnership”. The partnership between St John’s and LDS is at the heart of this project, and I see it as a blueprint for strengthening congregations and communities across the broader Lutheran Church into the future.’

Nathan, the son of Janet and Royce, had moved into his new house just days before the opening dedication, with the move continuing a longstanding connection to the church for his family, with Janet and Royce married at St John’s and Nathan baptised there.

‘To get any support housing close to us has been very difficult, so it’s very nice to have Nathan so close,’ Janet said.

‘We’ve been popping in just about every day.

‘Hopefully, he’s set up for the rest of his life, which would be wonderful.

‘The facilities are just fantastic.’

If your school, retirement living/aged care facility or congregation has a missional objective that could be achieved through a partnership with LLL, get in touch with LLL: www.lll.org.au, lll@lll.org.au or 1800 556 457.

Read about the uplifting projects that LLL supports thanks to its missional partnership with depositors in Together in Mission – or like and follow LLL’s regularly updated social media channels: www.facebook.com/LLLAust and @lll_australia