Because we bear your name February–March 2026

‘Lydia was a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart’ (Acts 16:14).

We have an inheritance from the mission heart of Lydia, the dealer in purple cloth, mentioned in Acts chapter 16. Lydia was an early Christian convert through the mission work of the Apostle Paul. We know very little about her, but her brief mention in the Book of Acts tells us a lot about the legacy that the Lord has given to us through the mission heart of this pioneer Christian woman.

When we are told that Lydia was a ‘dealer in purple cloth’, we are actually being told that she was quite well off. Cloth dyed with the colour purple was reserved for the very wealthy. In the ancient world, a substance was extracted from thousands of sea snails to make a purple dye through a complex and costly process.

Also, since we are told that Lydia was from Thyatira, located in what is known today as Türkiye, we are being informed that she comes from a city known across the Roman Empire for its production of dyed cloth. So, Lydia was a commercially skilled and wealthy woman. She may have been married, but we know that she has the authority to invite Paul and his companions to stay at her home.

Later in the writings of St Paul, in his letter to the congregation of Philippi, where Lydia came to faith, we are told that in the ‘early days of the gospel’, the Christians in that city were the only church group that supported the Apostle Paul. He notes, ‘You sent me help for my needs more than once.’

Thanks to the Book of Acts, we know of a wealthy Christian convert in Philippi who would have been active in this support of the mission work of the Apostle Paul.

Little would Lydia have imagined how her sponsorship of Paul’s work would have an impact on the ever-expanding mission work of the church, through Paul and his writings, beyond Philippi to Rome, to Europe and to the ends of the Earth, even to us here in New Zealand and Australia. In this, we have inherited a church for which the Lord used Lydia’s witness of service.

We are called to the mission of God, to take part in the giving and receiving for the blessing of others and for the blessing of the work of the gospel to the ends of the Earth. This edition of The Lutheran, our church’s magazine, tells stories of the sisters and brothers in Christ in various communities of our LCANZ, who have joined with Lydia in finding ways to provide for the work of the mission we are given.

I have great confidence that many who read these stories will be inspired to find new and purposeful ways in their own communities to provide for the preaching of ‘Christ and him crucified’. And, as people of the LCANZ, like Lydia, you have taken part in the mission communities mentioned in these pages, through your sharing of your offerings to the cause of the gospel.

When you read Acts 16, you discover an important piece of Lydia’s conversion story. In verse 14, the Scripture declares: ‘The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.’ This is the most important prayer for Christians in the mission of God. We pray that those who hear the word of the Lord proclaimed will have their hearts opened and be baptised like Lydia was. Then, as new sisters and brothers in Christ, they too are invited to join in the work of the church – bringing Christ to the nations.

In Christ,
Paul

‘Lord Jesus, we belong to you,
you live in us, we live in you;
we live and work for you –
because we bear your name’