Ready and able to serve our church

Life experience – and being called by God – has prepared two women to take on senior roles for the LCA.

Glenice Hartwich (pictured above) has been appointed as Assistant to the Bishop – International Mission, having served as the LCA’s Interim Mission Director while continuing as Program Officer since early 2015, when former director Pastor Neville Otto’s role as church secretary became full-time. Glenice worked as a project officer for the Board for Mission from 2006 and previously was a youth worker, Before that, she worked at the Lutheran Tract Mission, the LLL and at Openbook. Glenice also spent almost four years in Papua New Guinea from the age of 19 as a deaconess.

A member at St John’s Unley, in suburban Adelaide, she said she was excited to be continuing to work in international mission. ‘I don’t enter this role by my own strength, but feeling called by God and knowing that, as he promises in Philippians 4:19, he will supply all of my needs’, she said.

Dr Christine Materne (above ) has been appointed as the Church Worker Support Department Manager, a new role which aims to provide an integrated approach to supporting pastors and lay workers.

Chris, a member at Faith Warradale in Adelaide, believes she has been called to this role because of her diverse experience in human resources, as well as her training in psychology, in which she has a doctorate.

She previously worked as learning facilitator at the Stanton Institute, staff training manager at Domiciliary Care, a project officer for the SA state government, the industry placement manager for the International College of Hotel Management in SA and human resources manager at several prestige hotels around Australia.

‘The work the lay ministry team has done has shown the benefits of that support to workers in congregations. It will be great to expand on that work and support our pastors and their families to a greater extent’, she said.

Meanwhile, LCA receptionist Val Schild retired in December after more than 25 years of service.

Val, pictured above with former LCA presidents, Drs Mike Semmler and Lance Steicke, started with the national church office on 1 February 1990. She also co-edited the LCA Yearbook for 25 years.