A great chance to show love

Our church is committed to reaching out to people of all cultures and this is a great time to see love coming to life in the way we care for relative newcomers to Australia and New Zealand.

Imagine how you’d feel if you were stranded in another country with all the current health concerns – and you couldn’t speak the language. Simple kindness can help people feel cared for, valued and included in the life of the broader church. Also, we can pray for people such as temporary visa holders. As casual workers, these people are often first to lose their jobs and are not eligible for government assistance.

Many of our LCA/NZ congregations engaged in Cross-Cultural Ministry are responding to these needs, and are being innovative in how they support and minister to people, particularly with the current COVID-19 restrictions.

Chinese-speaking Lutheran congregations are at the forefront of going online with worship services. Congregations in Indooroopilly and Rochedale in Queensland, Doncaster in Victoria and Auckland in New Zealand are streaming in Mandarin or Cantonese.

Other churches are supporting members from non-English speaking backgrounds as well. Indonesian and Persian members of Pasadena’s Trinity Lutheran Church in suburban Adelaide are watching Sunday services online, while households are receiving devotional materials via text messages and connecting with their church via web conferencing software. While in South-East Melbourne, the South Sudanese Nuer congregations are streaming services via Facebook.

These are great days to be out in the Lord’s harvest with the wind of the Spirit blowing over the fields!

• Visit www.lca.org.au/spread-the-word to find promotional materials (bulletin inserts, A5 flyers, PowerPoint slides and social media posts) to help you spread the word about our Story of the Week.
• Read the full Story of the Week and other stories like it in The Lutheran. 11 editions/year. Only $45 (Aust), $47 (NZ). Gift subscriptions available. To subscribe: online www.thelutheran.com.au email lutheran.subs@lca.org.au phone 08 8360 7270