Sharing love – no small bickies

Lutheran women’s fellowships around South Australia have been making honey biscuits since Christmas 1968, when 3250 bags of them were given away. Most recently, biscuits and a Lutheran Tract Mission leaflet were given to people in aged-care homes, corrections facilities, and mental health and disability support services.

Chaplain Richard Hawke, who visits the Adelaide Remand Centre, says, ‘The men expressed their deep gratitude, especially [as] the biscuits were homemade.’ But the highlight for Richard was the feedback from Craig*, who had attempted suicide only hours before the police caught up with him.

‘Craig said, “If I hadn’t come to prison, I would probably be dead by now. But what really touched me was receiving those biscuits. When I opened up the pack, there was a leaflet inside with the words: ‘For God so loved the world he gave his only Son, that whoever should believe in him, shall not perish but have eternal life’. Straight away I felt deep emotion come all over me … I knew God was speaking to me. It was a reminder that God hadn’t forgotten about me”.

‘Craig is desperate to break his addiction to drugs and made a decision to renew his commitment to follow Jesus’, Richard says. ‘All of us at the Remand Centre are very grateful for the contribution made by the Lutheran ladies … none more so than Craig.’

Lorraine Kempf, who been involved in the project since 2011 and now coordinates it, says Craig’s story is encouraging for the 61 women’s fellowship groups who baked enough biscuits to fill 1160 packets in 2021. ‘That brings tears to my eyes’, she says. ‘We might think, “what’s a packet of biscuits?”, but to hear what it means to people makes it worthwhile.’

*Not his real name

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