General Synod theme and logo launched

Grace as God’s unifying gift to his church will be the thematic focus of next year’s LCANZ 21st Convention of General Synod in Adelaide.

The theme, The Gift of God – it’s grace that unites us, is based on Ephesians 2:8, ‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God’, and has been approved by the General Church Board, along with an accompanying logo.

The General Synod logo was created by Elysia McEwen, a member of the LifeWay congregation in Sydney and designer of The Lutheran.

‘Developing the logo was a challenge’, said LCA communications manager Linda Macqueen. ‘While the concept of “grace” is well known by us Lutherans, it is difficult to convey visually.

‘We thank God for the gifted graphic designers we call on for assignments such as this. They are members of Lutheran congregations and therefore they understand the foundations of our Lutheran teaching. I love watching how they bring theology and creativity together to serve the church in this way.’

Elements of the Synod logo include:

• The hand of God holding us emanates from the cross, which is the means through which God has reconciled us to himself.
• Grace flows to us through the cross and from the cross – it is God who moves towards us. The people are passive – we cannot earn grace; it is God’s gift.
• God’s grace holds us together as one body. We are joined together in his embrace, united for now and eternity as his dearly beloved and baptised children.

The 21st Convention of General Synod will be held from 4 to 7 October 2024 at Concordia College, Adelaide.