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by Bishop Paul Smith

In the lead-up to Christmas, Bishop Paul Smith reflects on the New Zealand and Australian tradition of Christian churches working together to proclaim the holy birth of the Christ-child.

Early this month, LCA Daily Devotions reached a milestone worth celebrating when the total number of emails sent to subscribers reached 5 million! Since this very popular ministry began in 2017, many thousands of members and friends of the LCANZ have welcomed the devotions into their email inboxes.

The four pathways to ordination in the LCANZ are explained in the new ‘Candidacy Pathways for the Office of the Public Ministry’ document released this month.

Reducing the amount of paper files at the LCANZ Churchwide Office has been a goal for some time, but with preparations underway for the move to the new Church House in Frome Street, Adelaide, next year, that task has become more urgent.

by Reid Matthias

Who was John the Baptist? Just a Grizzly Adams-type mountain man wearing a camel’s hair tunic and eating grasshoppers dipped in honey? Pastor Reid Matthias reflects on the unorthodox life of this desert wanderer, whose role was to ‘go on before the Lord to prepare a way for him’.

The LCANZ has restructured the way it delivers Safe Church training and manages complaints, as a result of feedback from the church. The restructure impacts the Churchwide Office’s valued Professional Standards team, with the roles of Professional Standards Officers coming to an end.