• Issue 10 5 August 2020
• Issue 09 14 May 2020
• Issue 08 15 April 2020
• Issue 07 7 April 2020
• Issue 06 31 March 2020
• Issue 05 26 March 2020
• Issue 04 24 March 2020

Restrictions on gatherings for worship are being relaxed stage by stage. The implications for LCA/NZ congregations are contained in COVID-19 eNews Update No.9 issued on 14 May. This information is to read in the light of the directives of the government of your country (New Zealand), state or territory. Your District Office staff will be able to provide guidance specific to your location (details in the accordion below). You may find the following resources helpful as you plan to return to public worship.

• FAQs about returning to public worship (includes information about signage, cleaning etc)
• Sign-in sheet to be used for all worship services and other gatherings at the church
• Rite for return to public worship
• Growing Faith Moment (from Grow Ministries) for returning to public worship

Visit the Worship Planning Page for updates and resources.

Government directives and advice

Restrictions on gatherings for worship are being relaxed stage by stage. The implications for LCA/NZ congregations are contained in COVID-19 eNews Update No.9 issued on 14 May. This information is to read in the light of the directives of the government of your country (New Zealand), state or territory. Your District Administrator will be able to provide  guidance specific to your location.

Please keep up-to-date with directives and advice from the Australian and New Zealand government departments and jurisdictions.

• Australian Government Department of Health
• NZ Unite against COVID-19
• ACT Health
• NSW Health
• NT Health
• Queensland Health
• SA Health

Your District office or website will provide information specific to your jurisdiction.

• Victoria-Tasmania vic.lca.org.au

Congregations may be eligible for the JobKeeper payment, which is a subsidy paid by the Australian Government to businesses (including not-for-profits and charities) in an effort to keep more people in jobs through the course of the Coronavirus outbreak. Click here for more information.

• LCA HRS eNews 5 May for Employers and Approving Managers
• LCA HRS eNews 30 April for Employers and Approving Managers
• LCA HRS Employer Checklist
• JobKeeper FAQs
• MyGov ID and RAM extract

Services from Lutheran churches are being broadcast on free-to-air Channel 44. Go to the Worship Church@Home website for up-to-date information.

On 15 April 2020, the College of Bishops provided guidelines for pastors and congregations regarding baptisms and the suspension of holy communion during the pandemic. The guidelines can be accessed from COVID-19 eNews Issue 08.

As well as providing the daily email service, we are now providing Daily Devotions in advance as printable sets. Some congregations have been asking for this, so they can print and deliver the devotions to their computer-less members. We have the set for Holy Week ready to go. Each week's set (Sunday to Sunday) will be available on the Daily Devotions Printables page every Friday by midday.

Check your local jurisdiction's website for the latest restrictions, as they are not uniform across Australia.

The LCA has a checklist for congregations that are live-streaming. Full compliance with this checklist is required for all congregations that are live-streaming, and in particular, congregations listed on the Worship Planning Page as live-streaming will need to declare compliance. The checklist is available on the Worship Planning Page (under the Worship@Home tab)

Congregations may be eligible for financial assistance under the Australian Government’s recently enhanced Boosting Cash Flow for Employers measure. The government announced on 22 March 2020 that this measure will now include not-for-profit entities (including charities) that employ workers. For this purpose ‘charities’ includes congregations and ‘workers’ (including pastors) serving in a congregation/parish, as well as lay workers and other employees. Further information is available here. Please also contact your local District Administrator if you need assistance in understanding how this new measure may apply to you.

A risk created by closing your church buildings to public gatherings (eg worship and small group meetings) is that they become a target of criminal activity. If you haven’t already taken steps to address this risk, and generally make sure your church property stays in good order, we suggest you consider the following:

• Where possible, remove valuable items (eg communion vessels and electronic equipment) to a more secure location. The LCA Insurance Contents Policy for congregations covers the temporary storage of church property at an alternative venue for safekeeping.
• Organise a roster of people to periodically check on your property (taking into account social distancing and group size restrictions for your jurisdiction).
• Place a sign in a prominent position with a message: ‘No cash or valuables held on these premises’.
• Undertake a review of your properties using checklists available here.

If you require any further advice and assistance please contact your District Administrator.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) has given a blanket extension to entities for the submission of their Annual Information Statement (AIS) submissions. The ACNC acknowledge that due to the COVID-19 pandemic many entities will not be able to hold AGMs or arrange to have financial accounts audited or reviewed. The ACNC Commissioner has approved an extension until 31 August 2020 for charities with AIS due dates between 12 March and 30 August 2020. Please visit the ACNC website for the full details.

Congregations which offer live-streaming of worship should notify their District office so that this information can be shared with other congregations. All District Administrators can be contacted at districtadministrators@lca.org.au

Your District office or website will provide information specific to your jurisdiction:

• Queensland
• Victoria – Tasmania
• South Australia – Northern Territory administration.sa-nt@lca.org.au or 8267 5211

Depending on current COVID-19 related laws and regulations in your jurisdiction, including social distancing and hygiene requirements, the Professional Standards Department may not be able to book in a requested Safe Church Level 1 face-to-face workshop. Please contact your District Professional Standards Officer if you require further information about training arrangements and options.