Lutheran Aged Care and Community Services

You may not know many people who are Lutheran; in Australia, it is a relatively small mainstream Christian church. Internationally, however, there are over 70 million members. The Lutheran Church grew out of the Protestant Reformation in Germany in the 1500s, led by Martin Luther. We follow the teachings of Jesus, as do all Christians. You can find out more at the Lutherans Worldwide and Our Beliefs and Teachings pages.

The Lutheran Church in Australia (which also includes New Zealand) has a diverse membership, and, particularly in Australia, we have worked extensively among Indigenous people. Lutherans have good relationships with many other churches. You can find out more at the Our People page.

Aged care services provided by the LCA include independent living in retirement villages, home care packages that can assist people to remain in their own homes, and residential care for people who require a higher level of care. Residential care can include palliative care and increasingly does so.

Community services are provided by Lutheran Community Care in South Australia, and Lutheran Services in Queensland. The services include emergency assistance; financial and personal counselling; foster care; help for homeless people and women fleeing domestic violence; and support for families, for people with disabilities and for new arrivals. You can find out more at Lutheran Community Care and Lutheran Services.

The phrase ‘Because God loves, we care’ sums up our reasons for wanting to be involved in caring for people, including those who are struggling and marginalised. Since the Lutheran Church’s beginnings, serving people in need has been part of its mission and ministry. This is sometimes termed the diaconal ministry. Diakonos is the Greek word for ‘servant’, and its use implies that we are called to serve as we share Jesus’ love. You can find out more in the document ‘God’s love – our care’.

It is important to us that wherever possible we meet people’s physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs. Our aged care services employ chaplains, who care for residents and staff.

Our ethos, ‘Called to transformative action’, is based on the LCA’s teachings and on the LCA ‘Our Direction 2018–2024’.

Worship is central to the life of our church. Worship is the time when we come together to hear about God and what God does for us and to pray together. An important part of worship is celebrating that Jesus came to live with us, to care for people and ultimately to give his life for people. Worship also involves sharing together in holy communion, and it is usually during a worship service that people join the church by being baptised. You can read more on our How We Worship page.

Worship is an important part of our aged care services, and you are welcome to come along and be with us or to go to a church close to you (see Find a Church).

The Lutheran Church is also involved in equipping people so that they have a greater understanding of what we believe. We want to share with others the good news about Jesus and the comfort that we receive from knowing him. The church has a number of departments that serve our equipping, teaching and mission endeavours, as well as the operational support.

Each aged care and community service is a vital part of the ministry and mission of the LCA. This is detailed in our ethos documents, which you can find on our ‘Care’ governance page. Any service that is Lutheran (as defined in our constitution) has a responsibility to conform to the governance requirements that were agreed during the dialogue process. This includes the need to comply with the LCA’s reporting requirements. The LCA also has standards of ethical behaviour that provide guidelines, particularly for board members and CEOs. It is assumed that local ethical standards would be similar to those of the LCA.

Everyone is welcome! We believe that each person is created in God’s image and, therefore, is of value and is to be treated with dignity and respect. We respect people’s right to their own religious beliefs.

We believe that every role within Lutheran aged care and community services is important and valuable – from the carer and cleaner to the CEO and chair of the board. Each person, paid or volunteer, is important and their contribution is valued. As Christians, we are to live a life of loving service as a way of reflecting God’s love for us. We believe that the service of each and every person is a gift to be treasured.

No; we respect your beliefs and values. We do ask that employees respect our ethos, values and beliefs. There is a Christian presence in our organisations, and in many of our aged care services we employ Christian chaplains.

Lutheran pastors are usually addressed by the title pastor plus their first name. So Pastor Jake Thompson would be called ‘Pastor Jake’. Some older people may use a more formal way of speaking and refer to him as ‘Pastor Thompson’. And if you were to chat to a bishop, the same would apply: Bishop Sam Smith can be addressed as ‘Bishop Sam’. Chaplains are often addressed by their first name or by whatever title the other person finds comfortable. Often the chaplain’s name badge will indicate how he or she likes to be addressed, but if you’re not sure, just ask.