• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • LCA Portal
  • LAMP2
  • LCA Online Donations
  • IT Help
  • Contact

Lutheran Church of Australia

where love comes to life

MENUMENU
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • A BIT ABOUT US

      The Lutheran Church is the largest Protestant church in the world, with over 70 million members. This website tells the story of Australian and New Zealand Lutherans, following Jesus Christ – where love comes to life. Whoever you are, whatever your story, you're welcome here with us.
    • MORE ABOUT US

      • OUR PEOPLE
      • OUR LOGO, OUR MISSION
      • OUR BELIEFS AND TEACHINGS
        • WHAT LUTHERANS BELIEVE – VIDEO SERIES
      • HOW WE WORSHIP
      • OUR STRUCTURE (GOVERNANCE)
        • NOMINATIONS
      • OUR HISTORY
      • LUTHERANS WORLDWIDE
        • WHAT LUTHERANS BELIEVE
          • WHAT LUTHERANS BELIEVE – VIDEO SERIES
        • HISTORY OF THE LUTHERAN CHURCH
  • THE LATEST
    • THE LATEST

      • NEWS
      • DAILY DEVOTION
      • PRAYER POINTS
      • PODCASTS
      • ONLINE WORSHIP
      • RESOURCES
      • TRAINING & EVENTS
      • WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
      • THE LUTHERAN
      • LCA FACEBOOK
    • THE LATEST

      • ORDINATION RESOLUTION WAY FORWARD
      • CALLS – EMPLOYMENT – VOLUNTEERING
      • eNEWS LISTS
  • DEPARTMENTS & AGENCIES
    • DEPARTMENTS

      • DISTRICTS
      • OFFICE OF THE BISHOP
        • LCA INTERNATIONAL MISSION
      • LOCAL MISSION
        • CARE MINISTRIES
        • CHILD YOUTH & FAMILY MINISTRY (GROW MINISTRIES)
        • CROSS-CULTURAL MINISTRY
        • LUTHERAN MEDIA
        • NEW & RENEWING CHURCHES
    • DEPARTMENTS & AGENCIES

      • MINISTRY SUPPORT
        • CHILD SAFETY STANDARDS
        • CHURCH WORKER SUPPORT
        • COMMUNICATIONS
        • FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION
        • INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
        • LCA INSURANCE
        • LUTHERAN ARCHIVES
        • PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS
      • EDUCATION & TRAINING
        • AUSTRALIAN LUTHERAN COLLEGE
        • LUTHERAN EDUCATION AUSTRALIA
    • COMMISSIONS & MINISTRY GROUPS

      • COMMISSIONS
        • SOCIAL AND BIOETHICAL QUESTIONS
          • LUTHERANS FOR LIFE
        • THEOLOGY AND INTER-CHURCH RELATIONS
        • WORSHIP
          • VISUAL ARTS
      • AUXILIARIES AND MINISTRY PARTNERS
        • AUSTRALIAN LUTHERAN WORLD SERVICE
        • FINKE RIVER MISSION
        • LLL
          • LUTHERAN TRACT MISSION
        • LUTHERAN NURSES
          • PARISH NURSING
        • LUTHERAN WOMEN
        • MERCER (SUPERANNUATION)
  • SERVICES & RESOURCES
    • SERVICES & RESOURCES

      • CHILD SAFETY RESOURCES
      • CHRISTIAN CARE SUNDAY
      • COPYRIGHT GUIDELINES
      • CYBER SECURITY
      • DAILY DEVOTIONS
      • DISASTER & WELFARE FUND
      • DOCTRINAL STATEMENTS & THEOLOGICAL OPINIONS
      • DOMESTIC AND FAMILY VIOLENCE, PREVENTION OF
      • EMAILS
      • EMPLOYMENT & VOLUNTEERING OPPORTUNITIES
      • ENEWS
      • ETHICAL DECISION-MAKING GUIDES
      • FORMS
    • SERVICES & RESOURCES

      • GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
        • BORGFELDT LEGACY
      • GROW DISCIPLES
      • GROW KIDS
      • HEALTH & WELLBEING
      • HUMAN RESOURCE SYSTEM
      • LAMP2
      • LCANZ LEARNING HUB
      • LCA FACEBOOK
      • LCA INSURANCE
      • LCA LOGO
      • LIVESTREAMS
      • LUTHERAN EARTH CARE
      • MINISTRY REVIEWS
    • SERVICES & RESOURCES

      • PODCASTS
      • POLICIES
      • REGULAR ELECTRONIC GIVING
      • SAFE CHURCH TRAINING
      • SOCIAL MEDIA
      • STANDARDS OF ETHICAL BEHAVIOUR
      • STUDY GUIDES
      • THE LUTHERAN
      • TRANSFER FUND
      • VIDEO SERIES – WHAT LUTHERANS BELIEVE
      • WEBSITES
      • WORSHIP PLANNING PAGE
      • VISUAL ARTS
  • TRAINING & EVENTS
    • TRAINING

      • TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES – OVERVIEW
      • LCANZ LEARNING HUB
      • SAFE CHURCH TRAINING
      • CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR PASTORS
      • CAMPAIGN AGAINST FAMILY & DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCES & TRAINING
      • NEW HORIZONS
      • RENEW MISSION LIFE
      • GROW COACHING
    • EVENTS

      • LOCAL MISSION APPEAL
      • SEASON OF PRAYER 2023
      • CONVENTION OF GENERAL SYNOD 2024
      • CROSS-CULTURAL MINISTRY CONFERENCE 2023
      • DIGITAL MISSION AND MINISTRY FORUM 2022
    • PROJECTS

      • ORDINATION RESOLUTION WAY FORWARD
  • FIND A …

Stamps make a world of difference

1 February 2021

by Helen Beringen
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Who would have thought the once-popular children’s pastime of stamp collecting was still alive?

Well, not only is stamp collecting still going strong, but it continues to make a world of difference to communities around the globe through the Lutheran Church of Australia’s (LCA) Stamps for Mission program.

Since its inception more than 80 years ago, almost $446,000 has been raised for mission causes, says Peter Nitschke, Stamps for Mission national project director.

The process of collecting, cleaning and sorting stamps has been an activity in many Lutheran youth groups across the country for decades. Funnily enough, it is often still those same people who are helping to keep the program going today.

‘It was still a youth activity as late as 2006 and we realised the youth who were involved in stamps for mission were now in their 80s and 90s’, says Peter, a retired teacher.

‘There would have to have been literally hundreds of people involved from all around the country. Even the youth at Lameroo [in South Australia] are still cleaning stamps and there would be many more congregations still collecting them.’

Stamps for Mission, a fundraising arm of LCA International Mission, was established in 1938 through the efforts of Pastor Ted Koch and Mr Ern Unger, who spent 65 years collecting stamps and building a national team of helpers.

Peter began following Ern’s footsteps after a chance meeting in Parkes in 2003 when Peter and his wife Margaret were travelling back to South Australia after living in Queensland for 15 years.

Peter had been an avid stamp collector since the age of seven when his aunt gave him stamps and an album for his birthday. As a carer to Margaret, who was ill with multiple myeloma, it was a job with the flexible hours that Peter felt he could help with.

‘It was something I could do any time day or night while caring for my wife’, he recalls.

And so began almost two decades of support for an industrious team which gathers, cleans and sorts stamps.

‘I have one chap who is 96 and still sorting stamps’, says Peter. He is talking of Clarrie Schutz and his wife Marj from Campbelltown, South Australia. ‘Clarrie sorts the stamps and Marj groups them into bundles of 103.’

Why 103 stamps in each bundle? They always put in a few extra to ensure each bundle is never short of 100 good stamps.

‘I’ve only had one complaint, and that was someone who complained they were given too many in the bundle!’ he recalls.

While millions of stamps go through Peter’s hands each year, occasionally he finds a high-value gem, such as a post-marked envelope worth $2500.

‘Anything philatelic is saleable’, says Peter. ‘Whether it is mint stamps, used stamps, or stamps from overseas.’

Peter reminds us all not to forget about Stamps for Mission when you are having your next spring clean!

‘I am now starting to get collections from families clearing out their cupboards or from deceased estates’, he says.

The stamps are boxed up and sold to local collectors and larger philatelic businesses. An A4 paper box of stamps can be worth between $300 and $1100, depending on the stamps.

With all this work, you’d think Peter would be dreaming of stamps. He doesn’t – but knows clearly what good they can do.

Peter has seen firsthand the world of difference the funds raised from Stamps for Mission have made through a 10-day trip to Papua New Guinea in 2018. The trip included a visit to the Lutheran Highlands Seminary at Ogelbeng, near Mount Hagen, where seminary students grow food to support themselves while studying.

‘When you see the limited resources these people have and yet you see their love for Christ and wanting to serve him, it is mind-blowing’, Peter says.

‘We saw where they live, and their commitment, and boy it made me determined to continue our work … it’s made a lasting impression on me. If we can support them in small ways, they can do great things with it.’

The seminary is one of six $2000 projects Stamps for Missions provides to each year.

‘When I think what an Australian dollar does in places like these, we get eight to 10 times the value’, he says. ‘To me, these people have very little but they still have a real heart for the Lord, and that’s what motivates me. It’s about God’s love for us and what he has done for us.’

That is reflected in one of Peter’s favourite Bible verses, John 1:14: ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.’

Thankfully, Peter says there are no signs of stamp collecting dying out, with annual fundraising levels remaining consistent. And finding helpers became even easier during a year of COVID lockdowns!

‘When COVID first hit, I had three people come and ask for stamps as they didn’t know what they were going to do during lockdown’, he says. ‘I think we’ll be going for a long time yet, and while the post office keeps issuing more stamps year by year, we’ll carry on.’


Helen Beringen is a Brisbane-based writer who is inspired by the many GREYT people who serve tirelessly and humbly in our community. By sharing stories of how God shines his light through his people, she hopes others are encouraged to explore how they can use their gifts to share his light in the world.

Know of any other GREYT stories in your local community? Email the editor lisa.mcintosh@lca.org.au


This feature story comes from The Lutheran February 2021. Visit the website to find out more about The Lutheran or to subscribe.

READ MORE STORIES ABOUT fundraising, International Mission, stamps

« Dwelling in God’s word: giving in a way that pleases God
Dwelling in God’s word: Christian meditation »

Primary Sidebar

Categories

These categories are under construction. More links will be added soon.

Serving with you in …

  • Worship & Growing Faith
  • Local Mission
  • Ministry Support
  • Education & Training
  • Partners in Ministry

Serving you where you serve …

  • Church Workers (Pastors and Lay Workers)
  • Congregation Councils
  • Worship and Spiritual Growth Leaders
  • Mission & Ministry Leaders
  • Children’s Ministry Leaders
  • Youth & Young Adult Leaders
  • Safe Church Coordinators

Serving you with …

  • The Latest (News)
  • Resources
  • Prayer Points
  • Events & Training
  • Ways to Get Involved

Tags

Aboriginal/Indigenous aid ALC ALWS appointments awards bishops children church workers COVID-19 cross-cultural ministry forms fundraising Grow Ministries international International Mission LCA bishop Local Mission Local Mission – Get Involved Local Mission – Resources Lutheran Education Lutheran Media LWF music new and renewing churches NSW NZ ordination pastors PNG policy prayer professional standards Qld refugees SA-NT schools season of prayer social issues synod training Vic-Tas WA worship youth and young adults

Archives for all Updates

  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • Don't be the last to find out!

    Join over 4000 people receiving LCA eNews in their inbox every fortnight. It brings you the latest of everything, including updates from this page. It's free, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

    Sign up here

    Footer

    Quicklinks

    • 23 HOME
    • DEPARTMENTS & AGENCIES

     

    • SERVICES, RESOURCES & TRAINING
    • FIND A …

    Contact us

    197 Archer Street
    North Adelaide SA 5006

    PO Box 731
    North Adelaide SA 5006

    08 8267 7300
    email us

    © 2023 Lutheran Church of Australia

    Privacy Policy • Disclaimer

    Designed by LCA Communications