Oct2021
Synod elects new church leaders
The 20th General Synod elected Pastor Paul Smith as the LCANZ’s next bishop and Pastor Neville Otto as the assistant bishop. Delegates also elected the General Church Board to serve the LCANZ for the 2021-24 synodical term.
Oct2021
New Lutheran Women leaders installed
The Lutheran Women of Australia (LWA) Executive Committee has been installed to lead the LCANZ auxiliary for the next three years.
Oct2021
Synod elects General Church Board
Hobart barrister Kim Baumeler has been elected to serve on the LCANZ’s General Church Board (GCB) by the LCANZ’s General Synod.
Oct2021
Former LCANZ secretary elected as next assistant bishop
The General Synod of the LCANZ has elected Pastor Neville Otto, senior pastor at St Paul Box Hill in suburban Melbourne and former Secretary of the Church, as assistant bishop of the LCANZ.
Oct2021
LCANZ bishop-elect ‘humbled’ by call to serve as church leader
LCANZ bishop-elect Pastor Paul Smith says he is ‘humbled’ by his election by General Synod and has asked for the prayers of church members as he prepares to take up the role next year.
Sep2021
Queensland welcomes new bishop
Pastor Mark Vainikka has been installed as the new bishop for the LCANZ’s Queensland District. Watched via livestream by family members, including his parents, who were in lockdown in Victoria.
Jul2021
Singapore Lutherans welcome new bishop
The Right Reverend Lu Guan Hoe is the new bishop of LCANZ overseas partner church Lutheran Church in Singapore (LCS). Bishop Lu, who succeeds Bishop Terry Kee Buck Hwa, was installed as the third bishop of the LCS on 26 June.
Jun2021
LWF elects Estonian pastor as new general secretary
The Lutheran World Federation Council has elected Estonian theologian Rev Anne Burghardt to be its next General Secretary. She will be the first woman and the first Central-Eastern European to hold this leadership position for the global communion of Lutheran churches.
Jun2021
New bishop for LCA’s Queensland District
Pastor Mark Vainikka will be the next LCA Queensland District bishop. He was elected unopposed during the District Convention of Synod at Eight Mile Plains in Brisbane’s south last weekend (4–6 June).
Apr2021
LCANZ answers Philippines’ mission call
Rev Dr Michael Lockwood has answered the call to serve as a missionary with the Lutheran Church in the Philippines (LCP), a partner church of the LCANZ. His move is in response to a request last year from LCP President Rev Antonio Reyes for assistance with the training of pastors and deaconesses.
