Three pastors to be welcomed within eight days

Within just eight days from Sunday 27 April, three people are joining the LCANZ’s pastoral ministry ranks, including the church’s second woman pastor and two Aboriginal pastors.

Sue Westhorp was ordained by LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith at Luther College at Croydon in suburban Melbourne on Sunday. She has been assigned by the College of Bishops to serve at St Paul Lutheran Church Box Hill, Victoria, alongside Pastor Neville Otto.

In his sermon on the ‘sending text’ of John 20:10–18, in which Mary Magdalene encounters the risen Jesus in the garden, Bishop Paul highlighted the clear command of Christ to Mary to ‘go and tell’ the good news of his resurrection. Quoting the late Pope Francis’ description of Mary as ‘an example of authentic evangelisation, an evangeliser who proclaims the joyful message of Easter’, Bishop Paul added: ‘To focus on Mary is to focus on Christ and what he says …  In the story of John 20, we discover Mary is hanging on [to Christ] for all she’s worth and won’t let go because this is the promise fulfilled. She’s holding on to Easter.’

‘This command to go and tell is core to what it is to be ordained into the office of the public ministry of the Lutheran Church of Australia,’ he said.

Bishop Paul will head to the Northern Territory this week to ordain Justin Allen as Pastor for the Papunya Community, 240 kilometres northwest of Alice Springs, on Saturday (3 May) and Abraham Poulson as Pastor for the Utju Community, located 220 kilometres west of Alice Springs, on Sunday (4 May).

Rounding out eight ordinations in the first part of 2025, Dr Tanya Wittwer will be ordained on Saturday 10 May, at St Stephen’s Adelaide, where she also has been assigned to serve, and Adam Morris will be ordained on Sunday 11 May, at Aberfoyle Park South Australia, where he will serve as Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP).

Sean Hotinski was ordained at Blair Athol, South Australia, on 16 February and has begun his service with Queensland’s Goombungee/Maclagan Parish, where he was assigned. Mark Tung was ordained as an SMP in Auckland, in Aotearoa – New Zealand, on 6 April and has been installed to serve Botany Lutheran Church in Auckland, a predominantly Mandarin language-speaking community. On Sunday 13 April, Maria Rudolph was ordained at Concordia College in suburban Adelaide. She has been assigned to serve as Associate Pastor at St John’s Lutheran Church in Perth, alongside Western Australia District Bishop Peter Hage.

Bishop Paul reflected on the Scripture promise from chapter 10 of the Book of Romans: ‘As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” But not all have obeyed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ.’