Together in mission in thriving Victor Harbor community

From larger loans for transformative school buildings to smaller finance needed for new church carpet and a grant enabling an inspiring intergenerational program, LLL is delighted to support the thriving Lutheran community in Victor Harbor, South Australia.

As part of LLL’s missional partnership with its customers, it has been able to assist Encounter Lutheran College, Victor Harbor Lutheran Church and Victor Harbor Lutheran Homes to work together in mission to make a real difference in the local community.

Encounter, a beacon of educational excellence in the region, opened two new buildings in 2024 – the Wilderness Centre and Lighthouse Early Learning – with the aid of LLL loans, while the church was able to complete a much-needed carpet replacement project.

Buddies and village friends

The residents at Lutheran Homes’ Harbor Village, situated on land shared with the church, have enjoyed taking part in an intergenerational program, supported by an LLL Mission Outreach Grant, that sees Encounter Year 4 students, and their Year 1 ‘buddies’, regularly visit their ‘village friends’ at Harbor Village retirement living community.

‘Our intention was to help residents increase their joy in living through their interactions across the generations,’ Pastor Nigel Rosenzweig said in explaining the background of his grant application.

‘To find ways of bringing the residents together with the students was at the heart of what we wanted to do.’

Pastor Nigel and Harbor Village’s Hilary Armstrong hired Tamara McPherson to drive the program that engages students and their village friends in a range of fun-filled activities.

‘There’s been such an uptake from the residents and the conversations they’re having with the kids are getting stronger and stronger each time we come together,’ Tamara said.

Much-needed makeover

A short walk from the Harbor Village dining room, filled with excited chatter during intergenerational visits, the church has undergone a striking makeover with its worn red carpet replaced with modern flooring.

‘The old carpet was 40 years old; it had been maintained the best that it could’ve been, but it was getting a bit threadbare in places and becoming a safety problem,’ Congregation Chairperson Mark Henderson explained.

Finance Team Representative John Schultz, who has worshipped at the church for over 27 years, felt the congregation had a clear choice when looking to fund the project.

‘We’ve always gone through LLL; we believe that’s the best way to go,’ John said.

‘We’ve got a number of accounts with LLL; we really like to support LLL and they’ve supported us over the years with different things.’

If your school, retirement living/aged care facility or congregation has a missional objective that could be achieved through a partnership with LLL, LLL invites conversations via its website www.lll.org.au, email lll@lll.org.au or phone 1800 556 457.

Read about the uplifting projects that LLL supports thanks to its missional partnership with its depositors at the new website information hub Mission Matters, in Together in Mission, or like and follow LLL’s regularly updated social media channels:
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