And though one might prevail against another, two will withstand one. A threefold cord is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12 NRSV
This opening text reminds us that God created us for partnership and community with himself and with each other (Genesis 2:18). The relationship that Australian Lutheran College (ALC) shares with Lutheran Women of Australia (LWA) is a wonderful and praiseworthy expression of that.
Over the years LWA has actively supported our college’s students with a very particular focus on their living needs. Our student accommodation, along with other facilities, has been consistently maintained and refreshed thanks to your generosity and hard work. Quite honestly, your gifts to us mean that we can care for our residential students in ways that our own finances won’t stretch to allow.
Our ALC also has other partnerships within the LCA. As we are called to prepare a wide and diverse range of people for service, in and through the Church, our relationships with the LCA’s congregations, schools, aged and community care facilities and church departments are very important. We work closely with the Church to adequately respond to its changing and challenging learning needs by refreshing our learning programs.
As part of this refreshment we have looked closely at how people begin their preparation for Church service. In the past this often happened through Lutheran families and Lutheran schools. That’s not always the case anymore. People now come from exceptionally diverse backgrounds, and we need to support them. It’s for that reason that we are now offering an opportunity for future servants to begin their learning where they live. This will be offered through a program named, “Discover”. Discover offers an opportunity for a full year of vocational discernment through a Diploma in Theology that can be completed without needing to move to Adelaide. In the case of our pastoral stream, this diploma can be counted as the first year of pastoral preparation.
Australian Lutheran College continues to rely on its partnership with LWA. While our students might come to us in different ways, we still need to care for and support them while they live and study in Adelaide. So, please receive my sincere thanks for the ways in which LWA continues to support all that we do on the Church’s behalf. It is through this partnership that we can give such full expression to the community that God has called each one of us into.
God bless you.
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