LWQ Brisbane North and Sunshine Coast Zone ladies met at the beautiful Glasshouse Mountains on a very warm spring day 6 September 2019. Calvary Glasshouse Fellowship ladies, being the hosts, chose the theme Shackled – Set Free based on John 8:32: And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. Morning tea, prepared by the hosts and a time of fellowship, was enjoyed before beginning the program.
President of the zone, Judith Smyth welcomed 50 members and friends, with a special welcome to Karen Bryce, President of LWQ, and our Guest Speaker, Pastor Meelis Rosma.
Opening Devotion to set the theme Shackled – Set Free was presented by Marilyn Jonas. We think of being shackled as being imprisoned or losing our freedom, but, in this day and age, we can be shackled by worry, sickness, fragmented relationships, unemployment, homelessness, loneliness, domestic violence, mental health, loss of faith and a myriad other things. We need God in our lives. We all come to the foot of the cross with nothing to offer and repent and ask for forgiveness, and Jesus our Lord gives us the strength and power to put one foot in front of the other. God gives us many promises. He says, “Do not be afraid for I am with you now and always”. Bring your pain and sadness to Jesus. He will always listen and walk beside you. He has unshackled us from ourselves and Satan and has shown us the Truth that has set us free. Marilyn closed with prayer.
Appropriate praise time hymns were sung for our theme.
Pam Flesser proposed that, in honour of Pastor Fricke’s 50th Anniversary of his Ordination, the offering for the day, $750, be donated to Asia Focus to help with the building of the school for the poor on the outskirts of Sumatra, where parents work 10–12 hour days to survive – hence the neglect of children. Although the school is almost finished, donations are still appreciated. The motion was carried unanimously.
A short skit transported us back in time relating to the time of “Abram and Sarai”, highlighting the verse from Genesis 12:2: I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.
President, Karen Bryce, announced the appointment of the new editor for Lutheran Women magazine. She also outlined the excitement of this Zone’s hosting of a combined Retreat/Convention in July 2020. Registration will be in the next Qld Newsletter. Karen gave a short report and has had contact from Tracy Smith who is hoping to bring a tour party of LWSA women to Retreat/Convention. Karen asked us to pray for Lutheran Women to remain an integral part of our Christian life. Karen was thanked unanimously for the work in her role of President of LWQ, as she retires at Convention.
Del Davis gave us an insight into the work and money raised from “stamps for mission”. In 2018, funds raised from this worthy project reached $16,100. This brings the total money raised since stamp collecting began in 1938 to $433,900. The 2018 funds are divided between six different recipients. Keep on collecting used stamps!
The guest speaker, Pastor Meelis Rosma, being newly welcomed into the LCA Qld District at the recent Synod, gave us an insight into the history of, and his life in, his former homeland of Estonia; about his work with the wounded soldiers in the Estonian Defence forces, helping those soldiers “unshackle” the horrors of war and find a new place in society again. Pastor Rosma was pastor to the Estonian Congregations in Sydney and Canberra for eight years and then went back to Estonia for a year. He commented that the theme for the day, Shackled – Set Free was most appropriate for the history of Estonia which celebrated their independence in the nineties, and their freedom, after being under foreign dominance. He has moved back to Australia and Queensland and has applied for a Chaplaincy position in the Australian Defence forces. While waiting, he has found employment in the Queensland Corrective Services as a guard. He made comment on the “freedom” that he is also experiencing in his own life. Pastor Rosma was thanked most sincerely with a gift and a vote of thanks.
Table grace was sung, followed by a shared lunch to bring our day to completion.
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