This report covers the work of Finke River Mission (FRM) from spring 2020 to spring 2021. Highlights have been the three teaching courses, renovation work at the Hermannsburg Historic Precinct, and having indigenous delegates at Synod for the first time. Besides all this, there have been a few personnel changes. All this has occurred against the background of co-operative weather, but a not always co-operative virus. The year has also been noteworthy for the increased …
The ordination of Pastor Jeffrey Wheeler at Mt Liebig on 13 October 2019 was, in many ways, the realisation of mission work begun back in 1877 in Central Australia by the Finke River Mission (FRM) of the Lutheran Church.
My office phone rang. It was “Karisol” (Garry Stoll, long-term faithful worker at Hermannsburg Mission, now retired in Adelaide). Garry was calling with a rather unexpected story: His seven-year-old great-niece Johanna Stoll had sent him a beautiful hand-written letter from the USA. She is growing up in a family of Christian missionaries and has developed a keen interest in “Uncle Garry’s” work with Aboriginal people. Johanna had been moved to support the sharing of the …
At the end of June, around 30 ladies from Central Australia journeyed to Ti Tree, 200km north of Alice Springs, for our annual Women’s Aboriginal Languages Bible Study Camp. The Languages represented included Anmatyerr, Arrarnta, English, Luritja, Pitjantjatjara, and Warlpiri. Our camp is supported each year by Finke River Mission (FRM) as well as by Lutheran Women of Australia. Some people organised their own transport; others travelled on a bus kindly driven by Pastor Neville …