Lutheran Women of Queensland retreat and Convention was held on 19 –21 May 2023 at Maroochy Waterfront Camp & Conference Centre, Maroochydore. Our theme throughout the weekend was Courage to tell our story, 1 Corinthians 16:13. Long-lasting Wondrous Quality-time or Love Wondrously Qualified were just two acronyms that could be used to describe our first ever combined LWQ Retreat/Convention. Sincere thanks and gratitude to the Legendary Welcoming Quirkiness of the West Moreton Zone for the …
Fruits of the Spirit The Fruit of the Holy Spirit is a biblical term that sums up nine attributes of a person or community living in accord with the Holy Spirit, according to of the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful …
My health problems started when I was six weeks old with severe eczema, followed by asthma. In the 1950s, there was no prednisolone creams for eczema nor “puffers” for asthma. I wore bandages day and night, which had to be washed and reused many times. I would, on occasions, have my hands tied to the sides of my bed, to stop me from scratching myself and prevent the open wounds getting infected. I also had …
A cool yet sunny morning on Saturday 20 May could not dampen the spirits of those attending the 56th Convention of the Lutheran Women of Victoria and Tasmania (LWVT). It was hosted by Trinity Lutheran Church in Warrnambool and catered for by the parish ladies from Warrnambool, Ayrford, and Hawkesdale. The theme for Convention was Patient Endurance from Revelation 13:10b. Greeting everyone in the foyer was a stunning flower arrangement in autumnal colours of orange, …
Held on 26 and 27 July 2023 in North Adelaide, SA, the meeting was attended by five LWA Executive members, two Spiritual Advisers, and two State Executive members each from Qld, NSW/ACT, Vic/Tas, WA and SA-NT. President, Grace Kroehn welcomed everyone present. Pastor John Gerhardy then commenced the first day with a devotion “Jesus Christ is our true Rock”, based on Psalm 40:1-5. David Altus, SA-NT bishop, welcomed the interstate visitors to SA. He gave …
Image: Confirmation at Hope Vale in July 2023 National NAIDOC week for 2023 took place from 2–9 July. The theme for its celebration this year was For Our Elders. The emphasis was that across every generation of indigenous communities, our Elders have played, and continue to play, an important role and a prominent place in our communities and families. They are cultural knowledge holders, trailblazers, nurturers, advocates, teachers, survivors, leaders, hard workers, and our loved …
Faithfulness
Driving home after celebrating the beginning of another new year, I was surprised at how quiet and uneventful the streets of our little town were. It was relatively early for New Year’s Eve, around 12:30 am, the night was calm, the air crisp. Having just welcomed in 2023 and thinking about what the year ahead may bring, I noticed a movement to the left of my vision. There he was making a surprise appearance, entering unannounced, a huge grey kangaroo heading like a moth toward my headlights. It all appeared like slow motion – him bounding, my reacting as I slammed my foot hard against the brake. I managed to miss him; I don’t know how but I do know his fur polished my fender! Talk about a jolt to the new year! It crossed my mind; could this be a sign that 2023 would be a year of near misses!
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Chasing Rainbows
In 1996 the Britpop band “Shed Seven” sang a song I loved, called “Chasing Rainbows”. I remembered that song a while ago, when noticing rainbows and looking for them in “rainbow weather” became something that we derived great encouragement from as a family in a time of trials. Before I go any further, I want to explore what the rainbow means to us when we see it. Then we will then explore how it can enrich our study of faithfulness as a fruit of the Spirit.
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In keeping with our Fruits of the Spirit theme and fruits mentioned in the Bible, we are supplying a recipe using the fruit featured each issue. Grapes Leaving fruits out to dry in the sun and air is one of the oldest methods of preserving food. Raisins and dried fruits are simple, wholesome foods, grown by nature and “made” by people basically the same way for thousands of years. The story is told that the …
Main Picture: Girls’ dormitory at Stang Girls’ School Lae – Morobe Province Greetings in the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ from the coordinator, the staff, the teachers, and the board of the four Women’s Ministerial Training Schools (Wokmeri Trening Skuls) of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Papua New Guinea (ELC-PNG): Baitabag Wokmeri Training School in Madang District of Madang Province; Stang Wokmeri Training School in Yabem District of Markham District of Morobe Province; Sattleberg …
New developments in recreation, commercialisation, and industrialisation led to a transformation in occupations available and life during these centuries. In England, although women could work, they could not vote, own land while married, go to a university, earn equal wages, enter many professions, and even report serious cases of domestic abuse. There were no anaesthetics and women sometimes died in childbirth. Infant mortality was high. About one child in four died before their fifth birthday. …
I want to start with the words from Lamentations 3:22,23 (ESV): The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. So, the question is: What is faithfulness? It is a “doing” word. An original definition of faithfulness in the late 14th Century puts it this way: ‘confidence in a person or thing with reference to truthfulness or reliability’; also ‘fidelity …