‘A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us”’ (Acts 16:9). The LCA might be a relatively small church in Australia and New Zealand, but God calls us to support his mission among churches of neighbouring countries. Answering […]
The Lutheran Church of Australia has many partners around the world. Last month we saw two demonstrations of the way we share in the body of Christ for the task of Bible translation, through our links with Wycliffe Bible Translators Australia and SIL International. On 14 February, at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Aberfoyle Park, in […]
I retired from the full-time workforce in July 2016, and I had always imagined I would like to spend my retirement years undertaking some voluntary church work – “finding a place for service in retirement”. But I had no idea where this vague idea would lead me. As it happened, I was then employed for […]
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14 It is for this Word that the recently completed building in Ubuo village, Papua New Guinea, was named, ‘Oroi’io […]
When I first came to Papua New Guinea (PNG) I was gifted with some advice from a former missionary, to try and return home to Australia about every six months. This would help me stay connected with my roots and to take rest from the intense experience of living in another culture. But the seasons […]
Rev Dr Gottfried Martens is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Berlin-Steglitz, a member congregation of Germany’s Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK). Over the past 12 or so years this congregation has welcomed hundreds of converts to Christianity, mostly former Muslims living in Germany as Iranian and Afghan refugees. The Trinity congregation is focused on […]
Mea duoduo! Good morning! For the past five years, I have been privileged to be a translation advisor to the Kope people of Gulf Province in Papua New Guinea (PNG). I am not the translator, the Kope translation team members do that work. They are, after all, the experts in their language. I am the […]
Many of us would have heard stories about people being stranded far from home, due to global government-imposed lockdowns to limit the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. The media has shared pictures of distraught Aussies stuck in South America and tales of those who are desperate to return to loved ones and familiar surroundings. However, […]
Many readers of Border Crossings would know that one of our former missionaries, Dr John Strelan, died recently. ‘Joe’, as he was usually known, was born in 1936, the third of ten children born to Peter and Erica Strelan, nee Appelt. As a young fellow he studied at Concordia College and Seminary, graduating in 1959. […]
It is common knowledge that Indonesia has the largest Muslim population of any country in the world. What is less well known is that Indonesia also has the fourth largest Lutheran population of any country in the world. There are 13 Lutheran synods in Indonesia concentrated mostly in North Sumatra, and a total of more […]