Greetings in Christ Jesus,
South Island ChildSafe Training
Following on from the previous President’s Update on ChildSafe, the date has been fixed for the Christchurch training. The ChildSafe training for the South Island is on the 12th of February at 12:30 until 5:30pm at St Paul’s, Christchurch.
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Please continue your prayers for the people affected by the floods in Australia. That support has been appreciated by them. The next LUTHERAN magazine will have several stories.
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Special LCNZ Appeal
(Wayne and Jaswanth are pictured above)
Grace and peace to you, dear members of the Lutheran Church of New Zealand (LCNZ), from him who is, who was, and who is to come. (Revelation 1:4-5)
I am writing to you because the Holy Spirit is doing an amazing and exciting thing in the LCNZ. Two young men – Wayne George from Mountainside Lutheran Church in Auckland and Jaswanth Aleph from St Pauls Lutheran Church in Wellington have been accepted for study at Australian Lutheran College (ALC) to train to be a pastors of the church.
I invite you all to rejoice at this and to thank God for the way he has moved in their hearts. Wayne and Jaswanth will be the first ‘sons’ of the LCNZ to go to seminary for quite a few years.
St Paul writes –
Each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gifts. Christ appointed some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers. Christ did this to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, and for serving a broken world. (Ephesians 4)
Wayne and Jaswanth will begin study at ALC in Adelaide this year. ALC have designed courses appropriate to previous study and ministry experience for both men. So Wayne’s course will last 1 year and Jaswanth’s will last 3 years.
I am writing to invite you to support Wayne and Jaswanth by making a financial gift. The cost of academic tuition in Australia, as in New Zealand, is not cheap. Add to that travel costs to and from Adelaide, costs associated with obtaining the appropriate visa for studying, accommodation, food, etc, and it soon all mounts up. We are also seeking a grant from the LCA Student Fund in addition to this appeal.
Here are the ways you can make your financial gift –
- Place a cheque in an envelope and post to the LCNZ National Office, P.O. Box 7606, Wellington 6242.
- Make a Direct Credit payment to the Westpac Bank, the Palmerston North Branch, BSB # 030726, bank a/c; # 0617165-00 indicating your details and the “Seminarian Appeal”
- Place money (cash/cheque) in a specially-marked envelope and place on the offering plate along with your regular offering at your own church. However, your own congregation may suggest a different process and would advise you on that.
- Also giving can be earmarked for Wayne, Jaswanth or both young men.
This is an exciting time for the LCNZ, and a wonderful opportunity to support two of our own that have heard and responded to God’s call on their lives to be pastors in our church. Thank you, in anticipation of your willingness to support Wayne and Jaswanth, and in so doing, the extension of God’s Kingdom on earth.
God bless.
Pastor Mark Whitfield, on behalf of the Council of Synod of the LCNZ
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From President Robert
Dear members and friends of the Lutheran Church of New Zealand,
Thank you so very much for the love and concern you are showing Betsy and I while my wife deals with breast cancer. We have visited the hospital in Wellington where she will get her first dose of chemo on Friday 11 February. I was quite impressed with the facility and friendly team.
As we look to the future it is important to make some decisions with her best interests in mind. One decision that I have made is to request that there be an election for a new LCNZ president at this coming Synod in Wellington June 17-19. We will trust that the good Lord is preparing our future president for the work ahead, whether he is already here in New Zealand or comes from beyond like I did.
This does not mean that I immediately step down after the election in June. There would be a reasonable hand-over period until the new president is installed.
Why announce this so far ahead of time? It is to let our church prepare for the transition. June 17 will come quickly and I want our LCNZ to have had time to pray and prepare.
The establishment of the Wellington national office and manse has been accomplished and we are getting on top of things. This is a positive. Also, we are soon filling the pastor vacancies in Hamilton/BoP and Upper Moutere and are looking at strategies for both the Marton Parish and the Botany Chinese congregation. These plans are also encouraging. Two men from New Zealand have been accepted this year to do shortened courses in Adelaide in preparation for ministry in our LCA, and initially here in New Zealand. We need as a Church to support them in their work. There is also the potential opportunity to ordain another Specific Ministry Pastor for service specifically in New Zealand.
The strategic planning which took place at the July 2010 Summit at Mountainside has identified strategies that we are addressing now, and will continue to address in the next few years.
I am not going to launch into a farewell address in this letter because there is a lot of work yet to do before I hand back that big silver cross you placed around my neck! However, I will say this. It is a privilege to serve you, and if it was not for my dear wife's health I would have seen the entire term through. As it is, I'll end up serving about four years instead of the six I was anticipating. I just turned 59 so there are a few work-years left, but even that is in God's hands. We have been reminded of that lately.
So, for the sake of clear communication I am basically saying this: because of my wife’s health I think it best to step down from the presidency after the next Synod this June 2011.
Grace and peace with joy in Jesus,
Rev. Robert A. Erickson
President of the LCNZ
