Blessings to you all.

Firstly, thank you to those who attended the Confirmation last Sunday at Faith College. It was extremely uplifting to see a passionate group of young people, worship together and affirm their faith publicly. We pray that you were blessed by this worship service like we were. We pray now that the leaders of this team can rest, recharge and have a break so that they can return and lead our 2026 group.

As shared in our last update in June, a key milestone in the “Framing Our Vision for the Future” process has been completed with the recent survey. Of the 721 surveys sent out, we received 380 responses, a fantastic 50%+ response rate. Thank you! Pastor Stephen Schultz gave a brief overview of the results following the Combined Worship Service on 31st August. The SA&NT District staff have now completed detailed analysis of the data.

At a recent Governance Council (GC) meeting, it was agreed to hold a workshop to review the data and plan steps to enact the vision. We have asked Pastor Stephen Schultz and District Administrator Angela Rogers(SA&NT District) to present the detailed findings of the survey and discuss the amalgamation process. The workshop is scheduled for the afternoon of Sunday,19th October at Langmeil.

Please pray for our leaders as they meet together and plan the way forward for the SBLC. The leadership teams who will be involved with the workshop are:

SBLC Governance Council, SBLC Ministry Team, SBLC Call Committee, the 6 Church Councils from our individual sites - Bethany, Tabor, Grace, Lyndoch, Schoenborn & Langmeil, the two Parish Church Councils - Bethany/Tabor & Lyndoch/Rowland Flat.

The GC sees this gathering as essential to ensure all leaders share a common understanding and can effectively communicate with their congregations.

Next steps: Distribute the action plan and timeline to all members and Host several Q&A sessions to address your questions.

Thank you for your ongoing support and prayers as we move forward together.

Yours in Christ The SBLC Governance Council.

SBLC Sunday 5th October Worship Services

Bethany 10:30am Lay led - Dennis Canute

Grace St John’s 9am HC Pastor Peter Kriewaldt

Langmeil 8:45am and 10:30am both HC Pastor Peter Bean

Lyndoch 10:30am

Schoenborn 9am

Tabor No Service

Bible Readings

The First Reading Lamentations 1:1-6 The deserted city of Jerusalem

or Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 The righteous will live by faith

Psalm 137 or Psalm 37:10-9

The Second Reading 2 Timothy 1:1-14 Encouragement to be faithful

The Gospel: Luke 17:5-10 Faith and duty

As part of the implementation program of the ordination proposals from the 2024 Convention of General Synod, Dr Pauline Simonsen has been appointed as the LCANZ’s Advocate for Women in Pastoral Ministry.

This is a voluntary role to provide a primary contact for women of our church who are considering training for the office of the public ministry, and women serving as pastors among us. Pauline is serving in this work in 2025, after which time the General Church Board (GCB) and the College of Bishops (CoB) will review the role.

This is a key role, providing advice and support to LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith and the wider church, including GCB and CoB, as we journey together as the people of God with pastors who are women.

In this role, Pauline will attend to matters such as developing support networks for women who are candidates and pastors, helping to ensure that concerns of women who are candidates or pastors are identified and addressed in a timely way, and ensuring that there is a repository maintained of matters relevant to the support of and guidance for women.

A spiritual director and an experienced Christian retreat leader, Pauline serves as the dean of Emmaus, a Christian training provider in Palmerston North, New Zealand. She has served on various committees of the church in New Zealand and Australia, including more than 20 years on the Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations. Pauline and her husband Roger belong to the Manawatu Lutheran Parish.

Women who are considering ordination to pastoral ministry in the LCANZ are invited to connect with Pauline at advocateWPM@lca.org.au