First Day of Teaching Complete

Day 3 – Wednesday May 13, 2009
Spent today at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Hahndorf, South Australia, about 20 minute from Adelaide. It is a unique church. The original church is very traditional and German in style, with a raised pulpit and what appears to be a hand carved altar. Traditional styles pews in dark wood line the main part of the church and are overlooked by a choir loft, complete with pipe organ. It is very peaceful and very quiet.
A new worship space was opened in January 2009. Designed in part by a congregational member who is an architect, it is a very modern space. The front centre of the altar area contains a beautiful glass, steel and wood baptismal font, the focal point for the entire space. A sleek, modern altar sits directly behind the font, backed by glass windows. The entire worship space is wired for multimedia and worked incredibly well for the workshop.
The first day of the Conflict Coaching Training focused upon the basics of personal peacemaking. The Pastors walked through the concepts and processes that they will be applying in role play tomorrow and Friday. It was a wonderful opportunity to wrestle together with the challenges and issues that confront all of us as we walk through our lives and relationships.
One of the nicest surprises was the unexpected dinner put on by some of the women of Hahndorf. We were treated to a wonderful variety of dishes, accompanied by bottles of Wolf Blass Shiraz. (There was some white wine as well, but I missed getting a glass. Probably for the best, since I was teaching the last session of the evening.) This was a true act of kindness as it saved us from having to pop round the pub for dinner, which surely would have caused us to start much later than our planned 6:45 start for the final session.
Overall, it was a wonderful day and Ted and I were blessed with the opportunity to begin to get to know some of the Pastors who serve in the and Western Australia District and the South Australia and Northern Territory District. Oh, and in answer to prayers, Ted’s luggage also arrived shortly before we left!
Soli Deo Gloria.
Francis