Saturday at St Pauls

Day 6 – May 16, 2009
Getting ready to teach the one day “Blessed are the Peacemakers” seminar to some of the South Australian laity this morning, I was really quite excited. It was such a great experience working with all the Bobs and Bretts (inside joke) the last three days. While I have come to love the lush beauty of South Australia in the last 5 days, what really makes this place is the people. Down to earth, laid back and incredibly friendly, they have made being so far away from my family and friends easier.
Our time today at St. Paul’s (Enfield) just served to reinforce this impression. The parishioners from the South Australia District Churches who we met were, without exception, wonderful to work with. The interactions we had with them and their questions showed a passion for learning how to live their faith in often challenging circumstances.
St. Paul’s also includes a beautiful Lutheran School. First started in the early 1970s, the school current has more than 250 students. The classrooms are bright and inviting, reflecting a love for learning and a desire to help the students reach their maximum potential.
Pastor Eugene Minge and the members of his congregation welcomed us and the other participants with open arms, providing a remarkable morning and afternoon cuppa. We had an opportunity to spend some time with Pastor Eugene earlier in the week during our Conflict Coaching Training in Hahndorf. It was great to have the opportunity to get to know him and his fellow pastors during our first round of training.
We have a couple of days of starting tomorrow. President Robert Voigt of the South Australia & North Territory District has gracious offered to take us to service in the morning and show us around in the afternoon. Hopefully Ted, Chuck and I will have an opportunity to explore South Australia some more over the next few days.
On a personal note, Happy 21st Birthday to my daughter Nicole. I miss you tons, hon.

First Round of Training Concludes

Posted by Ted. 15 May 2009
These last three days have quickly flown by. It was great meeting some 70 pastors and other leaders from the South Australia / Northern Territories District.
For years in our training, we end our breaks with a hymn or spiritual song. Often I play piano or someone local does. This is the first training event where we had an entire worship team lead the singing. What a great privilege.
So, how did the training go? Here is a sample of the comments from the evaluations we received.
Under the question: What was most helpful for me...
- Particularly appreciated the focus on love, grace, and forgiveness without denying the consequences of sin.
- Amazing how real the role plays became.
- Practice in the use of pastoral, as opposed to ritual, use of the confession and absolution.
- Realizing how the forgiveness of God breaks down barriers and restores people to be Christ-like again.
- The power and wonder of the Gospel beautifully and freshly revealed – The very centre of the ministry we do.
- Clear teaching reinforcing what I’d read in the books.
- The [demonstration] role plays up front [by the instructors] helped me to feel comfortable in role playing.
What was least helpful for me...
- We crammed a lot into a short space of time. [A few people made similar comments.]
- [Some expressed discomfort with the role plays, but most also commented that they were essential for the learning experienced.]
Any comments for Ted or Francis...
- Job well done! Good story-telling. Clear presentation (even with the accent!) [TED: No worries!]
- God prosper your work & defend you.
- Thank God for your ministry and the sacrifices you made to share this ministry with us and equipping us.
Any comments for the District or LCA
- I was sceptical about this project until we got under way... I discovered that the AoR team has a wealth of experience, and not only the wisdom from that, but the wisdom to enable us to tap into our knowledge and experience.
- Thank you for allowing/inviting Ted & Francis to teach us.
- Please incorporate this training into our seminary course.
- Thank you for providing this for your pastors. Please don’t let this be a 3-Day course, but let it be a way of life in our church.
- Thank you for one of the best conferences I’ve been to.

Second Day of Training Concludes

Day 4 – May 14, 2009
Second day of training just wrapped up. It is the most fun day of the three from my perspective as I get to role play. Then the pastors we are working with get to try out their skills. Long day for us – even longer for the pastors as most of this is new to them. They were a great group, throwing themselves into the course and trying to learn as much as they can so they can take it back to the congregations.
Last night we stopped at Mount Lofty on the way home to take a look at Adelaide at night. What a beautiful city at night. You can see the outline of the city hemmed in between the Hills and the water. The lights sparkle in the distance, outlining the shore. The obelisk rises into the night, silently marking the summit.
Tomorrow is our final day with this group of pastors. As always, the end of training is a mix of sadness and relief. Sadness as we part way from a great group of men, who are here learning to better care for the congregations they have devoted this part of their lives to shepherding. Relief in that we have made it through the training successfully and there has been a good response to what we have done.
Please keep us and the pastors of LCA in your prayers as we wind things up and prepare for our one day teaching on Saturday.
Soli Deo Gloria.
Francis

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