Pastors & Staff

Pastor M Wheeler (Panangka) was born on 16 October 1947 at Ntaria/Hermannsburg. He was baptised ten days later at Hermannsburg by Pastor FW Albrecht. Pastor Wheeler was confirmed on 6 December 1964 by Pastor C Raberaba at Hermannsburg, along with 27 other students who were also confirmed on that day. He was married to Betty… Read more

Not that long ago, Alicia Wegener and Bryan Elliott of Finke River Mission (FRM) attended Lutheran Archives to work with the staff to clear out items that had been in temporary storage for over 10 years. Many hours of sorting through old paperwork, assorted boxes and tubes later, they had not only significantly reduced the… Read more

There were only two windows of opportunity for me to meet and get to know Kwementyay Haines, who passed away earlier in 2024. I’d like now to tell the story of our small interaction with him, as he performed final checks of two Gospels in Anmatyerr, John’s Gospel in 2010 and Luke’s Gospel in 2018…. Read more

Recently we received visitors from the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bavaria (ELCB), Arnim Doerfer (Missione Eine Welt – Mission One World) and Martin Klein. It was to be a full weekend in terms of Indigenous ministry – three communion services in three communities, from Laramba to Ti Tree, a round trip over 650 kilometers. Though… Read more

Based in Alice Springs Lutheran Church, Pastor Stephen Radke will focus on ministry in the Alice Springs town camps and across other Central Australian communities. The installation was conducted by Pastor Rob Borgas, a former Pastoral Support Worker in the Pitjantjatjara language area and a current member of the Finke River Mission (FRM) board. Pastor… Read more

Pastor Marcus Wheeler led the palm-weaving procession into the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Hermannsburg on Palm Sunday this year, his last full service as a pastor. Over sixteen and a half years ago, in the very same church, Pastor Mike Semmler, then President of the Lutheran Church of Australia, ordained Pastor Marcus. His ordination took place… Read more

Alice Springs Lutheran Church held its long-awaited confirmations on 23 June 2024. Five young women confirmed their Christian faith: Rhonda Bob, Shanille Braybon, Ella Williams, Jordyn Williams and Mariah Meurant. Each of these had completed their Confirmation studies over the past 12 months. Rhonda attended school at Yirara College years ago but missed the opportunity… Read more

After arriving in Alice Springs for the ordination of Malcolm Willcocks on 10 December 2023, LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith and SA–NT Bishop Andrew Brook took a trip out to Hermannsburg to meet people and have a look around.

New FRM Board chair Marcia Hoffmann shares her thoughts on her role so far.

The ordination and installation of Malcolm Willcocks as a Specific Ministry Pastor took place on 10 December 2023.