In March this year, I joined the Lutheran Mission Development (LMD) Board. This board was established to support and promote the aims, beliefs and articles of faith of the Lutheran Church of Australia.

What continues to amaze me working at Lutheran Archives is the myriad stories contained in the archive, the stories in one item or one box of records, and the myriad ways those stories or records have impacted lives.

Four young ladies confirmed their baptismal promises and confessed their faith in the Triune God at a confirmation celebration at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Hermannsburg on 8 August 2021.

In term 3 we began the Sharing Languages Project at Yirara College. Students from every community have been invited to share their languages with their teachers.

On 4 May, the historical Lutheran presence in Coober Pedy was commemorated with the unveiling of a plaque on the site of the former Lutheran church hall, which is now part of the TAFE campus. In April 1959, Pastor Fred Traeger arrived in Coober Pedy with his wife Gertrude to serve the spiritual and physical… Read more

The first FRM teaching course for the year was held on the outskirts of Papunya from 11 to 15 April. People came from as far afield as Kiwirrkura (450 km), Irweltye (550 km) and Docker River (600 km). Numbers fluctuated between 17 and 42, averaging around 35. Many women attended the course.

During a Holy Communion service in early February, six baptisms took place. These were the first baptisms for a long time at Nturiya (Ti-Tree Outstation), a small community 200 kilometres north of Alice Springs.

We have been celebrating the publication of the Anmatyerr Mini-Bible in style!

Pastor Philippus (‘Longjack’) Tjakamarra passed away on 25 August 2020.

Pastor Trevor Tjampitjinpa Raggett passed away at his outstation near Haasts Bluff (227 km west of Alice Springs) on 26 November 2020, a few weeks shy of his 66th birthday. He was the son of Pastor Obed Raggett, a much-loved and respected former pastor at Papunya.