Hermannsburg

‘We are one generation. We receive the baton of faith from the last generation and we ask for God’s help to pass it on to the next generation.’

On Sunday 15 November, Neville Doecke was installed as Pastoral Support Worker for the Western Arrarnta communities of Central Australia.

Pastor Rodney Malbunka was recently ordained at Hermannsburg. Alice Springs historian, Josie Petrick, has known his family ever since 1962. This is her story about Rodney and his family.

Lutheran Community Care worker Wendy-Lea Lechleitner has deep roots in the Lutheran Church so when a position came up for a Money Worker on the ‘Mission Block’, she jumped at the chance.

At Hermannsburg the song ‘Kumbayah’ was sung in fifteen different languages at the same time. Eleven of those languages came from the hearts of the multi-Grammy award winning Soweto Gospel Choir.

I first became a volunteer at Hermannsburg in 2013, not long after I became a widow. My husband’s parting advice was the catalyst that brought me here.

Andre and Eloise have been working at the Hermannsburg Historical Precinct for the past month helping run the tea rooms and doing general maintenance.

Each year, people from all over Australia give their time, money and labour to help local congregations to maintain the structures they feel they need to help proclaim the gospel in their local area.

In August 2013 we came to central Australia to volunteer at Yirara College for one year. We are Lorena, Magdalena and Dorothea and are also known as ‘the three German ladies’.

The Hermannsburg Historic Precinct is a popular tourist destination and significant historical site that was included in the National Heritage List in 2006. It attracts 10 000 tourists each year.