We thank God for his gift of baptism
We have been blessed with a run of baptisms at the Alice Springs Lutheran Church this year, twenty of them since June and a few more to come. As a pastor or congregation, we might like to take credit for this, but Martin Luther reminds us who is really to thank. ‘I believe that I… Read more
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Remembering Daphne Puntjina
Daphne Puntjina was born on Tempe Downs Cattle Station, south-west of Alice Springs, in 1944. Her parents had been living a traditional lifestyle around the Petermann Ranges but decided to move to Areyonga for better health care, food supplies, and schooling for the children. While at school, Daphne enjoyed singing and learning bible stories. Daphne… Read more
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Remembering Pastor M Wheeler
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
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A trip to the Lutheran Archives uncovers lost treasures
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
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Alice Springs Lutheran Church celebrates first communions
Earlier this year we ran a first communion course at Alice Springs Lutheran Church. The course took place over six Sunday mornings after worship. We had seven students attend and each one brought along a parent or grandparent. This made for fruitful, intergenerational discussion, with one parent even sharing old photos of her own first… Read more
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Kiwirrkurra Bible course
A recent Finke River Mission bush course was held from 6-10 July, near the small, remote settlement of Kiwirrkurra. Kiwirrkurra, with a population of only about 150 people, lies 700km west of Alice Springs, across the border into Western Australia, and operates on a different time zone to every other FRM community. This bush course… Read more
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Perry Johnson’s conversion testimony
Thirty years ago, on a Sunday morning at Areyonga, Perry experienced a profound vision of Jesus that transformed his life. ‘He sent the Holy Spirit,’ Perry recalls. ‘He changed me, and I became a church cleaner.’ Perry’s journey took him from church cleaner to evangelist, and now he spends his time encouraging people in the… Read more
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The Korean community visits Ti Tree Station
A busload of Korean Presbyterians from Caleb Presbyterian Church in Sydney enjoyed fellowship at Nturiya (Ti Tree Station) Community Lutheran Church in July this year. Their leader, Ki Ok, is a retired pastor and the field director of Christian Mission and Ministries for Indigenous Australians (CMMIA). David and Ming Fang Strickland joined the bus tour,… Read more
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Words from the Yirara College Chapel
In the Yirara College Chapel you can see four words: One Family, God’s Family. Everyone at Yirara College is a family together. It doesn’t matter where you come from, or what language you speak. At Yirara we are held together as One. We are held together by God. But what do we know about families?… Read more
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Farewell, Kwementyay Haines
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
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