Members flock to Way Forward local gatherings

In the wake of the release of the Way Forward Detailed Framework, LCANZ members have attended local information sessions in encouraging numbers.

More than 500 people have attended the seven face-to-face gatherings held so far, with four events in South Australia, one in Queensland, one in Western Australia and one in New South Wales. While face-to-face gatherings have not yet been held in Victoria, almost 90 people have attended online gatherings for the Victoria–Tasmania District, with an in-person event scheduled for 10 August. The Lutheran Church of New Zealand will host events across various locations next month.

The framework, which will come before our General Pastors Conference and Convention of General Synod in September and October this year, is the fruit of the most collaborative and consultative project in the history of the LCANZ.

The document itself explains the background of the Way Forward project:

‘At the 2023 in-person sessions of the 2021–23 Convention of General Synod, delegates voted by a strong majority to direct General Church Board and College of Bishops (GCB–CoB) to find a way for us to operate as “one church with two different practices of ordination” and to report back with a detailed framework to the 2024 General Pastors Conference and General Synod. The Way Forward Project appointed by GCBCoB has diligently worked through the theological, constitutional and governance requirements to allow this directive to be accomplished.’

The framework can be downloaded from the Way Forward webpage or directly from the link below.

NSW–ACT District Administrator Russell Veerhuis said the gathering at Henty in the NSW Riverina, which was attended by 56 people, was ‘a wonderful example of community engagement’, and included representatives from all congregations in the region.

‘Discussion was held in a beautiful spirit of engagement and care’, he said. ‘What a wonderful example of being church together.’

At St Petri Nuriootpa, in South Australia’s Barossa Valley, District Bishop Andrew Brook and Assistant Bishop Adrian Kitson gave a presentation about the framework to more than 250 people from 31 congregations.

SA–NT District Administrator Angela Rogers said attendees ‘engaged in active conversation with each other, listening to what others thought, sharing ideas and caring for each other’.

The SA–NT District is hosting a gathering at Para Vista in Adelaide (7 August), which will also be livestreamed, and will host several more regional meetings in the coming weeks. There will also be further gatherings in Victoria, NSW and the ACT, and Queensland. For more information, see the webpage or contact your District Office.

General Synod delegates are urged to attend a District gathering and also the three webinars specifically developed for delegates, which begin on 14 August. Delegates must confirm their attendance for Synod in order to access the webinars, via the email sent to them in late July.

Delegates or other church leaders wanting to present a Way Forward information session in their congregations are invited to use a presentation pack created especially for this purpose.

Download the Congregation Presentation Pack.

Download the Detailed Framework.

Download the Detailed Framework Summary.