Role in Pastoral Care
The church states that "We Lutherans believe that we are called to love people as Christ loved us - and that doesn't mean only those people who are members of our church. Wherever we are able, we gladly extend our loving care to anyone who might need us, including those who are elderly, disabled or disadvantaged in any way. Increasingly we are offering a helping hand also to indigenous people, and refugees and new arrivals.
We believe the words of Jesus, who said that when we reach out in love and care to someone else, we do it for him (Matthew 25:37.)"
The LCA provides pastoral care for the following groups in particular:
- retired and elderly people
- people with disabilities
- homeless or at risk
- families and relationships
- indigenous people
- refugees and new arrivals.
The Church also runs an operation to provide food as a way of bonding communities. Indeed, it feels that this aspect of charity is one of its strengths. They state that "Hospitality involving food is something Lutherans have always been good at. It’s indigenous to who we are. Perhaps it started with the traditional German heritage many of us share – where hard manual labour fuelled large healthy appetites. Perhaps it’s the blessings we now enjoy, thanks to the many cultures that gather in our Australian and New Zealand congregations as Lutherans. Perhaps it all goes back to Martin Luther himself who regularly brought people together around food and wine for his famous ‘Table Talk’ sessions."
They also cite "the example of Jesus who enjoyed food and hospitality as a way to break down barriers and connect with those for whom society had no time."
Read more about this topic: Lutheran Church Of Australia
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