A five-level building in the Adelaide CBD will become the new home for Australian Lutheran College (ALC) and the Churchwide Office.
The building is located at 139 Frome Street, Adelaide, in close proximity to Bethlehem and St Stephen’s Lutheran churches. Ample parking for visitors and staff is available onsite and within 200 metres.
The acquisition of this property follows the sale of the LCANZ’s properties in North Adelaide for a net price of approximately $52.5 million, which was above market valuations.
The purchase of the building is expected to provide benefits in working more closely on mission and ministry and sharing common facilities, as well as streamlining some back-of-office operations. The new premises are also expected to provide the opportunity for other church entities to co-locate.
Parts of the building are currently tenanted, and this is expected to continue, providing an ongoing income stream for the church.
Settlement on the property was in November 2024, when work commenced to fit out the floors to be occupied by LCANZ bodies. MPH Architects has been retained as the firm to design the workspaces in consultation with representatives of ALC and the Churchwide Office. The project is being overseen by Tony Materne, a director of MPH and member of St John’s congregation, Unley.
The purchase has been funded through LCANZ reserves and deposit monies from the sale of the North Adelaide properties. The majority of the proceeds of the sale are payable in July 2026.
Young Life Cans & Bottles Run April 16th
Young Life Barossa will be collecting local Cans/Bottles donations to raise funds that support taking local Barossa young people
to the annual YL Australia National Summer Camp.
To support young people in our local community, please contact Tiffany Voigt at tiffanyvoigt@younglife.org.au to organise a collection.
Six people will join the LCANZ’s ordained ministry ranks in the coming six weeks, including two women in what is a first for the church.
Following the decision by the Convention of General Synod in October last year to remove from the church’s teaching a paragraph that previously prohibited women from being ordained, Maria Rudolph and Sue Westhorp have been determined by Australian Lutheran College and the College of Bishops as properly prepared for the rite of ordination and are set to become the church’s first female pastors.
Maria Rudolph has been assigned by the College of Bishops to serve St John’s Lutheran Church Perth alongside Western Australia District Bishop Peter Hage. She will be ordained as a General Ministry Pastor (GMP) on Palm Sunday, 13 April, at Concordia College Chapel Highgate in South Australia at 2pm. Most recently serving as a pastoral associate at St John’s, she completed her Bachelor of Theology and Bachelor of Ministry through Australian Lutheran College (ALC). Born and raised in East Germany, Maria became a Christian in 2006 as a young backpacker after being befriended by Lutherans in Adelaide. She and her husband, Pastor Michael Rudolph, who serves at Duncraig in suburban Perth, will become the first pastor couple in the LCANZ when she is ordained.
Sue has been assigned by the College of Bishops to serve St Paul’s Lutheran Church Box Hill in Victoria alongside Pastor Neville Otto. She has most recently been serving as a pastoral associate in Child, Youth and Family Ministry at St Paul’s. A registered lay worker in the LCA since 2001, Sue gained a Bachelor of Theology degree from ALC in 2004 and, in recent years, has been completing a Master of Theology qualification with the University of Divinity.
This Sunday (6 April) at 5pm, Mark Tung will be ordained as a Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) at St Columba Presbyterian Church, Auckland, in New Zealand. Mark has been called to serve Botany Lutheran Church, Auckland.
Next month, Justin Allen will be ordained as pastor to the Papunya community in the Northern Territory at 10am on Saturday 3 May at Papunya, while Abraham Poulson will be ordained as pastor to the Utju community in the Northern Territory at 10am on Sunday 4 May at Areyonga NT. Also, Adam Morris will be ordained as an SMP on Sunday 11 May at Our Saviour Lutheran Church, Aberfoyle Park, South Australia, where he has been called to serve.
All six candidates will be ordained by LCANZ Bishop Paul Smith, who encouraged the church to pray for the new pastors when the ordinations were announced late last week.
‘Please keep in your prayers these servants of the Lord who have answered the call to serve as pastors to the people of the Lutheran Church of Australia and New Zealand,’ Bishop Paul said. ‘We pray that God will give them encouragement, confidence and joy in their callings, assuring them that, as they proclaim God’s word and administer the life-giving sacraments, they serve in the mission of our gracious God.’
2026 Calendar Competition now open…
Yes, it’s on again! Calling all photographers.
We’re offering you the opportunity to be included in our 2026 Lutheran Media calendar.
Do you have an inspiring and original image you would like to enter in our competition?
Cash prizes are awarded to the top 3 entries. Entries close 31 May 2025.
Want to know more about Lutheran Media’s history in Australia and New Zealand?
Our history book ‘Lutheran media ministry in Australia and New Zealand: 80 years of blessings’ is in hot demand.
Ensure you grab your copy and be inspired by stories and images of the progress of Lutheran Media throughout the past 80 years. Purchase a copy for only $15 today via our website or call 1800 353 350
Welcome to the April eNews!
2026 Calendar Competition now open…
Yes, it’s on again! Calling all photographers.
We’re offering you the opportunity to be included in our 2026 Lutheran Media calendar. Do you have an inspiring and original image you would like to enter in our competition? Cash prizes are awarded to the top 3 entries. Entries close 31 May 2025.Enter Here
Join us for lunch in the Barossa
Please join us for our ‘Thank You Lunch’ on Saturday 21st June at Kies Family Winery. Tickets are now available for individual and group bookings.
Set in the picturesque wine region of southern Barossa Valley, you will be treated to a two-course lunch (wines included), with silent auction, wine wall and guest speaker, Des Kalisch.
Purchase your tickets at www.lutheranmedia.org.au/events where you will find more information about this event and others coming up this year to celebrate 80 years of Lutheran Media.
Friends of Lutheran Archives (FoLA) Thursday 24 April at 7.30pm Immanuel Lutheran Church, 139 Archer St, North Adelaide SA 5006
Memories of Koonibba Mission
Speaker: Elizabeth Buck, who grew up in Koonibba on the West Coast of South Australia, where her father was a pastor missionary. Supper, $5 donation.
The event can be watched on-line as it happens, or later.
LIVESTREAM on FoLA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@friendsoflutheranarchives9644/live
Due to recent updates to the membership of the Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations (CTICR), vacancies exist for two lay members and one pastor member.
CTICR engages in the study of theological matters and inter-church relations at the direction of the College of Bishops as they arise in the LCANZ. It also provides guidance to the members of the church on current matters through its published documents. Public statements made by the commission are provided following approval from the College of Bishops or the General Church Board.
Members of the commission must hold a tertiary degree in theology; have knowledge and experience on a broad range of issues from a Lutheran theological and confessional standpoint; be able to write from a pastoral perspective; have ecumenical engagement and understanding of global Lutheran churches and organisations.
It is important that the membership includes a mixture of backgrounds and perspectives, as well as the relevant skills, qualifications and experience, to enable the commission to fulfil its role.
If you are interested in serving on the commission, know someone who may be interested, or require further information, please contact CTICR Secretary Maria Rudolph at cticr@lca.org.au
Please complete the nomination form here and send it to nominations@lca.org.au by Monday 21 April.
READ MORE STORIES ABOUT appointments, Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations, nominations
Pastor Mark Schultz, the LCA's Assistant to the Bishop, International Mission, has encouraged our Lutheran family in Australia and New Zealand to pray for the people of the earthquake-devastated Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar. He says: 'Please keep the nation, people and our partner churches in Myanmar in your prayers after the devastating 7.7 magnitude earthquake last week on Friday 28 March. Pray for those who mourn, those who are waiting for news, those still trapped, and the courageous search and rescue workers who are tirelessly working around the clock to find survivors. Please also pray for those grieving the loss of life in the tower collapse in Bangkok, Thailand.'
'In the coming days, we will launch a special appeal to help our partner churches in Myanmar,' Pastor Mark says. 'Please stay tuned for more details. In the meantime, we invite you to donate via ALWS' Emergency Action appeal.’ DONATE NOW READ MORE