Lord Teach us to Pray
Prayer is a challenge for all of us, but in our current circumstances, we need more than ever to turn our focus to God, who is our strength, and our hope.
As our lives are turned upside down, and our hearts and minds churn with the consequences of COVID-19, perhaps a solid and reassuring starting place for our prayer is to begin with what we do know and can do.
Jesus’ response to the disciples’ cry, “Lord, teach us to pray” was to give them the words and model of the Lord’s Prayer.
So, take a moment. Take a calming breath. And pray what you know.
Pray the familiar words alone or together with others in your home. Pray it over the phone as you connect with wider family and friends. Recite it, read it out, write it down, and reflect on its meaning. It is meaningful, not meaningless. So say what you mean and mean what you pray!
Then try another step, expanding with specific concerns. For example, add your personal petitions after each phrase. Or try modelling your own words on Jesus’ pattern as we see Eugene Petersen has done here in The Message:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what's best— as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You're in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You're ablaze in beauty!
Yes. Yes. Yes.
The Lord’s Prayer “can be like a Christmas tree, on which we hang our own “decorations”, our own prayers.
Or it can be like a map: The directions are there, but we must take the trouble to travel, to pray them. (Peter Kreeft, Fundamentals of Faith. Ignatius Press 1988)
Blessings, Karen
Stamps for Mission has raised nearly $540,000 for LCA International Mission, and your used Christmas card stamps can help keep this going.
Learn more about Stamps for Mission here, including where you can send your stamps.
The LCA SA–NT District Office (137 Archer Street, North Adelaide) is now a new SA drop-off point for Stamps for Mission.
25 November 2025
LCANZ Churchwide Office (CWO) staff moved into the new Church House in Adelaide’s CBD yesterday and will be ready to welcome visitors to the 139 Frome Street premises as of next Monday (1 December).
The five-story building is designed not only as office space for staff from the CWO, Australian Lutheran College, Lutheran Media, LCA International Mission, Australian Lutheran World Service, Lutheran Education Australia, and Finke River Mission, but also as a purpose-built hub to support mission, ministry and collaboration across the wider church.
While the building’s design offers modern workspaces and flexible meeting areas, the vision for Church House goes far beyond infrastructure. Space will also be available for visitors and other Lutheran ministry partners, which the LCA’s Executive Director of Church Operations, Brett Hausler, said ‘reinforces Church House’s role as a shared resource for the wider church community’.
A standout feature of Level 3 is a reconfigurable meeting and event space designed to host workshops, training sessions and gatherings – all supporting the church’s mission to grow, serve and reach out in Christ’s name. The space will also be available for use by other Lutheran entities.
On the ground floor, a welcoming reception and new exhibition and events space will offer opportunities for community engagement and education. Featuring displays that reflect both Lutheran heritage and future direction, this area is intended to invite learning and connection within the church and the broader community and will be launched in early 2026.
Located near Bethlehem and St Stephen’s Lutheran churches in Adelaide, the new Church House was purchased following the sale of the LCANZ’s properties in North Adelaide last year.
Read more about the Frome Street move and stories about some of the legacies of the former Churchwide Office at 197 Archer Street, North Adelaide, on the LCA website here.
Reasons why the LCA Child Safety Standards (CSS) are important:
- When we care for children and keep them safe, we are following Christ’s mandate. We must always remember that children bring their own unique vulnerabilities, and they rely on safe adults and protective cultures to keep them safe. Keeping safe is not something that children can reliably do on their own.
- We have a synodical responsibility to protect and care for our children. Our LCA Synod has acknowledged that children are a precious gift from God; they are to be nourished and nurtured in their spiritual life within the church; their needs must be considered by all boards, councils and committees; and they are to be cared for and protected by maintaining and promoting a culture of safety in all areas of the church, congregation and its activities. In addition, the objects of the constitution of the church include a requirement that children are to be protected from all physical, psychological, sexual and spiritual abuse.
- We also have multiple legal responsibilities relating to child safety. We have a duty of care to keep children safe, and this duty of care sits with our church councils and leadership teams. We are also required to abide by various laws in each jurisdiction that relate to mandatory reporting, failure to report, failure to protect, reportable conduct and working with children type checks.
- And finally, we have important regulatory responsibilities in relation to compliance with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations across each of our Australian jurisdictions.
