Lutheran Church of Australia

In 2017 our prayers are with our friends in the Lutheran Church who celebrate and commemorate 500 years of reformation. The Church has planned a variety of celebrations and events to mark the historical milestone and these can be found on the Church's national website.

The Lutheran Church, the oldest Christian Church in the protestant tradition, takes its name from the German reformist, Martin Luther. It is well documented in history now but in the 16th century Martin Luther, a Catholic monk, set out to challenge the church practices that he saw were inconsistent with scripture. On 31 October 1517 he famously posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg conveying these concerns. This eventually led to a separation with the Roman Catholic Church and the beginning of the Protestant reformation. His writings had changed the course of cultural and religious history.

The first Lutherans came to Australia in 1838 but it was in 1966 that the two sectors of the Church merged and became the Lutheran Church in Australia.

Forward wind to the present century and we find that for the past 50 years the Lutheran and Catholic Churches have been in dialogue in an attempt to understand and overcome old prejudices. An Ecumenical re –reading of Martin Luther’s theology is taking place at an International Conference in Rome ending 1 March.

Closer to home there is a Roman Catholic Lutheran Service of Thanksgiving in Canberra to be held Sunday 28 May.

To see more events planned for 2017 please visit the Church's national website.

The Lutheran Church has had a very long and active involvement with the National Council of Churches in Australia, with its church leaders taking up past roles of General Secretary (John Henderson 2001-2009) and President (Rev Lance Steike 1999 – 2001 and Rev Mike Semmler 2013-2016) in addition to participation in our Commissions and Networks.

The NCCA is truly blessed to have their leadership, ecumenical passion and friendship over the years.