Lutheran Services: Dr Leena Vuorinen Reports

Chair of the Council for Lutheran Services, Dr Leena Vuorinen, presented her first report to Synod.

Highlights from the past 12 months included:

• The new role of Director of Chaplaincy and Ministry Development, to which Rev Dr Russell Briese was called and subsequently welcomed.
• Building on Mary and Martha’s Refuge and expanding domestic and family violence support services.
• Lutheran Services being selected as the new managers of Cooinda Aged Care in Gympie.
• The Happy Table initiative, which prioritised food and nutrition in aged care and celebrated the dining experience.
• Evaluating the nurse practitioner pilot program to promote better health support in aged care.
• Celebrating 50 years of Graceville in Nambour, the first mental health care service of its kind in Queensland and a wonderful example of congregational origins.
• Negotiating the pandemic and floods and continuing to provide the best possible care under the most challenging of circumstances.
• An update on year two of the five-year strategic plan.
• Lutheran Services’ focus on customer experience, which resonates with the Synod theme ‘Let us hear’

Delegates were encouraged to continue to engage with Lutheran Services agencies and saw videos of numerous activities and events.