St Mark’s Lutheran Church Mount Gravatt and Lutheran Services Celebrate Christian Service Sunday

St Mark’s Lutheran Church Australia, Mount Gravatt and Lutheran Services Celebrate Christian Service Sunday

St Mark’s Lutheran Church Australia, Mount Gravatt, and Lutheran Services commemorated a 60 year partnership on Christian Service Sunday. The event celebrated shared values, highlighted the impact of service, and renewed the commitment to caring for the community.

St Mark’s Lutheran Church Australia Mount Gravatt celebrated Christian Service Sunday in September 2024, commemorating a long-standing relationship with Lutheran Services.

The service brought together congregation members, Lutheran Services staff and volunteers from Support Centre, Trinder Park Aged Care, Keystone Disability Services and aged care and hospital chaplaincy to reflect on their shared mission.

It was a time for remembering. Through many and varied areas of service and personal connections, St Marks’ congregation has more than 60 years of shared history with care arms of Lutheran Services. Congregants shared their joint experiences of service and care – both given and received – highlighting experiences related to governance, aged care, disability and chaplaincy. There were many memories of service, reflecting on the blessing that they have been to many.

It was a time to refresh understandings. During worship, Lutheran Services staff including case managers and chaplains shared insights into current work – highlighting the organisation’s continued commitment to serving and caring for others. The services offered by the organisation continue, as they began, in support of local communities particularly in aged care, disability, domestic violence and mental health. The work of Lutheran Services is centred in service to those needing support.

Director of Chaplaincy and Ministry Development at Lutheran Services, Rev. Dr Russell Briese said this coming together in a local congregation mutually affirms the caring services we provide and their roots in local congregations and the faith of ordinary Lutherans.  “Lutheran is who we are. Serve is what we do. It is that straightforward. Our work continues to hold serving at its core just as Jesus said he came not to be served but to serve.”

Chaplain Jo Corney reflected that, “Lutheran Services is very much a grass roots movement growing from Lutheran congregations who, from their foundation of Christian faith, responded to need in their community to provide help and care. They were motivated by their belief in God’s great love and value for humankind shown in his sending of Jesus to serve us in his life, death and resurrection. This shows us that from God’s perspective no one is spare. All people are valued regardless of their circumstance. This is still core to us in Lutheran Services.”

It was a time of encouragement. Previous and current connections between St Mark’s and Lutheran Services were highlighted through people sharing their personal experiences. Understanding of the long-term giving, care, commitment, and appreciation the congregants hold for this support and care were deepened. A tangible expression of this was the offering of prayer and blessing for the staff and volunteers present.

This service was a beautiful reminder of the power of shared service and mission, the strength of community, and the shared history that underpins and continues to support connections between St Mark’s congregation and Lutheran Services.