Australian Bishop meets with LCC leaders

Bishop Henderson (centre) addresses President Bugbee (right) while Rev. Hamp (left) looks on.

WINNIPEG – On September 29, Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC) hosted Bishop John Henderson of the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) for a day of meetings.

Meeting with Bishop Henderson on behalf of LCC were President Robert Bugbee, Rev. Dr. Leonardo Neitzel (LCC Executive for Missions and Social Ministry), and Rev. Warren Hamp (Chairman of LCC’s Commission for Theology and Church Relations).

“This was a ‘get-acquainted’ visit—our first meeting together since Bishop Henderson came to office, and so there were a whole array of subjects to be handled, or at least introduced,” President Bugbee noted. “Bishop John provided details on the LCA’s next Synod convention (set for October 2015 in Brisbane) which will work on the question of the ordination of women. This has caused a good deal of controversy in the LCA in recent years.”

“Since both LCC and the LCA have active mission partners in Southeast Asia, notably in Cambodia, we also spent time reviewing our activities there, making sure we have fully informed one another about our goals and discussing the possibility of cooperative work in the region.”

The relationship between Lutheran Church–Canada and the Lutheran Church of Australia—formalized in a 1993 Memorandum of Understanding—is unique, as the Australian church does not hold a similar agreement with any other Lutheran church in the world. This relationship has been strengthened through the years via joint meetings between LCC and LCA leaders (most recently in Vancouver in 2012), and through pastor exchanges where a Canadian pastor and Australian pastor switch congregations (and countries) for a period of time.

Each church also brings regular greetings to the other’s national convention. President Bugbee attended the LCA’s 2013 convention during which Bishop Henderson was elected, and the Australian church sent Bishop David Altus to bring greetings to LCC’s 2014 convention in Vancouver.

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