AUSTRALIA – The Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) has reelected Bishop John Henderson during its 2018 General Convention of Synod October 2-7 in Rosehill, New South Wales. The convention also saw the church decline a resolution calling for the ordination of women.
Bishop Henderson was reelected to a second term on October 4. He was first elected in 2013 (the first term for LCA bishops is six years, with three-year terms thereafter). ‘I thank you for your support’, Bishop Henderson said upon his election. ‘I pray that I am worthy of serving you—well, I’m not worthy of serving you—but I pray that I will be given by God the strength to serve you for another term.’
Rev. Dr. Andrew Pfeiffer was also reelected as the LCA’s Assistant Bishop.
A major subject of discussion during the 2018 General Synod was the ordination of women, with the LCA again declining a resolution calling for the ordination of women. This was the fourth time the LCA has voted on this subject since 2000.
LCA Bishop John Henderson declared the results of the secret ballot on October 5: 161 against and 240 in favour. That meant the resolution failed to receive the 2/3 majority required by the LCA’s constitution to make changes in matters of a theological or confessional nature.
The International Lutheran Council, of which the LCA is an Associate Member, had pledged prayer for the Australian church in advance of the vote. Rev. Dr. Albert Collver, General Secretary of the ILC, also brought greetings to the General Synod on October 4, encouraging the LCA in his remarks to remain faithful to the historic teaching of the church on ordination.
The morning following the vote, Bishop David Altus of the LCA’s South Australia/Northern Territory reflected on its results and strained relations in the church. “If I could put it into my own words, I would say that the LCA is hurting, and hurting very badly,” he said. “She’s a broken woman, hurting in all parts of the body.”
The synod later adopted a motion “that Synod acknowledges the deep hurt and harm to individuals and groups that has been occasioned over the past years in the course of the debate regarding ordination; repents of the hurt, and seeks forgiveness and reconciliation with one another.”
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