About Us
Australian Lutheran World Service is the overseas aid and resettlement agency of the Lutheran Church of Australia. It operates under a constitution approved by the General Synod of the LCA, and is consistent with the objects of the LCA Constitution.
VISION
We see a more just world … a world that upholds the cause of the oppressed, the widow and the fatherless; gives food to the hungry; sets prisoners free; gives sight to the blind; and lifts up those who have fallen down. (based on Psalm 146)
MISSION
A teacher asked: what is the greatest commandment in the Law. Jesus answered “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with allyour mind. This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: “Love your neighbour as you love yourself.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
Our ALWS mission is to reach out in love… for justice. We seek to bring people together in partnership to ensure the voices of the poor are heard, and God’s gifts of grace are shared. We strive for life-changing programs that restore human dignity, alleviate poverty and build just and sustainable communities.
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
We serve with unconditional love
We serve people in need, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, gender, belief or political conviction.
1 John 4: 19; 1 John 3: 17; Matt 25: 35-46
We respect and uphold people’s dignity
We uphold human value and dignity which have their basis in God’s act of creation where he made all people in his image, and in the redemptive love that is won through Jesus Christ.
We respect people’s right to determine the extent of their participation in the decisions and actions that affect their lives, even as we commit to supporting men and women shape their own futures and the communities in which they live.
Gen 1:27; Gen 9:6; 2Cor 5:17-19
We value and work for justice
We express our solidarity with people who are poor and marginalised through advocacy for justice - speaking out with courage, consistent with the church’s prophetic vocation.
Isaiah 1; 17; 58:6
We work in partnership
We recognise the giftedness in all and the power of partnership, and so seek alliances within the Lutheran family, ecumenically, with people of other faiths and others of good will in wider society who share a commitment to alleviating poverty and promoting justice.
Our partnerships are marked by mutual respect, interdependence, and listening to and learning from each other so both those served and those serving are transformed.
Romans 14:19; Ephesians 4:16
We make good use of God’s gifts
We are called to faithfully and responsibly use the resources entrusted to our ministry of service. We will be transparent and accountable to those we seek to assist and to those from whom we accept resources, assessing how our efforts impact people’s lives.
Matt 25:14-23
OUR STORY - Celebrating 60 years of service to people in need
The origin of ALWS can be traced back to 1947 when the local pastor at Albury, New South Wales, Pastor Bruno Muetzelfeldt, commenced a ministry to European migrants and refugees who were being resettled through the Bonegilla Migrant Centre, a short distance from Albury. Acknowledging the need to assist these people settle in Australia, the Lutheran World Federation established a Lutheran World Service (LWS) office at Bonegilla with Pastor Muetzelfeldt as its first representative, in 1950.
In the mid-1960s the office continued its service at Bonegilla but also expanded its role to be the principal channel for overseas aid for the Lutheran Church of Australia.
In 1971 the Bonegilla Migrant Centre was closed and the LWS office was relocated to Albury. The primary role of the LWS office was now overseas aid.
Recognising that the LWS office was now Australian staffed and funded, it was agreed that it should become an agency of the LCA. The process of handover commenced in 1985 with the office taking the identity of Australian Lutheran World Service and was finalised in 1990 with the official closure of the LWS office and the placement of the first Australian-appointed executive secretary to ALWS.
Location, staff and governance
The main ALWS office is located in Albury, New South Wales. Its positioning is partly historical as outlined above, but also strategic being central to Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne. This provides easy access to government, and enables close cooperation with other aid agencies who are predominantly located in Sydney and Melbourne. There are currently four staff based in Albury, including Executive Secretary Peter Schirmer.
ALWS also has staff located in Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide. In addition, ALWS has established an office with three staff in Lae, PNG to manage the Church Partnership Program with the Evangelical Lutheran Church PNG.
ALWS is governed by a LCA appointed board made up of directors from South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and its chairperson Pastor Peter Hage.
Implementation
ALWS has a small staff because it implements the majority of its refugee and development aid through the global program of Lutheran World Service. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland and operates field programs in over thirty countries around the world. For emergencies ALWS channels its assistance through actalliance which is the joint emergencies office of the World Council of Churches and Lutheran World Federation. It is also headquartered in Geneva and through its membership has the capacity to extend emergency assistance to people almost anywhere in the world. As highlighted above, ALWS has developed a significant partnership with the ELC-PNG and its various departments to assist them deliver effective health, education and development services. Similarly, ALWS is developing closer ties with the Lutheran churches in Indonesia through a unique Centre of Learning to assist them enhance their capacity to serve the communities with whom they live and work.
Strategic Plan 2008 – 2010
ALWS has recently adopted a new three year strategic plan. It will be posted here for you to look at in the near future.