Synod underscores commitment to education
General Synod underscored its commitment to Lutheran education by committing the church to ongoing improvements in collaborative ministry, governance and administration.
The Synod resolution provides a framework to address key issues and themes that emerged during an extensive review process undertaken since the 2015 General Convention. The resolution emphasises collaboration and ongoing dialogue between all the entities of the Lutheran education community, to be conducted in a way that will ensure a sustainable, healthy and vibrant education sector for the future.
The resolution also directs the LCA’s General Church Board (GCB) and the Board for Lutheran Education Australia (BLEA) to develop a coordinated approach to Commonwealth government funding for schools in collaboration with Lutheran Education Australia’s (LEA) three regions and the LCA districts. It also directs GCB and BLEA to ‘develop and resource action plans to support the collaborative engagement of schools, congregations, districts and the LCA in mission and ministry’.
Lutheran Education Australia Executive Director Stephen Rudolph said it was pleasing that the resolution ‘further strengthens dialogue and cooperation among all Australian Lutheran education stakeholders’.
‘This is in five key areas – setting strategic direction and policy for Lutheran education; strengthening Lutheran identity; establishing risk policies; establishing policies for formation, leadership succession and development; and enhancing culture’, Mr Rudolph said.
‘The Board for Lutheran Education Australia (BLEA) looks forward to pursuing this important work, in close cooperation with our regional partners, on behalf of the LCA into 2019 and beyond.’
BLEA will take a lead role in facilitating the implementation of this resolution, in cooperation with the GCB, LCA districts and the LEA regions.
