ABORIGINAL MINISTRY
HISTORY
The Lutheran Church was
among the first of the Christian Churches to become involved in taking the
Gospel to the Aboriginal inhabitants of South Australia as early as 1838.
Lutheran Missionaries soon
moved from Adelaide to the West Coast where they established a Mission to the
Aboriginal people. Missionary Meyer served the Narrinjeri tribes around the
Mouth of the Murray, and Missionary Klose worked with the Parnkalla language
group in the Port Lincoln area, and in 1867 a Mission station was established
on Lake Kallalpaninna to work with the Dieri in the Coopers Creek area.
Severe drought restricted
the Mission to the Dieri. In 1877 a new Mission was established at Hermansburg
on the Finke River, about 160 kilometres west of Alice Springs. The mission
station that was established there to work with the Aranda people is the
longest continuous mission to Aborigines in Australia.
PRESENT DAY
At the present time the
Lutheran Church continues to minister to a large number of Aboriginal people in
South Australia and the Northern Territory.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
ABORIGINAL MINISTRY SA (AbMinSA) serves the Aboriginal people in South Australia. There are Aboriginal people who have had previous contacts with Lutheran missionaries living in Adelaide, as well as Port Augusta, Whyalla, Port Lincoln, Ceduna, there are larger concentrations of Aboriginal people at Koonibba, Yalata and Oak Valley.
MINISTRY IN ACTION
Read the good news stories of how ministry to the Aboriginal peoples of South Australia is being carried out.
If you would like to contribute financially to the extension of this ministry please mail your donation to:
AbMinSA,
137 Archer St,
North Adelaide SA 5006
or use the e-banking facility via the LLL.
click on LCA → LCA SA & NT District → Donations to SA/NT District.
In comments box - specify AbMinSA as being the project.
NORTHERN TERRITORY
FINKE RIVER MISSION (FRM)
serves the Aboriginal population across a large area of Central Australia.
There are around three thousand Lutheran Aborigines in the centre.
Administration of this ministry is situated in Alice Springs and it is under
the control of the FRM Board which meets in Adelaide.