St Johns Lutheran Church: Southgate

St Johns Lutheran Church, Southgate

Not surprisingly, the first church to visit on our journey was St Johns Southgate. Less than 10 minutes walk from our apartment, St Johns is a Lutheran church nestled amongst high-rise apartments, upmarket restaurants and next to the cultural heart of Melbourne, the Arts Centre. 

The building, dwarfed by its surroundings, is unremarkable and quaint from the outside, but stepping inside reveals a modern chapel with a main assembly hall that is sunk below the street level. The ultra white walls and interesting angles provide good reflective surfaces for the sun to stream through the windows high above, creating an open and airy environment for what could have been a tight and narrow space. A huge cross hangs in the middle of the wall immediately behind the altar, with a generous purple cloth draped across its wooden beams. 

The crowd was a curious mix of late twenty somethings, urban professionals, a couple of young families and a cohort of grey-heads – a mix which is probably reflective of the Southbank demographic generally. Most are well groomed in a conservative style. The large organ pipes, the dress of the Pastor and the prominence of the communion altar give signals that this church follows a more traditional liturgical style. 

St Johns has three advertised services each Sunday: a 9am traditional; an 11am contemporary; and a 7pm youth orientated service. We chose the 11am for convenience and because 'contemporary' sounded more fitting with our style. However, the service was contemporary by 1960s standards and featured several routines that would have appeared more in keeping with a Catholic church service than my perceived idea about what the Lutheran style is. 

Lasting a bit over an hour long, the service speedily whipped through a highly prescriptive worship that required congregational responses, frequent standing up and sitting down, and praying set prayers projected on the screen. The music was provided by a sleek grand piano that emanated a rich sound around the chapel, while the lyrics flirted between strict theology and being overly flowery.

Communion was an interesting affair, with parishioners invited to kneel before the altar as the common cup and wafers were passed around. The language reflected a sombre and humble understanding of the cross and the air was thick with doctrinal terminology. Bible readings were taken from the Old Testament, New Testament and the Gospels with the NIV picking up the translation work. 

The sermon theme was appropriate for the season of Lent in keeping with the lead-up to Easter. It focused on the reality of death for all and hope that Christ provides for new life eternally and on Earth. It was delivered from the pulpit with a serious tone and used real-world analogies to focus the message. Most surprising however, was the 'reflection' time immediately after the sermon, which allowed the congregation to comment on, and engage with the Pastor about the sermon. Most of the attendees seemed happy to sit quietly in their pews, while one guy asked a challenging theological question that was deftly handled by the Pastor. 

The service concluded with a range of announcements that seemed befitting of a town meeting and they indicated a vibrant and active church community with several prominent ministries. A bring-a-bake lunch was provided, but we chose not to stick around. 

The verdict? A solid theological church that is catering to the Southbank crowd, but the overly prescriptive nature of the service is probably not for our palate.