ALC represented at recent Bonhoeffer Conference
The Adelaide Bonhoeffer Conference, held on 26–27 April 2025 at Immanuel Lutheran Church, North Adelaide, brought together scholars, clergy, and laypeople for two days of serious engagement with the legacy of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and its relevance for the present.
The event was organised by Pastor Mike Pietsch, university chaplain for the SA/NT District. A seasoned pastor of the Lutheran Church of Australia with over four decades of service, Mike has faithfully served in parish ministry, government school chaplaincy, and tertiary chaplaincy. His vision and tireless efforts were instrumental in bringing the conference to life, from conceptual planning to community outreach, drawing together diverse perspectives united by a shared interest in Bonhoeffer’s witness and theology.
The opening keynote was given by Rev Dr Mark Worthing, pastor of St Peter’s Lutheran Church, Port Macquarie, Dean of the Frontier School of Mission, and a long-standing academic with a strong publication record in Reformation theology and the dialogue between science and faith. Mark is also a casual lecturer and research supervisor at Australian Lutheran College. His address, “Why Bonhoeffer is Still Growing in Popularity 80 Years After His Death,” traced several key reasons for the enduring interest in Bonhoeffer, including the originality of his theological vision, the authenticity of his life and death, the disturbing parallels between our time and Bonhoeffer’s, and the continued resonance of his unfinished theological trajectories. Mark spoke not only as a scholar but as someone personally shaped by decades of wrestling with Bonhoeffer’s witness.
Australian Lutheran College was also represented through Dr Anna Nuernberger, who was invited to join Rev Dr Lynn Arnold AO and Dr Jenny Tilby Stock on a panel titled “Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Führer Principle and the Rise of the ‘Strongman’: Then and Now.” Lynn, an assistant priest at St Peter's Anglican Cathedral and former South Australian politician and premier, spoke on Bonhoeffer’s insights into leadership and how they continue to challenge contemporary understandings of power and authority, while Jenny, a political historian and long-standing Quaker, highlighted structural safeguards within Australia's political system that would make the emergence of a strongman figure more difficult.
Anna, who teaches biblical studies and directs research at ALC, reflected on the rise of far-right sentiment among young people in Europe, considering it in light of Bonhoeffer’s insights into the cultural conditions that gave rise to fascism in the 1930s. Speaking from her own background in Nuremberg—a city with deep entanglements in both Reformation and Nazi history—Anna underlined how questions of identity, disillusionment, and leadership remain just as pressing today as in Bonhoeffer’s time.
The conference was a success by all accounts, with many more high-quality presentations across the two days. These included a keynote by Prof Mark Lindsay and a wide range of workshops led by speakers from various denominations and backgrounds. The diversity of voices and theological traditions provided not only a timely re-examination of Bonhoeffer’s theology but also created a rich and respectful space for learning, dialogue, and reflection.
