A Request from the Rector: Relationship is at the core of this community.
I write to you during an unprecedented time in our shared life. The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting quarantine are unlike anything I’ve personally experienced – and I know I’m not alone in that. We are in this together. We have the strange privilege of knowing our lives are being changed irrevocably while we are still in the midst of that change. While we know it is temporary, we can’t ignore the uncertainty of our current situation, or the sense that we don’t quite know yet how our lives will be transformed by the sustained trauma of this event.
But we will be transformed, and that transformation is already apparent within the Church of the Redeemer community. The lay, clergy, and staff leadership of our church have sought to be guided by the central question: “What does it look like to be church right now?” It’s been essential that we are not asking how we are supposed to be until we can be church again? What do we do in the meantime? We are church right now. I say this with confidence because I’ve seen the way the people of Redeemer are taking care of each other right now.
Relationship is at the core of this community. Relationship is our lifeblood. God made us for each other. And we know that our connection to one another is a sustaining force in these difficult times.
This is why we created the Church of the Redeemer Love Your Neighbor Ministry – groups of 4-5 households in close proximity to one another, each with a Connector, holding each other in prayer and engaging in conversation and check-ins. Because of the joint work of the Flower Guild and the Love Your Neighbor Connectors, every Church of the Redeemer household had flowers delivered to their doorstep for Easter – a powerful physical reminder of our belonging to one another, and to the beautiful life we share in the Risen Christ.
Alongside the Love Your Neighbor Ministry, our Stephen Ministers, Card Link, Middle School, Youth, and Young Adult groups are all thriving, as are our Bible Studies and Theology Circle. All these ministries continue the essential work of building and developing the relationships at the heart of our church.
I want to remind you that Church of the Redeemer’s ministries are facilitated primarily by your giving. More than 2/3 of our operating budget comes directly from your financial commitment, your faithfulness and generosity. Our staffing and programming decisions are made based on your gifts. We need you to give to Redeemer so that we can continue to make the impact on lives we are making during this unprecedented time.
