Redeemer Review
The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer
September, 2008
From our Interim Vicar:
Dear Friends,
To be a Christian, is to be on a journey. A journey with Jesus, a journey called discipleship. We do not always
know where the journey will lead us, but we know who leads the way. We do not know everything about Jesus
when we begin the journey, but who he is will be revealed along the way.
Our Redeemer community is on a journey together during this interim period. We follow Jesus through the
seasons of the Christian year in worship and prayer. At the same time, we are reflecting and discerning who we
are as a community and imagining our future as a vibrant and welcoming spiritual community. Like our
journey with Jesus, we must trust that our path will be revealed along the way.
At the end of the summer at our Wednesday morning Bible study, we were reflecting on a passage from
Romans that we felt related to the interim process at Redeemer.
“For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members
have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ,
and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts
that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion
to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the
exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in
diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.”
Romans 12: 4-8
Each person’s gifts are important to the wholeness of the Redeemer community. We need to believe that each
of us has gifts that can be offered to the benefit and growth of Redeemer. We need a variety of gifts to support
the growth and continuation of a Christian community at Redeemer. Gifts of leadership, hospitality, working
with youth and children, training acolytes, serving on the altar guild, stewardship, buildings and grounds,
pastoral care, liturgy and music. All these gifts are important to the wholeness and holiness of our Redeemer
community.
During an interim period in the life of a congregation there are always choices to be made. Do we build walls
to protect ourselves and circle the wagons or do we throw open the doors to welcome others and new ideas
about being church by creating communities and circles of trust and understanding? If we trust and follow
Jesus, we know the path will be revealed.
So each time we worship on Sunday, we come to the holy table to offer ourselves with our challenges and
struggles, our thanksgiving and joy, and we lift up our hands with hope to receive the bread and wine of Holy
Communion. As we gather around the communion rail, we know that we are on a journey with Jesus together.
We do not always know where the journey will lead, but we know that Jesus will lead the way.
Blessings!
Father Mark
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