Church of the Redeemer Update

From the Rector's Desk

Prayer For Staff

New Fall Events

Redeemer Kids Corner

Redeemer Youth Ministries

Prayer Notes

MINISTRY NEEDS

Set-up Team: 2-3 people to help with set-ups on Sundays and for special events. Contact Julia at the church office, (847) 681-2872.

SUNDAY READINGS

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15
Psalm 146
1 Timothy 6:6-19
Luke 16:19-31

From the Rector's Desk:

As we return to a fall routine, and our children get settled back in school, I want to highlight our own vital ministry with children at Church of the Redeemer. This comes to mind, particularly, as we will be inaugurating new teachers and leaders this Sunday during our worship service.

Children have a very important place in God’s kingdom. I’m always saddened by those who make children wait until they are older, more like adults, before they can be considered full members of God’s church. Jesus said that children are actually a picture of the Kingdom and that we must become like them if we ever expect to enter it. He also grew frustrated with his own followers who attempted to keep children away. So it’s important that we understand what we are doing and why when it comes to caring for, nurturing, leading, and learning from our children.

This is not an after-thought for us in leadership at Church of the Redeemer. Our Children’s Pastor, Allyson Entner, does an outstanding job of leading this ministry-- providing a safe and affirming environment in which our children can be brought to a knowledge of and love for the Lord, in body, mind and spirit. Allyson is supported by caring parents as well as an advisory team of parents and educators from Church of the Redeemer that meet regularly.

There is much that can be said about the particular value of our approach to children’s ministry, but as Rector (pastor) I would like to offer a few things that I think you should know:

--Our children’s ministry offers the best of small class sizes and intimate gatherings.

We are told that bigger is better, and that may sometimes be true. But in the area of children’s learning our intimate settings are great advantages for the child. Here children are active participants in their spiritual learning and development, and there is assisted discovery, individualized for each child. Teachers and children become partners in learning, with a lot of peer collaboration, and a high ratio of teachers and leaders to children. Overall, we experience an environment characterized by warmth, closeness, clear guidance and high expectations.

--We offer child-led developmentally appropriate worship and learning experiences

Children learn lessons that they tend to carry with them into adulthood, and that goes for their life in the church, as well. If they are primarily entertained in their learning settings, then they will want to be entertained as adults. Now, I actually think church should be fun (also for adults) but it is important that it is meaningful and participatory. That’s one of the things people notice most when they encounter liturgy—they are not passive spectators but participants.

Our children’s ministry is a learning time organized around liturgy---where they learn to lead and participate and come to understand the centrality of worshiping God—not just hearing about Him in presentation-style settings. This creates learning experiences that lead the child’s development, with an opportunity to try out roles and ideas. There is encouragement to take on leadership roles and fully participate in experiential worship with the child’s whole being (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell). There is an experience with many different types of symbolic communication (art, music, story, Christian symbol, liturgical accessories), which also leads them to learn the scriptures in wonderfully wholistic ways. Children then grow in healthy ways in the church and learn to worship God and serve Him as the primary call of their lives.

--Redeemer’s Approach to Children’s Ministry is multi-generational

This is one of the strengths of Church of the Redeemer, across the board. We don’t worship in segmentation and according to demographics, for the most part, but as the family of God, old and young together. Even when the children are learning and worshiping together on their own they are connected in vital ways to the rest of us. The fact that they are using their own liturgy, very similar to the one we use in ‘big’ church, means that they are coming to understand their place in the whole body of Christ, and how they are connected to all of us.

Spiritual formation involves the whole person, and it begins outside the individual and in community. It involves the whole child, as well, not just the brain (or any other single unit). In our ministry with children they spend important time with adults, but also with other children of different ages. This is actually a great benefit, since most kids spend time in school with children exactly their own age. They often miss out on opportunities to learn from other children just a little ahead of them. The one-room-schoolhouse was not all bad, after all. So the opportunity to be with people of different ages in the context of worship, learning and God’s community here at Redeemer is a powerful influence in the lives of our children, and the rest of us, as well. Overall, there are opportunities for meaningful participation and giving back to others.

There is much more that could be said about our unique opportunity to minister with and to children. Perhaps we look a little ‘different’ than some of the other things available on Sunday mornings across our communities, but maybe we can come to see that as a strength of our church, overall. I really think that it is. Please pray for Allyson, for those who assist her, for our families and children, and for those God would have us bring into a loving relationship with Him. I would encourage you to use some of the above information as you look for those in your life to bring along with you to Redeemer.

Thanks so much to Dr. Susan Greener for her insights that I have really just re-shaped for the article this week.

I look forward to worshiping with you this Sunday. Blessings!

In His Grip,
Jay+
frjay@redeemernorthshore.org

Prayer for Staff Retreat

Please pray for our staff this coming Friday as they will be on a day-long retreat together at Nashotah House Seminary in Wisconsin. Pray for rest, peace, vision and unity.

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New Fall Events!

Join us at 9 a.m. - "Visions of Jesus in the Book of Revelations"
Starting the first Sunday in October, we will once again offer special opportunities to learn and grow as we gather together as the people of God. We will begin with a class led by Dana Harris, a gifted Bible teacher who has been a part of our congregation for a number of years. Dana is on the faculty at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and we look forward to a few weeks of her transforming insights on “Visions of Jesus in the Book of Revelation.” Other gifted teachers will follow in the coming months.

There will also be ministry with children and youth during the 9 to 9:45am session before our family worship at 10am. Invite some friends and be a part of this unique and exciting opportunity.

Leaders' Training - October 27
On Saturday morning, October 27 from 9 to 10:30am those leading ministries at Church of the Redeemer will get together for some coffee, bagels, and encouragement in their leadership. This will be a time for vision casting, information sharing and further equipping for ministry, so that we can all be as effective and faithful as possible in following the call before us.

If your name is listed in the bulletin as leading a ministry or you serve on the vestry then this time is for you. The training will be at the Evangelical Church in Highland Park. The meeting will not go past 10:30am.

Newcomer’s Lunch - October 21
If you’re fairly new to our community at Redeemer, we’d like to invite you to a special lunch following the morning worship on October 21. You’ll be able to meet some folks who have been a part of this community for some time, including some of our leaders. We’ll explain more of who we are and what we think God is calling us to on this exciting journey.

It’s a great opportunity for us all to invite people to attend worship with us, then lunch, as we share the excitement of this life together at Redeemer.

All Saints’ Baptism - November 4
November 4 we will observe All Saints Sunday at Redeemer, along with other churches throughout the world. We give thanks for God’s people throughout time and around the globe, and its one of the special times when baptisms are particularly appropriate. Baptism is essential in our walk of faith, and we encourage and welcome those who are considering a response of obedience to this call of the Lord.

At Church of the Redeemer we baptize those who are committed to the Christian faith and their children, provided they have not been baptized before. We believe that in this way we are participating in the sacrament of baptism as it was practiced in the New Testament, the early church, and throughout the history of God’s people in Jesus Christ.

For more information on baptism, and to inquire about participating, please contact Father Jay at frjay@redeemernorthshore.org, or call our church office.

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Redeemer Kids Corner: Reminder for Volunteers

A reminder to all Redeemer Kids volunteers who will be serving in the Children's Liturgy this year. There will be a very brief meeting directly after the worship service this Sunday, for us to go over a few details as well as to complete scheduling for the next few months.

Also, any volunteers who have not yet joined us for a Children's Liturgy should worship with our children this Sunday.

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Redeemer Youth Ministries

Last Sunday night was a night of worship for our youth. This event takes place one Sunday out of the month, and is created to be an intimate setting of worship for our youth group as well as their friends. Last Sunday we heard from Katelyn Kishkunas as she shared her testimony.

Thank you for your continued prayer for the youth ministry and our weekly programs. Please pray for our "Date Night" this Friday (September 28) as our jr. high students care for the infants in our congregation so that their parents can enjoy a night out. Special thanks to Judy Bayley for this wonderful idea.

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Prayer Notes. . .

for the Mission and Vision and Outreach of Church of the Redeemer
for our Rector, Fr. Jay, and his family
for Bishop Sandy and Gigi Greene
for our staff and their families
for our leadership (Vestry, ministry leaders)
for our 'settling in' at Redeemer Lutheran
for the Anglican Church of Rwanda, its leaders and people
for all who serve within the context of our faith community
for teachers, students and staff as school, in all its various forms, resumes
that we would faithfully reach out to the spiritually disconnected and hurting, and bring them into fellowship
for other congregations in relationship to us
to enrich and expand our life of prayer
for needs in our congregation, including for Ann Healy and Rem Henry as they enter transitions, for Robyn Campbell and others who need physical healing, for emotional, physical, mental and spiritual health of each person who shares in our community