All of us have family members, friends, neighbors, and coworkers who are either unbelievers or Christians who do not currently have a church home. Our Christmas Eve Lessons & Carols service is a low-bar of entry for anyone who is outside our parish.
WELCOME → FORM → SEND—Missional Movements in our Parish
In Review: Youth Fellowship Fall Retreat
Last weekend, our Youth Fellowship ministry took 15 students to Smith Mountain Lake for our first ever Fall Retreat. To give you a glimpse into our weekend, it was filled with laughter, games (including an egg toss), food, singing, swimming, hiking, and studying scripture together. Smith Mountain Lake is one of the most beautiful places I have been, and it was fitting to be able to enjoy such a beautiful part of God’s creation together on our retreat.
Do you Sing, Play an Instrument, or Have a Good Ear for Music?
Save the Date: Parish Town Hall, December 11, 7:00 p.m.
A New Bishop
Planning Ahead: Special Sundays This Fall
What Does Baptism Do To Us?
On Sunday November 6, All Saints Sunday, we will celebrate the sacrament of baptism and joyfully welcome new people into the resurrection family of Jesus. These are always some of my very favorite days of the year. Whether we are baptizing an adult convert, a teenage or college student professing faith for the first time, or a young child born into a Christian family - it is a transcendent joy to witness a soul united with Christ through water.
Why Our Church Needs Vocational Deacons
A vocational deacon is a “deacon for life.” In other words, someone who is ordained to serve out the remainder of their days in the church as a deacon, and who does not sense a call to move on towards the priesthood. A vocational deacon is typically a man or woman who is not on paid church staff, but rather works in the marketplace full or part-time while serving the church in an unpaid capacity.
One Day Left to Sign Up for the Foundations Class!
Five Things To Know About Our Fall Kickoff
How To Claim The Fall Calendar
We all feel it. The Summer is winding down and the Fall semester is nearly upon us. For many of us, there are so many things that will begin to clamor for our attention as we head into September. Our calendars will fill up and before we know it, we’ll be saying things like, “I don’t know how I got so busy!”
Everything You Need To Know About Our Church Planter In-Residence Program
Over the past few months, a number of you have reached out with questions about our Church Planter-in-Residence program. I’ve spoken on this a number of times and have written a few things here and there, but I thought it might be helpful to put it all down in one, concise document. So, here goes folks - this is everything you need to know about Redeemer’s Church Planter-in-Residence Program!
Introducing Two New Volunteer Staff
How Do I Support Our Children’s Ministry At Redeemer?
If you have attended a Sunday service at Redeemer at all, you will know that the Lord has blessed us with many many young children. There are currently around 170 children 12 years old and under at Redeemer (and more on the way!). To love and serve our parish is to love and serve the youngest among us as well. So what does it look like to care for such a large percentage of our church body here? Here are four suggestions on where to start:
What Does It Mean To Be People With Roots?
Responding to Roe with Clarity, Conviction, and Compassion
Unless you’re even more disconnected from the News than I am, you’ve no doubt heard that the Supreme Court recently reversed its decision on Roe v. Wade. This effectively removes a constitutional right to abortion and places abortion laws in the hands of the States, with some states quickly seeking to pass legislation banning abortions and other states seeking to secure abortion rights with the same urgency. As of now, to my knowledge, there has been no change to abortion laws in Virginia.
What Does It Mean To Carry The Message To Garcia?
I have a friend who once took a college course in which the professor assigned a very short book (a pamphlet really) to the entire class on the first day of each semester. The book’s title is A Message to Garcia (You can read it for free here, it takes less than 5 minutes.)
The book contains piercing insight into our human tendency to abdicate responsibility and how vitally important it is for every society to have men and women who can get the job done, no questions asked. Whenever the professor was away from his office, he would leave a note on the door that simply read, “Go find Garcia.” It was his way of encouraging and challenging his students to figure out the answers to their questions without his help.
Christ In The Psalms
Summer is nearly here! And with it comes a return to our annual practice of preaching through the Psalms through June, July and August. During this time, it is my practice to take a step back from preaching in order to focus my attention on prayer, study, and preparation for leading our parish in the coming year. I will still be present here through the Summer and plan to return to preaching in Mid-August.
What Is Pledging And Why Do We Do It?
As many of you know, one of the traditions we have sought to develop is that of intentionally and prayerfully cultivating generosity through the practice of annual Pledging. I’m writing to you today to share with you that our Vestry and Finance Team have requested that all members and regular attenders make a pledge before the end of May. Now, this may be unfamiliar to some of us, so here are some quick need-to-know details:
Introducing Lane Cowin, Our New Senior Director of Ministries
Dear Redeemer Family,
I have exciting news! Our search team has unanimously voted to extend an invitation to a very wise and talented woman, Lane Cowin, to join our staff as Senior Director of Ministries. (Click to view a video interview with Lane.)
Lane holds an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and comes to us from Charlottesville where she has served for years as Director of Spiritual Formation at Trinity Presbyterian Church and before that as Director of Undergraduate Ministries for Women at the Center for Christian Study at UVA.
Lane is a gifted Bible teacher, counselor, spiritual director, and leader. One of the things that I have had the opportunity to observe about her ministry over the years is that people tend to thrive under her care.
If you are wondering, “What exactly is a Senior Director of Ministries? I thought we were searching for an Associate Rector.” Then you’re not crazy! Here’s what the position is and here’s how we got there.
When we began this search process, I thought an Associate Rector (pastor) was the next staff position our parish most needed. Our little church is not so little anymore and there is more pastoral care and leadership needed than I alone can offer. However, as we began the search process, two things became clear:
Most of the things we would be asking this new staff person to do did not necessarily require the person to already be ordained. Therefore, they could be a ministry leader and perhaps not be clergy. We decided that ordination would help the person do the job more effectively, but was not essential to the job.
Most of our top candidates were not already ordained in the Anglican Communion; therefore, no matter who we hired, it would be at least 2+ years before they would be ordained.
So, our search team decided that ordination was not a prerequisite for this role and we switched the job title to Senior Director of Ministries.
What does a Senior Director of Ministries do? Think of this position as having two primary “buckets” or areas of responsibility.
Responsibility #1: Assist me (Dan) in leading our staff. This means overseeing both individual staff and ministry teams. Many of our staff will now report directly to Lane instead of to me. This will, undoubtedly, be a positive change for many of our staff!
Responsibility #2: Provide care and spiritual direction for parishioners. A significant part of Lane’s job will be to meet with anyone in the church who is in need of counsel, care, direction, or simply a listening ear. As you have likely already guessed, there are many folks in our parish and in our city that will find Lane more approachable than they find me! Our hope is that, in hiring Lane, we are expanding our shepherding care for people both inside and outside the parish.
Of course, along the way, Lane will do a host of other things as well. She will lead us in the Sunday liturgy from up front, she will teach classes, lead discussions, organize events, preach the occasional sermon, and much more.
Lane plans to move to Richmond this summer and her official start date is September 1.
Welcome Lane!
We are grateful for your willingness to join our parish and share our mission.
In the Father’s love,
Dan & the Search Team
Andrew Smith — Personnel Committee Member
Rose Estes — Personnel Committee Member
Matt Morgan — Senior Warden
Jim Reynolds — Junior Warden
Hallel Basco — Vestry Member
Bethany Lansing — Vestry Member
Sending Our Best
New Sermon Series & Guest Preachers | Renewing Our Vocation
Participating in the Triduum
Introducing Our New Vestry Candidates
Vestry Election This Sunday
All Hands On Deck—Calling Volunteers For Holy Week
Holy Week, April 10-17, is the most important week of the year for followers of Jesus. Through it, we remember Christ’s entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), His washing of the disciple’s feet and last supper (Maundy Thursday), His crucifixion and death on the cross (Good Friday), and His glorious resurrection from the dead on Sunday (Easter). It is also the time during the year when we receive the most visitors to our services and, therefore, the time when we have the greatest opportunity to show hospitality to strangers and outsiders.
Our 2022 Vestry Candidates
Introducing Lewis Lovett, Church Planter-In-Residence #3
A New Sermon Series For Lent: Disenchanted
A Week That Forms You—Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday
Next week you are invited to do a strange and yet important thing. On Wednesday, March 2, you are invited to come and receive the sign of the cross in ashes on your forehead. Stranger still, you won’t wash off the ashes right away, rather - you’ll bear the dirty smudge right there on your face the rest of the day.
Now, why do this? Why participate in an Ash Wednesday service?
Why Redeemer is Both Low and High Church
Have you noticed that our Sunday worship and weekly parish life contain both traditionally high church and low church elements? Have you ever wondered why? Are we a mish-mash of competing philosophies of ministry? Are we trying to “split the difference” between different styles of church? Today I’d like to invite our whole church family in on a conversation that your Staff and Vestry have been having for a number of years now.
Meet Our New Staff Members!
Want To Help Outfit The Parish House?
As you might remember, back in December we purchased 3328 Hanover Ave. as Redeemer’s Parish House! Our staff is hard at work getting the house ready to open to welcome you and for use by the many ministries of our church. If you missed hearing about how the Parish House will be used, check out this vision doc.
Why a Sermon Series on Hospitality?
During the season of Epiphany, the church around the world and throughout history gives her attention to the way in which Jesus is revealed to be the light of the world. Therefore, during this time, it is customary for us to read from the Gospel accounts and see how, in the ministry of Jesus, He uncovers His identity as the long-awaited Messiah.
