This Week at the Church of the Redeemer

Give to God First

A Redeemer for the Light of the World

How to Pledge for 2008

Make Your Pledge

• Take your personalized envelope from the bag

• Make any necessary corrections to the information listed on your enclosed pledge form (name, home address, phone, email, etc.)

• Write down your 2008 pledge to the Church of the Redeemer on your pledge form.  We urge you to consider an increase!

• Funds to fulfill your pledge may be paid through December 31, 2008

• Seal your completed pledge form in the return envelope.  Place that envelope in the large envelope labeled “Completed Pledges” and return it to the bag.

• If you are unable to pledge at this time, please note that on your card before returning it to the bag.

• Check off your name as “Completed” on the Neighborhood List in the bag

Stewardship Pledge Drive, October 21 through November 3, 2008

Please Keep the Tote Bag Moving

• Call first and then deliver the bag in person to another available family on the Neighborhood List

• Call your neighborhood captain and tell him or her to whom you have delivered the bag

• Join us on November 4, 2008, when the bags filled with pledges are brought up to the altar at the 10:30 Service

Children’s Pledges

• There will be additional blank pledge forms in the bag for children

• Assist each child with completing the pledge form

• Please put each child’s pledge with yours and seal it in the envelope provided

Stewardship Timeline

• October 21^st through November 3^rd: Stewardship Pledge Drive, Bags circulate in Redeemer Neighborhoods

• Sunday, November 4^th at 10:30: All completed pledge forms returned to the Church

• December 31, 2008: All funds pledged paid to the Church of the Redeemer

CHURCH CHEER ...IS ALMOST HERE!

Sunday, October 28^th 6:15 pm

(Post-Evensong)

 PLEASE JOIN YOUR FELLOW PARISHIONERS

NEWCOMERS AND OLDCOMERS

Please join us at the Rectory for an all parish gathering to introduce the newcomers to the oldcomers and the old to the new!

You may not be a “new” newcomer, but if you joined Redeemer in the last three to five years, you still qualify!  We want to make sure that all parishoners at Redeemer have the benefit of meeting some of the wonderful folks that have been at the church for 10, 15, 20 years and beyond.

We’ll make sure that you meet at least two or three new folks during our casual evening of cheer!

Please RSVP to the church office or sign up on the list outside the church office. 

If you have any questions please call Teresa Chope (617)734-3103 or Martha Gangemi (617) 795-7240.

Make more Sense of your Life

with

What Jesus Meant

Led by the Reverend Dorsey McConnell

Garry Wills is a noted author, a professor emeritus of classics at Johns Hopkins, a thoughtful and faithful Christian, a fractious Catholic.  In this book, Wills explores the biblical witness to Jesus, who Jesus is, what he said, and whether the Jesus of the Church is actually the “real” Jesus.  At times humble and devout, at other times skeptical and irascible, Wills asks in a loud voice the sort of questions we might be embarrassed to admit we have asked ourselves! 

In the course of six conversations we will engage Wills’ passionate confession, connect it more deeply to the Scriptures, and see how the provocative questions and answers he comes up with might help us all come to a deeper knowledge of the God who rejoices to live in our hearts, but will not be kept in a box.  On the way we will also consider a few powerful examples of literature, music and film that will expand on Wills’ inquiry and perhaps open the way for our own encounter with the Lord of the Emmaus Road.

Books are available for sale in the office at the cost of $11.  Childcare and a light lunch will be available throughout the course.

All classes begin at 11:55 a.m. in the back classroom.

   October 28^th - Conclusion:  Joining Jesus on the Emmaus Road

Bible Study with the Rector

 The Radiant World:

Midweek Bible Studies for Ordinary Life

The Letter to the Hebrews is one of the most beautiful works of Western literature and among the most compelling books of the Bible.  It has influenced all the Church’s greatest thinkers, and gives an astonishingly rich portrayal of the work of Jesus Christ and its relation to human affairs.  Over coffee at the Rectory, we will explore the depth and power of this work, at the rate of about a chapter a week, showing its relation to other major texts of Scripture and classic sermons from Christian history, and mining it as a source of creative strength and encouragement for our own ordinary lives.  Come, spend some time with a few fellow pilgrims, and fill the rest of your week with the grace of the Lord in the power of the Spirit.

 Men’s Bible Study, Wednesdays, 7:00 am

Women’s Bible Study, Thursdays, 9: 00 am

Both meet at the Rectory, 381 Hammond Street.

NOMINATIONS FOR VESTRY ELECTIONS

 The Nominating Committee, consisting of  Gene Dahmen, Charlie Kline, Peggy Reiser, Megan Sampson

and Suzy Westcott,  seeks your nominations for the following positions on the Vestry:

 Clerk (3 year term)

 Treasurer (3 year term)

 Assistant Treasurer (3 year term)

 Three Vestry Persons (4 year term)

 One Vestry Person (unexpired 1 year term)

 Two Diocesan Delegates (1 year term)

 Two Diocesan Alternates (1 year term)

All parishioners are urged to consider any candidates they would recommend and submit their names in writing to a member of the Nominating Committee.

 No member of the committee or his/her spouse is eligible to be nominated for a position on the slate.  Peter Coffin, who is finishing his term as Assistant Treasurer, is eligible to be nominated as Treasurer and Betsey Shay, who filled an unexpired one-year term as Clerk, is eligible to be re-nominated as Clerk.  Marion Haffenreffer and Steve Hill are finishing four-year terms on the Vestry and are not eligible to be re-elected.  Cotty Peabody is resigning from the Vestry and therefore has chosen not to be on the slate. 

 The Vestry is the governing body of your church.  Your prayerful consideration for the election of your lay leaders is greatly appreciated.

 The slate will be posted January 3, 2008

one month before our Annual Meeting.

 Ballots are available at the church.

GREENS FOR WREATHS

Please save your evergreen pruning until November and bring the clippings to the old parish hall Mon. 11/26 or Tues. 11/27.  We especially appreciate boxwood, holly, leucothoe, juniper, and white pine!!  Questons? Call Tish 617-566-5147 or Louisa 617-739-6884.

Sheela Jeyaraj’s Mission Trip to India

November 4^th, 2007

following the 10:30 am Service

Infanticide is an ancient and also a worldwide problem. But in India it has assumed an enormous proportion that it has seriously impacted gender ratio.  Due to various religious prejudices, socio-cultural practices countless female fetuses are aborted.  Numerous female infants are abandoned. I personally have seen abandoned girl babies in several places.  My recent visit to several orphanages in south India during May – June 2007 has shown the pathetic situation of abandoned female children.  I also met many widows and other underprivileged women. I listened to their moving stories. I want to address the issues of abandoned female infants and widows from our Christian perspective.  I look forward to sharing with you some of my experiences after the 10.30 am worship service on Sunday, November 4, 2007.

REDEEMER CAFÉ

 Ever go to Starbucks for “the coffee experience” before or after church on Sunday?  Would you like to have that same authentic experience right at Redeemer?  Where you and other friends can relax from the strains of daily life, build bonds of Christian fellowship and be filled with a life-giving spirit that grounds you as you prepare for the week ahead?

 We need individuals or families to sign-up as Café Hosts for one Sunday per quarter. Each Sunday, the host would help provide café food and oversee the Café.  The church and other support people will provide (illy) coffee, round coffee tables and other supplies. If you or someone you know is interested in being a Café Host, please contact Erik Britt-Webb at 617-899-6023 or erik@britt-webb.net.

WINTER COATS NEEDED

If you have winter coats for children 8 years of age or younger that are no longer needed, please consider donating them to the church.  They can be dropped off in the basket in the back hallway outside the back classroom.  Many thanks.