Vacation Bible School

July 10-14
We are adventuring to EGYPT for VBS!  Come meet Pharaoh, and learn about Joseph’s journey from prison to palace.  We were very blessed to be given the curriculum and sets and costumes as a donation, and we can’t wait to set up our marketplace and maybe even a pyramid!

Volunteers are needed to help make VBS possible!  If you like costumes and story telling, crafts and activities, music and games, please donate your time.  We need group leaders for three different age groups, and youth helpers as well!  To make VBS the best experience it can be for our kids, and for the neighborhood, we need lots of adult helpers.  Please contact Pastor Gretchen if you would like to talk about opportunities, and get into the Egyptian VBS spirit!

Men’s Breakfast

July 12 @ 7am
The Men’s Breakfast is scheduled for July 12th  (one week later than usual) because of the July 4th holiday.  A lot of the men will be out of town on Wednesday, July 5th. Enjoy the holiday! Please note — this schedule change is for JULY ONLY!!

Adult Confirmation

Some of our members’ mentioned that they thought it would be great to have the kind of broad introduction to Lutheran Christianity that our middle-school kids get in their confirmation process.  Their interest, along with the fact that in fall 2017, the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation Our Redeemer’s will have no young people being confirmed, led to the creation of a three-unit confirmation process for adults.  Our 8-Sunday spring unit has been attended by more than 20 people altogether.  Interest has been strong and we look forward to the summer unit at Holden Village this August, and our fall unit, focusing on Lutheranism.

BONUS CLASS! Sunday, July 30th after dedication of our renovated fellowship hall.

Theology on Tap

Theology on Tap is taking a break during the summer and will resume in the fall.

Many Discover Wonderful New Connections Through Spiritual Lifehack

Ok.  The name is kind of hokey.  But the results were anything but.

Trying out faith practices — together as a congregation — was wonderful!  Not only was our faith energized, but many of us came to know one another better and the sharing on the FaceBook Group page was profound.

What WAS Spiritual Life Hack?  A chance to support and hold one another gently accountable as we tried to weave habits of connecting with God, ourselves and others into each day.  Each Sunday, a brightly-colored bookmark introduced the intention for the week, which was always one of the fruits of the Spirit (like patience, for example!).  The bookmark also suggested a faith practice to try that week, and a focus for each day.  So, for example, one week the intention was “peace” and the practice was prayer walking for 20 minutes a day, with a particular prayer focus suggested for each day.  We also created a private Spiritual Life Hack Facebook group, which turned out to be an amazing way to share experiences and insights as we “practiced.”  It was so rich!  And although a modest number actually posted, many others commented on how much they appreciated it.

One participant said, “It was gratifying to have specific things to focus upon, and not only share with others, but see what other people noticed and thought.  I felt like I got to know some people better, even if it was virtually, and their thinking influenced my thinking!  We have some very smart and insightful and tender people among us….Mostly, I found it truly a positive experience and I’m so glad we did it!  Thank you!”

Thanks, indeed, to everyone to participated and to all who helped think it through and make it happen:  Jodi Somm, Cindy Ege, Tamara Anderson, Jonath Ochs and the pastors.

We are planning to do it again off and on next year.

But until then, keep practicing your faith!!

PLUMS: PLU Matching Scholarship Program

Pacific Lutheran University will match individual scholarships provided by congregations within the church up to $1,000 per student/per year, under its PLUMS program. If you would like to contribute to this program, and help provide financial assistance to undergraduate students from our congregation, please make out a check to Our Redeemer’s and note in the memo line “PLUMS.“ Please note: under IRS regulations, donations cannot be designated for a specific student. If you know of a full-time, undergraduate student enrolled at PLU in the Fall, please have him/her contact Don Boelter (administrator@ourredeemers.net) to find out how to apply.

Do You Like Art, Gardening, Food or Fun?

July 29 @ 11am-5pm
If you answered yes to anyone of these questions then join in for the 16th annual Ballard P-Patch (the P-Patch in our parking lot) Art in the Garden on July 29th from 11am-5pm. There will be live music, kid’s activities, a food truck, an ice cream truck, 20 artist’s booths, a beer garden, grilled brats, a silent auction, a pie sale, and bake sale.

This year, Our Redeemer’s will be co-hosting the Gardener’s Corner Booth, and we’re looking for volunteers to help (wo)man the booth. We’ll be collaborating with our Ballard P-Patch friends selling potted pots, painted rocks and other gardening delights. Even if you’re not into gardening, if you like fun events please come and help out!

Shifts available at the Our Redeemer’s Gardener’s Booth will be:

• 9am-11am – Set Up
• 11am-1pm, 1pm-3pm, or 3pm-5pm – Working the Booth
• 5pm-7pm –  Clean Up

What’s Coming Next to Wednesday’s Bible Study?

On September 13 @ 10:30am, we jump into the New Testament, using one of the Great Courses, Jesus and the Gospels. We meet Jesus, both as he is found in his diverse literary representations and as he is experienced in communities of faith that read the Gospels in the context of worship. That’s us! The course considers the Gospels as literary composition. How did they come to be, how they are related to one another, and how do they contribute to our knowledge of Christ? We look at the Gospels through their literary structure, plot, character development, themes, and symbolism.

As you know, early Christianity produced many narratives that, in one way or another, have Jesus of Nazareth as their central character. We look briefly at these apocryphal writings, such as the Gospel of Thomas, of Peter, of Mary Magdalene. etc. The body of the course, however, examines Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in considerable detail, looking not only what is being said, but also how it is said.

Does all this sound scholarly? It is, but the goal is to see the richness of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We will have help in the form of a DVD for each lesson, taught by Professor Luke Timothy Johnson, a former Benedictine monk and teacher at Yale Divinity School, renowned for his insights into Christianity. Presently, he is Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at the Emory University Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia.

This past year in our study of the Old Testament, we centered on the historical experiences of his chosen people, from the period of Abraham to the era of the exile in the 500’s BCE.  All give evidence to a divine purpose for this world, then and now. God tried many ways to show how he loved the Israelites, but eventually one hope remained, and so “… when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son…”  That’s where our study begins in the fall.  Hope you will join us.