Blessing of Backpacks – September 1
Sunday, September 1, 10 AM
As the new school year begins, let us gather our minds and hearts, hopes and prayers for students and educators. On Sunday, September 1st, during the 10:00 am service, we will have our annual blessing of the backpacks! Bring your office bag, backpack, lesson plan bag, or other bags to church as we gather and bless them and you for the upcoming academic year.
Our Redeemers Involvement and Ministry Fair
God’s Work, Our Hands Sunday
September 8th, 11am
Let us gather our gifts, passions and skills for the work God has given us in ministry. On Sunday, September 8th, together with fellow congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, we will celebrate God’s Works, Our Hands Sunday! During and after the 10:00 am service, we will have opportunities to be inspired, renew our participation with familiar ministries, pray, and discover new ways to serve our community and live out the gifts of the Spirit. God’s Work, Our Hands Sunday is a day to celebrate God’s works in our world through the church. to give thanks and learn how God is using our hands to share our faith and call in service.
We’ll follow the worship service with the Involvement and Ministry Fair – a showcase of the different projects, teams, and other ministries with which members of Our Redeemer’s are involved, with which you, too, can get involved!
The Involvement and Ministry Fair is a low-pressure chance to learn more about all that we do to keep our church vibrant by chatting with representatives from each ministry. Come take a look, listen and share stories about ministries and ways in which you are feeling moved to engage. Come and see all the ways we live out our faith in witness and work and sign up for what is calling to you out of our life together! Visit the tables any time after the 10:00 am service on September 8th. If you have a God’s Work, Our Hands t-shirt or one from Our Redeemer’s, this is a good day to show it off
Come to Our Annual Church BBQ Picnic
Everyone is invited to our annual BBQ Picnic on September 15th, 11:30am. People of all ages are welcome. There will be special activities planned for kids and teens.
The event will be a potluck picnic at Blue Ridge Park, which overlooks Puget Sound. The park is an easy one-mile drive straight north of the church, located at 2498 Blue Ridge Drive (on the corner of NW Blue Ridge Drive and NW Neptune Place).
Come to relax, enjoy good food (we have great potlucks!), and spend time with your friends from church.
This is also a chance for you to help plan our faith formation programs. We’ll be discussing Sunday education for kids, teens, and adults, as well as ideas for retreats and more. We’d love to hear your thoughts—your input will help us kick off the year as we plan for what’s ahead.
We hope you can bring a potluck dish to share.
Sign up to let us know what food/dish you are planning to bring.
RSVP that you will be attending by emailing welcome@ourredeemers.net.
Faith Formation and The Journey Start Up on September 22nd
9am and 11am Worship Begins
Faith Formation of Youth and Adults start back up on September 22nd.
Make sure to be at church on Sunday, September 22 for the return of two Sunday services at 9:00 and 11:00 am! We also have our Sprouts, O-Rock, Middle School, and Confirmation kickoff.
Adult Forums between services will start as well. Stay tuned for details.
The Journey Starts in September
Sundays, September 22 – October 20, 4-6 PM
The Journey is a class and a conversation, a chance to ask questions and learn more about what being Lutheran means. Normally held in the Spring, welcoming a new minister and other transitions prompted us to postpone offering The Journey course. Classes will now be held this Fall, on Sunday evenings. Participants meet in large and small group settings on five Sunday evenings, and then are invited to become official members of Our Redeemer’s on All Saints’ Sunday (November 3rd), as the participants feel called by the Holy Spirit.
Each week we focus on a different area of ministry, theology, and growth as people of faith. From the basics of how Lutherans interpret scripture and why we worship the way we do, to an introspective look at our individual faith stories, this experience presents an opportunity to explore our community from the ground up. We also invite members currently representing different areas of ministry of the congregation to share what they do and excites them about their lay ministry.
If you would like to become a voting member of Our Redeemer’s, a written request to council is required by our constitution. To vote, a person must be confirmed. The Journey is not required for membership, but it presents opportunities for expressing the Christian faith and Affirmation of Baptism (confirmation) within the Lutheran church for adults.
For further details, please contact Pastor Thomas pastorthomas@ourredeemers.net or Mandy Neill welcome@ourredeemers.net.
Choirs Return with New Practice Schedule
Our Redeemer’s Choir: Wednesdays 7-8:30 PM, Sanctuary
Kids’ Choir: Sundays 10-10:10 AM, O-Rock Classroom Downstairs
September is when we get to welcome our Choirs back to sing! And we’re trying something new for our Kids’ Choir this year. The beginning 5-10 minutes of O-Rock will start with music for all of the classes together! We’ll work on one song at a time, and every couple of months, the O-Rock kids who choose to will sing to begin both the 9:00 and 11:00 am services.
We are experimenting with this new approach because some families find an evening rehearsal challenging, and because we want as many kids as possible to have the opportunity to add music to their Sunday mornings! This O-Rock music opening will take the place of an added Kids’ Choir rehearsal – at least for this coming year – and we look forward to hearing more kids singing together! Marie Nordquist-Lessard and Karen Lee will continue to co-direct, and are happy to welcome kids to O-Rock on Kick Off Sunday, September 22, at 10:00 am.
Our Redeemer’s Choir: We can’t wait to bring back the Our Redeemer’s Choir! This is an opportunity where you can you laugh, make friends, be encouraged, and experience the joy of creating harmonies that lift your spirits and fill your soul. YOU are invited to be part of something special. In the words of the Psalms, “O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise…!”