Week of June 28

Dear Friends

Here are the things you need to know as we head into the month of July:

  • Vacation Bible School begins on Monday June 29 and runs through Friday July 3 from 9:00 am to noon. Please commit to pray for the VBS, the teachers and children and their families, that God will be pleased to bless them during the time. Please note as well that the building is already decorated for the event. Jennifer asks all of us (but especially the parents of younger children) to be appreciative yet respectful of the set-up (some can be easily damaged or overturned).
  • ‘Five Loaves Food Pantry’ Service Opportunity: We are planning on serving with Brother Tim at the Food Pantry in Newport News on Tuesday, July 28 (4-7:00 pm). Mark your calendars now and let Jennifer know that you are planning on coming (brownie7506@yahoo.com).
  • Name-Tag Push! Christ the Redeemer is known for its gracious hospitality, but it is not known for our ‘wearing of name tags’! Let’s change that reality by making an effort – as an act of hospitality – to put on our ‘tags’ each Sunday. They may be found on the shelves just inside the main hallway outside the Nursery.
  • ‘PEARUSA National Assembly’ is set for November 4-7 near Charlotte NC. Registration is now open at ‘pearusaassembly.org’. The theme for the week is “Bear Much Fruit” and it promises to be a wonderful time of teaching, fellowship and encouragement. Check out the web site and mark your calendars now.

Looking forward to worshiping with you all on Sunday.

Week of June 21

Dear Friends

 

I read a wise word this week. Someone said, “God’s church does not have a mission; God’s mission has a church!”  I found that profoundly challenging and affirming. The glory of the church is that we are caught up in what God is doing in and for his creation heading towards his consummation.  Let me share with you a few ways in which Christ the Redeemer has been ‘so caught up’:

 

Missional Giving Opportunities:

  • Our ‘Mbyo School Project’ Campaign ends on Sunday, June 21. Our hope is to raise enough funds this year to build two new classrooms onto their existing school (with four more classrooms needed in the years to come!).  We have been amazed at the generosity of God’s people to date and encourage those who have not yet made a pledge to do so by Sunday.

  • Incarnation Anglican Church in Williamsburg, VA.  We received a report from James Swynford+, the priest and planter of the new ACNA work in Williamsburg. We will be supporting the Swynfords and Incarnation for the next three years. Their report may be found on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall. I encourage you to read it and rejoice in what God is doing in our area.

  • Park Place School Summer Program:  This is the first year that Park Place School has been able to run a summer program for their students. I am grateful that they are able to do so because our Mission group decided to fund the cost ($5,000) from our mission budget. We cannot do everything, but we can do some things and do them as well as we can for the glory of the King and the extension of his Kingdom.

Ministry Opportunities:

  • Vacation Bible School begins on Monday, June 29 and runs through Friday, July 3. Jennifer and her crew will begin to decorate our space on Monday June 22 and could use some willing hands!  Additionally, if you have some time to donate I am sure Jennifer can find a task for you to perform; and while not all of us can be present during the week, we all can be praying for it!  Contact Jennifer at brownie7506@yahoo.com.

  • Five Loaves Food Pantry:  We will be helping bag some food and serve the evening meal at the Food Pantry in Newport News on Tuesday July 28 (4:00 to 7:30 pm). Jennifer is needing a ‘head count’ of those who intend to be present (if we have enough we may be able to give Brother Tim’s regulars a night off!). Please prayerfully consider participating in this fun ministry and let Jennifer know that you are coming (brownie7506@yahoo.com).

Looking forward to worshiping with you all on Sunday.

Week of June 14

Dear Friends

What a powerful word today in the Epistle reading from the Daily Office! As Paul prays fervently that the ‘thorn in his flesh’ be taken away (whatever that was….) he hears God say: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

May we all, in the midst of our circumstances, emulate Paul both in his ‘crying out’ and in his ‘listening’ to the Father’s gracious reply. His grace this day IS sufficient for you; trust in it, avail yourselves of it; glory in it… even in ‘your weakness’.

As we head into the summer here are some of the mission and ministry opportunities open to you through Christ the Redeemer:

  • First, our Mybo School Project Campaign ends on June 21. If you have already given your pledge, ‘Thank You’; if you have not yet responded, a gentle nudge to bring it prayerfully to closure in the next two weeks.
  • Second, David Snouffer suggests that we have an opportunity to befriend a new Chinese student or scholar arriving in Norfolk for the new academic year at ODU. We have been asked by the Chinese Student Association on campus for volunteers to meet incoming students at the airport and offer them some help in their initial adjustment to American life. Who knows, you may end up entertaining an ‘angel unawares’! If the Spirit is tweaking you in this, contact David for more information (da.snouffer@verizon.net).
  • Third, Jennifer Brown is organizing another trip to Brother Tim’s Five Loaves Food Pantry in Newport News on July 28 (4:00 -7:30 pm). Mark your calendars now and join in on the fun.

Looking forward to worshiping with you all on Sunday.

Week of June 7

Here are some of the things you need to know as we head into the month of June:

Ordinary Time:

  • After a Season of Celebration (beginning with preparatory Season of Lent, through Holy Week, and through the Season of Easter culminating in Pentecost and Trinity Sunday) we once again enter ‘Ordinary Time’. Technically the term ‘ordinary’ is derived from the Latin for ‘ordering’ or ‘numbering’ (thus, the names of the Sundays are in accord with their ‘number’ – for example ‘Proper 5’ denotes the readings appropriate to the ‘5th’ Sunday of Ordinary Time. But emotionally, the sense of a more relaxed, rhythmic season makes perfect sense as well. So welcome to ‘Ordinary Time’ where ordinary people following an extraordinary God grow in grace towards glory.

Rejoicing in and Deepening our Anglican Connections:

  • We welcome this coming Sunday as our preacher the Rev. Mark Cartledge. Mark is an Anglican priest from the Church of England (yes, he does have the accent to prove it) who is presently teaching Pastoral Theology at Regent’s School of Divinity. Mark attends The Church of the Messiah, our fellow ACNA church in Chesapeake.

  • We also welcome ‘officially’ Brother Tim Luken as one of our deacons. Tim is an ordained permanent deacon within the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes (an ACNA diocese) as well as a member of the Company of Jesus, an Anglican Third Order monastic community. Brother Tim’s primary ministry is in Newport News as head of the Five Loaves Food Pantry. Brother Tim plans to be with us on Sunday mornings as often as possible and to serve among us as the Lord sees fit. Welcome Brother Tim.

*VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL INFORMATION*

  • We are planning on starting on our “Back-to-School” gift bags for the students at Park Place School during VBS. This is a fun and easy way for your child to get involved with this ministry. We are asking that each child who is registered for VBS bring the following to add to the bags: 1 pack of wide ruled notebook paper, 1 pack of 24 crayons, 1 2-pack of glue sticks, and 1 pack of 12 #2 pencils. Contact Jennifer at brownie7506@yahoo.com with any questions or to register for VBS. Thanks in advance for your help!

Looking forward to worshiping with you all on Sunday.