Week of October 2

Dear Friends,
Here are a few things coming up here at Christ the Redeemer:
Next weekend, October 7-9, we will be blessed by a visit from the Bishop of our new diocese, Diocese of Christ our Hope, Steve Breedlove, and his wife Sally.  On Sunday we will have baptisms and confirmations during the service, followed by a reception in the Fellowship Hall.  This will be a potluck, so please bring your favorite covered dish. Please try your best to be here in support of those who have chosen to further their walk with Christ in the Anglican Tradition.
The Altar Team Needs YOU!  Due to changes in the lives of those faithfully serving on the Altar Team, there is a critical need for more of the CtR family to serve in this quiet, essential ministry.  Please see Anne Reed Harper (or call her at 757-289-5181) if you are willing to serve.
Upcoming Church Family Events
  • November 5th:  2nd Annual CtR Chili Bowl.  Join us at Lafayette Park (in front of the Virginia Zoo) for our 2nd Annual Chili Bowl.  We will start off with a friendly game of flag football for all ages, then we’ll head to the church for our chili cook-off and contest.  The game begins at 4:00.
  • November 19th:  Annual Advent Inter-Generational Night.   This is our annual event to celebrate the beginning of Advent.  Folks, young and old, can participate in our “Ugly Sweater Building Contest” and make Advent themed crafts, including an Advent wreath and a Jesse Tree.  Then we will have a potluck style dinner.  It’s always a great time!
Here are the dates for the upcoming New Member Classes:
Wednesday, October 19, 2016  7:30-9:00 PM
Wednesday, October 26, 2016  7:30-9:00 PM
Saturday, October 29, 2016  9 AM-Noon
Saturday, November 12, 2016  9 AM-Noon
*There will be two supplemental sessions on two Sundays, October 30th and November 6th from 9-9:45 AM before church.
If you are interested in deepening your relationship with Christ the Redeemer by joining in for these classes, please contact Fr. Brian at Brian@ChristtheRedeemer.org for more information.
GAM Thanksgiving Food Bags
Ghent Area Ministries has a long-standing tradition of providing Thanksgiving food baskets/bags to its many clients.  In order to serve as many families as possible, they have asked their faith communities to make a commitment to assemble as many bags as possible.  They have given us a list of items to include non-perishable food items as well as grocery gift cards for the purchase of turkeys and fresh vegetables.  Please pick up a flyer from the table located under the “Mission” bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall.  The collection will go until Sunday, November 6th.  For more info, contact Anne Reed Harper at 757-289-5181.
I look forward to worshiping with you all on Sunday.

Week of September 18

Dear Friends,
Firstly, a couple of Pastoral issues to update you on:
Linda Richter’s health continues to improve, and she has been moved to Harbor’s Edge on Colley Avenue for rehab. She is expected to be there through the weekend, and she is accepting visitors. Please call ahead of time to make sure you don’t show up during a rehab session.
Brian+ is home and doing well after his surgery on Tuesday. Brother Tim will be preaching on Sunday, but Brian+ is expected to be at church as well.
Continued prayers are being asked for both Linda and Brian+ as they are recovering.
Here are a couple of other things to note:
  • If you were planning on attending the trip to Virginia Beach with the Chinese students, it has been rescheduled for this Saturday, September 17th.  We will meet near campus, and the event will last from about 10 till 3.  David Snouffer is recruiting volunteers for this event, so if you are interested in attending, please contact him at da.snouffer@verizon.net.
  • We will offer our ‘Exploring Membership at Christ the Redeemer’ in October this year (Three Saturday mornings, October 1, 15, and 29).  If you are interested in exploring deepening your connection with this community, you are encouraged to participate in the sessions (speak to Fr. Brian personally, or contact him –Brian@ChristtheRedeemer.org). If you wish to hear more about the course, you are invited to a brief meeting after worship this Sunday, September 18.
Peace be with you all.

Week of September 11

Dear Friends
We are officially into the Fall season (not waiting on the equinox) and there are a number of things to note this week:
First, Our Leadership Council meets on Saturday for a day of visioning. Please be in prayer for all who gather, that we might discern the will of God together.
Second, for any members of Christ the Redeemer who are considering being confirmed in the faith within the ‘Anglican Tradition’ (and who, if appropriate, do so when Bishop Steve visits us on October 9), please come to an ‘Exploration’ Q and A. after worship this Sunday, September 11 (We will gather in the Ministry Room next to the Women’s Rest Room).
Third, if you would like to deepen your connection with Christ the Redeemer, and are considering taking our ‘Exploring Membership Class’ but have some questions, please come to a Q. and A. session after worship on Sunday, September 18.
Fourth, please note that our two Women’s groups (Wednesday Evenings and Thursday mornings) have started this week! It is not too late to join in on the fun, learning, and fellowship. Please check out the offerings on the website (christtheredeemer.org) under Ministries>Women’s Ministries.
Fifth, I have some more good news concerning Linda Richter. She continues to show incremental improvement in her kidney functioning numbers, and has begun to take some solid food for the first time in over a month! Bill suspects that she will remain in the hospital through the weekend but is expecting a return home sometime next week.  Continue to pray for the family, but remember to give thanks for the healing already received.
Looking forward to worshiping with you on Sunday.

Embrace the “Birth Pangs”

A Reflection on the Daily Office Readings

The Rev. Dr. Brian Campbell

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

“(Paul and Barnabas) returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

(Acts 14.21-22)

Read that text slowly once more. Be honest, don’t you love the ‘strengthening the souls” and “encouraging in the faith” part, but are a little leery about the ‘many tribulations’ statement! It just doesn’t sound like good news to us. But here’s the thing: It did to them!

The folks in Antioch (of Pisidia), of Iconium, and especially of Lystra, who had responded by faith to the call of God through the preaching of Paul and Barnabas, knew that the ‘many tribulations’ were not something to be feared but to be embraced.  And the reason they knew this was because they saw the evidence first hand in the scars on the body of Paul.

Remember the story we have been reading in the Daily Office: Paul and Barnabas have been consecrated by the Church in Antioch to take the gospel to the Gentiles of Asia. At every stop on their preaching tour they experienced both great success and great opposition:

  • At Antioch of Pisidia, though they attracted the entire city to the synagogue to hear Paul preach, the Jews incited the leaders of the city to ‘stir up persecution against them, and drove them out of their district.’ (13:50)
  • At Iconium, despite great numbers coming to faith, ‘but the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against them…. (ending with) an attempt..to mistreat them and to stone them.’ (14:2,5)
  • At Lystra, what the unbelievers could not do in Iconium, they succeeded in doing in Lystra—‘they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.” (14:19) And this only days after they had declared he and Barnabas to be the incarnation of Zeus and Hermes!

And how did Paul and Barnabas respond to this abuse?  They went on to Derbe and preached the gospel there, and then ‘returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”   Their ‘many tribulations’ could not deter them from fulfilling their calling! And the disciples knew that, received that, and embraced that for themselves.

How can this be? What is it that would enable Paul not only to endure such suffering but to return to the place of that suffering? What did he know that we need to know, so that we too can ‘enter the kingdom’ come what may?

The answer, as seen in the text of Acts, is this: They were absolutely convinced that God had raised Jesus from the dead; thereby declaring him to be both “Lord and Christ” (2:42). Not only this, but God had exalted him to his right hand (7:56), and had thereby “appointed him” to be the One “to judge the world in righteousness” (17:31).  In other words, they were utterly convinced that through his death, resurrection and ascension, that Jesus had been declared the Last Adam, the One who would give birth to a New Humanity, who themselves would be enabled to inherit and inhabit God’s New Creation.

They were so convinced of the reality and the meaning of the resurrection, that they could easily understand the ‘many tribulations’ as ‘birth pangs’ of the New Creation; and thus were enabled to embrace them without fear.

Paul and those first disciples were so convinced.

Are we?

Week of September 4

Dear Friends,
Here a few things coming up here at CtR:
This Saturday, September 3rd, we will join the Chinese Student Association from ODU for a trip to the Virginia Beach oceanfront, primarily for the newly arrived students, but for other Chinese students and scholars as well.  We will meet near campus, and the event will last from about 10 till 3.  David Snouffer is recruiting volunteers for this event, so if you are interested in attending, please contact him as soon as possible at da.snouffer@verizon.net.
Previously, the toddler class has been open at the beginning of the service just like the nursery.  Starting this Sunday, September 4th, the class will not be open until the rest of the Sunday School classes are dismissed to go to their classrooms (immediately after the readings).  This will allow for the toddler teachers to be in church during the praise and worship time so they don’t have to miss the whole service.  We thank you in advance for your cooperation!
If you are interested in a Women’s Bible study, we are once again offering two options – a daytime and an evening study.  Both groups are open and encourage new members.
  • The daytime study meets on Thursday mornings at 9:15 a.m. in the CtR fellowship hall beginning September 8.  We will be studying “Revolution of Character” by Dallas Willard and Don Simpson.  This book is a follow up to Willard’s “Renovation of the Heart”.  Childcare is provided.
  • The evening study meets on Wednesday nights at 7:00 PM beginning September 7.  We will be using Beth Moore’s study “Entrusted”.  It is a 7 week study which will take us through October.  We will keep you posted on what is next for Wednesday nights!  All are welcome, no Bible knowledge is necessary.  RSVP to temple at t.richardson@cox.net so she can order you a book. ($13)
Bishop Steve and Sally Breedlove will be with us the weekend of October 7-9. If you or your child wish to be baptized on that Sunday, please speak to Fr. Brian as soon as possible. If you would like to consider being confirmed that Sunday, you are encouraged to attend a brief meeting after worship on Sunday, September 11 in the Ministry Room.
We will offer our ‘Exploring Membership at Christ the Redeemer’ in October this year (Three Saturday mornings, October 1, 15, and 29).  If you are interested in exploring deepening your connection with this community, you are encouraged to participate in the sessions (speak to Fr. Brian personally, or contact him –Brian@ChristtheRedeemer.org). If you wish to hear more about the course, you are invited to a brief meeting after worship on Sunday, September 18.
I look forward to worshiping with you all on Sunday.