Redeemer Announcements | January 7, 2022

Due to the most recent COVID surge, we are extending the online only worship one more week to include the next three Sundays (1/9; 1/16, 1/23)  We hope to be back in-person on January 30, the day of the annual meeting. Worship will be live streamed at 10:30 am on each of these Sundays via Facebook Live and can be accessed here.  The link, along with a bulletin for each worship, can also be found on our website www.redeemermpls.org.  We regret having to make this change, but we do so for the protection of our whole community.  Watch the Friday announcements for any changes. Please share this information with anyone you know who is not connected to email or getting information from our website. 

Redeemer Kids in January: Mark your calendar! Our Northside Confirmation Collaboration continues on January 23 at Salem Lutheran Church in North Minneapolis from 2-5 PM. More details to come! 

The Redeemer Lutheran Church Annual Meeting will be held on Sunday, January 30 following the 10:30 service.  We expect to be able to gather in person but we will also provide an online option via Zoom for those who feel they cannot attend.  We will provide more information about the meeting and the Zoom link in the weeks ahead. The Annual Meeting of the Redeemer Center for Life will follow immediately after the conclusion of the church annual meeting.

CHURCH STAFF OFFICE HOURS // Savannah is usually in the office Monday - Friday from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm, except when otherwise announced.. The office is closed on holidays.  Pastor Peter will be in the church offices on Wednesdays from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm and Fridays from 10:00am - 1:00 pm. If you need to stop by the church at any other time during the week, let Pastor Peter know by calling 612-900-8410 and he can make arrangements to meet. 
Celebrating a Young Artist in our Community: Zephaniah Martin is a young author and is the son of Yordanos Kiflu-Martin and Tootie Martin and the grandson of Dr. Cheryl Chatman and Pastor Kelly Chatman. His new book, Jaheem’s First Kwanzaa, is available from the nonprofit Planting People Growing Justice. It is a great gift for the young and young at heart in your life! We recently gifted a copy of this book to families in Redeemer’s Christmas program, and I got the chance to interview Zephaniah about becoming an author as a fifth grader. He shared that his interest in writing began at a young age out of a love for listening to and sharing stories with friends and family members, and his favorite storyteller is his mom. He really started writing during creative school projects, and he enjoyed those early experiences enough to enter a book contest on the suggestion of his grandma. Editing his book took perseverance and a willingness to try new things as he refined the story he wanted to tell. One of the most fun parts of writing was seeing how quickly things “skyrocketed” after he won the book contest, as friends and family celebrated his success, his book was published, and quickly rose in the ranks of Children’s Kwanzaa Books and Children’s Africa Books online. When asked about what readers should learn from his writing, Zephaniah said, “I just want them to carry around a piece of their culture that is important to them.” Zephaniah looks forward to his own Kwanzaa celebrations, which include stories shared with family and friends shared in the glow of candlelight, coming up this holiday season. 
Jaheem’s First Kwanzaa is available from the nonprofit Planting People Growing Justice, which gets a portion of the profits to support their work with literacy in communities, by clicking this link. Many thanks to Zephaniah and Yordanos Kiflu-Martin for sharing their time with me!

Lector’s Needed for Worship // Now that we are having worship indoors, we are looking for volunteers to be a lector at our services. You can sign up through our SignUp Genius HERE. Please reach out to Savannah in the main office with any questions. admin@redeemermpls.org
HEALTH COMMONS // We are kicking off the year at Health Commons with Kiki’s Dance Cardio class on Zoom. It will be every Monday 6-7pm. Below is the Zoom information. 

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85010666116?pwd=dFROa29KOU5FUUZ5K0k4T0JUaHpuQT09

Meeting ID: 850 1066 6116
Passcode: 568143
 
Prayer Concerns // If you, or anyone you know, has prayer concerns/requests, please contact Savannah in the main office at admin@redeemermpls.org , or Pastor Peter at pastorpeter@redeemermpls.org . We will put your prayer requests in service.

The Nominating Committee is continuing to look for candidates for next year’s council.  If you are interested in serving on council, or would like to nominate someone to a position, talk to outgoing council members Anna Kottkamp, Lonna Field, Mary Britt or Stuart Munk, who make up the committee. 

To make indoor worship possible, we have purchased two HEPA filter large room air purifiers.  As this was an unexpected expense, we welcome any donations to defray the costs of these machines, which together are costing around $1000.  Thank you for your generous support of Redeemer’s ministry!
Redeemer Giving App // Redeemer now has an online Giving app! In the Google Playstore or Apple App Store, you can search Vanco Mobile, download it, and follow these simple steps to set up your easy and efficient online giving with Redeemer straight from your Smartphone.
Monthly Redeemer Diaper Drive for Area Food Shelf // Diapers are an expensive necessity for families. Our local food shelf at our neighboring church, Minneapolis Central Church of Christ, gives out diapers and wipes every week. Every third Saturday, Evangelism and Outreach minister committee chair, Sally, plans to bring diapers and wipes collected from Redeemer members. If you would like to donate diapers (any amount, any size) or baby wipes, bring them to the church office during office hours or to worship on Sundays where there will be a collection box available. If you wish to make a monetary donation, please indicate that your donation is for the Diaper Drive.
Thank you for considering this important ministry opportunity. As always, if you are interested in volunteering at the food shelf on a Saturday anytime between 11:00-2:00, please let the church office know.  

BREEZE ONLINE DIRECTORY SMARTPHONE APP // Good news! Our church management software program, Breeze, is available as a smartphone app, making searching for other members and congregants easier than ever on your mobile devices. Search for the Breeze ChMS app in your device’s app store. When you log in the first time, it will ask for your congregation’s subdomain/ID, which is redeemermpls. Then you can use your same username and password to log in and find each other. If you have questions or need a Breeze login, email Savannah and she’ll send you one.

COVID-19 DELTA VARIANT & VACCINATIONS // We encourage everyone to get your COVID-19 vaccinations/boosters if you haven't already! They are free and available to all people aged 5 and older. As we gather, we will continue to practice social distancing and mask-wearing to protect the unvaccinated and the most vulnerable among us who cannot be vaccinated yet.