Redeemer Announcements + Prayers of Intercession (Dec, 22, 2020)

CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP // Join us on Christmas Eve for a special worship service brought to you by Redeemer’s worship team! And be sure to also watch this year’s Children’s Virtual Christmas Pageant which was a collaboration with ECLC and families from St Paul’s Lutheran Church / Iglesia Luterana San Pablo, and Christ the River of Life. You may view both the Christmas Eve service and the Children’s Pageant online beginning at midnight on December 24th!

WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES // Please register online or email Amy to sign up to record yourself and/or your family speaking the assigned lectionary readings for our prerecorded worships during the month of January. Know that you can speak aloud the readings linked on the sign-up or from a children’s or other translation in your home. 

WEDNESDAY ADVENT MEDITATIONS // Throughout this Advent season, Pastor Kelly and Alyssa Schwitzer, along with Pastor Kim at Christ the River of Life, have been providing us with weekly Advent meditations following the seven antiphons of Christmas. This week’s meditation will be shared this evening, and you may view it online along with each meditation set to a verse from the ancient Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.”

12 DAYS of CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT TREE // For the 12 days of Christmas (Dec. 25th - Jan. 6th), 12 ornaments will be on the ornamental tree at Logan and Glenwood on the Redeemer lawn. Take one; leave one and post your picture on our Facebook page!

CORRECTION // In last week's announcements, the cover art -- quilting of the Advent candle -- was mis-attributed. The work was created and gifted to Redeemer by Janet Hagberg.

HOLIDAY & NEW YEAR OFFICE HOURS // Redeemer offices will be closed December 24th-27th and again December 31st-January 3rd, reopening on January 4th. Amy Koopman’s office hours will shift to Mondays, 10am-3pm in 2021, and she will be out of the office for synod organizing training January 11th-15th.

SAVE THE DATE: EPIPHANY of OUR LORD Worship Service, Jan. 6, 2021 // The ELCA bishops elected in 2019 will preside over a special worship service on January 6, 2021 at 8pm EST (7pm Central) and may be viewed on the ELCA churchwide facebook page or any of the ELCA synod pages.

SAVE THE DATE: MLK ANNUAL COMMEMORATION SERVICE on JAN. 10, 2021 // Save the date and plan to join the Metro New York African Descent Lutheran Association (ADLA) on January 10th at 4pm (EST) for their annual service commemorating The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This year’s event will be hosted online, and will feature preaching Bishop Patricia A. Davenport of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Synod and presiding Bishop Paul Egensteiner presiding. Learn more here, or click here to register.

MINNEAPOLIS AREA SYNOD COMMUNITY ORGANIZER TRAINING OPPORTUNITY // Through grant funding provided by the Riverside Innovation Hub, Redeemer and RCFL are sending a number of congregants, council members, and staff members to the Minneapolis Area Synod’s community faith organizer training January 11-15, 2021. The training will be held from 9am to 3pm each day that week. We have a few spots open and invite anyone interested to contact Amy or Pastor Kelly for more information. 

PRE-ORDER YOUR “REDEEMER BELIEVES BLACK LIVES MATTER 2020” TEES // Redeemer’s Service & Advocacy ministry (led by Holly De Souza) partnered with the Northside’s Juxtaposition Arts to create a brand new 2020 “Redeemer Believes Black Lives Matter” shirts. They are now available for pre-order for a suggested donation of $10 or more which will fund the ongoing work of the S&A committee! Please fill out the pre-order form, and if you choose to, you may pay online through our online giving portal! 

SUNDAY MORNING ZOOM FELLOWSHIP // Join Dr Robin Bell this Sunday morning, December 27th, for zoom fellowship beginning at 10:30am. Click here to join! 

CHRISTMAS STORE GRATITUDE // Redeemer Lutheran Church and Redeemer Center for Life thank mission partners and congregational members for the 2020 reimagined Christmas Store on Saturday, December 12th.  Over 45 families received gift cards, Fairview Health Commons care, and other supports for this Christmas season as we live with the global pandemic. We shared with thanksgiving because we have mercifully received so much!

THANK YOU to Dr. and Mrs. Linda Jacobson for providing us with a nativity from their beautiful Tanzanian collection, featured in our Christmas Eve service!

THANK YOU from MARY BOLL // Mary Boll sends thanks to those who donated baby yarn for her ongoing project of crocheting and donating baby caps to Hennepin County Obstetrics and Gynecology. If you’d like to donate baby yarn to Mary Boll to help her continue this ministry during our long winter season, please email Amy to bring baby yarn to Redeemer Lutheran marked Mary Boll and a family member will pick it up for her.

CAN YOU ATTEND HNA MEETINGS? // The Harrison Neighborhood Association (HNA) is hoping to engage community members and friends in ongoing planning and conversations. All meetings are held via zoom at 7pm on the third Monday of each month. If you can join and represent Redeemer and our community, please do!

DISTANCE LEARNING & TUTORING UPDATES // Our Harrison neighbor Kathy thanks us for use of Redeemer’s building for tutoring. We share emerging plans in 2021 between Redeemer and Metropolitan Community Church of Christ who also hosted tutoring. Another neighbor of ours is looking for a tutor to help her high-school aged grandchild with math and history. If you or someone you know can help, please email Amy.

PROVISIONS for NEAR-NORTH HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT // A new homeless encampment has moved to near north within blocks of Redeemer and they need a lot of provisions: Firewood, consistent propane refills, winter gear, hand warmers, meals, and more. If you would like to help, you may visit the signup genius or text organizer Kristen (or contact her via Signal) for more information at 760-898-4004. (She responds quickly to text message but does not answer calls from unknown numbers.)

STEWARDSHIP BRAINSTORMING // Stewardship minister Kristin Gilbert invites each of you to join her for a meeting to dream and brainstorm about stewardship in the coming year, to align our stewardship plan with our values during this time of Covid, the Minneapolis uprising, and the election, as well as a pastoral transition. Do you or others you know want to be a part of this 1-hour conversation? If so, complete thisDoodle poll so we can find a time that works best for the group. Let her know if you have questions or would like to share your thoughts but can't make the meeting.

IRA CHARITABLE DISTRIBUTION // We invite you to prayerfully consider sharing with Redeemer Lutheran Church your qualified charitable distribution from your Individual Retirement Account. Basic requirements and limitations for a Qualified Charitable Distribution include: The donor must be at least 70½ years of age at the time of the distribution; The distribution must be from a Roth or Traditional IRA; And the distribution must be made directly from the IRA administrator to a qualifying charity such as Redeemer Lutheran Church. Qualified Charitable Distributions are limited to $100,000.00 per individual per year (a spouse who qualifies may give a similar amount from his or her IRA). Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) benefits include: A QCD from a traditional IRA uses pre-tax dollars; Generally, a QCD is excluded from taxable income*; and a QCD can be applied to required minimum distributions, if applicable.*

THRIVENT MEMBERS: Are you a Thrivent member? Consider sharing your Thrivent dollars with Redeemer Lutheran Church ministries! Contact Amy or Pastor Kelly for more info! 

YEAR-END GIVING // With thanksgiving for you and your end of the year gift to Redeemer Lutheran, we would like to acknowledge and receive your 2020 financial gift by December 30.

HEALTH COMMONS at the LIVING ROOM currently offers Zumba, Book Club Discussions, and Health Q&A's online and via Zoom. Follow them onFacebook to get current schedules, events, and other resources: Health Commons at the Living Room.

*The SECURE Act, which became effective January 1, 2020, raised to 72 the age for beginning required minimum distributions, but retained the age of 70 ½ for making QCDs. It also authorizes tax-deductible contributions to IRAs after age 70 ½ if the IRA owner is still working. If a tax-deductible contribution is made to an IRA after age 70 ½, the amount that may be excluded from income for a later-made QCD may be affected. Please consult your tax advisors for more information about this and other questions regarding IRA QCDs.

---

First Sunday after Christmas | Readings & Gospel:
Isaiah 61:10-62:3, Psalm 148, Galatians 4:4-7 & Luke 2:22-40

This Sunday we hear Luke’s story of the ritual at which the infant Jesus is presented in the temple and his mother Mary is “purified” after childbirth. Yet receiving them in the temple are Simeon and Anna, two old people who speak about the redemption that will come through Jesus’ death. When we celebrate Jesus’ birth, we remember his death.

Joining our voices with the song of the angels, let us pray for the church, the world, and all who are in need...

Strengthen your church across nations, denominations, and tradition by filling us with wisdom for seeking pastors and other church workers and unifying our proclamation of your forgiveness and mercy. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

Send your spirit of discernment with compassion and integrity upon all global legislators grappling with complex decisions for the sake of the common good as we are upheld by your hand. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

Send the spirit of your Son into our hearts, O God. Strengthen those who have retired, those who work in older age, and those in need of income, food, company, or health care by connecting young and old across generations. Come quickly to hearts that race with fear, hearts that break with grief, and hearts that long for wholeness. Bless our elders with the peace and joy of Simeon and Anna as we name:  Ione,Mary, and Sarah, our local and global siblings living with surging COVID-19 and accompanying lockdowns with quarantines, for first responders as well as disaster volunteers, the unsheltered campers at 2nd Ave North and Van White Memorial Blvd, brothers James and Bobbie, Cindy, Linda, Samantha, Shoonie, Edina Community Lutheran Church and the family of Pastor Jeff Sartain... Hear us, O God.Your mercy is great.

Let us depart in peace, O God, according to your word. For John, apostle and evangelist, and Arlene, Bill, John, Kathy and Mary with all your saints who see our salvation prepared as your witness of every time and place, we give you thanks. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

God of mercy, come quickly to us with grace upon grace as we lift these and all our prayers to you, in the name of Jesus. Amen.