Redeemer Announcements & Prayers of Intercession (December 18, 2020)

image: handmade quilt work by Redeemer member Janet Hagberg

CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP // Join us Christmas Eve at 7pm for a a special worship service brought to you by Redeemer’s worship team, and featuring this year’s Children’s Christmas Pageant which was a collaboration with ECLC. 

WORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES // Pleaseregister 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. 

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.

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 for zoom fellowship beginning at 10:30am. Click here to join! 

AUGSBURG ADVENT VESPERS // Redeemer and Pastor Babette invite you to a time of contemplation and worship through Augsburg University’s annual Advent Vespers. You may view Vespers here. 

EDU-YOUTH MINISTRY // Redeemer’s Edu-Youth invites our families of children and youth to join them this Sunday, December 20th, for Family Zoom Craft Time with ECLC at 10:30am. Also be sure to check out Pastor Kelly’s Holy Communion Instruction -- a short video for children, youth, and families on Communion. 

CAN YOU ATTEND HNA MEETINGS? // The Harrison Neighborhood Association 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!
TUTORING ASSISTANCE NEEDED // Our Harrison neighbor Kathy is tutoring 3 Harrison children at Redeemer Lutheran on the mornings of Mondays, Wednesdays and the first two Saturdays of each month. Another community member is looking for a tutor to help her 16-year-old granddaughter with distance learning. Could you help? Please leave a voice message for Pastor Kelly at 612-886-1468 or email Amy.
DONATE BABY YARN to MARY BOLL // Mary Boll crocheted and donated 212 baby caps to Hennepin County Obstetrics and Gynecology, all of which are sent home with newborns. Will you donate baby yarn to Mary Boll to help her continue this ministry during our long winter season? Arrange with Amy to bring baby yarn to Redeemer Lutheran marked Mary Boll and a family member will pick it up for her.

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 thesignup 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.)

WEDNESDAY ADVENT PROJECT 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 sevent antiphons of Christmas. You may follow the meditations each week at www.redeemermpls.org/advent-2020, where you’ll find each meditation set to a verse from the ancient Advent hymn, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” 

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.

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!

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 Dec. 30th.

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.

Fourth Sunday of Advent Readings & Gospel: 
2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16, Luke 1:46b-55, Romans 16:25-27 & Luke 1:26-38
This Sunday, we light all four candles of the Advent wreath, and we read the story from Luke about the angel Gabriel coming to Mary. Christians believe that in baptism we too are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit so that Christ will dwell in us. Despite what the shopping malls suggest to us, Christmas is not yet here: we still anticipate what the book of Romans calls “the revelation of the mystery.

God of power and might, fulfill your promise and come quickly to this weary world. Hear our prayers for everyone in need...

Gracious God, all generations call you blessed.In this holy season we pray for the inspired faith of our neighbors of other denominations and faiths Mosque Masjid al Furqaan, the Glendale Seventh Day Adventist Church and faith communities unknown to us. Cultivate understanding among us and strengthen us in love and service to our community. Hear us, O God.  Your mercy is great.

Righteous God, we pray for the leaders of all nations, that they amplify the voices of people in need by creating societies  and protecting seas, mountains, plains, forests, skies, and soils in which everyone can flourish with humility. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great. 

Compassionate God, bless the encouraging work of meeting neighbors in need by WE WIN Institute, and Metropolitan Church of  Christ who nourish any lacking adequate food and nutrition. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great. 

Healing God, you pour out mercy to all who cry out to you by surrounding everyone with your tender presence especially 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.

Eternal God, you are faithful to the promises you made to our forebears, Katharina von Bora Luther and other ancestors Arlene, Bill,  John, Kathy, and Mary who organized, planned, dreamed, encouraged, and reached out as they served you  Inspire others with their steadfast witness. Hear us, O God. Your mercy is great.

Draw near to us, O God, and receive our prayers for the sake of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.