Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church - New Paltz

From Pastor Tobias Anderson

Annual Report 2010

I was recently reminded of the wonderful quote “God does not call the equipped, he equips the called.” This was certainly true for Jeremiah, who was called into God’s service as a prophet at the ripe old age of eight years! God came to Jeremiah when he was yet a child and said, “Before you were in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:4-5)

It is rare indeed that we feel equipped to do God’s work, and many of us may still feel we are still but children on the faith journey, yet we are called nonetheless into God’s service! Called to teach, preach, and baptize. Called to sing, paint, and plow. Called to Crop walk, cook, pack, and ship. Called to share with the world the good news that Christ lives and because Christ lives we have the promise of new life as well. I have been blessed to be in ministry with the people of God at Redeemer in the year 2010, witness to all manner of good things unfolding, thanks be to God and our collective response to God’s call to each of us and to our community of faith as a whole.

I share the following highlights from each of the areas in which we organize ourselves as ministries here at Redeemer:

In the area of Worship, we celebrate the continuance of our great and gifted choir, the Sunday Musicales series, and rejoice at:

• The premiere of the Hallelujah chorus, set to become an annual tradition.

• Intentional efforts of Music and Worship ministry to involve more youth in worship, resulting in the pulpit puppets series, Thanksgiving service featuring youth, and youth singing more often in church (with much additional gratitude to Zhanna, Sandra, and our Sunday School teachers for making this last possible).

• An excellent increase in involvement and participation with the 2010 six-week Lenten supper, discussion, and time for worship.

In the area of Education we celebrate the continuance of our excellent Sunday School ministry, including a phenomenal Christmas pageant, as well as our Sunday morning adult education series entitled, “Continuing the Conversation.” We rejoice at the fruitful efforts of many that resulted in:

• The completion of an initial Scope and Sequence for our congregation (from birth to adulthood).

• The overhaul of our confirmation ministry that increases parent involvement and encourages youth to link learning and memorization with real life application and service opportunities.

• A growing Stewardship ministry that illustrates that Stewardship is about responding to God’s grace with our whole lives in a way that touches how we care for our bodies and how we spend time with our families, how we share of time, talent and treasure within our congregation and how we serve in the wider community and world.

In the area of Outreach, we celebrate the ongoing work of the Fellowship and Hospitality ministry that supported events such as our 2^nd annual Advent Festival and Easter breakfast, and the efforts of volunteers coordinating our participation in packing Thanksgiving baskets with the Newburg ministry. Additionally, we rejoice that:

• A team of volunteers has been trained for a visitation ministry with our elderly homebound members beginning in 2011.

• Our website was re-launched, tied to Facebook and many other sites, and also integrated with a once-a-month fledgling e-newsletter, with highlights from Redeemer, as well as our Metropolitan New York Synod and ELCA.

• The first round of supplies were gathered and sent in support of the armed forces through the “Gretchen’s Troops” effort.

• Youth participated in a major clean-up morning at the Walden Humane Society, as well as the Halloween party and Greening the Sanctuary, with plans underway to participate in the February Lutheran Youth Organization weekend held at the Lutheran Outdoor ministry of Koinonia outside of Port Jervis, NY.

• The Student Christian Center Board has continued their work to reconstruct and redirect this ministry. It is especially worth noting their efforts to more closely tie our local ministries together with the efforts of the SCC outreach on campus, for example in the newly re-launched Adopt-A-Student ministry.

In the area of Resources, we celebrate the countless hours and dedication of our many volunteers, especially our Friday morning cleaning crew and those who give of their time and talents for the endless repairs and work required to keep any building running and well-maintained. Additionally, we rejoice in 2010 that:

• Thanks to volunteers and elbow grease the church office received a much-needed makeover and energy upgrade.

• The Resource ministry has developed an excellent list of priorities for further upkeep and upgrades that will make our facilities run more smoothly and with ever more energy efficiency. To this end an energy audit was completed and suggestions are even now being implemented.

• 2011 will be the ten-year anniversary of Christ’s sanctuary here at Redeemer Lutheran Church. In celebration people will be given a chance to dedicate a tile of the sanctuary so that we can repair and re-seal the floor in time for celebrations next November.

When I read this partial list of celebrations I can hardly believe it! For a smaller congregation (though thanks be to God we are part of a growing wave of people and ministry here at Redeemer) we sure do keep busy with God’s work!

I am deeply grateful to all of you, and especially to our council, as well as our staff, for the privilege of accompanying you in ministry. We especially want to recognize Lurleen Rebhan, our parish administrator, for her tireless efforts and devotion to office tasks, as well as Robin Riley for his unending labor of love and work as bookkeeper. We also want especially to thank Sandra, who has by request changed positions here at Redeemer, now serving as accompanist and mentor to Zhanna. Sandra gives so much of herself and we are in debt to her service! And we rejoice that Zhanna has stepped more fully into using her Masters in choral direction here at Redeemer, as the new choir director and organist and pianist. Watch especially to see how Zhanna’s excitement at the prospect of working more with our youth in singing may bear fruit in the years to come!

As most of us know, the year 2010 was not without sorrows, and amidst the many struggles and losses of life we especially mourned the passing of our dear friends and companions in the faith, Irene Techmer and Erika Sperber. Each in their own way demonstrated to us what life lived in Christ was all about, and their presence will be sorely missed. We also rejoice that they are even now reunited with Christ in new life, and pray that their example would continue to inspire us to bold ministry.

A full year, to be sure, and much more has happened in God’s ministry among us than what I have highlighted for you here. No doubt, though we may not always feel equipped and ready, with God’s help the people of Redeemer Lutheran Church forge ahead, seeking to share the light of Christ with the world and trusting that by God’s hand we are equipped one day at a time to serve in love.

Thanks be to God!