This Sunday: 1309 Bay Ridge
News & Announcements
This Sunday: 1309 Bay Ridge
The Lord being our helper, this is the Sunday to bring our gifts and commitments toward the purchase of our permanent home. If you can’t be with us, please email your intentions to our Treasurer, Jim Evans, treasurer@redeemerannapolis.org. Proportional, but as much as possible, full participation is crucial to this process. Let’s own this as a community!
Also this Sunday: The Feast of Christ the King
This Sunday, the final Sunday of the liturgical year, is The Feast of Christ the King. Find out more about this Feast Day here.
Wednesday, December 6: St. Nicholas Day
A vital part of Christian formation for us all, but particularly for younger children, can be understanding the real person behind the legend of Santa Claus—St. Nicholas, a fourth century Christian Saint who was both instrumental in bringing us the Nicene Creed, and a generous and sacrificial gift-giver. St. Nicholas day is Wednesday, December 6. Find out more about why and how it’s celebrated here.
Sunday, December 3: Membership Sunday
From Redeemer’s By-Laws:
Article VIII, Section 2: Membership in the Congregation shall extend to those who:
1. have reached the age of majority;
2. have been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (and preferably Confirmed by the Bishop);
3. assent unreservedly to the three Ecumenical Creeds (Apostles’, Nicene, Athanasian);
4. sacrificially steward their time, talent, and treasure in the furtherance of Redeemer’s Shared Vision;
5. regularly attend the public worship of Redeemer Anglican Church (regular attendance being here defined as at least monthly, to the greatest extent possible at a worship service, or if shut-in, to have receive communion monthly); and,
6. publicly sign the Redeemer Parish Registry (The Big Green Book).
Article VIII, Section 3: Membership shall be considered Inactive when voluntarily withdrawn or transferred, or after a period of two years (24 months) of inactivity.
To this point, Membership at Redeemer has been “passive” in the sense that if a person were fulfilling certain expectations, they were considered a “Communicant Member”—a member in good standing—with no “official act” on their part. Our Province and Diocese, however, strongly urge that membership our churches be “active”—an act on the part of each member that indicates who’s “with us”. Additionally, that accurate records be kept (Active Members, weekly attendance, giving, baptisms, confirmations, events, etc.). Historically, Anglicans are a devout record-keeping bunch.
The Vestry has been working since mid-2022 to develop an active and meaningful membership—amending our By-Laws accordingly—that expresses certain fundamental expectations and provides flexibility for how these expectations are lived out in community. Catechesis and Confirmation, for example, are not required within the membership framework (baptism and historic Creedal assent are), nor do we narrowly define how “time, talent, and treasure” be stewarded. We believe our stakeholders are responsible, intelligent, and creative and can best decide these things.
Sunday, December 3rd has been designated Redeemer’s inaugural “Membership Sunday” where we will publicly declare our intentions to be “officially” united with our sisters and brothers in the Redeemer community.
Other Important Events:
Sunday, December 10—Redeemer Annual Meeting
Sunday, December 24—Christmas Eve Lessons and Carols
Monday, December 25—Christmas Day Holy Communion
Sunday, December 31—Fifth Sunday Potluck
Image: Stained glass window of Christ the King in St. Joseph’s Church, Tipperary, Ireland, by William Earley (1872-1956).
Photo by Andreas F. Borchert, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
