Redeemer Journal (Page 6)

By Heather Walker Peterson Before my family’s fast begins in Lent, we follow the Anglican tradition of feasting on pancakes on Shrove Tuesday. But why pancakes? Unless my husband is making his rich Swedish pancakes, really crepes with spoons of sugar added, pancakes don’t seem like the kind of food many would refrain from. I grew up thinking of them as an occasional easy supper with eggs. Nothing fancy. It wasn’t until I read Frederica Mathewes Green’s Facing East about…

By Haley Scharf If you are unfamiliar with the Advent tradition of O Antiphons prayers, you’re in for a treat. They are an ancient monastic tradition (dating to at least the 8th century A.D.) that I knew nothing about a few years ago. But once I learned about them, they quickly became one of my very favorite Advent practices. The O Antiphons are short prayers traditionally used during evening prayer on December 17 to 23, the last seven days of…

By Haley Scharf Advent is a time to remember that we are a people of hope because we have a God who keeps his promises! Long ago he promised a Messiah, and his word was fulfilled when Jesus came the first time. Now we have a promise that Jesus will come back again to fully establish his kingdom and set things right, and we wait with hope because we know God is faithful and will fulfill that promise as well.…

Advent: Awaiting the Light By E.R. I was asked to share about my Advent practices at our church’s soup supper on Nov. 12, as we all begin preparing the way for the Advent season. The content I shared during that time follows below, along with a list of resources that Haley and I drew together. We hope these ideas might inspire you as you prepare your own homes and families for the season. One of the things that I particularly…

by Haley Scharf Today’s post on Redeemer Journal is by Haley Scharf, who in the past has blogged about theological literature for children at aslanslibrary.wordpress.com. Individual reviews of most of the books she mentions below can be found there. One of the ways my children have become familiar with the rhythms of the church year is by reading books that line up thematically and biblically with each season. Reading seasonally is something that’s easy to do during Advent; there are…

By Joshua Ford Throughout our worship services, we encounter many exclamations uttered by the laity. “Kyrie elëison,” “Alleluia,” “Hosanna in the highest,” “Hear our prayer,” “Thanks be to God,” and the all-important “Amen” are peppered throughout the liturgical practices of the Church across time. But what do they mean? What function or role do they play in the past and in the modern day? What relevance do they have for us as 21st-century Minnesotans when we gather in prayer and…

Church of the Redeemer is excited to send out Jordan McGurran as a supported missionary this spring!  In the post below, Jordan shares about his opportunity to serve with Uganda Partners and Uganda Christian University in Mukano, Uganda. “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”  – Frederick Buechner By Jordan McGurran This quote from writer and Presbyterian minister Frederick Buechner has been on my mind these past two years of…

Today’s Redeemer Journal post is by Joshua Ford, who has written about chanting of the psalms in our worship service. Although chant is one of the earliest modes of Christian worship, it may be new to many of us, and Church of the Redeemer has been blessed by Joshua’s knowledge and gifts in this form of musical worship. In addition to being a skilled and gifted musician, Joshua is a graduate of St. Vladimir’s Seminary in New York and has…