From the Rector
Dear Friends,
During the next few weeks it is almost inevitable that you will hear the words "Christmas is a time for the family". Our earliest memories of Christmas are formed by our family traditions and practices. As children, most of us will remember t
he excitement of waiting to discover what Santa Claus had brought us. In our house, I recall that Santa had a fondness for Fanta and cookies, which were left out on Christmas Eve. In the morning we were delighted to see, along with the presents, a plate of cookie crumbs and a partially drunk bottle of Fanta.
Our family had other Christmas traditions, such as eating a Christmas pudding (a steamed fruit cake) stuffed with coins. You don't hear of people doing this nowadays, but for a child it was a easy way of making money, provided you could separate the coins from the pudding. This tradition may have died out for health reasons, as occasionally a coin would go down with the pudding, which was a cause of discomfort to the person who had inadvertently swallowed it.
"Christmas is a time for the family". However, as I grew older, I began to see other versions of the "family" which gathers at Christmas. An elderly retired priest and his sister inviting single members of the congregation to join them for Christmas dinner. A shelter for the homeless, staffed by volunteers, offering Christmas dinners to those who had lost contact with their own families and who had nowhere else to go. A church having a Christmas meal in the parish hall, with the loneliest members of the congregation, together with non-church members from the community.
Traditions come and go but the underlying Christmas spirit of love and generosity continues to encourage us to find new ways of celebrating Christ's birth. Throughout the changing patterns of family life at Christmas, one thing remains as constant as the star which led the Wise Men to the Christ-child: it is the love of God for humankind, and our need to open our hearts to receive him at Christmas.
I wish you and all those whom you love a peaceful and joyous Christmas. I invite you to join us at the Church of the Redeemer in our celebration of the birth of Jesus, and receive God's best gift of all, our Savior Jesus Christ.
Peace, love and joy
Father David
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December 2018
 This past Sunday, November 25, letters were made available in the back of the church that contained materials for pledging. If you picked yours up, you are all set up to make your pledge on December 9, Commitment Sunday. If you didn't get yours or if it was not available, it will be mailed to you the following week.
We are hoping you will take the time to look at the materials and make a commitment to Redeemer on December 9. In the November Redeemer Reporter I explained how to use the Stewardship brochure that was included in the packet you received for the meetings we held in people's home. I have extra copies of that brochure that I can give you this Su
nday or I can email it to you if you send me an email at [email protected]. It has lots of useful information that can help you figure out your pledge.
This is the time of year when we anticipate the coming of Christ. It is also the time when we think about our gift-giving. A gift in the form of a pledge will help Redeemer carry on Christ's work in 2019.
George Baughan
Senior Warden
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Sunday School in December
During Advent the children and youth of Redeemer will be processing in church at the 10:15 service with banners and figurines for the creche. Please arrive before the service so we can get organized. On December 23, we will be rehearsing for the pageant to be performed on Christmas Eve, December 24, at the 5:30 service. Please let George Baughan know if you will be available for rehearsal and participating on Christmas Eve so he can assign parts.
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Christmas Angels
School District. On Sunday, November 18th, name tags were placed on a tree at the back of the church. Please pick one or more gift tags off the tree, purchase a gift for that person, wrap it, place the tag on the package and return it on or before December 16th. If you plan to buy more than one gift for the same person, take a tag for each gift. Lists will be available with gift suggestions, clothing sizes, and food needed. You will also find a master list. If you know what you are going to get for a gift, cross it off the list so someone who has the same name will not duplicate it. These are the poor families who struggle just to keep a roof over their heads and some have not even been able to do that.
Basic food staples will b
e needed for about 12 families as well as monetary contributions for food gift cards for meat and other perishables. If you would like to make a monetary contribution, please make out a check to the church and mark it for the Christmas Angels.
On Sunday, December 16th, help will be needed after the 10:15 service to organize and pack everything for delivery. A light lunch will be provided.
If you have any questions, call Jane Nyiri at 610-328-6506
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Birthdays and Anniversaries
December Birthdays:
12/1 Jane Baughan
12/3 Linda Bennett
12/6 Jordan Wren
12/6 John Bozzuto
12/8 Erin Daley
12/9 Matthew Dobbs
12/9 Jeffrey Brzezicki
12/10 Leslie Gibson
12/10 Kurt Eisenhuth
12/12 Joan Sherrill
12/13 Israel Ramirez
12/14 Logan Sonny Wren
12/18 Charles Klaniecki
12/20 Kaylee Douge
12/20 Rick Doyle
12/21 Sofia Brzezicki
12/22 Sharon Bilak
12/23 Lindsay S. Crosby
12/27 Jamie Lennan
12/28 Cynthia Hartnett
12/28 Sonya Rowland
12/30 Vivienne Douge
12/31 Riley O'Connell
December Anniversaries
12/30 Dee & Gregory Gutierrez
12/31 Linda & Rowland Bennett
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Redeemer Thrift Shop
Fall is upon us and we are ready with many new items for the coming cool weather and autumn holidays.
Our success depends on your generous donations. We ar
e accepting winter clothing; shoes; jewellery; and items for the kitchen, bathroom, dining, and living room that are in good condition.
Remember - the best bargains are right here in your Redeemer Thrift Shop.
Our hours are Tuesdays 10 am - 2 pm and Saturdays 9 am - 2 pm. For info., call: Cyn Mattson 610-353-8125 or Luisa Andrews 610-356-9299.
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Holy Eucharist with Service of Healing
Wednesday December 5, 2018
Chapel, 11:00 am
Church of the Redeemer
Will cook, serve and eat dinner with the guests at the
Darby Mission
Tuesday, December 18
Please see the sign-up
sheet in the back of
the church to see where
you can help out!
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A Guide to the Eucharist
The Holy Communion
The Eucharist is a drama of two acts: the first act is the liturgy of the word; the second act is the liturgy of the sacrament. "The Word became Flesh and dwelt among us", and now the Word we have heard, Jesus Christ, will become the Flesh and Blood we receive. "From the table of the Lord we receive the bread of life...And from the table of Sunday reading we are nourished with the doctrine of the Lord." St Augustine.
The altar is traditionally a placing of offering, where sacrifices are offered. The Eucharist is an act of remembrance of Jesus' own offering of himself on the cross: the one true sacrifice he made to take away the sins of the world. The words we use at key moments in our offering are Jesus' own, especially the Words of Institution, when the priest says, "Take, eat, this is my body..."
The Eucharistic is the place where heaven meets earth, and God makes good for us the bread and cup of our salvation which becomes the true nourishment for our souls. It is "a prayer of thanksgiving for our salvation. Hence, it requires a total offering of ourselves: our freedom, our intelligence, and our hearts. In short, we are to offer all of those qualities that make us creatures of God, capable of receiving and reciprocating love." Jean-Marie Lustiger.
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December 1
Charles de Foucauld, Hermit in the Sahara, 1916
Charles de Foucauld was born to a noble family in Strasbourg in 1858. After military training he was posted to Algeria in 1880. This dissipated young cavalry officer developed a passion for North Africa and in 1883-4 he undertook a mapping exploration of Morocco, Algeria andTunisia, which he published to critical acclaim. The spiritual unrest which followed resulted in his conversion in 1886. He commented, 'the moment I knew that God existed, I knew I could not do otherwise than to live for him alone'.
Returning to France in 1901, he was ordained as a 'free priest' for the Sahara and returned to Algeria as a hermit at Beni-Abbès, an oasis near the Moroccan border with Algeria. From 1905 he increasingly spent his time at Tamanrasset in the remote Hoggar Mountains. Here he studied the language of the Tuareg, compiling a dictionary and making other translations in addition to his main work of prayer, penance and works of charity. In 1916 he was killed during an anti-French uprising - his goodness, it was said, militated against the anti-French feelings the nationalists sought to instil in the local population.
Though he wrote rules for communities of Little Brothers and Little Sisters of Jesus, no one joined Foucauld during his lifetime and it was not until 1933 that his example drew others to the Sahara. Today his world-wide formal and informal spiritual heirs treasure this prayer:
Father,
I abandon myself into your hands;
do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you:
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures -
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
Into your hands I commend my soul:
I offer it to you with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands with
out reserve, and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.
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At Sunday School they were teaching how God created everything, including human beings. Little Johnny seemed especially intent when they told him how Eve was created out of one of Adam's ribs. Later in the week his mother noticed him lying down as though he were ill, and said, "Johnny, what is the matter?"
Little Johnny responded, "I have pain in my side. I think I'm going to have a wife."
A Pastor in Florida lamented that it was very difficult to get his message across to his congregation. "It's so beautiful here in the winter," he said, "that heaven doesn't interest them. And it's so hot here in the summer that hell doesn't scare them."
Bulletin Bloopers
"As we move into the new worship center we want to ask everyone to avoid carrying food or drink (coffee, soft drinks, candy, pot, etc.) into the sanctuary."
"The outreach committee has enlisted 25 volunteers to make calls on people who are not afflicted with any church."
"Parents are asked to remind their children to be on their pest behavior."
"Announcement requesting baking donations for the annual bazaar: 'And I don't want abstract promises. I want concrete pies!'"
"Announcing a covenanting service for the new minister, the bulletin had it as a 'coveting' service."
"As soon as the weather clears up, the men will have a goof outing."
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Calendar for Advent and Christmas
Saturday December 1 -
Christmas Treasures 9 am to 3 pm
Sunday December 2 - First Sunday of Advent
Holy Eucharist 8 am; Sung Eucharist 10:15 am
Tuesday December 4 -
Evening Prayer at 5 pm
Holy Eucharist at 7 pm
Wednesday December 5 - St Nicholas
Holy Eucharist and Service of Healing at 11:00 am
Sunday December 9 - Second Sunday of Advent
Holy Eucharist 8 am; Sung Eucharist 10:15 am
Service of Lessons and Carols 4 pm, followed by mince pies & mulled wine.
Tuesday December 11 -
Evening Prayer at 5 pm
Wednesday December 12
Holy Eucharist at 11:00 am
Sunday December 16 - Third Sunday of Advent
Holy Eucharist 8 am; Sung Eucharist 10:15 am
Packing of the Christmas Angels followed by lunch
Tuesday December 18 -
Evening Prayer 5 pm
Darby Mission Dinner 6:30 pm
Wednesday December 19
Holy Eucharist at 11:00 am; Evening Prayer at 5 pm
Sunday December 23 - Fourth Sunday of Advent
Holy Eucharist 8 am; Sung Eucharist 10:15 am
Greening of the Church 11:30 am
Monday December 24 -
Children's Pageant and Sung Eucharist 5:30 pm
Candlelight Service and Sung Eucharist 9:30 pm
Tuesday December 25 - The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ
Sung Eucharist 10:15 am
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Send corrections, remarks, or updates to the Redeemer Reporter to Israel Ramirez: [email protected].
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Church of the Redeemer, Springfield
145 West Springfield Road
Springfield, Pennsylvania 19064
610.544.8113
The Reverend David Beresford, Rector
Minister of Music
Susanna Faust
Parish Administrator
Maria Macfarlan
Eucharistic Visitors
Linda Bennett,
Mary Huber,
Carol Kane,
Claire Witzel
Vestry Members
George Baughan '19
- Senior W
ard
en
Lee Lucas '20 - Junior Warden
Keith Brown '19
- Accounting Warden
Sharon Bilak '21
Ginny Doyle '19
Jim Lambert '21
Joan Strayer '18
Helen Lightcap '20
Gary Rew '21
Our Mission
"As people of God, we come together in joyful worship, to care for each other, to engage in Christian formation, and to reach out to others thoughtfully and compassionately."
"Becoming one with Christ, with one another, and with all God's people"
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Once again, we will be providing Christmas gifts and food for families adopted from Delaware County Children and Youth Services and the Upper Darby
In the preparation of the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, bread and wine, sometimes known as the "elements", are brought to the altar. There is also the option of taking a collection as an offering. We bring up the money which has been collected from the congregation, symbolizing the whole working week which is also offered to God. We recognise 
After a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1888 he entered the Trappist order, with whom he spent seven years before being released from his vows in 1896. The following year Foucauld took private vows of perpetual chastity and poverty and, adopting the name Brother Charles of Jesus, went to the Holy Land. He worked for a time as a handyman fo
