“Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.” Romans 13:11
Dear Beloved in Christ:

What time is it? As the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome, he told the people they knew. As he wrote these words, he was reminding them of their, and our, call to love our neighbor.
 
These words remind me of the words of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Letter from Birmingham Jail. He told those who were telling him to be patient in his work against racism, to wait for a better time… he told them that “the time is always right to do what is right.”
 
These days our country is the most troubled most of us have experienced in our lifetimes. We are separated one from another by a pandemic. By itself that would be enough but the outcry against racism has divided us along political and racial lines. Some of us, as we watch the news may be surprised at the unrest that surrounds us.
 
Some of us have been reading about race together. We started with “Dear Church” and we are now reading “How to Be An Antiracist.” We started this journey back in April and as a result of our learning are working on some goals for our congregation. Our first goal is an internal goal:

That members of Our Redeemer identify as a church dedicated to and active in
anti-racism.

Our next goal will be an external goal. This goal is not yet finalized because we are also experiencing that as our learning increases our goals are changing.
 
We want these goals to be goals that we can all affirm and work towards. With that in mind, we are hoping that you will engage with us (we also continue to invite you to join us in our book study). We invite you to send us your questions and comments. What would you like to learn? What do you wonder about? What concerns you? What opportunities do you see? What changes to we need to make as a congregation?
 
I know that some of us are weary of this topic. If that is you, I encourage you to prayerfully contemplate the weariness that is felt by our Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color (BIPOC) siblings. We as a church and join in a movement for policies that lead to equity (justice) in our churches, institutions, cities, states, and nation.
 
The time is right for us to answer this call. This call is rooted in love for neighbor. Let us prayerfully respond in love.
 
Yours in Christ,
 
Pastor Nancy
 
Ps: As you know we had our first combo in-person/online worship service on August 30th. We are not yet prepared to do this each week. We still have technology issues to work out. We still have systems to put into place. We will need volunteers to help with the technological aspects before we are able to commit to doing this weekly. In September we will worship in person twice: September 13 and 27. If you want to be trained as a volunteer please let me know.
Preschool News
We extend a warm welcome to all our new and returning families and little ones joining! We are     looking forward to another rewarding year of serving the children and families from Our Redeemer Lutheran Church and Preschool. Please be patient as we all adjust to our new school year and new Covid-19 Procedures. We thank you for allowing us the opportunity to share these very precious years with you.
 
Have a wonderful month,
Kerry Roman , Preschool Director
Online Book Study
Stretch & Prayer
Gentle Stretches, Mobility and Prayer

We haven't been able to meet in the church and the Zoom classes didn't work well either. So, Pastor Nancy has recorded a class and posted it to YouTube. You can find it at Stretch and Prayer She is hoping to post additional videos
Church Council
The September council meeting will be held on

Monday, 14th 2020 at 7:00pm

via Zoom
Do you want to be on our Birthday List?
Contact Michael at the church office: (805) 983-0612