Redeemer: Moving Forward Together
RLConnection for the week of March 6th, 2023
Sunday After Service Fellowship and Breakfast
Beginning April 9th (Easter Sunday) we will begin serving breakfast again! For the first week, the breakfast crew plans to serve between the Sunrise service and regular service (from 7:45am - 8:45am). Breakfast will then be provided on the first Sunday of every month moving forward.
Small Group Meetings: Sign up here
Your voice and opinion is important, so please consider signing up to attend a meeting. Additional options/virtual options may become available in late March if needed.
There is still space available at the meeting this Friday and on Sunday. To sign up for a Small Group Meeting, Please click here:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0D4BA4AA2FA1F8C70-small
If you are unable to sign-up online, please contact the church office at (407)671-4300 or via email at admin@redeemerwp.org, and we will gladly assist you.
Meeting hosts will be in touch ahead of the meeting with their exact address and any other details you may need. Please use an email address that will be checked regularly when signing up.
2023 Lent Project - Let's buy Honeybees
RLC Property Day
Projects we’re hoping to get done include new mulch, cleaning up the prayer garden, pressure washing, weeding, and tree trimming.
We welcome anyone who would like to help. For more information contact Chris Smith at (407)399-3578 or Rob Delany at (407)252-4607
VOICE RECITAL AT REDEEMER Sunday, March 26, 4:00 pm
Opera singers Benjamin Ludwig and Claire Tendl have been using Redeemer's sanctuary this past year for voice lessons and recordings. It is a great space for singing!
They would like to thank Redeemer and give back to the community by singing a concert for us on Sunday, March 26, at 4 pm. Admission is free and all are welcome.
David Ludwig will be collaborating on the piano.
Invite friends (and enemies) and mark your calendar for an afternoon of glorious singing.
Spring Fling, Saturday, April 8th
Monday March 13th
Saturday, March 25th
Upcoming Dates to Remember
March 6-10, 16th annual Luther Springs Quilt Retreat Mar 6 - 10
March 8th, Wednesday International Women’s Day
March 13th, Monday Ruth Sewing Circle 11:00 - 12:30 pm in Agape Hall - all are welcome
March 25th, Saturday: WELCA Spring Gathering
March 25th, Saturday: RLC Property Day
March 26, Sunday, 4:00 pm VOICE RECITAL AT REDEEMER
April 2nd: Palm Sunday
April 3rd: Last day to turn in 2023 Lent Project Jars
April 6th: Maundy Thursday
April 7th: Good Friday
April 8th: Spring Fling and Easter Egg Hunt
April 9th: Easter Sunday
April 10th: RLC and CJP Closed in observance of Easter
June 8th-10th, 2023 Florida-Bahamas Synod Assembly at the Caribe Royale Resort in Orlando
Nursery Update
This week we read the story about God’s promise to Abraham and then talked about promises we can make and how important it is to keep those promises. We danced to “This Train is Bound for Glory” as we listened along to service live. We also explored with play dough, worked on engineering with marble runs, and had fun with open-ended materials.
Until the AC is repaired, we will continue to offer nursey care in room 7 (CJP Classroom) temporarily.
Tables and Chairs Available
If you would like to take 3 round tables, 15 chairs with arms, or 8 chairs without arms, contact the church office at Officeassistant@redaamerwp.org, or 407-671-4300 to arrange a pickup date/time.
They need to be cleared out by March 17th as the room is being transitioned back to Preschool space.
Looking Ahead
Sunday, March 12th
Third Sunday in Lent
Introduction
In today’s gospel the Samaritan woman asks Jesus for water, an image of our thirst for God. Jesus offers living water, a sign of God’s grace flowing from the waters of baptism. The early church used this gospel and those of the next two Sundays to deepen baptismal reflection during the final days of preparation before baptism at Easter. As we journey to the resurrection feast, Christ comes among us in word, bath, and meal—offering us the life-giving water of God’s mercy and forgiveness.
Readings and Psalm
- Exodus 17:1-7 Water from the rock in the wilderness
- Psalm 95 Let us shout for joy to the rock of our salvation. (Ps. 95:1)
- Romans 5:1-11 Reconciled to God by Christ’s death
- John 4:5-42 Baptismal image: the woman at the well
Overview Our “Other” at the Well
The woman at the well is a familiar text for many people. This image of Jesus standing at a well talking with a Samaritan woman is emblazoned in our visual and theological imaginations, but as with all Bible stories that we think we know, we might do well to take another look! Perhaps relegating this text to the simple moralism “be nice to people who are different” causes us to miss how deeply radical and difficult the message really is. We may assume this gospel simply urges us to stand with the marginalized, especially women. Yet while standing with marginalized women is a commendable action it can lead us, after doing so, to congratulate ourselves for being just like Jesus. A more critical and searching look at this text calls us to the reality that Jesus doesn’t just stand with the other, Jesus stands with your other; your church’s other. Your church’s “Samaritans” may be homosexuals, evangelicals, urban people, rural people, conservatives, liberals, the poor, the rich, the dying, or single parents. Your church’s Samaritans could very well be the key to this text. Because, like it or not, when we draw lines between ourselves and other people, Jesus is always on the other side of that line. So communities and individuals who thirst for the living water would do well to look to who our own Samaritans might be. And when we find them we should perhaps not be surprised to also find Jesus; a Jesus we thought was all our own but who, in reality, is the living water who comes to us in the strange and the stranger.
Reading Circle
We missed those of you unable to attend in February and hope to see you next time. We have changed some of the dates for the next couple of months due to the length of some books and the time it takes us to get them read.
Our next Book Club meeting will be April 1, 2023, in the Cafe at 9:30 am on Saturday morning.
The list and dates are as follows:
April 1, 2023 Sunflower Sisters by Martha Hall Kelly
April 29, 2023 Eventide by Kent Haruf
June 3, 2023 The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
We have a long book this time, but it sounds very good. Let us all start as quickly as possible to enjoy the book and feel accomplished. I will look forward to seeing all of you next month and hope others will be able to join us. We are always open to any who would like to be part of a very nice group of ladies who do enjoy time together.
If you’re over the age of 70
If you make charitable contributions, and are:
— over age 70 ½
— required to make annual minimum distributions from your IRA
— unable to itemize deductions on your tax return
You may want to consider a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD), which is a direct transfer of funds from your IRA custodian to a charity of your choice.
If you meet the rules, QCDs can potentially provide a significant tax benefit. They count toward satisfying your required minimum distribution, but are not included in your taxable income like a regular IRA withdrawal.
Here is an example:
Mary, age 75, is required to make a minimum distribution of $4,000 from her IRA in 2022. The distribution would be taxable to Mary because of her income, but she does not meet the rules for itemizing deductions. Mary also wishes to contribute $3,000 to a charity.
Option 1
Mary takes a distribution of $4,000 from her IRA, then writes a $3,000 personal check to the charity Income $4,000
Itemized deduction None
Taxable income $4,000
Option 2
Trustee of Mary’s IRA makes a distribution of $3,000 directly to the charity and Mary takes a distribution of $1,000 Income $1,000
Itemized deduction None
Taxable income $1,000
Note that Mary could have chosen to have the full $4,000 distributed directly to the charity, in which case none of the distribution would have been included in her income or taxable.
Of course, you should consult your personal tax advisor and IRA trustee to determine whether a Qualified Charitable Distribution is a good approach for you and to ensure any applicable rules are followed.
Thanks to Rob DeLany for suggesting we bring this to the congregation’s attention.
Altar Flowers
Please consider signing up for Altar Flowers on the chart in the Narthex; your donation will help cover the cost of the flowers. Two dedications are available, one for each arrangement and may be split with another member.
These flowers can be used to mark milestones in a loved one's life, such as a birthday, anniversary, memorial, or other special events.
The cost of alter flowers is $25 for each bouquet. You are welcome to take your flowers home on the week you have dedicated! Because we have to return the green flower vases, please use the flower bags that are on the shelf behind the altar to take your bouquets with you and leave the vase in the sanctuary.
The following upcoming Sundays are still open for your dedication-March 19th, April 2nd, 16th and 30th and all Sundays in May. Check the updated schedule in the Narthex to sign up for through May, and ask the office assistant for dates that are further out.
Council Meeting
Transition Status
We are working on scheduling a congregation retreat in the spring. Details will follow as we firm up the date/time. Prior to that retreat, we are having small group meetings at congregation members' homes. If you can host one of these meetings or take notes for one, please contact the church office to get on the planning list. To attend one of these small group discussions, please follow the instructions in the Small Group Meetings: Sign up here article above.
The board will be updated as we make progress through the procedure.
Scheduling Lay Readers
We are always on the lookout for Sunday morning Lay Readers to read the lessons during worship. If you would like more information or sign up please contact Lisa Fields at 1940fields@gmail.com Here is a link for the calendar to check when you are signed up and to see what dates are available: Redeemer Lay Readers. The Lay Reader Guide can be downloaded below.
At this time, the readings will not be sent out by the church office. You can access each "Looking Ahead" week's readings through the RLConnections email that is sent out. If you have any questions contact Lisa Fields or the Church Office 407-671-4300.
Altar Guild
Diane Ward
(407) 947-2747
Auto Giving
Council and Staff Contact List
If you would like an updated directory please contact the church office and they can email you a new directory. We are not going to make it available through the newsletter due to the privacy of our members. Contact the church office at admin@redeemerwp.org
You can also get to know our Preschool staff here: https://www.smore.com/at8ud
Contact Us
Monday - Thursdays: 9:00am - 1:00pm
Closed on Fridays
Email: admin@redeemerwp.org
Website: www.redeemerwp.org
Location: 3377 Aloma Ave. Winter Park, FL. 32792
Phone: 4076714300
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RedeemerWinterPark