The St. Matthew’s Anti Racism Team in collaboration with the LiVE Project is hosting a book study on Call to Allyship: Preparing Your Congregation for Leaders of Color. Please join us as we discuss how churches can do the work of becoming allies for the leaders they call. This book study is for call committees, church councils, social justice teams, and anyone else interested in doing the work to understand, welcome, and celebrate Leaders of Color. The book study will start April 10th and meet via zoom every Wednesday from 6:45pm to 8:00pm through May 8th.  You can find the Zoom link ..read more

Consider helping out at Ballard Sunday Dinner (BSD) on the third Sunday of each month! BSD is a ministry in which we partner with local churches to feed our hungry neighbors. All roles have lots of availability, and we partner up with you until you’re comfortable! The next two dinners are on April 21, and May 19. As of this month, BSD has Fed an average of 30 guests per month Served an average of 55 plates of food.  Had 9 Our Redeemer’s folks helping out this year. We have the sign-ups open through the rest of the year and would love to make sure we have coverage as we get into summer ..read more

July 29-August 2, 2024  Save the date! VBS kid’s camp will be July 29-August 2. To make VBS happen this summer, we need help to plan, prepare, and volunteer! A VBS planning meeting is planned for a Saturday in May. If you are interested in helping out please email Pastor Thomas, pastorthomas@ourredeemers.net, to indicate your preference for a meeting on either May 11th or May 25th. We will be developing a theme for this summer offering, and other logistics. We can’t wait to collaborate! The post VBS Save the Date – 7/9 – 8/2 appeared first on Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church ..read more

by Pastor Thomas Voelp “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” One of the most commonly-known verses from the Gospels, John 3:16 can seem a little cliched. Printed on all sorts of merchandise, painted on posters at baseball games, or even quoted during mic-checks–that is, thanks to marketing, the verse can often feel overused. For many of us, the appeal to eternal life – for a start – can often feel platitudinal. The sense of an “evangelical” hold on popular ideas of what Christian belief looks and s ..read more

by Pastor Thomas Voelp “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Have you ever been reading or watching a news story and felt that for hours–days, even–facts are thrown around but no definite conclusion or end ever seems to appear? This is often very intentional. To keep our attention, mass media relies on maintaining our stress-response. Keeping us in a state of fear, questioning, and needing more information is a way of ..read more

April 19-21, 2024 | Pacific Dunes Resort    REGISTER BY APRIL 1st All Members and Friends that have expressed interest In this year’s Cleanup Event and others newly interested: Washington Coast Savers has provided us the opportunity to help with beach cleanup at Point Grenville on Quinault Indian Nation land. This is a beautiful beach located 18 miles north of Pacific Dunes Resort that is not typically open to the general public! We will assist the Quinault Indian Nation with Point Grenville cleanup on Earth Day (April 20) this year. It’s very important that you contact the resort to ..read more

Holy Week this year will continue to be framed by our Lenten theme, “Restore Us.” As we search for our place in the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we pray for new insights into where we might find a new life where we thought there might only be suffering and death. Thanks be to God! March 24: Palm/Passion Sunday Beginning outside with palms and processing, we will then move into the sanctuary for the telling of the passion narrative and remember the story of Jesus’ journey to the cross in love and loyalty to God and all of humanity. This service contains many emotions from joy an ..read more

Sunday, March 24, 10 AM | Fellowship Hall (rescheduled from 2/25) Church member Sonja Braasch is back from her trip to Tanzania trip ready to share her experience and take your questions about her vision trip. Sonja will present photos of that country’s beautiful scenery and wildlife taken on her safari to Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti region. Learn first-hand from Sonja about the culture of Tanzania and what she learned about the ELC ministry.  The presentation is Sunday, March 24 at 10:00 am in the Fellowship Hall. This talk will be in lieu of the Adult Forum that Sunday. Eve ..read more

Please consider flowers given in memory of – or to honor – a loved one in your life, and help us to decorate our sanctuary on Easter with your donated flowers. Your loved one’s name will appear in the Easter Sunday bulletins. Donate any amount you wish in the flower envelopes located at church or use this LINK. (We also except donations just for the joy of tulips to beautify our sanctuary for Easter. Thank you!).   The post Donate Tulips in Memory/Honor of a Love One for Easter appeared first on Our Redeemer's Lutheran Church ..read more

Hello! I am Pastor Thomas! What a time to begin a new call, made even more remarkable by the fact that we are in the middle of Lent, and well on the way to a very early Easter. I am very excited to be here, and I am beyond grateful for your overwhelming generosity with me, and helping me in my move to Seattle! It has been a whirlwind after a long year of discernment, growth, and rest after my previous term call was complete. It moves me deeply that you have called me, and I hope and trust our ministry will deepen, strengthen, and grow as we work in faith to heal, inspire, and form our communit ..read more