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From the January 2010 issue of Faith Matters, the newsletter of Redeemer Lutheran Church.

As a pastor, one of the things I have to work at a lot is communication. In my daily work what I have to do to be effective is communicate well, so I really like it when I come across a saying or a word that communicates well. The concept of a ’sweet spot’ communicates well. If you have ever played in band or orchestra and you can remember what it felt like the first time you hit just the right note at just the right time, you know what it is like to hit a sweet spot. If you have sung in a choir, hit a ball, or dove off a high diving board for the first time you have a basic recollection of what it means to have a ’sweet spot’ experience.

I recall when I first began playing tennis. It was a frustrating experience. Then it seemed that one day out of the blue I hit the ball in just the right spot and the ball flew effortlessly off the racket. For the first time I knew what it meant to hit the sweet spot. I can also recall the moment when I broke up a fight and in doing so I was facing someone I was very much afraid of and all time seemed to stand still in that moment.

The ’sweet spot’ is not a term that just communicates, it connects us with moments in time that say to us, I can do this! It is an experience that says to us, if I did it once I can do this again. It connects us with experiences that build the confidence, hope and joy that if we did it once then we can do it again.

What is the church, if not God’s ’sweet spot’? God’s church is the invitation God gives us to invite others to Read the rest of this entry »

From the November 2009 issue of Faith Matters, the newsletter of Redeemer Lutheran Church.

There is a legend that Knute Rockne was scheduled to face the football team of USC, the University of Southern California, knowing that USC was a far superior team, wondering if he could defeat them, came up with an idea.

He scoured the city of South Bend, Indiana for the biggest men he could find. He assembled about one hundred men, each about six foot five and weighing around three hundred pounds or more, he put them all in Notre Dame uniforms. With shoulder pads and helmets they looked even bigger.

Then, when it was time for the game to begin, he sent the men out of the locker room first. As the USC team watched, they just kept coming, and coming until these hundred men was all the USC men saw. Read the rest of this entry »

Members of Redeemer, young and old enjoy the beauty and safety of the new front stairway. The work was done by Zion members Dave and Doug Schmidt.

As well as partnering in worship with Redeemer Lutheran Church, Zion has also been an active partner in helping Redeemer begin a capital campaign with the emphasis being on replacing the roof of their building. As Redeemer began their campaign, they realized that the front stairs were no longer safe for entrance into the building. Something had to be done to make the front entrance safe. This is where Zion members Dave and Doug Schmidt came in. They went to Redeemer and met with Pastor Kelly and discussed what needed to be done. Pastor Kelly gave them the OK to proceed with tearing down the old steps and building new ones. In Dave’s words…

“Rick Johnson asked if we would look at Redeemer’s front entrance because they had major problems. For years, I had heard about Redeemer being our sister church.  I thought it was a very large newer church, so I never paid much attention, but I agreed to look at the problem. Wow, was I surprised to see a smaller, older church with some problems, but a great Pastor Kelly and I was introduced to the staff who were very nice people.

We agreed on a price and started to rip out the steps and ramps leading up to a gathering area in front of the church. As we got into the project, everything started crumbling and shaking, even the stuff we thought we could leave. I talked to Pastor Kelly and he said, “Well, let’s fix it right.” I was extremely nervous about the situation, thinking there’s not even a foundation under all this mess.

Suddenly we found a foundation, under everything, solid as a rock with not a crack in it anywhere. We started to rebuild the entrance, starting on a solid foundation. Well now we’re finished, with all new steps and ramps as well as a gathering area at the front door. The railings are all new with Redeemer Lutheran Church inscribed right in the metal – very cool!

Everyone is happy, and I guess God had his hand in the project so that everything would work out, starting with that solid foundation buried under tons of rotting rubble. In today’s troubled world, I have been reminded by God that there is a solid foundation buried underneath all that’s happening in our lives. God is our foundation, so don’t worry!”

As you can see by the picture, the members of Redeemer are happy and grateful for the efforts of the Schmidt’s to make the entrance once again safe and also beautiful. The following comments from Pastor Kelly express his feelings about the capital campaign and the repair of the front steps. It is written to the members of Redeemer, but also has a message for all of us.

“Your capital campaign contributions and pledges made it possible for Redeemer to respond when the front stairway to the church deteriorated to the point of danger. We were blessed to have the contributions and pledges that made it possible to secure a contractor to build a new wall and entrance to Redeemer. Thanks to the capital campaign, people are safe to enter the church.

As I think about the unstable entrance to a church that is under construction, I think about how congregations like Redeemer are the entrance way to a Lutheran Church that has also become unstable and at risk. The church is unstable and at risk when people look at the church and wonder will there be a place for them leadership? If they dare to walk through the doors, will the church embrace them or try to change them? Will they find a church structure where people argue, criticize and judge or will they feel unsafe? When people dare to put their feet down on the structure of the church, is the intention to fully include them? Will they feel unsafe?

When we made our contribution to the capital campaign, it was a no brainer for us because in Redeemer we have found a dedicated congregation where people can feel safe to enter church. The entrance to Redeemer is built and cemented in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Bible study, choir, Sunday School, quilting, Busy fingers, cookouts, Narcotics Anonymous, Living Room, or affordable housing are all to support our understanding of God’sove and message that everyone is safe to belong and ennter God’s beloved community.”

In the September newsletter of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Pastor Kelly Chatman writes about Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point, and the “Broken Window” theory of crime.

Many years ago, criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling formulated this theory about how a neighborhood or community slowly gives in to increasing crime rates. They called it the Broken Window Theory. Wilson and Kelling said that crimes are more likely to be committed in areas where it appears that the residents have lowered their standards and no longer care about their community.

If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people start to assume that no one cares about maintaining that building. More windows will get broken. As the building becomes more dilapidated, there is a growing assumption of lawlessness by the residents. People assume that they can lower their standards of behavior, because no one will notice or care.

In contrast to Gladwell’s theory, Redeemer is a congregation where change occurs by building on the assets of people. Where others see people with problems, Redeemer sees children of God.

In September, Redeemer displayed a new banner along Glenwood Avenue proclaiming that their congregation is “In the City for Good.” They also have a newly constructed entrance.

Today, Redeemer remains both a place of hope (assets) and a tipping point (transformation) where people experience the restoration of life and community, and for this we say, “thanks be to God!”

On Monday night, the Global Missions Committee hosted three guests from our partner, Redeemer Lutheran Church.  Here are a few clips from the evening:

Zion’s Global Missions Committee members:

Kelly Chatman, Pastor of Redeemer:

Marilu Thomas, Director of Redeemer Center for Life:

Cindy Stenson, Congregational President of Redeemer:

Over the past couple of years, Zion has reprinted numerous articles about Redeemer Lutheran Church, our partner congregation in North Minneapolis. Many of the articles have been written by Pastor Kelly Chatman, and others have been written by long time members of Redeemer. This month, two young students who are working at Redeemer this summer shared some thoughts with the people of Redeemer. Their admiration for Redeemer and its members is amazing.

Mara Kumagai Fink, a St Olaf Intern has “attended church forever, but still hadn’t ever felt a part of a real church community until [she came to Redeemer].  There’s something about [Redeemer] that is so incredible that words truly can’t describe. ” She was warmly welcomed at Redeemer, and learned “about what resilience truly is, about the love of God, and about what it means to be a Christian even when things aren’t going perfectly.”

For Brianna Pettis, a high school student, being part of the summer program at Redeemer has been the highlight of her summer.  She says it “is a great place to go and feel welcomed” and “a great place for children to come together and have fun, communicate with one another, and unite with each other. “

You can read their complete letters below: Read the rest of this entry »

By Pastor Kelly Chatman of Redeemer Lutheran Church

There is an old rabbinic parable about a farmer who had two sons.  As soon as they were old enough to walk, he took them to the fields and he taught them everything that he knew about growing crops and raising animals.  when he got too old to work, the two boys took over the cores of the farm and when the father died, they had found their working together so meaningful that they decided to keep their partnership.  So each brother contributed what he could and during every harvest season, they would divide equally what they had corporately produced. Across the years the elder brother never married, stayed an old bachelor.  The younger brother did marry and had eight wonderful children.  Some years later when they were having a wonderful harvest, the old bachelor brother thought ot himself one night, “My brother has then mouths to feed. I only have one. He really needs more of his harvest than I do, but I know he is much too fair to renegotiate.  I know what I’ll do.  In the dead of the night when he is already asleep, I’ll take some of what I have put in my barn and I’ll slip it over into his barn to help him feed his children.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Block Club at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Zion’s mission partner congregation, is holding their 2nd Annual Bold Women Quilt Auction (at Redeemer, 1800 Glenwood Avenue Minneapolis) on July 25, 2009 at 10am.

A brunch will be served the morning of the auction, everyone attending is asked to bring school supplies. There will be a live auction of handmade quilts, silent auction baskets and handmade items for sale. Proceeds from the auction will be going to a Women’s sewing project in Mexico, a school in Togo and to Redeemer Lutheran’s Capital Campaign.

The Block Club at Redeemer is an outreach ministry to women, teens and kids in the Harrison neighborhood. The age range of the quilters is 8 to 93. This outreach ministry was formed 4 years ago and has been a blessing to many.

By Pastor Kelly Chatman of Redeemer Lutheran Church

This month as we celebrate the 100th anniversary at Redeemer, we give thanks that for one hundred years Redeemer has been blessed to lead people to faith. A congregation is a faith community where people witness to the story of God’s love and inspire others to have lives of faith.

On July 23, 2002, nine miners in Western Pennsylvania became trapped in a flooded mine. The injured and desperate miners tied themselves together so that the stronger ones could sustain the weaker ones as they waited to be rescued. Journalists from across the nation reported the rescue effort, which took five long days. No one could believe it when all nine miners emerged safely from the mine.

On July 30, the people of the small mining community gathered for a worship service to thank God for saving the miners’ lives. At the ceremony, there were ten miners’ lamps set up on the altar, even though there were only nine miners. At that worship celebration, the tenth lamp was to represent the presence of God, which the miners claimed they could feel as they waited to be rescued. It was this “10th Person” they honored as they read Psalm 103: “Praise the Lord . . Who redeems your life from the pit.”

This month we celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Redeemer Congregation in thanksgiving that God has been present in our midst as that “tenth person,” for without God this surely would not have been possible. Read the rest of this entry »

Next Sunday, June 7, Redeemer Lutheran Church, Zion’s mission partner congregation in North Minneapolis, will begin their Centenniel year of celebration.  They will be remembering their history and imagining their future as a Beacon of Hope in Harrison Neighborhood and North Minneapolis. Worship is at 10:30, preceeded by a time of prayer and praise and special music, and followed by a reception displaying memorabilia of the past as well as architectural ideas for Redeemer’s future.

From Redeemer Lutheran Church’s April 2009 Newsletter

In a seminary mission class, Tom Mason told how, as a new missionary, he was assigned a care that would not start without a push. After pondering his problem, he devised a plan. He went to the school near his home, got permission to take some children out of class, and had them push his car off. As he made his rounds, he would either park on a hill or leave the engine running. He used thi ingenious procedure for two years. Poor health forced the Mason family to leave, and a new missionary came to that station. When Brown proudly began to explain his arrangement for getting the car started, the new missionary began looking under the hood. Before the explanation was complete, the new missionary interrupted, “Why, Dr. Mason, I believe the only trouble is this loose cable.” He gave the cable a twist, stepped into the car, pushed the switch, and to Mason’s astonishment, the engine roared to life.

For nearly two years needless trouble had become routine. The power was there all the time. Only a loose connection kept Mason from putting that power to work.

At Redeemer we are celebrating our hundred year anniversary with an exciting shared capital campaign, along with our non-profit Redeemer Center for Life (RCFL). God has blessed us with a wonderful vision that will impact not only the church building but the entire city block. God has brought to Redeemer the resource of Kairos Development Consultants, Plymouth church Neighborhood Foundation, Urban Works Architects, Faith in the City, Augsburg College and the commitment of mission partners.

God has put into our hands the opportunity to build a new future, a future that will transform our congregation, neighborhood and the lies of many people with disconnected cables. This is an exciting opportunity for the church to connect our cable with people seeking affordable and supportive housing, an accessible church building, kitchen that facilitates community and creative stimulating space where children and families are mentored to learn and grow.

These are just a few of the possibilities that are within Redeemer’s reach. The question each of us will need to answer is, “is our cable connected to God?”

How will Redeemer’s campaign reflect God’s campaign of justice and compassion witnessing to the church in the world? Thanks be to God for this amazing opportunity to build an exciting and promising future. Let’s make sure that our cables are connected to God!

by Pastor Kelly Chatman

“On Saturdays and Sundays, America in the year 2009 does not, in some ways, differ significantly from the country that existed some 50 years ago.  This is truly sad.”

Last month Attorney General Eric Holder provided this assessment that the United States is “essentially a nation of cowards” in failing to openly discuss the issue of race and that as a nation we remain “voluntarily socially segregated.”

“Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and continue to be Read the rest of this entry »

Redeemer Lutheran Church is Zion’s Mission Partner congregation in North Minneapolis

I was baptized as an infant at Redeemer, and then we went to a friendlier Baptist church closer to our home. Mom and Dad were married at Redeemer and Dad was confirmed here in the early 40’s before he joined the Navy during WWII. Dad left the family when I was five so Mom had to find a closer church. I was happy in the Baptist church and Mom saw that we went every Sunday even after we moved back into the Harrison Neighborhood. As I grew older in the church I came to realize that people were not always nice to other people-even Christians. When the Baptist church moved out to Maple Grove because they didn’t like the people in North Minneapolis , I decided that the church really didn’t have a place for me so I quit going to church.

Even though I had left the church God would not leave me. Read the rest of this entry »

By Harriet Oyera

I come from Northern Uganda that suffered war and violent conflict since 1986. I left Uganda in 2005 without having any idea how and when I would leave my country. I mean it was a hard decision to reach at. I am here to rebuild my life and live in safety and peace.

When I connected with Redeemer Lutheran Church, the people here made coping with my new life possible and easy. Read the rest of this entry »