HAT S AT REDEEMER ODAY...ic holy month of Ramadan and fasting start on May 15th this year. In...

THE REDEEMER SPIRIT MAY 2018

A monthly publication of The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Bethesda, Maryland

WHAT’S AT REDEEMER TODAY

Looking Ahead: May 12—Confirmation May 19—Newcomer’s Lunch at noon May 20—Pentecost June 3—Festal Choral Evensong June 9—Strawberry Festival June 18—CAIF Potluck Dinner June 24—Silent Movie Night August 4-13—Choir in Bristol, U.K.

Cathedral Confirmation Service, May 12

Please join us at St. John's on Wednesday, May 16, from 7-9 pm, for an evening with the Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek, the father of Palestinian Liberation Theology and founder of Sabeel - an ecumenical grassroots liberation theology move-ment. The Rev. Dr. Ateek will discuss his latest book, A Palestini-an Theology of Liberation: The Bible, Justice, and the Palestine-Israel Conflict, followed by a time of Q&A. During the course of the evening, attendees will also have a chance to hear from Tarek Abuata, the Executive Director of Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA). We hope to see you for this unique discussion!

Islamic Community Center of Potomac Peace and Greetings! Perhaps you know that the Islam-ic holy month of Ramadan and fasting start on May 15th this year. In keeping with the spirit of Ramadan, ICCP would like to invite you to share an Iftar (break of fast) and dinner with us. The program of the evening follows: Wednesday, May 23, 2018 Venue: ICCP, 10601 River Rd, Potomac, MD 20854 7:30-8:20 pm - Gathering and Brief Comments by faith leaders 8:24-8:34 pm - Iftaar (break of fast) 8:35-8:45 pm - Maghrib Prayer led by the ICCP Imam 8:50-9:50 pm - Dinner at the Barn - the formal close of the program ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10:00-11:30 pm - Isha prayer followed by Tarawih prayer - guests may optionally observe RSVP: By 5/15/18 to Karen Stewart - Karen

Adult Forums May 6—Marie France will introduce the head of Bethesda Cares. May 13—Coffee with Cricket on Mother’s Day May 20—Cricket and Jo Barclay-Beard will discuss Educa-tion for Ministry. May 27—Memorial Day weekend with Denny Shaw and David Riggs.

Sunday, May 27 Bring food items to the church no later than 4:00 p.m. Sign up to provide food, drinks, snacks, or delivery by contac ng Marie France, [email protected]. Thank you for helping our homeless Bethesda neighbors.

Sign up for newcomer’s lunch!

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The Redeemer Spirit May 2018

THE SENIOR WARDEN

From the Senior Warden Dear Friends, It is pink season! Everywhere you look, there are blooming trees and shrubs: redbud, cherries, azaleas, dogwoods—and hard to miss are the six double cherry trees on Redeem-er’s grounds. They look amazing this year! In April, we hosted St. Dunstan’s vestry at Redeemer for the second potluck dinner of our two parishes. During that dinner, Geoffrey (our choir director) introduced the idea of forming a choral group (The Glen Echo Singers) that would perform locally at commu-nity events, hospitals, and nursing homes. (The Glen Echo Singers would fill the void left by the Washington Chorus, who no longer performs at those venues.) The core of the group would be singers from Redeemer and possibly St. Dunstan’s, but it is open to any-one, and we hope to get folks from the community. The group would practice at Redeem-er, and be led by Geoffrey, but it technically would not be a Redeemer group. Cricket is currently drafting articles of incorporation for its 501c3 status, and both she and Geof-frey are looking into grants from Montgomery County. At our April vestry meeting we finalized our mission statement and continued our discus-sions of Redeemer programs. We decided to shift the Music at Redeemer concerts to Sat-urday nights, leaving Sunday evenings open for a late Sunday afternoon service or Evensong. We also decided to focus on the elders at Redeemer and in our neighborhood. We want to celebrate their lives and wisdom and to explore programs like the Hope Initiative (https://htc.us/hope) and the Sightlines Project (http://longevity.stanford.edu/the-sightlines-project), as a way to serve this community. We want to hear their stories! Look for a notice on that for some time in June. The first Sunday in May (May 6th) is Spring Clean up Day at Redeemer. Plan to come to church in your yardwork clothes; we will start the clean up after coffee hour. Give whatever time you have that day to beautifying the grounds of our lovely church; it will be mostly weeding! We will supply gloves, weeders, and lawn bags. Peace,

Susan Graham Fitzgerald, Senior Warden

Redeemer Book Group Our next book we will be reading is Cluny Brown by Margery Sharp, a New York Times best-selling author. A parlor maid, Cluny Brown, upends the lives of an aristo-cratic family in prewar England. The book will be discussed on June 3 at the home of Huda & Jochen Kraske, 4550 North Park Avenue, Apt. 410, Chevy Chase, Md. 20815. After that, we will be reading the following two books: Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward and the Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen. More on these two books later.

Questions: contact Huda Kraske at [email protected] or by calling 301 656 2087.

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FROM THE HEARTH While I was in Ohio, my colleague sponsored me to attend a program from Trinity Wall Street called the Clergy Leadership Project. It was vigorous, soul challenging, work. One of the objectives for each partic-ipant was to create for themselves a “BHAG” – a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal – that we would work on for at least a year. Another objective was to help us understand the power of purpose. Nothing gets done in an organization if there is no shared purpose. The Vestry came together with our facilitator the Rev. Tim Johnson to work on the purpose part. You can read more about that in Susan’s article. In brief, our purpose is to promote a loving relationship with God, each other, and creation through following Jesus Christ. For the next 12 months, our commitment is meeting the spiritual needs of our senior members, along with senior members of the surrounding com-munity. To do so, we hope to have one or two events that feature the stories of our long-time parishioners. We hope that members of all ages choose to be a part of these events. But, what’s the “BHAG”? Thanks to Geoffrey, I believe it’s called The Glen Echo Singers. The Vestry also com-mended this program to staff care in order that the project get launched and funding sought through grants and oth-er outside sources. This community chorus hopes to work cooperatively with the choirs of Redeemer and Bradley Hills Presbyterian, and (hopefully) St. Dunstan’s. It will be an outreach ministry of the church and an opportunity for singers at large to experience the love and care of Christian people. To say I’m excited about this is an understatement. Redeemer is at a place in its life cycle where we need to risk boldly to ‘reenergize’ our congregation. Let’s work together with these two initiatives to renew our commitment to Christ and each other. God's love isn't a secret, and neither should we be!

Amma Cricket

Pastoral Care Committee Update The committee is working on the structure of their work and hopes to move full force into action this month. Please let Cricket know if you know of anyone who might not be on the prayer list, but who would appreciate a phone call or a card. Cricket is working with this list to help deter-mine and prioritize the needs of people who are in our hearts and prayers. If you would like to join the group, please contact Carolyn Rutledge ([email protected]). Emails to this group can go to pastoral‐care‐[email protected]

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STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL

The Strawberry Festival’s success is dependent upon everyone’s volunteering. There are plenty of ways to help. Mi-chael Mershon will be gathering signatures for the many, many opportunities to serve. You could volunteer to lead or partici-pate in: Picking strawberries on Friday morning Hulling strawberries on Friday afternoon Sorting and arranging clothing for the Boutique Sorting and arranging books for the Book Sale Asking restaurants, salons, and other places you frequent for a gift certificate for the Silent Auction Arranging the collectibles sale Setting up the morning of the Festival Selling tickets Selling grilled items Selling strawberry items Selling boutique, books, and collectibles Supervising the bounce house Painting faces Supervising the Silent Auction …and inviting your friends and neighbors to come to the Festival! Contact Michael Mershon at [email protected] or sign up on the vol-unteer sheets beginning April 29th.

We already have a number of items donated for the 2018 Strawberry Festival Silent Auction. They are: Silk Scarf Sparkly Shawl Pet sitting Baby’s first library House cleaning Tour of the Southern Shenando-ah Valley Tickets to the ballet Flower arrangement Autographed books from Liz Coley ++K. J. Schori Jewelry Nordstrom gift certificate Dinner for eight with the bishop of Washington

What will you add to the list?

SILENT AUCTION ITEMS TO DATE

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St Dunstan's is working to collect household goods to furnish an apartment for a refugee family. We plan to identify donors and do-nated items between now and May 6, 2018. We are contacting you because of your recent support for our refugee settlement efforts. They will be notified by the settlement agency when a family is scheduled to arrive and we will collect larger items at that time. Smaller items may be stored, if necessary, at St Dun-stan's. Contact Fred Bentley ([email protected]) or Ray Donnelly ([email protected]; 301-320-6146) for details about storage. A list of items being requested to furnish the apartment can be found at Sign-Up Genius: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0a4aa5af2ea6f49-apartment

P.R.A.Y. events for the spring! (Potomac River Anglican Youth) Sandy Springs Adventure Park Sunday, May 20 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. $40 per person Sign up no later than May 3! Spend a spring afternoon in the trees - climbing, overcoming obstacles, and zip lining. The park has multiple courses each with different degrees of exper-tise - from simple low to the ground to high in the trees with difficult challenges. All participants should wear close-toed shoes and ei-ther long shorts or pants. Shirts that extend below the hip are helpful. The park provides gloves and har-nesses for all climbers. Parents - Please read the following information about costs and the requirements regarding the sig-nup deadline: Group tickets require an advance purchase. If there is a cancellation after the signup dead-line, those tickets will be available to others on a first come, first serve basis. If there are cancella-tions that can not be filled by others, parents will be responsible for paying for the tickets that are not used.

The PRAY group does not have a budget to cover costs for reservations that are not used.

To sign-up to attend this event - please fill out this https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSec0uxn6bCETwVwsJt_e7-gcdOK-lU5wzSNp0H2orE-pS5Dqw/viewform form.

All climbers must have filled out an online waiver to climb. Parents must fill this out for all climbers who are under 18. Click here for the waiver for our event. Do not fill out the general waiver on their site.

Summer Mission

We have enough registrations to proceed with both summer missions! We still have room in the Kentucky mission and maybe a slot or two for Haiti; but we need to know about any additions very soon. I will be sending one more email to parents this week to get last minute sign-ups. Are there any adults from your parishes who are willing to go to Kentucky? I have one dad from Redeemer. Deacon Sue

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WORSHIP ASSISTANTS FOR JUNE

June 3, 2018 Second Sunday after Pentecost 8:00 Service, Lector: Marie France, Chalice: Susan Grigsby Ushers: Jefferson Arrington, Mary Helen Carlson, Meredith Griggs Crucifer: Youth Choir Acolyte: Olivia Tyler Lectors: Dawn Fairbanks, Meredith Griggs Intercessor: Michael Mershon Chalice: Michael Mershon, Judy James, Patricia Snowden Counters: Jane Dealy, Melinda Nelson Altar Guild: Ann Hartman, Marie France, Cathy Baker Coffee Hour:

June 10, 2018 Third Sunday after Pentecost 8:00 Service, Lector: Susan Grigsby, Chalice: Tami McMinn Ushers: Jefferson Arrington, Rick Tyler, Madeleine Tyler Crucifer: Youth Choir Acolyte: Anne Derse Lectors: Huda Kraske, Michael Mershon Intercessor: Peggy Tucker Chalice: Jenny Nachbar, Nathan Price, Justin Hess Counters: Cathy Arrington, Clark Downs Altar Guild: Susan Fitzgerald, Diana Dial, Helen Zitomer, Judy James Coffee Hour:

June 17, 2018 Fourth Sunday after Pentecost 8:00 Service, Lector: Rachel King, Chalice: Marie France Ushers: Jefferson Arrington, Bill MacBain, Mary K Young Crucifer: Youth Choir Acolyte: Olivia Tyler Lectors: Jenny Nachbar, Patricia Snowden Intercessor: Dawn Fairbanks Chalice: Chrissy de Fontenay, Helen Zitomer, Michael Hart Counters: Jane Dealy, Mary K Young Altar Guild: Patricia Snowden, Tami McMinn, Cathy Baker, Ann Taylor Coffee Hour:

In the summertime, worship assistants will sign up on the board in the Narthex. You can sign up on Sunday, or after for the following Sunday. If you are a lector, we will send you the readings on Friday by email. Young people are encouraged to partici-pate in this, even if you have not done it before. Training will be available if it seems necessary. We resume the regular schedule on Sep-tember 9th. The September schedule will be in the August Redeemer Spirit. Worship assistants are listed in the This Week At Redeemer on Tuesdays, which is also on the Redeemer web site.

Summer me

Men’s Retreat

Eva Cavaleri preaches on Maundy Thursday

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LET US PRAY

By Laura Rose When I was a child, I prayed like a child. Now I lay me down to sleep . . . As I grew, my prayers evolved into wish lists. I want to be an actress or a singer. Time passed and they developed into 911 calls, (Help!) and bargaining sessions (I’ll never ----_____ again, if you’ll just _____). Today my prayers run the gamut from all the above, to meditations, to more considered, petitions for the world, to listening. Lisa MacBain recently asked me to pray for Kairos prison ministry and the inmates. I didn’t sign up for a time slot like I did for Maundy Thursday. Instead I started praying Friday morning and, periodically throughout Friday and Saturday, prayed for the prisoners and staff as the days progressed. I prayed for a good start to their day; that they use their time well engaging in self care, education and rehabilitation; that there be peace for healthy recov-ery in the prisons and for good sleep guided by insightful dreams. Prayer is one of the elements in Education for Ministry. It has been a challenging one for me. It is common for us, near the end of class, to work together and write a collect. The collect, drawn from words we used in the Theologi-cal Reflection, sums up our evening’s discussion and brings our needs before God. It’s a perfect wrapping for this gift of being able to study, share and reflect together. It’s a collaborative effort and not my favorite part of class. The class tends to wordsmith every word. (I thought I took a long time to craft a sentence, but put six minds to it and it can get into some real time.) Last year, my first year, I felt like every suggestion I made got nixed. I pout-ed. Then I thought about it. (I know, I know - wrong or-der.) I realized that even when my words were passed over, they led the class to come up with other words, bet-ter words. I still played a role in the composition even though my words didn’t often appear in it. Good lesson. (‘Bout time.) When I lived in St. Paul and taught piano, I would occa-sionally get discouraged by the lack of progress with my students. One day, I decided to pray for them. (What a concept!) I had long prayed for my students, but not as

specifically as I did then. The following week showed marked improvement across the board. When I asked one girl what she’d done differently the past week, she sheepishly hung her head and confessed that she’d read what I’d written and followed it. (Again, what a concept!) From student to student, different measures of improve-ment were obvious, to them and to me. Prayer had worked. Months passed and I slacked off on prayer and found myself once again discouraged. I remembered how dramatically prayer had worked earlier and gave it anoth-er try. Same results. This month’s column is a call to prayer. So I want you to hear the singing, the chanting or the bells─whatever calls you to prayer─and cast your eyes heavenward, fall on your knees, prostrate yourself or sit quietly and join me. I, along with multitudes, are concerned about our nation and our nation’s place and role in the world. I’m con-cerned about the behavior of many world leaders, reli-gious groups and the potential devastating consequences of their actions. I have few fears. But as I look forward to moving to Vladivostok, Russia, I’m afraid Kim Jong Un will lob a nuclear weapon our direction and our military will retaliate in kind while my husband and I and other diplomats sit a mere thirty or so miles from North Korea and get lost in the fallout. That said, I’m suggesting a concerted effort to pray for world leaders of all levels. Pray for their health, their mental state, their advisors, their spiritual awareness, their dreams, their families. I suggest praying for them as we would pray for anyone we loved. We must love the likes of Bashar al Assad even when he condones atrocities against so many beautiful, innocent people. Let’s each get specific in our own way and watch the news coverage in the coming months and see what a difference we can en-courage God to bring about. Let us pray.

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CATECHISM CORNER Recently, a couple of things made me realize that Episcopal Church polity (the way we do business) isn’t on everyone’s radar. So, here’s a short course on how we work: The Episcopal Church isn’t a simple, top-down, institu-tion. Like the Trinity, we’re complicated at some levels, and easy at others. There’s an element of independence and interdependence in the way we function. At the parish level, we are governed by a vestry. The vestry makes policy decisions and oversees the budget. The rector (or vicar, or priest-in-charge) reports to the vestry as a whole. The staff reports to the rector. The vestry decides where money is spent; the rector decides how the buildings are used. Together, they work for the well-being of the en-tire community. Annual meetings are held to review the budget and discuss the direction and mission of the parish. At the next level, the bishop oversees the direction of the diocese. The diocese is made up of the people who worship at the individual congregations. The governance is through Diocesan Convention. The bodies that make decisions in the months between conventions is the Diocesan Council and the Standing Committee. The big umbrella is The Episcopal Church (incorporated as the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Episco-pal Church). The Episcopal Church can be found in the United States, Central America, and Europe! It is made up of all of the dioceses and the people worshipping in these countries. The Episcopal Church is governed by the Gen-eral Convention, which meets every three years. In between conventions, the Presiding Bishop (who is elected from with-in the House of Bishops) and the Executive Council make decisions for the entire church. What makes the Episcopal Church unique is that it pro-vides each bishop, and each clergy person in charge of a con-gregation, to respond to resolutions as they believe are ap-propriate to each. For example, before marriage became legal for all people, The Episcopal Church (at General Con-vention) approved for trial use a liturgy for blessing same-gender relationships. The approval did not require any bish-op or priest to use the liturgy. We are not ordered upon from above. Some bishops and priests embraced it; others didn’t. The fact that marriages are now legal for all doesn’t mean that any priest is required to marry same-gender cou-ples. The fact is that priests are not required to marry any-one and can refuse the rite if s/he believes that the marriage is not being approached in an appropriate manner.

Unlike other denominations, our Presiding Bishop doesn’t lay down orders for everyone to follow, or else! Neither does our Diocesan Bishop. And, priests (if they know what’s good for them) don’t do that either. We understand that decisions need to be made in community, through civil discourse. Like other denominations, we also must abide by the rule of law in the countries we find ourselves. Specifically, as a 501(c) 3 tax-exempt organization, we are not allowed to promote any specific candidate or governmental policy. We can cer-tainly talk about, educate ourselves about, and make our-selves aware of the impact on the dignity of human beings that today’s issues address. The church needs to be big enough to hear all sides and all opinions and then be able to come together at the Lord’s table to be fed and sent out to do God’s work, as we discern what that work is. Many people call the Episcopal Church “Catholic Lite” as if being a part of this church is easy somehow. If we take our Baptismal Covenant and the “three-legged stool” of Scrip-ture, Tradition, and Reason seriously, we find that being an Episcopalian requires challenging work and can be a little tricky sometimes. Still, where else is there a place that is open to your faith, your doubt, your dark nights, your joyful days, and everything in between?

Amma Cricket

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MUSIC AT REDEEMER

MUSIC AT REDEEMER 2017-2018 SERIES DETAILS ARE NOW ONLINE Go to redeemerbethesda.org/music for more information

INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED ORGANIST, DAVID BRIGGS, BRINGS HITCHCOCK'S "THE LODGER" TO REDEEMER JUNE 24 On Sunday, June 24 at 8.00pm, Concert Organist, David Briggs, will be pre-senting a performance of Alfred Hitchcock's first great (and silent) movie, "The Lodger" with organ accompaniment. David Briggs, Artist-in-Residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in NYC is one of the most successful of all concert organist working today. He is particularly famous for his per-

formances all around the world of his own organ transcriptions of the the symphonies of Gustav Mah-ler, and of improvised organ music to silent mov-ies. The movies themselves, plus the improvised mu-sic, create an experience that is extremely mov-ing. 'The Lodger', released in 1927 and starring Ivor Novello, is the movie in which Hitchcock is generally accepted to have found his 'voice'. This event will definitely be a time to invite your friends and family to come to Redeemer, as we expect an enthusiastic audience. It is the last in a year-long series of events that highlight the 10th anniversary of our DiGennaro-Hart pipe organ. Very special thanks for the Friends of Music at Redeemer, whose generosity makes this event possible.

ADULT CHOIR U.K. CATHEDRAL RESIDENCY UPDATE Our adult choir will be visiting the U.K. this coming August to spend a week as Choir in Residence at Bristol Cathedral in the U.K. The choir has been working hard toward this goal for the last two years and the plans are coming together well, with a group of more than thirty singers and ten other family members. The choir’s first U.K. performance will be at the morning Eucharist and Matins services on Sunday August 5 at the church of St. Mary Redcliffe in Bristol, described by Queen Elizabeth I as the "the fairest, goodliest, and most famous parish church in England” and home of arguably the finest pipe organ in the Britain. Following that, the choir will sing for Evensongs at Bristol Cathedral on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday of August 6-12 and for the Cathedral Eucharist on Sunday, August 12. The choir is also scheduled to present a lunchtime concert in Bath Abbey on Thursday, August 9, but that might depend on some sched-uled renovation work in the Abbey. As you expect, making this trip is expensive. The costs are being borne by the choir members themselves, but donations to the Choir UK Trip Scholarship Fund will be welcomed.

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Sunday, 6 May, at 5:00 p.m. THE INSCAPE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

In its final concert of the 2017-2018 season, Redeemer’s Ensemble-in-Residence takes advantage of the perfect acous-tics of our sanctuary, presenting Mahler’s strikingly beautiful Das Lied von der Erde in its chamber version. Free-will offer-ing. Reception to follow.

Sunday, 3 June, at 5:00 p.m. FESTAL CHORAL EVENSONG

Redeemer’s Adult and Youth choirs lead us in this beautiful liturgy, using the form that has been practiced in the England and around the world for more than five hundred years. With favorite Anglican music by Brewer and Sumsion. Reception to follow.

THE 2017-2018 MUSIC AT REDEEMER SERIES

CAIF prepared and served a meal at Calvary Women's Shelter in April. As usual it was a pleasure to eat with the women. The women are always great at engaging with the kids and asking them about school and their interests and the parents get to talk with the women about their families, politics whatever comes up!

Luby Ismail is a cultural consultant in a way (has done Muslim educa on for FBI, lluck aw enforcement etc.). She and the Capital Area Interfaith Friends are looking to organize an interfaith tour to Egypt in 2019. We are planning a potluck/dinner "informa on mee ng" on June 18 at Redeemer, most likely with pictures from a past tour she organized. We are looking for families of different faiths to a end but with kids we know we could chaperone. We are opening beyond CAIF to some faith communi es like Redeemer, ICCP, Islamic Sunday School, Adat Shalom. If we had a few slots le would be open to non‐family/kids. But the goal is sort of a larger CAIF experience for our ini al outreach. Luby has a travel agent in Egypt and put together the following i nerary: Connecting Cultures Welcome You For the BEYOND THE PYRAMIDS 2019 Educational Travel Tour to Egypt Cruise down the Nile in warm sunny Egypt on this 10-day program to the heart of Egypt and Egyp-tians. An experience of a lifetime.

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Music with Geoffrey

Music’s annual season at Redeemer is ramping up towards its close! In April, Friends of Music staged a remarkable concert - ‘Syncopation’ - by rising star composer-pianist Sam Post, where Bach and Ragtime were treated near inter-changeably and guided by insightful commentary from the performer. Suffice to say, Sam will be bringing his own ensemble to Redeemer next season! This month we welcome back our GRAMMY-nominated ensemble-in-residence, Inscape Chamber Orchestra, for “Songs of Earth” - a beautiful program of Berio and Mahler for voice and orchestra. Three vocal soloists will be accompanied by these young and gifted orchestral players. Sunday May 6, 5pm. All are welcome. Freewill offering. In June, our end of season is marked by a Festal Choral Evensong that con-sists of music that the choir is taking on its pilgrimage to Bristol in August. Music by Murrill and Sumsion - stalwarts of the great Anglican Choral Tradi-tion - will be sung, and there will be an extended organ piece performed by our wonderful Interim Organist, Chuyoung Suter. Sunday, June 3, 5pm. After the fun of strawberry season, and in anticipation of Independence Day, we have a fun organ extravaganza Sunday evening! We turn upstairs into a theatre, and the organ into a theatre organ and marching band, with live video relay of hands and feet projected onto a large screen, followed by Hitchcock’s 1920s classic silent movie, “The Lodger” – a movie which will be transformed for us in a one-off creative event through live impro-vised accompaniment by internationally recognized organist, David Briggs. Fresh Popcorn will be served, (salt only and no butter), and families are welcome. $5 entry. Sunday, June 24 at 8pm. Exciting prospects ahead: This September we will be launching a combined community non-auditioned out-reach chorus in an initiative called the Glen Echo Singers, a 501(c) 3 that will work alongside Friends of Music at Redeemer to enrich our music, strengthen our identity, and grow our community—without draining our core budgets. The mission of this ensemble which will meet on Wednesday nights, is to bring music in particular to those who can’t travel easily (the elderly, the sick), music therapy to dementia patients, to bring an uplifting

moment to care-givers and volunteers at soup kitch-ens etc., and to nurture the new ensemble’s member-ship through new collaborative artistic experienc-es. Two exciting co-productions will be a Duru-flé Requiem to mark the 100th Anniversary of the Ar-mistice, and, joining together later in the year with Bradley Hills Presbyterian Church in a Good Friday liturgical performance of the Bach’s St. John Passion.

Geoffrey Silver

Becoming a Sanctuary Diocese: An Update & How You Can Help

Following January's Diocesan Convention, a Sanctuary subcom-mittee of the diocesan Race and Social Justice Task Force has be-gun organizing to fulfill the work commissioned by the adoption of the resolution, "On Becoming a Sanctuary Diocese: Offering Sacred Welcome to Immigrants." The resolution, which passed with an overwhelming majority by the Convention, calls congregations and diocesan institutions to "serve as places of welcome and healing, and to provide other forms of material and pastoral support for all persons, regardless of immigration status." See the Diocesan website to learn more about the subcommittee's objectives and timeline, and how you can be part of this move-ment.

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EASTER

Bap sm! Easter Vigil

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VESTRY MINUTES

Episcopal Church of the Redeemer Minutes of the April Vestry mee ng

(unapproved) ‐ April 18, 2018

Present: Rev. Cricket Park, Rector; Brooke Anthony; Susan Fitzgerald, Senior Warden; Bill MacBain; Marie Caulfield; Judy James; Karen Stewart, Junior Warden; Randolph Court; Shannon Hoogerheide; Catherine Sands, Secretary; Steve Gibson, Treasurer

Absent: David Brown

The mee ng convened at 6:00pm. Shannon offered a prayer. The March Vestry minutes were approved.

Treasurer’s report The cash posi on as of 3/31/18 shows $360,177 on hand and $174,862 as opera ng cash available. Steve Gibson commented that while it is too early in the year to discern any trends, so far net income is running ahead of budget.

Junior Warden’s report Karen Stewart reported that more expenses will be incurred as a professional cleanup is scheduled. A cracked pipe in the rectory laundry room has been replaced. She is looking for a new “handyman” who will do small repairs.

Old Business Bill MacBain is heading up prepara on for emergency con ngencies. He is a ending a workshop, run by Montgomery County to address these possibili es.

The new Photo Directory, published by Life Touch, is being put together. On the weekends of April 26,27,28 & 29 picture sessions will take place in the parish hall. There are 10 slots for people to provide their own photos; three have been filled. “Robo calls” will go out from Cricket reminding parishioners to set up appointments.

New Business The Vestry spent at least two hours con nuing the conversa on of “mission” begun at the Retreat. A com‐posite of the discussion points was distributed and conversa on ensued.

It was passed that: the Vestry would have the Music Director pursue the Glen Echo Singers project. We support the development of a detailed plan to execute this idea. At this preliminary stage the vestry is will‐ing to serve as directors. The Vestry would like to work with the Music Director on a grant proposal at an aspira onal level of $50,000. The vestry agreed that we would spend the next 12 months, at minimum, on recognizing the spiritual gi s, and spiritual needs, of our senior members. The Hope Ins tute and/or Sightlines programs will be imple‐mented and at least one opportunity given to hear the stories of our senior members by a mul ‐genera onal audience. This may be a dinner, or something similar.

The next Vestry mee ng will be on Wednesday, May 16, 2018. The mee ng was adjourned at 9:15pm. Respec ully submi ed, Catherine Sands, Secretary

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Order with Amazon? Support Redeemer!

If you are ordering from Amazon, please consider registering with Amazon Smile. (smile.amazon.com) When you order through ‘Smile,’ a percent-age of your order automatically comes to Redeemer. You can also click through the link on the “Other Donations” page of our website. Thank you!

(http://www.redeemerbethesda.org/stewardship-giving/other-donations/

FINANCES

Treasurer's Report Church of the Redeemer's 2018 opera ng results through the end of March are set forth in the adjoining table. While it is too early in the year to discern any trends, so far net income is running ahead of budget. If you have any ques ons about Re‐deemer's finances, please feel free to contact me.

Stephen L. Gibson Treasurer

Church of the Redeemer Profit and Loss Statement

January‐March 2018 Jan‐March Budget

Jan‐March Actual

Jan‐March Over

(Under) Budget

Annual Budget

INCOME

2018 Pledge Payments 203,474 218,221 14,747 422,156

2018 Over Pledge 875 1,512 638 3,500

2018 Non‐Pledge 3,000 5,186 2,186 12,000

2017 Pledges 0 2,537 2,537 0

Loose Plate Offering 1,125 739 (386) 4,500

Special Offerings 975 1,118 143 3,900

Event & Ac vity Income 1,538 1,785 248 23,650

Facili es Use 5,000 1,634 (3,366) 20,000

Other Income 0 721 721 0

Total Income 215,986 233,454 17,467 489,706

EXPENSE

Administra on Expense 9,988 7,236 (2,751) 39,950

Diocesan Giving 8,500 8,500 0 34,000

Discre onary Account 125 0 (125) 500

Maintenance Expense 17,375 20,368 2,993 69,500

Outreach Giving 1,250 0 (1,250) 5,000

Personnel Expense 69,221 70,810 1,589 276,884

Program Expense 9,113 10,907 1,795 39,450

Property Expense 11,688 11,705 17 46,752

Total Expense 127,259 129,527 2,268 512,036

Net Opera ng Gain (Loss) 88,727 103,927 15,200 (22,330)

15


PARISH LIFE

Redeemer Men’s Third Friday Luncheon Group Beginning a while ago, a group of mostly retired men began gathering for a fellowship lunch on the third Friday of the month. The group discusses whatever is on their collective minds and catches up on how they are all doing. Being older and retired, sometimes the discussion centers on health, other times on household management, sometimes investment phi-losophies, national politics, the economy, and, of course, life in the parish. Monthly attendance has varied from as few as 4 to as many as 11. We usually gather in the bar at the Irish Inn at Glen Echo at 11:30. But we have ventured to other locations, including the home of Ben Ivins. A reminder email with the location and time is sent to all interested persons early in the week we are meeting. If you would like to know more about the group, or be put on the email list, contact Denny Shaw ([email protected]) or Bob Dresser ([email protected]).

We wish a happy birthday to those born in May:

David Hoogerheide, Helen Curtice, Tom McNaughter, Claudia Rathwick, Jessica Huey, Jane Beightol, Shannon Hoogerheide, Jeffrey McInturff, Tokes Rose, Jianping Zhou, Denny Shaw, Ma-rie Caulfield, Susan Grigsby, David Brown, Whitney Cinkala, Wesley Price

ON-LINE PLEDGING AND DONATIONS

Pledge payments: Payments can be made on a pledge (one-time/monthly/weekly) using a checking/savings account or with a credit/debit card. Participants can create a profile, set up recurring payments and make one-time donations. Donors may also choose to cover the service fee if they wish to do so. A receipt for each and every payment will go to the donor and to the Parish Office. For donations of stock, please contact the Parish Office.

For the 2018 Fall Pledge Campaign, you may complete an electronic pledge card, send it to the office, and then continue on to set up payment. Printed pledge cards are available in the Narthex and in the Parish Hall. Donations: Donations can be made using the on-line service for parish programs, such as Altar Flowers, Friends of Music at Redeemer, Memorials, and other ad hoc donations. These will all be one-time payments.

Payment Information: Payment information is secure. Access is only possible by the donor, Vanco and the Parish Office through specially set up passwords and access codes.

Church of the Redeemer Social Media Please connect with Redeemer and the rector through these social media platforms: Facebook: Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Bethesda, Maryland Facebook: Cricket Park Twitter: @VicarVirtual Linked In: Cricket Park Instagram: parkcricket Events are posted on Facebook only. Please respond to these invita-tions so that we have accurate information about who will be attend-ing. Thanks!

And Happy Anniversary to Jochen and Huda Kraske,

John and Melinda Nelson

PARISH CLERGY & STAFF The Rev’d Cricket Park, Rector [email protected]

The Rev’d Dr. David Schlafer, Assisting Priest [email protected] Rev. Sue von Rautenkranz, Deacon

[email protected]

Geoffrey Silver, Interim Director of Music [email protected] Chuyoung Suter, Interim Organist [email protected] Margaret Church, Bookkeeper [email protected]

Parish Office [email protected] VESTRY & OFFICERS Susan Fitzgerald, Senior Warden 301-229-3430 ▪ [email protected]

Karen Stewart, Junior Warden 301-310-1014 ▪ [email protected]

Randolph Court 202-441-9896 ▪ [email protected]

Bill MacBain 240-464-5330 ▪ [email protected]

Marie Caulfield 302-562-1687 ▪ [email protected]

Shannon Hoogerheide 774-279-4002 ▪ [email protected]

Judy James 301-922-4023 ▪ [email protected]

Brooke Anthony 301-493-9368 ▪ [email protected]

David Brown 202-262-6868 ▪ [email protected]

Steve Gibson, Treasurer 301-229-1168 ▪ [email protected]

Catherine Sands, Secretary 301-742-8342 ▪ [email protected]

The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

6201 Dunrobbin Drive at MacArthur Boulevard Bethesda, Maryland 20816

Phone: 301-229-3770 Website: www.redeemerbethesda.org

The Parish Office is open Tuesday — Friday,

9:00 am — 4:00 pm

Emails at Redeemer. Cricket: [email protected] Geoffrey: [email protected] Chuyoung: [email protected] Margaret: [email protected] Bob: [email protected] The office: [email protected] Pastoral Care Ministry: [email protected]

EMAIL

Welcome

Welcome to The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Bethesda, Maryland, a vibrant, growing parish community of “inquiring and discerning hearts”, where all – the doubter, the seeker, and the believer – are welcome to join us in living and wrestling with the often difficult questions of faith. Here we value an Anglican spirituality – one that is open to the mystery of the Holy and which celebrates the dignity of human nature and the beauty of all creation.

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