Recent Vestry Notes

Vestry Notes

Vestry Notes (week of 3-22-26)

This Sunday, we will be having our Annual Meeting.  It is the time we gather to share where we are and where we hope to be, a time we acknowledge the contributions of so many who help in our faith community and a time to look ahead and dream together.  We begin with a celebration of the Eucharist followed by a brief meeting (we really do our best to keep it brief!) and ending with delicious treats provided by many.  The time will be Zoom friendly so, bring your own goodies and please stay tuned in!

We invite everyone to stay and share their stories of Redeemer.  As a teaser, Pat and I first came to Redeemer in 1990 for one Sunday…  We lived in Sparta at the time, but I had made the creation set of paraments and had come to see them in use for the very first time.  I was excited to be a small part of something so unique and meaningful.  What unfolded before our eyes really touched me deeply.  That Sunday was the day the church was deciding whether or not to turn the old Rectory (now the Egan House) into the Erik Johnson House for people living with AIDS.  It was a lengthy conversation and a bit tense at times… back in the 1990’s AIDS was not well understood and created a great deal of fear.  It all stopped when 80 something year old Preston Root, Sr., a man who stood maybe 5’3” rose and asked very simply, “What would Jesus do?”  At that, the conversation stopped and everyone agreed that the Eric Johnson House would become a reality.  I was almost in tears at the courage and strength of the community.  Three years later, we moved closer to Morristown and made Redeemer our parish home.  I loved the reality that God did not fit neatly in a box.  So many churches I had worshipped in kept God in a box and as long as you believed as they did, dressed as they did, agreed with all they said, you were fine and welcomed; just don’t question anything.  But I still have questions!  At Redeemer, I was allowed, encouraged even, to seek a deeper understanding of my faith which has been life giving to me.  It is why, even now, I zoom in week after week to share in the beauty of our worship that is intentionally inclusive.  A place where literally everyone knows they are welcome just as they are, no questions asked, no barriers raised, no expectations made other than to have an open heart.

What brought you to Redeemer? What has kept you here?  I, for one, would love to hear your story!

In peace and hope,

Colleen Hintz for the Vestry

Brian Malcolm, Paulette Bellew, Wardens
Vestry Members: Melissa Allman, Paul Cecala, Agnes Clyne, Leslie Harden, Colleen Hintz, and Barbara Shannon.