Our purpose is to worship God in the beauty of holiness, to teach the faith in such a way that we may be empowered to serve our Lord in this world, and bring others into the fellowship of the Body of Christ. Established AD 1888, Church of the Redeemer is in the National Register of Historic Places. An Anglo-Catholic congregation in Woodfin, within the Diocese of Western North Carolina, we are dedicated to maintaining the Anglican traditions that have formed our worship over the ages.
We welcome all baptized Christians to receive Holy Communion at the altar of God. If you are visiting for the first time, we welcome you to the Episcopal Church. Please make yourself known to Father Hanks.
Rector's Corner"Gimme that old time religion!"
The reason we worship the way we do is easy to explain. It's the way it was done long before the "Old Time Religion" our Protestant bretheran boast. Instead of being from 250 years ago, ours stems from about 400 years ... AD. Most of it comes from the ancient Jewish form of worship, which was to gather together, singing praises, reading the Law and the Prophets and expounding on the scriptures. When the followers of Jesus started, they were still jews, but a sect of Judaism called "the Way". They kept the same Jewish worship practices, and afterward would go to someone's home, bringing their offerings of food and money, which was then provided to the poor.
After the sermon, today, we moved into the added part of the service that those in "the Way" had added, and that part which Our Lord instituted on Maundy Thursday: The Eucharist. While it used to be a meal of bread, wine, olives, fish and whatever else someone brought, today it's just bread and wine.
Of course, after the service we normally adjourn to the Parish House to partake of whatever other food has been prepared for us to enjoy, so we really aren't so different from the 4th century Christians, after all.
Bill Smith's notes on today's sermon
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ComingServices/Events this week:
A Look Ahead:
Announcements: Deaths in the Parish: We morn the passing of our parishioners, John Sorton (about two weeks ago) and Mitchell Buckner (Sunday the 22nd of January). They departed this life in peace, leaving their families here on Earth to join their waiting family in Heaven. May light perpetual shine upon them. Vestry Meetings: The vestry will meet each month on the last day of the month starting on January 29th and continue through the end of January 2013. Vestry members, please mark your calendars and make every attempt to attend. Any other interested members are invited to attend as observers. Bulletin: It has been decided that it's better stewardship of the resources of paper and ink to suspend bulletin printing. You may also have noticed that the laminated cards outlining the services (Rite I on one side, Rite II on the reverse) have been returned to the pews. Hymn numbers will be posted, as usual, on the left-hand board, and Readings/Psalm pages will be posted on the right-hand board. It may take a few weeks to become accustomed to this routine again, but we feel certain it will be worth the effort. Announcements: please get them to Bill Smith (email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) by Wednesday of each week. Prayer List: If you know of anyone who needs to be on the list, please contact Susan Lunsford (email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). |