Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

Worshiping God, living in community, reaching out to the world.

Tag: Christmas

Christmas 2021: A Message from Bishop Rickel

This is the message from the Rt. Rev. Gregory Rickel, Bishop of the Diocese of Olympia, for Christmas 2021.

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Greetings, Diocese of Olympia and all who may be watching, and most especially on this day, Merry Christmas to all of you.

I hope you all are with those you love and who love you, but if you can’t be with them, I hope you will make connections with them today in some way.

I know this can be for many, a season of wild extremes. For some, the most joyous and happy time of the year, and for some, the lowest and most depressing. If that is happening to you, know that this shall pass and know that Jesus, who is born this day, is as every bit right there with you and for you as he is for anybody. For as Christians, we believe that that is the greatest gift ever, and it’s one equally and fully given to each and every person. That is your gift, too.

I always use this message each year to remind you that Christmas is a season, not just a day. Christmas in a real sense, starts today, but runs for 12 more days, right up Epiphany. This was the drama that was read on Christmas Eve, but in real life, it played out over days and weeks and months, just as our lives do.

Like so many of our holidays, the secular world will celebrate today and then cast the Christmas trees on the corner, pack up the decorations, get back to normal, if you will, right when we might say we’re just getting started. In the Hallmark calendar, Advent has become what is our Christmas and Christmas has really, I hate to say it, been diminished to one day and in most quarters completely lost the original meaning.

My prayer for you is whether you decide to celebrate just today and then by the evening or tomorrow, erase all signs of Christmas, or if you actually try to ride out the whole season with those few of us that valiantly are trying to reclaim it, in either case, that you stop at some point or remind those around you, remind yourself what this day is all about, what it celebrates, what it points to, what it hopes for. We need this message now more than ever. Christmas begins today.

Christmas, or Christ’s Mass

Christmas (in old English, Cristes maesse) is a festival celebrated on December 25, commemorating the Incarnation of the Word of God in the birth of Jesus Christ. In the Book of Common Prayer, it is also called The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. In the United States it is also a popular secular holiday.

The customs associated with Christmas have developed from many sources. From early days the popular observance of Christmas was marked by the joy and celebration characteristic of the Roman Saturnalia and the pagan festivals which it replaced. It came to include the decoration of houses with greenery and the giving of gifts to children and the poor. In Britain other observances were added including the Yule log and Yule cakes, fir trees, gifts, and greetings. Fires and lights (symbols of warmth and lasting life) and evergreens (symbols of survival) were traditionally associated with both pagan and Christian festivals. Their use developed considerably in England with the importation of German customs and through the influence of the writings of Charles Dickens.

In the Book of Common Prayer, Christmas Day is one of the seven principal feasts. The Christmas season lasts twelve days, from Christmas Day until January 5, the day before the Epiphany. The season includes Christmas Day, the First Sunday after Christmas Day, the Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and may include the Second Sunday after Christmas Day. In many parishes, the main liturgical celebrations of Christmas take place on Christmas Eve.

The Book of Occasional Services includes a variety of resources for use during Christmas, including a form for a Station at a Christmas Crèche, a form for a Christmas Festival of Lessons and Music, and seasonal blessings for use during the Christmas season.

The above adapted from Christmas on the website of the Episcopal Church.

[As to using the date of December 25 for Christmas (instead of January 6), there is historical evidence that this date was used in the 2nd century, about 100 years before a Roman festival was placed on this same date. There is disputed evidence that another person cited December 25 from before the Roman holiday, too. That doesn’t mean no Christians were trying to counter Sol Invictus by celebrating on December 25 instead of January 6, but it does show that there is evidence there is no connection.]

Bishop Greg Rickel

The Rt. Rev. Gregory H. Rickel was elected bishop on May 12, 2007, and became the eighth Bishop of Olympia in September 2007. He embraces radical hospitality that welcomes all, no matter where they find themselves on their journey of faith. He envisions a church that is a safe and authentic community in which to explore God’s infinite goodness and grace as revealed in the life and continuing revelation of Jesus Christ.

Church of the Redeemer

Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

Merry Christmas. Blessings to each and every one of you.

December 26, 2021
Weekly bulletin insert for the 1st Sunday of Christmas (Year C)

This is the weekly bulletin insert from the Episcopal Church, 1st Sunday of Christmas (Year C).

The Presiding Bishop’s Christmas Message

A number of years ago, I read a book by Roberta Bondi, who at that time was teaching at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. The title of the book was “To Love as God Loves”. Professor Bondi, in that book, looked at and examined early Christians. And one of the things she observed was that early Christians saw their vocation of following Jesus as learning how to love as God loves. And that was the title of the book, “To Love as God Loves”.

If that is true, as I believe it is, when we look at the New Testament stories of Jesus, and particularly the stories around Christmas, we see early glimmers of Jesus showing us how to love as God loves. The Christmas stories found in Matthew and in Luke, for example, actually show us something about God’s way of love. We all know the Christmas stories, the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes as it’s found in Luke’s gospel, the baby that’s born of Mary, the stories of Mary while she was pregnant meeting her cousin Elizabeth, and the words of the Magnificat, “My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…” We know the stories of Mary giving birth in the manger, because there was no room for them in the inn, the stories of the shepherds out on the field beholding the angel choir: “Gloria in Excelsis Deo!”

The story of a baby born is the story of beauty, a story of hope, whereas the Jewish tradition says every child who is born is a reminder that God is not finished with the world yet. In this case, the baby that was born was named Jesus. But Matthew tells the same story, but highlights other dimensions that remind us profoundly of the way God loves. In Matthew’s story, the child is born and there is great beauty in it, but there is some difficulty, even in the relationship between Mary and Joseph when they discover that she is with child before they’re actually married. But an angel intervenes and tells Joseph in the dream that this child is God’s miracle. And so, Joseph accepts his responsibility and cares for Mary and the baby Jesus who is to be born. And all moves along well. And in Matthew’s version there is the star, the Magi or the wise men who come from afar, but then the story takes a dark turn.

And all of a sudden, the same beauty that surrounded the birth of a child now is tinged by an ugliness of tyranny, the ugliness of injustice, the ugliness of hatred, the ugliness of unbridled selfishness as King Herod hears rumors of a rival to his throne being born and begins plans to execute children to stamp out his rival. In Matthew, that is the context for the birth of Jesus. And Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus when he is born are forced to flee as refugees, seeking political asylum eventually in Egypt because of the wrath of King Herod. They are saved from the destruction, but many do die.

In the late 1930s, The Episcopal Church embarked on efforts to save refugees who were fleeing tyranny, evil, injustice, bigotry, hatred in Europe at the advent of the Second World War. In The Episcopal Church, Episcopalians and many other Christians and Jewish people in the United States and people of goodwill and human decency worked together in a variety of ways to save as many refugees as they could. And at that time, Episcopalians created this image. It shows Mary holding the baby Jesus in her arms on the donkey, with Joseph walking with them. And as you can see, the sign said in the name of these refugees, aid all refugees.

The Christmas stories are reminders that this Jesus came to show us how to love as God loves. And one of the ways we love as God loves is to help those who are refugees, those who seek asylum from political tyranny, poverty, famine, or other hardship. In the 1930s, Episcopalians did this to love as God loves, and today, ministries like Episcopal Migration Ministries, the work of this church, have helped to resettle some 100,000 refugees as of December 2021. And that work goes on for refugees from Afghanistan and from other places around the world.

The Christian vocation as Jesus taught us is to love as God loves. And in the name of these refugees, let us help all refugees. God love you, God bless you. And this Christmas, may God hold us all in those almighty hands of love.

Taken from Bulletin Insert: 1 Christmas – The Presiding Bishop’s Christmas Message – December 26, 2021.

Church of the Redeemer

Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

December 24, 2021
Christmas season in 2021
Here are the services for the 2021 Christmas season at Church of the Redeemer at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington.

All services are in the Education Building while the heating system in the main church building is being replaced. Dress warm, as the doors are always open for air flow. To protect those who have yet to vaccinate or can’t vaccinate, masks on until it is gone. All services will be livestreamed on redeemer-kenmore.org in addition to being in-person.

At Church of the Redeemer, we welcome the following:
- All races
- All religions
- All countries of origin
- All sexual orientations
- All genders
We stand with you. You are safe here.
- What to expect when you visit on Sunday (or any other worship service)
- Clergy and staff at Redeemer
- Learn about the Redeemer community
Site of the 2021 Christmas services at Church of the Redeemer

Christmas Eve, December 24, 2021

There are two services on Christmas Eve:
- 4:00 pm (reservations fairly full as of December 19)
- 8:00 pm
Because of limited indoor seating, reservations requested. For reservations, send an email to rector@redeemer-kenmore.org.

Christmas Day, December 25, 2021

There is one service on Christmas Day:
- 10:00 am
Because of limited indoor seating, reservations requested. For reservations, send an email to rector@redeemer-kenmore.org.

The 1st Sunday after Christmas, December 26, 2021

There is only one service this Sunday (not two):
- 10:00 am
No reservations are requested for this service.

The 2nd Sunday after Christmas, January 2, 2022

There are two services this Sunday:
- 8:00 am
- 10:00 am
No reservations are requested for these services.

Church of the Redeemer

Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
December 19, 2021
Presiding Bishop’s Christmas Message 2021

“The Christmas stories are reminders that this Jesus came to show us how to love as God loves. And one of the ways we love as God loves is to help those who are refugees, those who seek asylum from political tyranny, poverty, famine, or other hardship.

“In the 1930s, Episcopalians did this to love as God loves, and today, ministries like Episcopal Migration Ministries, the work of this church, have helped to resettle some 100,000 refugees as of December 2021. And that work goes on for refugees from Afghanistan and from other places around the world.

“The Christian vocation as Jesus taught us is to love as God loves. And in the name of these refugees, let us help all refugees.

“God love you. God bless you. And, this Christmas, may God hold us all in those almighty hands of love.”

—The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church

Download full video transcript of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s Christmas message in English or Spanish.

Download a copy of 1938 iconic poster produced by the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio, titled “In the Name of These Refugees.”

How to aid our refugee neighbors this Christmas

Learn more

Find out about Episcopal Migration Ministries’ work and how to get involved at episcopalmigrationministries.org. Sign up for the EMM newsletter or weekly news digest.

Afghan Allies Fund

Those interested in helping with the urgent need for housing assistance for Afghan allies arriving in the U.S. can find donation information online.

Volunteer or sponsor

Those interested in volunteer opportunities or community sponsorship to support Afghan allies can fill out this interest form.

Support

To directly support EMM and its life-changing work, visit episcopalmigrationministries.org/give, or text “EMM” to 41444 (standard messaging and data may rates apply).

Seattle-area refugee efforts

Founded in 1978, Diocese of Olympia’s Refugee Resettlement Office (RRO), an affiliate of Episcopal Migration Ministries and the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, serves refugees and asylees in the Seattle area. Our clients come to us from anywhere in the world seeking guidance and assistance in building a new life in America and achieving economic self-sufficiency. Our mission is accomplished through resettlement, job placement activities, and business development programs that promote self-employment.

To find out more about local efforts, including how to volunteer, visit the Refugee Resettlement Office website.

Episcopal Migration Ministries

The Episcopal Church has served immigrants new to the United States since the late 1800s, when the Church opened port chaplaincies to minister to sojourners on both coasts. In the 1930s, local parishes collected donations to provide steamship passage for those fleeing Nazi Europe. Out of this effort, the Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief was born, the forerunner organization to Episcopal Relief & Development and Episcopal Migration Ministries.

Through the mid- and late 20th century, Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) partnered with other faith organizations to resettle those oppressed by the Iron Curtain and the genocides of Southeast Asia. In the 1980s, EMM was formally established. In partnership with a network of affiliate agencies, dioceses, churches, and volunteers, EMM is today one of only nine national agencies through which all refugees enter the United States.

Church of the Redeemer

Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. We are a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

December 15, 2021
2020 holiday giving results
The annual Christmas gift and food basket collection for Hopelink Kenmore Place at Church of the Redeemer was adapted this year because of COVID-19. We could donate money towards a $100 Safeway gift card for the 11 residences at Kenmore Place. We could also donate money to a gift fund for all Hopelink locations. The giving continues.

Michelle Henderson, who organized Redeemer’s giving efforts this Christmas, said “Thank you to everyone who donated and looking forward to 2021 when we can once again gather to do the shopping trip and prepare the gifts and food baskets.” She also said that Hopelink raised about $75,000 to help families in need all over the region.

Any extra money raised for the special Safeway gift cards for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays goes towards the regular Safeway gift cards purchased through the rest of year for Kenmore Place. To donate for these cards, go to Giving on the Redeemer website, select the Give button, and then select Outreach from the To list.

What is Hopelink?

Since 1971, Hopelink has served homeless and low-income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities in north and east King County. They provide stability and help people gain the skills and knowledge they need to exit poverty for good.

Hopelink also provides transportation services throughout King and Snohomish Counties. With service centers in Redmond, Bellevue, Kirkland, Shoreline, and Sno-Valley (Carnation), Hopelink is the largest nonprofit organization in the area.

Each year they help more than 64,000 people through programs that provide stability and the skills and knowledge needed to exit poverty through these programs:
- Food assistance
- Housing
- Financial capabilities
- Employment services
- Transportation
- Energy assistance
- Emergency financial help
- Adult education
- Family development
Read about the various housing programs offered through Hopelink.

Hopelink operates under what they call their Theory of Change for healthy individuals and families. Read about how they stabilize and equip people to exit poverty.

Church of the Redeemer

Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
December 23, 2020
Christmas services in 2020 at Redeemer

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Church of the Redeemer will livestream all Christmas services on our Facebook page.

View our livestream worship archive to see other worship services besides these Christmas services. You do not have to log on to Facebook to watch our services online. Read how to watch without logging on to Facebook.

If you have any questions, contact the church office, office@redeemer-kenmore.org, or Father Jed Fox, rector@redeemer-kenmore.org.

Christmas services at Redeemer

Thursday, December 24—Feast of the Incarnation

This service begins about 6:35 into the recording.

Sunday, December 27—The First Sunday of Christmas

This service begins at about 4:40 into the recording.

Sunday, January 3—The Second Sunday of Christmas

The prelude begins at about 2:10 into the recording.

After the service, children of the Church School at Church of the Redeemer presented the 2020 Christmas pageant under the direction of Mary Nilsen on Zoom.

Church of the Redeemer

Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.

December 14, 2020
2020 holiday giving
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, we cannot do the typical things to bring holiday cheer to people at Hopelink Kenmore Place in 2020. We cannot donate physical items, such as food or gifts. However, we can still donate to those experiencing homelessness. We can do holiday giving.

This is what Church of the Redeemer is doing for this year. Your gift of any size is welcome, whether large or small. Let us all join to make for happy holidays for those experiencing homelessness.

Thank you very much.

Thanksgiving holiday gift card for use at Safeway

Instead of collecting food items to give for a Thanksgiving meal, Church of the Redeemer will give the 11 Kenmore Place residences a $100 gift card to Safeway. Then, the families may shop for the foods they want or need.

This collection continues through Friday, November 20, 2020. They will receive the cards on Monday, November 23.

To donate online, select Giving on the Redeemer website menu, and then select the Give button. When the window opens, enter your gift details. To route the donation to the right place, from the To list, select Shelter-Thanksgiving.

If you send a check, send it to PO Box 82677, Kenmore, WA 98028, so it arrives by November 20, 2020. Add “Kenmore Place Thanksgiving” to the memo line.

We will apply any extra money collected to the Christmas holiday gift card collection in December or for grocery cards purchased in later months. It will be used so Kenmore Place residents can buy food.

Holiday gifts for residents

This is where the biggest change this year. We cannot hold a holiday party. We cannot buy gifts for residents.

Hopelink is collecting money from their website for residents at all their housing locations, not only Kenmore Place, so residents to buy their own gifts.

This collection is now through December 4, 2020.

To donate, go to the Donate page on the Hopelink website. To route your donation for holiday gifts, do these two things while filling out the rest of the form:
- Under Designation, from the list, select Greatest Needs. This may be selected already for you.
- Under Billing Address, in the Leave a comment or note for your donation (optional) box, type Holiday Gift Program.
Holiday gift card for use at Safeway

This will be like the Thanksgiving collection. Church of the Redeemer will give the 11 Kenmore Place residences a $100 gift card to Safeway. Then, the families may shop for the foods they want.

This collection starts Tuesday, December 1, 2020, lasting through Friday, December 18, 2020. They will receive the cards on Monday, December 21.

To donate online, select Giving on the Redeemer website menu, and then select the Give button. When the window opens, enter your gift details. To route the donation to the right place, from the To list, select Shelter-Christmas.

If you send a check, send it to PO Box 82677, Kenmore, WA 98028, so it arrives by December 18, 2020. Add “Kenmore Place Christmas” to the memo line.

We will apply an extra money collected to grocery cards purchased in later months for Kenmore Place residents.

What is Hopelink?

Since 1971, Hopelink has served homeless and low-income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities in north and east King County. They provide stability and help people gain the skills and knowledge they need to exit poverty for good.

Hopelink also provides transportation services throughout King and Snohomish Counties. With service centers in Redmond, Bellevue, Kirkland, Shoreline, and Sno-Valley (Carnation), Hopelink is the largest nonprofit organization in the area.

Each year they help more than 64,000 people through programs that provide stability and the skills and knowledge needed to exit poverty through these programs:
- Food assistance
- Housing
- Financial capabilities
- Employment services
- Transportation
- Energy assistance
- Emergency financial help
- Adult education
- Family development
Read about the various housing programs offered through Hopelink.

Hopelink operates under what they call their Theory of Change for healthy individuals and families. Read about how they stabilize and equip people to exit poverty.

Church of the Redeemer

Welcome to Church of the Redeemer: Worshiping God, living in community, and reaching out to the world. We are an Episcopal Church serving north King County and south Snohomish County, Washington. As you travel your road, go with friends walking the way of Jesus at Redeemer.

Church of the Redeemer is at 6220 Northeast 181st Street in Kenmore, Washington. The campus is a short distance north of Bothell Way, near the Burke-Gilman Trail. The entrance looks like a gravel driveway. The campus is larger on the inside than it is on the outside. And we managed to hide a large building on the side of a hill that is not easily seen from the street.

The Episcopal Church welcomes you.
November 13, 2020

Maundy Thursday, April 2, 2026. Services at 12:00 noon and 7:00 pm. Gethsemane Watch Vigil from about 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm.

Good Friday, April 3, 2026: Services at 12:00 noon and 7:00 pm.

Holy Saturday worship at 9:30 am.

The Great Vigil of Easter, Saturday, April 4, 2025. Service at 8:00 pm. This is the night....

The 4th Sunday of Easter (Year A), April 26, 2026. Services at 8:00 am (no music) and 10:30 (music). Education classes for adults (9:15 am) and children (9:30 am).