Redeemer Lutheran and St. Theodore
On Sunday, Aug. 24, the congregations of Redeemer Lutheran Church and St. Theodore of Canterbury Episcopal Church will celebrate the 11th Sunday after Pentecost. Rev. Murray D. Finck, will preside over the 10:30 a.m. Holy Communion service gathers at 13564 St. Andrews Drive.
Sharon Heck will join worship on the organ this week. Everyone is welcome to join.
Fellowship will continue after service in the Fellowship Hall with coffee, tea, cookies and snacks.
The congregations will welcome new members in September. Those who are interested in joining the congregation should see Rev. Finck or fill out the paperwork on the tables in the back of the sanctuary.
The congregations continue to collect donations of canned and boxed foods for the hungry. Everyone is invited to participate in this outreach. The collected food stays in Orange County and is distributed by Lutheran Social Services.
The Midweek Bible Study is held on Wednesdays in the Fellowship Hall from noon-1:15 p.m. Rev. Finck leads the discussion. A study guide will be distributed. This is a great way to meet members and friends and to share an understanding of the faith and the Holy Scriptures. People are welcome to bring their lunch to the study.
The Gospel lesson for the week of Aug. 24 is from Luke 13:10-17. This is when Jesus cures a woman on the Sabbath. She then praises God for her healing.
Following the healing, there are the “righteous” men in power that proceed to complain that it was done on the Sabbath. Jesus, in healing this woman, gave her back her innate dignity that comes from being created by a loving God.
There are a few points believers should note in this story. First, is that the Sabbath was made a day of rest by God yet so often believers, as “busy” people, do not take a day to rest, reconnect with God, be with family or friends, recenter on their path to heaven.
Believers need the Sabbath to be in the presence of the “I AM.”
The second thing to note is that Jesus called the woman to himself to free her. Then proceeded to rebuke the men of power by reminding them that she is a daughter of Abraham. It is a reminder to all believers that people are born with inherent dignity simply because all humans are created in the likeness and image of God and are born with the breath of the Holy Spirit.
This is why people of faith in the risen Jesus Christ, must treat each person they encounter with dignity and kindness. Believers should to look for the face of God within each person they see every day.
