Clergy Reflection

Dear all, 

Next week, after celebrating the sweetness and decadence of life with pancakes, bacon, syrup, and king cake on Shrove Tuesday (or Mardi Gras, depending on your provenance), we will enter the quieter, more solemn season of Lent on Ash Wednesday. These two holidays go back to back, and together they move us from one extreme to another: sugary sparkle and revelry to sackcloth and ashes. But at their heart I hear the same pulsing beat of life: what it means to be alive – what it means to live. 

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Join us for Scout Sunday & Coffee Hour this Sunday at 10 a.m.

The Church of the Redeemer is pleased to be the sponsoring organization for BSA Troop 635 for girls and Troop 35 for boys. This Sunday we welcome them to worship with us and serve as greeters, readers and ushers at the 10:00 a.m. service. The scouts will host coffee hour with light fare prepared by Jack Kidd and members of both scout troops. Please come join us for this special celebration to recognize the contributions of young people and adults to Scouting.

Ash Wednesday Services

 February 14



7:30 a.m. in the chapel

12 noon in the chapel

7:30 p.m. in the church (with choir)

*This Wednesday’s Embodied Prayer Service will be offered at 8:30 a.m. (instead of 8 a.m.) in the chapel and will include an opportunity to receive ashes.

Organ Music by African American Composers:

Marvin Mills

Friday, February 16, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

Marvin Mills, organist at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Kensington, Maryland and music director of the acclaimed National Spiritual Ensemble, will offer a diverse program featuring works of African American composers, including: David Hurd, Florence Price, William Grant Still and Baltimore native Thomas Kerr, Jr., showcasing the kaleidoscopic colors of the Redeemer organ. The concert is free. Donations to Friends of Music are gladly accepted.

New Construction on Campus

In 2023, the Redeemer Buildings & Grounds Committee (B&G) responded to a call for a second accessible entrance to St. Paul’s Courtyard, our entry courtyard, which would allow those coming from the North Parking Lot to use a ramp rather than steps, and provide a second motor drop-off point for those needing a ramp. Morris & Ritchie Associates were hired to design this new ADA-compliant ramp and an adjacent curb cut where it meets the driveway for ease of those for whom a curb is a barrier. This new ramp will match the ramp on the east side of the entry courtyard. After interviewing contractors, A.R. Marani was hired to construct the new ramp, and the project kicked off this week with the removal of some of the granite steps, which will be reserved, cut down, and re-used elsewhere on campus.

The contractor estimates that the project will take about seven weeks to complete, so it is on track to be ready for use at Easter!

~Mark Schroeder

for Junior Warden Steve Sutor and the Buildings & Grounds Committee

Click here to let us know you will join us for pancakes on Shrove Tuesday!

Lenten Offerings

Lenten Morning Retreat

Please join us on Saturday morning, February 17 at 9:15 in the chapel for a QUIET DAY to begin the Lenten Season. This will be a time to read, write, reflect, or simply create a Silent Space within to listen for the still, small voice throughout Lent. If you have questions, please contact Freda Marie+

Lenten Book Study

Beginning the first Sunday of Lent, February 18, and for four consecutive Sundays thereafter, we will study and reflect on the words that Jesus gave us in the “Lord’s Prayer” in its original Aramaic form. PRAYERS OF THE COSMOS, a book by translator Neil Douglas-Klotz, will enable us to go deeper into the meaning of the words Jesus taught us from their original transmission. 

This study could elevate and transform your praying of this prayer from now on.  We will gather in the Women’s Council Room on four Sunday mornings at 11:30 just after 10 a.m. worship. If you are interested in attending, purchase and bring your copy of the book. If you have questions, please contact Freda Marie+

Centering Prayer

Those of us who gather for Centering Prayer at Redeemer invite you to join us as we continue our journey of putting into practice Jesus’ teachings. We will begin a new book—Practice the Pause by Caroline Oakes—the week of Lent. So, as a Lenten discipline you can not only engage in Centering Prayer, but you can also join us in reading a new book. The first study of this book occurs on Tuesday, February 13 and Saturday,

February 17. Each of these classes (Tuesday and Saturday) meets weekly. Most practitioners attend only one of these classes, either Tuesday or Saturday. The Tuesday class meets from 6 - 7:15 pm, by Zoom only. The Saturday class meets from 10 - 11:15 and is a hybrid: you can come to the Women’s Council Room or attend by Zoom. Please contact Sherrill Pantle by email or phone 410-377-0381 for additional information or to request a Zoom link.

Lent 2024

VOICES, the Redeemer Speaker Series invites contemporary voices to challenge and inform us: artists and authors, visionaries and thought leaders, advocates of change courageous enough to hold the loveliness and sorrow of the world at once and find the wonder in both.

All events will be held in the church starting at 7:00 p.m.

February 21: Randall Balmer: Christian Nationalism and American Democracy

The popularity of Christian nationalism, the notion that the United States is and always has been a Christian nation, is based on a flawed reading of history and a misinterpretation of the First Amendment, America’s best idea. Why has Christian nationalism emerged in recent years, and what can be done to counteract it?

Randall Balmer, an Episcopal priest, is the John Phillips Professor of Religion at Dartmouth College. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Solemn Reverence: The Separation of Church and State in American Life, and his commentaries appear in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Santa Fe New Mexican and newspapers across the country.

February 28: The Rev. Tim Schenck Devotions for People Who Don’t Do Devotions

Tim Schenck is the rector of the Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach, Florida. Tim grew up in Baltimore and attended Redeemer prior to being ordained. He has served parishes in Maryland, New York, Massachusetts and now Florida. Tim is the author of several books and is the creator of “Lent Madness” an online devotion series. He will be discussing his latest book, Devotions for People Who Don’t Do Devotions. These are stories about everyday life--and how we can seek and find the divine in the midst of it all. The words are meant to be starting points, not megaphone-style declarations of certainty, and you're invited to bring your own experience and imagination to these reflections. The hope is that they will help you see God's hand at work in both the mundane and miraculous day-to-day interactions of our lives.

March 6: Hahrie Han Undivided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church

Hahrie Han is the inaugural director of the SNF Agora Institute and Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins. She specializes in the study of organizing, movements, civic engagement and democracy. Hahrie will join us to discuss her latest book, Undivided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church to be published in September 2024.

March 13: Scott Shane Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery's Borderland

Baltimore resident Scott Shane was a reporter for 15 years at The New York Times, where he was twice a member of teams that won Pulitzer Prizes, and before that for 21 years at The Baltimore Sun. Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery's Borderland is a riveting account of the extraordinary abolitionist, liberator, and writer Thomas Smallwood, who bought his own freedom, led hundreds out of slavery, and named the underground railroad. Flee North tells the story for the first time of an American hero all but lost to history. Flee North also portrays the dangerous enemies faced by Smallwood, and his allies, including Baltimore's Hope Slatter, who ran his slave-trading business from the Inner Harbor.

March 20: Joseph Hooper Fire on the Levee: The Murder of Henry Glover and the Search for Justice After Hurricane Katrina

Joseph Hooper is a native Baltimorean, and graduate of Calvert and Gilman schools. He has made his career in New York City where, as a freelance journalist, his work has been published in The New York Times Magazine, New York, Popular Science, Men’s Journal and Elle. Joe will be joined for this presentation by Ashley Johnson. Ashley was a rookie FBI agent at the time of the murders and was largely responsible for solving the case and attempting to bring the criminals to justice along with lead author and Justice Department prosecutor, Jared Fishman.

In 2009, attorney Jared Fishman, then an inexperienced Civil Rights prosecutor was sent by the Department of Justice to New Orleans to investigate rumors that the police may have had something to do with the 2005 shooting death and disappearance of an unarmed Black man, Henry Glover, in the chaotic days after Hurricane Katrina.

About five years ago, Joseph Hooper joined forces with his friend, attorney Jared Fishman, to co-write the story of this most extraordinary civil rights case. 

From Publisher's Weekly:

This riveting true crime saga begins in 2009 when Fishman, then working in the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, came across a file on Henry Glover, a Black man whose body was found in a burned-out car atop a breached New Orleans levee after Hurricane Katrina. This launched a yearlong FBI investigation that culminated in the conclusion that Glover was killed by a white police officer and it was covered up by the New Orleans Police Department.

The Ivy Bookshop, a longtime partner in our VOICES series, will maintain a display of books in their store for our spring 2024 series. They will also come to Redeemer to sell books for our speaker series on February 28, March 13 and March 20. We are grateful for this ongoing partnership.

Fatherhood & Faith- tonight

Are you interested in getting to know other men at Redeemer? Our Fatherhood and Faith group is not just for fathers. Please join us if you are looking for fellowship and conversation. Fatherhood and Faith will meet in the Baker Room at Redeemer on Thursday, February 8th at 8 p.m. For more information please contact David Frisch or Ted Winstead. Hope to see you then! 

Support for Johnston Square Elementary

As a volunteer at Johnston Square Elementary School over the last two and a half years I have seen the consistent and generous support our parishioners have given to the school. Principal Olumiji wants you to know how much the community appreciates the gifts you gave at Christmas, allowing the school to host a holiday celebration where each child received a present. The children returned in January to a place where they feel cared for and loved. During last week’s frigid weather, any child who came to school without a coat was sent home with one, thanks to the contributions by you.

The cold and snowy weather has made it harder to get to school on time. There is a need for breakfast bars (peanut free) or fruit snacks for children who arrive hungry. Also needed is a new snack called Takis (175 bags) for the attendance incentive program. Please leave donations by February 11 in the box marked “Johnston Square” outside of the Welcome Center and our Redeemer Reading Volunteers (Lucy Duke, Lydia Kimball, Patty McLean and myself) will bring them on Tuesdays to the school.

With gratitude,

Catherine Gearhart

Black Lives Matter Rally- February 18

Our BUILD partner, Bolton Street Synagogue, invites Redeemer parishioners to gather with them on Sunday, February 18 on the corner of Northern Parkway and Charles Street from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Click here for more information.

Sunday School

Sunday school is offered each Sunday during the program year for pre-schoolers – 5^th graders. Sunday school begins at 9:45 am. Children will join their families at the 10 am Eucharist during the Peace. Please contact Rebecca+ with any questions. 

Register for Sunday School here.

The Center for Wellbeing will host its first Women’s Healing Circle

 March 2, 2024, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. here at Redeemer.

Join us for half day mini retreat during the season of Lent to reflect on your experience of the presence of God. Explore practices that nurture your consciousness of God’s Divine Presence within your body / mind / spirit. Experience quiet stillness (meditation, prayer, breath awareness) as well as embodied creative activities (art, yoga, & journaling), that invite you to expand and deepen awareness of the Sacred within.

This circle of trust offers a safe place to share your insights and intention for bringing this awareness into your daily life.

Facilitated by Jenny Powers RN, BSN, 200 RYS Yoga cert, Reiki practitioner and Deborah Baer, MSW, JD

Email Thomasina Wharton to register or phone 443-414-4561 by February 24. A $20 fee covers materials and food. To reserve your spot send a check (with “HC Retreat” on the memo line) to Redeemer (5603 N. Charles St. Baltimore, MD 21210) to Ellen Chatard’s attention by 2/24.

2024 Stewardship

Collectively, we are on a pilgrimage. We are encountering. We are being transformed, even as we seek to be the change we wish to see in our lives, our city and our world. In order to keep going, we need you. Thank you for prayerfully considering how you might contribute financially to our collective pilgrimage in 2024 and for making as generous a pledge as you can. 

Thank you for thoughtfully considering your pledge to Redeemer in 2024. 

Download a 2024 pledge form or make your pledge online here.

FAQs about stewardship at Redeemer.  

Create or access your online giving account.



Questions? Email Ellen Chatard

Services this Weekend

Last Sunday after the Epiphany

Saturday, February 10 @ 5:00 p.m. in the church

Faith@Five

CELEBRANT & PREACHER

The Rev. Freda Marie S. Brown

READERS Wendy Moskowitz, Becky Kelley

INTERCESSOR Chorister

LEM Wendy Moskowitz

Sunday, February 11 @ 8:00 a.m. in the chapel

Holy Eucharist, Rite 1 

PREACHER & CELEBRANT

The Rev. Freda Marie S. Brown

Scheduled to Serve

LAY EUCHARISTIC MINISTER Alice Gary READER Marilyn Ogburn

ALTAR GUILD Joanne Calvert FLOWERS Kathy Dickinson, Margaret Thompson

Sunday, February 11 @ 10:00 a.m. in the church

Holy Eucharist, Rite 2

Click here to join the service via livestream

PREACHER The Rev. Freda Marie S. Brown 

DEACON, OFFICIANT and CELEBRANT The Rev. M. Cristina Paglinauan

Scheduled to Serve

VERGER Kate Pisano ACOLYTES Sam Coons 

LAY EUCHARISTIC MINISTERS Terry Beauchamp, Torie Harlan, Kate Lears,

Penny Partlow, Ann Warfield 

READERS Lee Warnack,  Margot Gilroy-Scott 

INTERCESSOR Matthew Woelper

USHER SUPERVISOR Steve Skeen 

USHERS Kathy Dickinson, Michael Dickinson, Anna von Lunz

ALTAR GUILD Brenda Ehlers, Alex McMahon,

Ann Warfield, Betsy Willett

FLOWER GUILD Kathy Dickinson, Margaret Thompson

VESTRY GREETER John Schmick

Weekday Service Schedule

Mondays 12:15 p.m. Breathing with Cristina on Facebook

Tuesdays 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist in the chapel

Wednesdays 8:00 a.m. Embodied Eucharist in the chapel

*This Wednesday’s (Ash Wednesday) Embodied Prayer Service will be offered at 8:30 a.m. (instead of 8a.m.) in the chapel and will include an opportunity to receive ashes.

Bible Study

Please note: There will be no Bible Study on Ash Wednesday, 2/14.

If you never thought you would study the Bible, then this is the class for you! Join us in person or on Zoom for a far-ranging, free-wheeling, intelligent and emotionally honest discussion of this amazing resource. The Wednesday morning class meets from 10:00-11:30 a.m. starting September 6 in person and on Zoom. The Wednesday lunch time class meets from 12:00-1:00 p.m. on Zoom (only) and the Thursday evening class meets at 6:00 p.m., in person only in the Women's Council Room. 

Zoom Links:

Join 10:00 a.m. Bible Study on Zoom

Meeting ID: 863 7962 7803

Passcode: N3GA0M

Join 12 noon Bible Study on Zoom

Meeting ID: 831 6876 2958

Passcode: B9r07u

Going Deeper @ Redeemer

Click here for the December 2023 Vestry Minutes

Click here for minutes from the 2023 Annual Meeting.

Vestry Minutes from the last 12 months are available here.

Click here for audio recordings of sermons