Dear Brethren,

I hope you are enjoying the abundant mercy of God who has blessed us richly in Christ. The days in which we live are challenging, but he is a very present help in times of trouble. On behalf of the session I want to express our deep appreciation for your continued efforts in following the COVID protocols. While several people and families in our church have been affected by the virus, there has been no known transmission of the virus in the context of our church services. For that we are grateful. We will continue to pray for those who are infected or recovering and provide any assistance we can.

In light of the recent spike in cases, Session has made some decisions regarding our church groups, meetings, and activities. We plan to continue our morning and evening services of worship in person, but if any are uncomfortable attending we will provide livestreaming so they can participate online. We do hope that following the worship services we avoid excessive congregating in the sanctuary and narthex so as to maintain a safer social distance among worshipers. Also, while adult Sunday School will continue, the opening of all other Sunday School classes and the nursery will be delayed until at least January 10th. Our community groups, men’s fellowship, and ladies’ Bible study which are such an important part of our fellowship together will either skip meeting in December or move online for their meetings. The Trail Life and American Heritage Girls groups will cancel their scheduled meetings in December. While we plan to have our annual Christmas Eve Service we will not be gathering for the appetizer hour beforehand.

Our hope is that God will bless these efforts to greatly reduce the threat of exposure to the virus in our church. We are thankful to him for the opportunities still available to meet in person as well as the wonderful technology that allows us to meet and participate online. If you are in need of anything, please let us know. May our gracious God bless you and keep you as together we seek to serve and worship him, as I am,

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Wright

We are thankful to serve APS this Christmas season through the APS Giving Tree Program. For the past several years, we have had the privilege of extending generosity toward young mothers in need through Akron Pregnancy Services. Look for the Giving Tree in the narthex on 15 November. Gifts are due under the tree by Sunday, 6 December. For more information, please refer to our weekly church email.

We are excited to resume adult Sunday School on Sunday, 25 October at 10:00 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall, Lord willing.  Pastor Wright will teach though the acrostic TULIP for the remainder of the fall quarter.  Everyone is invited to attend in person, though childcare and children’s Sunday School will resume at a later date.  The lessons will be livestreamed on YouTube and later put on our website for download.  Our hope is to resume the rest of the Sunday School classes in the near future as we obtain curriculum and secure teachers, but the date for that has not yet been established.

We are glad to have resumed in-person meeting for our 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Sunday services. The Session supports anyone who chooses to stay home and live stream the services. To maintain social distancing, some circumstances of worship are altered. Seating is in every other row, and family units maintain six feet of separation if they sit on the same row. The fellowship hall is open for overflow seating. Hand sanitizer is available, and we are not passing a collection basket. Furthermore, the Lord’s Supper is observed with individually sealed packets that are distributed by elders with masks. We recommend everyone wear masks, and there is no congregating inside the building. After the service, everyone must leave the building and go directly outside. Nursery is not provided, though room H in the basement is designated for nursing mothers. We provide music handouts for the evening service for those who prefer not to touch the hymnals and psalters. If anyone has COVID-19 symptoms, we ask that they stay home, and everyone should check with their medical care provider before coming to church.

Additionally, our twice-monthly prayer meeting has resumed in person. Please check the calendar on the News and Events page for meeting dates.

All other activities of Redeemer Church are canceled for the time being. We plan to resume Sunday School and nursery in September. The Session is monitoring the situation closely and desires to resume the other activities of Redeemer Church as soon as it is safe to do so.

By Order of the Ohio Department of Health (July 10, 2020), masks are to be worn inside the Redeemer Church building at all times until Summit County is no longer classified as a Red Level 3 Public Health Advisory county.   Notable exceptions to the order are individuals with respiratory health conditions and anyone under ten years old.