September’s Word From Our Pastor

Posted on August 29, 2011 by admin

Grace and Peace to you in the name of our living and loving Savior, Jesus the Christ!

As we approach the 10 year anniversary of September 11, 2001, what is your story?

On the 11th of this next month our world will pause and remember one of the more tragic moments in our nation’s history.  It was not the loss of life or the visual images or the world changing aftermath that singularly made it so tragic but rather it was the cumulative effect of all of those things and more that made it so. Continue reading →

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Joint Ministry Covenant

Posted on August 21, 2011 by admin

Beginning in January of 2010, Our Redeemer Lutheran and Asbury United Methodist Churches began exploring what it would mean to enter into a formal arrangement to share pastoral services between our congregations.

After almost a year of conversations, meetings, and visioning, a vote solidified the future for the two Hood River churches. On December 19, the congregations of Asbury and Our Redeemer voted for a Joint Ministry Covenant. The initial agreement is for a three year term, during which time reviews and revisions will be conducted as appropriate.

The two churches remain separate in identity but will share one full-time clergy person Continue reading →

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Covenant Garden Provides for FISH

Posted on August 19, 2011 by admin

Covenant Garden, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Hood River ORA 40 pound squash, onions the size of softballs and sunflowers taller than the average person crowd the space in the garden behind Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Hood River. Tended by volunteers from Asbury United Methodist and Our Redeemer Lutheran churches, weekly harvests are delivered to FISH food bank.

What started as an idea to celebrate Our Redeemer’s 50th Anniversary soon turned into a project involving not only other denominations, but a lot of dirt and labor as well. “The idea was to give back,” garden coordinator Dottie Gilbertson said. “We wanted to celebrate with the entire community. We have this big plot of land and said ‘let’s do something with it!’” Continue reading →

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All are Welcome at Soul Cafe

Posted on August 18, 2011 by admin

Soul Cafe by Edwin Rourk, ELCA Region 1 Online Community Director

What if you could easily and effectively communicate with other congregations, youth leaders, camps, campus ministry sites, schools, and other ELCA church leaders in the Pacific Northwest? What if conversations, shared resources, and developing “best practices” became part of a growing library of local wisdom associated with the very people you want to talk with more? And what if time, distance, and cost were not an issue? Project Believe! of the Oregon Synod has launched its first “rubber hits the road” project in conjunction with the other ELCA synods of Region 1. What this means is that the donations you’ve made for Project Believe! are serving as seed money for the development of an ELCA Region 1 online community called Soul Cafe.

What is Soul Cafe?

Soul Cafe is a sacred space on the web. It will enable geographically separated Lutheran congregations, church-affiliated organizations and individuals to meet, interact, and get to Continue reading →

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Fundraiser for Patti Ludwig

Posted on August 18, 2011 by admin

Patti LudwigI’ve also received information about a fundraiser for Our Redeemer member and friend Patti Ludwig (click here for a link to Patti Ludwig’s page and fundraiser details).

As you may recall, Patti was in an awful accident last summer when she was struck by a motor vehicle.

The fundraiser is a golf event on September 24th but we are going to try and organize a “flood” of sorts for the silent auction portion of the event.  Sharon Pantely has agreed to help coordinate that and will be getting in touch with Bruce to talk about what might work but be thinking about baskets and other silent auction items that we/you might be able to donate for the cause.

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Welcome New Members!

Posted on August 18, 2011 by admin

This Sunday, August 21, Our Redeemer Lutheran Church welcomes three new members!

Bill and Cathie Coffman will be joining our congregation.  Bill happens to be our own Ret. Pastor Myrin Bentz’s former intern which is ironic since I am Bill’s former intern.  Cathie meanwhile is a soon to be retired hotel executive in Portland and a great friend as well.

And the third member is a new addition to the Bentz family, Ingrid Flanders.  She and George Bentz were recently married and Ingrid, a longtime member of Riverside Community Church, is going to retain her membership there but become an associate member of Our Redeemer.  Welcome Bill, Cathie and Ingrid!

Be sure to stay for coffee to visit with our new members and the rest of our church family!

This is a day that the Lord has made and despite the troubles of our world and our own lives, we can rejoice and be glad in it because the promises of the resurrection are a gift of God to us and the world.

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Food Bank Freewill Offering

Posted on August 7, 2011 by admin

The Columbia Gorge Chapter of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has surveyed the need in the Columbia Gorge area for food assistance by members of our population. The need for May was 1814 families for a total of 4336 individuals. We have set aside $500 to $2000 for each of the four counties: Wasco, Hood River, Skamania, and Klickitat.

We would like to challenge the Lutheran Churches in these four counties to match those funds by taking up a freewill offering to help with this important need in our communities. Continue reading →

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News from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Posted on August 4, 2011 by admin

Identity Theft workshops: Dates have been set for two workshops. The first one will be held here at Our Redeemer,Wednesday September 7 at 7:00 pm. There will be a repeat session Thursday Sept 15th, 7:00pm at Zion Lutheran Church in The Dalles.

These should be very worthwhile events to help us learn about how to avoid becoming victims of America’s fastest growing crime. Light refreshments will be served. Nothing will be offered for sale. Plan now to attend and bring family and friends.

We plan to have the second annual “Marty’s Party at Spookies Pizza in The Dalles. This will be a free fun filled event for the entire family. Plan now to set aside the evening of Saturday to join us for fun, food, and fellowship. ~ Rose Miller

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Faith In Action

Posted on August 3, 2011 by admin

July was a month off for our group meeting however, we need to ‘gear up’ for fall, though summer has only arrived.

September 11 we have planned a joint fundraising community outreach event commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11 by promoting peace. This event was endorsed by the ORLC church council and the Joint Ministry Planning committee for ORLC/Asbury.

Our planning meeting will take place August 8 at 6:30pm for a souper supper, with bowls donated by local pottery studios for those attending to take home after the event.

We are actively recruiting additional persons to serve on the planning committee of this event. Vicky has agreed to be part of this, and we would like some Asbury representation as well as a few more from ORLC.

Please, just come to our meeting August 8. Call Sharon Pantely if there are questions, or send an Email. We want to have a meaningful evening gathering. Any input or ideas would be welcome.

Thank you so much, and we wish you a safe summer. ~ Sharon Pantely

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Church Painting

Posted on August 3, 2011 by admin

Painting Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Hood River, ORI was asked by the church council to organize an effort to paint the church. Due to a busy early summer schedule, I would like to make this a late summer activity starting in Mid-August.

We need Volunteers to get this done; last time we painted the church it went quickly and at least 8 people were involved in some way. I will handle spraying the main body paint but will need helpers on the following tasks:

  • Prep work: 3-4 persons on two week nights from say 6-8:30PM using hand and rental power scrapers to prepare the bad areas for new paint. Pressure washing will be the final part of this step. Some beer may be involved in this to increase participation!
  • Tapers: 2-3 persons to work the evening before and the morning of spraying the main body by covering windows and fixtures with plastic and tape. I will follow with the sprayer.
  • Trim Painters: As many people as possibly to each take a side of the church to paint the trim (window and door frames, gutters). This can be done on your own time and as best fits your personal schedule.

Please email me or call with your offer of assistance at gbentz@garrettpkg.com, Cell 541-490-0417 ~ George Bentz

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