Pastor's Message
January, 2022A very happy New Year to you all!
What an incredible year we have just been through. We saw unprecedented disruptions to our national, communal and family lives, on many levels. For a time, it looked like the pandemic would subside and we might get back into a new normal. Then came Omicron, and we lost a sense of progress and momentum. Over the course of the year, we all sustained losses in many different ways—professionally, personally, and as a society. And we should expect to struggle with the challenges caused by the pandemic throughout this next year.
As I look ahead to 2022, I’ve been meditating on the advice of Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt, a German pastor at the turn of the 20th century, who in the midst of incredible upheaval in his society, advised focusing our attention on Christ already at work in people. He wrote:
“If you are observant, you can always find traces of God at work. God is always moving, in our hearts and among those nearest to us…. So, keep your eyes and ears open, and as soon as you perceive something of God’s work, let it speak to you.”*
As we look to 2022, let us take time to perceive God’s work among us, and let it speak to us. We don’t know exactly what may need to change over the coming months, so we will need to be clear-headed, patient, and flexible. But God is with us, and always has been. His promises of unconditional love and mercy stand firm.
Happy New Year to you all. +PL
*(Blumhardt, Everyone Belongs to God: Discovering the Hidden Christ, Plough Publishing House, 2015, p. 37)
Sept. 2021
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7)
September is here, but things are not back to normal like we had hoped. Amid the chaos of our world, and with the pandemic, Afghanistan, and natural disasters all around, we try to return to our program year with hope and anticipation. But we can’t shake the anxiety. The pandemic is still a major problem in our lives and in our society, and we cannot move forward in the way we thought. The biggest thing weighing on us is the energy it takes to remain vigilant, even if vaccinated. Work is trying to change back to pre-pandemic practices. School is proceeding in-person, but with masks. And at Redeemer, we are holding our course, with limited in-person worship and wearing masks indoors.
Nevertheless, we enter the fall season full of hope and faith. Blessing of the backpacks is on Sept 12, at our 9:15am worship service. We will celebrate Rally Day on Sept. 19th with an outdoor worship service at 10:15am, and a brown bag picnic, with entertainment to follow. (Bring your lawn chair!) Then we begin in-person Sunday School on Sept 26, and in-person Confirmation on October 3. See inside this newsletter for more information. We are asking all students and volunteers to wear masks when inside the buildings.
Also, in the hopes of creating a congregation-wide experience this fall, we are offering a devotional study experience. The resource is a booklet called “Freedom: Finding Peace in Anxious Times.” If you are a member, look for that resource to come in the mail.
May we find peace amid the anxieties we all face and find that God’s grace in Jesus Christ carries us through this challenging time.
Yours in Christ’s service,
Pastor Linderman
July, 2021
Sometimes we must wait for those things that we look forward to. I write this at the start of the second summer that I have not been able to take my sabbatical. I know, many of you who work might be smiling while saying, “cry me a river, Pastor.” True, a sabbatical is a special privilege that pastors get, on average once every 7 years. As you know from my recent anniversary, I’ve been full-time at Redeemer for the past 10 years. And that is a good feeling, but even as I revel in our work together as pastor and congregation over those years, I have noticed my eye on next summer, and praying for the “all clear” to take that sabbatical.
But these thoughts put me in mind of the rejuvenation you might be able to secure for yourself over this summer. Some of us are very good at deliberately putting away our work-a-day life for a while. These people gladly shut the door on their office or desk space and leave without a trace. They vacation well, and don’t take their work with them. Others are the always-connected type. We may intend to put our work aside, but it finds its way back into our consciousness at every other moment and we find we are working even while on the beach or casting for fish. We may look like we vacation well, but we don’t get as big a recharge from the time away as the first group.
I definitely fall into the second group. So this summer, I’m trying to really engage with my time off. I’m looking forward to being mindful of the time I spend on vacation, and how I spend it. I hope to catch myself when working, and re-engage with something else, so that my mind has that break. Retirees too, we all need to let go of our worries and anxieties and focus on something else in order to recharge. If you think of it, vacationing is a lot like praying, something else we could all stand to do more of. When you pray, try to remove your thinking from its normal paths and focus your attention on God and God’s presence. Step off the treadmill for those moments of solitude and focus on being fully in God’s presence. Now take that practice on vacation with you and combine the two! I’m feeling rejuvenated already just thinking about it. May you all be blessed in your time off this summer.
Peace,
PL
May, 2021
Happy Easter to you all! Spring is here, and new life is peaking through all around us. On the pandemic front, things are looking more positive. Governor Murphy recently increased allowance for up to 50% of room capacity for indoor gatherings. Ramsey schools are moving to Phase 3, which means combining the divided cohorts of students to full capacity and having in-person instruction 5 days a week instead of a staggered schedule. If you have been fully vaccinated, you are feeling a bit more comfortable in participating in various activities.
As for our practice right now, the Redeemer council will assess our limit of 30 people maximum indoors at our May council meeting. We have sought a balance between gathering for in- person worship and the goal of keeping everyone safe from exposure to the virus. We have started to invite more members to volunteer at our services. This is your chance to try something new and serve the congregation in the process. Worship assistants read the lessons and parts of the service and assist with communion. Altar Guild volunteers set up and re-set the altar. Ushers are on hand to assist anyone in need. I invite you to try it out if you haven’t before!
In the meantime, the council will meet in “retreat” in the coming weeks to reengage with our Core Values Project. We had planned to do this last year before the shutdown changed our lives and focused our attention on adjusting to the challenges of the pandemic. Our Core Values will be important for goal setting, so that we look forward to entering the fall of 2021 with some new initiatives, as well as renewed focus on what we already do well. Please pray with the council this month for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and renewed faith in the presence of our risen Lord, so that we may be a community of God’s grace for the sake of the world around us.
+PL
March 2021
I’m really feeling done with it all right now. It must be the combination of the pandemic and all the snow and ice that we’ve had. I’m feeling done with winter, done with snow, done with Covid, done with social distancing, done with masks. I want to be done. I want to move on.
And right when I’m getting clearer in my mind about my feelings, Lent comes and asks me to sit for a while longer with my feelings. It seems that just when I think I’ve made up my mind about something, God comes and says, “Not so fast Michael; I’ve got more work to do with you.”
And so Lent presents an opportunity to me that I would be wise to take advantage of. Lent has a particular purchase in the life of Christians in the Northern Hemisphere. In these regions of the world, the days of Winter grow shorter, and then longer as the springtime approaches. The word Lent comes from the Old English word “lenchten”, or “lengthen”. So “Lent” literally refers to the spring season that is approaching. That experience of the lengthening of daytime, of light, of warmth, and of growth, also points out our longing as well. We are longing for new growth, new warmth, new light. We wait for these things literally, but they are also metaphors for our spiritual lives. While our bodies are longing for literal warmth and light, so our souls are longing spiritually for warmth and light. We are done with the shadows and chill of our spiritual winter. We are ready for the light and warmth of Easter!
But we can’t just skip Lent and go straight to Easter. The season gives us an opportunity to learn from our longing. We are given the chance to learn about our true desires, our true needs, and our true hunger for God’s grace, and for Jesus’ presence. So patience is our calling right now. This winter of trials and shadows will pass. God’s warmth and light are approaching. We wait in faith, hope, and love. +PL
January, 2021
“When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:17-19)
Dear friends of Redeemer,
One of the unique blessings of this past Christmas holiday season for me was the way in which the trials, challenges and burdens of 2020 hovered over my reading of the birth narratives in Luke and Matthew, and brought new insights to the fore. We all have struggled with many things in 2020, some of us more than others. There was much upheaval, uncertainty, social restriction, anxiety, loss and grief. Even with a vaccine on the horizon, there remain many questions about how life will permanently change for us going into 2021.
With all that in the background, I came to the retelling of the birth of Christ with a new focus on the experience of Mary, Joseph, and the other adults and youth gathered around the baby in the manger. How uncertain, even anxious, were they as they prepared for and then gave birth to Jesus? What hopes and dreams had been upended or dashed by Mary’s early pregnancy, and what excitement after the angels’ amazing proclamation? What questions and dreams opened up for the shepherds? And what was it like to have that heavenly experience, and then return to the humdrum of everyday life? This year, I’ve marveled at how similar we are to them, in the experience of chaos and uncertainty.
One verse stands out to me in the midst of this uncertainty. It is Luke 2:19, which states that “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” For me, this is the key to all we have been through in this past year, and all we may go through yet in 2021. Like Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, we have the truth of Christ’s presence with us, now, and it will remain with us come what may. Now we too can ponder the grace and promise of Christ’s presence, beating like a tiny heart in the midst of both the upheaval and the humdrum.
May this truth continue to bless us all in the new year.
+ PL
July, 2020
Dear Redeemer family,
It is almost 4 months since we began this unusual and tragic time of the Corona Virus pandemic. It's been a rough time for many of us, in various ways, and for other parts of the country the situation is recently getting worse. We are struggling to see light at the end of the tunnel. Add to that the social unrest in our country around issues of racial justice, and we all have a full plate of uneasiness, anxiety and worry.
As for our Redeemer family, we are doing pretty well. Our most tragic losses have been among friends and extended family of church members. We grieve their loss, and feel the extra weight of not being able to honor them in the way we would like with traditional funerals. Meanwhile, we struggle with other losses; jobs, income streams, damage to our businesses, dashed dreams and missed milestone experiences for our young people.
Added up, this is a lot of loss, but Redeemer has responded with heart and generosity. We have jumped into the task of making masks, we have donated food and money to several local and statewide charities, and we are establishing our new “Redeemer Covid19 Fund”. The staff has worked to provide consistent online engagement through our livestream services and Zoom educational and social meetings. We are doing all the right things, and we can do more. We call on the presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit to lift our weary hearts, fill us with faith in God's goodness, and inspire us to work for the greater good, as our mission statement says, "sharing our blessings with others”. May we continue in the way of Christ, despite the many uncertainties, and be found faithful to Christ's Gospel in the end. Have a blessed summer. +PL
May 2020
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
(Romans 8:28)
Dear Friends in Christ,
We are now in our 6th week of quarantine and “lock-down” and have been worshipping and gathering remotely through the internet. Technology has indeed been a great help to keep us engaged with the church, with worship, and in fellowship with one another. I have been inspired by the engagement, whether it be reflected in the comments posted as we do our live-stream services, or whether I am seeing the faces of our kids and parents and other members in our Zoom meetings. It is not the most fulfilling replacement for the old way of gathering in person, but it’s working to keep us connected, and that feels good.
In our quarantine and distancing from each other, we have been able to accomplish good things. We have been collecting food for the St. Paul’s effort in Ramsey (drop off Tuesdays between 5 and 6pm). We have been making masks for healthcare providers at Good Samaritan and Valley Hospitals. We have donated over $5000 to local and statewide food and social ministry programs. We have been calling and checking in on friends and members of the congregation, and we have been praying for each other, for those who are struggling with the virus in their families, and for the world in general. This is the work of the church in good times and bad times, but it is especially heartening to see you all rise to the challenge of trying to be the church in a time of crisis.
The good that has come from your efforts, from your attention, from your generosity, and from your prayers for each other and for the world, is the “good” that Saint Paul is referring to in the quote above. I have been taught by my experiences in life, and by our theology, that Paul is referring to the church as a whole, and not individuals, when he says that “things work for good for those who love God”. I may find this true for myself at different times, as an individual Christian, but Christ is really making a church, a collective, out the people who love him, who “are called according to his purpose.” That purpose is the good that you have all been doing as a congregation, as a group committed to God and each other, for the sake of others in the world. Keep up the good work, and may God guide us and bless us as we look forward to an end to this crisis sometime in the future. +PL
April, 2020
Dear Redeemer family,
I admit it. I did not see this coming. I’ve imagined many challenging scenarios for the church in our time, but not this one. There is plenty of historical precedent to go on, such as the plagues of Europe centuries ago, or the 1918 Flu Pandemic in America, but I admit, this just wasn’t on my radar. Now, we are all trying to adapt to the economic and social realities of distancing, extra hygiene, and living with the mystery of what could happen if we or loved ones get the virus. It is a very stressful time, and the stress and anxiety undermine our personal sense of wellbeing, as well as that of our families and communities.
What can the church do in this situation? Well, we are adapting as quickly as we can in order to stay in contact with each other. Thus, in this issue of the Reminder, we have several pages on how to access our digital communications. There are instructions for viewing virtual worship (see the April calendar for schedule), with or without Facebook; finding our YouTube channel, “Lamb and Flag Ministries”; how to access the multiple Zoom meetings we are holding for Sunday school and group discussions; and instructions for using the Tithe.ly giving app on our church website to make a donation electronically if you want.
We are also praying more. This seems logical, since many of us feel helpless to otherwise change things (yet, being strict in social distancing, wearing a mask, and washing your hands IS helping the situation!). We are also making homemade masks for local healthcare providers, collecting food and donating funds for the food bank. We are also reaching out to our neighbors more deliberately. When we do, we are sharing the love of God in a concrete way, for God reached out to us in a concrete way—in the life, death and resurrection of his Son. In his resurrection life now, we find the hope to live faithfully, not giving in to despair, or cynicism, or selfishness. We can live for God and the good of the world God created. Happy Easter! To God be the Glory. +PL
March 20, 2020
Dear members and friends of Redeemer,
We find ourselves in an unprecedented time full of rapid change and anxiety due to the Covid19 virus. In response, your church council and staff have implemented the following measures to abide by state and local government directives, but also nurture a sense of community through special outreach to our family of faith.
1) I am available for any pastoral needs. Please call my cell (201-675-4591) or the church office.
2) All in-person gatherings, services, meetings and classes are suspended until further notice.
3) To keep you safe and also serve the church community we’ve dedicated so much to establish and nurture, we must move our services and other events onto the internet. Exactly what we do will evolve depending upon Redeemer’s need and the length of the restrictions. For the moment we are:
4) I am providing pastoral video messages on our YouTube channel, "Lamb and Flag Ministries", several times a week. Remember to *subscribe* to the channel.
We are called to be salt and light in our world. This means being people who bring God’s peace to a situation of anxiety. We are asking people to be responsible and understanding in handling this uncertain situation. God bless you and your families, and keep in touch with us.
Yours in Christ's love,
Pastor Linderman
February, 2020
For pastors, February might as well be Thanksgiving. This month closely follows the annual congregational meeting, and when pastors prepare for that meeting, having given much thought to all the things that happened in the past year, there's one overwhelming feeling that always comes to the fore: gratitude.
It's not just the number of activities or events that have happened. Nor is it just the time spent by members in these activities. It is really the fact that people give of themselves to participate in the life of something very unique. We may think that participation in church is just like any club or group activity you enjoy. And the payout might seem similar. You might feel good from participation in a club, or there might be great fellowship and time with others that you enjoy. You may get help you need, and you may get joy from helping others. Though these benefits might also be experienced in church (we hope so), the main thing we get in church is received in faith. God's merciful presence in our lives is a promise we trust. We believe it is there for us, and that it will not be taken from us, whether we feel in some tangible way it or not. God is good, and we participate because we trust this is true.
So when I think of you, dear reader, and you participation in the life of our church, I am filled with gratitude for all you do; for jumping in to help out, for praying for the different people in our church, for serving, and for just being you--with God and with us. Yours in Christ, PL
December, 2019
There’s a great quote about worship that I happened upon accidentally. It comes from the PBS show, “Call the Midwife” (which I have yet to watch). Sister Monica Joan, the lead character who is an Anglican nun, says, “The liturgy is of comfort to the disarrayed mind. We need not choose our thoughts; the words are aligned, like a rope for us to cling to.” I couldn’t agree more. What a relief it is to Christians that at the end/beginning of a long week, we can gather together to grab onto the words used in our Christian worship, cling to them, and be pulled thereby into the Spirit’s tether. A great comfort, indeed!
As we enter the Advent season this month, I want to re-invite you to experience the comfort of worship and its expression of faith in Christ’s mercy by attending regular worship on Sunday mornings. I also want to invite you to experience three special services that are intended to help us through the frenetic schedule of our culture’s countdown to Christmas. These are:
- the Ramsey Community Advent Lessons and Carols (Dec 8, at Redeemer, 3pm) (please note - DEC 8, not the 15th!)
- our traditional Christmas pageant (Dec 15, 9:15am), and
- our community ‘Awaiting the Light’ service (Dec 22, 3pm).
This year, our Christmas pageant format is new because we are setting the pageant within the normal service of Holy Communion. This way, the work of the children in presenting the story of Christ’s birth, and its importance for our faith, is used to prepare the congregation for Holy Communion, where we believe Christ is most clearly present in our lives. The community Advent Lessons and Carols service provides us and our local Christian neighbors with a deeper appreciation of the way Christ’s birth fits into God’s Salvation history, and helps us prepare for the “advent” of our Lord, both in history and at the end of time. The ‘Awaiting the Light’ service is designed to address the power of nostalgia and grief in our lives, particularly for those who find the holidays a challenge. It wraps this longing in the promises of Christ’s coming and invites us into the “hope of Christ.”
Advent is a time, like Lent, in which to enter with new vigor into the spirituality of the tradition. Like the quote above says, the liturgy (tradition) lines up words for us to use, and like a rope we can cling to, supports us in our spiritual journey. Is your journey disrupted by the ebb and flow of everyday life? Has your faith felt dry or burdened by questions, doubts and anxiety? Are you feeling “disarrayed” in your thinking because of the chaos of our political and social lives? Then, through the worship traditions of the Church, God’s help is here for you. Grab the rope and let God’s grace to the work.
+PL
October, 2019
“You yourselves are being built like living stones into a spiritual temple. You are being made into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5)
A Christian congregation is like any other human organization. We have a reason for meeting, a meeting place, and a group of people who help run the organization. We have activities for the larger group, and hold special events, usually on some kind of annual schedule.
What sets a Christian congregation apart from other organizations is the reason for meeting. According to the verse from 1 Peter, quoted above, a Christian congregation is first of all a spiritual temple for God, a body of people who are held together by the presence of Jesus Christ in our midst. As we are held together by Christ, we are called to be a “royal priesthood” who offer “sacrifices” to God. Our presence, and the “sacrifice” we make in the world, witnesses to God’s grace. What form does this “sacrifice” take? It comes in the form of praise of God in worship, participating in God’s activity in the sacraments (Baptism and Holy Communion), and serving others and the world in love. There may be lots of human organizations, as well as other ways Christ works in the world, but the church is a distinct form of Christ’s activity in the world, meant to provide a specific witness to the world that God in fact loves it, and has redeemed it.
As our fall programming gets underway, and stewardship becomes our focus in October, I marvel at the amazing opportunity we have to be a witness to Christ’s work in the world. I invite you to pray during this stewardship month that our witness to Christ’s work might be generously supported, and that we might be faithful to our calling.
Yours in Christ’s love,
PL
August 15, 2019
Some of you are already aware of this, but some actions taken by the ELCA's Churchwide Assembly, which met in Milwaukee last week, made national news. These were a protest march to ICE headquarters in Milwaukee, and then the official pronouncement by the assembly announcing the ELCA as a "Sanctuary" church. The second action even made the television show, “Fox and Friends”. This caused a stir in media accounts. As of this communication, I have not been contacted by members of Redeemer about these events.
To help clarify what transpired, I've put together a resource that I hope will contextualize what this does and does not mean for us. In the first resource post, you will find links to various letters by some bishops, including our own New Jersey Synod bishop, the Rev. Tracie Bartholomew, which will help interpret these events. I suggest you start with the Bishops’ letters.
If you would rather start with an overview from the media, here is a news article about these events (that is fair and impartial).
Here is the 1st resource page post, with links to the Bishops' letters.
Here is the 2nd resource post, a guide to the background of the ELCA "sanctuary" action.
And here is the 3rd resource post, a brief explanation of the protest march on August 7.
This is a lot of information to read through, but if you have time, that is the best way to get a sense of the history of this action by the ELCA last week. I hope it is clear to those of you who have taken the time to read through the links above that this process is built on theological responses to human situations. Through this action, the ELCA is saying to the world that it believes we are called by the Gospel to respond mercifully and humanely to humans in any migrant or refugee situation. It is clear also from the Metro NY resolution that that synod, and now the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, believes that current US governmental practices are violating this mandate to treat people in these situations humanely. Support for migrants, whether they are technically refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants or opportunists, is a mandate in the Bible. (Read the Metro NY resolution to see all of the Bible verses that refer to this very human predicament of being a migrant.) The government is charged with carrying out the law, but the church is free to demand that it do so humanely.The church is also free to disagree with laws that it feels harms or takes advantage of vulnerable people. This doesn’t mean that the ELCA advocates breaking the law. The church is merely taking people "as they come"—i.e. as migrants fleeing from some type of oppressive, unhealthy or dangerous situation. The issue is first, how do we help those who are in a vulnerable position? Second, how can we change how those who violate immigration law are characterized in political discourse, and how they are treated by authorities?
Because of our local context, and unlike Lutheran congregations in major cities, or in southern border states, Redeemer finds itself at a short distance from those people most affected by migrant issues. Yet, like many other ELCA churches, we already support ministries to and for migrants through Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. In fact Redeemer has worked with LIRS twice in the past to help settle refugees, first from Vietnam and then from Bosnia. Also, Redeemer is partnered with St. Stephan’s Community Church in Newark, and we help support their ministries, which include ministry to a large immigrant community. So Redeemer has already been doing some of the work of “sanctuary” for years.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Linderman
What an incredible year we have just been through. We saw unprecedented disruptions to our national, communal and family lives, on many levels. For a time, it looked like the pandemic would subside and we might get back into a new normal. Then came Omicron, and we lost a sense of progress and momentum. Over the course of the year, we all sustained losses in many different ways—professionally, personally, and as a society. And we should expect to struggle with the challenges caused by the pandemic throughout this next year.
As I look ahead to 2022, I’ve been meditating on the advice of Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt, a German pastor at the turn of the 20th century, who in the midst of incredible upheaval in his society, advised focusing our attention on Christ already at work in people. He wrote:
“If you are observant, you can always find traces of God at work. God is always moving, in our hearts and among those nearest to us…. So, keep your eyes and ears open, and as soon as you perceive something of God’s work, let it speak to you.”*
As we look to 2022, let us take time to perceive God’s work among us, and let it speak to us. We don’t know exactly what may need to change over the coming months, so we will need to be clear-headed, patient, and flexible. But God is with us, and always has been. His promises of unconditional love and mercy stand firm.
Happy New Year to you all. +PL
*(Blumhardt, Everyone Belongs to God: Discovering the Hidden Christ, Plough Publishing House, 2015, p. 37)
Sept. 2021
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7)
September is here, but things are not back to normal like we had hoped. Amid the chaos of our world, and with the pandemic, Afghanistan, and natural disasters all around, we try to return to our program year with hope and anticipation. But we can’t shake the anxiety. The pandemic is still a major problem in our lives and in our society, and we cannot move forward in the way we thought. The biggest thing weighing on us is the energy it takes to remain vigilant, even if vaccinated. Work is trying to change back to pre-pandemic practices. School is proceeding in-person, but with masks. And at Redeemer, we are holding our course, with limited in-person worship and wearing masks indoors.
Nevertheless, we enter the fall season full of hope and faith. Blessing of the backpacks is on Sept 12, at our 9:15am worship service. We will celebrate Rally Day on Sept. 19th with an outdoor worship service at 10:15am, and a brown bag picnic, with entertainment to follow. (Bring your lawn chair!) Then we begin in-person Sunday School on Sept 26, and in-person Confirmation on October 3. See inside this newsletter for more information. We are asking all students and volunteers to wear masks when inside the buildings.
Also, in the hopes of creating a congregation-wide experience this fall, we are offering a devotional study experience. The resource is a booklet called “Freedom: Finding Peace in Anxious Times.” If you are a member, look for that resource to come in the mail.
May we find peace amid the anxieties we all face and find that God’s grace in Jesus Christ carries us through this challenging time.
Yours in Christ’s service,
Pastor Linderman
July, 2021
Sometimes we must wait for those things that we look forward to. I write this at the start of the second summer that I have not been able to take my sabbatical. I know, many of you who work might be smiling while saying, “cry me a river, Pastor.” True, a sabbatical is a special privilege that pastors get, on average once every 7 years. As you know from my recent anniversary, I’ve been full-time at Redeemer for the past 10 years. And that is a good feeling, but even as I revel in our work together as pastor and congregation over those years, I have noticed my eye on next summer, and praying for the “all clear” to take that sabbatical.
But these thoughts put me in mind of the rejuvenation you might be able to secure for yourself over this summer. Some of us are very good at deliberately putting away our work-a-day life for a while. These people gladly shut the door on their office or desk space and leave without a trace. They vacation well, and don’t take their work with them. Others are the always-connected type. We may intend to put our work aside, but it finds its way back into our consciousness at every other moment and we find we are working even while on the beach or casting for fish. We may look like we vacation well, but we don’t get as big a recharge from the time away as the first group.
I definitely fall into the second group. So this summer, I’m trying to really engage with my time off. I’m looking forward to being mindful of the time I spend on vacation, and how I spend it. I hope to catch myself when working, and re-engage with something else, so that my mind has that break. Retirees too, we all need to let go of our worries and anxieties and focus on something else in order to recharge. If you think of it, vacationing is a lot like praying, something else we could all stand to do more of. When you pray, try to remove your thinking from its normal paths and focus your attention on God and God’s presence. Step off the treadmill for those moments of solitude and focus on being fully in God’s presence. Now take that practice on vacation with you and combine the two! I’m feeling rejuvenated already just thinking about it. May you all be blessed in your time off this summer.
Peace,
PL
May, 2021
Happy Easter to you all! Spring is here, and new life is peaking through all around us. On the pandemic front, things are looking more positive. Governor Murphy recently increased allowance for up to 50% of room capacity for indoor gatherings. Ramsey schools are moving to Phase 3, which means combining the divided cohorts of students to full capacity and having in-person instruction 5 days a week instead of a staggered schedule. If you have been fully vaccinated, you are feeling a bit more comfortable in participating in various activities.
As for our practice right now, the Redeemer council will assess our limit of 30 people maximum indoors at our May council meeting. We have sought a balance between gathering for in- person worship and the goal of keeping everyone safe from exposure to the virus. We have started to invite more members to volunteer at our services. This is your chance to try something new and serve the congregation in the process. Worship assistants read the lessons and parts of the service and assist with communion. Altar Guild volunteers set up and re-set the altar. Ushers are on hand to assist anyone in need. I invite you to try it out if you haven’t before!
In the meantime, the council will meet in “retreat” in the coming weeks to reengage with our Core Values Project. We had planned to do this last year before the shutdown changed our lives and focused our attention on adjusting to the challenges of the pandemic. Our Core Values will be important for goal setting, so that we look forward to entering the fall of 2021 with some new initiatives, as well as renewed focus on what we already do well. Please pray with the council this month for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and renewed faith in the presence of our risen Lord, so that we may be a community of God’s grace for the sake of the world around us.
+PL
March 2021
I’m really feeling done with it all right now. It must be the combination of the pandemic and all the snow and ice that we’ve had. I’m feeling done with winter, done with snow, done with Covid, done with social distancing, done with masks. I want to be done. I want to move on.
And right when I’m getting clearer in my mind about my feelings, Lent comes and asks me to sit for a while longer with my feelings. It seems that just when I think I’ve made up my mind about something, God comes and says, “Not so fast Michael; I’ve got more work to do with you.”
And so Lent presents an opportunity to me that I would be wise to take advantage of. Lent has a particular purchase in the life of Christians in the Northern Hemisphere. In these regions of the world, the days of Winter grow shorter, and then longer as the springtime approaches. The word Lent comes from the Old English word “lenchten”, or “lengthen”. So “Lent” literally refers to the spring season that is approaching. That experience of the lengthening of daytime, of light, of warmth, and of growth, also points out our longing as well. We are longing for new growth, new warmth, new light. We wait for these things literally, but they are also metaphors for our spiritual lives. While our bodies are longing for literal warmth and light, so our souls are longing spiritually for warmth and light. We are done with the shadows and chill of our spiritual winter. We are ready for the light and warmth of Easter!
But we can’t just skip Lent and go straight to Easter. The season gives us an opportunity to learn from our longing. We are given the chance to learn about our true desires, our true needs, and our true hunger for God’s grace, and for Jesus’ presence. So patience is our calling right now. This winter of trials and shadows will pass. God’s warmth and light are approaching. We wait in faith, hope, and love. +PL
January, 2021
“When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:17-19)
Dear friends of Redeemer,
One of the unique blessings of this past Christmas holiday season for me was the way in which the trials, challenges and burdens of 2020 hovered over my reading of the birth narratives in Luke and Matthew, and brought new insights to the fore. We all have struggled with many things in 2020, some of us more than others. There was much upheaval, uncertainty, social restriction, anxiety, loss and grief. Even with a vaccine on the horizon, there remain many questions about how life will permanently change for us going into 2021.
With all that in the background, I came to the retelling of the birth of Christ with a new focus on the experience of Mary, Joseph, and the other adults and youth gathered around the baby in the manger. How uncertain, even anxious, were they as they prepared for and then gave birth to Jesus? What hopes and dreams had been upended or dashed by Mary’s early pregnancy, and what excitement after the angels’ amazing proclamation? What questions and dreams opened up for the shepherds? And what was it like to have that heavenly experience, and then return to the humdrum of everyday life? This year, I’ve marveled at how similar we are to them, in the experience of chaos and uncertainty.
One verse stands out to me in the midst of this uncertainty. It is Luke 2:19, which states that “Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” For me, this is the key to all we have been through in this past year, and all we may go through yet in 2021. Like Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds, we have the truth of Christ’s presence with us, now, and it will remain with us come what may. Now we too can ponder the grace and promise of Christ’s presence, beating like a tiny heart in the midst of both the upheaval and the humdrum.
May this truth continue to bless us all in the new year.
+ PL
July, 2020
Dear Redeemer family,
It is almost 4 months since we began this unusual and tragic time of the Corona Virus pandemic. It's been a rough time for many of us, in various ways, and for other parts of the country the situation is recently getting worse. We are struggling to see light at the end of the tunnel. Add to that the social unrest in our country around issues of racial justice, and we all have a full plate of uneasiness, anxiety and worry.
As for our Redeemer family, we are doing pretty well. Our most tragic losses have been among friends and extended family of church members. We grieve their loss, and feel the extra weight of not being able to honor them in the way we would like with traditional funerals. Meanwhile, we struggle with other losses; jobs, income streams, damage to our businesses, dashed dreams and missed milestone experiences for our young people.
Added up, this is a lot of loss, but Redeemer has responded with heart and generosity. We have jumped into the task of making masks, we have donated food and money to several local and statewide charities, and we are establishing our new “Redeemer Covid19 Fund”. The staff has worked to provide consistent online engagement through our livestream services and Zoom educational and social meetings. We are doing all the right things, and we can do more. We call on the presence of Christ through the Holy Spirit to lift our weary hearts, fill us with faith in God's goodness, and inspire us to work for the greater good, as our mission statement says, "sharing our blessings with others”. May we continue in the way of Christ, despite the many uncertainties, and be found faithful to Christ's Gospel in the end. Have a blessed summer. +PL
May 2020
“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
(Romans 8:28)
Dear Friends in Christ,
We are now in our 6th week of quarantine and “lock-down” and have been worshipping and gathering remotely through the internet. Technology has indeed been a great help to keep us engaged with the church, with worship, and in fellowship with one another. I have been inspired by the engagement, whether it be reflected in the comments posted as we do our live-stream services, or whether I am seeing the faces of our kids and parents and other members in our Zoom meetings. It is not the most fulfilling replacement for the old way of gathering in person, but it’s working to keep us connected, and that feels good.
In our quarantine and distancing from each other, we have been able to accomplish good things. We have been collecting food for the St. Paul’s effort in Ramsey (drop off Tuesdays between 5 and 6pm). We have been making masks for healthcare providers at Good Samaritan and Valley Hospitals. We have donated over $5000 to local and statewide food and social ministry programs. We have been calling and checking in on friends and members of the congregation, and we have been praying for each other, for those who are struggling with the virus in their families, and for the world in general. This is the work of the church in good times and bad times, but it is especially heartening to see you all rise to the challenge of trying to be the church in a time of crisis.
The good that has come from your efforts, from your attention, from your generosity, and from your prayers for each other and for the world, is the “good” that Saint Paul is referring to in the quote above. I have been taught by my experiences in life, and by our theology, that Paul is referring to the church as a whole, and not individuals, when he says that “things work for good for those who love God”. I may find this true for myself at different times, as an individual Christian, but Christ is really making a church, a collective, out the people who love him, who “are called according to his purpose.” That purpose is the good that you have all been doing as a congregation, as a group committed to God and each other, for the sake of others in the world. Keep up the good work, and may God guide us and bless us as we look forward to an end to this crisis sometime in the future. +PL
April, 2020
Dear Redeemer family,
I admit it. I did not see this coming. I’ve imagined many challenging scenarios for the church in our time, but not this one. There is plenty of historical precedent to go on, such as the plagues of Europe centuries ago, or the 1918 Flu Pandemic in America, but I admit, this just wasn’t on my radar. Now, we are all trying to adapt to the economic and social realities of distancing, extra hygiene, and living with the mystery of what could happen if we or loved ones get the virus. It is a very stressful time, and the stress and anxiety undermine our personal sense of wellbeing, as well as that of our families and communities.
What can the church do in this situation? Well, we are adapting as quickly as we can in order to stay in contact with each other. Thus, in this issue of the Reminder, we have several pages on how to access our digital communications. There are instructions for viewing virtual worship (see the April calendar for schedule), with or without Facebook; finding our YouTube channel, “Lamb and Flag Ministries”; how to access the multiple Zoom meetings we are holding for Sunday school and group discussions; and instructions for using the Tithe.ly giving app on our church website to make a donation electronically if you want.
We are also praying more. This seems logical, since many of us feel helpless to otherwise change things (yet, being strict in social distancing, wearing a mask, and washing your hands IS helping the situation!). We are also making homemade masks for local healthcare providers, collecting food and donating funds for the food bank. We are also reaching out to our neighbors more deliberately. When we do, we are sharing the love of God in a concrete way, for God reached out to us in a concrete way—in the life, death and resurrection of his Son. In his resurrection life now, we find the hope to live faithfully, not giving in to despair, or cynicism, or selfishness. We can live for God and the good of the world God created. Happy Easter! To God be the Glory. +PL
March 20, 2020
Dear members and friends of Redeemer,
We find ourselves in an unprecedented time full of rapid change and anxiety due to the Covid19 virus. In response, your church council and staff have implemented the following measures to abide by state and local government directives, but also nurture a sense of community through special outreach to our family of faith.
1) I am available for any pastoral needs. Please call my cell (201-675-4591) or the church office.
2) All in-person gatherings, services, meetings and classes are suspended until further notice.
3) To keep you safe and also serve the church community we’ve dedicated so much to establish and nurture, we must move our services and other events onto the internet. Exactly what we do will evolve depending upon Redeemer’s need and the length of the restrictions. For the moment we are:
- Live-streaming our Sunday morning service at 10:15A. You can access this as it happens or later at your convenience from Redeemer’s Facebook page. You must have a Facebook account to view this.
- Exploring our options for conducting Sunday school on-line using Zoom (a free video conferencing and screen-sharing service). You will hear more about this in the coming days from our Faith Formation Director, Stephanie Doyle.
4) I am providing pastoral video messages on our YouTube channel, "Lamb and Flag Ministries", several times a week. Remember to *subscribe* to the channel.
We are called to be salt and light in our world. This means being people who bring God’s peace to a situation of anxiety. We are asking people to be responsible and understanding in handling this uncertain situation. God bless you and your families, and keep in touch with us.
Yours in Christ's love,
Pastor Linderman
February, 2020
For pastors, February might as well be Thanksgiving. This month closely follows the annual congregational meeting, and when pastors prepare for that meeting, having given much thought to all the things that happened in the past year, there's one overwhelming feeling that always comes to the fore: gratitude.
It's not just the number of activities or events that have happened. Nor is it just the time spent by members in these activities. It is really the fact that people give of themselves to participate in the life of something very unique. We may think that participation in church is just like any club or group activity you enjoy. And the payout might seem similar. You might feel good from participation in a club, or there might be great fellowship and time with others that you enjoy. You may get help you need, and you may get joy from helping others. Though these benefits might also be experienced in church (we hope so), the main thing we get in church is received in faith. God's merciful presence in our lives is a promise we trust. We believe it is there for us, and that it will not be taken from us, whether we feel in some tangible way it or not. God is good, and we participate because we trust this is true.
So when I think of you, dear reader, and you participation in the life of our church, I am filled with gratitude for all you do; for jumping in to help out, for praying for the different people in our church, for serving, and for just being you--with God and with us. Yours in Christ, PL
December, 2019
There’s a great quote about worship that I happened upon accidentally. It comes from the PBS show, “Call the Midwife” (which I have yet to watch). Sister Monica Joan, the lead character who is an Anglican nun, says, “The liturgy is of comfort to the disarrayed mind. We need not choose our thoughts; the words are aligned, like a rope for us to cling to.” I couldn’t agree more. What a relief it is to Christians that at the end/beginning of a long week, we can gather together to grab onto the words used in our Christian worship, cling to them, and be pulled thereby into the Spirit’s tether. A great comfort, indeed!
As we enter the Advent season this month, I want to re-invite you to experience the comfort of worship and its expression of faith in Christ’s mercy by attending regular worship on Sunday mornings. I also want to invite you to experience three special services that are intended to help us through the frenetic schedule of our culture’s countdown to Christmas. These are:
- the Ramsey Community Advent Lessons and Carols (Dec 8, at Redeemer, 3pm) (please note - DEC 8, not the 15th!)
- our traditional Christmas pageant (Dec 15, 9:15am), and
- our community ‘Awaiting the Light’ service (Dec 22, 3pm).
This year, our Christmas pageant format is new because we are setting the pageant within the normal service of Holy Communion. This way, the work of the children in presenting the story of Christ’s birth, and its importance for our faith, is used to prepare the congregation for Holy Communion, where we believe Christ is most clearly present in our lives. The community Advent Lessons and Carols service provides us and our local Christian neighbors with a deeper appreciation of the way Christ’s birth fits into God’s Salvation history, and helps us prepare for the “advent” of our Lord, both in history and at the end of time. The ‘Awaiting the Light’ service is designed to address the power of nostalgia and grief in our lives, particularly for those who find the holidays a challenge. It wraps this longing in the promises of Christ’s coming and invites us into the “hope of Christ.”
Advent is a time, like Lent, in which to enter with new vigor into the spirituality of the tradition. Like the quote above says, the liturgy (tradition) lines up words for us to use, and like a rope we can cling to, supports us in our spiritual journey. Is your journey disrupted by the ebb and flow of everyday life? Has your faith felt dry or burdened by questions, doubts and anxiety? Are you feeling “disarrayed” in your thinking because of the chaos of our political and social lives? Then, through the worship traditions of the Church, God’s help is here for you. Grab the rope and let God’s grace to the work.
+PL
October, 2019
“You yourselves are being built like living stones into a spiritual temple. You are being made into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5)
A Christian congregation is like any other human organization. We have a reason for meeting, a meeting place, and a group of people who help run the organization. We have activities for the larger group, and hold special events, usually on some kind of annual schedule.
What sets a Christian congregation apart from other organizations is the reason for meeting. According to the verse from 1 Peter, quoted above, a Christian congregation is first of all a spiritual temple for God, a body of people who are held together by the presence of Jesus Christ in our midst. As we are held together by Christ, we are called to be a “royal priesthood” who offer “sacrifices” to God. Our presence, and the “sacrifice” we make in the world, witnesses to God’s grace. What form does this “sacrifice” take? It comes in the form of praise of God in worship, participating in God’s activity in the sacraments (Baptism and Holy Communion), and serving others and the world in love. There may be lots of human organizations, as well as other ways Christ works in the world, but the church is a distinct form of Christ’s activity in the world, meant to provide a specific witness to the world that God in fact loves it, and has redeemed it.
As our fall programming gets underway, and stewardship becomes our focus in October, I marvel at the amazing opportunity we have to be a witness to Christ’s work in the world. I invite you to pray during this stewardship month that our witness to Christ’s work might be generously supported, and that we might be faithful to our calling.
Yours in Christ’s love,
PL
August 15, 2019
Some of you are already aware of this, but some actions taken by the ELCA's Churchwide Assembly, which met in Milwaukee last week, made national news. These were a protest march to ICE headquarters in Milwaukee, and then the official pronouncement by the assembly announcing the ELCA as a "Sanctuary" church. The second action even made the television show, “Fox and Friends”. This caused a stir in media accounts. As of this communication, I have not been contacted by members of Redeemer about these events.
To help clarify what transpired, I've put together a resource that I hope will contextualize what this does and does not mean for us. In the first resource post, you will find links to various letters by some bishops, including our own New Jersey Synod bishop, the Rev. Tracie Bartholomew, which will help interpret these events. I suggest you start with the Bishops’ letters.
If you would rather start with an overview from the media, here is a news article about these events (that is fair and impartial).
Here is the 1st resource page post, with links to the Bishops' letters.
Here is the 2nd resource post, a guide to the background of the ELCA "sanctuary" action.
And here is the 3rd resource post, a brief explanation of the protest march on August 7.
This is a lot of information to read through, but if you have time, that is the best way to get a sense of the history of this action by the ELCA last week. I hope it is clear to those of you who have taken the time to read through the links above that this process is built on theological responses to human situations. Through this action, the ELCA is saying to the world that it believes we are called by the Gospel to respond mercifully and humanely to humans in any migrant or refugee situation. It is clear also from the Metro NY resolution that that synod, and now the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, believes that current US governmental practices are violating this mandate to treat people in these situations humanely. Support for migrants, whether they are technically refugees, asylum seekers, immigrants or opportunists, is a mandate in the Bible. (Read the Metro NY resolution to see all of the Bible verses that refer to this very human predicament of being a migrant.) The government is charged with carrying out the law, but the church is free to demand that it do so humanely.The church is also free to disagree with laws that it feels harms or takes advantage of vulnerable people. This doesn’t mean that the ELCA advocates breaking the law. The church is merely taking people "as they come"—i.e. as migrants fleeing from some type of oppressive, unhealthy or dangerous situation. The issue is first, how do we help those who are in a vulnerable position? Second, how can we change how those who violate immigration law are characterized in political discourse, and how they are treated by authorities?
Because of our local context, and unlike Lutheran congregations in major cities, or in southern border states, Redeemer finds itself at a short distance from those people most affected by migrant issues. Yet, like many other ELCA churches, we already support ministries to and for migrants through Lutheran Social Ministries of New Jersey and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. In fact Redeemer has worked with LIRS twice in the past to help settle refugees, first from Vietnam and then from Bosnia. Also, Redeemer is partnered with St. Stephan’s Community Church in Newark, and we help support their ministries, which include ministry to a large immigrant community. So Redeemer has already been doing some of the work of “sanctuary” for years.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Linderman
