Why Church?

The world is starting to feel impersonal. Our sense of belonging slips away when there’s a digital screen between us. Artificial intelligence is… well… artificial. Social media seems less and less social. So how about sitting, singing and sharing your faith with real live people? How about a thoughtful encounter with scripture? Let’s make Sunday morning special again. Together.

We embrace the timeless idea that there is Someone greater than us that loves us, a  Oneness at the base of life that cares about all of us here. We trust that this presence that we call God creates us, sustains us, and brings us to wholeness. We’re moved to believe that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Christ is the best witness to God’s never-failing love and we think that story is worth telling – over and over again.

Life is full of questions. Faith is the pursuit of soulful answers. And the Lutheran expression of faith at Redeemer finds wholeness, healing and forgiveness at the core of Christianity. We believe caring for struggling people and all of creation is part of a spiritual practice - right there with singing, praying, studying, and spending time together. We see God’s image in each other. 

We also know no one is perfect. We trip, we fall down, we get back up and try again. But we know there’s always a hand to help us up. Sometimes it’s the inspiration of God and scripture. Sometimes it’s the presence of Christ in our weekly holy communion. Sometimes it’s the person sitting next to you. Other times it’s just knowing that you are loved. That saving love may, in turn, make you the helping hand. We trust in God’s promises to renew us all so that we may live out our truest humanity.

Yes. And it’s also history, mystery, personal reflection and a text we take seriously, but not always literally. The Bible is a constant source of challenge and revelation. But we also find inspiration in science, nature, the arts and each other. So no, you don’t need to revert back to an iron-age world view to find truth in scripture. Wisdom is ageless. Timeless. Faith works right here. Right now. 

Sometimes we need to break our routine in order to see our lives more clearly. This is one of the things church can do well. Our congregation is mostly made up of folks with decades of life experience, and some adults that have been here since they were born. There’s wisdom in the pews. So, we try our best to help each other, and our community, find a higher sense of meaning and purpose in a culture that is so driven by worldly success.