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The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer
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Sacred Connections: Noticing

During this time of sheltering in place we are more than ever confronted with our relationships with ourselves, with those we shelter with, with those we love and unable to be with right now, and with all those friends, neighbors, strangers we encounter behind face coverings as we venture forth for work or to tend to the "necessities" in our lives.

The very word “confront” implies a need to defend, to respond. For fighting a virus, that may be an apt response. But there’s another way in which “confront” may also be an invitation to look at, consider, rethink – and in that, there may be a gift for us.

Wednesday night I received an email from my son Brooks (Ryan), with a link to a video (shown below) he had recorded for the staff in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Utah. It was about his thoughts on staying positive, coping as a family, and communicating with children during this time of COVID 19. So curious, I began to play it, and it was a good thing I was sitting down. I hear the words, “My mother in Cincinnati…” and I have no idea what’s coming next.

What Brooks was sharing was the deepening of my relationship with Elia, my nine-year old granddaughter, during this time. Elia and I have always felt connected, always felt and expressed love for each other. Yet the geographic distance between Salt Lake City and Cincinnati keeps us physically apart except for several visits a year, and as she’s grown and our lives have become busier, our FaceTime visits had dwindled quite a bit. But somehow, COVID-19 invited new time and space for connecting.

I began receiving FaceTime requests from Elia almost daily, sometimes multiple times a day with texts in between. In some of these calls I have felt a little lost – what are we talking about? I’m not much of a phone person, so my calls usually have a purpose, and I had to do an internal reset – it doesn’t matter what we are talking about, what matters is that we are talking.

There have been times when Elia keeps taking my picture as we FaceTime, those exhausted end of the day distorted pictures when one wants to run to the nearest hair salon – but not so fast – they’re all closed. I protest, and she snaps away. She mutes, or pauses, and I wonder why we are still on the call, but we are connected, she wants to hold onto the call.

Some conversations are purposeful, help with a school project, teaching me new tools for texting, sharing jokes, riddles, stories. But many are not, sometimes it’s just hanging out in our respective kitchens, sharing a virtual walk in the neighborhood, settling in for the night in our homes in different time zones, different terrain, 2000 miles apart.

What my son was sharing with the pediatric staff was that this relationship between his mother and daughter had actually strengthened during COVID-19, and that he had simply had to “stop rushing enough to notice”. In his video, he’s wearing a Bengals cap and a “Love spoken here” t-shirt from a Redeemer Fair Trade Market, he’s holding up an iPad with a collage of all these photos I had objected to, while he shares this appreciation for this deepening in relationship between Elia and me.

Brooks’ noticing brought the whole of it into so much clearer awareness for me. When we’re in the midst of something, we can’t always see as clearly. We’re in the moment. But when we have the chance to step back and see the impact of all these moments, or the potential they hold, what a gift that can be.

We can be aware of the distance if our home feels empty, or the desire for a bit more distance if our home feels full to over-flowing – there are challenges enough for everyone. And, we can also take the time to notice the gifts of love, the invitation to deepening, the movement of the Spirit in the simplest moments of our lives.


To access the list of resources Dr. Keeshin refers to in the video, please visit our Healthy Church page and look under Parenting in a Pandemic.


Tags: Sacred Connections Blog

Sermons

  • May 22 | The Rev. Philip DeVaul
    What Kind of Christians Are We?
  • May 15 | The Rev. Philip DeVaul
    Find Blessing Today
  • May 8 | The Rev. Joyce Keeshin
    Autonomy
  • May 1 | The Rev. Philip DeVaul
    Cheer for Christ
  • Apr 24 | The Rev. Joyce Keeshin
    Bearing Witness

Rector's Blog

  • May 20 | The Rev. Philip DeVaul
    Rector's Blog: We Don't Talk About Abortion
  • May 13 | The Rev. Philip DeVaul
    Rector's Blog: Learning What I Believe
  • May 6 | The Rev. Philip DeVaul
    Rector's Blog: We Believe
  • Apr 29 | The Rev. Philip DeVaul
    Rector's Blog: Magnificent and Complicated
  • Apr 22 | The Rev. Philip DeVaul
    Rector's Blog Throwback Series, Hoping for Peace

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2944 Erie Ave. · Cincinnati, OH 45208
(513) 321-6700
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The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer
2944 Erie Ave.
Cincinnati, OH 45208

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Welcome Children Service Times Membership Contact Us

Welcome to Church of the Redeemer! We invite and welcome ALL to join us in worship and community. In addition to worship, we have a vibrant music community, a fun and welcoming community for children and youth, plus offerings for everyone from young adults to seniors, covering many varied interests.

The Rev. Philip DeVaul, Rector

WHAT WE BELIEVE

We love children, and children love Church of the Redeemer!

Children are at the heart of life at Church of the Redeemer. Children learn about the word of God through our Children's Christian Education programs; they are involved in worship services, they play music in our services, and they form lifelong friendships with each other through their experiences.

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On Sundays we have an 8:00 am Holy Eucharist, Rite I service, a 9:00 am Holy Eucharist, Rite II service (which is also livestreamed), an 11:00 am Banquet Eucharist service and a 5:00 pm Celtic Eucharist service.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays, we offer Morning Prayer on our Online Worship Podcast.

On Wednesdays, we offer Holy Eucharist, Rite II at 6:00 pm in the Chapel.

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The community of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer welcomes you! We are glad that you have chosen to explore your faith here and hope that this document can answer some of the questions you may have about Church of the Redeemer. We seek to be an open, inviting community. Our invitation to you is to join us as we grow in faith and reach out in love to others. At Church of the Redeemer we are always seeking to know Jesus and grow in love. We hope that in whatever ministries you undertake will strengthen your relationship with him through your ministry and fellowship here.

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PARKING: Parking is on the street. Please pay attention to the signs indicating proper parking zones. Handicapped parking is available in the front on Erie, in the back parking lot, and on the south side of Raymar.

ACCESSIBLE REDEEMER: The front entrance has a ramp and there is an elevator inside the back door and to the left. Accessible restrooms are located in the Lobby inside the front entrance.


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Flowers in our holy worship spaces are a beautiful gift to God and those who attend services at Church of the Redeemer as well as those being honored or remembered. A contribution to the Flower Fund is a meaningful way to honor or remember a loved one for special life events such as birthdays, anniversaries, baptisms, confirmations, thanksgivings, or in memory of a loved one.

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The Church of the Redeemer is blessed to have received special gifts from parishioners who wanted Redeemer to have permanent savings to care for our facilities and to supplement our pledge income.

Such permanent savings are often called an “endowment.” The endowed funds are permanently set aside by donors or by the Vestry. Some of our donors have specified uses for their endowment gifts. A limited portion of the funds is distributed each year to supplement our general budget. All funds are invested with professional advice.

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