"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40
In the book Compassion, Henri Nouwen calls us to "Radical Servanthood": "When we begin to see God Himself, the source of all our comfort and consolation, in the center of servanthood, compassion becomes much more than doing good for unfortunate people. Radical servanthood, as the encounter with the compassionate God, takes us beyond the distinctions between wealth and poverty, success and failure, fortune and bad luck …. The poor are called blessed not because poverty is good, but because theirs is the kingdom of heaven; the mourners are called blessed, not because mourning is good, but because they shall be comforted."
"Here, we are touching the profound spiritual truth that service is an expression of the search for God and not just of the desire to bring about individual or social change …."
"Radical servanthood challenges us, while attempting persistently to overcome poverty, hunger, illness, and any other form of human misery, to reveal the gentle presence of our compassionate God in the midst of our broken world." (Compassion, pp. 31-32)
Listed below are several of the organizations we support. Although each of them receive financial assistance from Redeemer, our primary contribution has been and continues to be the personal and hands-on involvement of our members in the work and services of these helping organizations.
Grace Centers of Hope is Oakland County's oldest and largest homeless shelter, providing hope and help since 1942. Today, Grace Centers of Hope is considered one of the leading faith-based organizations in Southeastern Michigan, daily confronting issues of homelessness, addiction, poverty and spiritual emptiness. On any given night, Grace Centers of Hope will accommodate between 150-200 men, women and children. Each year, they serve over 127,000 meals and provide over 55,000 nights of stay. Their $3 million dollar budget is supported exclusively through private support; they receive no government dollars. Havenwyck Hospital located in Auburn Hills, provides programs for child and adolescent substance abuse and psychiatric disorders. Dale & Gini Claudepierre 248-644-7614
Family of God Mission is affiliated with Lutheran City Ministries. Located at 8941 W. Vernor in southwest Detroit, its mission statement is: "Bringing the Gospel to and making disciples of the least, the last, and the lost of southwest Detroit through holistic inner city outreach."
Services provided by Family of God Mission include:
Camp Phoenix: Twelve years ago, a great idea came to fruition in Pontiac. Let's take kids that are home alone during the summer and give them a place to play, friends to share time with, healthy snacks and fun activities. Taking over a school, certified teachers provide stimulus to kids who would otherwise stay alone at home.
Georgina Schuetz 248-476-6150 or Lynn Mee 248-723-5999
Lutheran Child and Family Services: This agency provides many services to people in need. Nearest our hearts is the foster care program for infants and children.
Marla, Lauren & Hunter Janness 248-528-1488
Care Net Pregnancy Center of Berkley: Care Net Pregnancy Center of Berkley exists to present the Gospel of Jesus Christ and communicate Biblical truth regarding sexuality and the sanctity of human life. To find out more about Care Net and the ministry they provide and ways you can help, call (248) 545-6411 or carenetberkley.com. Redeemer has and will continue to hold drives to collect layette items for CareNet, as we continue to make a small donation in the name of each baby baptized here at Redeemer.
Denise McDonald 248-258-4907
New Orleans Mission Trip: In 2008, Lutheran Disaster Response celebrated 20 years of bringing help and hope to disaster survivors. Over those 20 years, Lutherans have earned the well-deserved reputation of being committed to the long-term needs of recovering communities from Grand Forks to Oklahoma City, eastern Pennsylvania to southern California, New York City and New Orleans. Over the past several years Redeemer has celebrated our ability to participate in the continued reconstruction of homes in New Orleans following hurricane Katrina. We've been able to send a group (in 2009, 19 went) down for a week each year, their time being utilized in a variety of construction projects, based on the needs expressed by returned New Orlean's families and the skill-sets of those we send. We look forward to many years of continued adult mission trips, furthering the passion shown by our high school students in their own mission work in Mexicali, Mexico.
Tony Kurnat 248-446-4004
Havenwyck, South Oakland Shelter, Lutheran Child and Family Services: A few more of the organizations Redeemer has made a tradition of serving, these organizations annually receive our aid via tangible Christmas gifts for many of the families that draw support from them. Supplied by these organizations with a list of individual family members and their Christmas wish-lists, small angel tags are created and posted (the recipient anonymous) on a Christmas tree in our welcome area. Members grab tags, buy and wrap the gifts, and bring them back to us for sorting and delivery. Through an Ingathering of Toys by our Sunday School kids and their families, gifts are collected and compiled into Birthday Bags (complete with cake mix and icing) for the children in foster care under Lutheran Child and Family Services.
