Mission of the Heart

January 2024

Margaret Kritsch Anderson
When Margaret Kritsch Anderson went to work in her capacity as a law enforcement ranger for the National Park Service on that fateful day, January 1, 2012, she could not have known she would give up her earthly life at the hands of a deranged individual. She left behind to mourn, her husband, Eric, children, Anna and Katie, her parents, Pastor Paul and Dorothy Kritsch, her siblings, Peter and Sarah and their families and a host of friends and loved ones. The Fund was started in her memory to assist Eric in the establishment of college funds and in meeting daily living expenses for Anna and Katie. The children were very young when Margaret died and her loss continues to be a major void in their young lives.

Please be generous in your giving for this family and continue to remember them in your prayers as they cope with this tragedy. For most of us New Year's Day is joyous and a celebration of new beginnings. For the Anderson, Kritsch(s) and Beylon families they are a tragic reminder of the fragility of earthly life.

February 2024

RLC VBS

The Mission of the month for February is VBS! Grab your dive buddies for a whale of a good time! At SCUBA VBS, families plunge into an undersea world brimming with colorful coral, flashy fish and abundant life. Immersed in oceans of fun, families will discover God is a real friend who loves them forever! We will be collecting for different materials we will need to create this hands on bible-rich experience grounded in multi-sensory learning that families will talk about for years to come.

March 2024

Sow & Sew

The Sow & Sew Group of Redeemer is a small group of church member volunteers who meet weekly to plan and sew quilts for the High School Graduates of Redeemer. The Sow and Sew Group has been making quilts for the graduates since 2009. Since then, the volunteers have changed, but over the years a total of 74 quilts have been made and distributed.

April 2024

Kids Against Hunger

Kids Against Hunger is a non-profit humanitarian organization with a mission to provide fully nutritious food to impoverished children and families around the world and around the corner.
The goal of the organization is for the meals to provide a stable nutritional base from which recipient families can move their families from starvation or food insecurity to self-sufficiency.
Each meal costs only $.30. We will have an event in November. Stay tuned for more details.

May 2024

Life Choices

For 35 years, Life Choices Resource Center has been faithfully serving mothers and families who are faced with difficult or unplanned pregnancies. They have helped thousands of women choose life for their babies by providing them with practical, emotional, spiritual and material support. Life Choices believes that every single person is a precious gift from God – this includes mothers, fathers, and their unborn children. They are guided by the Christian principle that human life is sacred from the moment of conception. They are devoted to serving their clients in humility and love, seeing the face of Christ in everyone they encounter, and do not discriminate based on religion, race, color, age, national or ethnic origin or sexual orientation. Life Choices promotes chastity, family life and Natural Family Planning and does not refer clients for abortions or any birth control devices.

As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, their vital work is made entirely possible by the generosity and support of donors.

Redeemer Lutheran Church is hosting a “Baby Bottle Blessings” BOTTLE AND ENVELOPE Campaign.
For over 37 years, Life Choices has been serving women and families in our local community by offering FREE services including ultrasounds, pregnancy tests, counseling, hope and friendship for those facing crisis pregnancies. By supporting the “Baby Bottle” fundraiser, you’re helping to spread the Gospel of Life while building a legacy of love in our local communities. Take home a bottle or an envelope. Fill the bottle or fill out the form with your cash, check or credit card information and return it the weekend of May 29 or sooner. Drop the bottles in the provided collection bin; OR drop the form in the collection basket or mail directly to Life Choices Resource Center, 503 Main Street, Metuchen, NJ 08840.
We will also be collecting larger size diapers and baby wipes for the Westfield Food Pantry. Please put all items on the shelves in Luther Hall.
Remember to keep the babies and families in your prayers as you are in ours.
Your gift will help save a baby’s life! Thank you!

June 2024

Westfield Food Pantry

We provide 300 to 350 adults and children per month two weeks of food supplies. The food pantry relies on volunteers and organizations to provide food and donations. The pantry operates five days a week and always looking for volunteers to serve those less fortunate in our community.

Note: Redeemer has volunteers serving at the food pantry the first Wednesday and second Friday of each month.

Food Pantry Collection-is ongoing-collecting non-perishable boxed and canned good items to help stock the Westfield Food Pantry. Please place your items in the box located in the Narthex. The Westfield Food Pantry serves approximately 1.200 people monthly, 51% of their clients are children, 14% elderly.

July 2024

Days For Girls

Days for Girls International, is globally working to shift how women and girls see themselves and are seen by their communities. They offer girls and women with new life choices through

providing sustainable hygiene solutions, health education, and income-generation opportunities. Our Team meets monthly, building and sewing sustainable components, which are then shipped to a DfG collection point for distribution.

August 2024

LCC Comfort Dogs

Launched in August 2008, the Lutheran Church Charities K9 Comfort Dogs Ministry is a national human-care ministry embracing the unique calming nature and skills of purebred Golden Retrievers. The LCC K9 Comfort Dogs are a bridge for compassionate ministry, opening doors for conversations about faith and creating opportunities to share the mercy, compassion, presence, and ·proclamation of Jesus Christ.

September 2024

Anchor of Hope Alliance

The Anchor of Hope Alliance ministry started at Redeemer 20 years ago. It was founded to reach out in prayer to the community and to support the Market Street and Jersey Shore Rescue Missions. We now
also serve Paterson, Newark, and Asbury Park by providing food, clothing, shelter and hospitality to those in need, especially individuals and families suffering from addiction, mental health issues,
incarceration and poverty. Anchor of Hope initiatives are starting at several LCMS NJ District congregations.

October 2024

Camino De Fe

Camino de Fe’s vision is to be the hub of the Gospel to the Bilingual/Spanish-speaking communities where life and trust in God happens and where leaders are raised to lead other communities. Our Mission to “make followers of Jesus, who in turn make followers of Jesus.”
We are a church that worships weekly and gathers monthly for fellowship and encouragement.
In November 2017, Pastor Dan planted his first bilingual church in Bernardsville. Since then Camino de Fe has been gathering every Wednesday for worship, fellowship and prayer. In December of 2018, Camino de Fe started gathering once a month on the fourth Sunday of every Month.
Support our church plant in “making followers of Jesus, who will in turn, make followers of Jesus” and with our work in helping those that truly need help by giving a portion of what you have been blessed with by God.

November 2024

Military Bible Stick Program

The Military Bible Stick reaches these service men and women, — It can go with them and sustain them in even the most difficult circumstances. It contains the entire Audio Drama New Testament and selected Psalms chosen specifically for “warriors”. Designed to military specifications for safe and discreet use in low-light conditions, it features a matte black finish and red-light-only operation — and runs on a single AAA battery!

December 2024

Salvation Army Angel Tree

The Salvation Army of Plainfield helped over 1,000 children receive gifts. Over 300 families were given assistance, and 30 of those families were adopted by members of the community! They are currently collecting the 2023 applications for families from all across our areas. Due to the nationwide inflation that we have experienced over the last year, they anticipate that even more families will request their help this year. Please consider taking an Angel Tree tag off the Christmas Tree in the Narthex or make a monetary donation. Please place your unwrapped gift with the tag attached under the Christmas Tree in the Narthex by tree Sunday, December 10th. Any monetary donations will go to the Salvation Army.