Dearest friends in Christ,

As you receive this newsletter, we will be celebrating our nine month anniversary as a newly transplanted congregation in South Garland.  How ironic that nine months is the gestation period for a baby as it seems that it what God has been doing with us over the past nine months: preparing us for new birth as a congregation as we also celebrate this month the birth of our Savior.

Reflecting back on the past nine months, it is hard to fight back the tears of joy as I recall the many ways God has shown to us His goodness and faithfulness.  In less than a week, we renovated and established a new worship space; we purchased six acres of land in Rowlett for a future campus, complete with the Canterbury House; we found a new spiritual home in CANA, we regularly received the necessary resources to continue in faithful ministry; we saw steady growth, necessitating the expansion of our Broadway campus; and we have seen many people come to know the Lord Jesus Christ and receive his healing touch.  Amazing things have happened as we have sought to be a church family faithful to the Bible and the teaching of the Apostles as we have received it.  And now, as our nine-month gestation period comes to an end, we see God beginning to open up new vistas of ministry and opportunities for us as a congregation.

In January, we will embark on The Promised Land Capital Campaign which will give us the resources to press forward with our Master Plan and pay off the debt on the land we have purchased in Rowlett.  The kickoff for this Campaign will be the same day as our first Confirmation service since we joined CANA and a visit from our new CANA bishop, David Anderson.  January will also mark the celebration of new ministry for Sheri Graham as she is ordained a deacon and begins a new season of ministry among us as a member of the clergy.  In March, we will celebrate our one year anniversary as a congregation by sponsoring the Anglican School of Healing Ministries at our Broadway campus, hosting Anglicans and other Christians from all over the country as we seek to fulfill our call to equip disciples and spread the Good News of God’s healing touch.  Next summer we will lead several mission trips and I will hopefully host a group of CANA ordination aspirants on a trip to Nigeria.

Just as the Apostle Peter wrote to the early disciples, we have indeed been “born anew through the living and abiding word of God.”  I am so thankful for each one of you who has remained faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ and has given so generously of your time, talent and treasure for the building of God’s Kingdom and the “equipping of the saints for ministry” here at Christ the Redeemer.  It is an exciting time in the life of our congregation and there is a place for each of us to continue to be faithful ministers of the gospel using the gifts that He has given to us according to His grace.

I pray that for you and your family, this Advent and Christmas season will be filled with a joy-filled peace and a sense of expectancy in what God has planned for each of us in the months and years ahead.

Joyfully Yours in His Love and Grace,

Fr Lawrence+