Greetings All,
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to announce that, at long last, the church bells will be installed in the bell tower this Monday, March 14, 2016.
Bob Young of Young’s Rigging in Egg Harbor Township has been storing the bells and equipment for months, waiting for a break in the weather - and break it did, as you all know.
I will be on the scene early Monday morning and will take photos and share them will all of you.
Following the hoisting of the bells and equipment into the tower, they will be operational on April 15, 2016, when Philippe Paccard of Paccard Foundry, Lac d’Annez, France, installs the striking and swinging motors, configures the Harmony Controller and tests the bells.
The bell ringing program will follow both religious and civic protocols.
I am sure you all share our excitement for this occasion.
A consecration ceremony is planned later this season, and we hope Bishop Chip Stokes will be in attendance.
Bishop Stokes donated to the Bell Fund the plate collection which was given at the time of the Redeemer consecration for which Bishop Stokes presided.
Traditionally, a visiting Bishop is given the plate collection for the Bishop’s discretionary fund and used for charitable purposes.
Bishop Stokes felt that the Redeemer Bells was a worthy recipient of these funds. Thanks goes out to our Bishop Stokes!
We hope to see you this coming season and bring your friends and neighbors to grow the Redeemer church attendance which has been increasing over the years.
Peace, Tom Subranni, for the Board of Trustees, Church of the Redeemer
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Monday, March 7, 2016
Labyrinths wind their way through South Jersey
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/life/labyrinths-wind-their-way-through-south-jersey/article_e2dff676-e17f-11e5-aaa7-3375c2b4548d.html
Labyrinths wind their way through South Jersey
Posted: Friday, March 4, 2016 7:00 am
As you stand in the entrance of the labyrinth at the Free to Be Child Care Center, Director Elyse Smith asks that you close your eyes and listen.
On one particular Monday, cars could be heard rumbling by on Pomona Road. Snow fell softly on a nearby pine tree. Birds chirped. Tranquil sounds.
“May you walk in peace,” states the sign at the labyrinth entrance. This is a place for quiet thinking, although there is no wrong way to walk the labyrinth, Smith said.
Much of the same goes for the labyrinth a half hour away in Longport, at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer. This one is surrounded by a stone-covered courtyard. It took a reporter about five minutes to wend through the cream-and-maroon path to its center.
These labyrinths and others like them across the country are not the structures of Greek and Roman mythology, with tall walls and minotaurs at the center. Nor are they mazes meant to confuse the people who walk within them, their proponents said.
According to the World Wide Labyrinth Locator website, there are 83 labyrinths in New Jersey. A handful of them are in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and southern Ocean counties. Those who manage the local labyrinths said their paths are meant for meditative and spiritual use.
Labyrinths can be laid out in several ways, but many are circular patterns. There is one way into a labyrinth and a pathway that leads you to a central area for meditation. Once you reach the center, you turn around to renavigate the labyrinth.
“It is not a maze, it’s not a puzzle to solve,” said Tom Subranni, chairman of the board of trustees of the Church of the Redeemer.
Smith teaches her students at the Free to Be center yoga and meditation, things that are part of her own personal practice. Although the children range in ages from 3 to 5, Smith said, they are not too young to understand the importance of breathing and being calm.
“It’s OK to be sad or angry, it’s OK to acknowledge that feeling,” Smith said, rather than suppressing or ignoring such feelings. To help them acknowledge their feelings, Smith said, she encourages her students to walk the labyrinth. There’s a small bench in the middle of the mulch path to sit.
The brick labyrinth was designed and built by Stockton University students in a leadership course in 2012, Smith said. While the labyrinth was being built, Smith taught her students about labyrinths using a pattern on a rug.
Smith said she first walked through a labyrinth around the time she was pursuing her Masters of Liberal Arts degree at McDaniel College in Maryland.
“It’s always been the dream, to have a labyrinth” at Free to Be, she said. “We have visitors come from all over to see the labyrinth, though they call first because obviously we have children here,” she said.
Church of the Redeemer’s labyrinth was inspired by a design at one of the most recognizable labyrinths in the world — at least to those in the know — at the Chartres Cathedral in Paris.
The Longport labyrinth was built in 2000 by church volunteers, with the project funded by a donation from longtime parishioner Milda Clucas Balch, in honor of her late husband. A plaque dedicated to them sits near the labyrinth entrance.
Subranni, who’s been a member of the church for about 30 years, said he walks through the labyrinth every so often. The labyrinth is a form of outdoor ministry, he said. A sign explaining it states, “Walk in peace, knowing that God walks with you, and leave in peace, knowing that God leaves with you.”
“When you get to the center, your thoughts ... you’re calm. Your thoughts just vaporize,” he said. “I would say there’s a spiritual quality to the labyrinth. It’s a public service.”
He added that when the church is open during the summer months, those interested in wending through the labyrinth are encouraged to join for Sunday services.
Both Smith and Subranni said visitors have made special trips specifically for the labyrinth.
“There are folks that come almost every day of the week,” Subranni said, even though the church is only open in the summer. “It’s a wonderful tool to solve problems you may have.”
Contact: 609-272-7256
Twitter @ACPress_Tracey
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Latest on Bells
Greetings Members and Friends of the Church of the Redeemer, Here is the latest information regarding the church bells. Due to uncertainties of North Atlantic ocean conditions this time of year, an exact bell delivery date cannot be determined. Delivery probably will be too close to Christmas - not a good time for our rigging contractors to do the delicate crane and installation work which also involves other trades. The raising of the bells will be after the first of the year and the exact date will depend on local weather conditions. Stay tuned for future progress reports. Have a wonderful family-oriented Thanksgiving and Christmas Season. The Christmas Concert is set for 7:00 p.m., Sunday, December 6, 2015. - Tom Subranni, for the Board of Trustees, Church of the Redeemer
Monday, October 26, 2015
Friday, October 2, 2015
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Recycling Date Correction
Correction to yesterday’s email:
September 21st will be the last summer weekly recycling pick up. Recycling will be collected every other week henceforth. Also be advised that yard waste will also commence biweekly pickup starting in October. Please make sure you have a 2015 Longport Collection Services card that you can pick up at Borough Hall or visit www.acua.com for more information.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
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