Redeemer Live!!

Here at Redeemer we love music, and we are blessed to have many talented musicians, songwriters and poets amongst us! This Thursday there is a chance to see some of these gifted individuals in action, at Redeemer Live!

Redeemer Live is a live music and poetry event which is taking place at The Grange Pub in Ealing, at 7:30 this Thursday the 26th of September. The whole evening is a launch event for our next Alpha course, which will be running this term on Wednesday evenings at Osteria del Portico, and starts on the 2nd of October.

This is a fantastic opportunity to invite friends who might be interested in the Christian faith, who have questions about what Christians believe, or simply enjoy live music! There will be an opportunity on Thursday evening to sign up for the course, and to chat to those who will be leading it this term. 

We would love to see you on Thursday evening, bring your friends, have fun, and enjoy some great music and poetry.

#RedeemerRecommends - Alpha

This week on #RedeemerRecommends we’re recommending a course, one that has changed the lives of thousands of people across the world, and one that we are starting right here in Ealing with a launch event TONIGHT!

The Alpha course began in the 90s at Holy Trinity Brompton, just a few miles away from here, and was adapted by Nicky Gumbel to provide a friendly, welcoming environment for people to ask questions and learn more about the Christian faith. You can find out a bit more about one individual’s experience of Alpha below…

Our Alpha course will start on the 15th of May at Osteria Del Portico, and you can find more information about HERE. We also have an event to launch the course tonight at Artisan Coffee! Come and enjoy some live music and poetry, and hear a little more about the course, including an interview with someone who had their life changed by Alpha!

We start at 7:30, and would love to see you there! The address is below, and you can find the Facebook event HERE.

What. A. Weekend.

Wow.

What a weekend.

Without doubt the most important weekend of the year when it comes to the church calendar. This weekend we celebrated the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, events which despite occurring over 2000 years ago, still shape each and every moment of the life of a christian. Without this weekend, if he never died as a sacrifice for our sins and then rose, conquering death and winning an everlasting victory, followers of Jesus Christ would quite simply have no foundation for their faith in him. But we believe that he did do that, we believe that he still lives today, and is seated on a heavenly throne, at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for us, which makes the Easter weekend one worth celebrating!

The weekend started with a day we now call Good Friday, but a day which seemed altogether less ‘good’ all those years ago. Jesus Christ of Nazareth hung on a cross and died, seemingly defeated. While we know now that this was in fact the beginning of his victory, a moment when all of our sin and shame was paid for, it is important as christians that we remember the cost of our salvation, that Jesus suffered in our place, that he felt our pain. This was the first time we have met together on Good Friday at Redeemer and it was an amazing service, meeting together for an hour, we sung songs which reminded us of the power of Jesus’ blood, we heard monologues read which reinforced the message that Jesus suffered for us, and we took communion together to mark the sacrifice that was made. I personally was incredibly moved by the whole service, and it was stirring to hear so many voices lifted up in praise to their king, even on such a sombre occasion.

Then, on Easter Sunday, it was time for a celebration! We had the opportunity to sing songs together which allowed us to rejoice in the victory won as Jesus walked out of his tomb! We were led by a fantastic choir, heard truth proclaimed, and were able to celebrate with three individuals who took the opportunity this Easter Sunday to be baptised and to begin their own journey of walking with Jesus, out of the darkness, and into his Glorious Day!

But what does this weekend mean for us as christians? Is it just a once a year celebration, after which we go back to our routines….? No! We believe that this truth, this celebration of Jesus’ victory is something to be celebrated all year round! So we’ll be celebrating next Sunday too, and the Sunday after that, and not just on Sundays! Every day of the rest of our lives is now lived in the knowledge that we walk in the everlasting victory that was won on the first Easter! This truth we believe is not just for ourselves, but is true for all people, of all ages, all across the world. If you’re reading this and you aren’t currently celebrating this truth, why not come and find out more by visiting us on a Sunday morning at Ealing Town Hall, or join us on Thursday the 9th of May as we launch our next Alpha course with an evening of live music and poetry at Artisan Coffee. As you reflect on another Easter weekend, whatever that means for you, don’t miss a chance to come and join in the celebration which continues all year round!

He is risen.

He is risen indeed!

“Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen!

Mark 16:6

HOW TO MAKE A DELICIOUS BANANA AND CHOCOLATE CHIP LOAF

I found this recipe online and little did I know, it was one of Mary Berry’s!

I don’t think I did just as well as Mary Berry but I tried...

This was my first time making this. Alsooo, it didn’t really turn out to be loaf shaped...

To be honest, it doesn’t really need to be loaf shaped, it could be any shape!

I’d recommend having a smaller tin, because it does make a small mixture (or double everything).

But it tastes greaaaatt and that’s the most important thing, right? Hahaaa!

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe banana (weight of 100g)
• 1 tbsp milk
• 50g soft butter
• 75g plain flour
• 75g caster sugar
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 free-range egg
• 50g chocolate chips

To decorate (optional):

• 50g chocolate chips

Equipment:

• Greaseproof paper
• Mixing bowl
• Electric whisk/wooden spoon
• Loaf tin

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160°C/gas mark 3. Then, cover your tin with greaseproof paper.

2. Use a fork to mash the banana in a mixing bowl and add the remaining cake ingredients (except the chocolate chips) and mix with an electric whisk or a wooden spoon, until it’s well combined and smooth.

3. Stir the chocolate chips into your mixture and then put the mixture into your tin, levelling the top.

4. Bake for 40–45 minutes or until it’s risen, and golden brown.

5. After you’ve baked your banana and chocolate chip loaf, place it aside, and let it cool down fully.

6. For decoration, melt the chocolate chips into a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (making sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water). Stir the chocolate, until it’s melted.

7. Get a spoon, and drizzle the melted chocolate on top of your loaf. You could let the chocolate set or just eat it straight away, up to you!

After that’s all done, it’s time to diiigggg innnnn!!

I'm not sure whether it'll be this or something else, but I'm sure I'll be taking something to share with Benjamina from the Great British Bake Off when she visits on Tuesday.

Why not come along?

HOW DINNER IN EALING COULD CHANGE THE MIDDLE EAST

We recently went on our first family holiday abroad – to France.

France has lovely weather, beautiful countryside, delicious food…and a language that I don’t understand.

I never did French at school, so I used up pretty much my entire vocabulary by the time we’d shown our passports.

Swapping between languages can be fun (like listening to French songs written in English – the music’s fine but the words are appalling!) and very frustrating.

Interpretation is clearly a skill, and it’s something that’s very relevant to the modern world. The Middle East has been dreadfully affected over the last few years by an interpretation of Islam that is entirely different from the interpretations practiced by my Muslim friends. The same could be said of those who interpreted Christianity in such a way as to justify the Crusades or the Spanish Inquisition, or those who interpreted atheism in such a way as to justify persecuting the Jews under Nazi Germany or the Chinese under Chairman Mao.

Please don’t interpret that to mean that I’m criticising Islam, Christianity or atheism – I’m not. The point I’m making is that the way we interpret something can be as important as the thing itself. The desperately horrifying actions of so-called Islamic State would be no less horrifying if Islam were true.

In all these challenges, surely the best thought we can take away is that understanding one another better is categorically a Good Thing.

So I wonder if I could invite you out for dinner, to do exactly that. I’m doing something called Alpha, where I’d love to share a bit about what Christianity means for me, and I’d love to hear what your faith means for you.

Sign up here, and we can interpret life together.

You can find out more about Alpha here.