Sundays at 9:15 & 11 a.m. details >>
Plan To Resume Public Worship
Sunday services at Redeemer take place at 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Download the Redeemer San Antonio app, follow Redeemer on Facebook and Instagram and make sure you are signed up for our email newsletter to stay updated.
UPDATED june 16, 2021
From the Redeemer Session
Good afternoon Redeemer friends and family!
Several weeks ago, we began easing the COVID-19 protocols for our worship services. It has been a tremendous blessing to see how people have responded to these changes, and we are thankful for your continued patience with this process.
As we continue to balance the safety of those joining us for in-person worship with the Sunday morning experience, there are some very encouraging signs. More and more people are joining us for in-person worship. Vaccination rates for those ages 12 and up continue to rise, and COVID infection cases continue to decline in our city. In light of these positive signs, the Session is pleased to announce a continued easing of safety protocols in our worship services. We hope that these changes encourage all of us as we continue returning our in-person worship to a sense of normalcy.
Beginning Sunday, June 27:
- Masks Optional in All Services – At both the 9:30 and 11 a.m. worship services, masks will be optional. You may still choose to wear a mask, but no one will be required to wear one in the building at any time on Sunday mornings.
- Worship Entry and Exit – There will no longer be entry and exit criteria for our worship services.
- Masks Optional for Volunteers – Volunteers will no longer be required to wear masks to support our Sunday morning services.
Read the full letter HERE.
UPDATED MAY 13, 2021
Good afternoon Redeemer friends and family!
Over the past year all of us have had to make some form of personal sacrifice as we navigate this global pandemic. Whether it is the way we grocery shop, attend school, go to work, vacation, visit family, celebrate, or mourn, our lives have been impacted. For all of us, these experiences have been hard, challenging our faith in new ways. By God’s grace, we have had to learn to walk graciously alongside one another in spite of differing opinions and experiences of the pandemic.
Another important way that our lives have changed has been our worship time together. Some of the personal sacrifices you have made were asked of you by our Session. Masks, social distancing, blue ovals on the carpet, no name tags or coffee, and no Christian Education classes are just a few of the ways our Sunday mornings have adapted to afford a safe, gathered, in-person worship experience for as many people as possible. It has not always been easy and your effort has not gone unnoticed. It has been our joy to see the ways you have demonstrated love for your brothers and sisters by sacrificing your own personal preferences. We are truly thankful for your patience and humility.
As we continue to balance the safety of those joining us for in-person worship with the Sunday morning experience, there are some very encouraging signs heading into the summer months and we feel it’s time to begin easing some of our safety protocols.
Read the full letter HERE.
UPDATED OCTOBER 12, 2020
Greetings, Redeemer family!
I hope this letter finds you well. I want to pass along to you some updates regarding capacity for our in-person worship services which the Session recently adopted.
As you know, since early September Redeemer has been holding two in-person worship services on Sundays with an attendance cap of 175 worshippers per service. These services have gone very smoothly and have been well attended. As your pastor, it has been such a joy to see you again in worship! The Session is also thankful for the congregation’s faithful observance of the safety measures we have put in place for our services. Thank you.
We are likewise encouraged that San Antonio’s local Covid numbers have remained stable during this first part of the fall. In light of all these factors, the Session has decided to increase worship service seating capacity by 25 percent starting this Sunday, October 18th, providing spots for up to 225 people per service. We will also expand the capacity of the Redeemer Nursery by 25 percent, taking up to 22 children per service by reservation. The 11 a.m. service will still be livestreamed for those who cannot attend in person.
Updated August 27, 2020
Worship Service Sign-Ups Start Soon
by Tom Gibbs
Greetings, Redeemer! I am looking forward to our return to in-person worship services on September 6th and I hope you are, too.
As I mentioned in my last letter, we will be hosting Sunday services at 9:30 and 11 a.m., with each service capped at roughly 40 percent of our sanctuary capacity. To maintain that attendance cap, we will be asking you to RSVP for the service you plan to attend each week. Our first round of worship service sign-ups will start this upcoming Monday, August 31st. Here are some important details about how that process will work.
Worship service sign up forms for the week will go live at 5 p.m. each Monday on the Redeemer Events Sign Up Page. We will email you the link in our 5 p.m. Monday email, This Week at Redeemer, as well, but you can always find the current link at www.redeemersa.org/Sign-Up.
Click to read the full letter.
Updated August 13, 2020
Redeemer Resumes In-Person Worship
by Tom Gibbs
Good morning, friends and family!
I’m writing to inform you that the Redeemer Session has decided to return to in-person worship on Sunday, September 6th. Like most of you, I have also missed being together in the worship of our triune God. I can’t express to you how excited I am to gather in person for worship!
This letter will be likely be one of several communications from the church about our reentry to in-person worship. As you read, please keep in mind that this plan places a high value both on being together and on the safety and care of those who will choose to attend. There is no one plan that is absolutely perfect or one about which everyone will agree. You will also notice that there are some important differences between this plan and our previous return to in-person worship earlier in the summer. Still, I want to assure you that the Session believes this plan is one that balances safety with our commitment to return to in-person worship gatherings.
Click to read the full letter.
UPDATED JUNE 26, 2020
in-Person Worship suspended
Dear members and attenders,
Like you, I and the Session have been monitoring very closely the surge in COVID-19 cases in San Antonio. Though unwanted, this spike is upon our city and led the Session to meet earlier this afternoon. After discussion, the Session concluded to suspend in-person worship immediately until further notice and return to live-streaming the worship service at 11:00 a.m. on Facebook, YouTube and the Redeemer website. Therefore, this plan now supersedes previous decisions regarding congregational groupings for worship services.
This decision is unfortunate and is being made in spite of the Session’s appreciation for the congregation’s response to the previous weeks’ in-person worship services. The Session feels that the social-distancing practices as observed by the congregation have ensured that Redeemer members and friends were able to worship safely. Nevertheless, given how significant this current surge is, the strong desire to serve our city and neighbors, and also, not to contribute to overwhelming the health care system, the Session determined that it is best for the Redeemer community to suspend in-person worship at this time.
Click to read the full letter.
Updated June 9, 2020
changes to worship groupings
by Tom Gibbs
Last night the Session had opportunity to evaluate Redeemer’s return to public, in-person worship. All in all, the Session is very encouraged by the process in place and appreciates the congregation’s cooperation and participation. Everyone agreed that Redeemer’s Deacons and those volunteering as usher/greeters have been particularly helpful. Please know that your contributions are significant. Thank you!
As you may have noticed on the livestream, however, the worship services have not come close to reaching the current capacity threshold. Therefore, starting this Sunday, June 14th, the Session has decided to collapse the every-other Sunday rotation into an all Sunday rotation. This allows anyone who desires to attend an in-person worship service to have the opportunity to do so every week. All other social distancing and building entry and exit protocols will remain in place at this time. You may familiarize yourself with those guidelines here.
Click to read the full letter.
Updated May 20, 2020
News about our return to worship
by Tom Gibbs
As promised a few weeks ago, Redeemer is cautiously and excitedly moving towards a return to gathered worship in Word and Sacrament on Pentecost Sunday, May 31st. I cannot express to you how enthusiastic I am about this. I hope you are too!
This letter will be the first of three communications from the church, which we hope orient you to how this plan will work. As you read, please keep in mind that this plan has placed a high value on the safety and care of those who choose to attend. Therefore, several aspects are less than ideal. At the same time, the Session believes that this plan provides us with an excellent opportunity for safe and in-person worship.
Starting May 31, 2020, Redeemer will conduct three identical worship services at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. Due to guidelines set forth by our governor, the seating capacity of the congregation will be limited to 40% or roughly 177 worshippers. To ensure that all members, regular attenders and potential visitors have equal opportunity to attend worship, the congregation has been divided into six groups. Each group will be able to attend a service every other week. Subsequently, these groups will rotate through the service times in a forward rotation, which will repeat thereafter. Consistent with the preceding weeks, the 11:00 a.m. worship service will be live-streamed on Facebook, YouTube and the Redeemer website for those not scheduled for public worship or who do not desire to gather publicly.
Click to read the full letter.
Click here to read Redeemer's Guide to Returning to Worship document.
