Until 2021, English-language services were held at 11 AM on Sunday morning, with the Amharic congregation meeting first at 8am. Since 2021 the Redeemer English service now begins at 8:45am with the Amharic service of the Lidetta congregation beginning at 10:30 am. Following Sunday morning worship, the Redeemer congregation enjoys fellowship time together outside.
Redeemer offers a Sunday School program for younger children and a Bible Study class for older children. These classes depend on volunteers from within the congregation. Holy Communion is celebrated the first Sunday of each month during the regular service. Easter Special services are held at various times of the year, including at Easter (a 6am sunrise service), a candlelight service on Christmas Eve and a Maundy Thursday service. There are women and men's Bible study groups, a youth group and confirmation instruction as requested, though these programs vary from year to year based on the membership. [1]
The programs and expenses of the congregation are met entirely by gifts from members and Sunday visitors. Besides support for the Addis Ababa Synod of EECMY, the budget of ILC/Redeemer has included over the years, support for many Christian organizations working in Ethiopia, such as Mekane Yesus Seminary scholarships, the Bible Society of Ethiopia, Win Souls for God, Mother Theresa Orphanage, AHOPE Orphanage, the EECMY School of Jazz, as well as benevolence requests.
History
The first service for the International Lutheran Church was held on December 1, 1957 at the Amest Kilo Mekane Yesus church, the oldest Ethiopian congregation of the EECMY. This first service of ILC was organized by Dr. Herbert G. Schaefer, the director of the American Lutheran Mission and the ILC congregation was officially organized in May, 1958 with eleven adult members from the international community in Addis Ababa. Sunday School classes began in 1959. The use of the English language by ILC was an attraction for non-Amharic speakers from embassies, non-government organizations and business personnel. They made up a large percentage of the members throughout its history. Missionary pastors and families from various Lutheran and Presbyterian missions were also active. Although the confessional statement of the congregation is Lutheran, Christians were all welcomed. Ethiopians who preferred to worship in English were also included. [2]
In 1960 ILC became a member of the Wollo-Tigre Synod of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus. When the Addis Ababa congregations formed their own synod, ILC transferred its membership to the Central Ethiopia Synod. When the congregations within Addis Ababa became part of the Addis Ababa Synod in the 1990s, ILC was instead transferred under the guidance of the EECMY Head Office.
In 1961 the present site was purchased. The new church building was dedicated on December 1, 1963, six years after the first service. Rev. Leonard Flachman of ALM chaired the building committee and designed the furniture. Later the pastors’ offices and Sunday School rooms were added. A Day Care Center was built in 1980. Later, the rear of the sanctuary was expanded and more offices were added.
When the church was dedicated in 1963, an Ethiopian evangelist was hired by ILC, and the Amharic speaking Lidetta Mekane Yesus congregation was later organized. ILC pastors (specifically Rev. Bob Avers and Rev. Dr. Loren Bliese from ALM and Rev. Torgny Erling from the Swedish Evangelical Mission) worked closely with the evangelist and later the Ethiopian pastors to encourage this Amharic fellowship. A house for an Ethiopian pastor was built behind the church, and Kes Asfaw Kalbero was called and served for many years, followed by other Ethiopian pastors. During the Derg regime many new members joined the Amharic congregation from churches that were closed, so that the Lidetta congregation outgrew ILC. [2]
Sunday morning hours were divided between the two congregations. Initially ILC held services on Sunday afternoons so that the Amharic congregation could met in the church building in the mornings. A committee was formed by representative from ILC and Lidetta that met regularly to deal with mutual concerns such as sharing upkeep and expenses for the church building and compound, and timing of services and other activities. During the Covid Pandemic in 2020, all church services were cancelled by the government for many months. When services were permitted to resume, ILC took the morning service time, starting at 8:45am, and the Amharic congregation switched to a 10:30am starting time.
In 2021, the ILC congregation approved the name change from International Lutheran Church to Redeemer International Congregation of the EECMY. At that time Redeemer also became a member of the Addis Ababa Synod of the EECMY.
EECMY includes Presbyterian Synods, and besides the Lutheran ministers, Reformed and Presbyterian missionaries have contributed to the ministry and fellowship of ILC. Much of the time, the worship services and work of the congregation have been carried out by volunteers from many denominations. [2]
Leadership
The first pastors of ILC were missionaries of the American Lutheran Mission and served part-time, including Dr. Schaefer, Lowel Hesterman, Richard Jensen, Dennis Everson, Robert Avers and Loren Bliese. In the 1960s and early 1970s two volunteer retired pastors, Rev. Fredericks and Rev. Reitz from the USA, served for two years each. Rev. Paul Voltz from Radio Voice of the Gospel also served part-time. In the 1970s and 1980s Rev. Torgny Erling from Sweden, and Rev. Pekka Harne from Finland served basically full-time, and Rev. Johnny Bakke from Norway served part-time in the 1990s. Dr. Philip and Rene Johnson from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America served form 2000 until 2006 as the part-time pastoral team. Dr. Peter and Patty Ford from the Reformed Church in America served as part-time pastors from 2006 until 2009. Rev. Ann Staal was ordained at ILC in 2010 through the EECMY, and then served as pastor through June 2012. In August 2012, Pastor Doug Steinke arrived with his family, and took on his ministry until 2014. In 2016, Rev. Torbjörn Toll of the Swedish Evangelical Mission, served as part-time pastor for one year. Pastor Andreas Thornell from the Swedish Evangelical Mission was pastor from 2019 through 2021. In 2014 ILC put a Pastoral Team in place to support the spiritual life of the congregation, specifically during times without a pastor. The pastoral team consisting of several pastors from within the congregation membership, from various countries who share the pastoral duties of the congregation.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. As of 2022, it has approximately 2.9 million baptized members in 8,640 congregations.
The International Lutheran Council (ILC) is a worldwide association of confessional Lutheran denominations. Member bodies of the ILC hold "an unconditional commitment to the Holy Scriptures as the inspired and infallible Word of God and to the Lutheran Confessions contained in the Book of Concord as the true and faithful exposition of the Word of God." The member church bodies are not required to be in church-fellowship with one another, though many of them are.
P'ent'ay is an originally Amharic–Tigrinya language term for Pentecostal Christians. Today, the term refers to all Evangelical Protestant denominations and organisations in Ethiopian and Eritrean societies. Alternative terms include Ethiopian–Eritrean Evangelicalism or the Ethiopian–Eritrean Evangelical Church. Sometimes the denominations and organizations are known as Wenigēlawī.
The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia is the only Lutheran church in Slovakia. The Church is a member of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Slovakia, and the Lutheran World Federation.
The Ceylon Evangelical Lutheran Church (CELC), formerly known as Lanka Lutheran Church, is a Lutheran body in Sri Lanka. It is a denomination of around 5000 members and has been in fellowship with the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) since 2001. It is a full member of the International Lutheran Council.
Evangelical Church may refer to:
The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus is a Lutheran denomination in Ethiopia. It is the largest member church of the Lutheran World Federation. It is a Lutheran denomination with some Pentecostal influence and one Presbyterian-leaning synod, with a large Pietistic following.
Lutheranism is present on all inhabited continents with an estimated 80 million adherents, out of which 74.2 million are affiliated with the Lutheran World Federation. A major movement that first began the Reformation, it constitutes one of the largest Protestant branches claiming around 80 million out of 920 million Protestants. The Lutheran World Federation brings together the vast majority of Lutherans. Apart from it, there are also other organisations such as the International Lutheran Council and the Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference, as well as multiple independent Lutheran denominations.
Onesimos Nesib was a native Oromo scholar who converted to Lutheran Christianity and translated the Christian Bible into Oromo. His parents named him Hika as a baby, meaning "Translator"; he took the name "Onesimus", after the Biblical character, upon converting to Christianity.
Radio Voice of the Gospel (RVOG) was a Lutheran World Federation international radio station based in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, starting in 1963.
Redeemer Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) in Elmhurst, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. Founded in 1928, there were 495 baptized members. Three of Redeemer's pastors held rather long tenures; Rev. Worth Setzer served for nearly 31 years, Rev. George Bornemann for 17 years, Rev. Richard Drews for 26 years. Rev. Robert Fitzpatrick served for 7 years. Moreso recently, Rev. Scott Stiegemeyer served at Redeemer for five years; the current pastor is Rev. Anthony Oliphant, who was installed in the autumn of 2015.
The North American Lutheran Church (NALC) is a Lutheran denomination with over 420 congregations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, counting more than 142,000 baptized members. The NALC believes all doctrines should and must be judged by the teaching of the Christian Scriptures, in keeping with the historic Lutheran Confessions. It was established on August 27, 2010. The group describes itself as embodying the "theological center of Lutheranism in North America," noting that it stands between the more liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the more conservative Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod (LCMS) and other Lutheran church bodies in North America, "firmly within the global Lutheran mainstream".
The Löten Church is a church located at Heidenstam Square, in Uppsala, Sweden, and is a district church of Gamla Uppsala Parish. Lötenkyrkan is one of forty partner churches that exist between the Church of Sweden and the Swedish Evangelical Mission. Hans Lindholm serves as the pastor of the Church.
The Lutheran Church in Singapore (LCS) is a Lutheran denomination in Singapore. Constituted in 1997, it currently has approximately 2,834 members in 7 congregations nationwide.
Bonnie Lou Jensen is an American former missionary, international relations specialist, and director of the ELCA Global Mission.
John F. Bradosky is an American Lutheran Bishop. He was the second Bishop of the North American Lutheran Church, from his election on 11 August 2011 until his successor, the Rev. Dr. Dan Selbo, was elected as Bishop on 9 August 2019. He followed Rev. Paull Spring, who served as the NALC Provisional Bishop from its inception, and was the former Bishop of the ELCA Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod.
Pentecostalism in Ethiopia is the practice of various Pentecostal forms of Christianity—often included within the evangelical category of P'ent'ay—in Ethiopia, with a constituency of above 1 million members. Despite persecution by the government and the dominant Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Pentecostalism relied on youth and technology to spread its practices throughout the country. It has been found to contribute to the prosperity of people in Ethiopia. The message of Pentecostalism includes prosperity and beliefs around expectations for a better life. After gaining religious freedom in 1991, churches began preaching prosperity and growth outside the government and to discuss fighting corruption. Some Pentecostal worshipers state that the style of worship offers them tangible help for worldy problems. Worship services include the practices speaking in tongues, divine healing, exorcism, prophecy, and powerful prayer.
Dan Selbo is an American Lutheran bishop. He is the third bishop of the North American Lutheran Church, having been elected on 9 August 2019. He followed the Rev. John Bradosky, who served as the bishop from 2011 to 2019. Selbo is married to Mary.