Some Good News 6/1/23

Whether you are a parent, teacher, or student wrapping up a school year or just feeling a sense of transition and spaciousness as these days get longer and warmer and summer arrives, it's a good time for all of us to ask...

by Rev. Amy Starr Redwine on June 02, 2023

To read this week's First News Weekly, click here.

This week in the youth newsletter, Josh invited youth and parents to reflect on the past year as we transition out of school and into summer. He shared a wonderful list of questions from the Irish writer and poet John O’Donohue. Whether you are a parent, teacher, or student wrapping up a school year or just feeling a sense of transition and spaciousness as these days get longer and warmer and summer arrives, it's a good time for all of us to ask:

  • What did I learn this year? About myself, my friends, the world?
  • Did I change my mind about anything?
  • What differences did I notice in those closest to me?
  • Whom did I neglect? Where did I neglect myself?
  • How did I receive love? How did I share it?

This Sunday morning in worship, we have the opportunity to celebrate another significant transition, as we ordain and install elders and deacons for a three-year term of service. In the Presbyterian Church, all of these leaders are ordained, which is to say, empowered and equipped by the Holy Spirit, to do the work to which they have been called. Even if you are not being ordained this week, you have an important part in this ritual, as we lay hands on these new leaders as a sign of the Spirit's presence and our connection and support.

In faith, hope, and love,

About the Author

Rev. Amy Starr Redwine

Pronouns: she/her

Questions about worship, administration, adult formation, outreach, and pastoral care can be directed to Amy.

Favorite... 

  • Bible Verse: Isaiah 43:1-7; Revelation 21:1-4
  • Movies: Shakespeare in Love, The Martian, Storks, and the Marvel Universe
  • Books: Lincoln in the Bardo, All the Light We Cannot See, The Wolf Hall trilogy, the Gilead series
  • TV Shows: The Crown, The Queen’s Gambit, Broadchurch, Schitt’s Creek
  • Podcasts: Presidential, Another Name for Everything, It Was Said, It’s Been a Minute, Everything Happens
  • Music: U2, Nanci Griffith, Imagine Dragons, Alison Krauss and Union Station
  • For fun I like to: spend time with family — preferably outside — cook, read, and run

About Amy

I was born at Duke Hospital (destined to be a Duke fan!) and moved to Roanoke, Virginia when I was two years old. My family attended Second Presbyterian Church, where I was confirmed and where my faith was nurtured and my questions and doubts were openly received. After high school, I attended Middlebury College in Vermont, where I became a religion major after taking my first religion class. I graduated with a degree in religion and classics and headed to seminary.

At Princeton Theological Seminary, I found a passionate and intellectual community of classmates and professors. I also met and married Derek Redwine. Between the two of us, Derek and I have served churches in Denver, Colorado; Akron, Ohio; and most recently in Cleveland, Ohio. It has been such a joy to return to Virginia and get to know the faithful, curious, and earnest people of FPC and join with FPC members, friends, and staff deepening our faith and serving our city and the world God so loves.

I am passionate about meaningful, thought-provoking, inspiring worship; leading people to encounter God in their daily lives in ways that lead to personal transformation; exploring how God calls us to use our gifts for the transformation of the world; and discerning together how the church can best serve our community and world with passion and joy.

Derek and I have a daughter, Sarah, and two sons, Quinn and George. As a family, we enjoy reading, basketball, and baseball (watching and playing), spending time outside, cooking and eating good food, and our Friday family movie nights.

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