Community Care
Serving Our Community
Loving Our Neighbor
Sharing Our Savior
WHO WE SERVE
provides special care to children and teens who are suffering from domestic violence or other trauma.
We do what we do because we believe what we believe!
Jesus came to love and serve, and that’s what we’re called to do. Serving the community is very important to us because the desire to be the hands and feet of Christ lies deep within us.
We actively make a difference to our community by relieving hunger for individuals and families, providing comfort to children and teens impacted by domestic violence or trauma, and helping single women in crisis pregnancy. These women find help, love, and support for themselves and their unborn children.
Learn More About Volunteer Opportunities
FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY
We know that we glorify God as we serve His children and our neighbors by meeting their most basic needs. Hunger is something no one should have to experience.
From 2017 to 2023, Redeemer’s pantry and garden programs together served up to 200 families per month and are 100% funded by donations from members and from the community.
"For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
I was a stranger and you welcomed me"
Matthew 25:35
The Garden at Redeemer
The Garden at Redeemer provides fresh produce to the hungry and an opportunity to build relationships with our neighbors. We grow a wide assortment of fresh vegetables and greens through the Garden at Redeemer. The Garden is located on our church campus to the left of the parking lot.
Volunteers from the church and community meet as needed to maintain the garden which includes feeding, weeding, seeding, and harvesting.
Want to help? All gardeners, big and small, are welcome to help us plant, weed, and harvest. Please email or call the church office at 407-322-3552 to discuss volunteer opportunities
The Food Pantry (2017-2023)
The Food Pantry ministry began in January 2017 and ran monthly for five years through February 2023 to distribute perishable and non-perishable food to the community. The pantry has a commercial refrigerator and freezer to house dairy, meats and perishable items and large shelves for dry and non-perishable items.
It required over 30 volunteers each month to do everything needed to run the pantry. They ordered and organized food, maintained the on-site pantry, packed bags, managed equipment and logs, completed necessary paperwork, and served on distribution day.
Due to a lack of manpower and resources, we are sad to report that the pantry closed and had its last distribution on February 18, 2023. We accept that the Lord is preparing Redeemer to turn its focus to other ministry and missional projects, which will include serving the community with needed resources in different ways.
KATE'S HOPE - COMFORT FOR KIDS
Kate’s Hope offers special care to children and teens who are victims of domestic violence or other traumatic events.
"I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears."
Psalm 34:4
Volunteers fill backpacks with comfort care items for children encountered by the Sanford Police Department
The Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML) at Redeemer began a new ministry in 2015 called Kate’s Hope Comfort for Kids to provide comfort to children and young teens who are victims of domestic violence or other traumatic events.
The LWML partners with the Sanford Police Department to provide “comfort backpacks” to the department that are then distributed to children in crisis by police officers as they respond to emergency calls.
Kate’s Hope Comfort for Kids organizes and assembles the backpacks through donations from church members and the community. The comfort backpacks help police officers build trust with children who are often traumatized and fearful. As they open the backpack, the children find brand new comfort items that may include a small blanket, a stuffed toy, coloring books, and snacks.
New, unused comfort item donations are appreciated to keep this important ministry going. You may download the donation list here or call the church office at 407-322-3552 for more information.
Food Pantries for Seminole Residents
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer no longer operates a monthly food pantry. There are local resources available to you through these online portals run by United Way and Second Harvest Food Bank. You may also download this list of Sanford food pantries that serve Sanford and Seminole County residents.
Redeeming Life Outreach Ministries (RLOM) provides residential and program services to single expectant and postpartum women in need. Redeemer is one of many partners that supports this amazing ministry to protect women in crisis and their child, born and unborn. RLOM was founded in 2012 by Rev. Ed DeWitt, his wife, Sheryl, their daughter Katie and with the loving support of the Redeemer family.
“For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him.”
1 Samuel 1:27
The residential maternity home program offers a safe, nurturing home for single pregnant women. Additional services include support for physical and emotional health, life skills instruction (household management, personal finance, interpersonal skills, cooking, etc.), parenting classes, educational planning, employment path planning and faith building.
Redeeming Life expanded the ministry in 2018 to include a Transitional Living Program. This program is for the women who successfully graduate the maternity home program but still need support and services critical to their stability and ability to become independent.
The congregation at Redeemer provides support to RLOM through individual donations, volunteer service opportunities for the residents, worship, bible study, meeting facilities and most importantly they provide spiritual and emotional support for the women residing at Redeeming Life.
Want to help? Visit RLOM's website to donate, volunteer, join the mailing list, or learn more about their most pressing needs. Contact Sheryl DeWitt at 407-790-9745 for more information.
"Our greatest joy is seeing Christ at work in the lives of our residents. So many of them are injured emotionally and physically from a very early age and they don’t trust people or God. To watch the women grow in the knowledge of who Christ is and His amazing love for them is a tremendous blessing.”
- Sheryl DeWitt, Executive Director
RLOM is a Recognized Service Organization of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.