Our Story
Church of the Redeemer was established in 1954 on the site of a former vineyard—a powerful Biblical image of human community and God’s presence in it. It was “planted” by First Evangelical & Reformed Church of Lakewood and became part of the United Church of Christ when that denomination was founded in 1957. Shortly after its 50th anniversary, Redeemer undertook a study of its internal life and the surrounding communities. On the basis of that work, we developed a Plan for Renewal, which included the development of a new statement of mission, vision, and values and led to the expansion of staff and programs and a focus on inviting and welcoming new people to our life and work.
In 2006, conversations with the members of our parent church, First UCC in Lakewood, led to a (re)union of the congregations to form a new and larger Church of the Redeemer UCC. The union has enlarged the scope of our community ministries and caused us to think more about the best ways to help new people quickly feel at home.