On a quiet block in the Wakefield neighborhood of the Bronx, Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church has marked Saturdays, Sundays, and Wednesdays with the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist since 1928. The motto that shapes the parish's daily life is simple: "God's People Pray." Members, visitors, and newcomers gather around the altar of a Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod parish that has grown from a rented storefront on 237th Street into a multicultural, multigenerational congregation serving the north Bronx and beyond.
A House of Prayer Built and Rebuilt Since 1928
Redeemer's story began on Sunday, April 15, 1928, when members of St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Yonkers who had moved into the Wakefield section of the Bronx met for worship in a rented storefront at 686 237th Street. The Rev. Adolf Meyer, St. Mark's pastor, led that first service, and by 1929 the small group had bought land at the corner of Barnes and Boyd Avenues and raised a portable church building. The Rev. William Bruening served as the first called pastor, and within a few years an adjacent building, now known as the Parish House at 4354 Boyd Avenue, was pressed into service as a Sunday School, a confirmation classroom, and a meeting place for a Boy Scout troop.
By the late 1940s the portable building had been outgrown. A cornerstone was laid in 1950 for the present church edifice, and during construction the congregation worshipped at the Wakefield Theater, a local movie house. The original portable chapel was disassembled, transported north, and re-erected in Putnam Valley, New York, where it still serves St. Luke's Lutheran Church for worship. A 1964 addition brought the current parish office, the pastor's study, the Wittrock Room (formerly the Green Room) on the lower level, and the Catechist Rosa Room (formerly the Gold Room) on the upper floor. In 2004, Boyd Avenue was renamed Rev. Theodore Wittrock Crossing in honor of Redeemer's fourth pastor, who served from 1969 to 2000 and was named pastor emeritus upon his retirement.
Pastor Wittrock guided the congregation through the demographic shifts that reshaped Wakefield in the 1960s and 1970s, when many ethnic European families moved out and newcomers from many different cultural backgrounds moved in. The high regard the Wittrock family held for the parish and for the people of the Bronx shaped Redeemer's identity as a multicultural, multigenerational community. In the 1980s and 1990s the congregation remained a beacon in the north Bronx, hosting square dances, potluck suppers, Festa Italiana dinners, Broadway in the Bronx, talent shows, and Sunday School gatherings, while the Senior Choir, Junior Choir, and Guitar Choir accompanied baptisms, confirmations, weddings, and funerals.
On Good Shepherd Sunday in 2001, the Rev. Dr. Dien Ashley Taylor was installed as Redeemer's fifth pastor. Worship attendance doubled in fewer than two years, Vacation Bible School was reintroduced, and the year that followed September 11, 2001 produced a parish motto when the Sunday School theme "God's People Pray" became a way of describing the parish to a wounded city.
Liturgies of the Holy Eucharist
Worship at Redeemer centers on the Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist. In-person services are held on Saturdays at 5:30 PM, on Sundays at 8 AM and 11 AM, and on Wednesdays at 12 Noon and 6:30 PM. The 11 AM Sunday liturgy is also livestreamed via Zoom (Meeting ID 977 9961 5449), with an audio-only option available by dialing 929-205-6099 and entering the same meeting ID followed by the pound key. A digital Liturgy of the Holy Word is offered online at 11 AM on Sundays for those who cannot attend in person.
The congregation describes itself as a "confessional, evangelical catholic communion in the Lutheran tradition," shaped by conservative Biblical preaching, orthodox Lutheran catechesis, and liturgical sacramental worship. Spanish hymnody and liturgical rites are woven into the liturgies as the parish welcomes Spanish-speaking members and neighbors, and baptisms, weddings, confirmations, and funerals have been conducted in Spanish as well as in English. Once a month, as indicated in the bulletin, anointing with oil for healing follows the liturgies.
The Building and Its Treasures
The current church building has been quietly enriched over the years. A sanctuary interior renovation was completed around the congregation's eightieth anniversary, with a new ceiling, air conditioning, improved seating for those with physical disabilities, and better access to the baptismal font and altar. Two rooms added in 1964 have been renamed in honor of parish figures: the Wittrock Room on the lower level, in memory of Pastor Theodore Wittrock and his wife Lenore, and the Catechist Rosa Room upstairs, named for longtime catechist Rosa Iris Cruz-Molina. The Chapel of Saint Mary the Blessed Virgin Mother of our Lord, also called Our Lady's Chapel, provides a quiet place for prayer and reflection. The grounds have been extended with an ascetically landscaped green space along the east side wall for outdoor gatherings.
In 2016 the sanctuary gained a centerpiece. An Otto Hoffmann 21-rank tracker pipe organ, donated by Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Beaumont, Texas, after that congregation closed, was dismantled, transported, refurbished, and improved. Named Theodora in thanksgiving for Redeemer's fourth spiritual leader and for the Lord who brings all good gifts, the Suehs Memorial Pipe Organ anchors a music program that spans multiple generations.
The Body of Christ in Named Auxiliaries
Redeemer has long organized its ministry into parish auxiliaries that bear body-part names as a way of remembering that the church is one body with many members. Each group carries a tagline that spells out what the name means and the kind of service it offers.
- ARMS - Always Rejoicing in Movement and Song, the liturgical dance troupe, rehearses on Saturdays at 3:15 PM.
- CHEEKS - Children Having Enrichment and Excitement in the King's Service is the children's group for ages 8 through sixth grade, meeting Thursdays at 5:30 PM and Sundays at 9:45 AM.
- EARS - Enthusiastically Adoring our Redeemer in Song gathers instrumentalists.
- ELBOWS - Everyone Learning the Bible for our Worship and Service is the family group for babies through age 7, meeting Thursdays at 5 PM and Sundays at 9:45 AM.
- EYES - Energetic Youth Engaged in Service is the youth group for grades 7 through 12, meeting Fridays at 6:30 PM and at 5 PM for the Youth Catechumenate.
- FEET - Fun and Educational Exercising Together sponsors senior fitness activities.
- HANDS - Helping All to be Neighbors in the Divine Service is the parish's ushering ministry.
- HEARTS - Here, Eager And Ready To Serve is the young adult group.
- LAPS - Learning to Assist Parents and Seniors coordinates lending of medical equipment such as crutches, wheelchairs, travel chairs, and canes.
- LEGS - League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in Service is the men's group, meeting on the first Saturday of the month at 9 AM, except in July and August.
- LIPS - Ladies In Prayer and Service is one of the women's groups, meeting the first Monday of the month at 7 PM.
- LUNGS - Lifting Up the Name of God in Song is the adult choir, rehearsing Saturdays at 4 PM.
- WRISTS - Women Rejoicing In Service To Society is the women's service group, meeting the first Monday of the month at 12 PM.
LIPS, WRISTS, and HEARTS serve as LWML Local Groups in the Lutheran Women's Missionary League. Members of LIPS and WRISTS visit nursing home residents and run popular events including fish fries, dinner dances, high teas, tag sales, dessert theatres, chancel dramas, and concerts. EYES members make get-well cards for sick and homebound parishioners and decorate velvet crosses for first-time guests. A separate group called Knitted Together gathers to knit and crochet throws for those unable to attend worship and baptismal napkins for those being baptized.
Music from Around the World
Music is woven into nearly every liturgy at Redeemer. Current choirs include the Younger Sunday School Choir, the Older Sunday School Choir, the EYES Youth Choir, and the LUNGS Adult Choir. EARS is the instrumental ensemble, and ARMS is the liturgical dance troupe, with past ensembles including the Junior Choir, Senior Choir, Guitar Choir, and Adult Gospel Choir. Many soloists and percussionists add to the sounds each Sunday.
The Cantor of Redeemer is Dr. Jean Boehler, who also founded and directs Arts in Mission-NY (AIM), based at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Yonkers. AIM offers free online music activities on YouTube for families with toddlers. The connection between Redeemer and St. Mark's, founded in the earliest days of the parish, has deepened in recent years through shared pastoral leadership and musical outreach.
Catechesis and Formation for Every Age
Sunday School meets at 9:45 AM in person, with the Pastor's Class also available via Zoom at the same time using Meeting ID 977 9961 5449. Religious education is organized by age: ELBOWS for babies through 7, CHEEKS for ages 8 through sixth grade, EYES for grades 7 through 12. The Youth Catechumenate, a two-year program for young people preparing for baptism, confirmation, and first communion, meets on Fridays at 5 PM and Sundays at 9:45 AM. The Adult Catechumenate, a one-year introduction to Christianity for those who are unbaptized, uncatechized, or new to the parish, meets on Sundays at 9:45 AM.
Bible studies and doctrinal studies on The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church draw members who wish to grow in their knowledge of Christ and His Holy Church. Friday morning Bible Study, Thursday evening study, and study times set aside within the meetings of each auxiliary often open with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Private confession with Holy Absolution is offered and embraced. The parish has served as a teaching congregation for seminarians from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, and Pastor Taylor has taught courses and led cross-cultural modules to prepare future pastors for church work in urban contexts.
Reaching Into the Neighborhood
From its earliest days Redeemer has shared its buildings and grounds with the wider Wakefield community. The Parish House has hosted Sunday School classes, confirmation classes, and a Boy Scout troop. Redeemer's Homework Help, an after-school tutorial program begun during the parish's seventy-fifth anniversary, walks with neighborhood children through the school year. The Redeemer Food Pantry, open on the second Thursday of each month from 1 PM to 3 PM, stocks canned vegetables and beans, canned stews, soups, ravioli, spaghetti and meatballs, fruit, solid chicken, tuna, Vienna sausage, and tomato sauce for beans.
Prayer Walks through the Wakefield neighborhood are led by Pastor Taylor and Deaconess Rojas, accompanied by laypeople and members of FEET, HEARTS, and LIPS. The parish's ongoing relationships with the Wakefield Taxpayers & Civic League, the Wakefield Patrol, the 47th Precinct Community Council, AARP, Al-Anon, and Overeaters Anonymous reflect the same community-mindedness. Through grants from the Atlantic District LWML, Redeemer has launched outreaches to taxi drivers, to those struggling with lives of prostitution, and to those learning to read and speak.
Clergy, Cantor, and Staff
The Rev. Dr. Dien Ashley Taylor serves as Redeemer's pastor. He also serves as an adjunct instructor at Concordia College New York, Concordia Seminary St. Louis, and Concordia Theological Seminary Fort Wayne. Deaconess Raquel A. Rojas, commissioned and installed by Atlantic District President David H. Benke on September 19, 2010, after her internship year at Redeemer and at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Castle Hill section of the Bronx, serves the parish in a full-time capacity. Dr. Jean Boehler serves as Cantor. The Rev. Robert Boehler, husband of Cantor Boehler, serves as Pastor of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Yonkers, the parish from which Redeemer was first planted.
Staying Connected
The parish office is reached at 718-324-1288, with fax 718-324-2056, or by email at office@redeemerlutheranbronx.org. Pastor Taylor can be reached at pastor@redeemerlutheranbronx.org, Deaconess Rojas at dcsrojas@redeemerlutheranbronx.org, and Cantor Boehler at cantor@redeemerlutheranbronx.org. Donations can be made through Vanco, the Vanco Mobile App, PayPal, Zelle, automatic bill pay through a member's bank, or by mail to 4360 Rev. Theodore Wittrock Crossing (Boyd Avenue), The Bronx, NY 10466-1804. A prayer request form and the parish's public Google calendar are available online.
Worship at Redeemer is, at its heart, what the congregation has claimed since the storefront on 237th Street: a praying community of service that receives, teaches, celebrates, and shares Christ Jesus.