News Redeemer Get To Know Pastor Anderson
I am looking forward to getting to know one another in ministry! To help get us started in the "get-to-know-you" process, here is a little bit more about me:
I was born and raised in Woodstock, NY, so in a way the call to Redeemer brings me back to my roots. I am one of five 
children, which means I know how to talk over a crowd! It also means I am never short of people to keep me humble! I enjoy walking and time spent thinking about God in natural settings, especially around rocks and gardens. I am a gardener and love to cook, which makes my wife Helen very happy. I am married to my wife Helen, which makes me very happy! We have two children, Elijah (2 1/2 and he knows it) and Ada Gwynne (1 and she knows it, too!) I love to laugh, and appreciate all possible reminders not to take life too seriously. I am very serious (get it?) about the things that matter most, such as family, faith, and friendships.
I graduated from Vassar College with my BA, then worked in MA, VA, CA, MA, and NY, and then went back to school to become a pastor at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, where I graduated with a Masters of Divinity (MDiv).
In addition to being a pastor I am an avid musician and compose folk and gospel music. Recently I have been working on a short CD of hymns and songs for worship, which I hope to record this summer. I also direct the music ministry of Faithful Folk: Making Christ Known, which is based out of Christ's Lutheran Church in Woodstock, NY. That ministry began before I entered seminary. Its mission is to "Spread God's Word through Music." Faithful Folk travels around the northeast offering concerts and recording CDs to glorify God.
I am excited that our time together will start soon, and look forward to getting to know all of you better! Of course we already know each other in the most important way of all, as fellow baptized Christians. Grafted onto the body of Christ we are called together by the power of the Holy Spirit to a common mission: to serve God with dedicated and loving hearts, serving neighbor and stranger alike as the hands and arms of Christ.
God's peace be with you!
Pastor Tobias Anderson
