Alumni came home to experience again what makes Redeemer special: a community of friends, opportunities to learn, connecting with faculty, and the energy of the Royals! Parents, alumni and friends of Redeemer visited campus the first weekend of October for Homecoming, a day of activities celebrating our extended Redeemer community. Professor Adam Barkman gave a lecture for alumni on the theme of the day, “Myth & Superheroes.” “The Christ-like elements of superhero stories are what make them so satisfying,” noted Barkman. “We love Batman, Superman and Captain America for the way they stand up for good over all, and the way they make huge sacrifices to win fights over evil. The Christian hero is a morally outstanding warrior, who will win the fight over evil, often at great cost. This type of hero fills comic books, as well as fantasy novel like JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. It’s easy to view these stories as nothing but fairytales, but they often reveal deep truths about us, what we value and can often point us to Jesus,” Barkman concluded. Building on the theme, kids designed their own comic books, played “pin the Batman insignia”, glued pom-poms to superhero masks, posed for Polaroid pictures in costume and munched on many, many cookies. The women’s and men’s varsity soccer teams played Fanshawe College, with the men winning their game with an extra-time penalty kick, and the women falling to the Lady Falcons. The bleachers were filled, despite the cold and rain, with parents, alumni and students, who cheered and showed their support with signs and by wearing their Redeemer colours. Earlier, alumni played their own soccer game in the Sports Complex. Friends, family and tykes cheered on the former Redeemer athletes. Teams were chosen by “draft pick,” with a video starring Athletics staff in the style of pro sports teams’ press announcements. Also that day, Professor Jennifer Chiang spoke about the history of Redeemer’s Whaley Teaching Garden. Redeemer’s campus was once the Whaley homestead. The garden is now a quiet retreat for Redeemer staff and students and a site of hands-on learning for elementary and high school science classes. The buffet dinner is always a Homecoming highlight. This year was no exception, with urns full of apple cider, piles of pumpkin donuts surrounded by pumpkin pies and a mountain of French fries for the kids. The entire campus was hopping with events: Redeemer supporters gathered too for the 34th Annual General Meeting, and the Auditorium was packed for a sold-out concert by The City Harmonic. There will be more opportunities this fall for Redeemer students, alumni and supporters to gather and fill the halls with conversation and laughter.