Perhaps at this point in December, you’re ready to stop reading about how unprecedented this year has been. Maybe you’re white-knuckling just to get to the end of the month, completely ready to pull the calendar from the wall (or delete the calendar from the electronic device) and never think about 2020 again. 

One might argue that this year has been the most divisive in recent history, and yet, we may actually be united more than ever by our search for one thing: hope. We all need it. Many of us need it now, as we look to 2021, and are more aware of our need than ever before. Finding hope for the future in the resurrected saviour Jesus Christ, and his gift of grace is what unites the Redeemer community. Instilling that hope in Redeemer’s students so they can bring it into their lives and communities is what drives Redeemer forward when circumstances seem bleak. We invite you to read about the year that few will soon forget through stories of hope from Resound.

1. Redeemer University College becomes Redeemer University – Redeemer University College became Redeemer University in January, with formal legislation passing in December that gives Redeemer greater degree granting authority as well.
2. Brand New Look. Same Mission – In August, the university revealed its new brand, signalling innovation rooted in a rich academic faith tradition.
3. Growth Brings Big Changes on Campus – Construction began on a new residence and learning facility to help accommodate a growing student body. 
4. Welcoming the Largest Incoming Class in Redeemer History – Enrolment is up 13.5 per cent over last year with 358 new students for the 2020-2021 academic year.
5. Transitions, Tech and the Value of Learning in Relationship – In this interview with Redeemer’s new provost and vice president, academic, Resound sat down Dr. David Zietsma to discuss plans for the academic year and the future of Redeemer. 
6. Finding Hope: Reading Scripture as a Person of Colour – New Testament scholar and Anglican priest Rev. Dr. Esau McCaulley, the 2020 Emerging Public Intellectual Award winner, shares Black perspectives on biblical interpretation.
7. Rooted in Hope: Christians in Social Work – Dr. Jim Vanderwoerd, professor of social work and chair of the department of applied social sciences, reflects on the tension that exists for Christians working in the field of social work and how Redeemer is preparing its students to deal with that tension.
8. Wherefore in All Things: Looking Back on Henry V was part of a summer series looking at the ways students adapted to the pandemic and learned from a sometimes painful experience. Paint and Pandemics: Thinking, Feeling and Coping Through Art and Strumming Through the Dark: Music, Faith and Global Pandemics rounded out this series.
9. Finding the Good Story: Redemptive Journalism and Global Pandemics – Angela Reitsma Bick ’01, Redeemer University’s 2020 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, knows the craft of story-telling – not only for its own sake but for building community, bonding authors and readers, and bringing hope in an often desperate world. Alumna Rachel Brouwer ’09 also shares her story of seeing lives transformed through justice.
10. The Son in the Rain – Fourth-year student Grace Rajballie reflects on the impact of COVID-19 and writes about the ever-present hope that the God we serve is alive and at work in our lives. 

Since Redeemer couldn’t gather as a community this year to celebrate the hope we have, we invite you to enjoy this Christmas video that includes a scripture reading, a short devotional and music of the season from Redeemer students, staff and faculty. May you have peace this Christmas and blessings on the new year to come!