Redeemer East Side Update
One of the beautiful things about Christmas is how it draws out of the human heart a deep instinct for generosity. We express it when we buy gifts for loved ones, serve in a soup kitchen, drop money into Salvation Army kettles, and in the small ways we show just a bit more kindness to our neighbors. It is in many ways a great cultural expression of the generosity that makes us uniquely human. To be made in the image of a God of astounding generosity means that it is when we give that we are most human.
And yet, at the heart of the Christmas story is not a message about our capacity to give; it is a message of our desperate need to receive. For Christmas is the day that God became a tender infant — “God’s infinity / dwindled to infancy” as Gerard Manley Hopkins put it — not to congratulate us for our charity, but to rescue us from our self-inflicted poverty. On its surface, this message can be a source of great offense. But if you stay with it long enough, it kindles into a message of incredible wonder and hope. “Good tidings of great joy,” indeed.
So, as the year comes to an end, I want to ask you to be especially thoughtful and prayerful about your year-end giving to the church. 2019 has been a big year at Redeemer East Side and we look forward to even bigger things to come in 2020! Thank you in advance for your generosity that makes it all possible.
And as you give, reflect anew on your own poverty today. Where do you need to be the humble receiver of God’s generous gift to you? Where do you need the rescue of the Christ child in your life today? For if he gave us even his only begotten Son, how would he not also, along with him, give us all things (Romans 8:32)?
Merry Christmas!
Rev. Abraham Cho
East Side Senior Pastor
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+ Christmas Eve service: In town for the holidays? Worship with us on December 24 at 5:30 p.m. in Temple Israel. Invite friends and neighbors to join you!
+ No 5 p.m. service on December 29: Worship with us in the morning at 9:30 or 11:30 a.m. on this last Sunday of the year.
+ Questioning Christianity returns in January 2020. If you don’t identify as a Christian but have questions about the faith, or know someone who is exploring Christianity, register for this 5-part monthly series starting January 16.
+ Register for winter classes: start the new year investing in your own spiritual growth. Offerings include Apologetics: Conversing with World Religions, Power, Privilege and Difference, and more!
+ Retreat registration closing soon : Families with infants, children and students of all ages, join staff and volunteers from Children's and Youth ministries for our biennial retreat during the weekend of March 13 to 15. Registration closes January 23.
+ Last call for Redeemer’s Gospel Choir: Join the new Redeemer Gospel Choir with Rozz and the PM music band and participate in leading worship every 6 to 8 weeks. Open to ages 12 and up. All inquiries due December 22.
+ Join the Communion Team: Church members, help serve this important meal on first Sundays. The next Communion Sunday is January 5, 2020. Contact Liz to learn more.
+ Center for Faith and Work's survey: Take 5 minutes to fill out the survey to let us know what programming and partnerships would help you better live out your calling in your work.
+Faith & Finance Course: This 6-week course equips financial services professionals with a theological, scriptural, and prayer toolbox to live out their calling. Starts January 22.
+ Calming Your Anxious Mind: A 12-week group starting January 27 to understand anxiety's effects, provide coping skills and foster increased dependence on God.
+ Be a volunteer this holiday! Bring hope and renewal to our city. Connect with different communities by finding an opportunity to serve in your neighborhood.
+ Lead Sunday worship for the elderly: Be part of three monthly services for residents of the UES Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. Sunday, December 29 from 2 to 4 p.m.
+ Prep women for new careers: Help sex trafficking survivors at Restore NYC with resumes and interviews on weekdays from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
VISION
The Redeemer family of churches and ministries exist to help build a great city for all people through a movement of the gospel that brings personal conversion, community formation, social justice, and cultural renewal to New York City and, through it, the world.
Redeemer East Side
Church Offices: 150 W. 83rd St. | New York, NY 10024
