Redeemer East Side Update
According to the longest study ever conducted on the subject, the single most important factor for human happiness is relationships. Harvard psychologist Robert Waldinger summed up the research in a TED talk: “The clearest message that we get from this 75-year study is this: Good relationships keep us happier and healthier … Happiness equals love—full stop.”
At one level, this is no surprise. After all, you never hear someone on their deathbed wishing they had spent just a few more hours in the office. But at another level, it makes me to reflect on how many other things I prioritize in my life over relationships. For me it is things like vocational success, financial security, material possessions, personal comfort—the list, sadly, could go on!
This is why at Redeemer East Side one of our highest priorities is the quality of our community life together. We want to be a community of love, hospitality, concern, and reconciliation that draws in anyone who is willing to come. So, if you haven’t done so, I hope you’ll consider joining one of our Community Groups today. We’ve started several new groups in the New Year to make that easier for you. Or, join us in your neighborhood at one of our upcoming Neighborhood Gatherings between January 25 - February 3.
Don’t wait any longer to get more deeply connected into deeper community at Redeemer East Side. After all, even the scientists are telling us that “happiness equals love—full stop.”
Warmly,
Rev. Abraham Cho
East Side Congregation Lead Pastor
John Eapen Short Term Missions Participant
I continue to see how God meets every culture where they are and how people come to know the Lord despite challenges.
+ January 29 is Short-term Missions Sunday! Learn more about 2017 trips.
+ Check out the new ES Neighborhoods video and sign up for an upcoming Neighborhood Gathering
+ What does world-renowned poet, Christian Wiman, have to say about God's calling in our daily lives?
+ Join CFW for their 6-week winter Faith & Work Class, beginning January 24. The course weaves together spiritual practices, biblical teaching, and group discussion to examine our relationship with work.
+ Interested in learning more about Reformed Theological Seminary and the seminary program in New York City? Join us for an Open House
+ Love your neighbors by serving at Don't Walk By this February!
+ Learn more about homelessness and what is being done to alleviate it at our Homelessness Workshop: Caring for the Homeless in our City!
+ Enjoy running? Passionate about mercy and justice? Run with HFNY on March 18th for the poor of our city!
+ Attend the Career Direction Workshop and find a career that fits your personality and interests.
I was born and raised in Calcutta, India, until I moved to Queens as a teenager. Though brought up in the Church, faith often got confused with culture or tradition. The pressures of assimilation and cultural tension that prevails in many immigrant families were present in mine too.
I came to Redeemer around ten years ago. This large, diverse church convicted and inspired me, and my faith was revived. I eventually discovered Redeemer's short-term missions ministry, and my concept of how the Gospel was at work in the world was further enhanced. My first mission trip was to South Africa, where I was part of a team that spent time at an orphanage called iKhethelo. We did projects with the children, but also trained members of the local community in entrepreneurship. It was wonderful. For the past two years, I was honored and blessed to be part of short-term mission teams which served in Guatemala. In a country where brutal war once raged, I am in awe of God’s victory in unexpected places. I've witnessed new churches sprouting up in remote villages, and children being guided away from the lure of drugs and gangs. I continue to see how God meets every culture where they are and how people come to know the Lord despite challenges. Just like my journey as a transplanted teenager.
Most of the team members to Guatemala, like myself, keep returning year after year. We all desire to visit the friends we made, to continue to share and grow in our faith, as well as serve those in need. I can't wait to return again to the community I've grown to love. With God’s grace and strength I want to continue to participate in missions in order to be a part of God's universal work.
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
