![]() + Members, save the date for a Congregational Meeting on May 6, after the 9:30 a.m. She loves to run, play board games, specifically Settlers of Catan and go to the beach! Sally loves the coffee culture in NYC - Culture Espresso, Blue Stone, Toby’s and any local coffee cart in the city. They may not be the typical 'community' that I had in my mind but they've become my safe 'home away from home' group of people who I look forward to seeing, sharing and walking with! I guess you can say God has answered my prayer for community through the youth kids!” Sally was craving community for many years and says that, “surprisingly, the Youth Group, has really become my unexpected community and has brought a lot of joy to my life. I'm forever grateful to those who walked alongside me those pivotal years, for those who committed to unpacking the tough questions with me, so naturally my heart leaned towards serving the youth! Plus, city teens are really cool.” Sally says, “During my middle school/high school years, I questioned everything, wanting everything in my life including my faith to be my own and not something I inherited - to make independent choices and decisions. She was interested in serving with the youth because it was one of the most influential times for her spiritually. Sally’s been serving with Downtown’s Middle School Youth Group for almost a year. The calling to be an “Authentic Neighbor” that is invested in their community and to love those around you is one of the most important (yet hardest) callings that I've been convicted of during this ministry year.” “Living in the city means seeking to serve those around me, prioritizing the needs of others, and not just living for myself and indulging in the city. She says, “ can’t just change my Sundays but the work of Christ has to change everything because Jesus is that radical.” It’s also transformed how she views the city and living here. She works in Advertising/Marketing doing strategy and analytics and has been attending Downtown for two years.īeing a part of Redeemer, Sally has been continually challenged to evaluate every aspect of her life through the lens of the gospel. for college and has been living in NYC ever since graduating. She grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia (go Eagles!), a brief stint in D.C. Sally has been in the city for seven years, with six of them being downtown in Chelsea. “I think that, surprisingly, the Youth Group has really become my unexpected community that has brought a lot of joy to my life.” Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” - John 15:15 “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. And it is a reminder that when we no longer need to be defined as servants and slaves, we can now live as children and friends of the living God. In some ways, it is an act of rebellion and resistance, to all the ways our world would seek to determine our value. It’s a time when we are reminded that we are no longer slaves, valued only on the basis of our work, nor are we to treat others as such. Not only does it give us physical refreshment, it gives us time and space, amidst the grueling demands of work in the modern world, to remember that we are not defined by what we create, but by the God to whom we belong. In fact, the practice of rest forms our ability to find joy in our work. Rest is what makes our work joyful again. At the same time, the fall of humanity means that what should otherwise be a source of consistent satisfaction, has become one of deep frustration (“It will produce thorns and thistles for you …” - Gen. Because we were made for it, it is one of our deepest joys. Particularly in a place like New York City, where we are subject to the constant demands of a global economy, maintaining a rhythm of work and rest can be as much effort as our work itself.Ĭonstructive and fruitful work is one of the earliest injunctions in the Bible, found even in the Garden (“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it” - Gen. At the same time, it is a reminder that we have a propensity to determine our worth on the basis of productivity and work. It seems utterly counterintuitive that we need to work at resting! For Israelites coming out of slavery, it is a reminder that their value as people would no longer be based on productivity and work. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy” (Ex. One of the most unexpected, yet revealing commandments in all of the Bible, is the one to rest.
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