Fashion week just ended in NYC, surfacing once again the question: “What is beauty?” Karen Barrow posed this question in her NY Times column entitled “Changing our Perceptions of Beauty.” To answer the question, she recounts the story of a NYC fashion photographer who had always been told that beauty was a combination of “supermodels, hairstylists, makeup artists and magazine covers” until the day he saw an albino woman and realized that there was beauty everywhere. He is now involved in a non-profit that photographs people whose “genetic, physical and behavioral differences” don’t conform to beauty as we typically define it.

The story is a reminder of what we intuitively know, that true beauty is a function of our inner character, not our external appearance. And of course, for those who follow Jesus this is no mere abstract thought, but flows from the beauty of Jesus’ sacrificial love for us on the cross, which is the source of the power and hope we have to reflect the beauty of his life through our own (Galatians 5:22-23). We live in a City and culture obsessed with physical beauty and its pursuit. The community of Jesus is to be a catalyst that “changes our perception of beauty” by pointing again and again to Jesus, who saw such inner beauty in us, that he died to restore it.

For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

Isaiah 53:2

Our Podcast

Redeemer West Side now has a podcast where you can listen to the weekly sermons wherever you find yourself. Think about sharing it with friends as well as using it as a resource to help you grow as a follower of Jesus.

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Coming up

• Attend Live at W83 featuring Quatour Caèl, Oct 7: This is the first of a series of concerts intended to provide a beautiful concert experience for our West Side neighbors.
  This concert will feature the Quatour Caèl quartet performing works by Beethoven and Ravel. The evening will be followed by a wine and cheese reception in the W83 gallery.

• Register for Following Jesus in your 20s, Oct 9: Launch a new or enhanced life of following Jesus. Gain practices that navigate a lifetime of discipleship by learning how people grow at Redeemer West Side. This class gives us a foundation to live on as a follower of Jesus and helps us understand the greater Christian story we are part of.

• Get to know Hope for New York better!, Oct 11: Are you new to Redeemer West Side and/or New York City? Do you have a heart for serving neighbors in need? Get to know Hope for New York, our partner ministry in mercy and justice, at a Volunteer Info Session on Tuesday, October 11.

• Getting married?, Oct 15: Plan on attending Redeemer’s Premarital Seminar. You don’t have to be engaged to participate in the seminar. Even if you’ve just begun considering the possibility of marriage, this is a powerful way to discover whether you should continue in your relationship. This seminar is a lively day of biblical teaching on marriage, exercises that help a couple learn more about each other, and ending with a time of Q&A.

• Register for Faith & Work 101, Oct 17: Work and faith can feel entirely separate, divided into categories of “secular” and “sacred”—but Scripture offers a different take. This fall at Faith & Work 101, discover how your everyday work fits into God’s own work of making all things new.

• Join us on a Central Park Historical Highlights & Fall Foliage Walking Tour, Oct 22: Get to know other Redeemerites, in the beauty of nature, as we learn more about Central Park’s complex history, innovative design, and the creative geniuses who brought it to life. We will also walk to enjoy park highlights and fall foliage.

• Do you live on either side of Central Park from 80th St to 109th St? Have lunch with neighbors, Oct 30: Join us for a post-service Neighbors Lunch to meet other Redeemer West Siders living around you and meet your pastoral care team! This second one in the series this fall will be for Redeemer West Siders who live on either side of Central Park (80th St to 109th St), as well as RWS congregants from Queens.

• Are you located on 79th St or South? Have lunch with neighbors, Nov 13: Join us for a post-service Neighbors Lunch to meet other Redeemer West Siders living around you and meet your pastoral care team! This third one in the series this fall will be for Redeemer West Siders who live on 79th St and south on the West Side or East Side, in Midtown, Downtown, Brooklyn, Staten Island or Long Island. 

• Visit the Gallery | Movement: Solo Exhibit by Christian (Xndrsn) Harbin: Christian (Xndrsn) Harbin’s artworks invite us to explore music and movement in his lines, colors, and composition. Through engaging with the energy and rhythm of his paintings, we are encouraged to consider the movements in our own lives and the internal journeys we take.

• Build your community: Every community has a mission, and every mission has a community behind it. So if you’re interested in building communities for following Jesus together and making an impact in our neighborhoods, please let us know. Community groups have always been a crucial part of Redeemer’s life together, all the more so when communities have been fragmented the last couple years.

• We are hiring: Do you know anyone who’d be a great fit at Redeemer? We are looking to fill several roles on our team before the end of the year. Check them out and spread the word!

• Volunteer at Youth Group: Come out on Friday nights to mentor and serve the amazing middle & high schoolers of West Side Youth! Join us for worship, Bible-based teaching, small group discussion, and lots and lots of pizza. Fellowship with youth and other volunteers as we build community together.

• Be a volunteer for Kids Community Group: KCG is an after school program for west side children 1st grade-5th grade. We meet every Wednesday after school to worship as a family, have pizza, and to learn about God’s word. For any questions about registration please contact us at kids@redeemerws.com.

• Serve food at the Frederick Douglass Houses: Connect with and serve our neighbors living in the Frederick Douglass Houses by giving out food to the community. Come be a part of building relationships with and loving our neighbors in the West Side!

• Interested in a Mandarin-speaking group?: We’re seeking to start a Mandarin-speaking group within the church. Please contact Joel at joel.kady@redeemerws.com if you’re interested.

• Build relationships at Young Life: Connect with young people and teen moms across NYC in different ways! Build relationships, provide child care, and offer support in a neighborhood near you.