Waking up on this Monday morning having celebrated the resurrection yesterday (listen to the sermon here) means facing the mundanity and brokenness of life with renewed joy, hope and (if we are honest) some doubt. This is because we awaken to a world that seems unmoved by our shouts of “He is Risen Indeed, Alleluia!”. The headlines that flood our social media feeds and cable news are still awash in pain and death filling us with the same fears and discouragement we woke up with last Monday morning. And then there are the struggles with our co-workers, classmates, friends, spouses and children not to mention the same nagging doubts about ourselves. So like Thomas we doubt. Not in the form of overt intellectual objections to the resurrection accounts found in the Gospels, but the more subtle doubt reflected in our indifference and cynicism that closes us off to those who need the hope of the empty tomb of Jesus. In those moments of confusion we find comfort, as expressed in Malcolm Guite’s poem below, in the doubts of Thomas (John 20) who cut through the “abstraction” of faith to put his finger on “the nub of things”. So on this Easter Monday take time to read and reflect on the poem below, and ask God the Father through God the Spirit to make God the Son tangible to you today through reaching out (‘touch, embrace, anoint’) to someone whose wounds need healing. After all that is what we find in the scars of our resurrected King.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

    and with his wounds we are healed.

– Isaiah 53:5 

St. Thomas the Apostle by Malcolm Guite

“We do not know… how can we know the way?”

Courageous master of the awkward question,

You spoke the words the others dared not say

And cut through their evasion and abstraction.

Oh doubting Thomas, father of my faith,

You put your finger on the nub of things

We cannot love some disembodied wraith,

But flesh and blood must be our king of kings.

Your teaching is to touch, embrace, anoint,

Feel after Him and find Him in the flesh.

Because He loved your awkward counter-point

The Word has heard and granted you your wish.

Oh place my hands with yours, help me divine

The wounded God whose wounds are healing mine.

Youth Membership Class

This class helps potential members learn the gospel theology and ministry of Redeemer West Side so you can join the church. We cover what’s behind the five membership vows, how a PCA church is led, and how members step into our sacred call to love our neighbors and heal our city.

Coming up

• Volunteer for The Open Door, Apr 19: We will be welcoming volunteers to partner with our students on Tuesday, April 19th from 6:30-8:30pm at the West 83rd Ministry Center, follow some prompts and engage our students in casual conversation

• Mark your calendar for Congregational meeting, May 1: Our annual Redeemer West Side Congregational Meeting will be on Sunday, May 1, 2022 at 12:15 pm in-person at W83. This meeting is open to all Redeemer West Side participants, members and regulars.

• Getting married?, May 7: 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.

• Gotham Applications are now open!: The Gotham Fellowship is a nine-month learning community designed to broaden your understanding of and deepen your connection to God’s redemptive work by applying theology, spiritual practices, and cultural renewal to your work, your relationships, and New York City. 

• Support Hope for New York on Easter: Today, we encourage you to support Hope for New York with a special sacrificial offering. Continue supporting communities in need! Your giving will go toward supporting HFNY affiliates, including ones that West Side loves: All Angels’ Church, Avail, Do For One, Dream Center, The Open Door, Operation Exodus, Safe Families for Children, Young Life/YoungLives.

• Find ways to serve with Dream Center: On Easter Sunday, you watched a Story of Hope featuring Dream Center. Learn more about this ministry that supports vulnerable neighbors living in public housing, to serve this year!