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CFW Launches
City Rhythms

On September 19, the Center for Faith & Work launched City Rhythms, a new monthly, cross-vocational gathering spotlighting specific vocational sectors each month. These evenings bring together a diverse group of professionals and focus on developing a collective understanding of particular industries in order to incite a larger vision of God’s love for the city. Our call is to re-imagine our own work through the lens of what God is doing in New York City as a whole.

We tend to think about church as defined by what happens on a Sunday, when we gather together as a corporate body. But what happens during the rest of the week, when the people of God scatter into every sector of society?

With City Rhythms, we are demonstrating that if we, as the “weekday” church, aspire to taking seriously the idea of seeking the good of our city, we must understand how the different sectors of the city are interconnected. Anyone who understands the economy of New York City knows that the arts—fashion, theater, music, etc.—are as critical to the holistic prosperity of the city as the finance industry we associate with Wall Street.

Consider the analogy of the human body. If something is sick or broken in the body, one must understand anatomy, knowing the major systems of the body and how they relate to each other, in order to be able to accurately diagnose, treat, and heal disease. As we think about questions concerning how we work collectively to seek the flourishing of this city, we need to understand what is happening in sectors outside own and see the interrelations and correlations of shifts and trends.

From a theological perspective, there is reason for us to believe that our various industries are connected. We hold that interdependence exists because of our conviction that God is sovereign and providential over all of it, that there is a cohesion and coherence in all things, and that all things hold together in Christ himself.

As the City Rhythms series progresses, we hope that those who participate will begin to see how these myriad fields reflect the rhythms of this city, and the interconnectedness and interdependence of our society. May we, as a community, cultivate a deeper appreciation and insight for what it means for us individually and collectively to participate in seeking the greater flourishing of our city.

City Rhythms gathers on the third Thursday of each month. For information about upcoming events please refer to www.faithandwork.org/cityrhythms.