Dear CEDAR Fans,
Peace be with you!
I would like to share with you a little reflection of mine during this season of Christmas.
From birth to death, the life of Jesus was full of times when He had or was being forced to compromise on His dignity. He was laid in a manger after His humble birth, He was ignored and attacked by His people, betrayed by one of His beloved disciples, and died in the most insulting way of His time. Though He didn’t need to, He entered into all these solely because of His love for us. In our world, the poor and marginalised are often the ones who are least respected. Their powerlessness forces them to compromise on their dignity relatively easier. We are entrusted with a divine mandate to protect and restore the dignity of the least of these. It is in fact a service to and for our Lord, as Proverbs 14:31 clearly states, “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honours God.”.
Since CEDAR’s inception, protection and restoration of the poor’s dignity have been a core value in CEDAR’s projects, you can learn more about our projects from the attached 2018/2019 Annual Report and our latest newsletter. Here, I would like to invite you to walk with us in serving the most vulnerable, improving their livelihood and restoring their dignity, through our monthly giving Campaign “Restore Dignity for the Poor” (Chinese only).
Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7) May we all experience His mercy and joy in this season of celebrating the birth of our Saviour.
Wishing you and family a Merry Christmas and Blessed New Year.
Your brother,
Raymond Kwong
Chief Executive
23rd December 2019