Views from The Ridge 5.21.25
Sunset Ridge is a church that desires to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate God’s love and hope to all.
Worship
Sunday, May 25th,
9 AM, Chapel, Acapella
11 AM, Sanctuary, Instrumental
“Inner Quiet in a Loud World”
Main Passage: Psalm 131
Watch previous sermons here.
Discipleship
Sundays, 10:15 AM, Bible Class & Discipleship for All Ages
Studying Psalm 131
Fellowship Hall
Adult Bible Class: Open to all
BEMA Podcast Discussion group
Chapel Classroom, Women’s Discipleship Group
Room 218, Youth Group, 7th-12th grade
Roots: Children’s Discipleship through Godly Play
Bible Story Focus this Week: Matthew 28:16-20
Key Verse: Matthew 28:20
Room 102, PreK - Kindergarten
Room 122, 1st - 2nd Grade
Room 203, 3rd - 6th Grade
Tuesdays
Scott Heare’s Office
Limited spaces, contact Scott to join a group
7 AM Men’s Discipleship Group
8:30 AM Men’s Discipleship Group
Wednesdays
Chapel Classroom
Contact Den to join this group
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM High School (9th-12th Grade) Fellowship & Discipleship Group
Connections
We loved celebrating our 76th Anniversary with our congregation this past Sunday! A special thank you to members Dane & Monica of Kibodeaux Catering— and their entire team—for preparing the incredible lunch we enjoyed together. We’re also deeply grateful to our hospitality team, staff, and volunteers for the care and effort that made our anniversary celebration so meaningful.
This Week
Today, Wednesday, May 21st, 6 PM - 8 PM, Taco Night in the Fellowship Hall
Supper Club meeting for all Sunset Ridge High School students
Saturday, May 24th, 8 AM - 1 PM, One Another Coffee Birthday Bash
Upcoming Events:
Saturday, May 31st, 9 AM, Flow it Forward with Nyx Wellness, Charis Park
A donation yoga class for Maternal Mental Health, Nyx Wellness has partnered with Postpartum Support International-Texas Chapter, and Autumn Sage Counseling for this event. Autumn Sage Counseling will be providing light refreshments after class.
Saturday, May 31st, 11:30 AM - 2 PM Beginner Watercolor Wellness For Adults, Exploring Metallics
Every Saturday, 9 AM - 2 PM Sunset Ridge Farmers Market, Charis Park
Every Sunday, Worship at 9 AM and 11 AM
Beyond Sunday
A Window into the Life of Our Church
Taylor Bates, Deputy Director, Sunset Ridge Collective
Today marks a significant and tender moment in the life of our church. Together with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, we are announcing that our beloved Tiffany Studios stained glass window—often called the River of Life—will become part of their permanent collection.
Many of you have already walked this journey with us, as we shared this possibility with the congregation nearly a year ago and more recently announced the official partnership in our worship service. And yet, sharing it publicly brings a new kind of emotion. It is hard to say goodbye to something so beautiful, so spiritually formative, so entwined with our memories and milestones.
I first saw the River of Life window when I was six years old when my family joined Sunset Ridge. Since then, it has been a silent witness to some of the most joyful and most sorrowful moments of my life: watching dear friends marry in its light, sitting in stillness as birdsong from the chapel courtyard filtered in, grieving in its presence during seasons of loss, and more recently, beholding its beauty once again as it was carefully and lovingly removed—nine panels over nearly nine hours—for the journey to its next home.
A Decision Years in the Making
This was not a decision made quickly or lightly. For many years, our church was approached by collectors and institutions interested in acquiring the window. But it was never the right time. The window was always more than a valuable artifact—it was part of our spiritual landscape.
Our former senior minister, John Harp, once shared with Pastoral Leader Jess Lowry a word of wisdom: one day, the mission of Sunset Ridge would become so clear that we would know it was the right time to part with the window. That day has come.
When we launched the Sunset Ridge Collective several years ago, our aim was to activate our campus for the flourishing of our community. After transforming an old parking lot into Charis Park, we turned our attention to the historic chapel, with dreams of opening it up to neighbors for weddings, gatherings, and a vocational training program.
To do that, we needed to make the chapel fully ADA accessible. Working with Fisher Heck Architects, we learned this would require extensive foundation work and reconfiguration of restrooms. We were advised that the River of Life window would need to be temporarily removed to protect it during construction. That moment led to a new question: Is this the time to find the window a permanent home elsewhere—one where it can be preserved and shared with the world?
Faithful Discernment, Deep Listening
We formed a small committee of congregants and leaders and entered a year of deep listening, research, and prayer. We spoke with churches who had walked this path. We consulted stained glass experts. We explored what it would take to keep the window.
The truth became clear: while our love for the window is deep, its needs had outgrown our capacity to care for it. It requires specialized conservation, climate control, and ongoing maintenance far beyond what we can sustainably provide.
So, we committed to finding a home that could both protect the window and honor its spiritual and artistic significance.
An Inspired Connection
I spent another year researching and consulting with experts, including Bryant Stanton of Stanton Studios. Years ago, Bryant had restored our front façade window, another Tiffany work. As president of the National Stained Glass Foundation, he knew our collection intimately.
One day, after many conversations, Bryant called with what I can only describe as a divinely inspired idea: reach out to Crystal Bridges.
He saw in their mission—celebrating the American spirit through art, architecture, and nature—a beautiful alignment with our hopes for the window’s future. He knew of their commitment to accessibility (offering free admission year-round) and their nearly 850,000 annual visitors.
Within days, a spark turned into a fire. Their team visited our campus to see the window. Our team traveled to Bentonville to walk their museum grounds. And something clicked.
The beauty of their setting, the natural light that floods their galleries, and the warmth of their staff felt like home. As their executive director told us, “This is not just an acquisition. This is a partnership.”
And it is. The River of Life window will become a cornerstone in their expanding collection and a focal point of their next major gallery expansion. We will partner in telling its story together—its history in our chapel, and its future among new audiences.
What Comes Next
We’ve formed a team working closely with artisans and experts to determine the best next steps for the chapel window’s replacement. That process is just beginning, and we will keep you informed as it unfolds.
As someone who spent over a decade working in art galleries and museums before my time at Sunset Ridge, I am still in awe of how God has used my background—and the gifts of many others—to bring this moment to life. This transition allows us not only to safeguard a sacred work of art but to invest in a future of welcome, healing, and creativity here on our campus.
It’s not lost on me that in 1931, when the Woodmen of the World built the tuberculosis hospital and chapel on this site, they installed this stained glass window because they believed beauty was essential for healing. Nearly a century later, Crystal Bridges is expanding that same vision—using art to train medical students in the power of observation and empathy.
May God continue to heal and inspire through this window as it moves to Crystal Bridges. And may God continue to do the same right here, through the good and beautiful work we call Sunset Ridge.
With gratitude and hope,
Taylor Bates
Grace & Gratitude
Praise
Many very happy wishes to Bettye Mack, who will celebrate her 100th birthday on May 28th!
Prayers of the People
Juan Corona Jr., Theresa Whigham’s brother, is continuing treatment at home.
Carol Gerhardt is in rehab.
