Views from The Ridge 09.27.23
Sunset Ridge is a church that desires to follow Jesus, reach people, and radiate God’s love and hope to all.
This Week
Sunday, October 1
9:15am Life Groups; Children’s Roots gathering, Teen gathering (see website for more info)
9:45am Feast Sunday; All are invited to share a meal prepared by our children & teens and fellowship before the service
10:30am Worship (Wow - Psalm 148)
4:30pm Supper Church
6-7pm Parent Group: Every Season Sacred
6-7pm Youth Group gathering at the Stirman’s
Upcoming…
Friday, October 6 Young Adult Game Night
Saturday, October 7 “Second” Saturday
Monday, October 9 Church office closed
Saturday, October 14 Family Eclipse Party, hosted by Sprouts Day School
IN THE HABIT
-Riley Stirman
"Who does not thank for little will not thank for much." - Estonian Proverb
I am not in the habit of gratitude. I have a hard time intentionally adopting a posture of thankfulness, especially toward the parts of my life that feel messy, ugly, or boring.
Gratitude is something that you have to develop. We're sometimes good at being thankful for big, life-changing moments. But life tends not to consist of too many of those. Most of our weeks are pretty repetitive. The challenge for us is to continually maintain grateful hearts in the midst of this repetition.
Henri Nouwen said that it's not being a grateful person that leads us to acts of gratitude. It is acts of gratitude that slowly transform us, like waves lapping on a coastline to carve out cliffs. In practicing gratitude we are slowly and deliberately changed into grateful people. Because, step by step, our acts of gratitude reveal that all is grace.
When we stop to say a simple "thank you," we are engaging in relationship with our Creator. We are choosing to recognize that everything around us is covered with the fingerprints of God's love toward his creation. And we will find that our very lives are changed forever.
Find something small today to be grateful for. Tell someone about it. Then do the same tomorrow and the next day. I think you'll be amazed how small things become big things when you see the ocean of love contained within them.
Around Our Community
Our downstairs teen room has a new project in the works. Be on the lookout for beautiful things in our space that our teens will be working on in the next few weeks!
Sprouts School officially opened on our campus this week! The program welcomed ten preschoolers and will continue to enroll new students until capacity is reached. The school received its license from the State of Texas last Thursday and provides nature-based curriculum to students ages 0-6 years old. If you or someone you know might be interested in the program, please complete our interest form:
From Our Leaders
This week’s update comes from Taylor Bates, our Deputy Director:
We express our gratitude to the City of San Antonio’s Urban Forestry Division of the Parks and Recreation Department, as they are donating all 34 trees needed for our park!
You’ll also notice this week that the two large trees that have been covering our Chapel will be removed due to their poor health and issues with them impeding on the chapel’s foundation. Their trunks will be salvaged to live a new life in the park as unique art features.
Praises & Prayers
We express sympathy to Meta Mancinelli on the death of her husband, Ed, on September 26th.
Bob Doty, Julie Mankins’ father, is now home.
