Goodness Weekly 4.3.23

“All of us, at some time or other, need help. Whether we’re giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world. That’s one of the things that connects us as neighbors—in our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver.”
– Fred Rogers

What’s Good:

We are so grateful to our community of friends and neighbors who showed up for the grand opening of One Another Coffee. In fact, so many of you showed up that it blew out the generator! That wasn’t quite what we were hoping for on the first day, but we could not be more pleased to have seen so many new and familiar faces come out to support our neighborhood coffee trailer. All of the profits from One Another Coffee will go towards the creation and maintenance of our neighborhood park, which will break ground in spring 2023.

The small but mighty trailer will be closed this week while the team secures a new and reliable source of power, and we hope it will be open again very soon to serve you coffee and goodies. Stay tuned and thanks so much for all the love!

Upcoming…

As we lead up to Easter Sunday this week, we invite you to spend some time at our Stations of the Cross. On our front lawn along Brees Blvd, we installed four crosses that display the 14 stations following Jesus on his journey to the cross. At each station there is a QR code that will pull up a video with a scripture and discussion of that station. The stations will remain up all week through our Easter Sunday service at 11am. All are welcome to walk these stations at any time this week.

This Sunday, April 9th at 11am you are invited to gather on the front lawn for our outdoor Easter service followed by an Egg Hunt for our little friends!

Message from Jess:

You may never know the impact you have on the world.

This past weekend I was at my daughter’s birthday party and met a mom of one of the children at the party. She asked what I do and I explained my work here and referenced the church. When I replied to her next question about where the church is located her eyes lit up and a knowing look followed—“You’re that church with the sign?!”

I responded, “Yes, we have the marquee sign with the sayings.” You see, to those of us on staff, it’s a tiny thing that we do—putting encouraging messages on the back of our church sign. But to this woman, the sign’s message had been the answer to a question she’d held during a very difficult time in her life. She even showed me a photo on her phone that captured the sign from 2014.

We talk a lot around here about creating more goodness and kindness in the world and often we have no idea the impact that has. To look someone in the eye when they talk to you, to remember their name, to stop what you’re doing to listen, to smile, to hold the door…all seemingly inconsequential things that have a ripple effect that we’ll most likely never know.

And so we do it anyway.

I was raised to always be on guard, to always look for the motive behind the words, to prepare for anything that might be coming, and to anticipate the worst and plan for it. What I didn’t know until very recently in my life is that this way of living and thinking causes angst and anxiety that we aren’t meant to carry. Now, instead, I work to assume the best intentions of the person talking to me, I work to hold tight to hope that things will work out for good, and I don’t need to know the whole picture because God is God and I am not.

Imagine a day where you focus on creating as much goodness as you can everywhere you can. Can you live a day like that this week? Can you, as author Bob Goff writes—throw kindness around like confetti?

I don’t need to tell you about the things that are wrong with the world—you already know. I do need to tell you that each one of us can make it better—one small, slow, and quiet step at a time. Even with something as simple as a message on a church sign.

Pick a day, challenge your friends to do the same, and then try it again the next day, and the next, and the next.

When our days are done, it is only the love that we shared that will be left behind.

Love, Jess

Upcoming Events:

April 2-9 Stations of the Cross
Wednesday, April 5th, 7:00-8:30pm Youth Group at The Stirmans’
Saturday, April 8th, 10:00am Second Saturday: Storytime!
Sunday, April 9th, 11:00am Easter Outdoor Service
April 7-8 Youth Group Retreat! (contact chelsea@sunsetridgechurch.org for more info)

Charis Calendar