Goodness Weekly 11.3.25
“I learned to always take on things I’d never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist.”
—Ginni Rometty
WHAT’S GOOD
Help Feed a Neighbor This Week — Just $7
Recent SNAP cuts have left many of our neighbors without the resources they rely on to put food on the table. Our Farmers Market team is leading a Bulk Pantry Drive to make sure everyone in our community has access to nutritious food — and we’d love your help.
Every $7 you give feeds one person for an entire week.
This effort is rooted in our values of sustainability, nutrition, and community care — and your donation makes it all possible:
Feed more people with every dollar – Bulk purchasing keeps costs low and impact high.
Support nutritious, balanced meals – Every donation helps meet real nutritional needs.
Create zero waste – Even the bulk bags will be transformed into reusable market totes.
Funds from this drive will directly support three nearby apartment communities, where many families have now gone a week without benefits. Your generosity helps us respond with hope and action — nourishing both people and the planet.
Camelot Christmas
On December 5, Sunset Ridge Collective will partner with Camelot Elementary for our fourth Camelot Christmas — a day that brings families together through generosity, dignity, and connection. Parents can shop for quality gifts at affordable prices while kids enjoy crafts, games, and music.
If you’d like to help make it happen, join us for the Volunteer Information Meeting on Sunday, November 9, 12:30–1:30 PM in the Fellowship Hall on our campus to learn about ways to serve during the event. If you’d like to contribute, we’re also collecting toys from our wish list as well as donations to purchase them.
Making Room for Growth
Amy Lynn Johnson, Communications Manager, Sunset Ridge Collective
Over the weekend, I dropped off a piece of my artwork for a large group show at Fl!ght in the Blue Star complex. At the start of 2024, after a spell of burnout, I realized I needed to make things with my hands again. I’ve always been a creative person, but over the years my creativity had drifted mostly into the digital realm. I missed the tactile, grounding experience of creating something real—something I could hold.
That’s when I stumbled into paper clay. My Instagram algorithm showed a video of someone turning recycled egg cartons into a bowl, and down the rabbit hole I went. My first attempt was humble, but I felt a deep satisfaction I hadn’t felt in a long time. Instead of scrolling, I found myself searching for new paper clay recipes, experimenting with materials I already had—newspapers, brown bags, paint from previous projects. Each piece inspired the next.
I fell in love with the slow process: shredding newspaper, soaking and blending it to a pulp, squeezing the water out with my hands before turning it into clay. There was something meditative about it—like returning to an older rhythm of time. I began forming my clay around recycled containers and even plastic grocery bags, which turned out to be unexpectedly joyful.
When San Antonio stopped accepting plastic bags for recycling, I suddenly had a small mountain of them from curbside grocery pickups. Around that time, as pumpkin season rolled in, I saw people making paper-mâché pumpkins with plastic bags and thought—I want to make something a little different. Somewhere in that mysterious realm of ideas, a new one floated in: what if I made a cloud? A cloud of plastic bags and paper clay. It felt whimsical, almost poetic, so I followed it.
When I finished my first cloud sculpture, it made my heart sing. On a trip out to West Texas, I brought it along, photographing it against the vast skies of Big Bend and Marfa. Holding this solid, handmade cloud—made from items that most likely would’ve ended up in a landfill—felt like holding possibility.
After a year of experimenting and growing in this new medium, I set a small but brave goal in January this year: to share my work publicly for the first time. It was nerve-wracking stepping into the art scene not as an admirer but as a participant. But it also felt right. And when my first piece was accepted into a show, it affirmed something I’d been learning all last year—that the act of creating is often more about healing than producing.
So when Fl!ght announced its upcoming group show, Less is Always More, I knew I wanted to contribute again. My piece this time is an abstract cloud lamp—a continuation of that same exploration of lightness, transformation, and reuse.
The theme, Less is Always More, resonated deeply. Less consumption means more room to breathe. Less waste allows more space for nature. Less buying leaves more room for imagination. Less time online gives our mind the whitespace it craves to rest, wonder, and think more clearly.
I can’t say I’m glad I reached burnout last year, but I am grateful I listened when my body and mind started whispering for change. Doing less of what drains us can make space for what truly nourishes us. Sometimes, when we pause and pare back, something unexpected—and beautifully new—has room to take shape. What might be waiting for more room to grow from within you in this season?
—Amy
Coming Up…
Daily, One Another Coffee
Daily, NYX Yoga & Fitness
Wednesdays, 11 AM - 1:30 PM, Open Studio Painting, The Art Room
Wednesdays, Mission Compost Pick Up
Thursdays - Sundays, Scott’s Pizza, Charis Park
Every Sunday, Worship at 9 AM & 11 AM, Sunset Ridge Church
Saturday, November 8th, 9 AM - 1PM, Second Saturday @ Sunset Ridge Farmers Market, Charis Park
Sunday, November 9th, 12:30 - 1:30 PM (directly after 11 AM Worship), Camelot Christmas Volunteer Info Meeting, Fellowship Hall at Sunset Ridge Church
Saturday, November 15th, 3 - 6 PM, Shine On Walk/Run, a community event honoring babies lost during pregnancy or infancy, Charis Park
Wednesday, November 19th, 7:30 - 9 PM, Illuman Council Meeting, Charis Park
Thursday, November 27th, Thanksgiving, Offices & One Another Coffee will be closed Nov. 26th - Nov. 28th for the holiday
Event Rentals - Interested in hosting your event at Charis Park or in our facilities? Please email rentals@sunset-ridge.org
Community Partners: For updated schedules and events please follow One Another Coffee, Sunset Ridge Farmers Market, NYX Wellness, Scott’s Pizza, Mission Compost, Sprouts School, Good Acres, and Community First Food Pantry.
Inhale: Make space within me
Exhale: For what wants to grow
