Goodness Weekly 8.3.26
“The best way to not feel hopeless is to get up and do something. Don’t wait for good things to happen to you. If you go out and make some good things happen, you will fill the world with hope, you will fill yourself with hope.”
―Barack Obama
WHAT’S GOOD
🥪 Food Pop-Up This Saturday: Billo's August 8th
Join us this Saturday at One Another Coffee for another food pop-up! Billo's will be serving up sandwiches from 9 AM - 1 PM. Stop by, grab a bite, and enjoy a great morning on campus!
Throwing a Hail Mary
Elizabeth Stephens, Managing Director, Sunset Ridge Church & Collective
Ok, I’ll admit it: I am a little late to the party. If you know me, I HATE being late to the party. Major FOMO.
What party am I talking about? The “Project Hail Mary” party of course. I had heard how amazing the book and the movie were and just could not find time in my “busy” schedule to make it to the movies or to pick up the book (it is on my shelf, le sigh).
This weekend, I committed. My husband and kids and I were planning our weekend and decided it was too hot for too many outdoor activities, so a movie it was. Now, if you have children, you know how insanely difficult it is to find consensus on the screen. So, I took full authoritarian measures and declared Project Hail Mary as our family movie. It had to be done.
Without spoiling the movie for those of you who have not seen it (you are late to the party, too, but 100% invited), Dr. Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship, alone, with little memory except that he is on a mission to save the earth from a sun-destroying parasite. A huge focus of this movie follows Dr. Grace through the loneliness he experienced both in his life prior to the ship (which we hear more about as the movie unfolds) and while on the ship. This changes during the movie, but I will leave you to watch for yourself. PLUG: It was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. It held my 8-year-old’s attention for almost 3 hours (and remember this is about a man, alone, in space). #worthit
It led me to reflect on a statistic that we know all too well at Sunset Ridge Church, from the National Study on Human Flourishing that we participated in last fall. Loneliness in America is at an all time high. Nearly half of all Americans report feeling lonely (US Surgeon General Report). This is despite being more “connected,” than ever before. Our neighbors are no different—almost half reported to be feeling some form of loneliness in their lives.
The end.
What if I just ended this article that way!?
Not to worry, I am an Enneagram 7 and COULD NEVER! The movie really had me thinking about loneliness and how to combat it. Phones, computers, social media, news outlets, and other forms of “maximum and easy connectedness,” we know are not it.
So, I started asking myself what helps me overcome feeling isolated and alone (Yes, I have 3 young children and I still experience loneliness).
I believe that service is the key. Being in the service of another person or cause is what helps to overcome loneliness.
Service helps us connect in a deeper and more meaningful way.
Service helps us see other perspectives and engage with those perspectives—in real time.
Service invites us out into the world in an impactful way. When we help someone else not feel isolated, alone, different, we too get to share in that ourselves.
VBS kids refilling the free food pantry on campus.
We are so lucky to have so many ways to serve and connect with one another in our neighborhood: the Saturday Farmers Market, the food pantry in the Sunset Ridge parking lot, the Sunset Ridge coworking space, the One Another Coffee Trailer, creating opportunities for food sovereignty, etc. I invite you to grab a coffee, meet a stranger, support local farmers.
We do not need to rely on throwing “Hail Marys” to combat loneliness. It is small steps out in service over time. Acts that simply say, we are here for one another.
Coming Up…
Daily, NYX Yoga & Fitness
Daily, One Another Coffee
Wednesdays, 11 AM - 1:30 PM, Open Studio Painting
Wednesdays, Mission Compost Pick Up
Wednesdays-Sundays, Scott’s Pizza, Charis Park
Saturdays, 9 AM - 1 PM, Sunset Ridge Farmers Market, Charis Park
Sundays, Worship at 9 AM and 11 AM, Sunset Ridge Church
Mondays & Wednesdays, 6:30 - 7:30 PM, Garden Club, Charis Park, Community coming together to care for Charis Park. Welcome to all ages—come visit with neighbors while we tend to the gardens & clean our communal spaces.
Saturday, August 8, 9 AM - 1 PM, Billo’s Sandwich Pop-Up, One Another Coffee
Friday, August 14, 5 - 9 PM, Parents’ Night Out, Sunset Ridge Church, Open to kids up to 11, Register here
Saturday, August 15, 10 - 10:45 AM, Ornithology Workshop, Charis Park, Come learn about the study of birds in this free workshop during the Farmers Market
Friday, August 28, 7 - 9:30 PM, Full Moon Friday, Charis Park
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.
