Summer Break Is Ending. Can We Get a Break from the Heat?

Happy Friday, Sacred Place Family,

I’m back with you this Sunday after our end-of-summer family adventure. I hear good times were had at brunch last week, which is exactly what our Family-themed Mission Sundays are for: being the Church together outside of our building. Mission Sundays can create community together beyond our walls. I am thankful for a congregation that can keep going on, even when I am away.

It’s wild that Rancho Cucamonga schools are already starting back this coming week. Summer break was far too short for our kiddos. Unfortunately, the summer heat is only beginning, it seems.

This Sunday, we continue our summer series with “For the Sake of a Few.” We rewind a bit in the story and join Abraham as he struggles with God’s view of justice against an entire city. He may never know if his pleas for mercy bear fruit.

Bring your backpacks. School starts Thursday, so we’re blessing backpacks, lunch bags, and laptop bags, along with the people who carry them. And not only the kids. If you teach, or work in a school office, or drive a bus, come up front with them. You need the blessing every bit as much.

We’ll also share communion at the open table, where everyone is welcome, no exceptions.

A note about online giving. For several years we’ve used a giving platform that worked well for us, though never perfectly. As I’ve worked to streamline our processes for you and for our staff, giving was the biggest sticking point. None of the church giving platforms out there are really built for a congregation our size, and not all of them share our values. So I’ve taken the pieces we already controlled and moved them into our own system.

It works the way it always has on our website, and it looks a little different. The technical machinery underneath is the same, but the way it connects to the rest of our systems is much better. A full app replacement is coming. For now we’re sticking with the website and text to give, and text to give now runs through our main church number.

You can give at yoursacredplace.org/give, or by texting GIVE to (909) 506-2400. You no longer need to add an amount after the word GIVE. The Church Center app is no longer active for us.

See you Sunday at 11 AM Pacific, in person or online.

Pastor Matthew