March 24, 2017

Dear <<First Name>>,
 
It was a gift to spend this week reflecting on cultivating community with 9 other pastors and priests at Saint John's in Minnesota. The rhythms of life in this Benedictine community are inspiring and the campus is simply beautiful. My time away is funded by a grant from the Lilly Endowment which seeks to bring together religious leaders from diverse traditions to explore the contours of community in our various settings. I will return again next fall and then for a final gathering next year with 40-50 pastors, priests, and religious scholars. I look forward to sharing more about my time away in the coming weeks.   

Pastor Linda and I are thrilled to share that our Trustees have finalized contracts with SMUD & we hope to complete installation on a new 1,000 amp main electrical switch board in the coming weeks. As many of you can attest, our historic building has struggled through Sacramento summers without central air since 1959. By spending roughly $100,000 on this electrical upgrade, we will soon be ready to install HVAC in the main building of our campus. HVAC will allow our preschool which serves around 50 children to thrive throughout the year. Additionally, our Art Studio and recovery groups will dramatically benefit from the capacity to regulate temperatures year-round. Instead of utilizing an inefficient boiler in the winter and making do with window cooling units in the summers, we'll soon be able to control temperatures in individuals rooms. Overall, the electrical upgrades and the HVAC for the classroom wing of our campus will cost around $200,000. The funds to cover this capital improvement are available because we sold the parsonage two years ago.  Trustees prioritized this next step and we are confident the new 1,000 amp switch board will allow us to install HVAC for both the Sanctuary and Social Hall in the future. 

Opening Doors is hosting a picnic tomorrow for refugee families and a number of the folks from The Table who've been helping to welcome refugees over the last year will join them in breaking bread.  Our most recent family to arrive has a seven month old son and is in need of size 3 & 4 diapers. We would love to provide diapers for this family as the child grows. If you are able, please bring diapers to the Sanctuary on Sunday!  Thank you for reaching in love to welcome these beautiful children of God to Sacramento.  

Our Lenten journey shifts this week from the encounter of Jesus with the Samaritan woman to  the story of a man born blind. Linda's message will be rooted in John 9.1-41. We look forward to being together in worship as we continue to move through these powerful stories toward resurrection at Easter.  

Finally, if you'd like to learn more about Growing in Faith at The Table, please check your calendars and sign-up to join us on Monday evenings beginning May 15. Here is a link to more information and registration.  

Peace,
Matt