Goodness Weekly 11.18.2024
“Gratitude is most powerful as a response to life. It becomes a matter of choice.”
–Robin Wall Kimmerer
What’s Good
Camelot Christmas is an annual service event created to serve and empower the parents of Camelot students through our affordable toy store and a festive, fun night for the whole family! Our volunteers help set up a toy store stocked with this year’s top toys, where parents pick out and purchase gifts for their little ones at an affordable price. These families are invited to a fun Christmas event with games, crafts, food, and more—making it a memorable, special day for the students and their parents!
You are invited to support this year’s event by volunteering, purchasing gifts for the toy store, or donating through the links above! For questions, ideas, comments, or more please email noelle@sunset-ridge.org
Roots of Connection
Taylor Bates, Deputy Director, Sunset Ridge Collective
This past weekend, we celebrated the launch of the Sunset Ridge Farmers Market in Charis Park, and it was a wild success!
This weekly market isn’t just any farmers market—it’s San Antonio’s first and only regenerative farmers market, which is something to be proud of. Regenerative farming is a movement dedicated to the health of the land while producing nutritious food. It emphasizes techniques that heal the soil, foster biodiversity, and draw carbon back into the earth, instead of stripping resources away. The result is a farming practice that’s both environmentally and economically sustainable—one that nourishes the land and all who depend on it.
As I sat down that evening with a colorful “rainbow” salad, made with fresh greens from Growtopia Farms, along with microgreens and edible flowers from Clarke’s Greens, I paused for a silent prayer of gratitude before my meal. But unlike my usual prayers of thanksgiving for the hands that brought my food to the grocery store, this time I saw the faces of those who grew it. I could visualize the farmers who prepared the soil, planted the seeds, and harvested the produce that now graced my plate—a powerful and personal connection.
That's the true gift of a farmers market: it creates a micro-community, linking us to the unique contributions each of us brings to the table, both literally and metaphorically.
This connection was on my mind even before the market opened. In September, Jess and I traveled to the UK for a retreat in the English countryside. One evening, we sat down for a memorable dinner with a young farmer named Phil, who had tended the land since he was a teenager. He spoke of the challenges and simple joys of modern farming—a perspective that opened my eyes to the often invisible journey of food production.
A little over a month later, I found myself face-to-face with more farmers here in San Antonio, right in Charis Park. These experiences reinforced the importance of local relationships and the shared labor of nourishing our community. Themes of connection and gratitude seemed to follow me across the globe, reminding me that this work, though ancient, is as relevant as ever.
If you missed last week’s market, I hope you’ll join us this Saturday and every Saturday after that. Take a moment to meet your farmers, ask them why they’re passionate about regenerative farming, and find out their favorite seasonal offerings. Later, as you enjoy the meal their labor made possible, visualize the hands that brought it to life and say a quiet prayer of gratitude.
Because in the end, when we take time to connect—whether through food, community, or shared stories—we create spaces of healing in a divided world.
This Week
Saturdays, Charis Park
9am - 1pm, Sunset Ridge Farmers Market
Coming Up
Closed for Thanksgiving Nov 27 - 29
December 6th - Camelot Christmas
For frequent updates of Sunset Ridge Church, One Another Coffee, Charis Park, and Sunset Ridge Farmers Market , please feel free to check our calendar and follow us on Instagram for any updates.
Inhale:
Grateful for hands that sow and tend
Exhale:
Connected through gifts we share.
