Each summer I step away from City Church to recharge and refresh. It is a privilege I receive with such gratitude. This year, we will travel to Mexico for two weeks with our new college graduate, Victoria! Terely and I are very proud of her. After that, I’ll be attending the first Lesslie Newbigin Summer Institute in Cambridge, followed by two more weeks in Florida to visit family. In the meantime, you’ll get to hear from other members of our staff as we preach through our summer series on the Ten Commandments. I’ll be back for all of August as we ramp up for the new ministry year.

Over the summer, we have a lot of new people arriving in San Francisco at our church. As you look out for new faces, please make sure to welcome them and consider inviting someone new out for a coffee or lunch. We’re also bringing Summer Conversations back—if you haven’t been before, those are a great time of food and spiritual conversation. There will be several Newcomers Lunches throughout the summer, too.

Our staff got some important feedback from our members about what obstacles stand in the way of their relationships with God. We will be going over that feedback together and incorporating our response into this fall’s men’s and women’s retreats. As we think and pray about how to move forward in being a resource for your relationship with God, we also recognize the great work that God is doing in our city and in all of us, even now. May this summer be a time of recognition and gratitude, even in the midst of our seeking and striving. May you enjoy deep rest in the Creator.

Grace and peace,

Fred Harrell