Dear Kris,

Greetings from Butte County! We are currently in the midst of framing walls for Paradise Stronger, a gym/wellness center that also functions as a community center for area youth, particularly those who are currently unhoused. 

One of the palpable feelings we’ve experienced on this years CARAVAN is a deep sense of solidarity with the communities that were impacted by the campfire. The organizations that we’ve partnered with this year (along with PDA) are all homegrown grassroots efforts to rebuild and restore their communities. We come as those who bear witness to their testimonies and their long-term faithful efforts. We are here to follow their lead and to see and be the body of Christ with them and not for them.

We’ve dug trenches, built showers, framed walls, and painted bathrooms and so much more. And we thank you so much for your contributions and prayers that made our efforts possible.

We hope to see you this CARAVAN Sunday so that we can bear witness to what God has been up to here in Butte County.

Peace,

Rich & the CARAVAN Team

Please join us immediately following the Sunday service for our Coffee Hour

(in-person in Trinity Court or online via Zoom).

bit.ly/SVPCCoffeeHour

Theme for Sunday

"True solidarity leads to liberation. It is not merely feeling for the other, but acting to transform the conditions that cause suffering."

Vitor Westhelle

1 Corinthians 12:12-26 CEB, Common English Bible

Christ is just like the human body—a body is a unit and has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many. We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, or slave or free, and we all were given one Spirit to drink. Certainly the body isn’t one part but many. If the foot says, “I’m not part of the body because I’m not a hand,” does that mean it’s not part of the body? If the ear says, “I’m not part of the body because I’m not an eye,” does that mean it’s not part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, what would happen to the hearing? And if the whole body were an ear, what would happen to the sense of smell? But as it is, God has placed each one of the parts in the body just like he wanted. If all were one and the same body part, what would happen to the body? But as it is, there are many parts but one body. So the eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you,” or in turn, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” Instead, the parts of the body that people think are the weakest are the most necessary. The parts of the body that we think are less honorable are the ones we honor the most. The private parts of our body that aren’t presentable are the ones that are given the most dignity. The parts of our body that are presentable don’t need this. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the part with less honor so that there won’t be division in the body and so the parts might have mutual concern for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part gets the glory, all the parts celebrate with it.