Making Room for Our Neighbors

Isaiah 58:7 “Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house?”

Summary: After years of discernment and work, the Rocklin City Council has approved Sierra Wilds, moving us one step closer to transforming a portion of St. Augustine’s property into 120 affordable homes for our neighbors.

Dear Friends,

Tuesday night marked an important moment in the life of St. Augustine’s.

After a long process of meetings, public hearings, conversations, questions, and discernment, the Rocklin City Council approved the Sierra Wilds affordable housing community planned for a portion of our property.

Sierra Wilds will provide 120 affordable apartments, along with a community center and other amenities. Eventually, the land next to our church will become home for individuals and families in our community.

I keep coming back to that word: home.

For St. Augustine’s, this has always been about more than selling property. It has been a question of stewardship. What has God entrusted to us? And how can what we have been given serve not only ourselves, but our neighbors?

The journey has not always been easy. There have been real concerns raised in our community, particularly about the development’s proximity to Maria Montessori Charter Academy. I am grateful for those who have participated in the process, asked questions, expressed concerns, listened, prayed, and continued the conversation.

But I also believe the Church is called to look beyond the walls of our buildings and ask how we can participate in what God is doing in the world around us.

Housing matters. Having a safe and affordable place to live matters. Teachers, healthcare workers, service workers, young families, seniors, and so many others are finding it increasingly difficult to afford to live in the communities they serve.

Soon, some of those neighbors may live right next door to us.

And I hope they discover more than an apartment there.

I hope they discover a church next door that knows their names. A church where their children are welcome. A church that cares about their lives. A church that truly believes there is always room at the table.

There are still steps ahead before construction begins. But Tuesday’s decision was an important milestone in a journey that has been years in the making.

I am deeply grateful to everyone at St. Augustine’s who helped us reach this moment. I would like to especially thank the Property Committee, Bob Deering and Camille Grabowski. I would also like to thank the faithful members who have attended the City Council meetings. Those were hard meetings and you were strong and kind.

Perhaps God has been preparing us all along, not simply to have new neighbors, but to 

be neighbors,

Pastor Anny+

Prayer for the Week

Gracious God, thank you for everything you have entrusted to us. Teach us to use what we have for the good of our neighbors, and prepare our hearts to welcome those who will one day call this place home. Amen.