Summertime Grace
Each month, we send out a note from Erik reflecting on life in the church, current happenings, and more.
July 17, 2026
Dear City Church,
I had the realization this week that we’re halfway through summer. I’m not talking about astronomical summer, which begins on the summer solstice in late June. No one (certainly no one in Richmond) measures summer by that. I’m talking about meteorological summer, which spans June, July, and August. Summer as most of us know it is bounded by Memorial Day and Labor Day. Summer starts when school gets out; summer ends when school resumes. (The reality for high school students who play a fall sport is that summer is more than half over; tryouts start the first full week of August!)
Summertime Blues
At the start of summer, when an expanse of long days and lighter schedules stretches out before us, we feel excitement. Our minds are entranced by all that we might do. We look forward to travel, to camps, to self-directed reading lists, to summer blockbuster movies, to sticky evenings watching baseball or fireflies. I hope your summer has been marked by some of that already.
For all the joys of summertime, it can also bring disruption and disconnection. With people moving in different directions and with reduced programming at school, at church, and at other communal institutions, we can feel a bit rudderless. We experience a repeated missing of each other — weeks, or even months, going by without seeing people we’re close to. The absence of structure and rhythm cheered at the beginning of summer gives way to a feeling of listless acedia by mid-summer.
Summertime Connections
With what’s left of summertime, I have a humble recommendation for City Church. Do some things that will foster connection: with yourself, with God, and with others. As you commit to this work of connection, you’ll realize that these three spheres are interrelated and reinforcing.
There’s likely no better way to connect to yourself than by resting. As a pastor, sometimes I get frustrated with summer. It can feel like a quarter (if not a third) of the entire year is written off, lost to the haze of long summer days. Whenever I start feeling that way, I have to remind myself of the benefits of summer. More than anything else, summer offers rest. And rest, we know, is prized by God. It’s something He designed. It’s a gift He gives to humanity, that we might be restored to our fundamental identity as His children.
So, take a vacation if you’re able to, whether it’s out of town or a staycation. Take a spontaneous day off from work if you can. Cancel afternoon or evening plans and go somewhere that allows you to unplug from technology and reconnect with yourself. Listen to your thoughts. Journal. Take Carson Cooper’s advice and go for a long walk, spending some of that time in prayer.
But don’t stop with connecting to yourself. God has also given us normal, everyday ways to connect with Him: worship, the Word, and prayer. What a gift the second half of this summer could be for you if you honed the habit of reading regularly in God’s Word. Each month we publish the daily office lectionary readings in a handy 5x7 card that will fit inside your Bible. What if you spent the first ten minutes of your day reading God’s Word? What if you made an agreement with your spouse or a friend or a child to read one chapter a day from Mark’s gospel?
Finally, in addition to connecting with yourself and connecting with God, connect with others. Most all of us are lonely, even when we’re surrounded by people. The looser, more sporadic schedules of summer can exacerbate our loneliness. All connection with others requires initiation. Many of us are tempted to sit back, wishing someone else would reach out to us. What we learn from Jesus is that love always makes the first move. In summer’s second half, would you initiate a conversation, a coffee date, an early morning walk, a casual dinner with one person from City Church?
Summertime Grace
Summertime is half over. In a few weeks we will all return to the regular rhythms of community. When we do, consider asking some different questions than you have in the past. Ask the normal questions about trips and camps and reading lists and summer blockbusters. But also ask questions about connections to self, to God, to others. Ask your friends about the new insights, new growth, and new faithfulness that God produced in them this summer. Every summer is a third of our year. It doesn’t have to be a break from God or a break from connection. Summer is simply a time for God’s grace to work in us at a different pace.
Stay Well & Do Good,
Erik