National City Christian Church celebrated Homecoming weekend September 20-21, 2025 with a two day kick off and celebration of the new year of ministry. Saturday included a youth prayer retreat and a service and learning retreat for adults, followed by the kick off of our Bible Study hour, worship and an all church potluck on Sunday morning.
One of the highlights of the weekend was the adult service and learning retreat coming together with the youth prayer retreat to update the courtyard to be a sustainable and welcoming space for our community. The courtyard at National City Christian Church has long been a space that welcomes guests from around the world, hosts events and gatherings such as community events, prayer vigils, and denominational gatherings. In last year’s fall meeting of the National City Christian Church Foundation Board, the board approved a recommendation to reimagine the use of the Sheila Denise Brown-Cooper Courtyard into a green space with the vision of addressing the needs of the neighborhood, creating a sustainable outdoor space and enhancing the gathering area as a ministry of hospitality for all who come to National City.
The congregation took up the recommendation of the Foundation board and in partnership with leadership across the organizations, gathered attendees of the adult learning and service retreat and youth prayer retreat on Homecoming Weekend to make the vision a reality. The space now features a Japanese maple to provide shade and regionally sustainable plants. As part of their prayer retreat the youth wrote a prayer of blessing for the space:
Our God,
We hope that all the people who helped the courtyard are well.
We give thanks to the people who helped the courtyard and your work within them.
We are grateful for their faith and effort.
May these trees grow.
May you bless the dirt that helps them thrive.
And may the sun and rain that helps sustain creation, show your love to us.
May this courtyard be a place where your people find you in prayer and in each other.
May this courtyard of welcome be a blessing to all who come to our church.
In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Both the Foundation and the church are grateful to all who made this ministry enhancement a reality.