Reflection

As we enter the season of Advent, we’ll spend four weeks exploring the implications of a God who locates Godself in the womb of a young woman. This week we heard from Mallory Wyckoff, who brought a teaching that considers Mary’s experience in the Christmas story.

Mallory Wyckoff is a writer, speaker, spiritual director, and peacemaker. She serves as key relationships officer with Preemptive Love, a global community of peacemakers working to end war and stop the spread of violence. Having completed her dissertation on the impact of sexual trauma on survivors’ theological perception and spiritual formation, Mallory has a DMin in missional and spiritual formation. In all her work, Mallory is a trusted voice for people seeking to navigate their spirituality with curiosity, honesty, and courage.

But before we heard from Mallory, we also heard from Willow Wetherall, Executive Director of Downtown South Bend, about our partnership to support a social outreach ambassador position. This is one of the objectives funded by this year’s Christmas offering. To make a gift, head to southbendcitychurch.com/give and select the Christmas 2022 fund option.

To sign up to host an in-person or online brunch on January 8th, CLICK HERE

This weekend we spent some time with the idea that stories are meant to be shared. We began our time this weekend with some songs and a poem, written by one of our community members, that reminds us of the importance of the stories in our community.

Find the full transcript HERE

To hear more stories from our community members, head over to Monday’s episode of the podcast..

This liturgy, which was paired with this week’s teaching on God as Creator, explores the relationship with the world around us and the Divine. We spent some time reflecting through song, through reading, and by centering ourselves back on the Apostle’s Creed as we continue in our series Old Creed, New World. Music recorded live at Studebaker 112 and spoken word recorded separately. Follow along with the full transcript found at: https://bit.ly/9-18-22-creationliturgy

This week in our gatherings we introduced a new song that is based on the Apostle’s Creed and we entered into a practice called Prayers of the People. We felt it important to pray for the Church at large, individual needs, and remembrance on a day such as September 11th, as well as center ourselves on the faithfulness and love of God through all seasons of life.

This weekend we asked for an influx of joy into our lives. Whether we are greatly celebrating or greatly hurting, we centered ourselves on a hope for a better tomorrow through a few songs and a practice called “Prayers of the People”. Transcript can be found at https://bit.ly/8-17-22-centeredonjoy

There was not a new sermon this weekend at South Bend City Church, but we instead took some time to reflect, meditate, and engage in a gathering designed to lead us to the table. We had the opportunity to have kids in our gatherings and for them lead us in different ways. Over 50 kids created art based on our four mantras and those pieces were displayed during a liturgy centered on those binding values that we hold. We also heard two spoken word pieces created by elementary aged students and had the opportunity to respond to the same prompts. We would love for you to join with us in this gathering by looking at a few pieces of the art, grabbing markers and paper, and engaging however best speaks to you. Our time together culminates with the Eucharist so feel free to grab crackers and juice and join us at the table. Full transcript can be found at: https://bit.ly/7-31-22-communityandcommuniongathering and the Kid’s Art can be found at: https://bit.ly/7-31-22-KidArt