Podcasts

Week 5 of a 6-week series on How to Live As Neighbors. In a season when we’re all wondering how to be human while living as neighbors, we talk about what it means to practice empathy and build connection by acknowledging the personhood of those around us. And we explore this idea against the backdrop of the story of Paul and his scribe, Tertius, from Romans 16:17-27. Then we get to hear from a member of the South Bend community, Kathy Burnette, who owns Brain Lair Books. Kathy shared her mission of building empathy one book at a time while uplifting marginalized voices. You can find out more info and browse the bookstore at https://www.brainlairbooks.com/ This series is based on an upcoming book by author Shannan Martin titled, “START WITH HELLO: And Other Simple Ways to Live As Neighbors.”

In a morning where we explored what it looks like to be present with others, we thought we should put presence into practice by grounding ourselves in the current moment. So we spent time during our liturgy being present with ourselves and with God through Scripture, song, and breath prayer. You can find the transcript at https://bit.ly/5-15-22-presenceliturgy

Week 4 of a 6-week series on How to Live As Neighbors. What if living like a good neighbor is a two way street? This weekend we talked about being present, sharing in the ordinary, and why those two things made food so important to Jesus. We explored these thoughts through the story of Jesus and Zacchaeus found in Luke 19:1-10 and we finished our time by sharing in the Eucharist together. If you’d like to participate in the Eucharist with us, have some kind of bread or crackers and wine or juice ready.

Week 3 of a 6-week series on How to Live As Neighbors. In a time, and world, that has become increasingly polarized and complicated, we talk about what it looks like to listen well. And we explore this idea against the backdrop of the story of Jesus and the Samaritan Woman from John 4:1-30.  Then we get to hear from a member of our own community, Judge Stephanie Steele, who recently made history by becoming the first Black Woman appointed to the St. Joseph County Superior Court. She ended our time by sharing some of the wise practices she has adopted in hopes of listening well in her role as judge and in her everyday life.  This series is based on an upcoming book by author Shannan Martin titled, “START WITH HELLO: And Other Simple Ways to Live As Neighbors.”

In a gathering focused on listening well, we took time in our liturgy to listen to members of our community. We are lucky enough to have some brilliant artists in our midst, ranging from art to music to poetry to spoken word and we got to bear witness to their gifts this weekend. Join us as we listen to the stories of El Matteson, Seth Creekmore, Pam Blair, and Amina Cavallo through their original pieces. Take a look at the art pieces: https://bit.ly/5-8-22-artpieces Find the lyrics and words: https://bit.ly/5-8-22-lyricsandwords

This past weekend in our gatherings, we spent time reflecting and singing though a reading and two songs. Before we did so, we thought it important to share why we do church the way we do church and how that influences our gathering planning. Join in as Mariah, our Director of Art and Worship, talks us through what it looks like to plan gatherings through our four mantras and leads us through a liturgy specifically crafted for this series on How to Live as Neighbors. For a full transcript go to https://bit.ly/5-1-22-liturgy-transcript and for more information on our mantras, go to our “about” page.