South Bend City Church

11.19 [GATHERING] Practices of Gratitude

Jason Miller and Mariah Keener - In this third week of series on gratitude, we bring the two weeks of teaching into practice. In this gathering, instead of hearing a teaching, we spent some time in three movements — Notice/Capture, Reflect, and Express — in an effort to practice gratitude individually and collectively.
If you’re a long distance community member, or a local one who wasn’t able to join us, we hope that you jump in to these practices with us. Our time will culminate with the practice of Eucharist so make sure to have some form of bread or cracker and wine or juice with you.
Ways to Get Connected
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.
Join us next week as we offer an update on The Tribune Project.

11.12 [LITURGY] Gratitude and Honesty

In this weekend's liturgy, we offered time to offer gratitude to the Divine as well as get honest about the ways in which gratitude might be counterintuitive to our current circumstances. We hope that this time of reflection, reading, and singing offers a space to get honest and, if it's aligned with our hearts, to be moved to gratitude.
To follow along with the transcript, head to our website.

11.12 [TEACHING] Gratitude (wk 2)

Mike Goldsworthy - While many of us recognize that cultivating a posture of gratitude is beneficial for us and our lives, it isn’t our natural response and can oftentimes feel like a tiring burden to try and live into. Using Psalm 126 as a guide, we’ll consider what it looks like to reframe the way we narrate and interpret our past stories, the implications that has for how we imagine our future and live with gratitude in the present. Finally, Mike offers us a simple practice to try this week in order to cultivate gratitude as a more normative and less burdensom posture.
Ways to Get Connected
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.
Let us know that you’re interested in volunteering or, if you’re a long-distance community member, start a conversation with us about how to jump in from afar.

11.5 [TEACHING] Gratitude (wk 1)

Beth Graybill - This week we kicked off a 3-part series on Gratitude. We talked about what gratitude is, what it isn’t, and how we can use gratitude as our guide this holiday season.
Much of Beth’s description of gratitude comes from the work of Brother David Steindl-Rast and Dr. Robert Emmons. And the list of questions near the end is from a recent social media post by Onsite Workshops on “9 Questions To Ask Yourself to Start Planning For The Holidays Today” (Oct 28).
Ways to Get Connected
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.
 

10.29 [TEACHING + DEDICATION] Family Dedication

Jason Miller - Raising kids is beautiful and hard, even on the best days. But how do we think about the privilege and challenge of raising kids in a world that feels sometimes like it's burning to the ground? This week in our gatherings, we considered this question, and we celebrated with families as they dedicated themselves to the holy work of raising kids to know the love of God and the good news of Jesus. We also renewed our commitment as a church to walking with those families.
 
Ways to Get Connected
RSVP to our New to SBCC Table on November 5
Register your family for or get more information on Family Dedication.
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

10.24 [CONVERSATION] Contemplative Prayer with Barbara Jung

Barbara Jung and Jason Miller - Starting on November 1, we'll begin hosting a space for contemplative prayer in South Bend on Wednesdays at noon. These brief, 30 minute sessions are for anyone who would like to participate in a gently guided practice of prayer. Barbara Jung, a member of SBCC and retired pastor, will be leading these sessions.
Check out this conversation between Barbara and our lead pastor, Jason, describing the nature of contemplative prayer and the benefits it offers.
If you want to join us on Wednesday's, make sure to head to the second floor of the Community Learning Center wing of the SJCPL Main Library. The entrance can be found at 305 S Michigan St. South Bend, IN 46601.

10.22 [TEACHING] Romans (wk 6) - The Power of the Spirit

Jason Miller - As much as Paul sees sin and death as powerful forces with a life of their own, he sees something else with a life of its own - the Spirit. How does Paul explain the Spirit in Romans, and what does it mean for the things we're suffering?
Ways to Get Connected
RSVP to our New to SBCC Table on November 5
Check back tomorrow for the conversation about contemplative prayer that Jason mentions in today's teaching.
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.

10.15 [TEACHING] An honest, imperfect reflection on the suffering of Israelis and Palestinians

Jason Miller - This week, we paused our series on the book of Romans to reflect on the suffering of our Israeli and Palestinian brothers and sisters, and to consider our response. Please consider our partners at The Telos Group as a valuable resource for learning in this difficult time.
Ways to Get Connected
RSVP to our New to SBCC Table on November 5
Register your family for or get more information on Family Dedication.
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.
 

10.10 [CONVERSATION] Parenting Workshop

Meredith Miller - At the end of August, we offered a parenting workshop with Meredith Miller, the author of "Woven, Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesn't Need to Heal From", after our gatherings. We talked about what parenting a child's faith journey can look like when parents are still figuring out what faith looks like for them. If faith is new to you or if you've spent time deconstructing and/or are reconstructing your faith, we hope that this will be a valuable tool for your family moving forward.
If you have any questions about kids and faith or how South Bend City Church shows up for our kiddos on a Sunday morning, you can reach out to Karen Grant, our Director of Kid's Ministry.

10.8 [TEACHING] Romans (wk 5) - the energy of sin

Jason Miller - If Romans 5-8 expresses the heart of Paul's message for the followers of Jesus in Rome, then it's clear that sin is an important part of that message. But how does this text describe sin, and what could it mean for us today?
At the end of this week's teaching, we reflected on these questions: Where do I feel like I'm up against something bigger than me that takes me in the direction of death, not life, for myself or others? What does my conscience tell me about my life? What does the Spirit grieve in my life? Where are WE up against something bigger than us that takes us in the direction of death, not life? What does my conscience tell me about our world - about the environments I participate in and shape, about the systems that affect those who live within them? What does the Spirit grieve in our world?
 
Ways to Get Connected
Register your family for or get more information on Family Dedication.
View our 2022-2023 Annual Report (click here for the mobile version)
Support the ongoing work of SBCC by giving to our general fund. South Bend City Church is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible.