South Bend City Church

Jason Miller - Advent poses a question for us: what are you waiting for? But hidden in that question is a paradox, because sometimes it confronts us with the powerlessness we face in our unfulfilled longings, and sometimes it calls us to step into our power and make a difference. This week's gatherings focused on the first half of that paradox, inviting us into a deeper wanting and waiting. Ways t...

During this season, we are taking some time in our gatherings to follow the liturgical calendar and spend some time in the traditional themes of Advent. This weekend we centered ourselves on the theme of hope through song, reading, and candle lighting. Wherever you are over the next month we hope that this liturgies offer the time to pause and reflect this holiday season. To follow along with the...

Jason Miller - Advent poses a question for us: what are you waiting for? But hidden in that question is a paradox, because sometimes it confronts us with the powerlessness we face in our unfulfilled longings, and sometimes it calls us to step into our power and make a difference. During this season of Advent, we'll lean into that paradox through teaching and practice. Ways to Get Connected Join us...

Since the founding of South Bend City Church, we’ve focused on the practice of generosity as one way of celebrating Christmas, with gratitude for God’s generosity to us in the gift of Jesus. This year’s practice includes three invitations to give: (1) to support the church’s general fund and sustain our regular ministries, (2) to give to the Tribune project to ensure that we are able to cross the...

Matt Graybill and Jason Miller - In the last few months, we've made major progress on the Tribune Project . We're not just talking about the building renovation, though. We've also been in conversations with our downtown neighbors and other city stakeholders about the future of downtown. Catch this update with Matt Graybill, our executive pastor, and Jason Miller, our lead pastor, about where the...

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 j...

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 .

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 a...

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 Que...

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 ne...

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 lea...

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 m...

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 informati...

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...

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...

In this weekend's liturgy, we brought one of our commitments to life: "South Bend City Church is a place for believers, doubters, and those who are a bit of both". We explore this spectrum through readings of the Psalms, reflecting on a song called Citizens, by Jon Guerra, and singing other songs together as a community. If you want to follow along with the transcript, you can do so by following a...

Jason Miller - As Paul helps the community in Rome understand the message that binds them together, he speaks of sin, law, and death. What do those words mean for us today? Ways to Get Connected 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 do...

Jason Miller - We know, you might be a little confused if you look at the flow between week 2 and 3. We've gone from chapter 1 to chapter 5. But that's because it might be easier to understand Romans if you get to the heart of it and discover what Paul's fighting for before you work through the way he fights. He's defending a gospel that speaks of the expansive, inexhaustible love of God, and he b...

Jason Miller - Paul begins his letter to the Christians in Rome with some big words: apostle, gospel, grace and peace. But those words may have meant something different for his original audience than they mean for us today. Let's spend some time recovering the unexpectedly radical energy of these ideas. Ways to Get Connected RSVP to our New to SBCC Virtual Table on October 2 at 8:30p EST via Zoom...

Jason Miller - One of the most talked about, preached about, regularly-studied texts in the New Testament is the book of Romans, a letter written by the Apostle Paul to a community of Jesus’ followers roughly three decades after Jesus. It’s been especially prominent in Protestant and Evangelical spaces. But what if the way it’s usually talked about misses the point? The early church was an impossi...

In this weekend's gatherings we had the chance to slow down and breathe. We did this by singing some songs and entering into a breath prayer. This was all supported by Cole Arthur Riley's work, both on her Instagram and from her book " This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that Make Us ". If you want to follow along with the transcript, you can do so by following along on our...

Jason Miller - In John 21, we see Jesus trying to have a conversation with one of his followers about the calling on his life, but that disciple is distracted by the fate of someone else. As we expand our circles of concern with a faith that includes our neighbors, strangers, and enemies, how do we stay committed to the lives we're called to? Ways to Get Connected Check out all Tables opportunitie...

This weekend we had the opportunity to enter into practices of joy as a community. We encourage you to join us by listening to this liturgy in a place that brings you joy or to have something nearby that you enjoy doing or looking at. During this episode, there will be an opportunity to pause and do something that brings you joy. In our gathering space, we had art from our kiddos on display and su...

Meredith Miller - In John 2 we are invited to a wedding, and watching Jesus' actions there reveal something critical about the nature of the reign of God that Jesus is declaring has arrived. What's more, it sheds light on a sometimes overlooked attribute of our God--as one who is joyful. Together, we'll consider the roles of fun, celebration and joy in our lives with God. Ways to Get Connected Let...

This weekend we joined our Catholic brothers and sisters in readings from the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States). We spent time, through these readings and through a few songs, reflecting on stillness, peace, and waiting. Ways to Get Connected Take a the morning to rest on August 20th as we observe our  Sabbath break . No...