Mixing Bowl first started gathering around 7 years ago, designed to be an open community and a place to creatively explore spirituality and what Christian faith, art and community looks like outside of the traditional church context. It was intended as an experimental place, meeting at the intersection of art, community and faith to see what could happen, trying different things out and seeing how they feel – figuring things out as we go.

Over the past year we have been reflecting on how Mixing Bowl works within the SAW programme, what it provides for those coming along, and how it speaks into the rest of our activity at SAW. As well as the pandemic affecting meeting patterns and interests, another factor shaping decisions about the future is how to continue much-loved activity when SAW’s funding and staffing capacity is likely to be reduced.

A variety of meeting formats and activities have been held under the banner of ‘Mixing Bowl’; for clarity and to continue without a regular meeting pattern, we feel it makes sense to change how we label some of SAW’s future activities that would normally happen at or through a Mixing Bowl. Favourite elements of Mixing Bowl gatherings will continue* as part of the SAW programme but signposted with more specific event or activity names (so an event does ‘what it says on the tin’!). One activity in particular which will function in a very similar way to a Mixing Bowl gathering are evenings which we’ll call ‘SAW Reflects’; These evenings will therefore be an opportunity to reflect on a particular aspect of the SAW programme, over food and discussion going deeper into the thought and theology behind our different projects.

We will post further info about SAW Reflects events soon, but here are some provisional dates for your diaries…

• SAW’s Harvest Festival on 8th October 2022 will include a time of creative reflection,
• 25th October 2022 – SAW Reflects: 100 People. A discussion evening looking at the thought behind and theological connections to the 100 People programme
• 8th November 2022 – SAW Reflects: An Evening of Remembrance similar to previous Mixing Bowl remembrance evenings will be held.

*(although how much we can do depends on securing sufficient funding).