Weave & Cleave The Faithful City

Sybil Kolbert has always had a role in helping people create change, but its looked different over the years. She spent the first two decades of her career as a school psychologist, then she stepped into nonprofit work to help survivors rebuild after trauma. This is where she learned about trauma-informed care, and most importantly, about being trauma-informed - knowledge she wishes she'd had when she was working in education. Over eight years, she's learned how to steward the trauma she hears from the survivors she coaches. She's learned how to disciple with a fierce love and a loose grip. She's learned about the importance of teams and the human need for lament. She's learned how to rebuild, and how to help others rebuild.

Now Sybil is taking her knowledge and passion into churches, training them in the sometimes heavy work of helping others rebuild. Her dream? That churches in her central California community would be equipped to love others the way Jesus does.

Join us as we chat with Sybil - coach, writer, author (Finding Home is available here), seminary student, wife, and mother of three young adults. To learn more about Sybil's work, or to contact her, go to her website. 

When Jessica Knight entered chaplaincy school, she had no plans to work with survivors of sex trafficking. God had other plans. 

Chaplain Jessica Knight is the Founder and Executive Director of Fire Revolution Advocacy for Women, an organization that offers programs and resources to sex trafficking survivors to encourage, empower, and support their recovery. Having her own traumatic history, Jessica had questions when she entered advocacy work. As she helped women work toward restoration, she found God was restoring her story, too, giving her a new definition of family, a passion for discipleship, and a deeper commitment in her relationship with Jesus. In other words, she found out what it truly meant to be loved.

This episode talks about solitude and risk, passion and personhood, safe people and community, listening to the Spirit and experiencing God. Oh, and Krav Maga (Jessica is working toward her blue belt!). This episode is sure to encourage you to live in confidence and purpose.

Learn more about Fire Revolution Advocacy.

Read Jessica's personal testimony.

Much is going on in our world. Much is happening in our own lives. Busyness pulls us. Opinions divide us. Trouble unsettles us. We need Jesus, but what does it look like to pull closer to Him? In this episdoe, Sanghoon and Michelle discuss 5 Rs that will help you focus on 'less of me, more of God' - perfect for an election year! These simple focuses are easy to remember, easy to apply, and guaranteed to help you reclaim your peace as you journey in a trauma-informed lifestyle.

Brooke Weimar, elementary school teacher in Thailand, reflects on the steps God was laying out for her long before she had a true desire to follow Him. Her story is genuine and warm, a reminder that God uses even the most mundane realities of our lives to draw us into His plan. This episode is for those with an adventurous spirit, for those with a heart for international travel, for those who wonder what God is up to as He leads step by step rather than leading with a full road map. Enjoy this story of faithfulness. 

In May 2023, hundreds of individuals from various sectors and organizations gathered for a day of trauma-informed speakers, workshops, and connections. Guess what they found. Unity. The work of trauma healing and hope is always unifying. That's why the heart of the Weave & Cleave movement is unity across sectors, across organizations, across ethnicities and backgrounds.

This episode discusses preparations for the 2nd Annual Weave & Cleave conference to be held on May 2, 2024, and the exciting launch of affinity groups - interest groups to keep you connected to others in a similar field. This is a movement that mobilizes and empowers its people, so get connected by listening in and then registering for the free conference (thanks to funding from the Maricopa County Department of Public Health) here.

Karen Cheong was seeking trauma healing when her husband, Robert, began asking the question, "Where does Jesus make a difference in brokenness?" Decades later, Gospel Care Ministries was born, a ministry that equips church leaders and church members with answers to that question. As the Cheongs put it, "The church should be the first place people go for help." 

Using the framework of the gospel, they're creating churches invested in discipleship, counseling, and trauma healing. Their commitment is abiding in Christ, the One who is real and near, the One who loves us and cares for us. Their work is heartwork, the only kind of work that outweighs harm.

Join us as the Cheongs share their journey, their ministry, and what it's like to live together and work together. This is an encouraging episode for anyone wondering if love can truly overshadow suffering.  

Want to hear Robert and Karen speak? Be sure to attend the 2nd Annual Weave & Cleave conference in Arizona on May 2, 2024. The event is completely free, thanks to funding by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. Register here.

Learn more about Gospel Care Ministries at gospel.care.

Check out Robert's books where you buy books: Restoration Story: Why Jesus Matters in a Broken World, Restore: Changing How We Live and Love, and God Redeeming His Bride: A Handbook for Church Discipline.