Finding Identity in Wisdom + Wrestling with the Shadows

The Advent season was a time to be frank before God in our waiting. We begin this year with a focus on who we are as followers of Jesus. In this two part series, we’ll walk through the book of Matthew as written in the First Nations Version. In part one we’ll focus on who Jesus is as Wisdom - as teacher - and how his teachings inform our identity and the rhythms of our lives. In part two, during Lent, we wrestle with the shadows, becoming familiar with discomfort - grief, lament, struggle, making meaning through storytelling.

WEEK BY WEEK:

FINDING IDENTITY IN WISDOM

January 7: Hybrid Brunch Gathering with Series Intro and Stories of Togetherness (in lieu of a January Community Conversation)

January 14: Matthew (1.1-17) 2.1-9 - Genealogy + Seekers of Wisdom/Jesus

January 21: Matthew 5.13-20 - Salt and Light and Fulfilling the Sacred Teachings

January 28: Matthew 5.21-25 - You Have Heard it Said, But I Say: Part 1

February 4:  Matthew 5:43-48 - You Have Heard it Said, But I Say: Part 2

February 11:  Matthew 7.1-11 - Seeing Others Clearly + Keep Dancing Your Prayers

WRESTLING WITH THE SHADOWS

Ash Wednesday February 14 - Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

February 18: Matthew 16.1-12 - Signs of the Times. Is Your Faith So Small?

February 25: Matthew 17.1-13 - He Talks to the Ancestors

March 3: Matthew 18.15-22  - A Family Member Wrongs You

March 10: Matthew 23.1-39  - Bad Spiritual Leaders

March 17: Mathew 26:57-68  - You Have Said So, But I Tell You

March 24 (Palm Sunday): Matthew 21 - Coming to You in a Humble Way

Good Friday March 29th - Matthew 27:33-66

March 31 (Easter Sunday): Matthew 28  - The Sun Began to Rise

DISCUSSION PROMPTS:

-As you explore the book of Matthew, what is capturing your attention? What have you noticed as new? 

-Wonder together. What is the Spirit revealing to you about identifying as a follower of Jesus? How is wisdom speaking to you/us?

-What spiritual practice might you be invited to as you seek Wisdom in this season? Experiment. Choose just one practice and commit to consistently engaging in it for one month. If the experiment fails, try something else. Listen, learn, grow, be gracious with yourself and those around you. 

-What does it look like for you to keep dancing your prayers this week?

-As you journey with Jesus toward the cross, what pieces of faith and identity - particularly the shadows - are you wrestling with? 

-What rhythms do you notice emerging in your faith journey? What do you need from God and/or those around you right now?

RESOURCES:

Sacred Self-Care by Chanequa Walker-Barnes 

Finding Meaning by David Kessler

Trinity’s practices

First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament

Trinity’s Guide to Lent

Good Friday Supper

Reclaiming my Theology - Lent Guide

SEASONAL SMALL GROUPS:

In conjunction with the sermon series, Trinity Seasonal Small Groups in the winter of 2024 will form around Sacred Self-Care: Daily Practices for Nurturing Our Whole Selves by Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes. If you need assistance in acquiring a copy, please contact your group’s host. Please contact the group host for more details and to generally RSVP.

Fishers - Monday lunch hour (12-1pm) Zoom, starting January 22

Midtown/Downtown - Wednesday evenings 6:30-8:00pm, Starting January 24

Queer Affinity - Thursdays 7-8:30pm, starting January 25

Broad Ripple - Thursdays 6-7:30pm with pitch-in dinner, starting January 25

Frankly Advent

Frankly Advent

After a period of jubilee - celebrating, finding joy, and participating in redistribution - we now enter the Advent season. During this season of waiting, anticipating the birth of Jesus - the incarnation - we slow for inward reflection. Focusing on the frank words of the prophet Isaiah to expand our prayer life, we journey through Advent.

WEEK BY WEEK

During Advent, we’ll be exploring revised common lectionary passages. The lectionary is a selection of scripture readings which the global Church uses for worship, study, and retelling of the story of God.

December 3/First Sunday of Advent: Prayer of Hope that Burns - Isaiah 64:1-9 

December 10/Second Sunday of Advent: Prayer of Faith to be Gathered - Isaiah 40:1-11 

December 17/Third Sunday of Advent: Prayer of Joy that Proclaims Liberty - Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 

December 24/Fourth Sunday of Advent + Christmas Eve (MORNING GATHERING ONLY): Prayer of Love that Beams forth Justice - Luke 2.1-20

December 31 - No Gathering. Enjoy gathering with friends and family.

DISCUSSION PROMPTS

-Reread the text for the week. What do you notice in your body - how is the Spirit stirring within you? 

-How might the text model new ways of speaking with God or stretch your prayer life?

-What has your experience of God been like in this season of waiting? What do you desire in Jesus’ celebrated arrival? 

-Consider the Advent theme for this week. How are you experiencing hope, faith/peace, joy, love, or Christ this week?

ADVENT BOOKS

-The Holy in the Night by Shannon Dycus

-Honest Advent by Scott Erickson

Uncoercive Seed

Still in ordinary time, we enter a period of jubilee - celebrating, finding joy, and participating in redistribution - because we’ve done the good, hard work of composting, stretching, and growing through this year of renewal. We circle back around to the familiar, filling in the gaps in our journey as we find our place in the story of God.  In this series, we survey the Old and New Testaments and consider how familiar narratives reveal the uncoercive seed that resides in Scripture. Now allowing the natural processes of metabolization within ourselves to take place alongside the external composting work, we connect with what is being awakened in us and what our bodies know - the generative forces that give way to life that have always been passed down through the table of the Lord. We Gather together to feast, to take delight.

WEEK BY WEEK:

September 10: Intro & Ancestors - Lev. 26.45

September 17: God’s Covenant with Abram and Sarai - Genesis 15

September 24: Genealogy and Rahab - Joshua 2 and Matthew 1.5

October 1: Sow in tears, reap with shouts of joy - Psalm 126 

October 8: Where are you going? / The Advocate - John 16.1-7 

October 15: Freely Scattered -  2 Cor. 9.6-10

October 22: Uncoercive Seed - 1 Cor. 3.5-7 and 15.37-39

October 29: Manna - Exodus 16

November 5: A Feast - Isaiah 25.5-7 

November 12: Restored - Isaiah 58.11-14 

November 19: The heavens drop their dew - Zechariah 8:11-13 and Ezekiel 17.4-6

*November 26: Brunch/Thanksgiving Weekend - Do This in Remembrance of Me - 1 Corinthians 11.23-26

DISCUSSION PROMPTS:

- What is being awakened in you/in us as you read the text again?

-  What does your body know about the generative forces we hear coming through this particular text? How might that give way to life today?

- What is being passed down to us as we come to the table of the Lord? How is the Spirit shaping you/us?

- Where do you sense uncoercive seed being planted in you/among us? How does that encourage you as a follower of Jesus?

- How will you delight this week in the goodness of life with God, together? 

- What does celebration, joy, and redistribution look like for you/us this week/month?

RESOURCES: 

Books: 

Living Resistance by Kaitlin Curtice

Ecosystems of Jubilee by Gustine and Humphreys

All About Love by bell hooks

Find a new/fun cookbook (example: Ottolenghi Simple)  

Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

Music and Art:

My Joy is Heavy! by the Bengsons (song)

“In defense of my own happiness” by Joy Oladokun (album)

“Renaissance” by Beyonce (album)

Flush with Creativity.

Seasonal Small Groups

We’ll be holding Jubilee Table Talks. If there is a location you’d like to join, please contact the location host to RSVP and gain additional details. 

Broad Ripple - Sundays after the Gathering

Fishers - Wednesdays, 6:30-7:30pm

Midtown/Downtown - Wednesday evenings

Queer Affinity Group (Irvington) - Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30pm

(photo credit: Hasan Almasi)

Growing in Togetherness

We find ourselves in ordinary time, a time in which we learn to pay attention to the good news in the particulars of that which is routine and regular.  As a faith community, we continue to grow in the ease of sowing together. We’ll brunch together and pay attention to what is growing – in, among, and around us. We will practice receiving the good and beautiful in life, participating with God in our broader community. We will explore the topics of being supported when together (safety and courage), rooted in place together, following the Spirit together, being stretched to grow, absorbing toxins and weeding out. 

WEEK BY WEEK:

* indicates weeks we are “off site” - not at COhatch

May 28: Memorial Day Weekend Brunch Gathering

June 4:  Growing in Togetherness (Revelation 22:1-3)  

June 11: Growth - Pride Brunch + Game Day 

June 18: Weeding: the Garden (Matthew 13:24-30) 

*June 25:  Absorbing - Walk and Talk

July 2:  Brunch Sunday 

July 9: Rooted in the Polis

July 16:  Following the Spirit Together 

July 23: Rooted: Prayer + Peace Walk in Broad Ripple

*July 30: Supported - The Avenue Coffeehouse

*SATURDAY August 5 @ 9-11am: Weeding - Lawrence Community Garden (no Gathering Sunday, August 6th)

August 13: Absorbing - Community Food Box 

Aug 20: Growth - Stretched to Grow (John 15:1-10) 

*August 25-27: Retreat weekend

September 3: Labor Day Weekend Brunch Sunday 

DISCUSSION PROMPTS:

-What is your favorite form of connecting with God? Carve out time to delight in God’s presence (this could be with or without companions).

-What have you been holding onto that needs weeded out, let go of? Share your stirrings with a trusted companion. 

-Evaluate your regular practices and the rhythms of your week. Where might you build in margin to allow more attentiveness to those in your life - to be rooted, practice absorbing, and experiencing support?

-Where, or in what ways, is the Spirit prompting you/us to be more rooted? 

-How has this week’s practice or experience during the Gathering challenged or encouraged you? Talk about it with someone else.

-Pay attention to where the Spirit is extending the invitation - with warmth and care - to trust that you/we are being led toward beauty and health. Meet this invitation with curiosity, imagination, and gratitude. Then, take the next faithful step. 

RESOURCES: 

Parent Cue:

Wopila: A Giveaway by Dovie Thomason

Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints

Books: 

-The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall

-Seasons of Wonder by Bonnie Smith Whitehouse

-Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

-The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry

-Anything you can find written by Mary Oliver

-All Along You Were Blooming: thoughts for boundless living by Morgan Harper Nichols

-Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong

-Wopila: A Giveaway by Dovie Thomason

-The Complete Enneagram by Beatrice Chestnut

Music: 

Unknown & Creating Space for Newness (playlist)

(photo credit: Edgar Castrejon)

The Ease of Sowing Together

Having paid attention to the fluidity of our identities and how Jesus embodied love, declaring that all belong, engaging in lament and composting the trauma encountered, we now turn to the work of planting in this season leading up to Pentecost.  It’s the time in the Church year when we celebrate the imparting of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus. Together, we recognize that life in the Spirit is no lone venture. We sow together and put our faith or trust in the Spirit to carry out the good work in and through us as we build a culture of ease. 

*s indicate weeks we will be working with our culture building consultant (as a part of our renewal activities). Additional details are provided via email with access to the renewal page. If you don’t receive those emails, please contact us.

WEEK BY WEEK:

*April 16: New Birth into a Living Hope + Rest  - 1 Peter 1.3-9 

*April 23: Dream 

April 30: Familiar Voice - John 10.1-10

May 7: Mercy  -1 Peter 2:2-10

*May 14: Resist 

*May 21: Imagine

May 28th: Pentecost Sunday + Memorial Day weekend Brunch

DISCUSSION PROMPTS:

-When do you most sense God’s presence? Have you considered that as prayer? Lean in and embrace the unique ways that you experience being in attunement with the Holy Spirit.

-With whom do you experience a profound sense of mutuality and togetherness? Notice how the Spirit is moving toward building a culture of ease.

-When do you notice acting like a “lone venturer”. Confess this to God. Confide in someone else, that together you might be at ease and sow new ways of being, together. 

-What truth is the Spirit revealing to you? How might that truth bring healing? Create a breath prayer to continue the conversation with God in the day-to-day.

-Where have you sensed healing? How might the Spirit be inviting to be more deeply connected to yourself, God, and neighbors?

-Spend some time with people, engaging in discernment together. Where do you notice the Spirit at work and sense an invitation to join in the work of sowing, together? 

-Slowly read Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey. Consider what needs confronted in you, in us. What is one small thing you might do (or let go of) this week to rest as an act of resistance?

-What is your posture towards rest and receiving as spiritual practices?  What are you noticing about yourself as you pay attention to these ways of being in the world? 

–In what ways may rest & receiving bring up grief?  What is your own relationship to grief?  How do you relate to the Divine in grief?

RESOURCES:

Books & Articles:

Rest is Resistance a Manifesto by Tricia Hersey

Access Intimacy: The Missing Link by Mia Mingus

TL Lewis's Working Definition of Ableism-January 2022

Sins Invalid's 10 Principles of Disability Justice

Disability Studies from South to North by Owolabi Aboyade

Podcasts

Possibilities of Care Futures with Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarashina

Beyond Hope: Jodi Lammiman on the Challenges of Eco-Grief

Music:

Rest Life by Tricia Hersey

Come and Rest by Kaia Kater

Come Home by Cloud Cult

Love Myself by Andre Henry

Visual Arts:

Healing by Choice! "All of Who You Are is Welcome Here"  **for personal practice only, per Healing by Choice’s request.

Black Power Naps

(photo credit: Alex Diaz)

The Book of John: Queering Identity & Composting

The Advent season gave way to the reorienting presence of God With Us who shows us the way, in the midst of a complex world. This year we focus on renewal, beginning with our identity as followers of Jesus. In this two part series, through the lens of queer theology, we’ll walk through the book of John, getting outside of ourselves and the ways in which colonialism/modernity have shaped us. Part one will focus on paying attention to the fluidity of our identities and how Jesus embodied love, declaring that all belong. Part two will focus on lament and composting the trauma encountered as Jesus approaches the cross and is crucified. As we walk through the gospel of John, we’ll consider how our practices are seen in the life of Jesus and his followers as we get into the particulars of living out our faith. But we’ll also consider new practices of resting and receiving, leading us to the next season as we press into who we are in community.

Please note that we’ll be utilizing the First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament throughout this series.

*s indicate weeks we will be working with our culture building consultant (as a part of our renewal activities). Additional details are provided via email with access to the renewal page. If you don’t receive those emails, please contact us.

Week by Week:

QUEERING IDENTITY 

January 1: Brunch Gathering

January 8: Intro and Chapter 1.1-18 - Queering Identity

January 15: Chapter 2.1-12 - Water to Wine

January 22: Chapter 3 & 4 - Living Water & Woman at the Well

January 29: Chapter 6.30-59 - The Bread of Life

*February 5: Chapter 7.14-24 - Where does the wisdom come from?

February 12: Chapter 8.1-18 - Light of the World

February 19: Chapter 11.28-45 - Weeping

— The Season of Lent —

(Ash Wednesday February 22)

COMPOSTING

February 26: Chapter 13 - Intro to Composting + Foot Washing and Servanthood

*March 5 : Chapter 14 - I’m Going to Die

March 12: Chapter 15.18-25 - The World Will Hate You. It Hated Me First.

*March 19 : Chapter 16 - It is Better if I Go Away

March 26: Chapter 17 - Returning to You

April 2 (Palm Sunday): Chapter 12 - Worthy

(Good Friday April 7: Chapter 18-19)

April 9 (Easter): Chapter 20 - You Must Let Me Go

Discussion Prompts:

-As you explore the book of John, what is capturing your attention? What have you noticed as new? 

-Wonder together. What is the Spirit revealing to you about identifying as a follower of Jesus? How does all of fluid you belong?

-What pieces of faith and identity have you shed? What pieces do you sense need to be picked back up? 

-What spiritual practices allow you to regularly remain connected in prayer to God? Experiment. Choose just one practice and commit to consistently engaging in it for one month. If the experiment fails, try something else. Listen, learn, grow, be gracious with yourself and those around you. 

-Discuss Trinity’s practices. Where do you sense God inviting you to lean in? How might you practice resting and receiving?

-As you journey with Jesus toward the cross, in what ways might you need to engage in composting work?

-What patterns do you notice emerging in your faith journey? What do you need from God and/or those around you right now?

Resources:

Queer Theology (resource paper)

This Here Flesh by Cole Arthur Riley

Outside the Lines: How Embracing Queerness will Transform Your Faith by Mihee Kim Kort

Queer Theology by Linn Marie Tonstad (*a more academic read)

Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology by Patrick S. Cheng (*a bit academic)

Rest is Resistance a Manifesto by Tricia Hersey

Trinity’s practices

How to Sit and How to Relax by Thich Nhat Hanh

Prophetic Lament by Soong-Chan Rah

All ages:

First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament

Trinity’s Guide to Lent

Good Friday Supper

Seasonal Small Groups start late January/early February:

This Here Flesh by Cole Arthur Riley

(photo credit: Dan Christian Padure)

Reorienting Presence

We have assembled, as disciples, to take in Qoheleth - wisdom shared - and be reoriented and renewed to participate in what God is doing here and now, in a complex world that is constantly changing. Now, during this Advent season, we anticipate the birth of Jesus. For unto us, a child is born - the reorienting presence of God With Us -  will show us the way. 

WEEK BY WEEK

During Advent, we’ll be exploring revised common lectionary passages. The lectionary is a selection of scripture readings which the global Church uses for worship, study, and retelling of the story of God.

November 27 - First Sunday of Advent (Hope) & Thanksgiving Weekend - Hybrid Brunch Gathering : The Mountain - Isaiah 2.1-5

December 4 - Second Sunday of Advent (Faith/Peace): Until the Moon is No More - Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 & Romans 15.4-13  

December 11 - Third Sunday of Advent (Joy): Lifted Up - Psalm 146.5-10 & Luke 1:46b-55

December 18 - Fourth Sunday of Advent (Love): Carrying Love - Matthew 1.18-25

December 24 - Christmas Eve (Christ) @ 5:30pm: Shining Light - Luke 2.1-20  

(December 25 - No Gathering, with Family)

January 1 - Brunch Gathering

DISCUSSION PROMPTS

-Reread the text(s) for the week. What else do you notice? 

-Where do you sense God desires reorientation in your life?

-Consider the Advent theme for this week. How are you experiencing hope, faith/peace, joy, love, or Christ this week?

-How is the Spirit whispering “follow me”, to embody the love of Jesus in the world?

RESOURCES

 Trinity's Advent Guide

This guide was created for individuals, couples, families with children, or Trinity Groups. It includes Advent readings and other ideas like the Jesse Tree, Advent calendars, and throwing a birthday party for Jesus. 

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

Divine Hours During Advent

Over the last couple years we have made our way through the Advent season together by gathering virtually on weekdays to center ourselves around the anticipation of the incarnation of the Christ as well as support one another during this joyous, contemplative, and sometimes difficult time. Each morning during Advent we will be participating in the morning prayers of the Divine Hours by Phylis Tickle, reflecting on poems from Mary Oliver, and listening to music that Trinity is sharing throughout this season. Join us weekday mornings at 7am on Zoom or catch up throughout the day on FB or YouTube. Questions? email joel@indytrinity.org

Advent: A devotional from Reclaiming My Theology

The Poetry of Advent with Mary Oliver: By Salt

LEARN MORE

Gift Giving Guide

As we consider Jesus’ gift and what he calls us to do and be in the world, we’d like to give you an opportunity to give actual life-giving gifts to folks who are showing the love of Jesus to those in need here in Indy and around the world. In the pages that follow you’ll find out more about some of Trinity’s ministry partners. Please consider how you might give to them as they show the Good News of Jesus’ gift in very tangible ways. Click here.

Curated Playlists for Advent

Image credit: Andy Reid

(What the) Qoheleth

As people who claim freedom in Christ and the goodness of God abounding in the ordinary, we still often find it difficult to approach the Bible. While scripture has always had an authoritative and formative role in the life of God’s people, we’ve also seen how it has been used to bind, wound, and separate. We are often unsure what to do with difficult texts that don’t align with our understanding and experience of God, and the promise for the reconciliation of all creation. In light of this, it’s particularly tempting to not even read much from the Old Testament. In this season, we enter the story of God through the wisdom literature, or persona, of Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes) and find our place as wanderers and wonderers. In this book, history, politics, and human nature are seen in a bleak light – something we might identify with today. And so we assemble, as disciples, to take in the wisdom shared and be reoriented and renewed to participate in what God is doing here and now, in a complex world that is constantly changing. 

Week by Week:

September 4 - Holiday Weekend Brunch Gathering

September 11: Intro/Language of Qoheleth [Chapter 1]

September 18: Testing Hevel  [Chapter 2]

September 25: Time [Chapter 3]

October 2: Carpe Diem [Chapter 4] 

October 9: Contentment  [Chapter 5]

October 16: Good, Better, Wise  [Chapter 6-7:14]

October 23: Riddles  [Chapter 7:15-29]

October 30: Approaching Death [Chapter 8-9:6]

November 6: Quiet Words  [Chapter 9:7-18]

November 13: Observations and Diligence  [Chapter 10-11]

November 20: Remembering  [Chapter 12]

November 27 - Brunch + First Sunday of Advent

Discussion Prompts:

-Re-read this week’s text. What wisdom do you hear in a fresh way? Are you reminded of any other writings/thoughts/lyrics/scripture texts that bring more fullness to what you are processing? Did Jesus speak to this? 

-Where are you being challenged this week as you wrestle with the disorienting complexities of life? How does the larger story of God at work in the world meet you in this time/place?

-Take some time this week to just be - breathe, enjoy nature, spend time with friends/family - and notice how you experience the wisdom your body knows. How does that wisdom connect to what we read in Ecclesiastes? 

-What are your (and our Trinity community’s) current wanderings and wonderings? Write them down. Talk to someone who can hold your story with care and together begin to explore how the Spirit is orienting you toward the larger story God is writing in the world. 

Resources:

This Here Flesh by Cole Author Riley

Making Sense of the Bible by Adam Hamilton

What Do We Do with the Bible? by Richard Rohr

Music:

Down in the deep dark valley - the Oh Hellos

Four of Arrows - Great Grandpa

Literally anything by Julien Baker

Seasonal small groups

Evolving Faith! - October start, end by Thanksgiving

(photo credit: Inga Gezalian)

Practicing Spiritual Care (AS THE TRINITY COLLECTIVE)

We find ourselves in ordinary time, a time in which we learn to pay attention to the good news in the particulars of that which is routine and regular.  As a faith community, we are a collective of people who live in various geographical areas we call parishes. We are the Trinity Collective. In our everyday lives, we serve as “chaplains” offering spiritual care to our neighbors - care that is rooted in, motivated and shaped by our faith, in the particulars of that which is routine and regular. During this season, we put into practice spiritual care as the Trinity Collective as we: see no stranger, are on the move, on call, a listening presence, lifting and dispersing the weight, and return to sacred spaces (see more notes below on each theme carried over from the Pentecost series). 

Week by Week*:

June 12 - Baptism Celebration + Brunch (and on Zoom)

June 19 - Juneteenth and Father’s Day - Lifting and Dispersing the Weight: Walk and Talk with Sampson/Through2Eyes + Brunch (starting from and ending @ Provider)

June 26 - Listening Presence (and on Zoom)

July 3 - Holiday Weekend Brunch Gathering

July 10, 9-11am - On Call: with Kheprw @ Lawrence Community Gardens (watch your email for details and location)

July 17  - On the Move: prayer walk in Broad Ripple from COhatch

July 24 - Sacred Spaces: Worship in the Park @ Holliday Park (watch your email for details)

July 31 - Lifting and Dispersing the Weight (again): with The Avenue Foundation @ The Avenue Coffeehouse

August 7 - Brunch Gathering

August 14 - On the Move (again): Parish Prayer Walks (watch your email for details on meeting locations within each parish)

Saturday evening, August 20 (NO GATHERING SUNDAY) - See No Stranger: 4:30pm MOTW Fishers and 5:45pm prayer at Al Huda (watch your emails for details)

August 28 - Lifting and Dispersing the Weight (again): back at COhatch with Zoom option

September 4 - Holiday Weekend Brunch Gathering

*Please note that the schedule may change. Details will be communicated via email and in week-to-week Gathering bulletins. To be added to emails, please contact us. Most Gatherings will NOT have a Zoom option, unless specified.

Discussion Prompts:

-What is your favorite form of connecting with God - putting yourself in an attentive, prayerful position? 

-Evaluate your regular practices and the rhythms of your week. Where might you build in margin to allow more attentiveness to your neighbors?

-Find a sacred space this week to be refreshed (this could be with or without companions). 

-In what ways have you noticed following Jesus on the Good Road and sharing the good news costing you this week? Discipleship is costly. Allow the Spirit to speak and prompt you to action.

-What practices are helpful for dispersing the weight of suffering you shoulder? Pick one to engage or try this week.

-Spend some time with your neighbors. Where do you notice the Spirit at work? How might you join in? 

-What is the Spirit revealing to you in our collective body as the church as you engage in our neighborhoods/parishes? Where might there be healing needed or occuring? 

-How has this week’s practice during the Gathering challenged or encouraged you? Talk about it with someone else.

Themes:

See No Stranger.  Jesus visits the disciples after the resurrection (John 20.19-31), making multiple “house calls”. As we stop and visit with people, we engage with wonder/curiosity. We “see no stranger” as witness to the presence of Christ with us. We extend to those we visit, as Jesus does, “Peace be with you.”  

On the Move. As we move from place to place, the Lord meets us (often when we least expect) and calls us to turn from persecuting ways (Acts 9.1-20), to be transformed, and to share the good news of Jesus. We keep moving, and remaining flexible to respond to new revelations. 

On Call. Like Peter, we respond to the call of our neighbors (Acts 9.36-43). We pray for (over and with) our neighbors. We sit with our neighbors, ready to offer “sacraments or anoint with oil”. We also might consider how to invite others to join with on “rotation”/share in the spiritual care of our neighbors.

Listening Presence. Like Peter (Acts 11.1-18), we remain open. We listen. We are present to the voice of God/the Spirit and to those in front of us. We meet people - no one is “unclean” or beyond the reach of God’s loving care. And we recognize and call forth the gifts that God has given each one.

Lifting and Dispersing the Weight.  Jesus bears witness to many people who have lived in pain for quite some time - those who have been cast out (to the gate/edge of the city). When no one else has offered care in the midst of pain/suffering/unknowing, Jesus responds (John 5.1-9). When we join the work of God in our midst, we also must learn to disperse the weight we’ve shouldered & “discharge” the pain, individually and collectively.

Sacred Spaces. As God’s beloved (Romans 8.14-17), we find refreshment in sacred spaces for the work ahead.

(Image credit: Bryan Plata)

Spiritual Care in the Trinity Collective

Leading up to Pentecost - the time in the Church year when we celebrate the imparting of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus - we gather to discover and embody the love of Jesus as we grow in attunement (a fancy word referring to prayer) with the Spirit as we walk Creator’s Good Road. As a faith community, we are a collective of people who live in various geographical areas we call parishes. We are the Trinity Collective. In our everyday lives, we serve as “chaplains” offering spiritual care to our neighbors - care that is rooted in, motivated and shaped by our faith. In this season, we learn and listen to the Spirit and our neighbors through extending hospitality and belonging through acts of service and participation.*

*These are our practices at Trinity.

WEEK BY WEEK

April 24: Intro and See No Stranger  - John 20:19-31 

May 1:  On the Move  - Acts 9:1-6, (7-20) 

May 8:  On Call -  Acts 9:36-43 

May 15:  Listening Presence - Acts 11:1-18  

May 22: Lifting and Dispersing the Weight - John 5:1-9

May 29th: Memorial Day Weekend Brunch

June 5 (Pentecost): Sacred Spaces - Romans 8:14-17; Acts 2:1-21

June 12 - Baptism Sunday + Brunch

DISCUSSION PROMPTS

-What is your favorite form of connecting with God - putting yourself in an attentive, prayerful position? 

-Evaluate your regular practices and the rhythms of your week. Where might you build in margin to allow more attentiveness to your neighbors?

-Find a sacred space this week to be refreshed (this could be with or without companions). 

-In what ways have you noticed following Jesus on the Good Road and sharing the good news costing you this week? Discipleship is costly. Allow the Spirit to speak and prompt you to action.

-What practices are helpful for dispersing the weight of suffering you shoulder? Pick one to engage or try this week.

-Spend some time with your neighbors. Where do you notice the Spirit at work? How might you join in? 

-What is the Spirit revealing to you in our collective body as the church as you engage in our neighborhoods/parishes? Where might there be healing needed or occuring? 

-Read the passage for this week again. What sticks out to you that you’ve not noticed before? Talk about it with someone else.

RESOURCES

See No Stranger by Valarie Kaur

In the Company of the Poor by Gutierrez and Farmer

Incarnate by Michael Frost

Base Communities by Margaret Hebblethwaite

Divergent Church by Shapiro/Faris

*Image credit: Brooke Lark

Following Jesus Under Colonizer Rule and Creator's Good Road

We have been on a trajectory, grasping what it means to be a people connected to land, history, and people in a decolonized way. We have journeyed through Advent noticing the incarnation as particularity - Christ made flesh in the person of Jesus comes to a particular time, place, people, and story, as the way of love. Into the new year, we continue our tradition these last few years of walking through one of the Gospels as we grow in our identity as followers of Jesus. This year, we focus on the gospel of Luke, paying attention to what it means to follow Jesus, under colonizer rule, on the Good Road. To open our imaginations to new ways forward together, pressing into the Kin(g)dom through the particulars of our faith and what it means to be disciples, we will be utilizing the First Nations Version of the New Testament. Through the second part of this series, we continue on the Good Road  to the cross and ultimately to the resurrection, at Easter.  

Week by Week:

Following Jesus Under Colonizer Rule

January 2 - Brunch Gathering - CANCELED, NO GATHERING

January 9 -  Luke 2.21-52: Intro/Following Jesus Under Colonizer Rule

January 16 - Luke 3.21; 4.1-13: Creator Sets Free Comes Forward & Vision Quest

January 23 - Luke 4.14-30: His Own Village Rejects Him

January 30 - Luke 5.12-16, 27-32: “I do Choose” & Eating with Outcasts

February 6 - Luke 6.27-36: The Way to Treat Your Enemies

February 13 - Luke 8:1-3,19-21: Women of Honor & All My Relatives

February 20 - Luke 10.38-42: Choosing the Best Part

February 27 - Luke 11.1-11: Wisdom about Praying

Lent: Creator’s Good Road

Ash Wednesday - March 2nd

March 6th - Luke 12.49-59: My Message Will Bring Division

March 13th -  Luke 14.25-35: Counting the Cost

March 20th - Luke 16.1-15: Possessions and the Good Road

March 27th - Luke 17.1-6: Trouble Will Come

April 3rd - Luke 23.1-6 (8-25): Questioned by the People of Iron

April 10th/Palm Sunday - Luke 19.28-40: Grand Entry

April 15th Good Friday

April 17th/Easter Sunday -  Luke 24.1-12: Death Defeated 

Discussion Prompts:

-As you read the book of Luke and hear the text anew, what is capturing your attention? 

-Wonder together. What is the Spirit revealing to you about identifying as a follower of the brown, colonized Jesus?

-What are you learning on the Good Road and how it stands in contrast to colonizer culture? Where might you need to grow in trust and humility? 

-In what ways do you sense Jesus extending the invitation to you to walk the Good Road?

-What patterns do you notice emerging in your faith journey? What do you need from Creator right now?

-As Jesus shares about the Good Road, what ways of thinking need to be put to death (where do we need to repent, and turn) and where do you need to allow room for the resurrection?

-Discuss Trinity’s practices. Where do you sense Creator inviting you to lean in? Pick one practice to cultivate more deeply.

-As you read the text, imagine being with Jesus. Take your time in Lent to linger in the story. What do you experience? What do you feel in your body? 

Resources:

First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament

Subversive Witness: Scripture’s Call to Leverage Privilege by Dominque Gilliard (also being used for Trinity Seasonal Small Groups)

The Land is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery by Sarah Augustine

Trinity’s Guide to Lent

Good Friday Seder

Spotify Playlists:

Lent

Easter

Seasonal Small Groups:

In conjunction with the sermon series, seasonal small groups around Subversive Witness by Dominique Dubois Gilliard are forming!

If you’re interested in joining, pick up (or download) the book and begin reading/listening. Send an email to contact@indytrinity.org if you'd like to participate in one of these groups and we'll connect you to the appropriate group leader. 

• Fishers/Zoom group is starting on January 25th over the lunch hour (12-1pm) on Tuesdays for six weeks.

• Midtown/Downtown parish will meet Wednesday nights in person at 7pm starting February 2nd.

• Broad Ripple group will meet Friday nights in person at 7pm starting January 28th. 

(image credit Hasan Almasi)

Of the Land

Strangely, we hesitate to express how spiritually grounding it is to be in Creation and taking in all the beauty that surrounds us. After a season of considering who we are as ordinary saints - those in a particular spiritual location - our attention moves to being rooted in place. We are a people connected to history and people where God locates us, though not in a colonizing way. Connection to the land is connection to God. In this series, we survey the Old and New Testament, considering the land from which we have come and to the land we return - finding our place in the story of God. 

Week by Week:

September 12: Genesis 2 – Intro/Humankind birthed from the Land

September 19: Exodus 3.5 - Holy Ground

September 26: Deuteronomy 8 (and Micah 2) – Brought into a Good Land (Comes with a warning!)

October 3: Proverbs 12.11 - The Wisdom of Working the Land + Outdoor Brunch 

October 10: Isaiah 43.19-21 – God is Doing a New Thing

October 17: Matthew 5.5 - Blessed are the Meek

October 24: John 9.1-12 - Land that Heals

October 31: Acts 22 - The God of Our Ancestors

November 7: Matthew 12:40 – Into the Heart of the Earth

November 14: Romans 8.18-39 - Creation Waits

November 21: Colossians 1.15-20 - The Fullness of God

[Advent begins! November 28 - Brunch/Thanksgiving Weekend & First Sunday of Advent]

Discussion Prompts:

- Through what elements of creation do you feel spiritually grounded?

- What physical practices help you connect to God in nature?  

- In what ways do you sense the need to release any hesitations of finding Christ in creation and discover beauty and love anew? 

- Discuss your connection to the land and the people. 

- In what way is the Spirit prompting you to relocate yourself in the story - as one of the land - unsettled and embodying the love of Jesus in the world?

Resources:

First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament

The Land is Not Empty by Sarah Augustine

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

The Unsettling of America  by Wendell Berry

Poetry of Joy Harjo (An American Sunrise), Mary Oliver (Up Stream), or Wendell Berry (This Day)

Grounded by Diana Butler Bass

Theology of the Land ed.by Evans and Cusack

The longest night (for the earth) - liturgy from enfleshed

Music:

Of the Land

(image credit Nic Perez)

Ordinary Saints

The idea of being a saint does not refer to particular moral or spiritual qualities, but to those in a particular spiritual location. This summer, we focus on who we are as beloved by God, who chooses us - ordinary saints - to bless the world, particularly in the location we find ourselves. Spiritual formation is always worked out, in community, in context. The Christain life begins and ends with grace as we locate ourselves in Christ. So, in a posture of prayer, we journey together through the letter to the Ephesians as we consider how faith takes on both active and passive meanings, marked with a bias toward action.

Week by Week: 

June 6: Affirmation of Our Baptisms + Post-Gathering Brunch 

June 13: Intro [Ephesians 1]

June 20: Now, by Grace [Ephesians 2.1-10]

June 27: One [Epheisans 2.11-22]

July 4: First Brunch Sunday

July 11: Becoming Heirs [Ephsians 3.1-13]

July 18: Love Made Known [Ephesians 3.14-20]

July 25: Bond of Peace [Ephesians 4.1-16]

August 1: First Brunch Sunday

August 8: New Life [Ephesians 4.17-32]

August 15: “Sleeper, Awake!” [Ephesians 5.1-20]

August 22: One Another [Ephesians 5.21-6.9]

August 29: Grace for Standing & Benediction [Epheisans 6.10-23]

September 5. Labor Day Weekend Brunch

Discussion Prompts:

-As you read the text, what stands out? Turn that into your prayer this week.

-In what ordinary ways does this week’s text and the Spirit prompt you to actively live into your faith?

-What do you notice God doing in you as you remain faithful in the passive sense? Where is grace taking hold of you?

-What has stood in the way of seeing yourself as an ordinary saint? Allow God to hold that for you. 

-Would you like to share bits of your story with the Trinity community? Contact Melissa or Britney at contact@indytrinity.org.

Act: Name where the Spirit is moving in our lives and calling us to embodied participation in God’s redeeming activity in the world (i.e. to form/participate in a microchurch). Together, reflect on these experiences and identify how you might be held accountable to re-integrate that reflection back into practice, as we continue to discover the good news and be nurtured in it. 

Nurture: Wonder together. Hold space to tell, and listen to, stories. Ask questions with compassionate curiosity. In what ways does the good news need to talk hold in our lives? And how God is moving us to embody the good news in the world? Where is God at work in your heart and life?

Discover: As we foster a haven of belonging, name the good news at work in one another’s life. Exploring this week’s scripture reading or liturgy, name the ways in which you see God re-narrating the world, or sharing your experience of the love of God enfolding you in divine union. Together, discover the kingdom of God breaking forth here and now. What do you need right now to feel empowered to obediently follow God’s prompting and join in the kingdom’s unfolding?

Resources:

Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman

Life Together  by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Salvation by Allegiance Alone by Matthew W. Bates

MUSIC ALBUMS:

Work Songs: The Porter’s Gate Worship Project v. 1

Ghosts by Sleeping at Last

Of the Land by Of the Land

Home and Early Work (v.2) by Josh Garrels

(image credit Mehmet Turgut Kikgoz)

The Caravan of Community, Settling in the Spirit

Leading up to Pentecost - the time in the Church year when we celebrate the imparting of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus - we gather to discover and embody the love of Jesus as we grow in attunement (a fancy word referring to prayer) with the Spirit. As a faith community, we are a “caravan” of people who are continuing to move and join in the redemptive work of God in the world. Throughout this series we explore settling in the Spirit - in our bodies, in our minds, in our faith - which spurs us on toward being the Church.

WEEK BY WEEK

April 11: Intro: The Caravan of Community, Acts 4.23-35

April 18: Settling to Face the Fire, Daniel 3

April 25: Settling to Resist, Luke 4:1-13

May 2: Settling to Join, Acts 8:26-40

May 9 : Settling for Good, Exodus 2.1-10

May 16 : Settling to Hope, 1 Samuel 1: 1-21 

May 23/Pentecost: Convergence and the Spirit, Acts 2:1-21

May 30th: Memorial Day weekend Brunch 

DISCUSSION PROMPTS

-As you consider our community as a “caravan”, what beauty do you see in that movement and where do you sense the Spirit as we gather together in community? 

-What are some of the ways and places we might grow in becoming more settled in the Spirit? 

-Read the passage for this week again. Pay attention to what you sense in your body. Are you open or constricted? Are you settled in the Spirit? Talk with others about your experience.

-As you become more settled in the Spirit, what do you sense Jesus’ invitation to be to you in following him today/this week/this month/this year?

RESOURCES

My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem

Daily Prayer with the Corrymeela Community

Weightless by Marconi Union (music)

*Image credit: Dave Hoefler

Jesus, the First Enfleshed Christ: “Very Truly I Tell You”

Every new year we explore our identity as followers of Jesus. This year, we consider Jesus as the first enfleshed Christ. Foundational to who we are as a community centered on Jesus, we’ll consider the questions “who is Christ?”, “how do we hold onto Jesus in our evolving faith?”, and “what is Jesus’ invitation to us?”  Walking through the book of John, we take a look at Jesus as he repeats “very truly I tell you”, putting to death what we thought and allowing room for the resurrection. Moving into Lent, we slow down and walk through the passion narrative as shared in the book of John. We’ll be taking big steps through John, so follow along and read in between each week’s text. 

Week by Week: 

January 3 : Intro.: Jesus, the First Enfleshed Christ (John 1)

January 10: Born Again (John 3) 

January 17: Authority of the Son (John 5)

January 24: Life (John 6)

January 31:  I am (John 8)

February 7: Death Gives Way (John 11 and 12)

February 14: Acceptance and Greater Things (John 13 and 14)

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17th. Gathering on Zoom at 7pm. All are welcome to join us for Ash Wednesday. We will begin the Lenten season by meeting on Zoom, practicing the Ash Wednesday liturgy, and sharing resources for the season.

February 21:  Prayer for Disciples (John 17)

February 28: Betrayal (John 18.1-11) 

March 7:  Standing Before (John 18.28-38)

March 14: Sentencing (John 19.1-16)

March 21:  Burial (John 19.31-39)

March 28: Palm Sunday: Entry (John 12.12-16)

Holy Week: Good Friday Service, April 2nd 7-7:30pm on Zoom. Join us as we continue to make our way through Holy Week. We will meet on Zoom and practice the Good Friday liturgy.

April 4/Easter: Christ: Appearing to Disciples (John 21.1-19)

Discussion Prompts:

-As you explore the book of John, what is capturing your attention? 

-Wonder together. What is the Spirit revealing to you about Christ and identifying as a follower of Jesus?

-What about Jesus - the first enfleshed Christ - do you continue to experience today? As one who follows the first enfleshed Christ, what do you sense is the invitation to you?

-As you explore and read the book of John, what do you sense Jesus teaching you about the terrain - the landscape of life and faith?

-What patterns do you notice emerging in your faith journey? What do you need from God right now?

-Jesus often says, “very truly I tell you”. What ways of thinking need to be put to death (where do we need to repent, and turn) and where do you need to allow room for the resurrection?

-What pieces of faith and identity have you shed? What pieces do you sense need to be picked back up? How do we hold onto Jesus in our evolving faith?

-Discuss Trinity’s practices. Where do you sense God inviting you to lean in?

-As you read the text, imagine being with Jesus. Take your time in Lent to linger in the story. What do you experience? What do you feel in your body? 

Resources:

Indy Trinity Spotify Playlist

Another Name for Everything (Podcast)

Lent

The Awkward Season by Pamela C. Hawkins

Atheism for Lent with Peter Rollins

Click here to download Trinity's Guide to Lent.

Good Friday to Easter, album by Page CXVI

Lent, album by Liturgical Folk

Christian Passover Meal from A Holy Experience

(image credit Pawel Czerwinski)

The Advent of Good News

The world is full of not so good news. Together, we anticipate the advent of good news - Christ incarnate in the person of Jesus. We walk through the season of Advent with hope, faith, joy and love. We pray for a breakthrough. We confront sin and find comfort in the Lord. Anointed, we rejoice in the good news that frees us. We are a people remembered by God, who bear witness to the mystery made known through the tangible love of Christ dwelling with us. 

WEEK BY WEEK

We will be Gathering each week on Zoom. During Advent, we’ll be exploring revised common lectionary passages. The lectionary is a selection of scripture readings which the global Church uses for worship, study, and retelling of the story of God.

November 29: Praying for a Breakthrough (Isaiah 64: 1-9) Isaiah 64:1-9 • Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19 • 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 • Mark 13:24-37

December 6: (Un)Comfortable Preparation (Isaiah 40:1-11) Isaiah 40:1-11 • Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 • 2 Peter 3:8-15a •Mark 1:1-8

December 13: Anointed (Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11) Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 • Psalm 126 or Luke 1:46b-55 • 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 • John 1:6-8, 19-28

December 20: Tangible Love (Romans 16.25-27 and Luke 1:46b-55) 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 • Luke 1:46b-55 or Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26 • Romans 16:25-27 • Luke 1:26-38

December 24: Christmas Eve Gathering: The Good News (Luke 2:1-20) Isaiah 9:2-7 • Psalm 96 • Titus 2:11-14 • Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)

December 27: Enjoy Gathering with Family! See you on January 3rd.

DISCUSSION PROMPTS

-Reread the text(s) for this week. Where or how do you notice hope/faith/joy/love/Christ in the story? 

-Where do you desire breakthrough in your life, in our community, and in our world? In what ways do you need the love of God to meet you today? Share your heart with God. Pay attention to what shifts in you as you do so.

-What good news is being birthed for you through this text as it meets your current experience? Journal or offer a prayer about it. 

-What do you sense the Spirit preparing you for? Where is the Spirit urging you to respond with joy to the good news? Share this with someone you trust, allowing them to walk alongside you.

RESOURCES

Divine Hours During Advent

As the daylight continues to become less and less, we expectantly wait for more light in the day and the light of Jesus arriving to be with us. Join us weekday mornings (7-7:30am) on Zoom as we practice the Divine Hours for this Advent season. Feel free to attend any or all mornings.

Curated Playlists for Advent

 Trinity's Advent Guide

This guide was created for individuals, couples, families with children, or Trinity Groups. It includes Advent readings and other ideas like the Jesse Tree, Advent calendars, and throwing a birthday party for Jesus. 

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

Salt’s Advent Guide: Maya Angelou Poetry Advent Guide

LEARN MORE

Illustrated Ministry Advent Guide

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

Gift Giving Guide

As we consider Jesus’ gift and what he calls us to do and be in the world, we’d like to give you an opportunity to give actual life-giving gifts to folks who are showing the love of Jesus to those in need here in Indy and around the world. In the pages that follow you’ll find out more about some of Trinity’s ministry partners. Please consider how you might give to them as they show the Good News of Jesus’ gift in very tangible ways. Click here.

Unsettling the Story

We all know how hard it is to have conversations in today’s social, political, and racial climate - especially as we engage with those whom we are most close with or consider themselves Christians, but whose views are expressed in dramatically different ways than our own. As we simultaneously engage with our neighbors and locate ourselves in the unfolding story of God, we recognize that stories shape our faith, our lives, our culture. Narratives told, and passed down, are told from a particular perspective, which means they are not the whole story. Dominant narratives are those of the dominating culture - usually that of the Settlers - and are meant to keep people at odds with one another and injustice perpetuated through an imbalance of power. Exposed and under various pressures, stories illuminate the volatile political climate, racism and racist policies, ongoing colonization in the world, and the history of silencing or erasing of other human beings. In this series, we survey the Old and New Testaments and examine how familiar narratives might re-align with the story God is narrating in the world, listening to stories of Scripture addressed by those who are often silenced. We consider how power is distributed, identifying the good news, and how a more full story and change of perspective brings each of us, and the body of Christ, to conversations today that more graciously connect us to God, neighbor, and Creation. In short, we are unsettling the story, exposing unsettling truths, and being unsettled ourselves.

WEEK BY WEEK:

Please note the schedule for in person/outdoor Gatherings and Zoom Gatherings. All in-person Gatherings will be outdoors as weather allows. Please email us for more information.

IN-PERSON GATHERING GUIDELINES

September 13/Zoom:  Isaiah 53.4-5 – Intro/Suffering Servant & Unsettling Truths

September 20/In-Person: Genesis 11.3 – Petropolis Babel

September 27/Zoom: Duet. 7.1-2. - Land of the People?

October 4 /In-Person:  2 Chronicles 2.1-2 – Unmasking State Theology

 October 11/Zoom: Ezra 10.10-11 – The Sent Away

October 18/In-Person: Matthew 2.1-2. Word of Liberation

October 25/Zoom: Matthew 28.18-19/Luke 4.5-6 – Great Commission & Reclaiming People Power

November 1/In-Person: John 1.14 - For God So Loved

November 8/Zoom: John 19.9-10 - Unholy Alliances

November 15/In-Person: Romans 13.1-2 - Resistance, with God

November 22/Zoom: Titus 1.12-13,15 - Unsettling Language

DISCUSSION PROMPTS:

- What did you bring to the text today? 

- Where and how do you see God re-narrating the story from this new perspective? 

- What colonizing language and action do we have a hard time shedding? 

- Discuss your connection to the land and the people. 

- How are you impacted by the good news discovered in today’s unsettling story?

- In what way is the Spirit prompting you to relocate yourself in the story, unsettled and embodying the love of Jesus in the world?

- What does an unsettled resistance look like for the body of Christ today? 

RESOURCES:

The Christian Imagination - Willie James Jennings

Unsettling Truths - Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah

Unsettling the Word - Edited by Steve Heinrichs

Native - Kaitlyn B. Curtis

A NOTE ABOUT MUSIC:

Praise music both reflects and informs our beliefs - it is liturgy set to music. As we work together at Trinity to unsettle the story, we also want to work to unsettle the songs we choose to sing or listen to in our Gatherings. We will explore, via the Indy Trinity worship playlist (on Spotify), music that originates from various social and cultural locations. Utilizing music from different contexts is an act of hospitality, solidarity, and mutuality*, and there is so much we can learn from others when we decenter the dominant narrative.

We also want to highlight music created by groups that actively pursue justice. Conversely, we do not want to focus our attention on songs created by organizations that have actively demonstrated an unwillingness to listen to people who have been marginalized. There may be songs we choose not to sing together anymore in our Gatherings, but our commitment presents us with the opportunity to explore music we would otherwise not have heard. Metaphorically, we're expanding our liturgical palate through music. The quest to find songs for our shared playlist continues, week after week, to reveal a wealth of earnest, humble worship. We have so much to gain from unsettling our music!

*See The Next Worship by Sandra Maria Van Opstal

On The Way

We are a people learning to follow Jesus...on the way. Experimentation and exploration of smaller and collective gatherings leave room to be attentive to the Spirit moving among us. As we embody the love of Jesus in the world, we live out our faith a bit differently over the summer, especially in light of the pandemic. We’ll engage our “repressed centers” for spiritual transformation: thinking, feeling, and doing. Alternating between Communal Liturgy Gatherings on Zoom with Shared Stories and then Gatherings “outside the box”& outdoors, we’ll catch a glimpse of what could be as we live into communitas, during ordinary time. 

**Please note that for the weekends we meet outside (which are bolded below), there are guidelines for meeting.

OUTDOOR GATHERING GUIDELINES

WEEK BY WEEK:

June 7/Zoom: Reaffirmation of Baptism and Series Introduction [Romans 6.3-5]

June 14/Zoom: Shared Story: Thinking (Justice in Education) [Isaiah 1:17 & Philippians 4.8-9]

June 21/@100 Acre Woods: 100 Acres of Wonder - the Beauty of God [Genesis 1 and Psalm 27]

June 28/Zoom: Shared Story: Feeling (Blogging/Writing)  [Psalm 28.7]

July 5/Location TBD: Brunch Sunday (brown bag picnic lunch)

July 12/Zoom: Shared Story: Doing (Nou Hope)  [Psalm 25.4-5]

July 19/Location TBD: Group Spiritual Direction & Yoga [Matthew 11.28]

July 26/Zoom: Shared Story: Thinking (Real Talks) [Philippians 4.8]

August 2/6151 Central Lawn: First Brunch Blessing [Luke 6.31]

August 9/Zoom: Shared Story: Feeling (Emotional and Mental Health/Spiritual Formation)  [Proverbs 3.5]

August 16: Broad Ripple Neighborhood Walk [Psalm 22.8]

August 23/Zoom: Shared Story: Doing (Habitat for Humanity) [Romans 15.2]

August 30: Through2Eyes Walk & Talk  [Matthew 13.15]

September 6/Location TBD: Labor Day Weekend Brunch

DISCUSSION PROMPTS:

Act: Name where the Spirit is moving in our lives and calling us to embodied participation in God’s redeeming activity in the world (i.e. to form/participate in a microchurch). Together, reflect on these experiences and identify how you might be held accountable to re-integrate that reflection back into practice, as we continue to discover the good news and be nurtured in it. 

Nurture: Wonder together. Hold space to tell, and listen to, stories. Ask questions with compassionate curiosity. In what ways does the good news need to talk hold in our lives? And how God is moving us to embody the good news in the world? Where is God at work in your heart and life?

Discover: As we foster a haven of belonging, name the good news at work in one another’s life. Exploring this week’s scripture reading or liturgy, name the ways in which you see God re-narrating the world, or sharing your experience of the love of God enfolding you in divine union. Together, discover the kingdom of God breaking forth here and now. What do you need right now to feel empowered to obediently follow God’s prompting and join in the kingdom’s unfolding?

RESOURCES:

When Helping Hurts by Corbett & Fikkert

My Name is Child of God by Julia K. Dinsmore

Foreign to Familiar by Sarah Lanier

The Universal Christ by Richard Rohr

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

Faithful Presence by David Fitch

MUSIC:

Chrysaline by Josh Garrels

Suite No. 2: The World Keeps Spinning by the Brilliance

On the Way: Walk and Talk

This week we walk together through Indianapolis, lead by Through2Eyes, learning Black history in our city so we might know our place and history. This is an opportunity to listen and learn from our neighbors, to understand the story more fully so we might discover, nurture, and act upon the good news of Christ among us.

We Gather together for this Walk and Talk with open eyes, ears, and hearts, embracing the words of Jesus from Matthew 13.15, and seeking healing:

‘For this people’s heart has grown dull,
    and their ears are hard of hearing,
        and they have shut their eyes;
        so that they might not look with their eyes,
    and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn—
    and I would heal them.’

On the Way: Doing - Habitat for Humanity

We all function primarily out of our preferred intelligence center - head/thinking, heart/feeling, or gut/doing.  Where there is resistance or repression of an intelligence center is where God often wants to do the most work and where we’ll likely experience the most transformation and freedom in Christ.

This week, we hear from Joel Reichenbach about  his work with Habitat for Humanity, where coming together to “do” is critical, as relationships are supported and people’s most basic need of housing is met here in Indianapolis.

Let’s consider where the Spirit is moving each of us to heed the words of Romans 15.2,

“Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.”