January 25th

WELCOME AND LITURGY OF GATHERING 

Leader: Reading of Psalm 27:1, 4-9 (FNV). This is the word of the Lord.

ALL: Thanks be to God.

Trinity is fostering a haven of belonging where wanderers and wonderers 

gather to discover and embody the love of Jesus in the world.

COMMUNAL SINGING

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above;
Praise the mount! I’m fixed upon it,
Mount of Thy redeeming love.

Here I’ll raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by Thy help I come;
And I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wand’ring from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed His precious blood.

Oh, to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wand’ring heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love.

Here’s my heart, Lord,
Take and seal it

Seal it for Thy courts above.

Holy Spirit

There’s nothing worth more that will ever come close

No thing can compare, You’re our living hope

Your presence

I’ve tasted and seen of the sweetest of loves

Where my heart becomes free and my shame is undone

In Your presence, Lord

Holy Spirit You are welcome here

Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere

Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for

To be overcome by Your presence, Lord

Let us become more aware of Your presence

Let us experience the glory of Your goodness

COMMUNITY CONFESSION

Leader: God of Justice,

God of Compassion,

God of Sacred and Scandalous ways,

We have so much still to learn.

By your grace, we have come to know love more deeply than once before –

ALL: its mess, its complexity, its stubborn and tender truths transform us more each day.

Leader: Through fires that refine and valleys of death, you have guided us.

ALL: You draw us into the heart of Wisdom,

Leader: Saving us from the lies of destruction.

ALL: Turning us towards hope that liberates.

Leader: But still, O God, we struggle to trust in you..

And so, when we are afraid. Or hurt. Or weary…

We betray the very One who brought us thus far.

ALL: We confess, we still shame Jesus, when he turns over tables.

Leader: We confess, we still condemn Jesus, when he breaks the rules to which we are loyal.

ALL: We confess, while Jesus is torn from the arms of his mother by ICE, 

Leader: killed by his own lovers – so afraid of desiring trans women,

ALL: and sitting lonely on the street with no family to welcome them home,

Leader: our loyalties are often elsewhere.

ALL: Our priorities are not your own.

Leader: Search our hearts, O God, and see if there is any fear within us.

Meet us there with your good news that sets the captives free.

Forgive us from the harm we have done as we seek to harm no more.

(pause in silent prayer)

Leader: Beloveds, God does not abandon us to the systems that destroy.

ALL: God does not bind us to our regrets.

Leader: Or forever hold us to what we once believed.

ALL: God says, come and follow!

Leader: Know forgiveness and sin no more.

ALL: Love abounds. And Justice shall be manifest!

Leader: Wherever new life is desired,

may the peace of Christ be welcomed among us.

ALL: Thanks be to God who leads us on paths of resurrection. Amen!

SPOTLIGHT

LiveFree

Stick around for the Civic Action Group today after the gathering, learn more about how you can be a part of the work in our community with groups like LiveFree.  Find upcoming LiveFree events on the Trinity Events Page: https://www.indytrinity.org/events?tag=LiveFree

BLESSING & PASSING THE PEACE 

Adults: The Lord be with you!

Children and Kids Ministry Leader: And also with you! 

During this time we greet one another, recognizing that we are all a part of the body, as PreK-5th grade children are led to their ministry space. Younger children and youth remain, and are welcome, in the Gathering. Materials for toddlers are available and we understand that their presence means they will be heard, no need to worry about their vocal contributions.

SERMON NOTES

A People Re-Membered: Out of Line

Homecoming

Luke 2:22-40

• What feels playful to you in the text/story this week? What is Jesus revealing to you?

• How are you losing and finding yourself as you step into the text/story this week? What has been forgotten? What are you being called to re-member?

• How might God be inviting you/us to be fully human in this season? How might that overflow to those around you/us? How does this week’s text/story point toward being a people of God?

• Where/how might the Spirit be inviting you to bear witness to the good news this week?

* Description Card

*Womanism and Womanist Theology Resource Paper

*For additional discussion prompts visit the series page here.

PRAYER OF THE PEOPLE & LORD’S TABLE LITURGY

Leader: Loving God, we pause to breathe you in - to welcome you among us. 

ALL: We welcome you into our homes, into our lives, into our hearts, asking that you would make your presence known to us both today and throughout the coming week.

Leader: We thank you, Lord, for another day of life, for this new year, for the promise of a miraculous, persistent, “won’t-abandon-us-no-matter what” eternal hope, despite the chaos, the disorder, the destruction we face.

ALL: Gracious God, we humbly offer prayers of support to the many suffering and hurting in our world. 

Leader: For those in war-torn areas and conflict zones who have lost everything - loved ones, homes, businesses, freedom, 

ALL: we pray for your comfort and your peace. 

Leader: For survivors, the terrified, and ordinary people who put their bodies in harms way to protect neighbors in ICE occupied cities across the US, 

ALL: we pray for your protection and for safe sanctuaries to emerge.

Leader: For youth in our school communities that have gone missing,

ALL: Lord, have mercy. May they be found and brought to safety. 

Leader: For those caught in gun violence throughout Indianapolis,

ALL: we pray for your healing and justice to touch their lives.

Leader: For the disoriented, as harmful agendas are pushed forward through legislation in Indiana and beyond

ALL: we pray for your wisdom and guidance.

Leader: For the sick and the tired, 

ALL: we pray for your grace and respite.

Leader: For our neighbors who are just trying to survive with limited or no access to basic healthcare, 

ALL: we pray for bold, subversive networks and mutual aid to flourish.

Leader: Having celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. this last Monday

ALL: we pray that his legacy would live on in each of us, everyday.

Leader: Mysterious Creator, we often stand on the brink of being overwhelmed - emotionally, physically, financially, spiritually. There are moments when many of us feel as if we’re left with nothing. No more patience, no more energy, no more fight, no more hope and even sometimes no more love.

ALL: God we need you to sustain us, to revive us, to hold us, to reorient us, to call us to your marvelous service in love of neighbor and in bringing about your kindom which knows no sickness, no suffering, no delusion, no injustice, no end.

Leader: Patient God, in troubling times of division or uncertainty, we ask that you would teach us to listen.

ALL: Teach us to listen to those far from us – the whisper of the hopeless, the plea of the forgotten, the cry of the anguished.

Leader: Teach us to listen, O God, to ourselves. 

ALL: Help us to be less afraid to trust the voice inside.

Leader: Teach us to listen, Holy Spirit, 

ALL: for your voice — in busyness and in boredom, in certainty and doubt, in noise and in silence. 

Leader: Now, as we come to your ever-expanding table, teach us, oh Lord, 

ALL: to listen, to hear, to live the words that Christ himself taught us when he prayed…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

Thy kin(g)dom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kin(g)dom and the power and the glory forever. 

Leader: Here at the table, we are reminded that you are the Bread of Life, pouring out love upon all Creation. The table of the Lord is open to all who seek the life Christ offers us. 

*communion elements are gluten free, not allergen free

RESPONSE & OFFERING OF WORSHIP        

The Offering Basket

Prayer requests may be posted in the Zoom chat (Zoom participants) or written and placed in the offering basket.

I Need Thee Every Hour

I need Thee every hour, most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

I need Thee, oh, I need Thee;
Every hour I need Thee;
Oh, bless me now, my Savior,
I come to Thee.

I need Thee every hour, stay Thou nearby;
Temptations lose their pow’r when Thou art nigh.

I need Thee every hour, in joy or pain;
Come quickly and abide, or life is vain.

I need Thee every hour; teach me Thy will;
And Thy rich promises in me fulfill.

I need Thee every hour, most Holy One;
Oh, make me Thine indeed, Thou blessed Son.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Sermon Series. The sermon series and resources for our new year series are posted online at www.indytrinity.org/sermon-series. In conjunction with the sermon series, Trinity Seasonal Small Groups in the winter will form around All The Black Girls Are Activists: A Fourth Wave Womanist Pursuit of Dreams as Radical Resistance by ebonyjanice. The free audio book (and e-book) is available on Hoopla and Libby. Please contact the group host for more details and to generally RSVP. You are welcome to join the group that fits your schedule/needs. You are not bound by geographical location/parish. 

Mondays (every other) 5:45-7:15pm - Broad Ripple starting January 26th

Mondays 12-1pm - Fishers/Zoom starting February 9th

Wednesdays 7-9pm - Midtown/Downtown starting February 4th

Thursdays 6:30-8:30pm - Queer Affinity starting February 5th

Civic Action Group. Join us for our next Civic Action Group (CAG) meeting TODAY Sunday, January 25th, at 11:30 AM, right after the Gathering. We’ll meet in person at COhatch and virtually via Zoom for those joining remotely. We will review our civic action plans and talk through practical ways to engage at the State House, including how we can be effective there. Want to stay connected? Sign up for the CAG info list by filling out this info form! Contact joel@indytrinity.org with questions. 

Join the Community Conversation on Sunday, February 8th, (11:30am) right after the Gathering. This month, we'll talk about living with integrity in an unjust world—the everyday tensions many of us feel around work, money, technology, consumption, and the systems we're part of. This won't be a debate or a shame-filled checklist. We'll look to honestly discern, listen well, and consider what faithfulness can look like personally and collectively.

Enlace Academy Food Pantry - Enlace Academy is a K–8 school on the west side of Indianapolis serving nearly 700 students in a predominantly immigrant and multicultural community. Many families rely on the school’s food pantry, which serves 70–80 families and operates about twice a month. We are looking for volunteers to help with one (or both) of these shifts:

• Packing shift: 9:30am–1:00pm - Help receive the food bank delivery and pack bags for families.

• Distribution shift: 2:00pm–4:00pm - Help welcome families and carry bags and boxes out to cars. On occasion, clothing is also available for families.

Donations are also welcome, especially nonperishable food and toiletries. For more info please contact joel@indytrinity.org 

Move-In Kits: Help a Neighbor Start Fresh. Northside Congregations for Housing is collecting move-in kits for previously unhoused neighbors through Streets to Home. Trinity members and seasonal small groups are invited to provide a kit ($300) with essentials to help neighbors settle in with comfort and dignity. Sign up here: https://www.indymultifaith.org/moveinkits. Kits are delivered to: RDoor Housing Corporation (441 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis, IN 46202). To coordinate delivery, contact Barb Williams (317-294-7956). Trinity contact: joel@indytrinity.org

Butler University is hosting Jim Obergefell, the “accidental activist” at the center of Obergefell v. Hodges—the landmark Supreme Court case that secured marriage equality nationwide. Hear Jim share his story and reflections on the ongoing pursuit of civil rights and equal justice under the law. Tuesday, February 3, 2026 | 6:00 PM | Clowes Memorial Hall More info & tickets may be found here!

An opportunity to support Irvington Counseling Collective! ICC is working to bring a Mental Health Destigmatization specialty license plate to Indiana; a design that reflects care, connection, and wellbeing on the road. As part of the application process, the Indiana BMV asks for 1,000 Indiana residents to complete a brief statement indicating interest (No cost. ️No obligation.️ Just community support.) if the plate is approved. Information shared through the form is kept private and used only to prepare the required application spreadsheet submitted directly to the Indiana BMV. If approved, proceeds from plate sales would support our Mental Health Relief Fund, which helps expand access to affirming care across Indiana.

Click here to sign. Share with fellow Hoosiers to help us get these plates on the open highway!

THE BENEDICTION

Leader: We go now, as people of God.

ALL: To take the word of love to those

from whom it has been far away.

Leader: We go now, as followers of Jesus.

ALL: To be the word of justice to all

from whom it has been taken away.

Leader: We go now, as companions of the Spirit.

ALL: To offer the word of peace in all the places

from which it has disappeared.

Leader: Go in peace!

(Some liturgies adapted from lectionaryliturgies.blogspot.com and https://www.fapc.org/prayers-of-the-people)

Remain in the Gathering space for general connection and prayer.

GATHERING RESOURCES AND INFORMATION

Guide and Service Dog Training. As we welcome Guide/Service Dogs at Gatherings, please familiarize yourself with resources under on these two websites https://www.guidedogs.com/resources/blindness-and-guide-dog-etiquette and https://www.guidedogsofamerica.org/best-practices-when-around-a-service-dog/  and discuss main points with those in your household. If you or anyone in your household has severe allergies or any fear of dogs, etc. please contact us (contact@indytrinity.org) so we can do our best to keep Gathering spaces welcoming for all. 

Health Guidelines. Gatherings can look differently according to the needs of our leaders and community if health concerns take effect. We ask that everyone remain flexible if and/or when this is the case. If a Gathering is going to be virtual, we will send an email by 8am on Sunday, or earlier. If you are experiencing fever, coughs, or other clear signs of illness, please remain home and join the Gathering via Zoom. If your symptoms are not highly contagious or you are unsure about exposing others, please wear a mask. Specifically, if you have been exposed to or have symptoms of Covid-19 or the Flu, you can follow the guidelines from the CDC to determine what are your best precautions to take.

Land Acknowledgement. We acknowledge that the land on which we gather for worship was stolen from Native peoples, who were driven out of the area and of their native lands by genocide, force (through broken treaties and laws imposed upon their nation), and systematic disposession.  The Myaamiaki, Kaskaskia, and Kickapoo peoples* and their sovereign Nations have cared for, and are deeply a part of, this land - past, present, and future. (ref: Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery, Trinity Church)

Gathering Hosting Schedule. As an act of service and care, please join staff, leaders, and others from your parish in hosting Sunday Gatherings. These are great times to connect and welcome others to converse while serving as well. Arrival at 9:45am is great, 9:30am is super helpful for assisting with audio equipment and/or indoor set up. Cleaning up on the back end should only take 10-15 minutes. The hosting checklist is in the Trinity office. Thank you!

January 

4th/New Year Brunch: Fishers

11th: Broad Ripple

18th: North/Carmel

25th: Midtown/Downtown

February

1st: Fishers

8th: Broad Ripple

15th: North/Carmel

22nd: Midtown/Downtown

First Nations Version of Psalms. We understand that the Spirit has no gender. While the FNV does use the word “Grandfather” for the Great Spirit, and we at Trinity might more naturally gravitate toward a feminine or gender-inclusive term for the Spirit, we have chosen to read from this version to open ourselves to the diverse humanlike depictions of Creator and hear these sacred texts in new ways. No translation is perfect. If you’d like to read what the translators of the FNV have to say about their choice regarding gender and the Great Spirit, you are welcome to read the excerpt at the front of this Trinity Gathering copy (it is marked).