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ASSOCIATE RECTOR REFLECTION :: THE REV. BETH SCRIVEN

Your love is like the stain on my carpet

That I just can’t get rid of

Your love is like my college tuition

Cause I’ve found that there’s more than enough…

I remember the first time I heard this song. I was on a pilgrimage in the Colorado Rockies with our church’s high school youth, each of whom had shared music that connected them with God and their faith for our listening pleasure in the van. This song came up in a quieter moment when we could really hear the lyrics, and I remember how captivated we all were by this song. Nobody had heard of it except the person who brought it. They’d discovered the song on an unlabeled CD left in their car, so we didn’t know who wrote it or sang it or where it had come from. 

We just knew that it spoke to us all, as it worked its way through a list of funny but impactful comparisons between God’s love and seemingly random things like carpet stains and tuition. It reminded me of Jesus’ parables, which usually start “The kingdom of God is like…” and finish with a story about something ordinary. The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. Like a lost coin. Like yeast. This song out of nowhere felt like that kind of everyday miracle.

In the 12 years since that trip, I’ve come back to the question again and again: What *is* God’s love like? Not just in gushing, poetic adjectives, but what concrete, real, ordinary objects in our lives can remind us of something about God’s love?

This year we have a chance to explore this question as a parish community. As we move into Advent, when we practice watching for God to come among us, you’re invited to be one piece of a puzzle where we name how God’s love appears to us now - as stains, as sunscreen, as flashlights, and so much more. 

I mean that literally - parishioner and artist Brian Shields has crafted us a beautiful puzzle that will hang in Burrows Commons starting this Sunday. It will begin as an empty frame but, as we move through Advent, we will add more and more pieces to this puzzle, until finally a star shines forth at Christmas in witness to all the gloriously ordinary ways we encounter God’s love in our world!

I hope you’ll come to the Adult Forum this Sunday to explore this theme together and learn more about how you can add your piece to the puzzle. (Plus, you’ll get to hear the whole song!)

Some say that your love’s like an ocean

Or the rivers that run to the sea

But I know that your love’s so much nearer

It’s in everything I see, oh, it’s in everything I see…

The Rev. Beth Scriven, Associate Rector

ANNOUNCEMENTS & SERVICE HIGHLIGHTS

THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY HOURS/NO WEDNESDAY WORSHIP

St. Paul's office will be closed Tuesday, November 25-Thursday, November 27. There will be no worship on Wednesday, November 26.

VESTRY NOMINATIONS DUE NOV. 28!

St. Paul's is still welcoming nominations for the Vestry Class of 2029! This is a meaningful opportunity to support our mission through thoughtful leadership and strategic guidance. If you know someone whose gifts would serve this ministry well, please click below to submit your nomination by Thursday, November 28.

ADVENT LESSONS & CAROLS

Sunday, November 30, 9 & 11:15 a.m., Sanctuary

Join us to celebrate the beginning of Advent. St Paul’s Choir will highlight the stories, carols and hymns for the Advent season. Music includes compositions by Paul Manz, Frank Boles, Joel Martinson, George Guest, Judith Weir, John Scott and Johann Sebastian Bach. 

CREATING COMMUNITY

HOLIDAY DECOR FOR COBURN PLACE

Sunday, November 23, Collection in Burrows Commons

Bring holiday cheer to Coburn Place! Help families celebrate the season by donating gently used Kwanzaa, Hanukkah and Christmas decorations. Trees aren't needed this year, but other holiday-themed decorations are. Let’s share joy with our neighbors!

ADULT FAITH FORUM

Watching for God in Advent

Sunday, November 23, 10:15-11 a.m., Parish Hall

Each Advent, we watch and wait for God to come among us in Jesus Christ. This year, all are invited to practice noticing the many ways God is already breaking into our lives — by coming together to assemble a community Advent puzzle! Join the Rev. Beth Scriven to explore the puzzle’s theme and discover how God’s love is like carpet stains, cheesecake, broken guitar strings, and so much more – and to learn how YOU can share your piece of the puzzle!

TUESDAY STUDY GROUP

Tuesdays, 12-1:15 p.m., Broad Ripple Brewpub

Tuesday Study Group is now studying the book "The Night is Long but Light Comes in the Morning." Join as all explore Catherine Meeks’s newest book together. Drawing on her work as Executive Director of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing, Meeks offers clear insight into the realities of racism and practical guidance for those seeking meaningful change. Join the conversation to learn more! All are invited to come, regardless of reading the book. Click here to email Larry Johnson with questions.

RSVP FOR NEWCOMERS LUNCH

Sunday, December 7, 12:15-2 p.m., Lilly Room

(first floor, Church building)

If you’re new to St. Paul’s, we’d love to get to know you! Join clergy, staff and the Welcome Ministry Team for an informal luncheon in the Lilly Room (just down the hall from the sanctuary). Help us create community — a central part of our mission — share a meal, have good conversation, and hear stories about life at St. Paul’s. Nothing rehearsed, just a warm welcome and a chance to connect. Please click here to RSVP to Tana Hunnicutt or call 317.253.1277 by December 1 for planning purposes.

CHRISTMAS MUSIC & FLOWERS

Memorials & Thanksgivings due by December 11

Remember those who have passed — or honor loved ones with a thanksgiving — by sponsoring Christmas music or flowers this year. Names of those provided to us by December 11 will be printed in St. Paul's Christmas bulletins. We invite gifts of $40 for music or $50 for flowers. When you contribute, please include names to be acknowledged with your gift. Send to Liz Hoffman in one of the following ways:

• Send payment and list of names to Liz Hoffman at St. Paul's, noting "Christmas Music" or "Christmas Flowers" in the memo line of your check.
• Place check and list of names in an envelope (attn: Liz) and leave in the offering plate.
• Click here to submit payment online and click here to email your list of names to Liz Hoffman.

Thank you for helping to make our Christmas celebration beautiful! Please click here to email Liz Hoffman with questions.

SUBMIT CHRISTMAS BULLETIN COVER ARTWORK

Due by Thursday, December 11

Children and youth are invited to submit artwork that can be featured on our Christmas Eve 3 p.m. Children's Pageant bulletin cover, and in promotions. Artwork should be submitted in full color, and in some way represent the Nativity Story. Click here to download an art form or pick up a printed copy in Burrows Commons. Submissions may be turned into the Church office, attn: Meegan Kriner, or you may scan completed submissions and click here to email them to Meegan.

NOTEWORTHY DATES & INFO

Please click on red links for available details

• Ongoing, Community Engagement Volunteer Opportunities
• Sunday Small Snacks after 9 a.m. worship (scroll to bottom for recent dates)
• Mondays, Fencing classes, Yoga Rm. (second floor, Parish Ctr. bldg.)
• Tuesdays, 6-6:45 p.m., Centering Prayer, Roberts Library (first floor, Church bldg.)
• Tuesdays, 6 p.m., Slow Flow Yoga, Yoga Rm. (second floor, Parish Ctr. bldg.)
• Wednesdays, to Dec. 17, 10 a.m., Chair Yoga, Yoga Rm. (second floor, Parish Ctr. bldg.)
• Wednesdays, 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m., Grandmothers, Rm. 207 (second floor, Parish Ctr. bldg.)
• Thursdays, 10-11:30 a.m., Women's Bible Study, Rm. 207 (second floor, Parish Ctr. bldg.)
• Thursdays, 6:30 p.m., Slow Flow Yoga, Yoga Rm. (second floor, Parish Ctr. bldg.)
• Sun., Nov. 30, 10:15-11 a.m., Advent Wreath Making All-Parish Coffee Hour, Parish Hall
• Sundays, Nov. 30; Dec. 7, 14 & 21, Alternative Gift Market, Burrows Commons
• Thur., Dec. 4, 7-8:30 p.m., Mosaic Book Club, Youth Lounge
• Fri, Dec. 5, 6-9 p.m., TGIF Gathering, RESCHEDULED FROM OCT. 24, Lilly Rm.
• Sat., Dec. 6, 9-10:50 a.m. or 11:10 a.m. - 1 p.m., Breakfast with Buddy the Elf, St. Paul's
• Sun., Dec. 7, 3-6 p.m., Broad Ripple Lights Up, Guilford Ave. between Westfield & BR Ave.
• Fri., Dec. 12, 12 p.m., Catherine M. Waynick Celebration of Life, St. Paul's Sanctuary
• Sun., Dec. 14, 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Pulsera Project (stpaulsindy.org/pulsera), Burrows Commons
• Wednesdays, Jan. 7 - Feb. 25, Christian Nationalism in America Diocesan Formation, online

SHARE YOUR STORY, CELEBRATE OUR COMMUNITY!

Every story matters — and yours can inspire others! Do you have a milestone to celebrate, an event to promote or good news to share? Let us help you spread the word. Submissions may appear in eConnections, Sunday bulletins, on social media, our website (stpaulsindy.org) or the Burrows Commons digital display. Share your news by 4 p.m. Mondays for that week’s publications (early is even better!). Space is limited, and content may be edited or adapted for the best fit. Please click here to email Meegan Kriner with questions. Click below to share your news:

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