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Dear Friends in Christ,
One of my favorite stories in scripture is in the 16th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. It’s a bit long (verses 16-34), so I will share only a brief summary here. Paul and Silas are in Philippi, their first time on the European continent, to spread the gospel and plant a church. They have a run-in with a “slave-girl who had a spirit of divination” which does not go well. They endure a “severe flogging” and are thrown into the “innermost cell” of the prison.
What happens next? Luke writes, “After midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” In other words, Paul and Silas conducted a worship service for themselves and the others imprisoned with them.
Of all the details in this story, some quite miraculous, this is the one that always makes me wonder. Paul and Silas are strangers far from home. No one is adding them to the prayer list. The meal train is not showing up. No one cares for their wounds. No one is going to visit them in prison, let alone bail them out. I understand why they pray. But leading a worship service? For what purpose?
“Why do we Christians worship God?” Debi Thomas asks in the October edition of The Christian Century. “Why does God want us to and even command us to? Why is scripture filled with exhortations to give God honor, glory, praise, and adulation?”
Excellent questions. Especially for those of us who gather for worship each Sunday even as we note that most of our neighbors aren’t going to church. As the number of people in the United States who participate in church continues to decline, our worship can seem irrelevant.
But worship is not limited to our formal Sunday liturgy. Worship, Thomas writes, “is as natural as breathing. We’re wired to do it: to flock to objects of devotion, to pay exquisite and adoring attention to things that draw our gaze and elicit our respect, to put pretty things on pedestals. We’re wired to ascribe greatness to people, places, ideas, and objects outside ourselves.”
So, it’s not a question of why we worship but what we worship. Worship, Thomas continues, “is formational. It makes us. It focuses our attention. It orders our priorities. It teaches us what’s important and what isn’t. As Richard Rohr puts it, we have to be careful, because we will always become the God we worship. Our prayer, our devotion, our praise — these rewire us. They enable us to see, hear, and think in new ways. What we worship makes us who we are.”
God doesn’t need our worship. We need it. Lifting our voices in song, reciting the Nicene Creed and the prayers, kneeling for confession, receiving communion. At times any of this can feel rote and disconnected from the rest of our lives. But over time, Sunday after Sunday after Sunday, we become what we worship. We become the people God desires us to be.
Luke tells us that as Paul and Silas worshipped an earthquake shook Philippi so violently that “all of the doors [of the prison] were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.” Miraculous? Sure. But here’s the thing. Paul and Silas were free long before the earthquake. Years of praying, singing, and worshipping had formed them, had given them confidence to trust that whatever happened they were, and always would be, in God’s hands.
Your Friend in Christ,
The Rev. John. Denson, D.Min., Rector
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THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE FOR
MLK CENTER FAMILIES
Sundays, October 29; November 5, 12, 7:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Burrows Commons
In the spirit of thanksgiving and ongoing relationship with the MLK Center, the Outreach Oversight Committee is launching a Thanksgiving initiative to support 80 families at the MLK Center. Outreach will provide turkeys for each family; help is needed to provide all other items. Families may drop off food items in Burrows Commons or make monetary donations by texting TDAY to 97000 or making a donation here. Questions, email the Rev. Beth Scriven. Click below for a list of needed items:
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ADULT FAITH FORUM
Celebrating El Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead)
Sunday, October 29, 10:15-11 a.m.
Parish Hall
This week’s Adult Forum is being offered by the Latino Ministry Taskforce. Learn about the culture and traditions of the Latino community in this presentation of El Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). You’ll gain a greater understanding of the historic significance of honoring the dead within the Latino community, the symbolism of the memorial altar, experience native songs and dances of celebration (provided by children from the Global Prep Academy, a bilingual immersion school in Indianapolis), all while enjoying traditional treats and pan de Muertos (bread for the departed).
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ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN: ORGANIZING FOR JUSTICE
Sunday, October 29, 10:15-11 a.m.
Room 207 (second floor, Parish Center Building)
Andrew Stacy invites fellow members of St. Paul’s for a bi-monthly series of lay-led dialogues concerning social justice in action. Anyone who has been yearning to take an active role in changing our world for the better, your insights and opinions are needed! Questions, email Andrew Stacy.
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REIMAGINING PROCESS LISTENING SESSIONS
Sunday, October 29, 10:15-11:15 a.m.; 12:15-1:15 p.m.
CRR (second floor, Parish Center Building)
To share an update on the process, and to hear your thoughts and ideas, the Reimagining Team is holding listening sessions. Please consider participating in one. RSVP for an upcoming Zoom session if that is more convenient. Click below to see all dates/times:
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2023 CONVENTION REGISTRATION CLOSES OCTOBER 31
This is the last week to register for the 186th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis at St. Paul's. See all details and register below on the Diocesan website:
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ST. PAUL'S COLUMBARIUM REMEMBRANCES
During the November 5 All Saints' All-Parish Coffee Hour, the St. Paul's Intergenerational Team wishes to honor those who were part of the St. Paul's community and interred at St. Paul's. If you are a family member or know someone who is interred in the St. Paul's Columbarium, please email Ryan Wilhite to share stories about them - especially their relationship to the St. Paul's community. All stories should be shared by Wednesday, November 1.
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HONORING OUR VETERANS
Submissions due Monday, November 6
In advance of Veterans Day on Saturday, November 11, our veterans are encouraged to share information about their military service. Please email your name, title, location(s)/ years served and a photo of yourself to Meegan Kriner. Submit your details last year? We'll highlight your information again unless you ask us not to do so.
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A WALK HOME
HOW TO ACCOMPANY THE DYING
Wednesday, November 8, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Abbie Hunt Bryce Home
Attend a training hosted by Morning Light in partnership with St Paul's Supervised Ministry intern, Tyne Parlett (who is a certified death doula). Training will provide lay people with the skills to sit beside those who are actively dying. Participate in this informative and trauma-informed event that is sure to provide confidence and skills to all who hope to serve others at the end of life. Click here to register. Questions, email Tyne Parlett.
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TUESDAY STUDY GROUP
Tuesdays, 12-1:15 p.m.
Broad Ripple Brewpub
The group is now studying How We Learn to be Brave. The decisive moments in life are those pivotal points when we’re called on to push past our fears and act with strength. With How We Learn to Be Brave, Bishop Mariann Budde teaches us to respond with clarity and grace, even in the toughest times. Being brave is not a singular occurrence; it’s a journey that we can choose to undertake every day. All are welcome to join the conversation, regardless of reading the book. Questions, email Larry Johnson.
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LEARN SPANISH!
After introducing the work of the Latino Ministry Taskforce, several people have expressed interest in learning to speak Spanish. Perhaps you have never thought about it or think you don't have the ability to learn another language but if you have the desire, you have the ability. Maybe you won't be fluent - a few words, sentences or expressions have the potential to open you to entirely new people, their culture and traditions. If learning Spanish is of interest you, please email the Rev. Jeff Bower or complete the sign-up sheet in Burrows Commons. After interest is gauged, times and dates will be determined. Muchas gracias!
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BSA TROOP #73/#173
CHRISTMAS WREATHS
Wreaths are now on sale online.
BSA troops are selling Christmas wreaths and sprays. Purchased items will be delivered to St. Paul’s for pick up before Thanksgiving. Click here to view selections and prices. To order, email email Sandy Walters or call/text her at 317.502.3308.
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PILGRIMAGE TO MONTGOMERY, AL :: REMEMBERING!
As our faith community continues its journey to explore the history of race and racism in the Episcopal Church and St. Paul's Indy, an amazing opportunity was recently shared with the Outreach Committee. St. Paul's has been invited to participate with St. Luke's United Methodist Church on a pilgrimage to the epicenter of the Civil Rights Movement. This pilgrimage, scheduled for April 11-14, 2024, will be led by the Rev. Mindie Moore and Susan Peters from St. Luke's. Stops included in the motorcoach trip: Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, a drive to Selma, AL and a walk across the Edmund Pettis Bridge, the National Voting Rights Museum & Institute and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice — the nation’s first comprehensive memorial dedicated to over 4,400 victims of racial terror lynching. Click below for the Travel to Remember registration form. Please print and mail to the address on the form. Deposits and registration forms are due by Wednesday, November 15. Questions, email Susie Holtz.
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TRIVIA NIGHT IS TOMORROW!
Friday, October 27, 7 p.m.
Parish Hall
Support St. Paul's Choir by attending Trivia Night. The Choir is raising funds for their pilgrimage to England's Ely Cathedral next summer. Please help build spirit while enjoying some fun. Tickets are $30/each or $225 for a team of eight and include a freshly cooked dinner. Local beer and wine will be available for purchase; please bring cash for adult beverages and trivia mulligans. Purchase tickets online below, in-person from choir members, or at the door tomorrow evening. Questions, email Bill Cummings.
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ST. RICHARD'S OPEN HOUSE
Thursday, November 2, 8:30-10:30 a.m.
St. Richard's Episcopal School
Meet teachers, parents, and students at this informative event and learn more about the "Dragon Difference" for students ages three-eighth grade. Click below to register for the open house:
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TGIF GATHERING
Friday, November 3, 6 p.m., Parish Hall
Adults 21+ are invited to join TGIF to watch A Bottle in the Gaza Sea. This independent film, screened at the 2012 Heartland Film Festival, is about a girl living in Jerusalem who writes a letter expressing her refusal to accept that only hatred can exist between Israelis and Palestinians. She places the letter in a bottle, and it is found in the sea by a young Palestinian – sparking a long-distance friendship between the two. View the film trailer here. Please bring your favorite pot of chili or a side to share, along with your beverage of choice. Click here to RSVP to Alan Davis no later than Thursday, November 2.
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ALL SOULS' WORSHIP :: REQUIEM
Sunday, November 5, 11:15
Sanctuary
St Paul’s Choir section leaders, with the teens of the choir, will provide music for the parish’s commemoration of All Faithful Departed, using as its basis the hauntingly beautiful Requiem by Spanish Renaissance composer Cristóbal de Morales. The quiet and soothing harmonies provide a prayerful meditation of all those whom we love but see no longer. During the liturgy we will remember those killed, wounded, searching for loved ones, and struggling with grief and fear due to conflicts around the world. We will also pray for those from St. Paul’s who have died during the past year and for loved ones you have lost, whether recently or in the past. If you would like us to mention during the service the name of a loved one who has died, please email the first and last name to Meegan Kriner by Monday, October 30.
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MEAL TRAIN MINISTRY TEAM
"Meal Train" allows volunteers to sign up to bring food to someone needing support. The Meal Train Ministry would love to have you on the team. Email notifications arrive when there is a new meal train, and you may view details and decide if the dates listed will work for you to deliver a homemade or store-bought hot meal. Email Laurie Pierce if you would like to be added to the team. Please let Clergy or Laurie know if there is someone in our church community that could benefit from a Meal Train.
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MLK CENTER COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP
The partnership between MLK Center and St. Paul's is starting to take off — we need YOU to make this relationship sustainable! The MLK Center needs to know as many St. Paul's parishioners as possible and you need to know them. We are a beloved community together. Email Laurie to be included in the list of parishioners invited to the next partnership event.
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