Dear siblings in Christ at The Table,
It’s fire pit weather in Indiana. As the weather gets cooler and the year draws to a close, it’s worth pausing to reflect on all that God has done in our midst this past year:
- Up until last Sunday, we worshiped together in the Chapel at Broadway UMC, who had been such gracious and generous hosts for us for two-and-a-half years.
- We welcomed 17 new members officially to our congregation over the past 12 months, and many others have become regular attenders of worship gatherings and Table Groups.
- We baptized eight children in the past year, welcoming them into the Body of Christ.
- New Table Groups formed: an “after church” group and a group that meets in the Midtown area.
- At the Diocesan Convention in November, the diocese unanimously (and very joyfully) voted to receive The Table as a Congregation, and we were officially welcomed into The Episcopal Church on December 17 with a visit from Bishop Jennifer.
- We rallied (and continue to rally) around the Rockey family after Miranda’s traumatic brain injury.
- During Lent, we gathered for Morning Prayer online, and engaged in a class on How to Read the Bible.
- Later in the year, we gathered for classes on Healing Prayer, the Early Church, and (currently) Faith & Politics.
- Fr. Spencer took a pre-planned “mini-sabbatical” during June and July, and walked part of the Camino de Santiago.
- We continued to find ways to share life together: after-church potluck meals, parties, concerts, movie nights, and many informal gatherings.
- We spent most of the year discerning whether to move to the diocese-owned church property at 4601 N Emerson Ave, and through the hard work and generosity of so many at The Table, we were able to hold our first worship service there just this past Sunday (October 6).
We are also thinking about the future, and along with the Staff and Vestry we are discerning how God is calling us to participate in the life and mission God shares with us in 2025. Our new church building gives us new responsibilities as well as new missional opportunities to be present in a new place as Christ’s Body. We will spend much of the year listening and discerning what that will look like, but we know it will require time, energy, and money to live into it.
We’re writing to ask you to take time over the next month or so to sincerely pray about making a stewardship pledge to participate in the common life and mission of The Table in 2025.
Many of you already give faithfully and sacrificially, and we are deeply grateful for your partnership in the work God is doing through The Table. So many of you have beautiful stories of the redemptive and transformative work God has done in you through your participation in our life together as a community.
We started The Table nine years ago because we wanted to cultivate a worshiping community drawn together in following Jesus and creating a particular form of life together in Indianapolis:
- In a reactionary world, we are cultivating a resilient, non-anxious Christianity that’s not afraid to wrestle with deep questions of faith.
- In a world obsessed with short-term results and the 24-hour news cycle, we’re focusing on long-term spiritual formation and leadership development to see generations multiplied over the long haul.
- In a culture captive to “us vs. them” ideologies, we’re cultivating a generous “big tent” spirituality grounded in the deep well of the Anglican tradition.
- In a world where patriarchy has silenced and oppressed women and gender minorities, we’re seeking to resist patriarchy and empower all of God’s children to fully lead in our midst with every gift the Spirit has given in mutual submission to one another.
- In a world languishing under the legacy of White colonialism, we’re activating the Body of Christ to engage in social, economic, environmental, and racial justice, standing in solidarity with marginalized and oppressed communities, and working for liberation for all.
How do we do this? Well, we “do church” together: We sing together, hear God’s word together, pray together, break bread together, share life together, and invite all to join us in the transformative journey of following Jesus.
As we participate in this mission together, it transforms us. We steadily become more recognizably the Body of Christ, welcoming one another and the stranger in love, listening to God and one another in grace and truth, proclaiming good news to one another and our neighbors, and going to join in solidarity with the marginalized and oppressed in the name of Jesus.
This is what we do week in and week out. We consider every person who comes into our church as a gift from God, given to help our Body grow into mature love. Through worship gatherings, classes, DNA Groups, and meals together in Table Groups, God’s mission is going forward.
None of this good work happens without your generosity.
The work that we are doing at The Table is funded by donations from ordinary people like you who have decided to participate in sharing resources to see God’s mission go forward in our midst. We make every effort to steward resources wisely, to make the biggest possible impact for the sake of the whole gospel.
Pray about how God is calling you to give this coming year.
If you are already giving, thank you! Please continue to do so, and let us know what you plan to give in 2025 by clicking the “pledge” button below (even if it’s the same as this past year).
If you have not been a consistent financial partner at The Table, and you sense God’s call to be part of the work here, please take time this month to pray about what amount of time and money God may be calling you to give in 2025. If you have a partner, pray with them about this decision. We strongly believe that God leads couples to make important decisions in agreement.
If you have questions about how giving works at The Table, check out our Frequently Asked Church Giving Questions page.
Make your pledge by November 3rd.
You can make your pledge online right now or place a pledge card in the offering plate on Sunday. Over the next weeks, the vestry will track pledges and use them to set our budget for 2025. Your pledge helps us be realistic and plan wisely.
We will be sending out weekly updates on the stewardship campaign via email with more details (sign up to make sure you’re on the list), but please don’t hesitate to reach out to us or the Vestry if you have any questions at all.
We are so thankful for what God is doing in our church, and you’re a big part of that. Thank you for your partnership with us in the gospel!
Grace and peace,
Fr. Ben Sternke, Fr. Matt Tebbe, and Fr. Spencer Ruark
Co-Vicars at The Table
