Dear sisters and brothers at The Table,
It’s been a year of significant change and transition for our community. The way the pandemic is affecting daily life has diminished (thankfully), but this past year we moved to a new worship space AND moved into a new church affiliation!
In addition, it seems the calling to faithfully witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ in the midst of our current cultural climate continues to become more complex and costly than ever. In these ways, 2022 has been anything but stable and predictable for us.
But amid the challenges and stresses of this past year, 2022 has also given us reasons to rejoice. God has been powerfully present with us, and faithfully working among us this year.
- We were finally able to meet consistently indoors for worship, providing some much-needed stability, and in February we found a beautiful new worship space in the Chapel at Broadway UMC.
- We were deeply and gracefully challenged by our Lenten series on Confronting Mammon, which opened up possibilities for our life together that we continue to discern.
- Several new families have found The Table this year, some through neighborhood proximity to our worship space, and some through relationships with current members.
- A church-wide process of discernment regarding our denominational affiliation began in May with conversations with members, and finished in September with a vote to leave the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and join the Episcopal Church (TEC). We are rejoicing that, through the process, we were able to listen to one another well, clarify our vision and values as a church, discern together how God was working in our midst, and allow ourselves to be drawn into deeper communion with each other and God.
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 his life and mission in 2023.
We’re writing to ask you to take time over the next month or so to sincerely pray about making a pledge to partner with The Table through giving over the next year.
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 seven 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 discipleship 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, we’re seeking to resist patriarchy and empower women 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 and racial justice, standing in solidarity with marginalized and oppressed communities, and working for liberation for all.
We do this by singing together, hearing God’s word together, praying together, breaking bread together, sharing life together and inviting all to join us in 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, 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, please continue to do so (and THANK YOU!).
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 2023. If you are married, pray with your spouse 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 27th.
You can make your pledge online right now or place a pledge card in an offering plate on Sunday. Over the next weeks, the vestry will track pledges and use them to set our budget for 2023. Your pledge helps us be realistic and plan wisely.
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-Rectors at The Table
