November 23rd

WELCOME AND LITURGY OF GATHERING

Leader: In possibility, wonder, and mystery, 

ALL: we gather.

Leader: In grief, burnout, and apathy, 

ALL: we gather.

Leader: With community, creativity, and intention, 

ALL: we gather. 

Leader: With anger, questions, and heartbreak, 

ALL: we gather. Hallelujah, God welcomes it all!

Leader: Let us worship 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, ye Thankful People Come

(alternate lyrics vs. 2, 3, 4 by Jon Skeet)

Come, ye thankful people, come,

Raise the song of harvest home;

All is safely gathered in,

Ere the winter storms begin;

God our Maker doth provide

For our wants to be supplied;

Come to God’s own temple, come,

Raise the song of harvest home.

We depend on others' toil;

Those who tend and till the soil.

But our labour may yet be

Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

May the fruits of all we do,

Give more glory unto you;

With your Spirit by our side,

Let our praise be amplified.

All around we see your hand,

Mountains raised at your command.

Life abounds at every turn,

Beast and plant, from whale to fern.

Star and atom, birth and death;

Dawn of time 'til final breath.

Angels sing in heav'n above,

"God is perfect, God is love!"

God: omnipotent and vast;

God, the first and God the last.

Far beyond our earthly mind,

Yet still cares for humankind.

Known through Christ; through Christ adored,

King, creator, friend and Lord.

Come, ye thankful people, come;

Praise your God who calls you home!

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father

There is no shadow of turning with Thee

Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not

As Thou hast been, thou forever will be

Great is Thy faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love (chorus)

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside (chorus)

COMMUNITY CONFESSION

We pray, declaring that individualism is destructive, so:

ALL: Send greed and selfishness away.

Leader: That learned refusal to acknowledge

your own need for help –

ALL: let it be gone as well.

Leader: When possible,

counter all impulses towards privatized survival

with acts of love – collective and expansive –

with caring for others and accepting care.

ALL: Remember we need each other.

Remember the needs of your neighbors (literal and metaphorical).

Remember the vulnerable.

Remember, we are in this together, even when we don’t act like it.

Leader: People depend on your choices –

you depend on the choices of others.

This, a Sacred and terrible truth woven into our flesh.

ALL: So let this time be an opening

to all the sources of connection we have lost in this era of

pushing-down,

pushing-through,

pushing-away,

and pushing-the-pace.

Leader: Let all that is soft, all that is slow, all that is gentle,

all that is kind, all that is care-ful,

be welcome home in each of us.

ALL: We have such creative, powerful, generous and brave capacities within us.

We can choose to do things differently, to be different. 

BLESSING AND PASSING THE PEACE 

Leader: The Lord be with you!

ALL: 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

Monster Petting Zoo: On Safari with God

Apocalyptic Beasts

Daniel 7.1-3, 15-18 

• What does the myth or monster in today’s text look like for you/us today?

• What is causing discomfort in this week/season? How might you/we make a home for it?

• How might the Spirit be inviting you/us to make friends with fear? What fears are being turned into wonder this week/season?

• Describe what you feel was previously inaccessible to you and explore how it may be becoming more accessible today.

• In what ways is God allowing you to move through or lean into something rather than “escape it”? 

• How are you engaging the mysterious/monstrous as a part of your spiritual life in this season? How is this helping you locate yourself in the larger trajectory of the story of God?

*Through small and large group conversations, we’ll be voicing what resonates with us and reflect that back to the group(s).

* Description Card

*For additional discussion prompts visit the series page here.

LORD’S TABLE LITURGY

Leader: The Holy One be with you

ALL: And also with you

Leader: Open your hearts to the One who is Love

ALL: We open our hearts to you, O God

Leader: Let us give thanks to God, our life-breath

ALL: To the One who sustains us, we rejoice in your presence!

Leader: With gratitude, O God, we remember that it is through you we are made truly alive. Every creature and creation – the tiny ones, the scaley ones, the human ones, the leafy ones – all that is has been shaped by you. There is nothing on this earth that has not been touched by your Sacred hand. In your love for us, you claim us – individually and as a whole – as your beloveds. You will for us life abundant and you invite us into co-working with you towards a world where harmony among all life is restored.

ALL: In the life of Jesus, Love enfleshed, we are shown that the invitation to join in your work of transforming and healing and restoring is always open. No matter our past. No matter our regrets. No matter the wrong done to us or the wrong we have done to others, you keep calling us back to you.

Leader: This relentless invitation of yours that entices with freedom and joy and forgiveness is such a threat to empire that it still attempts to crucify every incarnation of your love today. And so, we are reminded of the example given to us in the person of Jesus.

On the night of his arrest, he gathered around table with his companions.

He took bread, blessed it, broke it, gave it to his disciples and said,

“This is my body which is given for you.

Do this in remembrance of me.”

He did the same with the cup after the supper, saying,

“This cup that is poured out is the new covenant.”

ALL: And so in remembrance of the One who never gave up on love, we pray that the Spirit would make us one in our commitment to the liberation of all your creatures and creations. Pour out your Spirit on this bread and this cup, that through these ordinary gifts, we might taste a glimpse of your Kindom. May they be for us a reminder of what we are capable of becoming and what we are capable of accomplishing together. Amen.

*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, O I need Thee;

Every hour I need Thee;

O bless me now, my Savior,

I come to Thee.

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;

O make me Thine indeed,

Thou blessed Son.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Thanksgiving Weekend Brunch. As part of our Gathering on November 30th, kicking off the Advent season on Thanksgiving weekend, we’ll incorporate a brunch. Please bring a dish or two to share. 

Thanksgiving Address. This week we acknowledge that while many of us do still observe Thanksgiving, we are pretty terrible at practicing gratitude and have much to learn from indigenous siblings who have been here on this land for centuries. As we connect with Creator and return to the ‘adamah, consider greeting the natural world, a practice of gratitude, with the Thanksgiving Address - a gift from some tribes to those of us that haven’t been given the opportunity to love and learn about Creation in this way. You may find various versions online, but here is one to read.

Please join the Youth Group in collecting food items and funding to support IYG's food pantry. This is an ongoing need that IYG has, but with the lack of SNAP benefits, there is a higher need than the typical season. We will run the food drive through Christmas, no matter the status of SNAP benefits and encourage folks to keep IYG in their thoughts during their regular grocery shopping! Bring items to the building or send funds for the youth group to shop via Venmo @britney-yount.

Advent. The Advent season is nearing! You may access the Advent series page here, along with other resources. Materials for all households are made available in the Gathering. 

Advent Morning Prayer. 

Each weekday morning during Advent we will be participating in the morning prayers reflecting on poems and writings of familiar and new authors, and listening to music that Trinity Church is sharing throughout this season. ⁠Join us weekday mornings at 7am on Zoom or catch up throughout the day on Facebook or YouTube. Questions? email joel@indytrinity.org

Holiday Schedule: 

Christmas Eve Gathering @ 5:30pm

NO Gathering Sunday, December 28th - enjoy gathering with friends and family

January 4th - Brunch Gathering

Civic Action Group Meeting

Join us for our next Civic Action Group (CAG) meeting TODAY 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:

• Check-In

• Recap fall activities

• Look to 2026

Want to stay connected? Sign up for the CAG info list by filling out this info form! Contact joel@indytrinity.org with questions. 

Equity Funds Disbursement for round two of 2025. The following disbursements are being made: $1000 to The Avenue Foundation, $1000 to Irvington Counseling Collective, and $500 to IUYA. Any questions may be directed to contact@indytrinity.org. Thank you to everyone who submitted proposals and engaged in conversation!

Where the Money Went Q3 2025. The financial report for the second quarter of this year has been made available via email and in Church Documents on the website. If you need access to either of these, please let us know (contact@indytrinity.org). Any questions about numbers may be directed to Steve Edinger at finance@indytrinity.org and questions about the investments may be directed to Jay Howard at jay@indytrinity.org. 

THE BENEDICTION

Leader: The One who raises the sun each morning

and lifts high the moon at night,

ALL: ushers us too,

through cycles of rising, falling, and rising again.

Leader: Though we stumble, 

ALL: God lifts us.

Leader: Though we doubt, 

ALL: Jesus remains.

Leader: Though we get weary, 

ALL: Spirit revives.

Leader: And so, we rest in this assurance. And now,

ALL: we go into, and among, the known and unknown of the days ahead.

Leader: Go in peace.

(Some liturgies adapted from lectionaryliturgies.blogspot.com and enfleshed.com)

Remain in the Gathering space for general connection and prayer.

GATHERING RESOURCES AND INFORMATION

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!

November

2nd: Fishers

9th: Broad Ripple

16th: North/Carmel

23rd: Midtown/Downtown

30th/Brunch + First Sunday of Advent: Fishers

December

7th: Broad Ripple

14th: North/Carmel

21st: Midtown/Downtown

24th/Christmas Eve: Leadership Team

28th: No Gathering

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 have experienced fever, coughs, or other clear signs of illness in the last 48 hours, 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.