Universal Search

INDY ACTION COALITION-We Keep Us Safe!

On December 18 we held our last assembly of 2025, and voted to authorize a public action in March of next year. 

When we started this campaign, issues of healthcare, immigration, and housing were coming up repeatedly at our listing sessions. We conducted research with healthcare CEOs, top law enforcement agencies in the state, and elected officials to identify what could drive change in these areas.

Our research season showed that, despite the conditions, some incredible opportunities are available to us. We learned that the Sheriff’s Association is committed to fight against some of the horrific immigration legislation coming out of the statehouse. Representative Victoria Garcia Wilburn reinforced the importance of activating corporate partners to stand up to some of this bad legislation in the state as well. Councilor Andy Nielsen shared his desire for Indianapolis to have a local, comprehensive housing plan and strategy. Continuing to protect Streets To Home will be a key part of that.

These research meetings made it clear that we cannot wait for anyone to come protect our community, we are taking responsibility to keep us safe!
Next up is a public action, where we tell this powerful public narrative. On March 12, we will bring these demands to our leaders and law-makers:

1. Demand that the city of Indianapolis continue to fund Streets To Home.
2. Co-create a community safety plan with city leaders for when ICE enforcement shows up in our city.
   

Our next assembly will gather on January 21 at 6:30PM at St. Luke’s UMC, where we will begin building towards this action. Our goal is to have 125 of us present on January 21, and we need YOUR help to make that happen! Please spread the word and invite your circles!

REGISTER HERE FOR JANUARY 21

INDY ACTION COALITION 2025 Recap

We Moved Our People to Action

In 2025 we mobilized over 300 leaders to take action with us, and hosted nearly 40 events.

We Won Policies that Impact Our Community

Significant investments at the local level were secured for re-imaging public safety, addressing chronic homelessness, and working together to interrupt mass deportation.

Leadership That Is Bigger Than Numbers

We saw leaders take risks, grow their skills, and become powerful public leaders. Our multi-generational movement grows when leaders decide to move from "spectator" to "architect." So many of our leaders have made this decision and decide to be change agents! 

Community organizing is deeply rooted in relationships. Through IAC, St. Luke’s congregants are building stronger relationships with other Northside Indianapolis residents who are concerned about building up mental health support, affordable housing, dignity and welcome for immigrant families, and addressing public safety in ways that turn lives around. The focus is on building communities that know each other and work together to create places to live that are based on shared values. A large focus is helping individuals discover what they value in a community, what they are willing to stand up for, and how to tap into the collective power it takes to build exactly that. 

COMMUNITY ORGANIZING SAVE THE DATES!

Lent Groups—beginning week of February 22

If you are feeling the weight of our political climate, are concerned about actions of our local, state, and federal leaders, or are overwhelmed with the pain and need in our community, you might consider joining one of our O&J Lent Groups.

We will prepare for Lent by using sermon guides to discuss weekend services, and will do so alongside those who have similar concerns about the world. Rather than focusing on negativity or despair, we hope to connect deeply with each other and build relationships that will help us navigate these challenging times. More information coming soon!

Community Organizing 101 Boot Camp
Wednesdays 6PM | April 15-May 13 | North Indy
Facilitated by Josh Riddick and Indy Action Coalition

Are you concerned, anxious, or frightened at the state of our country? Do you want to live in a safe and welcoming community, but feel like that is slipping away? The best antidote to fear and anxiety might just be action!

Community Organizing 101 will provide you with a framework for identifying what you value in a community, and connect you with people and a process to help you make that happen. This is about more than writing letters, and is not about marching with signs or protesting outside the capitol (unless that’s  your thing!). This IS about finding your voice, reclaiming individual and collective power that is the cornerstone of our democracy, and connecting to others who value the same things as you do. This kind of organizing is rooted in relationships and in our Methodist history, and is supported by our Social Principles. More information coming soon!

Poverty

A recent article from Matt Watkins found in Philanthropy Today says:

“The language the [philanthropy] sector uses to describe poverty drains it of urgency. It allows inequality to feel normal and strips away empathy. When language becomes abstract, people stop seeing one another’s pain. It lets leaders sound caring while staying comfortably removed from the effects of their words.

Words have real world consequences. They determine who gets funded, who gets ignored, and who feels seen. They define what counts as a problem, who is responsible for fixing it, and what solutions sound legitimate.

Poverty does not need softer language. It needs honesty that moves people to act. Until philanthropy can talk about poverty as if it belongs to all of us, it will keep sounding like someone else’s problem.

Read the full article HERE

Indy Action Coalition

Indy Action Coalition is currently in a research season, meeting with lawmakers, policy makers, and informed persons around topics such as public safety, housing, healthcare, data centers, and immigration policies.

Indy Action also showed up recently in support of a coalition of the largest Black Clergy groups in the city, who gathered to call on Attorney General Rokita to drop a lawsuit against Indianapolis Public Schools. You can watch WTHR’s reporting of that press conference HERE.

 If you’d like to learn more about Indy Action Coalition, you can contact Ann Brandon, or attend our next Assembly on December 18 at 6:30PM at St. Luke’s.

Indy Action Coalition is a grassroots community organizing movement made up of about a dozen multi-faith congregations. Indy Action Coalition is under the umbrella of Live Free Indiana, and is a sister movement to the Black Church Coalition and the Validus Movement.

submitted by Shelly Clasen

Midtown Supports Trinity Haven

In October, our Midtown campus began a new ministry partnership with Trinity Haven, an organization that provides safe, affirming housing for LGBTQ+ youth experiencing housing instability. Trinity Haven operates a group home for 10 residents, ages 18 - 14, and offers the residents social support services, in addition to safe housing.

Midtown members spread the love to Trinity Haven residents in two ways: meals and blankets. Volunteers delivered hot meals to the group residence on Sunday and Tuesday evenings during October and also provided some freezer-ready entrees for future use. Volunteers also made a warm and fuzzy tie fleece blanket for each resident. A few of these blankets were completed by guests who attended the Midtown Fall Festival, a true group effort. We are excited to see how this new partnership grows in the months ahead!

submitted by Margaret Gordon

Creation Care

The electronic waste (E-waste) recycling program, operated by Creation Care’s John Dane and John Young, is a booming success. Simply said, E-waste is any inoperative or obsolete electronic or electrical device or appliance. Any church member or nearby community residents are welcome to leave E-waste at the drop-off enclosure located at the north end of the church parking lot just east of the Labyrinth. RecycleForce, a local Indianapolis company, picks up and processes the E-waste at their facility to retrieve valuable components for reuse. Last year, 19 tons of E-waste was recycled through our operation. According to John Dane, we are on track to have processed 20 tons of E-waste in 2025. Please contact John Dane at johnhdane1@gmail.com if you have questions about our E-waste recycling operation.

In case you have not heard, St. Luke’s Board of Trustees and St. Luke’s Governing Board have approved a Carbon Neutrality 2050 Strategic Plan. This plan is intended to facilitate St. Luke’s UMC in achieving the Carbon Net Zero 2050 goal approved by the UMC General Conference in 2024 for implementation by all members and churches of the UMC. The ultimate goal of these plans and goals is to eliminate over time all carbon emissions from the UMC’s operations. For St. Luke’s, this primarily means eliminating carbon emissions from our use of electricity and combustion of natural gas in HVAC equipment over the next 25 years. More explanation regarding this important endeavor will be provided in future newsletters.

submitted by Larry Kane