Khizir Khan visits Indy
On Sept. 9, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church will host Talking Through Unity and Civility: A Community Conversation with Khizr Khan and John Krull.
Khan, a Gold-star father and lawyer, and Kraul, host of WFYI’s No Limits, will discuss national topics of interest, civility and unity. This event is presented in collaboration with the Desmond Tutu Center for Peace Reconciliation and Global Justice, Women4Change Indiana, Islamic Society of North America, St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Muslim Alliance of Indiana and ACLU of Indiana. St. Luke’s is located at 100 W. 86th St., and the event will go from 7:30-9 p.m.
Keeping Earth
Join the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, for the upcoming workshop “Keeping Earth: Religious and Scientific Perspectives on the Environment.”
The workshop will take place at 1 Sisters of Providence, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, IN 47876 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., on Sept. 16, in the Providence Hall Community Room. Facilitators Sister Ann Sullivan and Lorrie Heber will discuss the words of scientists and popes while examining the reality of the degradation of the planet and the moral imperative to take action. The cost of the session is $45, which includes lunch, and the registration deadline is Sept. 11. Register online at events.sistersofprovidence.org or by calling (812) 535-2952 or emailing jfrost@spsmw.org.
Eastern Star hosts benefit concert
Celebrate the Joyful Sound Productions’ 25th annual Gospel Explosion on Sept. 21 from 7-9 p.m., featuring Bishop Hezekiah Walker and Israel Houghton. The concert will take place at Eastern Star Church’s main campus, 5750 E. 30th St. Doors open at 6 p.m., and tickets are only $25 for general admission. VIP tickets start at $50.
This benefit concert is presented in partnership with AM1310 The Light, WTLC-FM 106.7 and Circle City Classic to support Eastern Star Church’s The ROCK initiative. Purchase tickets at ticketor.com.
Ethnicity Forum
Join the parishioners of College Park Church for an all-congregation forum to discuss a biblical view of ethnicity and try to understand cultural and historical causes of racial tension. The evening will include several College Parkers from a variety of ethnic backgrounds in a round-table discussion, as well as testimonies from people in the church. The event will occur on Sept. 17 from 6-7:30 p.m. at 2606 W. 96th St.
CTS awards grants to area organizations
Projects to help Hoosier families and individuals escape poverty have received a $125,000 boost in the form of the inaugural round of Faith & Action Project grants. Organizers had intended to award $100,000 but increased the grant pool after reviewing proposals.
Six area programs will receive grants aimed at helping them expand their reach and impact.
The grant recipients are:
- Edna Martin Christian Center, American Baptist Churches of Greater Indianapolis and Eastern Star Church: $25,000 to assist families in the 46218 ZIP code by increasing the number of stable households. Program activities include working to bring more families into homes that are being built or refurbished in the neighborhood, providing education support and mentoring, assisting in employment readiness and acquisition, and ensuring basic needs are met.
- Goodwill’s New Beginnings: $25,000 to fund a six-month transitional jobs program for formerly incarcerated persons. Participants work four days a week at Goodwill Commercial Services or Retail Outlet locations and spend one day a week in a six-hour class focused on life-skill development and stabilization activities.
- Purposeful Design: $25,000 for its program to teach woodworking and job-readiness to men emerging from addiction or homelessness. The grant will help expand and improve its production facility in order to employ more men, as well as launch a new School of Woodworking and Discipleship to train men and youth in woodworking, employment readiness and Godly living.
- Broadway United Methodist Church: $20,000 for a program aimed at improving families’ economic mobility. Modeled after a program created by Families Independence Initiative, the program will build small groups around families, provide families with stipends in return for completing certain activities and require families to set and pursue three goals to improve their economic mobility.
- Trinity Episcopal Church: $20,000 for Trinity House, which will offer a safe environment for 16– to 21-year-old people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. In addition to getting shelter, the youths staying at Trinity House will have access to legal services, life-skills training, assistance with education and job training, and facilitated connections to other community service agencies.
- School on Wheels: $10,000 for a program that helps families recover from the impact of recent homelessness by providing post-shelter education services. Funds will help provide educational assessments after a family moves out of a homeless shelter, school enrollment assistance, school supplies and uniform assistance, transportation stipends, and parent workshops to help parents engage in their child’s education.
Launched in 2016, the Faith & Action Project at CTS is supported by the Mike and Sue Smith Family Fund as a multiyear effort to help reduce poverty in Indianapolis. The Faith & Action Project has held community-wide events and attracted national poverty experts to central Indiana.
