“You made it. I made it. We made it together.”

 This is the guiding belief behind The Testimony Service. 

The Testimony Service, created by community organizer Ebony Marie Chappel and multidisciplinary artist Sarah Jene, seeks to bring people together - regardless of faith affiliation - to fellowship, hold space for one another and celebrate the good news about what’s going on in their lives and communities.

Testimony services have their roots in the Black church tradition. It was a time where people could take to the pulpit/altar/pew and tell a story or sing a song that illustrates a triumphant moment in their lives. Our goal was to build upon this history by welcoming people of all walks of life to a safe space where they could share stories of divinity, love and hope from their own unique perspectives.

Left to right: Christian Ayon, Clare Duffy, Ethan Chiang, Abby Hernan, Allison Elshoff, Katherine Lieberth, Gage Whitton, Ryn Weiss, Matthew Wich, Zach Zieleniewski

The Notre Dame Student Policy Network is a student-run organization offering undergraduates the opportunity to engage in public policy research in real-world settings.

The Student Policy Network will present its research and analysis on Indianapolis's current lack of tenant protections for low-income renters. The project includes research and analysis on the factors inhibiting tenants from receiving adequate protections. Specifically, the report will cover eviction court proceedings, the impact of out-of-state hedge fund companies, and the enforcement of habitability statutes. The purpose of this research will be to offer alternative policy recommendations and contribute to the greater conversation surrounding housing law in the state of Indiana. 

Presentation

Full Report

What will I learn?

• DOJ and HUD OIG’s partnership to enforce federal civil rights laws in housing

• Resources

• Case studies

• How to report potential violations to DOJ and HUD-OIG

St. Luke's United Methodist Church
100 W 86th Street, Indianapolis, IN

REGISTER by e-mail to: Joi.Kamper@usdoj.gov

At its core, philanthropy is about relationships, but in our increasingly polarized and disconnected world, how do we form these relationships and develop a generosity of spirit? Our religious traditions have often demonstrated the essential nature of relationship between one another, within communities, as well as between the human and divine. As a renowned scholar of Jewish studies and a present-day leading voice for modeling dialogue across difference, Dr. Susannah Heschel will discuss the ways in which religion broadly and Jewish tradition specifically can help us better practice philanthropy as the love of humanity.

Susannah Heschel is the Eli M. Black Distinguished Professor and chair of the Jewish Studies Program at Dartmouth College. Her scholarship focuses on the history of Jewish and Protestant religious thought in Germany during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and she has brought post-colonial theory and feminist theory to her analyses. She is the author of Abraham Geiger and the Jewish Jesus; The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany; and Jüdischer Islam: Islam und jüdisch-deutsche Selbstbestimmung, as well as several edited volumes, including Insider/Outsider: American Jews and Multiculturalism and Betrayal: German Churches and the Holocaust. Forthcoming this year are a monograph written with Sarah Imhoff, Jewish Studies and the Woman Question, and a co-edited volume, New Paths: Essays in Honor of Professor Elliot Wolfson, with Glenn Dynner and Shaul Magid. She is a Guggenheim Fellow and the recipient of five honorary doctorates from universities in the United States, Canada, Germany, and Switzerland, she has held fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation, and fellowships at the National Humanities Center, the Maimonides Institute in Hamburg, and the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin.

Economic Disparities: What is Our Role?

Join us April 18 for the Faith & Action Spring Conference! This year's event includes two pre-conference article discussion groups, a Keynote presentation from Rev. Jamie Washington with Q&A and panel discussion, and a Workshop with continuing education credits.

Spring Conference - Main Event

Engaging at the Intersections: Exploring Race, Class, and Poverty - Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington

April 18, 9am-12pm Eastern at Christian Theological Seminary

Deuteronomy 15:11 is often cited as the reason that we can expect that poverty will never end. However, it also states that we as people of faith have a responsibility to take action if we care about humanity.

This year’s keynote speaker Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington will invite us to engage the dynamics of poverty with an intersectional lens. While we often see that poverty impacts populations differently based on race, this year's focus will offer us an opportunity to explore how the intersections of race and class inform our analysis of the problems and should direct our actions. The keynote presentation will be followed by a Q&A opportunity for participants to interact with the speaker.

Panel Discussion

Moderated by Hiba Alalami of the Indiana Muslim Advocacy Network. Featuring panelists Josh Riddick, Faith In Indiana; Rabbi Aaron Spiegel, Greater Indianapolis Multifaith Alliance; and Sam Sniderman, United Way of Central Indiana.

Be informed on current public policy and be empowered to engage in advocacy work surrounding early childhood education, child poverty, housing insecurity, and mental health. Participants will learn:

• How you can plug into a coalition working to reduce poverty

• How you can take action relative to Faith In Indiana’s campaign to reduce the incarceration of folks with mental illnesses and substance abuse

• How you and your faith community can join GIMA’s efforts to reduce the number of evictions through their court watching initiative

• Current policies that are directly related to supporting children at risk, specifically around education, childcare, and early learning

Please note that attendance at the Spring Conference main event is a prerequisite for organizations wanting to apply for a Faith & Action grant. Conference registration closes April 15.

Workshop & Lunch

Building Capacity to Be a Change Agent - led by Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington

April 18, 12:15pm-4pm Eastern at Christian Theological Seminary

Cost for the workshop and lunch is $100 and participants can receive Continuing Education credits.

To be a bridge builder or a voice calling for change takes a lot of courage. How can we embody our faith traditions in ways that can lead to systemic change? How can we use our voice and position to fight for equity and economic mobility?

This Workshop Will:

• Focus on developing tools and skills for productive, ground-up conversations about poverty and inequality.

• Invite us to go deeper into living into our values to accomplish our goals and how to keep issues of poverty, equity, and inclusion grounded as matters of human dignity not as political issues.

• Share best practices to handle situations when misinformation or incorrect narratives have been shared and tools for de-escalating elevated feelings around social justice.

• Explore the dynamics that get in the way of real change and what actions we can implement.

• Provide an opportunity for small group discussions on how our faith and sacred text guide our actions.

Pre-Event Article Discussion Groups

April 9 - Online discussion group at 1pm Eastern

April 10 - In-Person discussion group at 12pm Eastern at Christian Theological Seminary

To prepare for Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington’s presentation at the Faith & Action Spring Conference on April 18 and to encourage engagement with Washington’s ideas, themes, and solutions offered, CTS is hosting a pair of small group discussions hosted by CTS faculty member, Rev. Dr. Nick Peterson. The articles address multiple systemic issues, such as housing access and substance abuse resources and provide insights on how race and class can impact opportunity and wellbeing. Discussions will lend insights and prepare us for the spring conference themes.

Join Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation, Congregation Beth-El Zedeck, and Indianapolis JCRC for an evening of partnership and learning as we walk through the Jewish tradition of the Pesach (Passover) Seder.

Please note that this is not a full meal. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

There is a misconception that homelessness is driven by substance use, mental health, and other individual-level factors. However, the truth is that the most important root causes of the homelessness crisis is the local housing market. Learn more about how housing policy impacts homelessness in Indiana, and best practices for how to end homelessness by joining me and other experts at the Indiana Fiscal Policy Summit 2024: Cultivating Big Ideas event.

This all-day summit on Thursday, April 11, 2024, will take place Noblesville, Indiana. Other topics to be discussed include innovative housing development solutions, missing middle housing policy recommendations, the impact of the clean energy transition on the Indiana economy, and more.

In this inaugural year, we will be discussing some of the "big ideas" that will impact Indiana public policy in the years to come. Check out the agenda here! 

Join the Black Church Coalition at Light of the World Christian Church (4646 N Michigan Rd 46228) as we demonstrate our power and demand our elected leaders work with us to build a Safe and Healthy Community.

Meet Your Neighbor: Refugee 101 is an opportunity for patrons in the community and professionals to learn more about the refugees moving to Indianapolis. Join us to discuss what a refugee is, where they come from, Exodus' history and programs, and volunteer opportunities.

This program is hosted by Exodus Refugee Immigration. Please register for the event; a Zoom link will be sent out the week of the meeting. 

This seminar will involve the showing of the film, Queen Esther, and a discussion with the filmmaker Ira Mallory and two featured actresses—Erreol Robinson and Paige Wells, who will specifically discuss their specific roles. Ira Mallory is native to Indianapolis and in addition to responding to audience questions about the film, he will discuss how the intersections of his Jewish faith and his filmmaking work allows him to be more authentic.

Ira Mallory is an Indiana based film director and head of IRA FILMS, a division of BJYL Productions LLC. He is an alumni of the Fox Searchlight Director’s Labs in association with the American Black Film Festival. Hadassah: Queen Esther is Mallory’s premier project of recent release, which screened at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival in 2022 to much fanfare. Mallory was among over 40 Indiana artists awarded a fellowship with the On-Romp Creative Entrepreneur Accelerator, sponsored by the Indiana Art Commission in 2021.

 Paige Wells is a multi-talented artist hailing from Fort Wayne, Indiana. With a passion for music and acting, Wells has made a name for herself as a songwriter and actress. Having studied vocal performance and songwriting, Wells has released her own original music in addition to taking on roles as an actress.

On Tuesday, February 13th at 7 pm, we will be welcoming authors and community leaders Sabeeha Rehman and Walter Ruby, co-authors of the book We Refuse to be Enemies: How Muslims and Jews Can Make Peace, One Friendship at a Time. We Refuse to be Enemies is a manifesto by two American citizens concerned with the rise of intolerance and bigotry in our country. Sabeeha, a Muslim, and Walter, a Jew, have learned that, through face -to-face encounters, people of all backgrounds can come to know the Other as a fellow human being and turn them into a trusted friend.

Growing up in Pakistan before she immigrated to the United States, Sabeeha never met a Jew, and her view was colored by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In his youth, Walter never met a Muslim, and his opinion was shaped by Leon Uris’s Exodus. Yet together they have formed a friendship and collaboration. Tapping their own life stories and entering into dialogue within the book, they explain how they have found commonalities between their respective faiths and discuss shared principles and lessons, how their perceptions of the Other have evolved, and the pushback they faced. They wrestle with the two elephants in the room: the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and polarizing material in the histories and holy texts of Judaism and Islam. And they share their vision for reconciliation, offering concrete principles for building an alliance in support of religious freedom and human rights.

While this program will be based on their book, it will recontextualize some of the discussions from the book within the current context, notably the upcoming 2024 election and the rise of right-wing extremism, and the current war in Israel and Gaza. This program will create a safe space for Jews and Muslims to discuss the kind of allyship they need from each other in 2024, especially here in Indianapolis.

This program is free and open to the public, though registration is required. We Refuse to be Enemies will be available for sale and Watler and Sabeeha will be happy to sign the book after the program.

A JEDI program made possible by the generous donors to the JCC Social Justice Fund.

For those of you who joined us in September for our first convening, I hope you got a taste of how important it is for the faith and immigrant services communities to be in intentional dialogue. Leveraging the success of that first meeting, we gather again to take the next steps to putting those relationships into action.

Join Prosperity Indiana in-person at the Statehouse in Indianapolis during this legislative session to talk about our 2024 Policy Agenda.

Your participation and voice are critical to encourage the Indiana General Assembly to move forward good policies for affordable housing, community development resources, and asset building and consumer protections. 

At this event you will be able to...

• Network with peers from all over the state who are also PI members and partners

• Attend meetings with legislators alongside others from your area to share the facts about the needs you see in your community

• Observe committee hearings on key pieces of legislation to see how the sausage gets made 

• Take a guided tour of the Statehouse and learn about its history as well as the need-to-know spots in the building

• Write digital or handwritten notes to your state legislators at our letter writing station

• Be a part of our joint event at noon with Indiana United Ways, featuring several exciting guest speakers to be announced soon

Light breakfast and lunch will be provided to registered participants. You do not need to be a PI member to participate-- all are welcome!

Herbert Simon Family Foundation has underwritten 10 screenings of ORIGIN across three days at Landmark Art Cinema Keystone and AMC Castleton in Indianapolis.

At the conclusion of each free screening, Soul Focused Group will facilitate a post-show discussion for the audience.

Screening Times:

• Sunday, 1/28 - 1:00p (AMC Castleton)

• Sunday, 1/28 - 7:15p (Landmark Art Cinema Keystone, official Indianapolis premiere)

• Monday, 1/29 - 11:00am (AMC Castleton)

• Monday, 1/29 - 12:30pm (Landmark Art Cinema Keystone)

• Monday, 1/29 - 6:00pm (AMC Castleton)

• Monday, 1/29 - 7:15pm (Landmark Art Cinema Keystone)

• Tuesday, 1/30 - 11:00am (AMC Castleton)

• Tuesday, 1/30 - 12:30pm (Landmark Art Cinema Keystone)

• Tuesday, 1/30 - 6:00pm (AMC Castleton)

• Tuesday, 1/30 - 7:15pm (Landmark Art Cinema Keystone)

ABOUT ORIGIN

Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay has written, directed, and produced a feature film inspired by Pulitzer Prize-winner Isabel Wilkerson's critically acclaimed book "CASTE: The Origins of Our Discontents." Ava's multiple-story structure examines the unspoken system that has shaped America and chronicles how our lives today are defined by a hierarchy of human divisions dating back generations.

ORIGIN traverses the steep terrain of racial and social hierarchy while chronicling an intimate journey of familial love and loss. DuVernay infuses Wilkerson's historical and cultural anecdotes, theories, and examples from within the book by exploring the author's spirituality and faith in a tale of romance and reckoning. Wilkerson herself is the main character, and we track her writing process in confronting and contextualizing the phenomenon of caste for contemporary readers. The character of "Isabel" is deeply entrenched in research and writing that takes her worldwide. As she travels, the film expands with dynamic layers of storytelling that delves audiences into a globe-trotting, time-hopping philosophical adventure. CASTE zips from modern-day America to feudal India to Nazi Germany to many places and spaces in between, weaving an emotional and revelatory narrative tapestry.

The film tells the story of the unquantifiable consequences of caste alongside the life-altering milestones of Wilkerson's journey while writing the book. It was a time marked by the deaths of three of her closest loved ones and the indescribable grief that followed. The film asks viewers to challenge their beliefs about their place in the world and in relationship to others while mirroring the questions that an examination of caste demands of the larger society.

Join us Friday January 12, at 5:30 for Oneg Shabbat (literally the “Joy of Shabbat” food and fellowship). Following the 6:15 Shabbat service, stay for a presentation by the Soul Focused Group’s Mahdi Davenport and Martin Friedman.

This fall CTS signed an agreement with Dant Advocacy to help us stay informed regarding Indiana legislation that intersects with some of our core interests and values: education, housing, poverty, children, mental health, and more.

If you are interested in learning how to stay informed regarding Indiana legislation on these topics, please join us for a Legislative and Advocacy Training Session (via Zoom) on Friday, January 5 from 12 – 1 pm Eastern.

In this session you will learn:

• How to identify and contact your state legislators

• How a bill really becomes a law in Indiana

• How to advocate for issues that are important to you

• FREE for ADULT homeless men and women to attend

• NO pre-registration required

• ADULT homeless individuals, individuals living in transitional housing or shelters encouraged to attend

• Homeless shelter providers who have passenger vans are welcome to bring your residents in groups

• Supplies will be issued on a first come, first served basis until supplies last

“Hope for Christmas”, sponsored by the H.O.P.E. (Helping Others Prosper Economically) TEAM presents their 6th annual FREE event on Dec. 22, 2023 in partnership with and held at the Irsay YMCA in downtown Indianapolis along with several other generous donors and sponsors and volunteers to provide support, fellowship and needed supplies to homeless adults. Individuals can come to the Irsay Family YMCA at CityWay, located at 430 S. Alabama Street, to receive Christmas bags full of useful items. Any questions, please call/text Kim Boyd at 317.657.2939 or via email at klb2600@gmail.com.

Use What You've Got Ministry Keeping Families Connected is proud to celebrate having provided transportation for family and friends to visit their incarcerated loved ones, to the 16 different Indiana state, federal, and juvenile detention centers for 35 years.

UWYGM started a Christmas party 25 years ago, because of the children that were visiting their loved ones. We wanted to bring more smiles, joy, and laughter to these children.

Indiana has over 177,000 children with an incarcerated loved ones. Beachwood Christian Church's support of buying gifts and wrapping them for 40 children would be great and healing to our children.

We will email you the names, ages, and sizes of each child.

CONTACT Cecelia at 317.924.4124 or email cecelia63.whitfield@gmail.com

More than 3.5 million U.S. households are threatened with eviction each year, a poignant illustration of rising housing costs. The causes of eviction can be complex, following a synergy of poverty and low wages, rising rent costs, inflation, and drug and mental health challenges for citizens living paycheck to paycheck. Yet, for many individuals, an eviction can be the result of common life occurrences, such middle-income suburban renters facing an unexpected bill or work hours reduced.

On Dec. 7, the Polis Center plans on showcasing a new statewide tool it is developing that will help users better understand trends and relationships between evictions and societal factors. The goal of the tool is to raise awareness of evictions in Indiana and provide a resource to empower communities to instill change. Experts in the eviction and housing circle will serve as expert panelists to provide insight and perspective on this important topic. Partners in the project include WFYI Public Radio and New America, a “think and action” tank which focuses on equity at the center of its research and policy recommendations.

How does generosity and religious diversity help create a vibrant society?

Join us for A Conversation with Simran Singh, the Executive Director of the Religion & Society Program at the Aspen Institute and author of The Light We Give: How Sikh Wisdom Can Transform Your Life, on Wednesday, December 6 at 6:00 pm at the Indiana Historical Society.

Informed by Sikh wisdom, Simran will explore how generosity toward one another and the power of religious diversity can promote a healthy civic society. Learn more about Simran in this issue of Insights.

There is no cost to attend, but registration is requested.

CSH Speak Up is a year-long curriculum which includes:

• Monthly workshops

• One-on-one coaching

• Public speaking at community events

• Supportive housing advocacy with elected officials

Speak Up is about culture change. It’s catalyzed by our colleagues with lived experience, and it’s cultivated through community partnerships, join us on December 4th to learn more.

Please contact Indiana.speakup@csh.org with any questions.

Indianapolis Commission on African American Males (ICAAM) is hosting four Community Conversations across Indianapolis to discuss the pressing issues that were identified in the ICAAM report published last year.

Education-Disparity in the Achievement Gap
September 21st, 6:00 - 8:00p
Rooted School Indianapolis, 5750 E. 30th St, Indianapolis, IN 46218

Minority Business attraction and sustainability - working with the city on project MBE/WBE & the importance access to capital for the Black owned businesses-w/Equity 1821
November 18th, 1:00 - 3:00p
Ivy Tech Culinary Arts & Conference Center, 2820 N. Meridian Street, Indianapolis, IN 46208