Spirit & Place, IU Indianapolis

Celebrating and Remembering Family: Día de los Muertos
2022-11-04 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Indiana/Indianapolis) | Bartholomew Co. Public Library – Outdoor Plaza, 536 5th St., Columbus, IN, 47201, United States
This bilingual celebration explores the cultural, spiritual, and intergenerational significance of Día de los Muertos. Author Selene Dávila will share El esqueleto que ama bailar (The Skeleton that Loves to Dance) and families will be invited to participate in art-making activities.
This event will be a bilingual story time that will engage child and parent participants across languages with the cultural, intergenerational, and spiritual significance of Día de los Muertos through multiple senses: a local author’s story, a felt storyboard visualizing a family alter, a craft to honor a deceased loved one, and the traditional holiday bone bread. Selene Dávila, a Columbus parent-author will share the meaning behind the holiday’s traditions in reading her story, El esqueleto que ama bailar, The Skeleton that Loves to Dance. Additional bilingual books authored by Columbus parents and sharing Latinx culture will be on display.
This event is geared toward PreK-6 youth, families, parents, and educators of all backgrounds. The storytelling portion of this event will be conducted live at the library and will also be livestreamed on the Bartholomew County Public Library’s Facebook page. In-person attendance is necessary to participate in the other activities.
A partnership between IUPUC Division of Education; Bartholomew Co. Public Library; Family School Partners; Cultural Learning Center, Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp.; and Bartholomew Co. Literacy Taskforce.
Contact the event organizers at (812) 348-7244 or lbliu@iu.edu.
Walk-ins welcome, but registration is encouraged by Nov. 3.
Register below.
Image Credit: The Skeleton that Loves to Dance by Selene Davila

Will You See the Real Me?
2022-11-04 13:00 - 17:00 | Lost Dog Gallery, 1040 E. New York St., Indianapolis, IN, 46202, United States
Exhibit showcasing the work of two fiber art guilds and their creativity to express the stories and identities of individuals leaving incarceration, fighting homelessness, aging out of foster care, and facing other challenges.
We make a lot of assumptions about people. Depending on their personal backgrounds, economic status, gender expression, skin color, and even life struggles, we can unfairly label people and limit their options and opportunities in life. Let’s challenge ourselves to see the whole person based on how they identify for themselves outside of society’s labels.
Working with adults who have been previously incarcerated, struggled with homelessness, or have been in the foster system, fiber artists with INFiber and the Akoma Ntoso Modern Quilt Guild of Central Indiana have partnered with Trusted Mentors to create a dynamic exhibit – including an interactive “in-progress” component exhibit goers can add to – inspired by the stories and self-expression of those too often marginalized and stigmatized by society’s labels.
Upon entering the exhibit, attendees will be asked to respond to an art quilt and words about the difficulties the members of Trusted Mentors have faced. These thoughts can be written on ribbons and attached to the art quilt. Each piece in the exhibit will be inspired from key words and ideas from the mentees about their true selves. These thoughts will be included in the descriptions. As attendees exit the exhibit, they will be asked to again put words on ribbons and attach to another art quilt, but this time the words will be based on what they have seen in the art, expressive of the way those represented really see themselves.
The exhibit will be open for viewing at the Lost Dog Gallery on the following days:
Friday, Nov. 4: 5-9pm (opening reception)
Saturday, Nov. 5: 2-5 pm
Thursday, Nov. 10: 5-7pm
Friday, Nov. 11: 5-7pm
Saturday, Nov. 12: 2-5pm
A partnership between INfiber, Akoma Ntoso Modern Quilt Guild of Central Indiana, and Trusted Mentors.
Contact event organizers at 317-274-2462 or lostdoggallery@gmail.com
Walk-ins welcome! Registrations for the Nov. 4 reception are encouraged by Nov. 3.
Register below.

Tell Me What You Eat and I'll Tell You Where You Are From
2022-11-05 14:30 - 16:30 | MOTW Coffee & Pastries, 4873 W. 38th St., Indianapolis, IN, 46254, United States
Experience foods and flavors from Yemen, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Palestine and more while meeting the people who have prepared those foods. Learn about each other while exploring how what we eat is tightly bound to our identity.
In the documentary High on the Hog, Yoruba artist Romuald Hazoumè repeats a local saying to Stephen Satterfield, telling him, “We say ‘Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you where you are from.” This sentiment points directly toward this truth: Food and identity are inextricably linked. You can, by learning what people eat and why, identify not only where they are from, but where they’ve been on their way to where they are now.
This highly participatory and conversation-driven event invites the community to recognize the ways in which, here in the U.S., we very often separate food and flavors from the people and cultures from which they originate. In denying these roots, we are missing out on so very much. We hope folks will make space for the whole story that foods can tell.
Limited free food provided with additional food and beverages for purchase. This event is highly interactive! Willingness to talk and engage with new friends is important.
A partnership between The Church Within and MOTW Coffee & Pastries.
Contact event organizers at 317-683-0829 or thechurchwithin@thechurchwithin.org.
Walk-ins welcome but registering by October 28 helps with planning for enough food.
Register below.
Image Credit: Narmeen Taw, Creative Commons
Patogenetisk behandling – med det formål at afbryde den patologiske mekanisme apoteken24.com for erektil dysfunktion. Ideelt set elimineres indflydelsen af denne mekanisme fuldstændigt. Hvis dette ikke er muligt, sigter lægerne mod i det mindste at reducere dens indvirkning og bremse udviklingen af erektil dysfunktion.

Call People What They Want to Be Called: Racial/Ethnic Labeling & Identity in Healthcare
2022-11-07 13:00 - 15:00 | Global Village Welcome Center, 4233 Lafayette Rd., Indianapolis, IN, 46254, United States
Explore how one’s sense of identity affects emotional/behavioral health of Black and Brown people through an interactive TED Talk-like presentation, audience activities, and conversations with local health-focused organizations. Food will be served.
This multi-faceted event invites the public to explore the importance of conscious identity labeling in healthcare situations. Through a short TED Talk-like presentation, an interactive identity-focused session on discovering behavioral triggers, and guided conversations with healthcare organization representatives focused on respectfully engaging Black and Brown community members, attendees will grow in their understanding of why and how identity matters for people of color in healthcare situations. The goal of this event is for Black and Brown people who attend to have more confidence and support in verbalizing their choices of racial/ethnic identification labels, and for white people to have better information and answers to questions they are hesitant to ask out loud. Food reflecting the racial/ethnic cultures of the International Marketplace will be served.
A partnership between the Komen Tissue Bank, Pink-4-Ever Ending Disparities and Men of Pink, Indiana Donor Network, and Global Village Welcome Center.
Walk-ins welcome, but due to food being served, registration by Nov. 4 is strongly encouraged.
Event organizer contact info: (317) 319-6337 or keridley@iupui.edu.
Register below.
Image Courtesy of Movement Advancement Project

Ciderside Chats
2022-11-07 14:00 - 16:00 | The Assembly – Restaurant & Cider Bar, 1301 E. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN, 46201, United States
Enjoy cider, snacks, and stories while listening, reflecting, and vibing about how we shape food and how it shapes us.
How have your tastes been shaped by your community and/or family of origin? How do you use food to connect with new acquaintances and old friends? How might food open new spaces for community, connection, and cooperation?​​​​​​​
Both food and stories shape who we are and how we identify. This event invites attendees to reflect on how food has shaped who they are by listening to featured food stories and then perhaps telling their own stories at an open mic!
Limited free food, alcoholic beverages, and nonalcoholic beverages available, with options for additional purchase. Guests under the age of 21 may attend. Guests may mask-up as preferred.
A partnership between Marian University Department of Media, Design, and Communication; and Ash & Elm Cider Company.
Contact the event organizers at 317-450-7972 or mbaumann@marian.edu.
Capacity is limited to 100 guests and registration is strongly encouraged by noon on November 7.
Register below.
Image Credit: Andréa Homoya

The Testimony Service: I Made It. You Made It. We Made It, Together
2022-11-12 12:00 - 15:00 | Broadway United Methodist Church, 609 E. 29th St., Indianapolis, IN, 46205, United States
The Testimony Service seeks to bring people together—regardless of faith affiliation—to fellowship and celebrate the good news about what’s going on in their lives and communities through music, personal testimony and a shared meal.
To identify means to recognize the existence of a thing. This event, which is rooted in the testimony tradition of the Black church, invites the public to identify the ways they have experienced triumph in their lives. Using interactive writing activities followed by a live musical performance and storytelling from a group of community “testifiers,” this event welcomes everyone to celebrate and share in life’s joys.
Hear from pre-selected community testifiers (and then perhaps share your own story!), make art, listen to music, sit down to a community meal, and join in fellowship with others who want to share what’s good in the world right now. Although rooted in a specific religious tradition, this event eagerly welcomes all!
A partnership between The Testimony Service and The Learning Tree.
Contact event organizers at 317-413-1239 or ebonychappel@gmail.com/
Walk-ins welcome, but registration by Nov. 11 is strongly encouraged.
Register below.

FACING GRIEF: Nourishing Ourselves and Others Through Loss
2023-11-03 13:30 - 15:00 | Phoenix Theater Cultural Center, 705 N. Illinois Street, Indianapolis, IN, United States
The Nov. 5 performance at 4pm will have live captioning to a screen.
The Nov. 7 performance at 7pm will has ASL interpretation.
All other accommodation requests should be made by Oct. 20.
Many of us don’t know what to say or do when a loved one experiences profound grief. Through live theatrical enactments of various scenarios, audiences are invited to practice reacting to loss and supporting those they love.
Our brains are wired for survival, not loss, creating significant challenges in the aftermath of profound grief. FACING GRIEF, a presentation of The Sapphire Theatre’s award-winning PICTURE THIS® applied theatre programming, engages improvisational actors to act out brief scenarios. Staying in character, they “break the fourth wall” for an interactive talk back with the audience at the crisis point of each scene. Society and the community can do better for those who are hurting. Theatre can help show the way by allowing participants to practice how to have hard conversations, hold space, and listen. Musicians, interfaith ministers, educators, counselors and other subject matter experts will help facilitate this event.
FACING GRIEF will also be performed twice on November 5 at Unity Indianapolis. The 11:30am performance will follow a specially-themed worship service (10am) that all are welcome to attend! A second performance is scheduled for 4pm. FACING GRIEF will be performed a final time on Nov. 7 at the Phoenix Theatre. If interested in these other performances, please return to the event calendar and register for those dates/times.
Questions? Contact 317-966-7529 or andrea@sapphiretheatre.com
Event Partners: Sapphire Theatre Co.; Phoenix Theatre Cultural Center; Unity of Indianapolis; Jon Swanson, PhD.; Deandra Dycus; and Congregation Beth-El Zedeck.
Event Registration: Registration requested by Nov. 3, but walk-ins are welcome as space permits. Registration link forthcoming.
Audience Note: This program is focused on people who are seeking to better support loved ones experiencing profound bereavement. However, those currently grieving are welcome to attend – care is being shown to create an emotionally safe space. Additionally, the November 3 gather will include a post-event reception.

Buzz & Flutter: Cultivating, Creating, & Caring for our Pollinators
2023-11-04 08:00 - 10:30 | Garfield Park Arts Center – Main Gallery, 2432 Conservatory Dr., Indianapolis, IN, United States
ASL Interpretation Onsite.
Make art while also learning from community gardeners, beekeepers, and even chefs on how we can all work to sustain and nourish our pollinator friends – bees and butterflies!
Art-making activities, learning opportunities, honey-tasting, and exhibits will be featured at this dynamic all-ages, family-friendly event featuring:

An exhibition featuring images based on gardening, bees, and butterflies created by local artists including Ivy Tech Community College art students
Art-making activities
Info tables on beekeeping and hive management
Honey tasting!
Honey-themed recipe station hosted by Chef Thom England/Ivy Tech Culinary Program
Lessons on how to prep seeds to “winter over”
And more!

Can’t make it to the event? Check out an online edition of the art exhibit here: (LINK FORTHCOMING)
Questions? Contact (317) 916-7832 or srobertson99@ivytech.edu
Event Partners: Ivy Tech Community College Central Indiana including the Culinary, Early Childhood Education, English, Fine Arts and Hospitality programs and Garfield Park Arts Center.
Event Registration: Registration is appreciated by November 3, but walk-ins are welcome! (Registration link forthcoming.)

Eastern Black Swallowtail Courtesy of Renee Rule

Spirit-Filled Songs: Christian Worship Music Then & Now
2023-11-04 12:00 - 13:30 | New Joy Lutheran Church, 316 W. 156th St., Westfield, IN, 46074, United States
ASL Interpreted.
Experience a participatory concert of Christian music spanning decades and genres ranging from traditional hymns to South African songs performed by the multi-racial Faithful Friends Band.
Members of the Faithful Friends Band met during a gathering of the Indianapolis Great Banquet – a multi-racial weekend rooted in Christian faith and music. These talented performers invite you to listen and sing along to a selection of praise music ranging from gospel and traditional music to contemporary Christian and South African hymns. Attendees will also learn about the history of the songs – all of which were chosen on how they nourish the spirit – as well as their composers. Explore and experience how music nourishes the human spirit while forming community with others through song!
Questions? Contact 317-691-9670 or rvertner@yahoo.com.
Event Partners: A partnership between churches and congregants of Walk in the Light Christian Church, Traders Point Christian Church, Alive in the Word, Glory to God Christian Church, Little Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, and New Joy Lutheran Church, with support from the Indianapolis Great Banquet.
Event Registration: Registration requested by Nov. 2. Walk-ins welcome! Registration link forthcoming.

Image Credit: Faithful Friends Band

FACING GRIEF: Nourishing Ourselves and Others Through Loss
2023-11-05 06:30 - 08:00 | Unity Indianapolis Church, 907 N. Delaware St., Indianapolis, IN, 46202, United States
The Nov. 5 performance at 4pm will have live captioning to a screen.
The Nov. 7 performance at 7pm will has ASL interpretation.
All other accommodation requests should be made by Oct. 20.
Many of us don’t know what to say or do when a loved one experiences profound grief. Through live theatrical enactments of various scenarios, audiences are invited to practice reacting to loss and supporting those they love.
Our brains are wired for survival, not loss, creating significant challenges in the aftermath of profound grief. FACING GRIEF, a presentation of The Sapphire Theatre’s award-winning PICTURE THIS® applied theatre programming, engages improvisational actors to act out brief scenarios. Staying in character, they “break the fourth wall” for an interactive talk back with the audience at the crisis point of each scene. Society and the community can do better for those who are hurting. Theatre can help show the way by allowing participants to practice how to have hard conversations, hold space, and listen. Musicians, interfaith ministers, educators, counselors and other subject matter experts will help facilitate this event.
FACING GRIEF will also be performed twice on November 5 at Unity Indianapolis. The 11:30am performance will follow a specially-themed worship service (10am) that all are welcome to attend! A second performance is scheduled for 4pm. FACING GRIEF is also being performed on on November 3 and 7 at the Phoenix Theatre. If interested in these other performances, please return to the event calendar and register for those dates/times.
Questions? Contact 317-966-7529 or andrea@sapphiretheatre.com
Event Partners: Sapphire Theatre Co.; Phoenix Theatre Cultural Center; Unity of Indianapolis; Jon Swanson, PhD.; Deandra Dycus; and Congregation Beth-El Zedeck.
Event Registration: Registration requested by Nov. 5, but walk-ins are welcome as space permits. Registration link forthcoming.
Audience Note: This program is focused on people who are seeking to better support loved ones experiencing profound bereavement. However, those currently grieving are welcome to attend – care is being shown to create an emotionally safe space.

Delicious Silence: Cooking, Eating, & Community Care without Saying a Word
2023-11-05 06:30 - 10:00 | Indy’s Kitchen, 2442 Central Ave., Indianapolis, IN, 46205, United States
SOLD OUT.
ASL Upon Request.
Prepare lunch with a group of strangers and eat it together, all in silence. Afterwards, reflect, via facilitated mindful dialogue, on your communal experience and what it means to nourish and be nourished.
Silent practice is a cornerstone of Zen Buddhism. At its heart, Zen meditation practice is returning to ease in the body and ease in breathing, allowing one to turn towards whatever they are experiencing. Participants will experience the effects of living this way for a short time and then reflect on their experience through a facilitated mindful dialogue at the end of the meal. In this way, we hope participants will have the opportunity to explore what it means to nourish and be nourished on many levels, beyond words and concepts, through the collective experience of making a meal and consuming it together in perfect silence.
Questions? Contact 317-296-4540 or hello@indycommunityyoga.org
Event Partners: Indy Community Yoga, The Indianapolis Zen Center, and Indy’s Kitchen.
Event Registration: Registration required by Oct. 20. Due to the nature of this event, we cannot accommodate walk-in guests.
Audience Note: After an orientation to silent practice and kitchen safety (overseen by professional kitchen staff), participants will prepare, consume, and clean up together in silence. Food allergies/sensitivities or accommodations needed to participate in the meal preparation should be communicated the organizers in the registration form.
Donations: Donations are not expected but are warmly accepted to help us cover the costs of fresh ingredients, facility rental, and the labor of a professional kitchen staff person. Those costs evenly divided amongst participants amount to $30 per person. Thank you for any level of support and your sincere participation in Delicious Silence.

Byakula: Nourishing Others from Congo to Indy
2023-11-05 09:00 - 11:00 | Northminster Presbyterian Church, 1660 Kessler Blvd. East Dr., Indianapolis, IN, 46220, United States
“Byakula” is the Congolese word for nourishment, and you are invited to join in an afternoon of learning, listening, fellowship, and a taste of Congo!
Representatives from Exodus Refugee Immigration will share insights into the process of identifying and helping to relocate refugees from around the world to Indianapolis. They will delve into the history and current situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and highlight ways in which local congregations, such as Northminster Presbyterian, support the work welcoming and supporting refugees. Most importantly, the Lutumika family – mother, Salima and daughter, Helene – will share stories from their time in Congo and Burundi while showcasing and tasting foods that are important to their sense of identity, culture, and family bonds.
Questions? Contact 317-251-9489 or office@northminster-indy.org
Event Partners: Northminster Presbyterian Church and Exodus Refugee Immigration.
Event Registration: Registration requested by Friday, Nov. 3. Walk-ins are welcome as space permits!

FACING GRIEF: Nourishing Ourselves and Others Through Loss
2023-11-05 11:00 - 12:30 | Unity Indianapolis Church, 907 N. Delaware St., Indianapolis, IN, 46202, United States
The Nov. 5 performance at 4pm will have live captioning to a screen.
The Nov. 7 performance at 7pm will has ASL interpretation.
All other accommodation requests should be made by Oct. 20.
Many of us don’t know what to say or do when a loved one experiences profound grief. Through live theatrical enactments of various scenarios, audiences are invited to practice reacting to loss and supporting those they love.
Our brains are wired for survival, not loss, creating significant challenges in the aftermath of profound grief. FACING GRIEF, a presentation of The Sapphire Theatre’s award-winning PICTURE THIS® applied theatre programming, engages improvisational actors to act out brief scenarios. Staying in character, they “break the fourth wall” for an interactive talk back with the audience at the crisis point of each scene. Society and the community can do better for those who are hurting. Theatre can help show the way by allowing participants to practice how to have hard conversations, hold space, and listen. Musicians, interfaith ministers, educators, counselors and other subject matter experts will help facilitate this event.
FACING GRIEF will also be performed twice on November 5 at Unity Indianapolis. The 11:30am performance will follow a specially-themed worship service (10am) that all are welcome to attend! A second performance is scheduled for 4pm. FACING GRIEF is also being performed on on November 3 and 7 at the Phoenix Theatre. If interested in these other performances, please return to the event calendar and register for those dates/times.
Questions? Contact 317-966-7529 or andrea@sapphiretheatre.com
Event Partners: Sapphire Theatre Co.; Phoenix Theatre Cultural Center; Unity of Indianapolis; Jon Swanson, PhD.; Deandra Dycus; and Congregation Beth-El Zedeck.
Event Registration: Registration requested by Nov. 5, but walk-ins are welcome as space permits. Registration link forthcoming
Audience Note: This program is focused on people who are seeking to better support loved ones experiencing profound bereavement. However, those currently grieving are welcome to attend – care is being shown to create an emotionally safe space.

Nourishing Our Spirits: an interfaith dinner with Center for Interfaith Cooperation
2023-11-06 12:00 - 14:00 | Indiana Interchurch Center – Krannert Hall, 1100 W. 42nd St., Indianapolis, IN, 46208, United States
SOLD OUT
Enjoy conversation over dinner with members from across Indianapolis’ faith communities on the ways food rituals and practices sustain faith.
Hindu, Jewish, Pagan, Sikh, and Sufi prayers and reflective practices will be offered by local faith leaders as well as information on the historical and cultural significance of these practices. Dinner will follow and, with the aid of dialogue cards and table facilitators, attendees will be invited to share their own reflections on history, culture, food, and faith. Digital booklets of recipes, prayers, and reflections will keep attendees engaged after the event.
Questions? Contact 317-268-5300 or josih@indycic.org.
Event Partners: Center for Interfaith Cooperation, Sufi Ruhaniat International, Indiana Pagan Community Outreach and Dialogue, Hindu Temple of Central Indiana, Sikh Satsang Indianapolis, and Congregation Beth-El Zedeck.
Event Registration: Due to a seating limit of 50 guests, registration is required by October 30.

Indy Community Voices: Storytelling for Tenants’ Empowerment
2023-11-06 12:00 - 15:00 | The Amp at 16 Tech, 1220 Waterway Blvd., Indianapolis, IN, 46202, United States
Housing is a basic human need. This event invites communities in Indy to share their experiences and envision paths for affordable housing stability, which is central to human and community nourishment.
Please join us to share and listen to stories and experiences around rental housing and building communities in Indianapolis. Stories have power as they bring people together to build community through shared experiences. Using multiple art forms and other means of expression, this event highlights the centrality of stories for creating spaces of community nourishment and empowerment. Attendees to this event will be encouraged to share their stories verbally, through art and audio, before hearing from panelists who will share their stories, experiences, and struggles related to rental housing in Indianapolis. Attendees will also be able to consult with housing attorneys and the City of Indianapolis Tenant Navigators.
Questions? Contact 434-242-1012 or indyhousingproject@gmail.com.
Event Partners: Indy Community Voices Podcast; Patricia Basile, assistant professor in the IU College of Arts and Sciences Department of Geography in Bloomington; Andy Beck, community designer with the Learning Tree, equitable development consultant; Greater Indianapolis Multifaith Alliance (GIMA); and Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership (INHP).
Event Registration: Registration requested by Nov. 5 (button below). Walk-ins welcome.
Audience Note: Doors open at 5pm with food and activities. Panel remarks will begin at 6pm.

Image Credit: Wildstyle Paschall

FACING GRIEF: Nourishing Ourselves and Others Through Loss
2023-11-07 14:00 - 15:30 | Phoenix Theater Cultural Center, 705 N. Illinois Street, Indianapolis, IN, United States
The Nov. 5 performance at 4pm will have live captioning to a screen.
The Nov. 7 performance at 7pm will has ASL interpretation.
All other accommodation requests should be made by Oct. 20.
Many of us don’t know what to say or do when a loved one experiences profound grief. Through live theatrical enactments and original music, audiences are invited to practice reacting to loss and supporting those they love.
Our brains are wired for survival, not loss, creating significant challenges in the aftermath of profound grief. FACING GRIEF, a presentation of The Sapphire Theatre’s award-winning PICTURE THIS® applied theatre programming, engages improvisational actors to act out brief scenarios. Staying in character, they “break the fourth wall” for an interactive talk back with the audience at the crisis point of each scene. Society and the community can do better for those who are hurting. Theatre can help show the way by allowing participants to practice how to have hard conversations, hold space, and listen. Musicians, interfaith ministers, educators, counselors and other subject matter experts will help facilitate this event.
FACING GRIEF will also be performed twice on November 5 at Unity Indianapolis. The 11:30am performance will follow a specially-themed worship service (10am) that all are welcome to attend! A second performance is scheduled for 4pm. FACING GRIEF is also being performed on on November 3 at the Phoenix Theatre. If interested in these other performances, please return to the event calendar and register for those dates/times.
Questions? Contact 317-966-7529 or andrea@sapphiretheatre.com
Event Partners: Sapphire Theatre Co.; Phoenix Theatre Cultural Center; Unity of Indianapolis; Jon Swanson, PhD.; Deandra Dycus; and Congregation Beth-El Zedeck.
Event Registration: Registration requested by Nov. 5, but walk-ins are welcome as space permits. Registration link forthcoming.
Audience Note: This program is focused on people who are seeking to better support loved ones experiencing profound bereavement. However, those currently grieving are welcome to attend – care is being shown to create an emotionally safe space.

Nourish: Testimonies about Food, Family, and Love (Day 1: Film Screening)
2023-11-10 11:00 - 14:00 | Broadway United Methodist Church, 609 E. 29th St., Indianapolis, IN, 46205, United States
A two-day celebration focused on the healing powers of food, community, and spirituality featuring films, food, and testimonies from Black femme creators.
The gathering will take attendees on an immersive visual, sensual, auditory, and spiritual experience in the spirit of honoring how Black femmes have nourished themselves and one another while making an indelible impact on the world.
On Friday, Nov. 10, two films – “In Our Mother’s Gardens” and “Food as Resistance” will be shown. Dinner will be served in between screenings and a discussion about the ways lineage, love, and (unjust) food systems intersect will close the night.
The following day (Nov. 11) will feature music, storytelling, and the culinary arts in a Testimony Service for all! (Think: Moth Radio Hour.) Testimony services have their roots in the Black church tradition as a time where people can take to the altar and tell a story or sing a song that illustrates a triumphant moment in their lives. Attendees will be given writing prompts for their own reflections and will hear from a selection of Black femme speakers before enjoying refreshments.
Doors open at 4pm each day for guests to congregate with each other. Programming begins at 5pm.
Audience Note: While this event is open to people from all faiths or non-faith backgrounds, Black Christian traditions as well as African ancestral practices will be honored.
Questions? Please contact317-413-1239 or TheTestimonyServiceOnline@gmail.com
Event Partners: The Testimony Service and The Center for Religion, Arts, and Culture.
Event Registration: Registration requested by Nov.3, but walk-in guests are welcome!

Image Courtesy of The Testimony Service

Nourishing Democracy: Healthy IPS School Board Elections
2023-11-10 13:00 - 16:00 | MLK Community Center, 40 W. 40th St., Indianapolis, IN, 46205, United States
Constitutional republics must be nourished to stay viable. As school board elections offer a microcosm of democracy, what does IPS board history teach us about the democratic process and what citizens can do to nurture their own sense of civic empowerment?
Once regulated to the May Primary, Indianapolis school board elections are now large and expensive early November events. Debate from a plurality of perspectives is needed for a healthy democracy and a vigorous public education system. So is an understanding of local history. In the early 1920s, little to no competition existed in school board races which were ostensibly run by the Citizens School Committee. This is the era that deeply segregated and segmented Indianapolis’s public schools into a caste system. As recent media stories have shown, modern school board elections are being inundated with outside money – and agendas – that threaten to shape public schools in ways the community may not want. Using primary sources and recent news articles, attendees will be divided into working groups to compare and contrast the past to the present in an effort to plan for the future. Visual arts, poetry, and music will further help attendees appreciate the challenges democracy faces while inspiring them to stay engaged and active.
Questions? Contact 317-998-1339 or johnharrisloflin@yahoo.com.
Audience Notes: Doors open at 6pm for guests to interact with the exhibits. Programming begins at 7pm.
Event Partners: Charles E. Loflin & Virginia P. Vornehm-Loflin Center on IPS History, the Black & Latino Policy Institute, Virgil and Sheila Boyd, Wyse Ra, Rev. Dr. Thomas L. Brown, and artists Dr. Monday, Clyde Gaw, and Clockwork Janz.
Event Registration: Registration requested by Nov. 9. Walk-ins welcome!

How to Eat with Tuning Forks
2023-11-11 07:00 - 09:00 | Garfield Park Arts Center – Main Gallery, 2432 Conservatory Dr., Indianapolis, IN, United States
Collectively create a soundscape by eating lunch in front of microphones, banging on kitchen percussion, and talking about the foods that nourish you.
Here’s the deal: Bring your own lunch to the Garfield Park Arts Center, but make sure it’s a meal that balances both your need for nourishment and convenience. You’ll then be invited to chew, crunch, munch, gobble – you know, eat! – in front of microphones while also considering what it is about this meal that nourishes you (however you define “nourish!”) and meets your need for convenience. A live musician playing ambient chords along with some “kitchen percussion” will play in the background with the sounds of eating, story sharing, and music blending together into a recorded soundscape.
Questions? Contact 317-345-0176 or clockworkmakesmusic@gmail.com.
Event Partners: Clockwork Music, Arts with a Purpose, and Garfield Park Arts Center.
Audience Note: If you are not comfortable being in front of a microphone helping to make improvisational music, tables and chairs will be set to the side … but we really encourage you to make some totally unique art with us! While this can be a come-and-go style event, here’s what will be going on when:
12 – Doors open
12:15 – Introduction, tutorial on reading a graphic score
12: 20- Write your own Lunch Story, talking with a neighbor is encouraged
12:30(ish) – Lunch is self-served (bring your own!). Eat and create this soundscape together.
1:30 – Mingling
2:00 – Doors close
Event Registration: Registration requested by Nov. 11. Walk-ins welcome.

Image/Logo Credit: Ankh Productions

Quiet as a Gateway
2023-11-11 10:00 - 12:00 | Indianapolis First Friends, 3030 Kessler Blvd., East Drive, Indianapolis, IN, 46220, United States
ASL provided if requested by Nov. 3.
Join in as a Friends (Quaker) minister, philosophy scholar of Buddhism, art therapist, and a meditation instructor guide attendees in paths leading to a quiet state.
Quiet can reduce stress, enhance creativity, and deepen a sense of tranquility. It is a space – and practice – that encourages self-exploration and can help lead to a deeper understanding of our place in the universe. Guided by practitioners of different meditative and philosophical approaches, as well as a (secular) artist, this event invites guests to feel the power of quiet through dialogue, practice, and art-making activities.
Questions? Contact 317-627-3147 or cyfitzpatrick@gmail.com.
Event Partners: IUPUI Senior Academy and Indianapolis First Friends Meeting.
Event Registration: Registration requested by Nov. 9. Walk-ins welcome!

Forest Bathing to Nourish the Mind, Body, & Soul
2023-11-12 08:00 - 09:30 | Crown Hill Cemetery – Waiting Station, 3402 Boulevard Pl., Indianapolis, IN, 46208, United States
SOLD OUT. Please contact event organizers to inquire about a waitlist.

ASL Upon Request by Oct. 27.
Enjoy a 60-minute guided walk through Crown Hill Cemetery’s Arboretum that will nourish an appreciation for the benefits of nature.
“Forest bathing” promotes interaction between humans and wooded spaces, which is deeply needed in a culture that too often sees nature as a commodity to be bought, sold, transformed, and used. Studies have shown the health benefits of being in nature – it can lower blood pressure, calm heart rates, and reduce levels of harmful hormones all while helping individuals form stronger connections to their communities. Led by a guide certified by the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy Guides and Programs, this event invites you to listen to nature, savor the sounds and smells of the outdoors, and be mindful of the ways nature can nourish the mind, body, and soul.
Questions? Contact 317-920-2644 or jrdinius@crownhill.org.
Event Partners: Crown Hill Heritage Foundation, Indiana DNR—Division of Forestry, and Wanderwood Studio.
Event Registration: Due limited space, registration is required. Walk-in guests cannot be accommodated.

In Gratitude: An Opening Celebration
2024-11-01 07:00 - 09:00 | Garfield Park Arts Center – Main Gallery, 2432 Conservatory Dr., Indianapolis, IN, United States
Storytelling portion will have ASL Interpretation.
Celebrate the opening of the Spirit & Place Festival by letting us show you our gratitude with live music by Alexo Cazares and Eric Salazar, a storytelling performance by Sally Perkins, and artmaking activities led by the Ivy Tech Fine Arts Department! Art supplies and food are available while supplies last.
**Why a daytime opening event? Many of our longtime festival supporters have told us that going out in the evening is a challenge. We hope a daytime event filled with great music, food, stories, and artmaking will allow as many people as possible to enjoy the Spirit & Place Festival!**
Questions? Contact 317-274-2462 or festival@iu.edu.
Event Organizers: A partnership between Spirit & Place, Garfield Park Arts Center, and Ivy Tech Fine Arts Department.
Registration: Registration using the blue button below.

Ivy Tech Fine Arts Dept.

Sally Perkins

Growing Gratitude: Celebrate, Connect, and Care for Creation
2024-11-02 09:00 - 10:30 | Friedens United Church of Christ, 8300 S. Meridian St., Indianapolis, 46217, United States
ASL & Spanish Language Interpreted.
ASL assistance provided by IUI’s Program in American Sign Language (ASL) and English Interpreting

Join in a joyful celebration to show our deep appreciation and connection with each other and Mother Earth. Listen and share stories and songs. Dance, breathe, move, create, and even cook in an expression of gratitude for the earth, skies, seas, and all living creatures.
Children, teens, and their families will enjoy a story with IndyPL library staff and also have an opportunity for creative expression and acts of service or advocacy with our event partners. Activities might include listening to and/or participating in songs, dance, artwork, planting seeds or harvesting from the gardens outside of the church. Attendees might make a refrigerator sign or discover cooking ideas to help prevent food waste. Families might even make treats for animals, engage in yoga, make a craft out of recyclable materials, write a thank you letter to the earth or an advocacy letter to an elected official.
Questions?: Contact 317-709-5857 or pastorsarah.friedensucc@outlook.com.
Event Organizers: A partnership between Friedens United Church of Christ with Conscious Caring Community and Metamorphosis Friends, Perry Meridian Middle School Choir, Persimmon Herb School, Earth Charter Indiana, West Perry Library, Audubon Society, Community Food Box Project, Leo’s Plants and Love, and Soul Food Project’s Youth Grow Indy Team.
Registration: Walk-in guests are welcome, but registration is appreciated at https://forms.gle/TcXEy2QkPDjivzJq6.
Growing Gratitude

Adventures in Gratitude
2024-11-02 11:00 - 13:00 | Irvington Presbyterian Church, 55 Johnson Ave., Indianapolis, 46219, United States
Discovering new ways to express “thanks” can be an exciting adventure! This self-directed open-house event for all ages invites us to experience gratitude for small things and the big things using our bodies, minds, voices, and spirits.
This event recognizes gratitude is not just something we feel, but something we do—and it is something that multiplies when we share it with others. Join us and expand your toolbox for “doing” gratitude!
Upon arrival guests will receive a map containing descriptions of the event spaces open for exploration. Singing, moving, writing, visual art, and meditation—explore it all for as long (or little) as you wish! Each person or family group is invited to choose what calls to them. For example, creating gratitude-focused lyrics for simple call and response songs, writing or drawing a thank-you note, expressing thanks in movement, or sitting in peaceful quiet.
Questions?: Contact 317-682-4946 or info@indianapoliswomenschorus.org.
Event Organizers: A partnership between Indianapolis Women’s Chorus, Irvington Arts Collective, and Irvington Presbyterian Church.
Registration: Walk-in guests are welcome, but registration greatly appreciated. Use the blue button below to register.

Balsa Wood, a play by Lou Harry
2024-11-02 11:00 - 13:00, 2024-11-02 15:00 - 17:00 | Super Tortas, 2641 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis, 46222, United States
On the road away from rather than toward anything, Robin finds refuge in the home of Carrie, an iconoclast with an open heart and an open door, who provides a place—without judgment—for human strays. An audience-inclusive discussion about unspoken gratitude will follow the performance.
Intimately staged for a limited number of audience members at each performance, Balsa Wood centers on characters struggling with their pasts and finding connection with those who, on the surface, are different from themselves. Yes, it has intense moments, but it also has humor and provides a chance to see through the surfaces of those who seem unfamiliar.
In a post-performance discussion, audience members are invited to become part of an open discussion about unspoken gratitude and people they’ve known or witnessed who have done something for others without expectation or acknowledgement.
Dates & Times: Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3PM & 7PM and Sunday, Nov. 3 at 3PM.
Questions?: Contact 317-990-1698 or caitlin@indyconvergence.org.
Event Organizers: A play by Lou Harry produced by Indy Convergence.
Registration: Limited seating. Tickets $15 in advance/$20 at the door. Use the blue button below to register.

Awe: A Spirit & Place Festival Book Discussion
2024-11-03 07:00 - 08:15 | MTI School of Knowledge, 4950 W. 34th Street, Indianapolis, 46205, United States
Ahead of this year’s Public Conversation, take a deep dive into Dacher Keltner’s book Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How it Can Transform Your Life. Join us for a cross-cultural, multi-generational dialogue as we explore how we might tap into the power of everyday awe. Book club-style conversation led by Dr. David Craig and artist Rachel Hellmann.
Dacher Keltner has spent his career studying emotions such happiness, gratitude, and awe. His research, and the research of others, shows how messy human emotions are, in fact, messy for a reason. Humans evolved a complex range of emotions — including gratitude and awe — to help us find connections that exist between our individual selves and our communities. As Keltner writes in The Gratitude Project, “Gratitude depends on the humble dependence on others.” And, in Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How it Can Transform Your Life, he writes, “Awe enables us to see the systems underlying the wonders of life and locate ourselves in relation to them.” This discussion invites attendees to explore these connections.
Questions?: Contact 317-274-2426 or festival@iu.edu.
Event Organizers: A partnership between IU Indianapolis Department of Religious Studies, Senior Academy of IU Indianapolis, and Indianapolis Muslim Community Association.
Registration: Register by using the blue button below.

The Cultural Construction of Gratitude
2024-11-03 08:30 - 10:00 | Congregation Beth-El Zedeck, 600 W. 70th Street, Indianapolis, 46260, United States
While the act of gratitude is universal, its expression is based on cultural norms. Our event invites you to learn about and explore how different cultures express gratitude through interactive vignettes and meaningful conversation.
“Gratitude” seems simple enough, but when you layer in different cultural interpretations, it becomes far more nuanced than one might expect. A politeness learned from an early age in one cultural setting may be seen as rudeness in another. In three short vignettes, audience members will experience scenes from different cultures illustrating various ways gratitude may be expressed. At one point the scene will freeze and a narrator will invite the audience into the scene, first by asking what they saw then by engaging the various actors (who will remain in character) in dialogue. The audience will have an opportunity to experience how different communities view gratitude and its expression while building their own cultural competencies.
Questions?: Contact 317-531-6299 or gkelley@bez613.org.
Event Organizers: A partnership between Congregation Beth-El Zedeck, IU Indianapolis Department of World Languages and Cultures, and Alley Theatre Company.
Registration: Walk-in guests are welcome, but registration is encouraged. Use the blue button below.

Balsa Wood, a play by Lou Harry
2024-11-03 10:00 - 12:00 | Super Tortas, 2641 W. Michigan St., Indianapolis, 46222, United States
On the road away from rather than toward anything, Robin finds refuge in the home of Carrie, an iconoclast with an open heart and an open door, who provides a place—without judgment—for human strays. An audience-inclusive discussion about unspoken gratitude will follow the performance.
Intimately staged for a limited number of audience members at each performance, Balsa Wood centers on characters struggling with their pasts and finding connection with those who, on the surface, are different from themselves. Yes, it has intense moments, but it also has humor and provides a chance to see through the surfaces of those who seem unfamiliar.
In a post-performance discussion, audience members are invited to become part of an open discussion about unspoken gratitude and people they’ve known or witnessed who have done something for others without expectation or acknowledgement.
Dates & Times: Saturday, Nov. 2 at 3PM & 7PM and Sunday, Nov. 3 at 3PM.
Questions?: Contact 317-990-1698 or caitlin@indyconvergence.org.
Event Organizers: A play by Lou Harry produced by Indy Convergence.
Tickets/Registration: Limited seating. Tickets $15 in advance & $20 at the door. Use the blue button below to register.

Serene -- NOW!!
2024-11-04 07:00 - 10:30 | St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St., Indianapolis, IN, 46260, United States
Step away from fuzzy brains and knotted shoulders and join us to experience an afternoon of centering a sense of gratitude and calm. Engage all your senses and look inward to look outward. Come-and-go style event!
Guests will be welcomed into a largely silent space – at least very quiet! They will be greeted, offered an event map, learn to say please, thank you, hello, and other words via ASL interpreters, and be encouraged to explore ways of finding calm and deep gratitude in a hectic and stress-filled world. As they visit different stations, they will be able to create/color mandalas, read and reflect on passages from sacred texts and literature, be invited to respond to writing prompts for a group poetry creation or personal journaling, and create a gratitude/neighborly chain with Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood tools. Guests may also listen to a curated contemplative playlist, walk a labyrinth, read articles on mental health wellness and gratitude practices, engage in meditation and sun salutations, and learn about ways they can give back to the community. There will be guides at each station, and guests can visit all or one. Each station will be appropriate for children and adults, and many will include take-home tools, too.
Questions?: Contact 317-614-0451 or gstrong@wfyi.org.
Event Organizers: A partnership between WFYI Public Media and St. Luke’s United Methodist Church.
Registration: Walk-in guests are welcome, but registration is appreciated and will open in early October.
