The Garden

The Garden As a community church, The Garden's mission is to share in the journey of spiritual exploration through creativity, compassion, and care.

We seek to create and inspire goodness and love in the world, and we are committed to Inclusiveness, Spiritual Growth, Creativity, Social Equity & Outreach.

09/03/2026

Music this Sunday at The Garden:

"Everybody Wants To Rule The World"
Sung by Michael Read
Written by Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley & Chris Hughes

"If You’re Hurting"
Sung by Joey McClain & Caroline Smith
Written by Madi Diaz, Georgia Greene, Quinn D'Andrea, Lauren Jones

"Someday We’ll All Be Free"
Sung by Caroline Smith
Written by Edward Howard & Donny Hathaway

Twenty‑five years ago, the world as we knew it changed in an instant. This Sunday, we mark the 25th anniversary of Septe...
09/02/2026

Twenty‑five years ago, the world as we knew it changed in an instant. This Sunday, we mark the 25th anniversary of September 11th — a day that continues to shape our national memory, our shared story, and the quiet corners of our personal lives.

We’ll ask the question “Where Were You?”, not to reopen old wounds, but to honor the way memory forms us. Amid the noise that surrounds us -- the history, politics, commentary, and competing narratives -- we’ll consider how we carry our stories with honesty, tenderness, and hope.

Together, we’ll reflect on what has changed over time, what has stubbornly stayed the same, and how we continue to seek healing and purpose in the midst of it all.

Join us this Sunday for “Where Were You?” This is a time to remember, to breathe, and to look toward a future shaped not only by what happened, but by how we choose to live now.

Life comes with no map. We try to make our own and we set out, sometimes with excitement, sometimes with fear or grief, ...
08/26/2026

Life comes with no map. We try to make our own and we set out, sometimes with excitement, sometimes with fear or grief, or just because standing still isn't an option. Sometimes we go not entirely sure where we're headed or what we'll find when we get there.

In one of the most quietly beautiful stories in the Gospel of Luke, two travelers, heavy with loss and confusion, walk a road from Jerusalem. They meet a stranger, who falls in step beside them. They don't know who he is. They don't know what's coming next. But they keep walking. Somewhere in the walking, something shifts. The Road to Emmaus isn't really a story about a destination. It's a story about what happens on the way there: the conversations, the companions, the moments of unexpected recognition that change everything.

Join us Sunday as we explore what it means to be on a journey full of unknowns. Do we fear that which we cannot know, or can we embrace the uncertainty as part of the adventure?

08/23/2026

What if Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” are not about who gets to see God someday, but an invitation to learn how to see God now? The great Christian mystics believed that the heart is more than the center of our emotions. It is an “organ of spiritual perception,” a way of seeing beneath the surface of things into the deeper reality of God’s presence.

Richard Rohr says this is what mysticism is really about. Mystics are not spiritual elites who have strange or extraordinary experiences. They are people who have learned to go beneath the surface and discover the “connected core of reality.” The result is not simply a different experience of God; it is a different way of seeing everything. They begin to see grace in all things and the deep connections between all things—seeing a neighbor instead of a stranger, a human being instead of an enemy, sacred creation instead of commodities, connection instead of separation, and Divine Presence where we previously assumed God was absent.

And that gives us perhaps the most important test of genuine mystical spirituality: Are we becoming more loving? The goal of contemplative practice is not extraordinary spiritual experiences. Its fruit is a growing capacity for compassion, generosity, freedom, and love—a different way of being in the world.

Let's explore what Jesus might mean by a “pure heart,” what keeps us from seeing clearly, how learning from the mystics and their practices can help us awaken to a God who may be much closer than we realize, and how all of this might enable us to act in the world with greater peace, hope, and clarity.

What if Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” are not about who gets to see God someday...
08/19/2026

What if Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God,” are not about who gets to see God someday, but an invitation to learn how to see God now? The great Christian mystics believed that the heart is more than the center of our emotions. It is an “organ of spiritual perception,” a way of seeing beneath the surface of things into the deeper reality of God’s presence.

Richard Rohr says this is what mysticism is really about. Mystics are not spiritual elites who have strange or extraordinary experiences. They are people who have learned to go beneath the surface and discover the “connected core of reality.” The result is not simply a different experience of God; it is a different way of seeing everything. They begin to see grace in all things and the deep connections between all things—seeing a neighbor instead of a stranger, a human being instead of an enemy, sacred creation instead of commodities, connection instead of separation, and Divine Presence where we previously assumed God was absent.

And that gives us perhaps the most important test of genuine mystical spirituality: Are we becoming more loving? The goal of contemplative practice is not extraordinary spiritual experiences. Its fruit is a growing capacity for compassion, generosity, freedom, and love—a different way of being in the world.

Let's explore what Jesus might mean by a “pure heart,” what keeps us from seeing clearly, how learning from the mystics and their practices can help us awaken to a God who may be much closer than we realize, and how all of this might enable us to act in the world with greater peace, hope, and clarity.

08/16/2026

The relationship we have with our mothers is one of the most meaningful in our lives. Sometimes sweet, sometimes difficult…or worse…but always full of complexity. And researchers have determined that this most significant of relationships actually begins in the womb. It’s the template where we first learn about love, whether we were fortunate to have loving mothers, or mothers who sadly were unable to love us as we needed and deserved. This primal, intense relationship continues throughout our lives, influencing and shaping who we become and how we relate to others as we journey through on our own paths.

Is it any wonder then that the death of our mothers is one of the most impactful losses that we will experience? And yet, even after her death, it’s possible to have a continuing conversation and relationship with her…with her gifts and her flaws…that allows for connection and the possibility of repair and forgiveness.

This Sunday, please join us as we explore the joys, sorrows, and possibilities of the eternal bond between mother and child.

The relationship we have with our mothers is one of the most meaningful in our lives. Sometimes sweet, sometimes difficu...
08/12/2026

The relationship we have with our mothers is one of the most meaningful in our lives. Sometimes sweet, sometimes difficult…or worse…but always full of complexity. And researchers have determined that this most significant of relationships actually begins in the womb. It’s the template where we first learn about love, whether we were fortunate to have loving mothers, or mothers who sadly were unable to love us as we needed and deserved. This primal, intense relationship continues throughout our lives, influencing and shaping who we become and how we relate to others as we journey through on our own paths.

Is it any wonder then that the death of our mothers is one of the most impactful losses that we will experience? And yet, even after her death, it’s possible to have a continuing conversation and relationship with her…with her gifts and her flaws…that allows for connection and the possibility of repair and forgiveness.

This Sunday, please join us as we explore the joys, sorrows, and possibilities of the eternal bond between mother and child.

Address

7171 North Pennsylvania Street
Indianapolis, IN
46240

Opening Hours

9am - 12pm

Telephone

+13172968118

Website

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