5/25 Service Times

Service times will be different this weekend:

North Indy | 9:30 AM, combined worship service

Midtown | 11 AM, contemporary service

Hunger Symposium


Do you know how many people in Central Indiana go hungry every week? How is this possible, and how do we end it? 

St. Luke’s Hunger Symposium will help us learn the truth about food need in our city and what we are doing about it. The results of a recent survey by the Indy Hunger Network show that: 

  • 25% of the Marion County population needs food assistance 
  • Indianapolis has a robust food safety net that provides over 150 million meals each year, and still 25% of households with food need miss meals every week
  • The percentage of African American households with food need is twice as high as the general population
  • 2/3 of households with food need have at least one person employed for wages 

The Hunger Symposium, through partnership with the Crooked Creek Food Pantry, honors our own Steve Claffey and his effort to end hunger in the city.  

The program will include: 

  • “The Working Hungry” 30-minute documentary produced by the Indy Hunger Network
  • Three notable speakers who have contributed to the fight against hunger (see details below) 
  • Opportunities to volunteer and financially support the Crooked Creek Food Pantry 
  • Action steps to change the systems that leave the working poor with food insecurity.

Action Steps

Sign up now to work alongside our own Travis and Sara Bannon to connect neighbors, provide food, and enhance our Midtown community.

Register Now

Your donation will be TRIPLED by matching funds from St. Luke’s. 

GIVE NOW

CCFP is an important partner ministry of St. Luke's Outreach Ministry, helping us achieve impact in our Food Security pillar of focus. CCFP was founded 7 years ago as a 501(c)(3) corporation with the mission of fighting food insecurity in Northwest Indianapolis.

VOLUNTEER

Attend a short info session to become a Living Wage Ambassador 

LIVING WAGE AMBASSADOR TRAINING INFO REGARDING GWI

The U.S. farm bill is up for renewal in 2023. This sweeping legislation includes provisions for all federal nutrition programs, which provide 85% of the food safety net in our country. Our own Indiana Senator Braun sits on the Senate Committee that oversees this bill. 

SAMPLE LETTER

Featured Speakers

Jim Morris

A graduate of Indiana University with a master’s degree from Butler University, Morris has spent much of his life in Indianapolis in a variety of key positions, including Chief of Staff for former Mayor Richard G. Lugar, President of the Lilly Endowment, and currently as the Vice Chairman for Pacers Sports & Entertainment.

Before joining PS&E, Morris was the Executive Director for five years for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) where he led the world’s largest humanitarian agency. That took him to many struggling parts of the world as he worked on behalf of the hungry and poor, particularly children. He also served as the Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the humanitarian crisis in southern Africa during those same years. 

Morris is happily married to Jackie, and they have three children, eight grandchildren, and two wonderful King Charles Cavalier puppies, Buster and Brownie. 

Fred Glass

Fred Glass is the President/CEO of Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, the state’s largest hunger relief organization and one of the leading food banks in the Feeding America Network. 

Fred has spent a career in various leadership roles where his values-based leadership and collaborative spirit have led to success. Before joining Gleaners, Fred served as Vice President and Athletic Director for Indiana University from 2009 to 2020. 

In his memoir, Making Your Own Luck: From a Skid Row Bar to Rebuilding Indiana University Athletics, Fred writes about his father’s efforts to feed the hungry at his bar, including having holiday family dinners at the bar with patrons who had nowhere else to go. 

Fred and his wife Barbara live in Indianapolis and have four children and five grandchildren.  

Dave Miner

Dave received a BS and Ph.D. in Chemistry and had a 28-year career at Eli Lilly and Co. Since that time, he has become a leading expert on hunger in Indianapolis, heading up five major studies of hunger and food assistance. He also helped produce the recent documentary, The Working Hungry. 

As a ‘full time volunteer’ Dave provides leadership for multiple organizations working to end hunger. He has been active with Bread for the World for many years at the local and national level, leading efforts in Indiana, and serving on the national Board of Directors, including six years as chair of the board. Dave was founding President of Indy Hunger Network, is steering committee chair for the Good Wages Initiative, and was board chair for the Alliance to End Hunger. In 2014, he received the Jefferson Award for Community Service. 


Crooked Creek Food Pantry

CCFP is an important partner ministry of St. Luke's Outreach Ministry, helping us achieve impact in our Food Security pillar of focus. CCFP was founded February 2015 as a 501(c)(3) corporation with the mission of fighting food insecurity in Northwest Indianapolis. With support from St. Luke's and key founding partners Eskenazi Health, Corteva Agriscience and Gleaners Food Bank, CCFP has grown to become the third largest food pantry in central Indiana. Over 140 volunteers per week enable CCFP to distribute in excess of 280 tons of food to nearly 4000 families each month. The number of families being served by CCFP in the last year has increased dramatically (up 46%), and they need our help! Please join the fight against hunger in our community. For more information or to volunteer, visit ccfpindy.org.


SteveClaffey.pngIn Memorial

Stephen Allen Claffey was a longtime member at St. Luke’s UMC, serving in various ways over the years. He passed away on January 30, 2023, at the age of 77. Steve and his wife Linda, in connection with St. Luke’s, founded The Crooked Creek Food Pantry 7 years ago to help alleviate food insecurity in Indianapolis. Steve served as Executive Director and President of the Board, and his passion and commitment propelled the growth of CCFP into one of the largest in the state. Steve’s legacy will live on through the food pantry which, beyond his family, was his proudest accomplishment. 

Register Today

Join us for this life changing event.

Sign-Up Here

Food Insecurity

Crooked Creek Food Pantry

Crooked Creek Food Pantry (CCFP) seeks to serve and invest in the Crooked Creek community service area by operating a client choice food pantry, providing nutritional education, and building relationships to support family needs. CCFP serves over 4000 families per month, is one of the largest food pantries in Central Indiana, and utilizes over 140 volunteers per week.

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Fletcher Place Community Center

Fletcher Place Community Center (FPCC) compassionately provides programs to ease the burden of low-to-moderate income individuals who struggle with life’s basic needs. Fletcher Place’s educational offerings and day-to-day support through services like hot meal programs help break the cycle of poverty. There are dozens of ways to serve each week!

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Housing & Stability

Afghan Resettlement Project

St. Luke's has been matched by Exodus Immigration with an Afghan family of eight people. We have teams in place to surround the family for at least 90 days. We are helping them get settled, explore job possibilities, provide transportation, take them shopping, secure furnishings for their home, learn English and have fun. There are opportunities to be part of a team. Join us!

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Dove Recovery House

Dove Recovery House is committed to empowering women to become substance free, self-sufficient, and healthy, by providing safe housing, quality programming and above all hope for their future.

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Family Promise

Family Promise of Greater Indianapolis is a partnership of congregations and community organizations responding to the crisis of children and their families who are homeless.

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Servants at Work (SAWS)

Mission: SAWs© builds ADA Standard ramps that are high quality, environmentally friendly, removable and reusable for indigent persons with disabilities using wheelchairs, scooters or walkers. We seek to translate the joy-filled moment someone regains their freedom into a life changing experience for volunteers as well as for those we serve.

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Trinity Haven

At Trinity Haven, young adults will find a safe harbor and professional staff that are warm, welcoming, and affirming. THeir hope is that no LGBTQ young adult in Indianapolis has to spend the night on a park bench or under a bridge ever again. Trinity Haven provides housing options and supportive services focusing on LGBTQ young adults who are at risk for homelessness. Their programs and services include a long-term Transitional Living Program (TLP) which offers up to 24 months of shared housing, stabilization assistance, support services, independent living skills, case management, and care coordination for young adults. They also provide a short-term Host Homes Program (HHP) which offers up to 6 months of community-based housing and intensive case management for young adults in Indianapolis/Marion County.  

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Education

FAST

The FAST program is looking for tutors through a partnership with BrightLane learning. No experience needed, you will be trained and equipped with everything you need to know!

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Luke's Leaders

At Luke’s Leaders, we believe that all children are gifts with limitless potential. We seek to inspire them with the knowledge of their own giftedness and possibility. Luke’s Leaders are shaped by practical and relevant leadership skill development opportunities. These initiatives will shape them into tomorrow’s leaders...today. The development of a Luke’s Leader does not end when the semester does because we connect these scholars to trusted adult mentors who will continue to invest in their future all year long.

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Community Development

Freedom School

​The Indianapolis Freedom School Partnership expands the impact and legacy of CDF Freedom Schools© program to dismantle patterns of socio-economic deprivation, empower communities by promoting literacy, foster civic engagement, and develop our future leaders. Let's be a city where community stakeholders work collaboratively to empower children and their families with the freedom to succeed in life through literacy.

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Hub for Hope

At Hub for Hope volunteers from St. Luke’s United Methodist Church and a myriad of community partners provide life changing support to families through a centralized hub of support services including: diaper pantry, food pantry, parenting support group, mental health support, housing and utility payments, life skill classes, elementary student mentoring and tutoring, and access to the Freedom School summer literacy program.

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Northwest Incubator

Minority-owned businesses are one of the backbones of the nation’s economy. Over the last 10 years, these businesses have created over 4.7 million jobs. Currently, there are more than 4 million minority-owned businesses in the United States, with sales that total nearly $700 million. Despite their growing importance, minority businesses face many obstacles, particularly when it comes to business financing. Minority businesses are much less likely to get loans than non-minority business owners. Minorities, in particular, Black-Americans, who do secure financing usually received half of what their counterparts receive. In November 2020, Crooked Creek Northwest Community Development Corporation launched the Northwest Incubator for Creators, Hustlers, and Entrepreneurs, focused on creating access that leads to inclusive entrepreneurship. St. Luke's supported the pilot program and six aspiring business owners received months of intense training and development, seed capital, and access to significant resources such as designers, general contractors, and pro bono legal support.  

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Unite Indy

UNITE INDY connects volunteers directly with hundreds of urban churches and ministries in need in your community.

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