A Community Choosing Healing: St. Thomas Lutheran Church & GPS

By GPS Group Peer Support

Sometimes a community decides, quietly and courageously, that it wants to love people better. That’s what happened this spring at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Bloomington, Indiana. They reached out to GPS because they wanted to create spaces where people who have been hurt—by religious trauma, by exclusion, by silence—could finally exhale.

From the beginning, there was something tender in the way they approached this work. They weren’t trying to “fix” anyone. They simply wanted to understand how to show up with more compassion, more clarity, and more presence for the people who walk through their doors.

Over two intense in-person days of GPS Facilitator Training, followed by a five-week Skills Series, St. Thomas’ team practiced what it means to hold space with intention. They learned how to listen in a way that makes someone feel seen. How to guide a conversation without taking over. How to create safety not just through words, but through tone, pace, and genuine care.

The transformation was real. Participants shared that they felt more confident, more grounded, and more prepared to support others. What touched them most wasn’t just the skills—it was the reminder that healing begins when we treat one another with dignity and gentle curiosity.

What happened next was beautiful. St. Thomas began offering support groups for grief, complicated family relationships, LGBTQIA+ allyship, and those healing from religious trauma. They brought GPS tools into community events, helping create gatherings where people feel welcomed—not for who they “should” be, but for who they already are.

This partnership worked because our values met in the middle. GPS believes every person carries goodness within them. St. Thomas believes grace meets people exactly where they are. Together, those beliefs created something whole and honest.

As Reverend Adrianne Meier so simply and powerfully put it:
“If you’re hurting, if you’ve been hurt by churches, if you’re queer, if you’re lonely—this is a place where you can find love and support.”

Healing happens in moments like that. In communities like this. With people who choose presence over perfection, and compassion over fear.

If your community is longing for a gentler, more supportive way to care for one another, we’d love to walk with you.

Read our newest report on St. Thomas Lutheran Church’s experience with GPS to learn more.