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Board of Deacons

Overview
The Board of Deacons serves three very important lay leadership functions: It is the policy-making body for the Church between meetings of the congregation, it is responsible for the spiritual welfare of the Church, and it aids Plymouth’s ministers in all matters pertaining to our congregation’s spiritual life.

Term
Deacons serve a three-year term.

Meetings
Except for the months of July and August, the Board of Deacons meets on the second Wednesday (7:00-8:30 p.m.) of each month. In addition, there are regular meetings of the Board’s seven committees that are scheduled by the committee chairs. Those committees are Adult Forum, Benevolence, Global Connections, Integration (with denominational affiliations), Religious Exploration, Spiritual Enrichment and Worship.

Communication
Almost all of the Board’s communication is done by e-mail. Minutes of the Board’s monthly meetings are taken by the Church Clerk.

Retreats
Board members are expected to attend Leadership Day that is generally held in October and the Board’s Annual Retreat that is held the first Friday and Saturday of May.

Responsibilities
Board members are expected to attend the monthly Board meetings, serve on two Board committees, take the 10:30 service offering at least twice per month, help with the four occasions per year that communion is offered in the 10:30 service, and be, where appropriate, “listening posts” for the Board chair and the ministerial staff.

Desired characteristics
Board members should be good listeners, capable of working effectively with a large (24 members) and diverse board membership, and possess the leadership and organizational skills needed to lead a board committee, if called on to handle that responsibility.

Qualifications
A Board member must be a member of Plymouth.

Offered to committee members
There will be reimbursement for agreed upon expenses in accordance with the Board budget.

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Committees

Adult Forum Committee

The Adult Forum Committee of the Board of Deacons seeks to provide a thoughtful and welcoming learning environment for members and friends of the Plymouth community.
Since its founding in 1857, Plymouth has provided quality educational programs for all ages. Adult Forum programs are held 9–10 a.m. on Sundays during the church program year. The range of ideas explored is broad by design to reflect the broad interests of the Plymouth community. Peace and social justice, mental and emotional health, theology, Bible study, ethics, the environment, arts, education and politics are examples of recent topics. Programs are held at the church, typically in the Jackman Room or the Howard Conn Theater. Audiences in Spring 2010 ranged in size from 17 to 90 and averaged 47.

The AF Committee consists of 8 to 10 members. We meet 4-6 times per semester to brainstorm ideas and plan the calendar. Most committee work is done independently.

Responsibilities include

• Proposing Speakers & Topics

• Suggest ideas and provide sufficient background information for committee to consider

• Give fair consideration to the ideas of others and the importance of achieving balance in the overall program

• Contacting and scheduling potential speakers

• Gathering information and writing program descriptions for the AF brochure

• Coordinating room arrangements and hospitality with church office, as needed

• Introducing speakers; presenting honorarium check; writing thank-you note

Qualifications

• Congenial attitude and a curious mind

• Proficiency in gathering and evaluating information

• Willingness to give fair consideration to the ideas of others and to the importance of achieving balance in the overall program

• Access to e-mail and fluency in working online (preferred)

• Detail oriented

• Hospitable nature

• Willing to attend Adult Forum at least 1x/month (preferred)

Term

• One church year with option to renew!

Committee Goals for 2009-10

• Continue building program quality

• Develop and implement publicity plan

• Develop technology plan to expand our reach

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Benevolence Committee

The mission of the Benevolence Committee is to thoughtfully give away a portion of the church's budget to local non-profits that support the community. Our annual budget is usually about $200,000; it comes from a percentage of pledged donations to the church and all of the Christmas and Easter offerings. A large majority of all funds go to organizations within a 3-mile radius of the church.

Our areas of focus fall into 5 categories: Women and Youth; Church and Neighborhood; Health and Mental Health; Immigrants and International; Homelessness and Hunger. After applications for funding come in around the beginning of December, we use these 5 categories to organize all of the applications. Then from January to May, committee members visit the applicants to learn more about them and then present their evaluation at the next meeting. Every year we process about 45-55 applications, so each group has about 10 organizations in it. This works well with our committee size of about 10 members and keeps the workload fairly even. At the end of May, we finalize our budget for the upcoming fiscal year and submit our funding decisions in the annual report. Our benevolences are budgeted for the upcoming fiscal year, so applications we evaluated and approved this year will be paid out in December and April of fiscal year 2011, which starts after the annual meeting in June of 2010.

Committee members are expected to participate in all of the committee functions, from planning the Benevolence Fair (similar to the Outreach Fair, but with representatives from selected organizations), to evaluating organizations. There is a lot of reading and discussion, but most people find it to be very rewarding work and a great way to learn about the concerns of the community around the church. We plan to meet once a month from September to May.

Global Connections Committee

Overview:  The mission of the Committee is to promote educational programs, humanitarian and social justice awareness, and initiatives that connect the Plymouth congregation with peoples and cultures around the world in ways that celebrate both our differences and our common humanity.  Programs, initiatives and subcommittees currently include the following, though the ideas and directions of the Committee have evolved and changed each year, and not all initiatives occur in every year:
            1. Cuba Connect, developing and deepening relationships with congregations in Cuba;
            2. Open World Program, sponsoring and hosting delegations from a former Soviet country;
            3. Collaboration with the Film Club to sponsor two films per year on global or social justice issues;
            4. Minnesota Alliance for Peace membership provides collaboration opportunities on a variety of peace issues;
            5. Sponsorship of the Campbell Scholar – a foreign student at United Theological Seminary supported by a Plymouth scholarship;
            6. Plymouth American Indian Initiative, sponsoring and presenting educational and cross-cultural opportunities with American Indian populations nearby and elsewhere;
            7. Eat Street Crawl, sponsoring one or two events each year that introduce the congregation to ethnic restaurants on Nicollet;
            8. OneVillage Partnership, promoting relationships and aid to three villages in Sierra Leone;
            9. Educational offerings from time to time on global aid efforts, social justice issues, missionary efforts in other parts of the world, etc.
            10. Connections to and collaboration with Global Ministries of the Minnesota Conference of the UCC and NACCC.
            11. Collaboration with the Advocacy Working Group of the Board of Outreach on social justice issues.
            12. Global Book Club, in the development stage, promoting a congregation-wide reading and discussion event on a global, social justice or other international theme.

Meetings: Currently the first Thursday of the month at 5:30PM and special meetings as necessary.  Meeting schedule can be changed by consensus.

Communication: Largely by regular e-mail.

Responsibilities: Regular meeting attendance, active participation in several of the efforts and initiatives of the committee, support and enthusiasm for the work of each other.  

Desired characteristics: Curiosity, energy, enthusiasm, imagination, respect for and consideration of the views, cultures and beliefs of others.

Qualifications of members: Commitment to the work of the Committee.  Membership on the Board of Deacons is not required. 

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Religious Exploration Committee

The Religious Exploration and Connection (REC) committee meets once a month (usually for an hour) to produce educational program opportunities for Plymouth members and friends: in Bible study, interpersonal growth, contemporary theology and inter-faith dialogue at times other than the Sunday morning forum.

During the spring of 2010, the REC committee supported two outside speaker series: 1) Rabbi Saks spoke on the Cain and Able narrative in Genesis (3 sessions); 2) the Jesus Seminar on the Road featured two visiting theologians who attempted to pars the biography of Jesus (the man) from the accounts of his followers (the text/letters of Christ’s disciples).

During the fall of 2010, the REC committee is organizing three program offerings: 1) a Bible study of Paul’s letter to the Romans (in 8 sessions) by John Edgerton, 2) a workshop series on Compassionate/Non-violent Communication by Yvette Erasmus, MA. (tuition cost $100 for 4 sessions), and 3) and a book study organized by Bob Parsonage... [details to follow].

We have an exciting/ forward thinking committee and encourage new members to join.

Spiritual Enrichment Committee

Mission Statement

The Spiritual Enrichment committee provides programming that supports, nurtures, and encourages participants to "listen with the ear of the heart" and to speak from that deep place as we walk- individually and collectively- on our spiritual journeys.

What We Do

The committee plans activities, programs and retreats that are designed to encourage spiritual reflection.   Our programs, as compared to those offered by adult forum and others emphasize spiritual practices and reflection, and are experientially-focused.

The programs sponsored by spiritual enrichment include day and weekend retreats, spiritual nurture groups for men and women that meet bi-weekly throughout the year, activities such as Yoga and the labyrinth,  and, the Lenten meditation booklet.

Programming for 2010-2011 will involve expression of spirituality through a variety of means ranging from ongoing spirituality groups, and half day retreats on topics exploring Shame, Celtic spirituality (led by Julie Neras) and meditation to expressions of spirituality through the senses, such as yoga, walking the labyrinth, Taiko drumming (facilitated by Sarah Larson), and working with clay (for adults) (led by Laurie Halberg and Sam King). 

Member Responsibilities

Attend monthly meetings (4th Wednesday of most months)

Staff the Guild Hall SE information table at least two Sunday mornings per year

Coordinate and support one program or retreat, and participate in committee plans for future and ongoing programs.
Members are responsible for publicizing the program they are coordinating. (Fall/Spring program booklets; Flame article; bulletin announcements; Guild Hall table; bulletin board; occasional pulpit announcements.) 

Staff Liaison: Paula Northwood
Currently 12 members including  deacons Janice Allen (co-chair), John Bennett, Laurie Casagrande, and Fran Neir,   and non-deacon members (including former deacons) Annette Atkins, Mike Ducar, Catherine Duncan, Robert Fischer, Zoe Kuester (co-chair), and Mim Hanson. Open to new members.

Wider Church Relations Committee
The Wider Church Relations committee is responsible for Plymouth’s involvement with, support of, and connections to the Minnesota Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC), the National Association of Christian Congregational Churches (NACCC), and other churches and faith communities.  Current, ongoing tasks include:
·         managing and overseeing the program of in-care for UCC seminarians;
·         promoting participation by Plymouth members in annual meetings and other activities of the NACCC and the Minnesota Conference of the UCC;
·         overseeing Plymouth’s relationships with the Minnesota Conference of the UCC and NACCC, including allocation of dues.
Possible future directions suggested by the Strategic Plan include:
·         development of an internship program at Plymouth;
·         seeking other ways for Plymouth to be a teaching church;
·         expansion of Plymouth’s interfaith programs, especially with our Muslim neighbors.

Worship Committee
Overview: The Worship Committee is responsible for various aspects of the Sunday services and for exploring opportunities for worship and study. We are responsible for the Sunday worship services and other worship services as requested by the ministerial staff. In essence, we affect the spiritual atmosphere of each service and offer structure and ritual to the congregation.
Term: 1 year, but serving more than one year is good for continuity.
Meetings: We have been meeting for about an hour, prior to the regular Deacons meetings on the second Wednesday of the month. We don’t meet every month, but about 2 out of 3.
Communication: Mostly by email with an occasional phone call.
Responsibilities:

1. Serve as Coordinator of the Sunday service offering for 1-2 months. The Coordinator makes sure all positions are filled, assigns positions and emails a reminder to those who are serving. On Sunday morning, oversees the 10 Deacons taking the offering and collecting friendship pads.

2. Assist with preparation for Communion, the Saturday morning before.

3. Assist with other special worship services at the request of the ministers.

4. Training/retraining of Deacons in all worship service procedures.

5. Receiving concerns and requests from the congregation regarding worship services and presenting to the Board and Ministers.

6. Consideration of other matters pertaining to worship, including the music program and first service.

Desired characteristics: Task oriented, reliable, open to new ideas, respectful of tradition

Qualifications: Willingness to serve.