Volunteer Opportunities
Some people find their way to Plymouth through Sunday worship. Others find it on a weekday morning, stocking shelves at the food shelf or packing meals for kids. Both doors lead somewhere good — and you are welcome through either one.
Volunteering here asks nothing of you but willingness: no membership, no attendance, no particular faith required. Just neighbors showing up for neighbors. Whether you have a single free hour or you're looking for a standing commitment, there's real work waiting and good company doing it — feeding people, welcoming guests, supporting the arts, standing up for justice, caring for this building and everyone who walks through it.
Tell us what you love to do, and we'll help you find where it's needed. Not sure where you'd fit? We're happy to talk it through.
Groveland Food Shelf
Some of the most consequential work at Plymouth happens in its basement — and has for decades. Groveland Food Shelf was founded at Plymouth and has made its home here ever since, growing from a neighborhood act of care into one of the area's essential food resources: thousands of neighbors served every month, from Stevens Square, Whittier, and across the near-downtown community, housed and unhoused alike. Its eligibility policy is a single sentence — if you need food, you are eligible — and its model matches: Groveland operates client-choice shopping, where guests select what they like and need the way anyone shops for groceries, because food assistance should come with dignity, not a pre-packed box.
The operation runs deep: a refrigerated van rescues fresh food daily from local grocers and bakeries, donations from Plymouth and partner congregations keep the shelves stocked, and Groveland's reach now extends beyond our walls to support the food pantry at Minneapolis College. Plymouth is more than a landlord in all of this — our doors open early on the coldest and hottest days so no one waits outside, and our members serve here week after week, year after year.
If you'd like to join them, there is a place for you. And if you need food — come. Visit grovelandfoodshelf.org for current hours.
Care Ministry
At Plymouth, we believe everyone gives and receives care, and that God is at the center of our care.
Through our Care Ministry, we nurture the ongoing care within the Plymouth community by offering opportunities for members to connect and to feel comforted by one another. There are many opportunities to become involved. Please email Birdie Cunningham, our Director of Congregational Care, to become involved in Care Ministries.
Board for Justice Action
At Plymouth, the call to do justice is not a program we run — it is part of who we are. The Board for Justice Action carries that call into the world, uniting the church's long-standing work for immigrant justice, racial justice, housing justice, and climate justice in one body with one conviction: these are not separate causes but one struggle for the dignity of people and the planet.
And this is justice with its sleeves rolled up. Members walk our neighborhood, block by block, to be a caring and connected presence where we live. They pack backpacks with essentials for immigrant neighbors facing deportation.
They offer accompaniment, standing beside neighbors at legal proceedings so that no one faces the system alone. They advocate, educate, and organize alongside community partners across the Twin Cities. The board itself is young; the callings it carries run through decades of Plymouth's life — and its work is only beginning. Whether you are drawn to advocacy, education, or showing up in person, there is a place for you here.
Plymouth Drop-in Center
For more than fifty years, Plymouth has kept a standing appointment with joy. Plymouth Drop In is a safe, welcoming, genuinely fun community for low-income adults living nearby with mental health challenges — a place to play bingo, make art, share a meal, take a walk, and belong.
The calendar runs deep: crafts and games, off-site outings and transportation to get there, the beloved Sacred Bingo, and every Labor Day week, a trip to Camp Knutson that participants look forward to all year. But the heart of Drop In isn't the activity list — it's the friendship.
Our volunteers help run whatever's on the schedule, but mainly they offer kindness, respect, and genuine companionship to neighbors who too often meet the opposite out in the world. No skills required; the ministry is showing up. Come drop in, help out, and become part of one of Plymouth's most joyful communities.
Community Meals
Free community meals are available each Sunday from 5:00-6:00 p.m. at downtown Minneapolis congregations.
1st (& 5th Sunday) – at Hennepin United Methodist Church
2nd Sunday – at Plymouth Congregational Church
3rd Sunday – at Plymouth Congregational Church
4th Sunday – at Westminster Presbyterian Church
On the second and third Sundays of each month, Plymouth gathers with our neighbors for a meal and warm conversation in a comfortable, welcoming setting. In addition to a nutritious, tasty meal, guests are offered items like soap, toothpaste, socks, and other necessities. A health care professional provides a listening ear, answers questions, and suggests additional community resources.
(The second Sunday meal is offered in partnership with St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral and First Unitarian Society.)
Good Courage Farm
A welcoming, beautiful place for disciples and seekers alike to ground our common life in agrarian Christian practice. Work, pray, eat, and sing at the intersection of food, farming, and faith.
Come, feed neighbors. Come and be fed.
Every Meal
Every Meal's mission to fight child hunger depends on dedicated volunteers. Whether packing meals, supporting distributions, or helping in other ways, there are many opportunities to get involved and make an impact.
Habitat for Humanity
Every June, Plymouth picks up hammers. For one week, volunteers from our congregation join Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity on the build site — framing walls, raising roofs, and helping a local family move measurably closer to a home of their own. No construction experience is required; Habitat's site leaders teach everything on the spot, and there's meaningful work for every skill level and comfort zone, from swinging a hammer to keeping the crew fed.
All you need is a free day, closed-toe shoes, and the willingness to show up. Registration is required and spots fill — sign up below to claim yours.
Beacon Interfaith Housing Collborative
Every June, Plymouth picks up hammers. For one week, volunteers from our congregation join Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity on the build site — framing walls, raising roofs, and helping a local family move measurably closer to a home of their own. No construction experience is required; Habitat's site leaders teach everything on the spot, and there's meaningful work for every skill level and comfort zone, from swinging a hammer to keeping the crew fed.
All you need is a free day, closed-toe shoes, and the willingness to show up. Registration is required and spots fill — sign up below to claim yours.
Simpson Housing Services
Every June, Plymouth picks up hammers. For one week, volunteers from our congregation join Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity on the build site — framing walls, raising roofs, and helping a local family move measurably closer to a home of their own. No construction experience is required; Habitat's site leaders teach everything on the spot, and there's meaningful work for every skill level and comfort zone, from swinging a hammer to keeping the crew fed.
All you need is a free day, closed-toe shoes, and the willingness to show up. Registration is required and spots fill — sign up below to claim yours.