The Stewardship Corner – Making an Impact on Our Community
I first entered Plymouth Congregational Church in the year 2000 as a member of the VocalEssence Ensemble Singers. Drawn into the church community by the rich music programs, I did not experience a worship service until my wife Jenny joined the Plymouth Choir as a soloist in 2010, at which point we both began regularly attending on Sundays. We became members in the fall of 2012, when we were expecting our first daughter and sought a permanent church home. While we got to know Plymouth through the arts and Sunday worship, we fell in love with so much more: family and adult education programs, social justice work, and the church community itself.
Our story is not unique. So many of you have similar tales of initially narrow intersections that blossom into deeper engagement. We enter Plymouth through different “doors,” on our own timelines, and for a variety of reasons, but this diversity of backgrounds, motivations, and experiences makes us a strong community. That strength of community has one thing in common—something that calls us back week after week: making an impact.
Plymouth clearly makes an impact on me and my family. It challenges me (in a good way), informs my worldview, and strengthens my commitment to the local community. Plymouth inspires me by how, as a collective body, we can also impact society through our work with our immediate neighborhood and the Groveland Food Shelf, or a community COVID vaccination clinic, and statewide through our work to defeat the marriage amendment in 2012. And those are just a few examples of how Plymouth impacts all of us in powerful ways.
Impact on society is what keeps the French family coming back to and deepening our engagement with Plymouth Church. It’s also what inspired us to stretch our giving this past year. To put it simply, having an impact on society isn’t free. We, of course, need to give of our time and talent to make the world a more just and equitable place, but we also need to support this work financially. If you really think about it, when you make a gift to Plymouth you’re not only giving to Plymouth, but giving through Plymouth to have that impact on our congregation, our neighborhood, and ultimately society.
In addition to needing to cover the expenses related to maintaining the Plymouth of today, we know that Plymouth needs our support in order to become the Plymouth of tomorrow . . . to expand what it does, to elevate its level of service to others . . . to make a bigger impact.
As we approach the end of our fiscal year, I’m hoping you can join us by making a financial commitment, no matter the level, to support Plymouth and its work in our community. For those of you who have already made your pledge for the year, thank you. If your financial situation allows, please consider an additional contribution to help us meet our annual goal. Together we can make a difference for our church home and put Plymouth in a position of financial strength for tomorrow.
—Ryan French