This world, this country, this state, this community: so many needs and thorny problems—how do we know where to begin?

Since its earliest days, Plymouth Church has engaged with the world outside our doors, working with the community to address the injustices in our society. When our church faces outward, we do it both collectively and individually. It’s people of all ages, rooted in the belief that all are deserving of justice, inclusion, and equity.

On Sunday, October 9, we will focus on Justice for Immigrants, sponsored by Plymouth’s Immigrant Welcome Working Group. Some live in our city and state; others reside in the other 49 states. Still more stand at our borders, waiting for an opportunity to enter the US and build a new life for themselves and their families.

Immigration Sunday offers you an opportunity to learn more about who these immigrants are and their dreams. You’ll also hear about what immigrants most need as they enter our cities and towns and what community groups and agencies are doing to assist them in caring, practical, and humane ways. What is Plymouth doing to stand with immigrants here in the metro area and the Mexico/Arizona borderlands? Come and learn about OUR programs and activities focused on justice for immigrants, and then consider joining us in this critical work!

9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Worship Service

Readings, music, prayers insights from three people intimately acquainted with the challenges to immigrants in the US:

Nora Montanez Patterson-Plymouth member

Nora Montañez is an Afro-descendent Indigenous Peruvian director, actor, singer, educator, and playwright. She was raised in Paterson, NJ, and holds a BFA from Florida Atlantic University. In Minneapolis, Nora has performed at Theatre Latte Da, Children’s Theatre, Jungle Theater, The Guthrie Theater, Theatre Mu, Mixed Blood, and many others. She is a Staff Theatre teacher at St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists (SPCPA) and a teaching artist with Upstream Arts. Nora was a 2018 Next Step Grant recipient, a 20/21 Many Voices Mentee at the Playwrights Center, a 2022 Creative Support Grant recipient, and is currently the Department of Chicano and Latino Studies Artist-in-Residence at the University of Minnesota. Nora is also the Founder of ALMA (Alliance of Latine Minnesota Artists), which facilitates alliances among the spectrum of Minnesotan Latine artists.

Sara Adams is the AID coordinator for Minnesota Interfaith Coalition on Immigration (ICOM).  AID is one of three programs at ICOM and works to provide small stipends for emergency assistance and other forms of support, such as finding legal representation, court accompaniment, locating community resources, and emotional support. Before joining ICOM in 2021, Sara worked for eleven years as a coordinator for a  home visiting program that served immigrant children and their caregivers, and in that capacity learned a lot about the legal and economic realities immigrant families face on a day-to-day basis.

Barbara Read’s experience as a Peace Corps Volunteer teacher trainer in Concepcion, Chile, strengthened her commitment to understanding, respecting and valuing cultural differences. As a community college administrator, she supported clubs and events celebrating the college’s diverse student population. At Plymouth, Barbara finds great joy in serving meals to Third Sunday guests, coordinating orders for Just Coffee from Agua Prieta, MX, and participating in the Immigrant Welcoming Working Group. Memories of Plymouth’s 2020 Border Trip continue to shape her values and actions.

In Jones Commons @ 10 a.m. and noon

Information Hour

Enjoy Treats from local immigrant-owned restaurants

Talk with representatives from programs supporting justice for immigrants here and in the borderlands:

Sunday Forum @ 10 a.m. in the Chapel

Being Church in the Borderlands and Beyond: Sunday Forum

Featured Speaker Delle McCormick, a retired UCC minister who resides in Arizona.

Rev. Dr. McCormick will join Plymouth border delegation participants in a conversation about meeting Christ among migrants and asylum-seekers at the U.S. – Mexico border. The discussion will include a border update, migrant ministries in Nogales, Sasabe, and Douglas, AZ, and stories of the courage and connections on both sides of the border.

Rev. Delle Mccormick is a retired minister of the United Church of Christ. Her previous work experience includes serving as Pastor and Director of the Cuernavaca Center for Intercultural Dialog on Development (CCIDD), pastoral agent in partnership between Common Global Ministries of the UCC, Disciples of Christ, and the Diocese of San Cristóbal de Las Casas in Chiapas, MX, Executive Director of Borderlinks, and Senior Pastor at Rincon Congregational Church. Delle completed her Doctor of Ministry degree at Drew Theological School in Madison, NJ, on “Being Church in the Borderlands: An Exploration of Ministry and Mission between Rincon Congregational United Church of Christ and Latin American Migrants and Asylum Seekers.” Delle is also a Spiritual Director, Reiki Master, and CAPACITAR Healing and Transforming Trauma practitioner. Delle works closely with Plymouth Congregational Church at the border and beyond.