You are cordially invited to a celebration of 50 years of Plymouth Drop In.
Sunday March 19, 12:30-2 p.m. in Jones Commons
Reception includes hor d’oeuvres, reflections, art, and Bingo! Please Join us as we acknowledge and applaud the significance of Drop In’s Ministry.
Start your weekend with this soulful, welcoming yoga class, skillfully led by long-time Plymouth members Summer, Steve and Sharon Hills-Bonczyk. Each 75-minute class will include meditation, slow, flowing postures with attention to alignment and deep relaxation. Poses are guided with in-depth, non-intimidating cues to ensure comfort and rejuvenation for all bodies. Appropriate for beginners to seasoned practitioners – anyone looking for a spiritually-informed, meditative yoga class to build strength, flexibility, balance and tools for navigating life’s ups and downs. All teachers are certified Kripalu yoga instructors. The word Kripalu means compassion. This yoga style is accessible, safe and informed by authentic yogic wisdom. We are very pleased to be sharing our deep dedication for the art and practice of yoga with the Plymouth Church community. We hope to see you there!
This is a donation-based class. Meaning that no one will be turned away if they cannot pay. All are welcome. $10 – 20 recommended donation. (Ages 15 – 100)
Saturdays, 9:30 – 10:45 am, drop-in (no registration required), Bring your own yoga mat or let us know if you need one. Please contact summerjhb@gmail.com with questions.
ABOUT THE TEACHERS:
Summer Hills-Bonczyk (she/her) is an advanced Kripalu Yoga and Meditation teacher. Her style is creative, gentle and alignment-based. She loves yoga philosophy and integrates it into her teaching. During the week Summer is a professor at Macalester College where she teaches Ceramic Art. She is an independent artist, performer and JourneyDance teacher. She guides immersive yoga and performance art retreats locally and internationally.
Sharon Hills-Bonczyk (she/her) holds advanced certifications from the Kripalu Yoga school as well as Vishoka meditation training from the Himalayan Institute. She is also a certified Ayurvedic educator. She leads international yoga retreats with her yoga-teacher family. Sharon’s smooth, meditative voice, deep wisdom informed by 35+ years of personal practice and authenticity draw people to her classes. She has an interest in Yoga therapy and enjoys helping people with physical issues find a yoga practice that is supportive and kind.
Steve Bonczyk (he/him) is a certified Kripalu yoga teacher. He brings a gentle sense of humor to his teaching; creating a playful, inclusive community environment. He loves showing people that not all yogis look like you’d expect. He is a dedicated meditator, Ayurvedic home cook, gardener and sought-after handyman.
Join us on March 19 for a very special morning filled with important resources, compelling information, poignant worship, and a celebration of Plymouth’s long-standing ministry in the Drop In Center. Rev. Dr. Rachael Keefe, pastor of Living Table UCC in Minneapolis, will be joining us as a guest preacher at both worship services and will also facilitate Sunday Forum, entitled “Lifesaving Church.”
Rev. Dr. Keefe is an author, a painter, and a poet. Previously, she served as a clinical chaplain at a state psychiatric hospital, where she worked with patients, staff, clergy, and faith communities to increase understanding and welcome of persons living with severe and persistent symptoms of mental illness.
In addition to worship and the Forum on March 19, community organizations serving those living with mental illness will have tables filled with resources and information in Guild Hall, where coffee fellowship will be served. From 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., we will host a reception celebrating Plymouth Drop In Center’s 50+ years. We will hear 
about the impact Drop In has had on our beloved participants and volunteers, enjoy good food, share music and art, and even play a round of Bingo as we celebrate this essential, steadfast ministry of Plymouth Congregational Church.
Please plan to join us for any or all of these significant events on March 19, 2023. Questions? Please contact Rev. Beth Hoffman Faeth (BethF (at) Plymouth.org).
On Sunday, Jan. 29, Plymouth Film Club is showing “Gold Fever” (2013, 84 min., documentary) at 12:30 pm. Guest host Plymouth Immigration Welcoming Group chose the film and will lead a discussion afterward.
The film shows the impoverished lives of those controlled, says IMDB.com, by “gold, an obsession of men and nations; a symbol of wealth and power. For Diodora, Gregoria, Crisanta and the people living near the Marlin Mine in Guatemala’s highlands, gold represents oppression, intimidation, pollution and even murder. With the rising price of gold, the mine’s owner, Goldcorp, posts record profits, while these courageous women live in resistance to the mine’s unstoppable hunger.”
Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer, well known in the Twin Cities as a pacifist author, Minnesota politician, and University of St. Thomas professor, and Noam Chomsky, the celebrated U.S. linguist and social critic, are among the cast who portray themselves. The film has been featured at several film festivals and well shows why immigrants leave their countries to pursue new lives in the U.S.
Film Club uses large-wall projection downstairs in Jackman Hall with wide spacing for seating and with the folding doors to the Lenmark Room open at its back. For the discussion, we may move into Lenmark.
Coffee and tea available. Lunch: Bring your own, go to Cajun Boiling (open at noon) for takeout (sandwiches et al.), or call Social House (Ethiopian) after 10 am for takeout. Tables in Jackman for eating. Be back by 12:30 for the start of the film!
Our neighbors include people who live in the neighborhood, institutions that run non–profits or businesses, and those individuals who move in and out – who bus, work or are homeless. We have been able to meet with many individuals and groups of neighbors who responded to our questions about how we can be better neighbors and strengthen our neighborhood together. We’ve also had dozens of more casual, on- the-street conversations. Generally, they seem to trust our good intentions. We on the Campus Task Force are eager to help Plymouth move beyond intentions. We’re talking about transformational change.
Plymouth’s long, rich tradition of helping our neighbors and neighborhood by providing direct services to people with various needs has begun to morph toward changing the conditions that underly their challenges. Compassion has and will always matter. But as we prepare to make recommendations to the Deacons in December, we believe it’s time to strengthen and transform our commitment to racial and economic equity. We believe we should create a new model for concrete changes that will enhance the well-being of our neighbors and the neighborhood we share.
Fortunately, and not unsurprisingly, a growing number of more than 125 church and staff members inspired these themes above and added specific ways we might honor this path toward justice. But what do our neighbors say? In the most general of terms, they include the following:
Stay tuned as we come back with more thoughts in two weeks. Do you have ideas you want us to consider as we develop our recommendations to the Deacons? Please contact Sonia Cairns, scairns@mosscairns.com Thank you, members and staff, for your energy, creative ideas, and commitment to making the real and bold change on behalf of our neighbors and the neighborhood we share.