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Reparative action at Plymouth – the “and” of Mission and Margin

I found JT’s Easter message to be transformative. The message deepened my belief that our personal and corporate treasures belong to God, and that we are entrusted to steward them, wisely and justly. I wonder, where is there justice when our treasure is linked, directly or indirectly, to a history of slave labor and land, either stolen or obtained at a fraction of its value?

Earlier this year, in JT’s status briefing during this interim period, he used the work of Plymouth’s Racial Justice Initiative (RJI) to illustrate how the church experiences the “and” between “mission” and “margin.” The Board of Finance and Administration (BoFA), recently charged the new Taskforce on Reparative Action (TORA) to take RJI’s work forward. BoFA has chartered TORA to recommend reparative action for Plymouth. TORA, this summer and fall, will draft answers to the questions of why, what, when, how and who – leading to transformation for the whole congregation.

Balanced with this mission work is BoFA’s margin imperative, to ensure our financial security while justly redistributing our resources. It’s in this context that TORA represents the “and,” making recommendations to BoFA and ultimately the church.

TORA will use a phased approach, first submitting its report to BoFA by the end of November. Phase two will be months of discussion and prayerful discernment. Our expectation is for the congregation to decide on a long-term reparative action plan during 2027, as Plymouth celebrates its 170th anniversary. That will lead to phase three – executing our plan.

TORA will follow RJI’s lead in studying the history of reparations and learning about the actions of other congregations and justice-seeking organizations.

We hope you will join us in this “and” work. Please be in touch with any of the TORA members including Karen Barstad, Jon Bauer, Peter Eichten, Brittany Schou, Jeff Smith (Coordinator), Nick Williams, and Gayle Fuguitt (BoFA liaison). Any of them would be happy to speak with Plymouth members about their thoughts as we move forward. We’ll keep you informed about our progress.

Sign up here to receive communications from TORA.

We look forward to having you join and walk alongside us as we initiate and develop this new task force and plan towards reparative actions at Plymouth.

Jeff Smith

TORA Member

Invitation to a Civil Rights Tour

October 26–November 2, 2024

Fifteen Plymouth Church members will have the opportunity to go on a Civil Rights Tour, a trip that will take participants to multiple sites that were key to the Civil Rights Movement and the people who fought so hard for equity and justice. Mark and Leslie Swiggum will lead the trip, something they have done multiple times in the past—with rave reviews from those who have joined them, a number of whom are Plymouth members.

Sites on the trip include the 16th Street Baptist Church, the Civil Rights Memorial, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, the Equal Justice Museum, the Lorraine Motel, and many others. This will be more than an informational trip. There will be time for conversations with civil rights veterans and deep reflection on what all of this means for us now. We will build relationships and expand our vision of both our history and our future.

The trip is filling up fast, but there are still openings. If you are interested, please contact Karen Barstad or Shirley Rutherford for more details. An orientation meeting will be held later in June, and deposits will be requested shortly thereafter to secure the slots.

While the Civil Rights Era of the 1950s and 60s seems long ago, its lessons hold true for today. This trip is a wonderful opportunity to experience those lessons firsthand as we strive to create a more just and loving world.

Fruits of Labor

2021, 78 min.

Sunday, March 17, at 12:30 p.m.

Presented by the Plymouth Film Club

Selected and Hosted by the Immigrant Welcoming Working Group (IWWG)

Join Joan Thompson and Erika Charlesworth-Seiler from IWWG to view and discuss Fruits of Labor.

In the film, Ashley Solis is a high school student who dreams of graduating but works two jobs to help support her younger siblings. Her mother Beatriz is an undocumented domestic worker, and as ICE raids increase, Ashley fears her mother may be deported. Directed by Emily Cohen Ibáñez and written by the director and lead character, the film premiered at South by Southwest in 2021. Using poetic language and imagery, the film explores poverty, immigration, and inheritance.

Movies are shown on the south wall of Jackman Room, Plymouth’s largest screen. Come at 12:30 p.m. for the movie, and stay for the discussion afterward . We’ll be sitting at tables, so bring food and beverages as you wish for the movie and the discussion. Coffee is upstairs.

The Hate U Give

2018, 133 min.

Sunday, March 3, at 10 a.m.

Presented by the Plymouth Film Club

and the Racial Justice Initiative, Guest Host

Join Plymouth youth and members of the Racial Justice Initiative (RJI) at 10 a.m., March 3, to watch and discuss The Hate U Give.

RJI selected the multi-awarded The Hate U Give for an unusual Sundays @ 10 screening to encourage a multigenerational discussion concerning the many issues the Black teenage protagonist faces as she leaves her poor urban neighborhood to attend a private academy in a far richer suburb—and as the only community witness when her childhood best friend is killed during a police traffic stop.

Movies are shown on the south wall of Jackman Room, Plymouth’s largest screen. Come at 10 a.m. for the movie, and stay for the discussion afterward at 12:15. We’ll be sitting at tables, so bring food and beverages as you wish for the movie and the discussion. Coffee is upstairs.

Two RiCS sessions, Aug. 30 and Sept. 6

The Reimagining Community Safety Committee’s (RiCS) guiding principle has been “We are watching, we expect results, and we are not going away.”

 

As part of its continuing work, RiCS will provide Plymouth members with opportunities to provide input on the implementation of the court enforceable Settlement Agreement between the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) and the City of Minneapolis. The settlement agreement is intended to end racially discriminatory policing in Minneapolis.

 

The Settlement Agreement requires the City and the Minneapolis Police Department to hold regular listening sessions with the community to seek input on the reforms and the progress being made under the Settlement Agreement.

Plymouth is privileged to host two of these MDHR listening sessions: Wednesday. August 30, in Guild Hall, and Wednesday, September 6, in the Jackman Room.  Both will run from 6 to 8 p.m.

These listening sessions will be hosted by City representatives, and the topic at each meeting will be non-discriminatory policing, as well as the overall mission, vision, values and goals of public safety. We encourage all of our members to attend one of these listening sessions. Our city and our Plymouth neighborhood will benefit from our input.

Last spring, RiCS hosted a Town Hall Forum on the Settlement Agreement, featuring MDHR Commissioner Rebecca Lucero; Justin Terrell, Executive Director of the Minnesota Justice Research Center; and Michael Lansing, a historian and professor at Augsburg University.

RiCS is a committee of the Racial Justice Initiative at Plymouth.

Full Details Here

Town Hall: Court-Enforceable Police Reform Settlement Agreement

The released court-enforceable settlement agreement between the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR) and the City of Minneapolis is the topic of a town hall forum on Tuesday, May 23, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at Plymouth Congregational Church, 1900 Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis.

The court-enforceable settlement agreement lays out a road map for achieving non-discriminatory policing and better support for community safety in Minneapolis. The agreement has a four-year term, after which it may be reviewed on an annual basis until compliance is met.

The in-person event on May 23, “Police Reform: What to Expect from the Court-Enforceable Settlement Agreement Between the City of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR),” is free and open to the public. Registration is not required.

Speakers include MDHR Commissioner Rebecca Lucero, who will address MDHR’s perspective, and Justin Terrell from the Minnesota Justice Research Center (MNJRC), an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to driving meaningful change to Minnesota’s criminal legal system. The MNJRC conducted community meetings for the MDHR during 2022 seeking input on the types of reforms the community was seeking from the Minneapolis Police Department.

The evening’s moderator is Dr. Michael Lansing, a professor of history at Augsburg University. Lansing has done considerable research and writing on the topic of police reform. Since the murder of George Floyd three years ago, local media have frequently turned to Lansing for historical context about the Minneapolis Police Department, police leadership and police reform. He is currently writing a book titled “A Police State: Politics and Public Safety in Minneapolis, 1945-2020,” a book that explores the rise of and resistance to police power in Minneapolis. He and an academic colleague, Dr. Yohuru Williams from the University of St. Thomas, have initiated a racial justice project called “Overpoliced and Underprotected in MSP.”

Event hosts include Plymouth’s Re-Imagining Community Safety Committee, which is part of the church’s Racial Justice Initiative; the League of Women Voters Minneapolis; and the Minnesota Justice Research Center.

Racial Justice Sunday

Racial Justice Sunday

May 21, 2023

Plymouth Congregational Church will host its first-ever Racial Justice Sunday on Sunday, May 21.  The reasons we’re doing this are to call attention to and to advance our Racial Justice Initiative’s purpose statement, goals and spiritual principles. See below for RJI’s purpose statement, goals and spiritual principles.

 

Worship

Racial Justice Sunday will feature two worship services at 9 and 11 a.m. with a racial justice theme.  Rev. Jessica Chapman Lape – a womanist pastoral theologian, chaplain and doula rooted in faith, love and reproductive justice – will speak at both services. The Asiginaak Singers, a hand drum and singing group, will perform at both services.

 

 

 

 

 

Forum

The Forum speaker for Racial Justice Sunday will be Kenya McKnight-Ahad, founder and CEO of Black Women’s Wealth Alliance (BWWA).  BWWA is a culturally specific institution that has been serving Black women-owned businesses, workers and students since 2014. McKnight-Ahad will talk about the power, responsibility and opportunity women have in healing generational traumas, closing the racial wealth gap, and helping to cultivate a more just and fair society for our collective future.

 

 

Small Group Discussion

A small group discussion for children, youth and adults will be held at 10 a.m. in the Howard Conn Gallery. Young people have grown up in a very different society as it pertains to race, and they have perspectives that can challenge and change us. Join co-facilitators Nina Jonson, director of Children and Youth Ministry, and Aiysha Mustapha, Advancement and Equity Specialist in Robbinsdale Public Schools, for an intergenerational conversation on race.  Don’t miss this chance to hear from, interact with and share conversation with the children and teens who are the future of our church and our country.

 

 

 

 

 

Sign Up to Receive Daily Actions designed to increase your awareness and increase racial justice and equity.

Please check out Plymouth’s website and join us for 21 Days of Justice. If you opt-in for this series of messages, you will receive actions for the day that are designed

to increase your awareness, move you out of your comfort zone, and leave you with actionable items to increase racial justice and equity in your life and work.

 

 

 

 

 

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21 Days of Justice

In anticipation of Plymouth churches, racial justice Sunday on May 21st, and the third annual George Floyd memorial gathering on May 25th, our Plymouth community is engaging in 21 days of justice.

Sign up to receive a daily email beginning on May 1st, with an action for the day designed to increase your awareness, move you out of your comfort zone, and leave you with actionable items to increase racial justice and equity in your life and work.

Each email will include two activity options, one more specifically focused on children and youth and one for the general population.

Our 21 days of Justice Will culminate on racial justice Sunday, but the work will never be completed.

Commit today to join your fellow Plymouthites’ life-giving anti-racist work.

Sign Up to Create Change

Civic Buzz Town Hall: MPD Chief Brian O’Hara to Speak at Plymouth on Police Reform and Community Safety

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara will be the guest speaker at a Town Hall at Plymouth Congregational Church at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 2. The Town Hall is co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters Minneapolis (LWVMpls), Plymouth’s Re-Imagining Community Safety Committee and Mill City Commons.

 

Plymouth’s lead minister Rev. Dr. DeWayne Davis will welcome attendees. Ellen van Iwaarden, program director of the LWVMpls, will facilitate the discussion.

 

O’Hara is expected to talk about the complexities of police reform and his plans to increase public safety in the City of Minneapolis. O’Hara was named Minneapolis Police Department chief in November 2022 after previously serving as the deputy mayor of the City of Newark. Throughout his career, Chief Brian A. O’Hara has worked collaboratively with communities and other public safety divisions, including alternatives to policing strategies, to enact enduring change.

LMVMpls is a non-partisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in all levels of government, works to increase understanding of major policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. Its Civic Buzz interactive town halls feature pressing local issues, focused discussion and knowledgeable speakers.

Plymouth Congregational Church is a progressive faith community grounded in the Christian tradition. It has a long history of being committed to racial, economic, social and climate justice. Its Re-Imagining Community Safety committee was formed nearly three years ago after the death of George Floyd to actively promote the re-imagining of community safety in the City of Minneapolis, on the basis of faith values.

 

Re-Imagining Community Safety Virtual Town Hall

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