Notice Of Annual Meeting

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June 12, 2022
12:15 p.m.

 

Notice of Annual Meeting

Notice is hereby given that the Annual Meeting of Plymouth Congregational Church of Minneapolis will be held on Sunday, June 12, 2022, at 12:15 p.m. at the church. To ensure that all who wish to attend will be able to do so, the meeting will be available via Zoom as well as in person.

Agenda

Approve minutes from:

June 13, 2021 Annual Meeting

Reports:

Lead Minister

Moderator

Leadership Council

Nominating Committee

Roll Call of:

New 50-year Members

Deceased Members

Staff Milestones

Action Items:*

Budget for Fiscal Year 2023**

Election of Church Leaders

No other business may come before the meeting.

If you wish to attend virtually, you may register to attend via Zoom at the church’s website (www.plymouth.org).

Information regarding how to participate via Zoom will be provided to registrants in advance of the meeting. To participate via Zoom, you will need either a smartphone, electronic tablet, laptop, or computer.

*While observers are welcome, only Plymouth Church members may vote on the Action Items.

**Materials for the 2023 fiscal year budget will be available at Plymouth.org.

Register here to participate via zoom.

Lenten Meditations: March 31

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“Without a moral or spiritual awakening, we will remain forever trapped in political games fueled by fear, greed, and the hunger for power.” – Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow

“Can we swim together in the same pool or not?  It’s a political question, yes, and one with economic ramifications.  But at its core, it’s a moral question. Ultimately, an economy – the rules we abide by and set for what’s fair and who merits what – is an expression of our moral understandings.  So, if our country’s moral compass is broken, is it any wonder that our economy is adrift?” – Heather McGhee, The Sum of Us

Reflection

We live in a country that is not only founded on violence but is also founded on lies, and they go hand-in-hand. Lies lead to violence, and violence leads to lies; it’s a vicious circle of moral ineptitude.  We have lied about our history, we have lied about the supremacy of white people, we have lied about the inferiority of black and brown people. We have recently had a president who lied at a rate unprecedented in our history. His lies led to violence on Jan. 6, 2021.

We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves; is that even possible as we swim in centuries of lies and violence? Are we a nation that is spiritually and morally bankrupt? I’m not always sure.

And there is hope. And we are that hope. Lent for me is a time for self-reflection. A reflection not only on my personal failures and sins, but also a reflection on my participation in our communal and systemic failures and sins.

Prayer
Grant us God, the wisdom to see our failures. The courage to change, and willingness to work to make our city, our state, our country, and our world a better place for all people and for all of creation. Amen.

Community Organizing and Social Movements Training

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The Racial Justice Initiative at Plymouth Church will offer a series of free online training sessions on Community Organizing and Social Movements, Thursdays, December 9 and 16, 7:00–8:15 p.m. via Zoom.

Many of us at Plymouth want to take action as a result of our educational efforts in working toward a more just and level playing field for all citizens of our cities. Claudia Albano, who taught social movement theory at the University of California-Berkeley for 20 years and is a long-time community activist, will share her knowledge of and involvement in community activism and social movements.

This two-part training will offer frameworks for understanding the theory and practice of community organizing and social movement-building. It will consist of two introductory online classes of 75 minutes each. The purpose of these introductory sessions is to prepare and kindle the interest of Plymouth members for attendance at an in-person training in 2022. There will be no charge for participating in these sessions but registration will be required.

Ann Manning, RJI co-chair, said of this training: “Claudia introduced me to the theory and practice of social movements more than 10 years ago when I was working with a Lutheran group to bring about full inclusion of LGBTQ in the ELCA. The models Claudia will offer can help us see the long game and recognize that we all have a role to play. It’s so important to see and understand those who are different from you. I encourage everyone who is interested to attend these first 2 sessions. You will not regret it. Claudia will make it fun, engaging, and well worth your time.”

Register Here

Intersection Returns

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In winter and spring of 2021, Plymouth’s Immigrant Welcoming Working Group (IWWG) and Racial Justice Initiative (RJI) offered Intersection, a multi-media book club that included podcasts, documentaries, and articles as well as books. The goal was to learn about racial justice and immigration issues from a historic and current perspective and explore the junctions.

Intersection will return in 2022 with Plymouth’s Climate and Environmental Justice Team joining IWWG and RJI to offer new materials that explore issues unique to each group as well as those that overlap. Intersection will be offered on the 2nd Monday of each month, January through June, 2022, from 5:00-6:30 over zoom. Sessions will provide opportunities to discuss the prework as well as share learnings/reflections.

Materials include:

  • When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Kahn-Cullors & Asha Bandele – a deeply moving and visceral story about the personal history of one of the founders of Black Lives Matter.
  • Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. The selected chapters serve as an overview of Wilkerson’s concept of caste and how it emerged in America.
  • Silent Sacrifice. A PBS documentary film based on the experience of Japanese Americans before, during and after WWII.
  • Bayou Sutra – Orion Magazine.
  • Immigration Nation. A moving Netflix documentary about immigrants in the U.S.
  • Westminster Town Hall Forum presentation by Jose Antonio Vargas about life in America as an undocumented immigrant.
  • As She Rises. We’ve selected 4 episodes of this podcast which focuses on a specific area of the U.S. that is feeling effects of climate change.
  • Bangladesh: A Climate Trap. Video about Bangladesh climate change refugees who are forced to move to the slums in Dhaka due to environmental degradation.
  • Inequity at the Boiling Point. New York Times article.
  • Rising Seas Will Erase More Cities by 2050. New York Times article.

Please register at the link below. Feel free to contact Nancy Siska with any questions.

Register Here