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

Indoor Worship

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November 12, 2021

Dear Beloved Community,

It was a blessing to see many of you last Sunday. And it is understandable that even more of you are waiting to return. Daily new cases of COVID-19 in Minnesota are startingly high. While we will continue to gather in the sanctuary for worship for now, please adhere to following protocols as we come together. We have made some very slight adjustments following last week:

  • There will be no pre-registration for attending worship. Only Door #1 will be open on Sunday mornings. Please plan to park in the main church lot or at Park Nicollet. When you arrive, you will be asked to sign in. This is so we can alert you if we learn that someone in attendance develops a positive Covid case up to seven days following Sunday morning.
  • If you receive a positive COVID-19 test result (even if you are asymptomatic!) within 7 days of participating in a church activity: worship, small group, meeting, etc. please contact me (BethF@plymouth.org or 612-977-1286). Your name will be held in confidence, but we must alert others of a possible exposure.
  • We will not be requiring vaccination Rather, we ask that all adults planning to be present for worship be vaccinated, and we trust that you will be thoughtful in the decision to attend. Vaccinations have begun for our children under 12, but in the meantime, we do not want to exclude children from worship and we hope families will attend Sunday morning church activities. We can not emphasize enough the importance of vaccination as the most effective way to protect you, your loved ones, and our community at large. Even in the youngest age groups, it is remarkably effective in preventing the serious consequences of COVID-19.
  • We require face masks for everyone in all parts of the building on Sunday morning (and all days).
  • We ask that you maintain a social distance, to the best of your ability, inside the sanctuary. Family groups are of course welcomed to sit together. Some pews will be roped off to encourage distancing.
  • The sanctuary will be open at 8:45 a.m. for 9:00 a.m. worship and 10:45 a.m. for 11:00 a.m. worship. If you arrive at church earlier than this, you will be asked to wait in Guild Hall.
  • While it will be a blessing to be together in person inside the sanctuary, the experience of worship will be different. Offering plates will not be passed; rather there will be depositories for the collection of giving envelopes. We will not yet celebrate communion. Initially there will be no coffee fellowship. And only two of the three clergy will be present each Sunday because all three of us cannot risk exposure together, forcing all of us into quarantine at the same time.
  • While we are taking seriously all precautions to prevent spread of infection, we cannot eliminate all risk. If you are feeling at all unwell, please stay home and take good care.
  • Please stay tuned as protocol may need to change based on circumstances.

I will continue my weekly correspondence as we move into this new season of church life together, alerting you of any necessary changes in procedure or other important updates. I hold you all in prayer as this pandemic wears on. May we be people of hope, may we be kind and caring, may we remain faithful in community.

Blessings,

Rev. Beth Hoffman Faeth
Minister for Congregational Care and Worship

This I Believe | Racial Justice Is Personal

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Plymouth member Richard Jewell is featured in This I Believe | Racial Justice Is Personal video, a project of the Racial Justice Initiative. The goal of these personal stories is to inspire reflection and action, and we offer them with humility and vulnerability. The video is included below.

Through This I Believe, Plymouth members can practice speaking up, and we invite you to listen with an open heart and mind. RJI hopes that all of these personal stories, from people you may know, will inspire deeper thought about your own relationship to systemic racism. Before Plymouth can become a truly antiracist church, we need to first look at our own participation in a system that favors white people.

If you are interested in writing a personal statement and/or being featured in an upcoming video, you can learn more about the journey and view previous videos at www.plymouth.org/rji or contact Jean Kennedy at jekennedy21@comcast.net. We are looking for many Plymouth members to be involved.

Updates About Worship and Security

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Dear Members & Friends of Plymouth Church,

Thank you for your words and prayers of support and encouragement last week upon announcing the emergency cancellation of our 9 a.m. worship service under the tent. By tending to our concerns and taking precautions, the rest of our programming inside the building last Sunday continued as usual without incident or interruption. We are grateful for the work and participation of our staff, members, and volunteers who served with grace and generosity.

We are happy to inform you that the Plymouth Security Team has given us the all-clear and is confident that we can gather under the tent this Sunday at 9 a.m. We continue to take all precautions as needed to secure all persons and property. We look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

We will gather promptly for our 9 a.m. worship service under the Big Top. Our 11 a.m. worship streaming service will continue as scheduled. We are pleased to offer Sundays at 5: Testimonies: Transformation Through Stories inside the sanctuary at 5 p.m. It will feel meaningful to gather in contemplative prayer.

Thank you for your support, cooperation, and attention to this matter. We remain grateful for the hard work and dedication of our Security Team and Plymouth Staff.

Rev. Dr. DeWayne Davis
Rev. Beth Hoffman Faeth
Rev. Seth Patterson

Advent Retreat: Spiritual Imagination and the Nativity

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Based on Richard Rohr’s Advent teachings as well as the Ignatian practice of imaginative prayer, this weekly retreat will use storytelling, music, and guided visualization to bring participants deep into the heart of the meaningful metaphors of the Christmas story. Tuesdays, 7-8:15 p.m., on zoom, with Carolyn Kolovitz.

Nov. 30: The Annunciation: Saying Yes
Dec 7: The Epiphany: Our Journey
Dec 14: The Nativity: Wonder & Awe

Carolyn Kolovitz is a spiritual director and retreat facilitator at Loyola Spirituality Center with a special interest in engaging younger generations on the spiritual journey. Her “Spiritual Mentoring” workshops are about getting clear on what is most sacred to you, then sharing in a way that connects, not preaches. She has over fifteen years of youth programming experience, an MS in Women’s Studies, an MA in Theology, and a graduate certificate in spiritual direction from St. Catherine University. Carolyn blogs at www.spiritfulldirection.com.

Register Here

Open Door Conversation With Clergy – SPECIAL IN-PERSON EDITION!

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Are you looking for a place of respite, an opportunity to share your cares and concerns with others in a circle of mutual support? The pandemic has burdened us in numerous ways and the clergy of Plymouth are aware that many folks are struggling with grief and despair, along with great angst about the condition of our world. DeWayne, Beth, and Seth will host three in-person opportunities for our community to come together to acknowledge the heaviness of our spirits as well as glean loving care from each other.

 

Join clergy on Wednesday, October 27th at 10:30 a.m., Thursday, October 28 at 1 p.m., or Monday, November 1 at 6 p.m. We will meet in Guild Hall.

Important Update to Worship and Events on October 17

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Dear Members & Friends of Plymouth Church,
Due to credible threats from a disgruntled former employee, in an abundance of caution, and upon guidance from the Plymouth Church Security Team, we are canceling the outdoor worship service under the tent on Sunday, October 17. We have notified and are in communication with the Minneapolis Police Department and are taking all precautions as needed to secure all persons and property. We ask that all those who arrive at the church on Sunday for inside activities, please use Door 1 and our Security Team will be present to welcome you.
In addition to worship, we will not hold Church School, Confirmation, or the Vikings game gathering. Choristers, who were to sing at 9 a.m. will be scheduled at a different date.
Our 11 a.m. worship streaming service will continue as scheduled and choir members should arrive at the church at their scheduled time. We are pleased to offer Sundays at 5: Celtic Weavings inside the sanctuary tomorrow at 5 p.m. It will feel meaningful to gather in contemplative prayer.
Tomorrow morning, we remain scattered rather than gathered in worship. And we trust that God binds us together in beloved community as we move through yet another unsettled time. Let us lean in with love and compassion and remain centered in God’s grace.
Thank you for your support, cooperation, and attention to this matter. We remain grateful for the hard work and dedication of our Security Team and Plymouth Staff.
Dr. DeWayne Davis
Rev. Beth Hoffman Faeth
Rev. Seth Patterson

2022 Annual Giving

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We’re well into the 2021-22 Church year! And we are a little more gathered than scattered, so this message seems timely. In the recent history of Plymouth, never has our care for our Church been more fulfilling as it is today. We realize what a treasure of a community we have, a community that continues to support and nurture each other as we move through the pandemic. We remain active — both in and outside the walls of our Church! As our covenant describes, “we do bind ourselves together …” … and here are headlines:

 

  1. Lead minister DeWayne Davis has started his first full church year with us! His dedication to and excitement about Plymouth’s purposes as a church gives us new energy.
  2. The church building has limited use, but we are in the Big Tent, worshipping and celebrating together!
  3. Our kids are enjoying activities together, including playing in our stellar new playground, safely tucked against our Church.
  4. Our care for the broader community remains steadfast: We came together to support Elze, the school using our church school classrooms, and we witnessed our church remain critically important as evidenced by the Groveland Food Shelf usage, and the vaccination clinic operating within our walls.
  5. Boards and Committees have begun the Church year with their missions and commitments in place, ready to lead. This is true roll-up-our-sleeves time!

 

And this is where you come in.

 

The Stewardship Committee also has a mission and commitment, which we want to share with you.

Our theme:  Cultivate Faith, Nurture Connection, Amplify Love

 

Our commitment as a church is to build community within and outside of our church. This necessitates our financial support of the work we do. Our Annual Giving Campaign is underway now! Each person who supports Plymouth through pledging and giving both meaningfully and directly supports the work we undertake.

Committing to giving shows care and connection and builds faith within our Congregation and in the broader community.

 

By making your pledge you are stepping up to support the work at Plymouth: Cultivating faith, nurturing our connection to each other, and amplifying our love for and commitment to the community around us.

 

Pledge materials will reach you shortly. There is always an opportunity to give online! www.plymouth.org/pledge.

 

 

Thank you!

Jean Thomson

Ryan French

Co-chairs, 2022 Annual Giving Campaign

 

Make Your Commitment for 2022