January 2020
Better Angels: Families and Politics
Family relationships are becoming casualties of our toxic political environment. Family members are having nasty political arguments, avoiding each other, and even cutting off lifetime relationships. If you want to preserve important family bonds while still being true to your values and political beliefs, this workshop will offer you: Insight into why family differences over politics are uniquely challenging Recognition of common roles that family members play in political conversations (for example, the Gladiator, the Defender, and the Sniper). Strategies…
Find out more »February 2020
Board of Community Life
The Board of Community Life embraces responsibility for many all-church events, welcomes new members and supports the BeFrienders ministry.
Find out more »Board of Spiritual Formation
Educational and spiritual opportunities for people of all ages and oversight of the Elaine Marsh Library are among the responsibilities for the Board of Spiritual Formation.
Find out more »Film Club: “Dakota Exile”
On Feb. 9, Dakota Exile (1996, 56 min.) will be shown by the Plymouth American Indian Initiative. This award-winning documentary tells the story of The Dakota Indians’ exile through interviews with Dakota elders and tribal historians. They describe conflicts from the 1860s through the mid-1900s: the hanging of 38 Dakota men in Mankato, forced migration into Western territories, forced removal of the children to boarding schools, and more. The respectful retelling of this difficult history by elders helps frame the hanging of…
Find out more »Film Club: “Risking Light”
On Feb. 16, Risking Light (2019, 97 min., documentary) will be presented by Seth Patterson and the Spiritual Formation Committee. This new film filled the huge Riverview Theater at its opening one-night showing in Minneapolis and won “Best of Fest” in the Minneapolis International Film Festival. In the film, three people who experienced profound violence learn compassionate forgiveness. First is Minneapolis resident Mary Johnson, whose son was murdered by a teenager. After he left prison, she started an anti-street violence…
Find out more »Film Club: “Toni Morrison—The Pieces I Am”
On Feb. 23, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019, 120 min.) will be offered by Literary Witnesses. This new, highly acclaimed documentary is about the Nobel and Pulitzer Prizewinner who was one of America’s most awarded and popular novelists ever. She offers story after moving story, mini-epics each, about growing up. For example, her grandfather often explained how he’d read the Bible five times. Only years later did she recognize this as a proud act of subversion in a…
Find out more »March 2020
Film Club: “Doctrine of Discovery—Unmasking the Domination Code”
On March 1, Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking the Domination Code (2014, 60 min., documentary) is hosted by Plymouth’s American Indian and Racial Justice Initiatives. Dakota filmmaker Sheldon Wolfchild reveals the doctrine created by Christians in 1493 allowing Columbus and other colonizers to appropriate Original People’s nations by claiming Christianity has a Biblical right to dominate non-Christian lands. This still is the conceptual foundation of the U.S. political and legal system, as well as in other countries in the world. We…
Find out more »Better Angels II–Red/Blue Workshop A & B
These are two workshops of three hours each. They bring together up to eight “reds” (conservatives, Republicans) and eight “blues” (liberals, Democrats) in structured conversation. Those signing up after the initial 8 pairs may be called upon to join the conversation. The sessions provide an opportunity to apply the skills from the first class. The goals are to better understand each other beyond stereotypes and to look for common ground. Designed to encourage listening and learning rather than declaring and…
Find out more »April 2020
Better Angels II–Red/Blue Workshop A & B
These are two workshops of three hours each. They bring together up to eight “reds” (conservatives, Republicans) and eight “blues” (liberals, Democrats) in structured conversation. Those signing up after the initial 8 pairs may be called upon to join the conversation. The sessions provide an opportunity to apply the skills from the first class. The goals are to better understand each other beyond stereotypes and to look for common ground. Designed to encourage listening and learning rather than declaring and…
Find out more »