Licensed Minister, David Grim continues the introduction to ways of entering into, and finding comfort in our individual mystical experience. He provides the quiet time for renewing our communal spaces through shared mystical experience as well. Join us Sunday, April 24 at 9:00 am.

After a two-year hiatus, Film and Faith for young adults (25-39) will resume on Sunday, April 24 at 3:00 pm. We will be watching Son of Man, a movie about the life of Jesus told in contemporary times in sub-Saharan Africa. Discussion will follow with Rev. Murphy facilitating. Those attending should enter the building through the Folsom Room entrance.

Starting on Wednesday, April 27, Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals will be leading a book study on Native: Identity, Belonging and Rediscovering God, by Kaitlin B. Curtis. Native is about identity, soul-searching, and the never-ending journey of finding ourselves and finding God. As both a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation and a Christian, Kaitlin Curtice shares what it means to experience her faith through the lens of her own Indigenous heritage and encourages us to embrace our own origins. This book study will take place after Wednesday Night Live dinner at 6:45 pm, in the Amistad Room. Native can be purchased online, wherever you buy books. If you cannot afford the cost of the book, please let us know, and a book can be purchased for you. For our first session on April 27, we will read the Introduction and Part 1: Beginnings. Hope to see you there!

A few Plymouth members are serving as mentors to families who have been resettled in Fort Wayne from Afghanistan. Lawn maintenance is not something our new neighbors have much experience with, and they haven’t had to deal with city codes about trash bin placement and that sort of thing. So the mentors have asked E&M to recruit some volunteers to help these families get their yards cleaned up for a fresh start.

Many hands make light work, so join us on Saturday, April 30, from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm, at 5015 Smith Street. We won’t be doing any mowing, but will be cleaning up litter that the wind had blow in, raking up leaves and sticks, and helping to get space organized for their trash bins, as well as for the shoes and strollers that they typically leave outside the home. Please sign up to volunteer at our SignUp Genius (linked below) and bring a rake if you have one!

Part three of our Seed-to-Marsh Project is scheduled for Sunday, May 1 at 12:15 pm. All Plymouth people are invited. We’ll transplant seedlings into pots, and if there are some larger plants available, we’ll put some in the ground near the gravel road to the Eagle Marsh barn. We also hope to do some pond dipping for macro invertebrates and tadpoles. Of course, another hike will be offered. For those interested, we can take part in the city nature challenge by recording our nature observations on iNaturalist. You’ll want to load the iNaturalist app and create an account ahead of time. Or, just kick back and enjoy the marsh experience with Plymouth friends. Questions? Contact Jan Gibson at [email protected].

On Saturday, May 7, Rev. Timothy, Rev. Sara, and Licensed Minister January Simpson will be offering a free workshop on how to practice evangelism from a progressive perspective. We will dismantle destructive approaches to evangelism and reconstruct a more positive framework for how we share our faith with others. The workshop will be from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm. Beverages and snacks will be provided. Please sign up in the Folsom Room if you would like to attend.

Please join Plymouth Church, members of the Northeast Association, local clergy, and staff from the Indiana Kentucky conference of the UCC for the installation service of Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals, on Sunday, May 15 at 3:00 pm. This is an important service in which Plymouth Church formalizes its covenantal relationship with its new associate pastor. A light reception will follow the service.

The next book that will be discussed in the Plymouth Women's Book Study will be Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson on Tuesday, May 17 at 12:00 pm.

"A true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to end mass incarceration in America — from one of the most inspiring lawyers of our time.

Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit law office in Montgomery, Alabama, dedicated to defending the poor, the incarcerated, and the wrongly condemned.

Just Mercy tells the story of EJI, from the early days with a small staff facing the nation’s highest death sentencing and execution rates, through a successful campaign to challenge the cruel practice of sentencing children to die in prison, to revolutionary projects designed to confront Americans with our history of racial injustice." - Goodreads

Plymouth’s Women's Book Study welcomes any reader who self-identifies as a woman to drop in to the group for one or more sessions. We meet in the Amistad Room on the third Tuesday of the month at 12:00 pm.

Contact, Judith Beineke [email protected] with questions.

Join and/or Support Team Plymouth in the 2022 AIDS Walk, benefitting the Northeast Indiana Positive Resource Connection! The E&M Board is excited to offer this fun way of showing our love for the PRC and all the good work they do. Fundraising has already begun and the walk itself will happen at Parkview Field on Saturday, June 4, at 10:00 am. Of course, we ask that you wear your Plymouth t-shirt. (If you don't have one yet, we still have plenty!)

There are a few ways to participate.

1. If you have the resources and the inclination to join in the walk and contribute to our fundraiser, please visit our Team Page and click on Join Team. Your $15 registration fee goes towards our fundraiser, and you should have the option of adding a separate, tax-deductible donation as well. Registering will create a page specific to you, but linked to our team, so any contributions given on your page will automatically add into Plymouth’s total.

2. If you would like to donate, but aren’t particularly interested in joining the walk itself, visit our Team Page and click on Donate! It’s pretty simple from that point on.

3. If you aren’t able to donate but would like to show your support and join the walk, we’d love to have you there! Make sure you wear your Plymouth t-shirt!

4. If you aren’t able to donate or join the walk but want to chip in – please share the link to our Team Page on social media and invite your friends to contribute! Actually, also do this if you are doing any of the options listed above.

Questions? Ask January! And thanks in advance for participating in whatever way you are able.

The primary election is important because this is where voters select the candidates for office who will be on the ballot in November. Many offices have two or more people running. Would you like to know more about the candidates on your ballot? Go to VOTE411.org to compare side by side what the candidates say about issues. Early voting starts Tuesday, April 26 or vote on Tuesday, May 3. Sponsored by the League of Women Voters Fort Wayne.

The Bell has changed format and we are looking for writers to contribute! The Bell is now a quarterly, article-based publication focusing on the Plymouth family and its impact in the community. Are you involved in an organization that you'd like to share more about? Was there a Plymouth event that really spoke to you? Whatever it may be, contact Elizabeth Pruitt at [email protected] to find out how you can submit an article to the Bell.

Beginning this month, the Parish Nurse Program will be starting at Plymouth Church. Supported by Marion Health, the Parish Nurse Program "provides registered nurses who are committed and called to help the congregation stay well and improve the overall health and healing ministry of individual faith communities." One Sunday a month in the Folsom room, the Plymouth Parish Nurses will be available for a variety of healthcare resources and support. Please note the Parish Nurse Program does not provide prescriptions or diagnostics. Sunday, April 24 will mark the first of many Parish Nurse Sundays. Additionally, a new informational health flyer will be placed in the stall of every restroom each month at Plymouth.

If you would like to learn more about this program, including finding out how to volunteer (non-medical volunteer opportunities are available), please contact Erin Shaw at [email protected] or 260-224-0860. Click the button below to learn more about the Marion Health Parish Nurse Program.

Plymouth Church is looking for volunteers to cover the 1:00 pm Staff Meetings on Tuesdays. If you would like to assist, please sign up with Jake in the office or sign up by clicking the button below.

Masks are currently optional during worship. This is not a prohibition on masks but only an announcement that they are now optional for individuals. A high-quality mask provides good protection against infection even if others around you are not wearing one, so please continue to wear a mask if you find it necessary or beneficial. We will continue to offer livestreamed and recorded worship services if you find yourself at risk of being around groups or otherwise unable to attend services in-person.

For a time of personal prayer, the sanctuary will be available Tuesday through Thursday during office hours. Please enter through the Berry Street office entrance and check in with our receptionist. Contact Jake Slone at (260) 423-9424 or [email protected] with any questions.

Monday: Closed

Tuesday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Wednesday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Thursday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Friday: By appointment only 9:00 am to 4:00 pm