As part of Plymouth’s commitment to the UCC’s "Our Church’s Wider Mission", we are collecting today for the UCC’s Strengthen the Church Offering. The Strengthen the Church Offering reflects the shared commitment of people across the United Church of Christ to cooperatively build up the denomination. Conferences and the national setting equally share the gifts given by members and friends through their local congregations. The funds raised support leadership development, new churches, youth ministry, and innovation in existing congregations. By your generosity to this offering, you build up the Body of Christ.

If we have learned anything about being the church in the past 18 months, it’s that the church must have resources available to adapt to changing circumstances, to develop new ways of serving both the congregation and the community. Funds raised from the Strengthen the Church Offering provide resources to churches that would not be able to respond to new and developing contexts and calls without such assistance. As God calls our congregations to be the church in new ways, your generosity will plant new churches, awaken new ideas in existing churches, and develop the spiritual lives of our youth and young adults.

You can contribute to this special offering by using the special envelope provided in service if you happen to be worshipping with us in person today. Offerings may also be made by mailing a check to Plymouth (with the memo line “Strengthen the Church”), or by going online to plymouthfw.org, clicking the “Contribute” tab, clicking “Donate”, and then entering your offering amount in the line for "Strengthen the Church."

The Safety Committee, Deacons' Worship Board, and Executive Council of Plymouth Church have reviewed and approved a Safe Church Policy to be presented to the congregation for final approval at a future congregational meeting. To introduce the congregation to this proposed policy, there will be several after-church gatherings to review the proposal and ask any questions you may have. The first workshop will be on Sunday, August 22 at 11:15 am following worship in the Folsom Room.

Join the Fort Wayne UNITED TenPoint Coalition Teams and pastors of Fort Wayne for prayer walks through the Oxford Community.

When: Tuesday, August 24 & Thursday, August 26, 5:30 pm - 6:45 pm

Where: Weisser Park Youth Center: 802 Eckart St., Fort Wayne, IN 46806

Who: All are welcome!

In case of rain, the August 24 date will be pushed to August 31 at 5:30 pm and the August 26 date will be pushed to September 2 at 5:30 pm.

“The Fort Wayne UNITED TenPoint Coalition is influencing the lives of young people, families, local businesses, and neighborhoods by implementing proactive strategies to reduce violence and emphasize the importance of education, employment and community partnerships.

Created in 2018, foot patrol members visit local neighborhoods to examine the areas of crime, education, health, and housing and how to improve conditions and the quality of life for residents and explore opportunities for growth and future success.”

For more information about the Fort Wayne UNITED TenPoint Coalition, visit their website by clicking here.

Saturday, August 28, 9:00 am to 11:00 am, Evangelism and Marketing will be collecting for our friends at Fairfield Elementary. What a joy to help school staff and students get a good start to the year!

They are requesting the following supplies: Pink/pastel, cutesy/girly backpacks, Dry Erase Markers, Clorox/disinfectant wipes, Sweatpants and/or leggings in youth sizes for kids pre-K and up, Play-Doh, Puzzles or Mini-Puzzle Games, Small Notepads or Sketchbooks

Collection will be held rain or shine at the Folsom Room entrance. We hope to see you at the porte-cochère! If you cannot make it on Saturday, you can drop your donations in the E&M donation bin, now available in the Folsom Room, near the porte-cochère doors, any time through Sunday, August 29.

“With Thanksgiving for the past, with joy in the present and with hope for the future we celebrate this renewal of Plymouth.” Plymouth Church presents the “Rejoice & Renewal Celebration” on Saturday, September 18 at 5:30 pm at the Mizpah Shrine Center Imperial Room located at 1015 Memorial Way, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46805.

The evening will include a free catered dinner and music. A registration form can be found at the button below and will ask you to select your dinner choice: homestead chicken (rotisserie grilled half chicken), or vegan friendly pasta primavera (bow tie pasta with broccoli, carrots, red peppers, mushrooms, onions and ripe olives in an herbed olive oil). Please register for each individual person who will be in attendance and their dinner choice. Registration ends at 11:59 pm on September 7.

We plan to meet on the third Tuesday of each month, and our first meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 21, from 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm, when the book will be Flight Behavior, a novel by Barbara Kingsolver.

Wednesday Night Live has its kickoff event on Wednesday, September 1 at 6:00 pm, followed by the regular weekly programming starting September 8. Sign up sheets are in the Folsom Room to indicate if you will be there for the weekly dinner, which is at 6:00 pm. Please write your name, number of members of your household, and mark if you are requesting a vegetarian option. Masks will be required indoors except when eating. Plans are fluid based on local COVID cases so watch for e-blasts on any changes of plans. We look forward to seeing you there!

Merry Christmas! Wait! It’s only late summer, but orders need to be placed for wreaths now. St. Joe Tree Farm is graciously working with Standish Circle to keep the tradition of selling wreaths for you to order and receive in time for the Christmas holidays. The profits are used to assist the Christmas family that Standish/Knit & Kibitz adopts each year. Unfortunately, swags and roping will not be available this year as the greenery comes from Oregon and Washington where fires and extreme heat have really damaged, if not wiped out, the crops. The pickup will be at Plymouth and handled in a noncontact manner. Wreath pick up will be Sunday, November 21 at the porte-cochere entrance before and after church.

Orders and payment must be received before Sunday, September 12. To complete an order form, either click the button below to print off the form and return it to the Plymouth office or pick up an order form at the front office on Sunday mornings. Checks should be made payable to Plymouth Church and include a notation stating "Standish Wreaths" on the memo line.

Now that events and meetings are returning to the building, it is important that you contact Tina Puitz, Office Manager, to make sure the time, date and room for your event is available. You may also be asked to complete a building use form. By contacting the office, your event will be entered onto the calendar and your meeting space will be ready when you arrive. Even if your event is returning after the long break due to the pandemic, you must still contact Tina. Also, if you will be selling anything or money will be coming to the office, please coordinate with Tina so office preparations can be made. Contact Tina at 260-423-9424 or tmp@plymouthfw.org. Thank you.

To apply, click the button below and complete the Volunteer Information Form. All volunteers must have a background check which is done by the FWCS and two references. If you would like to be a tutor or a substitute or have any questions about volunteering, please let Lucy Hess know by contacting her at lrh22@frontier.com or 484-4430.

Due to numerous requests, Plymouth has decided to open our sanctuary on Thursdays from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm for a time of personal prayer. Please enter through the Berry Street Office entrance and check in with our receptionist. Contact our receptionist Jake Slone at (260) 423-9424 or jss@plymouthfw.org with any questions.

Plymouth Church has joined Instagram! If you would like to follow our Instagram to see what's happening at Plymouth each week and more, give us a follow @plymouthchurchfortwayne. If you post any pictures at Plymouth or at a Plymouth event, or have any previous posts at Plymouth, please tag us! The link to our Instagram can be found at the bottom of this bulletin and on our website.

Those who want to sign up can do so by filling out the form, linked here, or they can call/email the office. Payment can be made through the donation link on our website (included in the form) or they can mail cash/a check to the office. Donations for the selected Sunday(s) must be to the office by the prior Tuesday. The cost for one bouquet is $50. If two members sign up for the same Sunday, we will have two bouquets that week.

For this week’s RIP Medical Debt campaign announcement, E&M would like to share a story published December 20, 2019, by WTIU, out of Indianapolis. There, Northview Church collected $40,000 and paid off $7.8 million through RIP Medical Debt.

One beneficiary of this collection is a woman named Sonya Brown, who agreed to be interviewed for the story. She had approximately $15,000 in unpaid medical bills, which had resulted from struggles with diabetes and several strokes. Her health issues eventually led to her quitting her job at Wal-Mart, leaving her and her husband to get by on only his pay. There wasn’t any extra to pay off debt.

Then Ms. Brown received a letter from RIP Medical Debt informing her that her debt had been forgiven, and she now owed nothing. “You know how people feel when they hit the lottery? Just overwhelming and so exciting. […] I wanted to pay my medical bills, I didn’t want to be that deadbeat person, but I couldn’t afford to pay that,” she said.

The interview with Ms. Brown was during December, so she was asked about her plans for the holidays. She replied that she was scraping together whatever extra she had to pay the blessing forward, because so many had helped her. She said, “It don’t take a lot of money, because if everyone puts in 10 or 20 dollars, it adds up quick, and it helps somebody.”

We couldn’t agree more, Ms. Brown. If everyone chips in a little, we can do a lot. Please give what you can, and help us bring the good news to more folks like Sonya Brown.

The fundraising campaign will run through September 26, and our fundraising goal is $20,000 – or $2,000,000 in medical debt relief – but if we end up raising more than that our joy will increase with our giving. Please feel free to share the link with your friends and family – the more the merrier! Click the button below to visit our fundraising campaign page. There is also a link on our “Contribute” page at plymouthfw.org. Scroll down and click on “Campaign." Information can also be found on Facebook. Thank you!

If you have a need to visit the office, we’d love to see you! Our office is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Appointments are no longer necessary to visit the office during these days. On Fridays, our office will be open from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm by appointment only. Contact the office at (260) 423-9424 or office@plymouthfw.org with any questions.

The state of Indiana has opened COVID-19 vaccination eligibility to anyone 12 and older. You can click the button below to schedule an appointment. If you have difficulty registering online, you can dial 211 from any phone for assistance.