Plymouth's Annual Church Picnic will be Sunday, August 6 at Northside Park in the Psi Ote Lower Level Pavillion from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Congregational Life Board will be providing pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, iced tea, lemonade, and water. Please bring a dish to share as well as your own picnic tableware, including cups. Unfortunately, all city pools will be closing on Saturday, August 5, so the pool will not be available for swimming.

On Sunday, August 6, the Plymouth Music Series presents Andrea Salazar, Soprano, Dr. Wagner Pastor, Tenor, and Maestro Robert Nance, Piano for a concert at 4:00 pm in the Sanctuary. Wagner and Andrea, originally from Ecuador, will present a recital of music from traditional art song, arias, and music from Latin America. This husband and wife duo both work for Heartland Sings as professional vocal artists and teachers.

On Tuesday, August 8, the Plymouth offices will be closed until 12:00 pm, as staff are away for the staff retreat.

A memorial service for Ginny Laudadio will be held on Saturday, August 12 at 11:00 am in the sanctuary. All are invited. There will also be a time for visitation with the family at 10:00 am in the Folsom Room. There will be no reception following the service.

The next meeting of the Plymouth's Women's Book Study will take place on August 15 at 12:00 pm in the Amistad Room. We shall be discussing A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers. This is the story of a college senior who, in the space of five weeks, loses both of his parents and inherits his eight-year-old brother. This is a deeply heartfelt story of how the family holds together in such extraordinary circumstances. 

As always, we invite anyone to join us who self-identifies as a woman. If you would like to join us by Zoom, please email Laura McCoy. Other books coming up are The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama, and Anam Cara by John O'Donohue.

Do you enjoy working with young children? Are you looking for a way to get involved with children’s ministries at Plymouth? We need your help! We are in need of volunteers to assist with Children’s Fellowship Time and Nursery Care on Sunday mornings during the worship hour. You can volunteer one Sunday a month, or as often as you like. No experience is needed; however a background check is required. If interested, please email Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals at smo@plymouthfw.org for more information.

This year the Bell Newsletter has focused on one of our four covenants each quarter. The third Bell this year will be published on August 18 and will be focused on Plymouth Church's Earthwise covenant. "We are … an Earthwise congregation (2015), striving to be good stewards of God's creation." This is a great opportunity for your Board/Committee/Task Force to inform Plymouth members and friends of the work you are doing that aligns with this covenant. Please note you are not required to write a piece for the Bell and if you do choose to do so, your article is not required to be geared toward the Earthwise covenant. The covenant is just a framework for your article and the overarching theme of the August issue. 

The submission deadline for the August Bell is Wednesday, August 9 at 11:59 pm. The Bell will be published Friday, August 18. If you'd like to write an article for the Bell, please submit it by 11:59 pm on Wednesday, August 9 to Communications Specialist Elizabeth Pruitt at edp@plymouthfw.org. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call at (260) 423-9424. 

Volunteers for the 11th year of Study Connection at Plymouth Church are needed! You can be a tutor or a substitute to fill in on the few days when a tutor must be away. Contact Lucy Hess for more information on what is expected of a tutor and sub at lrh22@frontier.com or (260) 484-4430. Study Connection is offered at Plymouth every Wednesday from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm starting early October to mid-May. To sign up for the background check, click here. The Study Connection sign up sheet is always linked in the Plymouth LinkTree, linked in the bulletin each week.

Plymouth’s directory is going digital! You can now sign up for account access on the Plymouth Website. This will allow you to see your own personal information, see your giving and contributions for the year, and access the new Plymouth Church Directory. By moving to a digital directory, we keep our commitment to protect the environment by being an Earthwise congregation, while also guaranteeing that we have up to date information right at your fingertips. Once the request is processed, you will receive an e-mail from the office with your unique username and password allowing you to log in via the "Member Login" button on our website.

At the same time that we are providing this fantastic service, we are also collecting emergency contact information that will be kept on file in case you were to become seriously injured or ill at a church service or event. Such information will be kept private and only used in emergency situations by staff.

To sign up for either please visit here or see Jake Slone, Church Receptionist, in the office for a paper form.

Masks are optional in worship and church programming. If you are feeling under the weather or prefer to wear a mask around others, it is an ongoing option. A high-quality mask provides good protection against infection even if others around you are not wearing one. We will continue to offer livestreamed and recorded worship services for anyone unable to attend services in person.

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.

The following links can be found on our Linktree:

• Study Connection Volunteer Sign Up
• Plymouth Directory Login
• Chancel Flower Dedication Sign Up Form
• Donate
• Past Chapel Class Series
• Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Sign Up
• Plymouth Google Calendar
• Plymouth's Social Media