Please see below for the full schedule of adult chapel class sessions from now until Easter. Chapel class begins at 9:00 am every Sunday, in person and via Zoom, and is open to all adults. The Zoom passcode is 063060. Click the link below to join on Sunday morning.

Sunday, February 11 & 18 – Debunking the “Clobber Passages” – Rev. Timothy Price

These sessions will focus on debunking the interpretations of those verses of the Bible that have traditionally been used to condemn the LGBTQ community.

Sunday, February 25 – Beyond the Clobber Passages: Towards a Queer Affirming Reading of the Bible – Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals

This session will suggest that the Bible can be interpreted to affirm LGBTQ people as fully beloved and created in the image of God.

Sunday, March 3-24 – Celtic Christianity – Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals

Back by popular demand, Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals will continue her series on Celtic Christianity during the season of Lent.

Easter Sunday, March 31 – No Chapel Class

As always, we know that Plymouth is full of many talented and knowledgeable folks. If you have a topic you would like to teach in chapel class, please contact Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals, or a member of the Christian Education board.

Are you interested in becoming a member at Plymouth Church? Our next Welcoming Group will meet Sunday, February 11, 11:30 am to 1:00 pm in the Amistad Room. If you have been attending Plymouth for six months or longer, and your faith journey is leading you to explore becoming a member, this is a one-time required session. Whether you are confident, confused, or curious, our time together is focused on orientation, conversation, interpretation, and exploration. It is an opportunity for you to ask questions and to meet others who are considering affirming their formal relationship with Plymouth Church, UCC. A light lunch will be provided, and childcare is available upon request.

Indiana Center for Middle East Peace will host a webinar titled "The International Court of Justice Genocide Ruling: Meaningful, Symbolic, Missed Opportunity, or Shining Moment?" on Monday, February 12 at 1:00pm.

Michael Spath moderates this discussion that will offer differing viewpoints of the ICJ decision in the Genocide case brought against Israel. Jeff Halper is the founding Director of the Israel Committee Against House Demolitions and a coleader of the One Democratic State Campaign. Jeff participated in the first (and successful) Free Gaza flotilla to break the Israeli siege by sailing into Gaza, and was nominated in 2006 for the Nobel Peace Prize by the American Friends Service Committee. His latest book is Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine: Zionism, Settler Colonialism and the Case for One Democratic State (2021).

Robert Herbst is a human rights attorney and Co-Chair of the board of ICAHD-USA. He is the former Coordinator of Jewish Voice for Peace, Westchester County, and served as an independent investigator and prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals of Sierra Leone and Rwanda.

Click the button below to register for this webinar.

Come one, come all to the annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake and Sausage supper on Tuesday, February 13 at 5:30 pm. This is an annual tradition as we prepare to enter the season of Lent and observe Ash Wednesday the following day. Congregational Life will provide pancakes, sausages, and beverages, all with a festive Mardi Gras theme. Please sign up in the Folsom room if you plan to attend so that we can be sure to have enough food for everyone. All are welcome!

Wednesday Night Live programming continues Wednesday, February 14. At 5:15 pm there will be adult choir rehearsal, children’s choir rehearsal, and Lenten Book Study with Rev. Timothy, followed by dinner at 6:00 pm. The Lenten Book Study with Rev. Timothy can be attended in person or via Zoom using the link below. The passcode to join via Zoom is 648589. All activities are open to anyone in the church, regardless of membership status. Come for activities, or just come for dinner and fellowship! The suggested cost for dinner is $10 per person, though no one is ever turned away due to inability to pay. If you plan to come for dinner, please sign up in the Folsom Room in advance so our caterer knows how much food to prepare. Hope to see you there!

Our Lenten Book Study will meet Wednesday, February 14 at 5:15 pm. This year, we will be looking at Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan’s 2007 book The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Final Days in Jerusalem. Borg and Crossan are major popular progressive Christian scholars and should have much to offer for reflection and discussion. This study will replace Rev. Timothy’s weekly Bible study for its duration, which will last through the end of March. The passcode to join via Zoom is 648589.

The season of Lent begins on Wednesday, February 14, where we will observe the day with our annual Ash Wednesday service at 7:00 pm. Join us in the Sanctuary for a service of reflective music, communion, and the imposition of ashes. This service is an opportunity to reflect together about the meaning of the Lenten season, and to enter into it with intentionality and prayer. We hope to see you there.

Plymouth's Environmental Action Team has adopted a section of the River Greenway Trail. This means that we are responsible for clean-up and maintenance of the trail three times a year.

Our next clean-up day will be Saturday, February 17 from 9:00 am to 10:30 am.

• Parking and an EAT member will be at one of two locations
• Towles Intermediate School (420 E. Paulding Rd.)
• Tillman Park Trailhead (600 E. Tillman Rd.)
• Head out as a group at 9:10 am.
• Trash bags, gloves, and pick-up sticks will be provided at both locations. Bring grabbers if you have one.
• We'll cover about two miles of trail.
• All ages are welcome!

Please join us if you can and help Plymouth live out our Earthwise Covenant!

The Women's Book Study's next meeting will be held Tuesday, February 20 at 12:00 pm in the Amistad Room, where we'll discuss Barbara Kingsolver's latest book, Demon Copperhead.

"Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, this is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father's good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. He braves foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses, dealing all the way with his own invisibility in a popular culture where even the superheroes have abandoned rural people in favor of cities."

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. In March, our book will be All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

ICMEP will host Lara Friedman on Thursday, February 22 at 6:30 pm in the Folsom Room for a conversation on Israel's war on Gaza. Friedman is President of Foundation for Middle East Peace. She is a leading authority on the Middle East with expertise on US foreign policy in the region, on Palestine and Israel. Lara is a former officer in the US Foreign Service, with diplomatic postings in Jerusalem, Tunis, Beirut, and Washington. She also served as the Director of Policy and Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now. Lara is a non-resident fellow at the US/Middle East Project. This event is free and open to the public.

Completed applications for the following scholarships are due in the church office by February 15:

• The Richard Nelson Kent Memorial Fund provides educational grants for tuition and fees for academic credit for members of the United Church of Christ in the Northeast [Indiana] Association and other qualified applicants who are at least 16 years of age and entering into or continuing ecological studies, conservation biology, or other environmentally related studies.

• The Van Gorder Scholarship is awarded annually for tuition and fees for post-secondary education leading to a degree, certificate, or license for a graduating senior who is a member of Plymouth Church.

Completed applications for the Richard C. Hess Peace Studies Scholarship are due in the church office by April 15:

• The Richard C. Hess Peace Studies Scholarship provides a $1,000 tuition and fees scholarship for a college student majoring in peace studies or a related program.

Contact Linda Balthaser at [email protected] with your name, email address, 

and the name of the college/university in which will be enrolled in the 2024 fall semester.

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:

• 2024 Stewardship Campaign Website
• 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