In Chapel Class on Sunday, January 12, we will be welcoming guest speaker Brian Nugen from Nugen Law to offer a presentation on elder care. Brian will speak about the protection of assets for our aging population, and securing benefits to pay for one’s care as we age.

Chapel class begins at 9am every Sunday and is open to all adults in person or on zoom. The password for zoom access is 461025.

There will be a board and officer training session following worship this Sunday, January 12. This training is for all board members, chairpersons, and church officers. Our aim would be to finish in about 45 minutes. If you are on one of our 2025 boards, your attendance is requested. Thanks!

Starting Sunday, January 19, there will be a four-week chapel class series on the parables of Jesus. Rev. Garrett Pogue will lead the session on January 19, on the parable of the Prodigal Son. Rev. Sara will lead the session on January 26, on the parable of the Good Samaritan. Topics for February 2 and 9 are TBA.

Each year, Plymouth participates in a service of music and quotes remembering the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s work and legacy. The service this year will take place at Pilgrim Baptist Church on Sunday, January 19 at 4:00 pm. Several other congregations and clergy from the community will be in attendance and participating in the program. Pilgrim Baptist Church is located at 1331 Gay St. in Fort Wayne. We hope to see you there!

To commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Day, the Indiana Center for Middle East Peace is hosting the Honorable Rev. Wendell Griffin for a program entitled Palestine and the Black Church, on Thursday, January 23 at 6:00pm at Plymouth Church.

Wendell Griffen is a retired judge; Baptist pastor; Co-Chair of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference, a national network of African-American religious leaders working for social justice. In 1984, he became the first lawyer of color admitted to partnership of a major Arkansas law firm. In 1985, Gov. Bill Clinton appointed him to Chair the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission; in 1995, appointed to the Arkansas Court of Appeals. Wendell and the Proctor Conference have been very strong in their support of full Palestinian civil, political, and human rights.

This program is free and open to the public, and will be livestreamed and recorded on the ICMEP YouTube Channel at the link below.

Our Annual Business Meeting will be Sunday, January 26 after worship. This congregational meeting is where we will vote on the 2025 annual budget, approve the October meeting minutes and Annual Report, and hear some updates and brief presentations. All members are eligible to vote and are encouraged to attend. Non-member participants are invited to attend as well but are not able to vote. A lunch will be provided by the Youth Group after worship and we will have the meeting in the Folsom Room.

It’s cloudy and it’s cold, and the Congregational Life Board knows you’ve been hankering to play some Euchre. The Board is hosting the 3rd Annual Plymouth Euchre Tournament in the Folsom Room on Saturday, Feb 1st from 2 - 4:30 pm. This is a round robin tournament which means you will play with a different partner every game. The winning player will earn the coveted Plymouth Euchre Champ title for 2025.

We will have water, coffee and snacks to enjoy while playing. Since this a tournament, it is not a good time to learn Euchre. Come anyway and you can meet many Euchre players at Plymouth who would love to show you how to play at another time. We will also have a variety of games for people and youth who do not know how to play Euchre. It’s a great way to meet fellow Plymouth people. Sign-up sheet will be in the Folsom Room.

Our nursery needs more adult volunteers! You can volunteer once a month, or even every two months, to assist our child care director, Michelle Grim, on Sunday mornings. All volunteers who work with children must have been attending Plymouth for at least six months and will require a background check. If you are interested in helping out, please contact Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals at smo@plymouthfw.org.

Plymouth is currently working on a potential partnership with InAsMuch ministries to provide showers to unhoused members of our community. We are currently looking for volunteers to assist in this effort. Volunteers will be needed on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, from 9am-12pm. Shifts could be once a week, or once a month, depending on your availability. If you would like to learn more, or sign up to volunteer, please contact Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals at smo@plymouthfw.org.

Happy New Year from the Plymouth Office Staff. With the new already upon us we are working on some housekeeping items. For this week, Tony Ray, our office manager, is working on cleaning up our key log. If you have keys to the building, please reach out to him via email at tdr@plymouthfw.org and let him know the numbers on each of your keys. This will allow for an update to properly keep track of all church keys. Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

The Plymouth Reproductive Rights Action team is sponsoring a teacher training for OWL - Our Whole Lives - a faith based, comprehensive sex education program. The training will be held March 7-9.

There is a cost for the training, however, scholarships are available for Plymouth members to cover the cost in part or in full.

For more information, or to register for the training, email plymouthreprorights@gmail.com.

While the city opted not to use Plymouth as an overflow shelter space for families this winter, we can still help with the emergency shelter efforts. The city is in need of supplies for the family overflow shelter-- you can use the Amazon wish list below to donate!

The Disciples Peace Fellowship (DPF) has opened its annual application process for its 2025 Peace Interns. Peace Interns are young adults who provide educational and program support at church camps and other church-related assemblies and events about peace and justice issues, serving as counselors and resource people, and modeling the lifestyle of peacemakers for youth and adults alike. In recent years, Peace Interns have also partnered with Disciples Justice Ministries groups to work on specific projects in the name of living out the gospel imperative for peace and justice. Folks 21 and older can apply and learn more at https://www.disciplespeace.org/apply.

Applications are due January 31. Please share with any young adults who may be interested. Rev. Timothy is the co-moderator of the DPF Executive Committee (and a 2004 Peace Intern) and is happy to answer any questions you may have!