Just Neighbors has asked if Plymouth would consider hosting homeless families in the winter when temperatures drop below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. The City of Fort Wayne and Just Neighbors, as well as a few other organizations, work with local shelters and a few local churches to house homeless people in the coldest weather. This past winter, there were quite a few more homeless families than in past years which has put a strain on the shelters.

The EC is forming a task force to determine whether the Plymouth Church Congregation would be supportive of occasionally sheltering families between 7:00 pm and 7:00 am on the coldest winter nights. The Task Force’s first job is to identify concerns such as safety, liability, level of interest and other factors, before the recommendation is made to the Executive Council. The Executive Council will then present the Task Force’s findings to the congregation. The congregation ultimately will have the decision to whether Plymouth would occasionally house families in the winter when the other shelters are full.

A link to a very brief survey is linked at the button below for each congregant to express their level of support for housing families in cold weather. Thank you for your consideration.

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, March 17-24 – Celtic Christianity – Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals

Back by popular demand, Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals continues 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.

The Centering Prayer group at Plymouth continues this Monday, March 18 at 5:30 pm in the Chapel. Centering Prayer is an ancient form of Christian meditation that dates back as far as the 14th century and is practiced by Christians all over the world. The main idea behind Centering Prayer is to let go of all thoughts in order to open oneself to the healing presence of God within. Plymouth’s Centering Prayer group is open to anyone, regardless of one’s level of experience. Beginners are encouraged to drop in anytime. Whether you can come once a week or once a month, or just once in a while, we’d love to see you there! We meet every Monday at 5:30 pm.

The Women's Book Study's next meeting will be held in the Amistad Room on Tuesday, March 19 at 12:00 pm when we'll discuss All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

"Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister. Deftly interweaving the lives of Marie-Laure and Werner, Doerr illuminates the ways a blind French girl and a German boy recruit try to survive the devastation of World War II."

As always, we invite anyone to come who self-identifies as a woman. If you would like to join us via Zoom, please email Laura McCoy. 

In April we'll be choosing what to read in the coming months, so you can be thinking about books you would like to share and discuss. 

Wednesday Night Live programming continues Wednesday, March 20. 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, March 20 at 5:15 pm. We are studying 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 replaces 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.

Four members of the United Church of Christ traveled to Palestine as part of the recent Stones Cry Out Delegation, and three more joined the Delegation upon their return to Washington DC.

The Delegation was made up of 23 church leaders and activists from 12 Christian denominations from all across the United States. We had a series of meetings with 17 Jewish, Christian, and Muslim peacemakers, human rights activists, and practitioners of non-violence in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah, and Hebron, then returned to Washington DC for a series of meeting with congresspersons, demonstrations, and an interfaith prayer service.

On Thursday, March 21 at 1:00 pm, Dr. Michael Spath (Indiana Center for Middle East Peace, Global Kairos for Justice Coalition, ICAHD-USA) leader of the Palestine delegation, will moderate a conversation on Zoom with the UCC Delegation participants - Rev. Diane Dulin (UCC-PIN, FOSNA), Sarah Klockowski (Ministry Associate), Stephanie Gilstrom (Rachel Corrie Foundation), and Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals (UCC-PIN).

Register to attend this virtual discussion by clicking the button below.

Indiana Center for Middle East Peace invites you to join us on Thursday, March 21 at 6:30 pm in the Folsom Room for Dr. Ron Caldwell's "Apartheid South Africa! Apartheid Israel!" discussion.

ICMEP Board member, Dr. Ron Caldwell, has traveled to Palestine and Israel three times on Michael’s “Solidarity Tours,” and recently participated in the “In the Footsteps of Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela” tour, co-led by Michael Spath and Rev. Edwin Arrison. In addition to studying Tutu and Mandela, tour participants heard from anti-apartheid activist-leader, Rev. Allan Boesak. Ron will review life under apartheid in South Africa, explore apartheid as it is defined under international law, compare apartheid South Africa to the Jim Crow South in the U.S. and examine life in Palestine under Israeli rule. This event is free and open to the public.

The Reproductive Rights Action team invites all to participate in an event to create care packages for people traveling to Ohio clinics for abortion care. All are invited to gather in the Folsom Room on Saturday, March 23 to assemble the care packages. Drop in anytime between 9:00 am and 12:00 pm and stay and help for as long as you like. If you can’t make it that Saturday but would like to contribute to the cost of the materials, just head over to the Plymouth website, click the ‘donate’ button, and select ‘Peace and Justice’ from the donation drop-down menu. Our goal is to be able to assemble 500 care packages, which will then be delivered to Faith Choice Ohio for distribution to Ohio clinics. All are welcome and encouraged to bring a friend – hope to see you there!

• Sunday, March 24 at 10:00 am – Palm Sunday service
• Tuesday, March 26 at 7:00 pm – ICMEP Stations of the Cross
• Wednesday, March 27 at 5:15 pm – Final Lenten Book Study
• Thursday, March 28 at 6:00 pm – Maundy Thursday supper and service with foot washing and communion
• Friday, March 29 from 7:00 am – 6:45pm – Good Friday prayer vigil (participants pray from home)
• Friday, March 29 at 7:00 pm – Good Friday Tenebrae service
• Sunday, March 31 at 7:30 am – Easter Sunrise service, followed by Easter breakfast. To join via Zoom, click this link. The passcode to join is 878745.
• Sunday, March 31 at 10:00 am – Easter Celebration service

Friendly reminder that E&M will host Tapping Into Faith at Mad Anthony’s on Monday, March 25 at 7:00 pm. Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals will be joining us as the special guest facilitator! It’s a wonderful chance to get to know fellow Plymouth folks a little better and sometimes welcome folks from the community into fellowship. Loosely guided conversation and story-sharing, good food & drink, and good people – what more could you want?!

We will provide appetizers for all to share, and you are welcome to buy whatever meal or beverage you’d like. Come on over!

Plymouth members are once again invited to participate in an all-day prayer vigil from their homes on Good Friday. Sign up for one or more 15-minute slots using the link below, and you will receive further instructions and prayer resources via email. Please consider joining your fellow church members in prayer on this sacred day.

Starting Sunday, April 14, Rev. Sara and Rev. January will be co-leading a chapel class series on the book Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey. The book casts an illuminating light on our troubled relationship with rest and how to imagine and dream our way to a future where rest is exalted. Our worth does not reside in how much we produce, especially not for a system that exploits and dehumanizes us. Rest, in its simplest form, becomes an act of resistance and a reclaiming of power because it asserts our most basic humanity. Rest Is Resistance is a call to action, a battle cry, a field guide, and a manifesto for all of us who are sleep deprived, searching for justice, and longing to be liberated from the oppressive grip of Grind Culture. Buy a copy on Amazon, or wherever you buy your books, and plan to join us on April 14 at 9:00 am, in person or on Zoom!

It’s time to order Easter flowers! Each year, we offer the opportunity to dedicate flowers on Easter Sunday. You can pick between Easter lilies or daffodils (or feel free to order both). Lilies are $10 each and daffodils are also $10 each.

To order, print off the order form at the button below or pick one up from the receptionist's office or Folsom Room, and return it no later than Monday, March 25. We encourage you to take your flowers with you following worship on Easter Sunday.

The Property Board needs volunteers to pick up trash and pull weeds around the church, parking lot, and the 527 W. Berry property west of the church. Questions? Call or text Gary Kerr at (260) 341-2943 or email [email protected] to find out how you can help!

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