E&M will be hosting our monthly Tapping Into Faith get together at 7:30 pm on Monday, May 30, at Mad Anthony Brewing. In recognition of the fact that this is, of course, Memorial Day, we’ll focus our conversation on the role(s) and meaning(s) of sacrifice, as well as our own experience(s) with it. So if May 30 rolls around and you’ve already paid your respects and you find yourself finished with cookouts, come on over to Mad’s and join us in their party room for some good conversation and great community.

E&M will provide appetizers to share, and you are welcome to order food and drink for yourself. Invite a friend! Open to the public.

This year for Pentecost, we will also be celebrating Confirmation for members of the Covenant Class who have decided to be confirmed. Please be sure to come to the 10:00 am service to support them and hear their faith reflections.

Then at 4:00 pm, we will have an outdoor service featuring New Orleans-style jazz and worship in the church parking lot on Berry Street. Come bring a lawn chair and enjoy the music!

June 5 is Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the church! Our kids and youth will start off worship by parading in with red streamers and flags from around the world. If your family would like to participate, please meet us in the narthex just before the 10:00 am worship service.

Plymouth’s families with kids are gathering once a month this summer to socialize, serve, and explore our community! If there are babies, kids, teens or graduates in your home, please join us!

Our first summertime family gathering will be Saturday, June 11. We’ll be working at the Community Harvest Food Bank from 7:30 am to 11:30 am. They have work for all ages, so if you’ve got a toddler willing to help stuff bags alongside you, or a teen ready to carry bags of food to cars, there is a job for everyone in your family!

Registration is required for this event. Click the button below to register.

The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak has been chosen for the next meeting of Plymouth's Women's Book Study on Tuesday, June 21 at 12:00 pm in the Amistad Room. The novel introduces us to a teenager living with her father in London, to the love story of her parents (one Turkish, one Greek from Cyprus) and to a fig tree who acts as our narrator and guide. One commentator describes it as, "A rich, magical book on belonging and identity, love and trauma, nature and renewal..."

We welcome any reader who self-identifies as a woman to drop in to join us. Please contact Judith Beineke at [email protected] with any questions.

Perhaps you’ve seen the article in the Bell already, but E&M is thrilled to say that this year we are hosting a Plymouth Pride event, on Saturday, June 25, from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm.

This event has it all; an opening workshop, resource tables, food trucks, activities for kids, local musicians, and drag queens!

Our day will begin with a workshop offered by UCC minister, Rev. Leah Robberts-Mosser, lead pastor of Community UCC in Champaign, IL. She will present “Biblical Self-Defense for LGBTQ+ Folks & Allies,” covering the so-called “clobber passages” that too many Christians use to justify the oppression and marginalization of members of the queer community. Pastor Leah will explain the historical context and interpretations of these passages, and also provide examples of queer-affirming passages in the scriptures. This workshop is free and open to the public, but we are asking people to register for the workshop so we have an idea of how many to expect. Bring friends!

Obviously this day is going to be amazing, and of course you want to be part of it, right? Right! We’ve got enough work to go around, so check your calendar and see if you have time to help us make the magic happen.

The Fort Wayne Museum of Art Chalk Walk during the Three Rivers Festival has been a trademark event held on Main Street in downtown Fort Wayne since 2000. The event is based on an Italian tradition of street painting that dates to the 16th century, known as I madonnari (street painters).

The Evangelism and Marketing Board has reserved an 8X8 square and want as many of you, regardless of your age or artist experience, to come together and create chalk walk art representing Plymouth Church! The event will take place July 9 and 10.

If interested, please email your name and phone number with the subject line "CHALK WALK" to [email protected] by May 31. During the month of June, we will collaborate on a Plymouth theme, sketch some prototypes and work out a schedule for the event. Only have an hour or two to commit to that weekend? No problem! All are welcome to participate for any amount of time!

COVID-19 may have slowed us down, but it certainly didn’t stop the Library Committee from continuing to organize and expand the collection of books in our Louise Folsom Library, located in the Amistad Room. For those of you who may not have ever visited the library, you will find it directly across from the kitchen serving counter. While the lights may not always be on, you are still welcome to come in, flip on the lights and browse to your heart’s content.

Books are organized by general topic, and then by sub-topics. You will see shelf tags guiding you to each section. Additionally, all books in the adult sections are catalogued in an online system known as “Library Thing”. To access the catalog, simply login at www.plymouthfw.org using your own computer or the one housed in the library. When the page comes up, look in the upper right corner of the page and click on “Plymouth Library Catalog”. Once in the Plymouth catalog you will see over 1300 books listed. To explore, scroll through the collection, clicking on the title of a book that may be of interest and it will show a brief description. It will also indicate the “shelf tag” information, making it easier to find in our library. Just as an FYI, “Library Thing” is used by multiple organizations and individuals, so be sure that you are in the Plymouth section when searching!

We have recently added a number of new books written by authors of color. Some have been displayed on the library table in the Folsom Room and others are housed in the Louise Folsom Library. We think you will enjoy the different perspectives explored in these books. If you wish to suggest other books that enhance the church’s collection, please feel free to fill out a request form, found in the Folsom library. Leave your request on the checkout table.

Checking out a book is easy. On the book display table in the Folsom Room AND in the library in the Amistad Room you will find a sign-out form to list your name, book title, email, and date checked out. Each book you check out should be recorded on a separate line. PLEASE BE AWARE THAT BOOKS ARE TO BE CHECKED OUT FOR A MAXIMUM OF FOUR (4) WEEKS. If you need to renew the checkout, please find your original sign out, and change the sign out date to the renewal date.

Returning a book is also easy! Simply place the returned book in the basket on the floor below the Folsom Library checkout table in the Amistad Room. It will also help if you note the date of return on the checkout list! The committee will shelve all returned books. PLEASE DO NOT RETURN THEM TO THE SHELVES ON YOUR OWN…that’ll confuse us!!

The Louise Folsom Library also houses a collection of children’s books that can be checked out. We ask that an accompanying adult complete the checkout form with their information.

We look forward to increased usage of our wonderful library and are anxious to help you in any way we can!

The Louise Folsom Library Committee,

Barbara Duch

Terri Stumpf

Laurice Harris

Beth Balasia

Nada O’Neal

Kathy Kolb

Plymouth Church has recently reconnected with Habitat for Humanity. You can keep an eye out for future updates, but for now, sign ups to volunteer with the Fort Wayne Habitat for Humanity are available. Click the button below to sign up to be a Construction Volunteer, Lunch Provider, or a ReStore volunteer!

The bi-annual national gathering of the United Church of Christ, called General Synod, will be in Indianapolis from June 30 to July 4, 2023. As such, the Indiana-Kentucky Conference will be its host. The Conference is inviting members of local congregations such as ours to volunteer to assist in a variety of tasks, such as ushering, staffing a help desk, hospitality, serving as pages for plenary and business sessions, and more. In total, they are seeking 300 volunteers from throughout the Conference to assist for part or for the duration of General Synod. If you would like to volunteer, please email [email protected]. Thank you!

Join and/or support Team Plymouth in the 2022 AIDS Walk, benefitting the Northeast Indiana Positive Resource Connection! The E&M Board is excited to offer this fun way of showing our love for the PRC and all the good work they do. Fundraising has already begun and the walk itself will happen at Parkview Field on Saturday, June 4, at 10:00 am. Of course, we ask that you wear your Plymouth t-shirt. (If you don't have one yet, we still have plenty!)

There are a few ways to participate.

1. If you have the resources and the inclination to join in the walk and contribute to our fundraiser, please visit our Team Page and click on Join Team. Your $15 registration fee goes towards our fundraiser, and you should have the option of adding a separate, tax-deductible donation as well. Registering will create a page specific to you, but linked to our team, so any contributions given on your page will automatically add into Plymouth’s total.

2. If you would like to donate, but aren’t particularly interested in joining the walk itself, visit our Team Page and click on Donate! It’s pretty simple from that point on.

3. If you aren’t able to donate but would like to show your support and join the walk, we’d love to have you there! Make sure you wear your Plymouth t-shirt!

4. If you aren’t able to donate or join the walk but want to chip in – please share the link to our Team Page on social media and invite your friends to contribute! Actually, also do this if you are doing any of the options listed above.

Questions? Ask January! And thanks in advance for participating in whatever way you are able.

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.

Masks are currently optional during worship. This is not a prohibition on masks but only an announcement that they are now optional for individuals. A high-quality mask provides good protection against infection even if others around you are not wearing one, so please continue to wear a mask if you find it necessary or beneficial. We will continue to offer livestreamed and recorded worship services if you find yourself at risk of being around groups or otherwise unable to attend services in-person.

For a time of personal prayer, the sanctuary will be available Tuesday through Thursday during office hours. Please enter through the Berry Street office entrance and check in with our receptionist. Contact Jake Slone at (260) 423-9424 or [email protected] with any questions.

Monday: Closed

Tuesday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Wednesday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Thursday: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Friday: By appointment only 9:00 am to 4:00 pm