On Sunday, October 6, Plymouth Church will participate along with other UCC churches throughout the denomination in receiving our annual Neighbors In Need offering. The 2024 theme for this offering is “Mental Health Justice For All!” In 2015, the General Synod of the UCC passed a resolution to become WISE (Welcoming, Inclusive, Supportive and Engaged) for mental health. A just world for all is a world where the human rights and well-being of people with mental health challenges are respected, no matter who you are or where you are in life’s mental health journey. This offering supports the Council for American Indian Ministry as well as the UCC’s Justice and Witness ministries. Please join us by offering your support in church on Sunday - or if you prefer to give online, click on the button below and select “Neighbors In Need” from the drop down menu. Your/our Neighbors Thank You!"

The word "evil" conjures images of criminal masterminds, malevolent intentions, and senseless cruelty. We usually don't associate evil with cliches or unoriginal ideas. In Hannah Arendt's poignant and controversial book Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil, she depicts a Nazi war criminal as evil due to his inability to engage in critical thinking and question his orders. Arendt's troubling argument highlights the possibility of evil in ordinary life, in people just "doing their jobs." In this four-week series, we will discuss Arendt's argument on evil as banal and commonplace. We will also discuss the implications of Arendt's text for our church community and how we might identify and even challenge ordinary evils. Join in person or on Zoom Sundays at 9:00 am. The Zoom password is 461025.

On September 25, 2024, Marcellus Williams was executed in Missouri despite no reliable evidence proving that he committed the crime for which he was sentenced to death. The local Fort Wayne organization Food Not Bombs is hosting a vigil in front of the Allen County courthouse on Sunday, October 6 at 5:00 pm to recognize this injustice and to recognize all victims of state-sponsored violence. Bring a sign or a candle. All are welcome. 

On Monday, October 7 from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm, there will be a vigil for Gaza, marking one year of Genocide against the Palestinian people. All are welcome to join us at West Swinney Park, Pavilion #1, 1600 West Jefferson Blvd. The vigil will begin at 6:00 pm, and we encourage to join in any way you can.

Schedule

• 4:30 pm: Kite-flying in solidarity with the children of Gaza.
• Bring your kids and a kite! We'll have small paper bag kites for kids to make. Gazans have a long history of kite-making and kite-flying as a symbol for their resistance to oppression and of their longing for freedom.
• 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm: Demonstration along Jefferson Blvd
• We'll have signs or you can bring your own.
• 6:00 pm: Vigil, including music, speakers, reading of names
• 6:45 pm: Laying of flowers spelling out Gaza.
• Bring flowers to spell out "Gaza" as we read the names of children killed in the genocide. Kite-flying continues throughout.

Our Centering Prayer Group will meet this coming Monday, October 7, at 5:30 pm in the Plymouth Chapel. All are welcome to attend, regardless of your level of knowledge or experience. If you've ever been curious about Centering Prayer, which is a form of Christian silent meditation, now is the perfect time to come check it out! We are a small but friendly group and are always open to newcomers. We meet every Monday, so feel free to drop in as often or as sporadically as you like!

Wednesday Night Live programming continues on Wednesday, October 9. At 5:00 pm there will be adult choir rehearsal. At 5:00 pm there will be our Children's Choir rehearsal and Bible Study with Rev. Timothy at 5:15 pm, followed by dinner at 6:00 pm. Handbells will meet at 6:30 pm. 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 will be 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!

Click the button below to join Rev. Timothy's Bible Study via Zoom. The passcode to join is 773232.

Indiana Center for Middle East Peace and Plymouth Church welcome Archbishop Elias Chacour on Thursday, October 10 At 5:45 pm, there will be a reception and book signing and at 6:30 pm, Michael Spath will speak with Abuna Chacour.

Our dear friend Abuna (“Father”) Chacour returns to ICMEP (a frequent guest) and Plymouth Church (he was Plymouth’s Parry lecturer 20 years ago). He is retired Melkite Archbishop of the Galilee, founder of Mar Elias Educational Institutions (K-12), author of the acclaimed Blood Brothers (available in Plymouth’s library), and three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Free and open to the public.

If you’re unable to attend in person, please join the livestream on the ICMEP

YouTube channel by clicking the button below.

On Tuesday, October 15 at 12:00 pm, the WBS will meet to discuss The Bookwoman's Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson. 

A little about the book: "Like her famous blue-skinned mother, Honey Mary Angeline Lovett must fight for her own independence in the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains. She has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder - she and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey risks being sent away for good…"

We welcome anyone who self-identifies as a woman to drop in to join us in the Amistad Room!

In November, we'll be reading A Fever in the Heartland, by Timothy Egan. No meeting in December. In January, it will be Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Grame.

Plymouth’s Green Team has adopted a section of the River Greenway Trail. This means that we are responsible for clean-up and maintenance of this section of the trail three times each year. Our next clean-up day will be Saturday, October 19 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Parking is available at Towles Intermediate School (420 E. Paulding Rd.) or at Tillman Park Trailhead (600 E. Tillman Rd). A Green Team member will be waiting at each parking location. Trash bags, gloves, and pick-up sticks will be provided. All ages are welcome! The distance is approximately two miles. Please join us if you can and help us live into our Earthwise covenant!

All are invited to celebrate and give thanks for the life of longtime Plymouth member Dana Wichern on Saturday, October 19. Visitation will be held in the Folsom Room from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm, with a memorial service and reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, preferred memorials include BookStart, a charity co-founded by Dana, that provides books to impoverished local children. Donations for BookStart can be sent to the Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne. Other memorials include Plymouth Congregational Church and Acres Land Trust. 

Are you interested in becoming a member at Plymouth Church? Our next Welcoming Group will meet Sunday, October 20, 11:30 am to 1:00 pm in the Amistad Room. If you have been attending Plymouth for six months or longer, and your journey of faith 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. Email Rev. Sara at smo@plymouthfw.org if you would like to attend. 

As part of our ongoing ONA commitment, we recognize that there is a spectrum of ways people identify when it comes to gender. Therefore, to help us all be more welcoming to our transgender and non-binary friends, starting this Sunday, we are giving out pronoun stickers for all to put on their Plymouth nametags (if you do not already have a nametag, or if you lost yours, just request one from Jake at the front desk, and be sure to let him know your pronouns). In addition, if you are not in the habit of wearing your nametag, we encourage you to do so every Sunday. A good rule of thumb is, unless you know everyone else's name, there are likely people who don't know yours, so help them out and wear your nametag (with your new pronoun sticker) so they can learn who you are. 

The League of Women Voters of Fort Wayne (LWVFW) has published local candidate information to the national League’s Vote411.org website. The site is a nonpartisan “one-stop shop” election resource that provides area voters with simple, accessible tools to help them navigate the voting process. People can visit the website to see candidate responses pertaining to local issues. It is also possible to confirm your registration using the site. All voters are encouraged to confirm their voter registration prior to the registration deadline for the upcoming election, October 7, 2024. Early voting begins on October 8. Vote411.org provides information on voting absentee by mail and early voting options.

BIPOCA Incubator and Gallery would like to thank the Plymouth Church Anti-Racism Action Team, Pastor Murphy and its members for honoring the work of a local artist of color through the “Celebrating Diversity through Art Exhibit.” Thank you for your commitment to embrace and celebrate diversity by engaging in community. If there were any pieces from the exhibition that might have piqued someone’s interest, please feel free to reach out to BIPOCA. We can be reached through email at bipocagallery@gmail.com or via phone at (260)348-0267. We look forward to continued community collaborations with Plymouth Church.

The DVDs and CDs thank you for finding new homes for them! We appreciate your help.

We are missing a couple of books that no one actually signed out as part of our borrowing process. Look on your stack of books on your nightstand or next to your favorite reading chair and see if any of the following may be hiding there:

• 2 copies of “Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You” by Jason Reynolds
• 2 copies of “Easy Guide to They/Them Pronouns” by Archie Bongiovanni

If you have borrowed any of these books, please return them as others are waiting to check them out. Thanks so much!

The Benevolence committee is in the early stages of preparing for the 2025 Benevolence Grant cycle. If you are aware of an agency or organization that does good work in the community or surrounding area, aligns well with Plymouth Church's four identifying covenants, and may be in need of additional funds for projects and programs, let the Benevolence committee know. Committee members Jim Lasley, Allen Haynes, Wayne Peterson-Stephan, Mark Friskney, Beth Walker, Susan Bolinger, and Cher Jackson would be happy to talk with you regarding eligibility and the grant process!

The office is once again looking for a few brave souls to help us with the mountain of bulk mailing that we will need to accomplish this year for the stewardship campaign. Our second mailing will go out on Tuesday, October 22. Shifts are broken down into two-hour increments from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Sign up to volunteer by clicking the button below.

Volunteers for the 12th 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 apply, click the button below to complete the volunteer sign up form. All volunteers must have a background check which is done by the FWCS. Everyone is welcome to be a special friend to an elementary age child. Providing support and encouragement is the main task for each tutor and sub. Being a tutor is a great way to make a difference in a child’s life.

Do you have some time available on Tuesdays and are looking for something to do? Would you like to aid your favorite Plymouth Receptionist in making sure that everyone is greeted with a kind and smiling face? Do we have the opportunity for you! Plymouth staff are looking for volunteers to cover for the receptionist during the staff meetings every Tuesday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. It’s a quiet time for the church, the most you may have to do is answer a phone or two, maybe complete a small project. 

To sign up as a volunteer, speak with Jake in the office or click the button below.

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.

The following links can be found on our Linktree:

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