Each fall at Plymouth we gift our kindergarteners with a story Bible, and our 2nd graders with a full-text NRSV Bible. Having these resources at home reminds our kids that this is their story, and encourages them to continue wondering and learning with their families.

This Sunday we will present Bibles to the following students:

Kindergarten

Chloe Rose Boyko

Kenneth Jacob Diekhoff

Gareth Dane Hurni

Kinsler Cole Miller

2nd Grade

Sophia Harper Boyko

Starting on Sunday, September 11 and continuing through October 9, Rev. Murphy and Rev. Ofner-Seals will be offering a six-week series on progressive Christianity, which can serve as either an introduction or a refresher. Whether you are a new Christian, new to Plymouth, or have been here a while but want to learn more, this series is for you! Topics will include orthopraxy vs orthodoxy, how we interpret the Bible, inclusivity and a preferential option for the poor, ways of understanding God including pantheism and panentheism, how we approach other religions from an interfaith perspective, and non-dualism, among other topics. This Chapel Class series will have a Zoom option for those who want to learn but are unable to be there in person. Click the link below to join. When prompted, enter the password 063060.

On September 11, we will have a resource faire after worship in the Folsom Room. There will be tables set up for the different ministries and programs that occur in the life of the church. This faire gives the congregation the opportunity to see what all is going on, find where they might want to plug in, and ask volunteers from that ministry any questions. We look forward to seeing you there!

Join others at the Allen County Courthouse on Monday, September 12 at 6:00 pm for a mini-march and rally for reproductive rights in the state of Indiana. Plymouth members and friends who would like to march together are invited to meet at 5:30 pm on the courthouse green. Signs are welcome and encouraged! This event is sponsored by Women United for Progress in Allen County and Northeast Indiana NOW.

Regular Wednesday Night Live Programming has resumed. At 5:15 pm there will be Bible Study, Children’s Choir and Adult Choir rehearsals. A catered dinner will be served at 6:00 pm, with Bell Choir at 6:45 pm. This coming week there will be a Safe Church training after dinner for all who volunteer with children and youth. A sign-up sheet is in the Folsom Room for those who wish to attend dinner. Recommended donation is $8 but is pay as you are able. Wednesday Night Live is a great way to get more involved in the life of the church and get to know other church members. Join us for one or more of the scheduled programs, or just join us for dinner and fellowship! We hope to see you there!

Join Rev. Murphy and others in Plymouth’s weekly Bible study, which is offered during Wednesday Night Live from 5:15 pm to 6:00 pm. We are now offering a hybrid model: in-person in the Chapel with an online Zoom option as well. For those who intend to join online, please click the link below and enter the following password when prompted: 805552.

There will be a Safe Church training at 6:45pm on Wednesday, September 14, following Wednesday Night Live dinner in the Chapel. This training is required for all staff and volunteers who work with children and youth. The training should last about an hour, and childcare will be provided.

Growing Hope Globally helps farmers, families and communities break the cycle of hunger and poverty to lead healthier, more productive lives. You will make a lasting impact for generations to come because your gift will provide things that can never be taken away: knowledge, experience and empowerment.

Growing Hope Globally supports programs such as building water storage, providing eco stoves, developing water intolerant seeds and improving farming techniques. This in turn increases money available to the family and the potential for an improved quality of life. Participants are committed to pass this information forward to others in their community.

Plymouth's Global Mission Covenant calls us to support programs such as Growing Hope Globally that impact the lives of our sisters and brothers globally. On Sunday, September 18, we will have a special offering for Growing Hope Globally. You can also donate any time by clicking the button below. 

Our next WELCOMING GROUP will meet Sunday, September 18, 11:30 am to 1:00 pm. 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. Please contact Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals at [email protected] or 260-423-9424 x322 to register. An accurate number is needed for the light lunch that will be provided by Congregational Life Board.

Mark your calendars for Sunday, September 18 at 1:00pm as the E&M Board is organizing another litter pickup outing, open to all ages! Our Spring Cleaning pickup resulted in a shocking number of full trash bags, and we received thanks from folks in the neighborhood where we were working. It’s a rewarding way to spend an hour or two on a Sunday afternoon, and it’s an easy way to lean into our Earthwise covenant while offering visible evidence of our care for our neighbors.

Karen, our eagle-eyed litter scout, is determining a good location for the day, so keep your eye out for updated information closer to the date. We hope you’ll join us!

Indiana Center for Middle East Peace hosts "Garth Hewitt in Concert: For the Children of Bethlehem" on Sunday, September 18, 4:00pm, at the Amistad Cristiana Center, 1701 Capitol Dr., Fort Wayne.

Garth Hewitt is founder of Amos Trust, a UK human rights organization with partners in Palestine, South Africa, Nicaragua, Burundi, India, and Tanzania, and Honorary Canon at St. George’s Anglican Cathedral, East Jerusalem. A friend and protégé of Sir Cliff Richard, he has sung in St. Paul’s Cathedral; a Bolivia maximum security prison, the Grand Ole Opry, and the apartheid wall in Bethlehem.

Garth has recorded more than 40 albums – about the plight of India’s Dalits; South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle; for Palestinians in the West Bank & Gaza. In 1988, he was named International Artist of the Year at the Gospel Music Association's Dove Awards in Nashville.

Become a program partner, $100 -- invitation to Saturday night reception for Garth, and program mention. Find more details here. 

Come see our new ICMEP office (Sumud House) at Amistad Cristiana. We'll be hosting an open house with some refreshments beginning at 3:00 pm. Also available for sale will be Taybeh beer (Golden and Dark) and wine (Cabernet Sauvignon and Reserve), as well as olive oil that benefits Playgrounds for Palestine.

This event is free and open to the public. An offering will help support the Tent of Nations, Wi’am and Al-Rowwad Centers’ children's camps in Bethlehem.

Being Mortal by Atul Gawande will be the next Women's Book Study read at their meeting, Tuesday, September 20 at 12:00 pm. Any reader who self-identifies as a woman is welcome to drop in to the group for one or more sessions. We meet regularly in the Amistad Room on the third Tuesday of the month at noon.

Gawande's book tackles the delicate subject of how to improve care for the dying,

"Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But in the inevitable condition of aging and death, the goals of medicine seem too frequently to run counter to the interest of the human spirit. Gawande offers examples of freer, more socially fulfilling models for assisting the infirm and dependent elderly, and he explores the varieties of hospice care to demonstrate that a person's last weeks or months may be rich and dignified."

Contact Judith Beineke at [email protected] with any questions. 

For our next Wednesday evening book study, we will be reading and discussing the book Crisis Contemplation: Healing the Wounded Village, by Rev. Dr. Barbara Holmes. In this book, Dr. Holmes takes a deep dive into the contemplative practices of non-white, non-western European communities to expand our vocabulary around what constitutes spiritual practice. Published in 2021, Crisis Contemplation is a deeply relevant salve to the anxiety so many of us feel amid multiple global crises, and masterfully bridges the illusory gap between social action and contemplative spirituality.

We will begin our study on Wednesday, September 21 and continue for six weeks. We will meet in the Amistad room after Wednesday Night Live dinner from 6:45 pm to

7:30 pm. Crisis Contemplation: Healing the Wounded Village can be purchased on Amazon or directly through the publisher at Crisis Contemplation: Healing the Wounded Village – CAC Bookstore. If assistance with the cost of the book is needed, please speak with Rev. Sara Ofner-Seals to have the church purchase a copy for you. Please consider joining us this fall!

How is Plymouth able to offer scholarships to deserving students? How are special needs and projects funded by Plymouth outside the operating budget? What is included in an estate plan? These questions and more will be addressed in an upcoming workshop entitled, “The Power of a Planned Gift” sponsored by the Stewardship and Finance Board. Everyone is welcome to attend the workshop which will be held on Sunday, September 25 right after worship in the Folsom Room. Snacks will be served and child care will be provided. Please sign up in the Folsom Room by Sunday, September 18 so we know how much food to provide. We look forward to seeing you there!

Fall Fest at Eagle Marsh is scheduled for Friday, October 7 from 6:00 pm -8:00 pm. We’ll have a seed to marsh activity and hike, marshmallows to roast for s’mores, and a campfire sing-along. Details will follow shortly.

The Afghan Refugee Taskforce has provided an extended update about their work with two refugee families that have recently resettled in Fort Wayne. Click the link below to read their update and learn about how you might get involved in future efforts.

New books are always exciting to receive, and the library committee is delighted to announce several new arrivals highly recommended by our pastors. In December of 2021, a library task force met and discovered that only 7% of our collection was written by authors of color. As a result, new books were purchased last January to begin a process to increase the representation of diverse voices. They were so well received that nine more have now been added. You are invited to check out the Folsom Room library display and be the first to borrow one or more of these thought provoking reads.

You may remember the wild success of last year’s RIP Medical Debt campaign, which ended up forgiving a little over $3.8 million in medical debt for folks in Ohio and Michigan. Perhaps you also remember that our friends at Peace UCC and First Congregational UCC in Angola joined us in the campaign. Well, the folks in Angola were so excited by the results of the campaign, that they’ve decided to do it again this year! Their campaign started August 1. Plymouth is not officially signing on to the campaign this year, but if you feel moved to chip in, you may do so at the link below. Every dollar donated relieves at least $100 in medical debt, which is an astonishingly good deal.

Merry Christmas! Wait! It’s only late summer, but orders need to be placed for wreaths now. St. Joe Tree Farm is graciously working with Standish Circle to keep the tradition of selling wreaths for you to order and receive in time for the Christmas holidays. The profits are used to assist those in need in our community. Wreath pickup will be at Plymouth on both Sunday, November 20 and Sunday, November 27 at the porte-cochere entrance before and after church. 

Orders and payment must be received no later than Sunday, September 18. To complete an order form, either click the button below to print off the form and return it to the Plymouth office or pick up an order form at the front office on Sunday mornings. Order forms will also be available at the Plymouth Resource Faire at the Standish Colony table. Checks should be made payable to Plymouth Church and include a notation stating "Standish Wreaths" on the memo line.