To mark Heritage Sunday this year, we will name and honor the following individuals who are reaching membership milestones during this Sunday’s worship service:

50 Years

Robin Ames

Jeffrey Dellinger

Laura McCoy

51-59 Years

Joyce Augspurger (1963)

Kris Conner (1963)

Sam Lipscomb (1963)

Jan Gibson (1964)

Betsy Graham (1965)

Dan Kaufman (1966)

Jim Schmidt (1966)

Judy Kaufman (1966)

John Hoffman 1967)

Judith Beineke (1967)

Lowell Beineke (1967)

Judson Chasey (1967)

Carol Patterson (1968)

Linda Escosa (1968)

Ty Ratajczak (1968)

Ann Filler (1969)

Debra Compagnone (1969)

Shelley Woehnker (1969)

60 Years

61-69 Years

Ruth Anne Sprunger (1953)

Barbara Bugg (1956)

Bob Kabisch (1956)

Louise Misegades (1956)

Paul Lewark (1956)

Rose Pyle (1956)

William Spindler (1956)

Nelda Sonday (1957)

Ross Sonday (1957)

Clyde Dively (1958)

Karl Bandemer (1958)

Barb Gregory (1959)

Karen Jenkins (1959)

Shirley Slater (1960)

Steve Rinehart (1960)

Carole Green (1961)

Cheryl Milligan (1961)

Diane Lasley (1961)

70 Years

71-74 Years

Carol Lewark (1948)

Ginny Laudadio (1948)

Lois Teders-Horn (1948)

Gale Cunningham (1949)

Joan Hartwig (1949)

Ruth Bracht (1951)

75 Years

76-79 Years

Doris Grandos (1943)

80 years

81-84 Years

Harriet Siples (1938)

Bob Pugh (1940)

85 Years

Mary Shultz (1937)

We are grateful for the lifetime faith commitments these persons have made through their dedication to Christ’s ministry and mission lived through Plymouth Congregational Church of Fort Wayne, United Church of Christ.

The series on progressive Christianity, led by Rev. Murphy and Rev. Ofner-Seals, continues this Sunday, September 18. The theme for this week is how we interpret the Bible. 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! 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.

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.

Mark your calendars for Sunday, September 18 at 1:00 pm for 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.

We will meet at the Fairfield Elementary parking lot and work on the surrounding blocks along Hoagland and Pontiac. Fairfield is our sponsored school, so let’s show up with gusto and help show their neighborhood some love! Bring gloves if you have them.

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. 

Indiana Center for Middle East Peace will host a virtual interview with Mark Braverman, Executive Director of Kairos USA – “Bonhoeffer and the Jews” on Wednesday, September 21 at 1:00 pm.

Dr. Michael Spath interviews Kairos USA Executive Director, Mark Braverman. They’ll be discussing Mark’s recent article, “Theology in the Shadow of the Holocaust: Revisiting Bonhoeffer and the Jews.” His thesis: "the focus on anti-Judaism by Christian theologians in the post WWII era has led the church away from confronting difficult truths about the nature of Christian identity and teaching. With respect to the question of Israel and the Palestinians, it has brought the church, to its peril, to the embrace of apartheid in our time." This bending of post-holocaust Christian theology toward triumphalism has shaped liberal Christian Zionism and the church’s attitude toward Palestine and Israel.

We hope you'll read Mark's article in preparation for the interview here. Register to attend this Zoom interview at the button below. 

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 and book discussion with Rev. Ofner-Seals at 6:45 pm. 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.

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!

This year, we are teaming up with First Presbyterian Church for our annual Blessing of the Animals Service, on Saturday, October 1 at 10:00 am. The service will be held at First Presbyterian Church in their outdoor courtyard. All pet companions are welcome on leashes or in crates. If your pet does not play well with others, feel free to bring a picture of your pet to be blessed. We will also be collecting donations of pet food and treats for Humane Fort Wayne. Join us as we celebrate and bless all creatures, great and small!

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.

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.