“You don’t need to have it all figured out. Just take the next right step”

I am in awe of the people who jump right into working on a personal, technical, or mechanical problem without knowing where they will end up. They tend to trust that they will discover what they are looking for or that their work will reveal the answer. They haven’t figured it out, but that does not mean they cannot move or try something. They embark on the journey anyway, even if the way forward is unclear. I lean toward the opposite. I tend to be the studier, worrier, and planner, trying to put all the pieces together before taking the next step. Advent offers us an opportunity to see that we do not have to have it all figured out in our faith journey. Instead, we trust that it has already been figured out because of God’s promise to make things right.

During the season of Advent, the posture of the faithful is vigilant watchfulness, looking for the signs of the new thing God is doing amid the noise, confusion, and betrayal of a broken world. This way of engaging the world presupposes a deep trust that the arc of the moral universe bends toward justice even while death, violence, and oppression make justice seem impossible. With all our progress, knowledge, and success, it can be frustrating to see us not moving faster on dealing with our most intractable problems. Even more disheartening is admitting that we haven’t figured out how to resolve an issue. It is that realization that often leads to apathy and inaction. We don’t know what to do, so we do nothing.

As an Advent discipline, waiting and watching for God’s promise to make things right is not an invitation to apathy and inaction. On the contrary, being alert to the movement of something good and new primes us to act when and where we can to hasten the arrival of justice. We don’t have to know everything to do what is right. Communities come together after natural disasters to help their neighbors with food, shelter, and support even though other storms will come. Our own community shows hospitality to immigrant and refugee families even though war and famine continue to rage and dislocate more vulnerable people. We provide food, clothes, and shelter even though we have not figured out how to end hunger and homelessness. Perhaps these are ultimate questions whose ultimate resolution are the stuff of last things and God making things right. Though we don’t have it all figured out, we know it won’t be this way always, that God promised a new heaven and new earth, and we embody what it means to live and act in ways that reflect that reality. We are not giving up, and apathy and inaction won’t immobilize us.

We just take the next right step.

Worship Service

During this service we will welcome 10 new members into our community.

The prelude begins prior to the service.

Music from the Jazz Trio and Cherub and Chorister Choirs

SNOWFALL

The prelude begins prior to the service.

Music from the Adult Choir, Solo Quintet, violinist Spencer Bubula, and Philip Brunelle

ECCE, CONCIPIES ET PARIES FILIUM, Jacobus Gallus

O MAGNUM MYSTERIUM, Francis Poulenc

Chancel Flowers are given in loving memory of Rev. Beth Hoffman Faeth’s daughter Julia Anne, to honor what should have been her 23^rd birthday on December 4.

The congregation is welcome to attend services in person in the Sanctuary or watch via livestream on Facebook or Plymouth.org/worship.

Tuesdays at 9 a.m. - online

Thursdays at 9:30 a.m. - online

The Longest Night offers a tender time to reflect and recognize that for many, this is a time of year when grief rises to the surface. Through candlelight, music, prayer, and reflection we offer a safe space to honor that grief and feel surrounded in comfort as we continue our healing path. Beth Hoffman Faeth, Seth Patterson, and Philip Brunelle will lead us in worship.

As our 2022 Annual giving campaign nears completion, we'd like to take this opportunity to remind you to complete your commitment to give at Plymouth.org/give. If you have set up ongoing online donations, please also complete an Annual Giving Commitment. This will let us know that you are planning to continue your contribution.

Take a moment to appreciate many of the things we love about Plymouth and see some familiar faces in this video.

“Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room.” —Neal A. Maxwell

Whether you are 5 or 95, there is a spot for you in the Living Nativity this year. If you weren’t part of our experience last year, you may be thinking “The Living Nativity?? Isn’t that the adorable things that our 4- and 5-year-old kids do on Christmas eve?” Well not any more! Our Living Nativity involves church members of all ages being part of the story of Jesus' birth. Please sign up today to help tell our magical tale on Saturday, December 18!

Plymouth’s Racial Justice Initiative encourages you to buy from Black and Native-owned businesses, and businesses owned by people of color this holiday season and throughout the year. We’ve provided a few links to help you find high-quality gifts for the people you love (and yourself . . .) at Indigenous-, Black-, Latino-, and Asian-owned Minnesota businesses!

The Annual Homeless Memorial March 

The annual Homeless Memorial March, honoring those in the Minnesota homeless community who have died in the last year, will begin and end at Plymouth on Thursday, December 16. The livestream-only memorial service will begin in the Plymouth Sanctuary at 7 p.m.. Access stream at Facebook.com/simpsonhousing.

2nd Monday of each month,

January–June

5:00–6:30 p.m. on Zoom.

Textile Lovers Group (TLG) is a One More Chair social group using fiber in handwork as a common thread (pun intended). We gather with this interest to grow friendships within Plymouth. It is our hope that TLG will be a means of promoting connections between people who otherwise might not meet. Bring your portable handwork on Monday, December 13 for 90 minutes of connecting over fiber, from 6:45 to 8:15 in the Fireside Room. Contact: Cheryl Davenport, c2daven@gmail.com.

Find out everything you need to know about what's going on with our Children, Youth, and Families here:

Meetings are every Saturday from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. and include a speaker and small group time. Please visit www.mplsgriefsupport.com for more information, schedule updates, and resources to help you grieve during these uncertain days.

Use the contact form on the homepage to use to inquire about Zoom credentials.

The clergy and staff at Plymouth are continuing to work to care for and support you—our congregation—and, as mentioned above, our essential building tenants. Our need for your support continues. Please consider making a gift online (click here), texting your gift to 612/999-2874 or sending in a check (1900 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis 55403). Mail is being collected securely and safely each day. We are so grateful for you!