“I don’t have many certainties about God. I do have many hopes. Chief among them is that it’s true what they say: that God is love, is made of love, and looks at the faces of you and me and my gramma and, without hesitation or demand, delights.”

—Cole Arthur Riley, The Here Is Flesh

How Beautiful!

Rev. Dr. DeWayne L. Davis

I did not grow up observing the season of Lent. My first introduction to it was in college when I heard amusing declarations from classmates about the habits, vices, or practices they were giving up for the season. Few of those pronouncements demonstrated any spiritual or theological depth. Instead, they were more like rote participation in religious culture. I likened those Lenten disciplines to New Year’s resolutions—gratifying if it turns into a lasting practice or changes in your life but easily forgiven and forgotten if you failed. However, I’m happy to report that my approach to Lent has evolved. I found myself enjoying the experience when I stopped seeing it as an indictment of who I am at the moment and embraced it as a journey to communion, integration, and self-understanding.

My relationship with Lent changed when I finally allowed myself to hear and believe that I was inextricably connected to God. If grace was true, nothing about me was so ugly, broken, or sinful that I repelled God or made it so I could never be loved, embraced, and recognized as God’s beloved. If I was indeed made in the image of God, imprinted with the Divine breath and touch, then perhaps my task was to live fully and completely as who I was made to be in God’s good creation. The writer and poet Cole Arthur Riley maintains, “If we embrace the beauty of all creation, we find our own beauty magnified.” Do we see ourselves in the beauty of what God always creates and provides? Life, discipleship, and spiritual journey need not be a solitary, individualist pursuit of salvation as a reward but a movement toward our most authentic selves, united with the Divine who constantly affirms our dignity and celebrates our personhood.

In culture and religion, we are surrounded by what Riley calls “a perversion of dignity in the name of usefulness.” We may be tempted to come out of the season of Lent keeping a tally of what we accomplished or trying to calculate the return we got from our Lenten discipline or sacrifice. We may assume we failed because we lost focus or became discouraged in our wilderness wanderings. We may conclude that there is nothing to show for Lent because we didn’t do more or we couldn’t find the time to take it seriously. But I pray that we see ourselves with God’s delight. We are not currency and cannot purchase salvation with human-created spiritual disciplines. I hope we dare to be who God made us to be. And it is beautiful. Amen.

DeWayne L. Davis

March 5, 2023

Seth Patterson preaches,

“¿Presente?”

9 & 11 a.m.

Lenten Communion: All are invited.

9 a.m. Worship

Worship is offered online or in person

Music from our Jazz Trio

Come Sunday

Duke Ellington

Sundays @ 10

Church School

Education Wing

Sunday Forum

A Theology of Hospitality: Marketing Plymouth

Small Group Discussions

Text Talk with Rev. Beth Hoffman Faeth

Coffee & Social Time

The Library, Gallery, and Archives are also available at this time.

11 a.m. Worship

Worship is offered online or in person.

Music with the Plymouth Choir and Sonja Thompson, assistant organist-director

Anthems

STILL WITH THEE

Elaine Hagenberg

AGNUS DEI

Zoltán Kodály

Contemplative Prayer is offered:

Thursdays at 9 a.m. - online

In Memoriam



Jean Howell (February 27, 2023)

Anita Makar (March 1, 2023)

Upcoming Memorial



A memorial for Mary Lou Mathison will be held Monday, March 13, at 1:30 p.m. In-person attendance is welcome, or you may view the livestream here.

Lenten Meditations

Sign up to receive meditations through Lent, sent Mondays–Saturdays.

Easter Flowers

Our Plymouth tradition of lovely Easter flowers is supported by members and friends. They make the floral setting possible through gifts in memory of loved ones, whose names are listed in the Easter Sunday bulletin. Gifts of any amount are welcome; we do not have a set price. If you wish to remember a loved one or loved ones with Easter flowers, please complete this form.

A Theology of Hospitality:

Marketing Plymouth

March 5, 10 a.m., Chapel

Jone Plymouth’s Marketing Manager, Elizabeth Blanchette, and Marketing Committee Lead, Tim Brunelle, for a discussion of our church’s newly developed marketing committee and our recent foray into all things marketing. They’ll review the research, strategy, creative work and results of our fall campaign targeting families with young children and the birth and integration of the Ambassador program. The pair will talk through Facebook and Instagram ads, search engine ads, and website landing pages—the infrastructure of modern marketing. They’ll also talk through Plymouth’s marketing plans for 2023.

Families Moving Forward Meal Delivery Week

Week of March 5, 2023

During the week of March 5th, Plymouth will again be partnering with volunteers from the Basilica to deliver meals to Families Moving Forward families at a hotel in Chaska. We'll know many more details as this time gets closer. Please email Hannah (hannahcg@plymouth.org) with your possible availability that week. Thank you for your continuing support of this program!

Climate & Environmental Justice Speaker Series

Monday, March 13, 6–7 p.m.

Solar Opportunities for Your Home

Are you interested in shifting to solar energy for your home? Considering adding solar panels to your roof or possibly subscribing to a solar garden instead? Join us to learn the basics of solar energy, get resources to determine if solar is right for your home and find out about financial incentives for installing solar. Join the Clean Energy revolution!

Speaker: Diana McKeown, Metro CERTs (Clean Energy Resource Teams) Director

Please register in advance for this Zoom meeting.

Theater 45° in partnership with Braver Angels presents

a staged reading

Heroes of the Fourth Turning by Will Arbery

Monday, March 13, 7 p.m.

Tickets are free, and you can learn more and see the phenomenal cast here:

Mental Health Sunday

March 19

Join us on March 19 for a very special morning filled with important resources, compelling information, poignant worship, and a celebration of Plymouth’s long-standing ministry in the Drop In Center. Rev. Dr. Rachael Keefe, pastor of Living Table UCC in Minneapolis, will be joining us as a guest preacher at both worship service.

Plymouth Hats!



Plymouth winter hats are available at the front desk. They are available with poms or without in navy, black or gray. There is a recommended donation of $15.

Welcome Table

Our Welcome Table just inside the entry door to Jones Commons is the first welcome seen by guests as well as members. Those of us who host the table would like to share this opportunity with you, and we could use your assistance to better welcome those who enter our door. 

The process for signing up to host should be very simple for you, and if it isn’t, let Bill know. We work closely with our Plymouth Ambassadors (in the orange vests) and hosting is so very simple: being a welcoming presence at our door. Note: Young families are encouraged to host!

Please contact Bill Read with any questions (wtrbus@comcast.net or mobile 651-769-7511)

Turkey and Syria Aid

The United Church of Christ is offering prayers for the region encompassing Turkey and Syria as the death toll continues to climb following one of the strongest earthquakes in 100 years. 

UCC Global H.O.P.E. has launched the Turkey and Syria Emergency Appeal to direct financial support to partners responding in the areas of greatest need for relief and long-term recovery.

Volunteers Needed for Flower Committee

As long as there has been a Plymouth Church there have always been flowers to beautify our spaces throughout the year. Join us in these rewarding endeavors throughout the year. No floral design experience is necessary and training is provided. Spread joy by arranging and decorating Plymouth with flowers! 

Contact chair Barb Souther, bsouther@q.com, or the church office.

Ongoing Tuesday Vigils for Justice



Every Tuesday 12-12:30 p.m.

Plymouth Church Building COVID-19 Updates

Wearing a mask is strongly recommended for everyone.

The health, safety, and well-being of all who use Plymouth Congregational Church is our top priority.

Thank You For Your Support