“Faith adjourns the assemblies of hopelessness and brings new light into the dark chambers of pessimism.” —Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “A Knock at Midnight”

Dispatches from a Pilgrimage

Rev. Dr. DeWayne L. Davis

I did not know what to expect when faith leaders of the Downtown Minneapolis Interfaith Clergy proposed that we take a Civil Rights tour in Georgia and Alabama. I had previously traveled to many of the sites on our itinerary and was unsure how I would experience them differently. I knew that I would learn and see something new with a second and third visit to some places, but I still needed to learn how being with my colleagues would make that experience different. However, days before the trip, several of my colleagues and I kept using the word “pilgrimage” to describe our trip. That word indicated that we all saw the trip and the places we would visit as sacred. Our journey would be holy, an act of faith and worship to inspire a prophetic zeal for the work of racial justice and building beloved community.

As I write this, we are three days into our trip, and the experience has been nothing short of transformative. It began at the Beloved Community Commemorative Service at Ebenezer Baptist Church on MLK Day. Rev. Dr. Bernice King, Martin Luther King’s youngest daughter and CEO of the King Center, set the tone for our week of Civil Rights pilgrimage by urging us to resist resting in comfort with the quotable, convenient King trotted out for the holiday and let our lives and work reflect the living, inconvenient King who challenged unjust systems. Throughout the service and the next day during our walk through Kelly Ingram Park and visit to the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, I was overwhelmed with emotion. In reflecting with one of my colleagues about how my feelings appeared to be sitting right on the surface, she wondered if it was because I felt safe and protected surrounded by my colleagues.

On our bus ride from Birmingham to Selma and Montgomery, our conversations confirmed the truth of my feelings of safety and protection. We reflected together on what we had seen, what we were feeling, and what we were carrying, wondering, and questioning. The conversation was honest, challenging, inspiring, frustrating, and passionate. We refused to fall into the trap of letting the “nobility of Black suffering” that often emanates from walking the grounds of the historic civil rights battles immobilize us into inaction. Instead, we embraced everything we witnessed and experienced as enduring wisdom that we will need to address the suffering and injustices in Minneapolis. In our conversations, plans, and imagination, I could see the emergence of prophetic zeal for truth-telling and justice work, an embrace of King’s “prophecy of body and action” in which we become the guide, critic, and conscience of elected officials and leaders of faith with a beloved community mindset. We are ready. 

DeWayne L. Davis

January 22, 2023

Beth Hoffman Faeth preaches, “Pause, Change, Go...Repeat”

9 & 11 a.m.

Masking in the church building is strongly recommended.

Schedule

9 a.m. Worship

Worship is offered online or in person

Music by our Jazz Trio and Chapel Singers

Special Music

Still I Rise

Rosephanye Powell

Sundays @ 10

Sunday Forum

Pilgrimage to Iona

Small Group Discussions

No Small Group Discussion

Wintergenerational Revival: Water, Puppetry, and Performance

Rooms 203–205

Coffee & Social Time

11 a.m. Worship

Worship is offered online or in person.

Music with the Plymouth Choir and Philip Brunelle

Special Music

CAROL OF THE FUGITIVE

Brian Holmes

PEACE ON EARTH

Amy Cheney

Contemplative Prayer is offered:

Thursdays at 9 a.m. - online

You Can Help with Worship!

At First Service, host families help welcome the congregation and hand out bulletins, give a short peace candle prayer, and help tidy after the service. Second Service lay readers lead the call to worship, give the peace candle prayer, and lead the Lord's Prayer. We'd love your help with our worship!

Transfer of Memory

January 27

1 p.m.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Plymouth Congregational Church

Featuring historian Rebecca Erbelding in conversation with Steve Hunegs about The U.S. and the Holocaust, a series by Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, and Sarah Botstein.

Sponsored by TPT, JCRC, and Plymouth Congregational Church.

Guests are encouraged to watch the full three episodes of The U.S. and the Holocaust before attending the conversation.

Register Here

The U.S. and the Holocaust can be found via Passport here: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/us-and-the-holocaust/ or on TPT2.

Episode 101

The Golden Door (Beginnings - 1938)

Friday, Jan 13 at 8 p.m. TPT 2

Saturday, Jan 14 at 2 a.m. TPT 2

Sunday, Jan 15 at 11 a.m. TPT 2

Episode 102

Yearning to Breathe Free (1938 - 1942)

Friday, Jan 20 at 8 p.m. TPT 2

Saturday, Jan 21 at 2 a.m. TPT 2



Episode 103

The Homeless, The Tempest-Tossed (1942- )

Friday, Jan 27 at 8 p.m. TPT2

Saturday, Jan 28 at 2 a.m. TPT2

Sunday, Jan 29 at 11 a.m. TPT2

January 22, 10:00–10:50 a.m.

What drew this Plymouth group to the Island of Iona, Scotland, in September and what did they find there? David Astin, who has co-taught several courses in Celtic history, thought and influence at Plymouth, will explain the background of the trip, Bill Davini will share some of his photographs of the trip, and Rev. Beth Hoffman Faeth and some other members of the group of 20 who made this pilgrimage will share their reflections.

Piano Music for a Winter Day: Sunday, January 29, at 4 p.m.

One More Chair—Winter Potluck

Plymouth's One More Chair fellowship group invites you to join us for a 2023 Winter "Warm-Up" on Saturday, January 21, from 6-9 p.m. at Loring Green East, 1201 Yale Place, Downtown Minneapolis (parking is on-site). We'll join together for an evening of conversation, laughter, and some food and drink. Bring an appetizer or salad to share and your beverage of choice. One More Chair will provide dessert, coffee, and water. This gathering is open to all, and we hope you will join us, " There is always one more chair." 

If you wish to attend or have questions, please

RSVP/contact either Sandy Christenson (chris002@umn.edu, 651-895-6567, phone or text) or Jim Christenson (christensonjim@msn.com, 651-895-0644, phone or text).  

New Member Spotlight

On December 4, 2022, we welcomed new members into our congregation.

Jeff Smith 

Starting over in a new congregation after 37 years of active membership in another is difficult, but from the first day I visited the 9 a.m. "tent service" this past summer, I have felt welcome at Plymouth Church. I'm eager to make new friends and a significant contribution to Plymouth's Racial Justice Initiative under the leadership of Barb Iverson and Jean Kennedy. I love my development and advocacy work for Vista Prairie Communities, a senior living nonprofit focused in rural Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin. I think our four grandchildren are all perfect. Isn't that what most grandparents think?

Film Club "Gold Fever"

Sunday, Jan. 29

12:30 pm.

Host: Immigrant Welcoming Work Group.

Powerful documentary about how gold mines cost Central Americans their dignity and even their lives w/Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer and Noam Chomsky. In Jackman with Lenmark, folding doors also open. Discussion after. Coffee & tea. Lunch: BYO, go to Cajun Boiling at noon for takeout, or call Social House (Ethiopian) after 10 a.m. for takeout.

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