Franklinton Center on a former plantation in North Carolina focuses on issues regarding race.

Centro Romero in San Ysidro, California, works on immigration issues, including coordinating cross-border immersion trips.

Discussions are now underway as our region offers the lead: to be a place where people might come to do theological reflection, and learning, to best live out ecological justice and creation care through our UCC teachings.  It follows from an increasing commitment at Pilgrim Firs to environmental sustainability (as we will see when we head there May 14-16 for this year’s All-Church Retreat.) 

As I departed camp, the next morning, in the very early hours, traveling with Camp Director Deeg Nelson, it was fully dark, as we made our way to the Bremerton ferry.  With each new ray of light, we could imagine visitors from across the UCC, heading back in to the pulse of Seattle.  We dreamed they might leave camp with more tools to steward earth resources together, after time at a UCC environmental justice center, as is being considered.  We add our prayers to the discernment.

As we walked up the hill to Plymouth, I described how very lucky I feel to offer my energies, as we grow in to our new chapter here.  What might today’s beacon on the hill in our city be, we ask here? And still, as Haiti cries in the wake of the earthquake, we turn differently toward beginning our Lent season this year.  We know a gulf between giving something up, by relative choice, versus being utterly forced to give up nearly everything.  As we prep for the journey we are about to take together for Lent, at Plymouth we have raised our voices in workshops on Gospel singing, Enlivening Worship, or Game Night.  And as we sing, we have thought of survivors who lost all, but the bravery to sing right in to and through the chaos.  

Every day, with the eye of the one newly among you, I see how doors can open through Plymouth Church.  People want to partner.  Our tradition of caring is deep.  Earth   Ministry, whom Plymouth has connected with over recent years, devotes to mobilizing the Christian community to leading toward a sustainable future.  They have now invited us and other churches from Capitol Hill, downtown, the Central District, and the north end, to take a new step.  There is a planning meeting for congregations to explore their interest in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), through a healthy-eating, environmental justice-based project.  Clean Greens Farm and Market grew from a vision of New Hope Baptist Church, supported by a small grant from the Black Dollar Days task-force. Entering its third year, the Clean Greens farm is now producing in great abundance and seeking to expand its base. 

This might promise a way to support local, organic agriculture, and bring healthy greens to our family recipes, in addition to one less trip to the store!  It started by folks who were finding it hard, in the neighborhood, to access fresh or familiar vegetables, according to their culture or income.  A group is gathering from Plymouth to check this out a bit more: Planning meeting for Congregations: Saturday,      February 13, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. at St. Mark's Cathedral, Leffler House (same location as the Cathedral Shop), 1245 10th Ave E, Seattle, WA.   
 
Send Lauren an e-mail lcannon@plymouthchurchseattle.org or call 206/622-4865 ext. 16, or contact Jessie Dye at 206/632-2426 or jessie@earthministry.org.

Yours, in catching new light,
Lauren

It is often the case that we feel as if no one is listening when we’re frustrated with something that is important to us. I want to acknowledge that I am hearing your complaints about the sound system in the Sanctuary! The complete solution will take time, but let me tell you what we’ve done so far. The ministers and staff have talked about the system several times and have identified some specific problems. Roger McRea and our sound consultant, Kellie Whitlock, have worked with the ministers and tuned their headset microphones to their individual voices. The sound has been adjusted on the lectern and pulpit microphones. The ministers and lay readers have been coached on how to speak more clearly in our large sanctuary.

All of the assisted hearing devices have been checked to make sure that they are working well. We have ordered eight new units and we encourage you to use these devices. They cut out the reverberation in the room and help the clarity of the spoken word. If you have trouble with your device, please ask the greeter, or the usher for assistance. When used properly, the headphones make a big difference.

Most importantly, David McGee has graciously volunteered to forego singing in the choir for now and to be our “sound tech” in the Sanctuary on Sunday mornings. That means that he is in the Sanctuary during the service, hearing what’s going on and making adjustments to the sound in order to maximize your understanding of the spoken word. Please thank him when you see him for lending his professional expertise to our Sunday morning worship experience!

We will continue to evaluate the current sound system in the coming months. The Property Maintenance Committee will be an important part of this process and we’ll keep you apprised of any new developments. 
—Wendy Blight, Church Business Administrator

In Living the Questions, we’ll take on hard questions and forge our own answers. How relevant is Christianity today? What is next for the faith? What are our own beliefs, and what can we learn about the beliefs of the person in the next chair? In a large group, we’ll watch a provocative 20-minute video with some of the most compelling voices in progressive Christianity. Then, we’ll discuss and dig deeper in small groups led by pastors and lay people of Plymouth. Choose from seven small groups, led by:

• The Reverend Tom Stiers and Amy Neer
• The Reverend David Shinn and Jennifer Carter
• Lauren Cannon and Don Bell
• The Reverend Michael Denton and Sue Maul
• The Reverend J.P. Kang and Joan Griswold
• Cory Maclay and Mike Gore
• The Reverend Brenda Stiers and Don Castle

In The Season Enlightened, children and youth from five to 14 will experience drumming and singing, speaking and dancing, and the stories of Lent, all woven together to create a deeper understanding of this season. Their time together will culminate in a joyful and dramatic proclamation as part of our Easter worship. They will be led by:

• Ines Andrade, movement
• Lamar Loften, music & rhythm
• Linda Strandberg, voice
• Lauren Cannon, theological linkages

Dates and Details: Plymouth U will meet for five Wednesdays, February 24 - March 24. Each evening begins with a delicious Molly meal from 5:45 to 6:30 p.m., followed by a community Lenten ritual. Classes meet from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Free childcare will be available for children five and under.

Keep an eye out for a flyer in your mailbox, and sign up beginning February 7. The fee for adults is $45 (including dinner, class, and workbook). Children and youth up to age 14 are free.

And on another note: Erin Page has heard the call. She will be co-coordinating Plymouth U this spring with long-time director Patricia Belyea, and taking the lead on future sessions beginning this fall.      Welcome, Erin!

—Patricia Belyea and Erin Page

When I look back to my freshman year and the week we spent in Agua Prieta, the word rings rampant through my head.  Although that word captures one of many memories from a trip which altered my perception on the world around me, it reminds me of one of the most intense experiences I have from that time in México.

 On Tuesday during the trip our youth group crossed the border from México into the United States.  We were going to spend a couple of hours in an experience that would most likely change all of us in one way or another for the rest of our lives. We were sitting in the grass when an older couple walked up to our youth minister, Cory Maclay, with a shopping cart full of what looked like little white crosses.  Now in all honesty I forgot if we had been told what we were going to do that day or if it was supposed to be a surprise; in the long run I was surprised.

The older couple told us that we were going to get to participate in a weekly protest.  It takes place right by the border in Douglas, Arizona every Tuesday around 5:00pm.  A closer look in the shopping cart showed it was undoubtedly a cart full of little wooden white crosses each with a name in black ink going across the middle. 

The husband of the couple explained to us that once a week he, his wife, and a few others participants took part in this ritual.  Sometimes with a small group, other weeks it was a large group, like ours.  They did this every week, no matter how many or few were involved.

They explained they walked down the road leading to the US/Mexican port of entry with these crosses, each one taking a single cross, holding it above their head, and calling out the name on the cross.  Next the rest of the group would all yell out together “¡Presenté!”  After each name was called out, the cross would be laid on the road up against the curb.  The names were shouted out every 10 feet or so.   I think there were about 150 cross, each one representing a person who had perished over the past 30 years within the 70 square mile section of the desert around us while trying to make it into the United States.

So there we were, ready to start.  Each one of our youth group proceeded to take a few crosses in their hands.   We began walking down the road towards the border calling out the names of the deceased. I remember one of my crosses had the last name Alejandré on it, the same as my best friend’s last name. Although I knew it was a common name, it still hit hard. And it didn’t help when the names Jesus and Luis were called; the first names of my best friend and his father.

Although they are very common names, so it’s not like some horrible omen, or anything. Those names were bound to get called eventually because of the sheer number of the deceased. But it was still very unsettling for me. What if my friend and his parents had died trying to make it to the United States? The idea made me cringe.

After the walk was over and all our crosses were laid out on the street, they seemed to stretch nearly into the horizon.

The ritual was still not over. Another man, Tommy, pulled out a list and began reciting the names of the poor souls that did not have their names on a cross. The list went on and on for at least 10 or 15 minutes. It was incomprehensible the amount of deaths that had occurred in such a small area.  The very last name Tommy called was “Jesus Christo” for Jesus Christ.  By the end of it I was in tears along with many others in our group.

I think one of the main reasons it was so shocking for us was not so much all of the people that have lost their lives but the fact that we had just met many people in the same boat as those who decided to migrate into the United States. The idea that all of the people we had just met in México, and would continue to meet through the remainder of our trip, could end up with their souls drifting across the desert was heart breaking.

Experiences like this happened nearly every day on both of the mission trips I have gone on, to México and Nicaragua.  And they will always be in the Present with me.

To help our youth group gain experiences like this which are more than eye opening, and certainly life changing, we would like to ask you to please join us at our big party in two weeks on Saturday January 30th.  It’s a Game Night where you can eat dinner and bid on items in a Silent Auction.  You can buy your tickets at the kiosk right out there [point right] after worship.  Thank you for your time.

Luis Sanchez  “¡Presenté!” 

Karina Gonzalez “¡Presenté!” 

y Jesus Christo  “¡Presenté!” 

JULIA tHOMPSON:

Two years ago this March, I traveled to Nicaragua along with more than 40 Youth Forum kids and leaders.  At the risk of sounding utterly cliché, the week-long mission trip was an invaluable learning experience and a major part of my ongoing faith formation.  From that amazing trip, I realized why mission is important to me.  To me, mission is being able to experience God’s love by helping others or being helped by others.  I saw this in Nicaragua, whether I was building a neighborhood community center, talking late on the porch with my host brother, or worshipping together with new friends at Iglesia Morava.

We experience mission at home in wonderful ways, but as I’ve discussed with my YF peers, there is something uniquely magical and spiritual about everyone piling onto a plane and serving God far away from home. 

This year, I had a tough situation.  My high school orchestra at Garfield is traveling to New York City to perform in Carnegie Hall….at the same time as the YF mission trip to the Heifer Ranch in Arkansas.

“Oh boy…” I thought.  This decision was going to be difficult.  Two once-in-a-lifetime opportunities!  At first I was very conflicted, but I quickly had a change of heart.  I realized that going on the mission trip was, in fact, the only option.  God was telling me to go to Arkansas and serve through mission, and I listened.  As soon as I chose the Arkansas trip, I was overwhelmed with a sense of peace, and I knew that this was the trip I was meant to go on.  I couldn’t be more excited.

Now I’ve told you why I participate in mission.  I hope you want to be part of it too!  One small mission you can do is come to the YF Game Night and Silent Auction on January 30th.  That night we will be raising money for our trip while having a whole lot of fun. I hope to see you all there.  Tickets are being sold at the kiosk the next couple of Sundays.

Thank you.

--Julia Thompson

All Plymouth children and interested adults are encouraged to join the Plymouth Children and Youth Choir in this rare opportunity, as the choir sings at the Capitol for the Washington Association of Churches and legislators, advocating for social justice. Upon arrival in Olympia, children will be briefed, over sandwiches, on the legislative process. The Plymouth Children's Choir will sing two selections for the WAC luncheon, and the remainder of the afternoon will be spent presenting legislators with letters written by Plymouth church school classes, on behalf of less fortunate children.

9am    meet at Plymouth
4pm    return to Plymouth

Lunch and transportation will be provided, fee tbd.

Sunday, February 21: Frankincense Candlemaking, approximately 12:30-1:30pm.

Following the 11am worship service, meet in Hildebrand Hall for fellowship and an opportunity to bask in the warmth of the Plymouth community, as we produce candles for Lenten prayers.

Plymouth U: The Season Enlightened -- a course for children and youth

Wednesdays, February 24, March 3, 10, 17, 24

With a curriculum employing a variety of artistic mediums, and running parallel to the adult course "Living the Questions", children and youth mentors will travel the Lenten journey toward Easter. Theological connections with Lauren Cannon, movement with Ines Andrade, musical rhythm/style with Lamar Lofton, singing with Linda Strandberg and friends will provide participants with an uplifting understanding of the Lenten season. Percussion and Orff instruments, chimes, and participants' own instruments will be used in combination with sung/spoken word to create a joyful proclamation for the 11am Easter service. See Plymouth U brochure for details.

Sunday, May 9: Presentation of Focus Spring Unit  in 11am service

                              Heather Hawkins and Ann Allen, Focus leaders

Sunday, May 23: Pentecost          

Interdisciplinary interpretation of the magnificent Psalm 104, with readings, dance, wind instruments, and visual art.

If you are not on Facebook, but would like to receive news and reviews, e-mail me at plymouthlibrary@gmail.com and ask to be added to the email list. Your email won't get flooded — I'll just be writing a couple of times a month.

Looking forward to a whole lot of fans!
 —Suzanne Sanderson, Librarian

I also came up amidst some deep Congregational and UCC roots. I remember hearing the stories at my grandparents' table, recounting the negotiations of the late 1950's when two strands of what would become our denomination, came together to form the United Church of Christ. Some of these summer nights in New England's beauty, we would all grab hymnals and sit out on the porch, watching the sun set on the white mountains, and the singing would begin. This was not my week-to-week routine, but a special one when with extended family, because local church had sort of skipped a generation in my house when I was a kid. So there in the evening outside, the singing would become somehow so glorious and so humble all at once, that it made me really crave much more of it. I wondered why we did not make a community in which we could seek support week by week. I had, and we have today, the chance to be seekers of more life.

I especially look forward to filling in the stories of how I came to do international human rights work, and how my call to ministry was formed in the midst of Chicago's underserved neighborhoods. You will learn of how I became hooked on the promise of what we can live out at church, how I have been developing biblical studies for eco-justice work, have been working with youth, and as a trainer for the national UCC Justice and Witness program for our western region. But I trust you will quickly see that what draws me to minister specifically at Plymouth, during this particular time of becoming, is the privilege to walk together, reaching out in service, to open up space for what is yet to bloom.

I am thrilled to meet you in this chapter and serve at a church where the world's need and God's unstoppable love have intersected for so many decades, and where much more can come. It is my great honor to work here at Plymouth Church for the next year or a little more, as we bridge to a next chapter. I look forward to filling in more about my studies in Sacred Theology and Bible, and to learning more of your stories as we begin walking together, week to week.

When not teaching Bible study, you will find that my daily joys include time on the Ashtanga yoga mat, cooking locally, and running in Seward Park. I also enjoy the other force of nature at my south Seattle household, another minister, to whom I was recently married, and who serves our wider UCC, the Reverend Michael Denton.
—Lauren Cannon

Senior Minister Search Committee:
Robin Appleford, Kevin Bechtold, Jon Daniel, Phyllis Daniels, David Guthrie, Courtney Hashimoto, Bruce Lamb, Merrily Matthews, Robert Neer, Marcia Regnier, Connie Sandstrom