Have you ever heard Argentinian-born sportscaster Andres Cantor call a soccer match and when one team scores, he lets out a minutes-long cry of G-O-O-O-O-A-A-A-L? It is a fantastically memorable sound. And we did something memorable last night… At the first meeting of our new Leadership Council, we passed a set of goals for Plymouth in 2019. (By the way, it’s an amazing group of Plymouth folks who form this year’s Council!) I shared these goals in our staff meeting this morning and met with a strong positive response from my staff colleagues, as well. Different ministry teams, boards, staff, and the Leadership Council itself will be tackling these goals during 2019. So, with no further ado… Plymouth Goals for 2019
I look forward to working with YOU to help engage these goals as we delve into an exciting year at Plymouth when together we will Go Deeper! Shalom! AuthorThe Rev. Hal Chorpenning has been Plymouth's senior minister since 2002. Before that, he was associate conference minister with the Connecticut Conference of the UCC. A grant from the Lilly Endowment enabled him to study Celtic Christianity in the UK and Ireland. Prior to ordained ministry, Hal had a business in corporate communications. Read more about Hal. I know that, at first glance, all seems to be going really well at Plymouth: we have a beautiful facility, three Sunday services, ample clergy and program staff, a great music program, dramatic outreach into the community, our denomination, and the wider world. (Can you believe our folks gave over $9,000 to the UCC Christmas Fund and over $15,000 to Neighbor to Neighbor?) And together we are doing great things! Thank you for that commitment! Having been in both a Budget & Finance meeting and a Nominating Committee meeting yesterday afternoon and evening, I am aware that we need to make our mission and ministry at Plymouth more sustainable. To make up the $88,000 gap between pledges and budget requests for 2019, we are freezing all programmatic spending at 2018 actual levels and rolling back other expenditures on things like staff computers. Payroll is our biggest expense (in part because we have a newer building and hard-working trustees that result in low facility costs), and we reduced the cost-of-living adjustment for staff; no merit or range increases were included this year. We also took some designated funds out of reserves to help pay for the new bookkeeper, and we are going to recommend at the Congregational Meeting in January that we fold the overage from our Capital Campaign to help fund the 2019 budget. We have a situation at Plymouth where some folks seem to think that “other people” will fund the budget and take leadership positions or that staff will get things done. The problem is that we often do! Our current lay leaders, volunteers, and staff make it look like everything is just fine. We may seem to glide gracefully on calm surface of Plymouth’s waters, but scores of little webbed duck feet are paddling like fury just to keep us where we are. And that is not sustainable. I see some utterly exhausted volunteers. Why? Because too many folks are doing little besides keeping a pew warm on Sunday morning. We need every person at Plymouth to help pull together so that we aren’t burning our volunteers out. In order to get things done, we are professionalizing things that volunteers used to do at Plymouth, like providing childcare. Sometimes that makes sense, like recognizing the need to hire a half-time bookkeeper. The rub comes when we have to pay our staff. And if we aren’t doing the work or paying for someone else to do it, it isn’t sustainable. As I looked around our Budget & Finance Committee last night, I saw some of our most engaged lay leaders – people who offer their time and their expertise willingly to Plymouth. And you might think these folks would say, “I’ve done my bit through my hours of service…let someone else pledge.” But that isn’t how it works out. The people in that room are some of the most generous financial givers as well. Why are the people who give of their time often the people who also pledge most generously? I think the answer is deceptively simple. It’s faithfulness and commitment. Madison Avenue would have a hard time selling that concept to consumers, but the church is not trying to sell anything…we’re trying to change lives and bring in the kingdom of God. One of our members has a nickname for me. She always greets me with “How’s it going, Coach?” And that’s often how I think of my role at Plymouth. You all are the players who comprise the team. And sometimes coaches tell players things they’d rather not hear…that’s part of the job. And I hope you will hear this in that spirit…as words from a coach whose job is to encourage the team. Some of our members need to get off the bench and get into the game. We need you to play with the rest of the team by generously offering your money and your time and expertise. Take a leap of faith and stretch yourself! This church is the greatest team in the league, and if you team members want to keep it that way, you need to step up your game. It’s not up to the coach…it’s up to you. With God’s help, we can make Plymouth more sustainable, but you, as part of this amazing congregation, are going to have to make some changes if that is going to happen. We can do this together, but it means making some tough choices and even some sacrifices on the part of every one of our members. So, let’s get in the game and do it! Go team! AuthorThe Rev. Hal Chorpenning has been Plymouth's senior minister since 2002. Before that, he was associate conference minister with the Connecticut Conference of the UCC. A grant from the Lilly Endowment enabled him to study Celtic Christianity in the UK and Ireland. Prior to ordained ministry, Hal had a business in corporate communications. Read more about Hal. This time of year can be tough: Some of us get seasonal affective disorder as the days become shorter and shorter. * Some churches have a “Blue Christmas” service for folks who have experienced loss in the past year or so. To be sure, the holiday season can be difficult for those of us who have lived through the death of a family member or dear friend. But, rather than “going all Elvis on you,” we at Plymouth have a tradition of the Longest Night Service, which acknowledges the complex feelings of the season. Darkness can be overwhelming, and when it is, being together in a community of kindred souls in the company of God can be reassuring that the light is coming. We all need a reminder that, as the prologue to John’s Gospel tells us, “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” It is a holy thing to acknowledge that we, some of us, feel adrift at this time of year. My hope for our Longest Night Service is that it provides a spiritual mooring for those who attend. This year we will hear our newest choral group, the Plymouth Chamber Choir, as well as handbells, harp, and flute, and we will use a litany from the Iona Community in Scotland. Jake and Jane Anne will preside at communion, and (for those who wish) I will offer individual prayers for healing and wholeness. It is a dark time of year, but our faith in God can help us see through the darkness into the light. The light is surely coming! Please join us this Sunday, December 16, at 6:00 p.m. as we join together as witnesses both to the darkness and to the light. Deep peace, * Any kind of depression is nothing to fool around with…help is available…ask one of your pastors or your physician or therapist for help. AuthorThe Rev. Hal Chorpenning has been Plymouth's senior minister since 2002. Before that, he was associate conference minister with the Connecticut Conference of the UCC. A grant from the Lilly Endowment enabled him to study Celtic Christianity in the UK and Ireland. Prior to ordained ministry, Hal had a business in corporate communications. Read more about Hal. As I was driving home from church after our Leadership Council meeting last night, I saw Christmas lights illuminating homes in my neighborhood…wait…it’s not Thanksgiving yet…I haven’t heard holiday Muzak yet…wasn’t it just summer??? Without stressing you out, Christmas is coming; and Plymouth does something wonderful to help your gift-giving each year by hosting the Alternative Giving Fair. In fact, it’s happening this Sunday after the 9:00 and 11:00 services. There are a lot of things that I love about the Alternative Giving Fair:
Doing some of your Christmas shopping helps three people: you (because you are getting your shopping done easily), the people the organization you are supporting serves, and the recipient of your gift, whose heart will surely be warmed. I’ve loved the Fair as a purchaser and admirer, and this year Jane Anne and I are turning the tables to support the Iona Community and its capital appeal to make Iona Abbey accessible and environmentally sustainable…tough with a 13th c. building. We’ve made sets of prayer beads (that come with a cycle of Celtic prayers we’ve compiled) that we’ll be selling, with all proceeds going to the Iona Capital Appeal. I encourage you to come on Sunday morning and join us in this annual festive and meaningful experience! Merry Christmas…even though it’s not even Thanksgiving or Advent! AuthorThe Rev. Hal Chorpenning has been Plymouth's senior minister since 2002. Before that, he was associate conference minister with the Connecticut Conference of the UCC. A grant from the Lilly Endowment enabled him to study Celtic Christianity in the UK and Ireland. Prior to ordained ministry, Hal had a business in corporate communications. Read more about Hal. “If the only prayer you ever say is ‘Thank you!’ it will be enough.” – Meister Eckhart, 13th c ![]() This congregation never ceases to amaze me.
This coming Sunday, we are taking a page out of NPR’s book and putting our stewardship campaign into overdrive: taking just two weeks to raise the $900,000 that will help make mission and ministry possible at Plymouth in 2019. It culminates on October 28 with Baroque and Burritos…stay tuned! The sermon on Sunday is on one of my favorite texts when Jesus asks us to “Behold the lilies of the field…how they grow!” Have you ever marveled at the beauty of nature? How could you live in Colorado and miss that?! How can we fail to miss that wonder and awe? How can we fail to say “thanks!” to God for the glories of creation? We did nothing to deserve the beauty of the lily, to deserve a relationship with God, to be the generation that lives in such material and spiritual abundance. And so we respond…by saying “Thanks!” Deep peace, AuthorThe Rev. Hal Chorpenning has been Plymouth's senior minister since 2002. Before that, he was associate conference minister with the Connecticut Conference of the UCC. A grant from the Lilly Endowment enabled him to study Celtic Christianity in the UK and Ireland. Prior to ordained ministry, Hal had a business in corporate communications. Read more about Hal. Fans of Stephen Sondheim will know the wrenchingly wonderful song, “Being Alive,” from Company, in which the protagonist sings about taking the risks of being in relationships, and in fact, of being alive. Often, he is unable to be vulnerable and goes through life playing it safe. Let’s face it: life is a series of risks taken or avoided, and if we choose engage life fully, we will wind up being hurt, disappointed, and walking through life wounded. But if we are to have the kind of “abundant life” that Jesus speaks of in John’s gospel, we must be willing to take risks. It’s not always easy. Our faith -– our trust -– in God must be stronger than our fear. I have been deeply inspired by the courage of one of our members who has been dealing with cancer for several years, and I have seen her repeatedly seize the day and refuse to be anything other than fully alive. Janet McCulloch now is living with extreme pain and was unable to be in church last Sunday to see the showing of her art in Plymouth’s gallery, but she did make a “special guest appearance” via an iPad (attached lovingly by her family to an IV drip pole on wheels) and was able to converse remotely with folks during coffee hour. And with Janet’s permission, I am sharing this piece of her story with you, because it is wondrous. One of the other assurances of our faith is the idea of eternal life, which doesn’t mean our bodies will always be healthy and vital…they won’t. It does mean that we are not separated from the love of God.[1] It does mean that in life, in death, in life beyond death, we are not alone.[2] And eternal life doesn’t start when our bodies give out…it starts now…today! I encourage you to take a long, enjoyable look at Janet’s artwork in our gallery. It will help you to know what it means to be alive. And if you feel inclined, let Janet know what it means to you. Seize the day! Seize abundant life! AuthorThe Rev. Hal Chorpenning has been Plymouth's senior minister since 2002. Before that, he was associate conference minister with the Connecticut Conference of the UCC. A grant from the Lilly Endowment enabled him to study Celtic Christianity in the UK and Ireland. Prior to ordained ministry, Hal had a business in corporate communications. Read more about Hal. ![]() With the regularity of any migratory species, students are just about to return to Fort Collins as the academic year begins! And the migratory pattern is slightly altered this year with the opening of The Stadium Apartments next door to Plymouth on Lake Street. We’ve been watching progress on the large, handsome building, and I walked by this afternoon to see students moving in! The landscape of campus ministry has also changed with major shifts at the Geller Center, whose building on Howes Street is up for sale. I am not certain what the future holds for them, but they have shifted from campus ministry to a non-profit that helps students engage in dialogue on tough issues. As identified in Plymouth’s Strategic Plan, our consultant John Wimberly reported, “The greatest and most compelling opportunity for growth and impact is campus ministry with the Colorado State University community.” And we all want to have that positive impact! Jake is staffing our campus ministry with help from the rest of staff and from Nic Redavid…AND it also involves YOU! (Yes, you!) Here is how to get involved:
And FYI, we have lovely Ram Fellowship bookmarks at the Deacons’ Desk in the sanctuary and the greeting stations in at our north and east entrances and the Welcome Desk in the Fellowship Hall. They have event dates and a prayer I wrote for students. Ask if the student you’re talking with would like one! And maybe a few Plymouth beer mats to go with them! I’ve heard some members grumble a little that students won’t pledge (no, they probably won’t, but that’s not the point!), that we spend too much time concerned about them (not nearly so much as we spend with elders), and that they’ll only be here for a few years (what if they learn to love God while they are at Plymouth?!?) This is a ministry that isn’t just for Jake and Nic to do…it’s a mission and a ministry for ALL of us…and it will be a blast! Yours in faith and Ramfulness, AuthorThe Rev. Hal Chorpennng has been Plymouth's senior minister since 2002. Before that, he was associate conference minister with the Connecticut Conference of the UCC. A grant from the Lilly Endowment enabled him to study Celtic Christianity in the UK and Ireland. Prior to ordained ministry, Hal had a business in corporate communications. Read more about Hal. ![]() Most of us at Plymouth probably don’t read a whole lot about the decline of mainline Protestantism, a persistent trend that started in the 1960s, but many of us who are active in ordained ministry cannot help but encounter the deluge of such articles. Perhaps the most ominously titled article was a 2017 piece in the Washington Post: “If It Doesn’t Stem Its Decline, Mainline Protestantism Has Just 23 Easters Left.” Of course, that’s a projection based on aggregate national statistics, not the stories of individual congregations. The story at Plymouth is a positive one. So, you would be forgiven any assumption that mainline churches are doing just fine. The story at the UCC churches closest to Plymouth is unfolding differently. There are six UCC churches nearby in our Association. Some are healthier than others, but according to the UCC Yearbook, each has declined by more than 100 members over the past 15 years. (See chart) In fact, Plymouth is the only church that has grown in membership. The prognosis for many smaller congregations in the UCC is not encouraging. Larger congregations, like the one Plymouth is becoming, are more resilient in the face of demographic changes and moments of financial insecurity like the 2007 recession. No one has a crystal ball, but I am not hopeful that more than a handful of the UCC churches in our Association will be here in 20 years. While some members are ambivalent about our congregation growing, I know that all of us want Plymouth to keep making a difference in our community and in the lives of our members, and I’m confident that our future is bright as an outpost of the Kingdom of God. The reasons for mainline decline are complex: fewer young people raised in the faith stay here; our birthrate is unusually low; anti-institutionalism, we get tarred with the same brush when sex-abuse is unearthed and organized religion gets the blame for the 9/11 attacks, and some folks want black-and-white rather than nuanced approaches to biblical interpretation and faith. Research from Hartford Seminary’s FACT survey also indicates that many mainline congregations struggle with a lack of clarity about who they are and also demand little of their adherents. There is something harder to define in healthy congregations: a culture of being ready and able to handle conflict healthily when it arises. (And it arises in every congregation.) A key component of working creatively and effectively with conflict is a culture of open communication. Three hallmarks are identified by Kibbie Ruth and Karen McClintock in their 2007 Alban Institute book, Healthy Disclosure: Solving Communications Quandaries in Congregations: reducing triangulation, reducing pass-through communication, and eliminating anonymous feedback. All of this takes courage and trust…which are hallmarks of our faith and evolved spirituality. (See Eph. 4.15 and Matt. 18-15-17) Triangulation happens when someone wants to make a comment to another person but cannot muster the courage to stand face-to-face and gently, assertively share that information. Instead, they take the seemingly easier path of telling someone a third person…so the person they wanted to communicate with never gets the message! We have a staff axiom: “Speak to, not about,” which eliminates triangulation. Pass-through communication happens when someone refuses to go directly to another person with information -– another member, a staff person, an officer -– and instead asks someone to act as their messenger, so a direct exchange of ideas cannot happen. It also puts the messenger in an unfair bind. Anonymous feedback is an unhealthy pattern of communication in many congregations. It happens when someone wants to give input but is not willing to accept responsibility for their comment. It also deprives the recipient of the ability to follow up and learn more about a critique or to apologize for a misstep. Each of these patterns tears down trust within the congregational system and instills a culture of secrecy and not being responsible for sharing one’s ideas openly. It sets up a congregational system in which dramatically bad things (like cliques, financial malfeasance, and patterns of abuse) can happen without consequences. No one communicates perfectly, and it is a learned set of behaviors. I am confident that we at Plymouth will continue to be a healthy, growing, enduring congregation. If you need assistance with direct communication, our Pastoral Relations Committee can help. You can reach them at [email protected] AuthorThe Rev. Hal Chorpennng has been Plymouth's senior minister since 2002. Before that, he was associate conference minister with the Connecticut Conference of the UCC. A grant from the Lilly Endowment enabled him to study Celtic Christianity in the UK and Ireland. Prior to ordained ministry, Hal had a business in corporate communications. Read more about Hal. Mini-Campaign for Signs from Hal Chorpenning on Vimeo.
Remember that hackneyed line that“Plymouth is the best-kept secret in Fort Collins?” That condition is just about to change!
The Leadership Council has launched a mini-campaign to replace our street signage on Prospect Road and Lake Street. Even though our trustees have cobbled together and repaired the 17-year-old sign on Prospect, it is falling apart (as you’ll see in the above 4-minute video*). With the construction of the CSU football stadium, we have an opportunity to let more people know not just that Plymouth is here, but what makes us unique in our community and ways it might become part of their faith journey. With a lead gift of $25,000 from a member family at Plymouth, we are already halfway to funding the signs themselves. (An additional $10,000 will cover any landscaping needs and overruns.) As in most capital campaigns, our mini-campaign team is currently soliciting major gifts in the next few weeks, and the open campaign will follow, during which we encourage everyone to support this effort. Our mini-campaign team is headed by Nic Redavid with Irene Wherritt, Claudia DeMarco, and me serving as well. We invite you to take a look at the 4-minute video* enclosed with this email and see the sign design and hear from three leaders in our congregation. It will be exciting to see the changes our new signs will bring! Peace,
*made by yours truly with iMovie…not ready for an Oscar!
AuthorThe Rev. Hal Chorpennng has been Plymouth's senior minister since 2002. Before that, he was associate conference minister with the Connecticut Conference of the UCC. A grant from the Lilly Endowment enabled him to study Celtic Christianity in the UK and Ireland. Prior to ordained ministry, Hal had a business in corporate communications. Read more about Hal. ![]() With a name like “Plymouth,” it’s hard to get away from the idea not just of the Plymouth Pilgrims, but from the concept of pilgrimage in general. Our faith is perhaps best described as a journey…not a stable, set-in-stone condition, but one that evokes movement and transformation. Some pilgrimages, like those of Abraham and our New England spiritual forbears are one-way pilgrimages through which one arrives at a new destination. In a recent series of adult ed. forums, Plymouth folks recounted their (round-trip) pilgrimages to the Holy Land, on the Camino de Santiago de Compostella, and in Scotland. Even though their journeys brought our pilgrims back home, pilgrimage is meant to change the way one sees God, self, and other. But what if one doesn’t have the time, money, physical ability, or inclination to travel on a pilgrimage? For 13th-century would-be pilgrims in France, the answer was to walk the circuits of the labyrinth in the cathedral at Chartres, emulating a pilgrimage to Rome or Jerusalem. Walking the labyrinth is a meditative tool rediscovered in the 1990s by the Rev. Lauren Artress, an Episcopal priest. According to the website of the organization she founded, “The labyrinth is a walking meditation, a path of prayer and an archetypal blueprint where psyche meets Spirit. It has only one path that leads from the outer edge in a circuitous way to the center. There are no tricks to it and no dead ends. Unlike a maze where you lose your way, the labyrinth is a spiritual tool that can help you find your way.” I’ve used the labyrinth for prayer at volatile times in my life when I’ve needed to find the quiet center, at times when I am in discernment about a significant decision, and at times when I’ve just needed to seek God’s presence through a physical prayer form. A ministry team at Plymouth, led by Jane Nicolet, has been working for just about a year with our Memorial Garden Ministry Team and our Trustees to design and create such a tool for Plymouth. The Trustees excavated the space, filled in recycled concrete base, and the layer of breeze visible on the surface. The ministry team had a group of 20 Plymouth volunteers, from teens to seniors, place bricks into place to form the circuits of the labyrinth. The Leadership Council authorized financial support from the Memorial Garden reserve fund, memorial gifts given in honor of our members, the sale of several cemetery plots Plymouth owned, and an unsolicited gift from one of our members. Landscaping and two benches will also be added this spring. I invite you to join us as we dedicate the new labyrinth on Pentecost Sunday, May 20 at 12:15 (after the 11:00 service). Join us to thank our volunteers and to ask for God’s blessing. So, why and how does one use the labyrinth? For years, members of our congregation have been asking for advice on how to pray. The labyrinth provides a beautiful tool for walking prayer. It doesn’t require years of discipline to encounter…just the will to engage with intention and attention. Even if you have a robust prayer life, I’d recommend trying a prayer walk using the labyrinth to mix it up a bit. It is available to you at any time during the week…unless a service is in progress in the sanctuary or memorial garden. One of the members of the Labyrinth Ministry Team, Pat Slentz, will become a trained labyrinth facilitator this summer in a workshop with Lauren Artress at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico. Deep thanks to all who have participated in helping this dream become a reality here at Plymouth! I look forward to group walks, incorporating the labyrinth into our Sunday evening services, and to seeing you out walking in prayer! Shalom! Trustees Gary Olsen, Allen Norskog, Tom Dille, Barry Beatty, and Trustee Emeritus Tom Nesler do the initial grading and laying base materials. Plymouth volunteers completed the layout in one Saturday…many hands made light work! An aerial photo from a neighbor’s drone caught Plymouth volunteers laying brick into the labyrinth. Here is a guide from Lauren Atress on veriditas.org (download a PDF version here): The labyrinth is a sacred place set aside for you to reflect, look within, pray, negotiate new behavior. The rhythm of walking, placing one foot in front of the other, empties the mind, relaxes the body and refreshes the spirit. Follow the pace your body wants to go. The labyrinth can be walked in four stages. As you encounter other people walking the same path, simply allow them to pass. You walk the labyrinth with your body and rest your mind. REMEMBER Before walking the labyrinth Take time in gratitude be thankful for your life. Bless the people in your life. If there’s a specific event or situation troubling you, bring it to mind and form a healing question if possible. RELEASE Walking into the labyrinth This is the time to quiet the mind, let go of the mind chatter and release your troubles. Open your heart to feel whatever it might feel. Become aware of your breathing. Take slow breaths. Relax and move at your own pace. RECEIVE Standing or Sitting in the Center This is a place of reflection. Pause and stay as long as you like. Open yourself to your higher power. Listen to that small inner voice. In the safety of the labyrinth have a heart-to heart talk with yourself. RETURN Walking out of the labyrinth When you are ready, begin walking out the same path you followed in. Walking out, integration of your experience happens. Experience the sense of well-being, healing, excitement, calm or peace. Each labyrinth experience is different. You may feel nothing or have a powerful reaction. Whatever, listen to your heart and take all the time you need. The above description is only a thumbnail sketch. You provide the bigger picture. AuthorThe Rev. Hal Chorpennng has been Plymouth's senior minister since 2002. Before that, he was associate conference minister with the Connecticut Conference of the UCC. A grant from the Lilly Endowment enabled him to study Celtic Christianity in the UK and Ireland. Prior to ordained ministry, Hal had a business in corporate communications. Read more about Hal. |
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