Plymouth Magazine-Fall24-DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 9
THE STEWARDSHIP
SCHEDULE THIS FALL
September 16:
The campaign begins with the
mailing of a four-page brochure
“Our Giving Story” to the homes
of all Plymouth Church members.
Included will be an Estimate Of
Giving card you can use to make
pledges for the 2025 calendar year.
September 21-22:
The campaign officially starts with
announcements during Plymouth
services this weekend.
Emily Abbas, David Johnson Barbie
Hamor, Sandee Lyons, Cindy Adams,
Maggie Tillman and me. Ex officio
members are Pastor Wortman and
Director of Finance Jim Denman.
The stories we’ll be telling in coming weeks
will remind us all about just how generous
Plymouth members have been, over our
full history and in the recent past, too.
“Plymouth’s legacy of generosity runs
deep and makes a difference inside and
outside our walls,” Wortman said.
“From subsidizing the daily operations
of Plymouth Nursery School, to
providing a safe place for children
to grow and flourish, to the tens of
thousands of dollars that Plymouth gives
back to the community through various
special offerings, generosity is at the
heart of our story.”
Each year, he continued, contributions
to Plymouth “benefit the congregation
and the wider community by sustaining
arts programming, children and family
offerings, social justice initiatives and
more within our walls. In addition to
that, more than 10 percent of the total
contributions to Plymouth end up going
right back into the community and to
causes for the common good, but this
percentage doesn’t begin to capture the
whole picture.
“It’s hard to quantify what happens
when we open our building for various
support groups. There’s the time, energy,
and effort that goes into quilts that are
lovingly made and distributed. Similarly,
prayer shawls are hand-knitted and given
to those in hospitals and hospice care.
Week after week, backpacks are filled
with donated food and sent home with
students. The ‘Little Free Pantry’ in front
of the church is stocked multiple times
a week to provide something to those
who are hungry and know they can come
to Plymouth. There is the impact of
carloads of school supplies that are given
to schools in our own backyard. The list
goes on and on.”
Plymouth Board of Christian
Stewardship members will
be involved in informational
presentations at services on
subsequent weekends, as well as
at meetings of Plymouth boards,
committees and organizations.
October 26-27:
The active stewardship campaign
ends. Follow-up contacts will
continue by stewardship board
members for the next month.
November 23-24:
The traditional pre-Thanksgiving
“Pie Weekend” at Plymouth marks
the formal end of the stewardship
campaign. We celebrate with free
slices of pie for everybody. Results
of the campaign will then be
announced as soon as possible, but
pledges for the 2025 church year
will continue being accepted even
after Jan. 1.
Plymouth people are in a second century
of doing that. And, as Deb Ledesma said,
now “it’s our time and our turn.”
Chuck Offenburger, the author this story, is a regular contributor of articles for
Plymouth Magazine, and he also serves as a member of Plymouth’s Board of Christian
Stewardship, the group which coordinates the church’s annual campaign
You can reach him by email at chuck@offenburger.com.
Plymouth
PlymouthMagazine
Magazine 9
