Who Is My Neighbor?

8/14/2018

Who Is My Neighbor?

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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:

Bring your good garage sale items (think especially of what students need for their apartments) 12:00-6:00 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday or 7:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. this Friday. And come by the sale on Saturday morning!
Join us at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, September 9, for the mother-of-all-potlucks: Taste of Plymouth! Put your best culinary foot forward! We’re inviting students in the neighborhood.
This is the crucial one: be a warm and welcoming presence when you see young adults (who may be students) in worship. Introduce yourself and tell them you’re glad they are here and ask if they are students and what they are studying. Tell them what you love about Plymouth!

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,

Author

The 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.