Meaning

Ep.7 | Beth Hoffman Faeth: Meaning in Small Groups

At Plymouth, like everywhere, groups form for all kinds of reasons: to work on projects, to learn about specific topics, to work on boards and committees, and often just for fun. But is there something that makes small groups formed in spiritual community unique? I talked about it with Plymouth’s Minister for Congregational Care and Worship, Beth Hoffman Faeth, and it may not surprise you to hear that her answer is that yes, big things do happen in church-context small groups. In fact, for Beth, small groups are at once an anchor to community, a gateway to authenticity, and an invitation to transformation.

Ep. 6 | Larry Johnson: A Safe Space for Mental Health

Larry Johnson, the Plymouth Drop In Center’s coordinator, is a guy that loves a good story. Before coming to Plymouth, he served in Vietnam, then held a long career in classroom education that turned into educational video production. An activist at heart, Larry now creates a safe, caring environment for adults in Plymouth’s neighborhood with a mental health diagnosis

Ep. 5 | Rev. DeWayne Davis: The Meaning of Meaning

Today we talk with Plymouth’s Lead Minister, DeWayne Davis. The topic for our first podcast episode in conversation with a member of Plymouth’s clergy team was an appropriate one: how DeWayne thinks about the making of meaning. From his Pentecostal faith origins, to the relationship between meaning and happiness, DeWayne talks about how he began to make meaning of meaning on his own journey.

Ep. 4 | Hannah Campbell Gustafson and Nina Jonson: Flipping Church Walls Inside Out

Hannah Campbell Gustafson, Plymouth’s Outreach Coordinator, and Nina Jonson, Plymouth’s Director of Youth and Family Ministries, are part of a cohort exploring Plymouth’s boundaries and pushing them further past the church’s physical walls. They lead Plymouth’s involvement in the Riverside Innovation Hub, a network of churches convened by Augsburg University that scaffolds congregations as they explore what it means to be a public church in their own context, in Nina and Hannah’s words, flipping the walls inside out to minister to the neighborhood in highly collaborative ways.

Ep. 3 | Ashawnti Ford and Nora Montañez Patterson: Building Community through Theater

Two of the directors of Theater 45°, Ashawnti Ford and Nora Montañez Patterson, took to the stage in the summer of 2021, after a year away from live theater due to the pandemic, and after the civil uprisings of 2020. We discussed what theater is for in their work, and how theater encourages the growth of listening skills and empathy.

Ep. 2 | Dylan Church: Truth and Accountability

Plymouth Youth Specialist Dylan Church reflects on his own childhood experiences in the Plymouth community, as well as what he's learned from the youth he works with today. Among the questions on Dylan's mind: what is truth and how do our education systems - both school and church - equip kids for a search for truth? What is community? What are our responsibilities to each other as community members?

Ep. 1| Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew: Stillness and Action

Elizabeth Jarrett Andrew is an author and writing coach. She is also one of the founders of the Plymouth Contemplatives, a group that travels across Christian and other spiritual traditions exploring what emerges out of silence. Elizabeth and I sat down to discuss her pathway into contemplation through memoir writing and how that path led to a shift in her understanding of God.