Annual Report 2024-2025 - Flipbook - Page 17
Summary Thoughts
My goal as an administrator, together with Diane Hayes, our
Administrative Assistant, is to ensure that our staff can focus
on what they do best—whether playing the organ, teaching
our children to sing or ring, or leading worship—without being
burdened by administrative minutiae. We handle logistics,
organize the program, and provide support so our staff can use
their precious time to create, teach, and inspire.
Sohee and I shape the artistic direction of the program—from
conceiving and planning concerts and worship services to writing
hymn descants and hosting guest musicians. We’ve spent many
hours discussing the future of our Casavant pipe organ, which is
due for a long-overdue 50-year maintenance cycle. This visioning
includes deep dives into pipe organ building, acoustics, structural
engineering, and more—a conversation that continues to evolve.
Year in Review
The Plymouth Gallery hosted the following exhibits:
• January 7 – Mar. 4, Aimee Ellis: Photography
• March 4 – May 6, Plymouth members: Celebrating Trees
• May 6 – July 8, JJ Gaffers: Works in Glass
• July 8 – Sept. 9: Clerical Stoles
• Sept. 9 – Nov. 11: Pat Millin, Paintings: Finding Refuge
• Nov. 11 – Feb. 3: Gene Hollingsworth, Paintings
A 140% reproduction of Grunewold’s Isenheim Alterpiece was
installed in Commons Grounds during the season of Lent.
Mission to the Community
At Plymouth, part of our mission is to support and celebrate the
vibrant music and arts community around us. We are proud to
open our doors to host concerts and events by local ensembles
and arts organizations.
Ted and I, along with the Youth and Education Committee
(YEC), work to ensure the Matins have every resource they
need to thrive. Beth Ann and I collaborate regularly on gallery
exhibits, theater productions, creative arts programming—and, of
course, handbells. (Fun fact: Beth Ann writes a quarterly column
for The Official Journal of Handbell Musicians of America!)
Our office also manages a wide range of worship-related
logistics—from ordering communion bread and palm fronds to
stocking candle oil, wicks, ashes, flowers, and more. You never
quite know what each week will bring.
I’m deeply grateful for the exceptional Music & Arts team at
Plymouth Church and the strong support we receive from the
congregation. What we do here is becoming increasingly rare in
American Christianity. Because we’re used to it, we may forget
how special it truly is. Let us continue to cherish and support it
in real, tangible ways—because this work matters. Together, we
create beauty and change lives in the process.
These collaborations take several forms: sometimes, groups rent our
space and we serve as hosts; other times, we co-present the event
and share in the sponsorship; and in some cases, Plymouth Music
& Arts fully underwrites the concert as a gift to the community.
Personal Notes
We are proud to have ongoing community relationships with
the Des Moines Metro Opera – we host annual recitals – and
the Heartland Youth Choir, with whom we partner to host the
annual “Meet the Composer” Festival.
In Fall 2024, Sohee was appointed Organist at Simpson College,
where she plays several times a year. Together, we also direct
vocal and handchime choirs for residents at Deerfield Retirement
Community in Urbandale (since May 2023). Additionally, Sohee
serves as collaborative artist for the Des Moines Vocal Arts Ensemble
(since Sept. 2022). We give thanks for the life we share together,
our work, and for Plymouth Church at the center of it all.
Plymouth also serves as a rehearsal home for both the Des
Moines Vocal Arts Ensemble and the Des Moines Concert
Handbells. We support these ensembles not only with space but
through generous in-kind contributions—offering facility use at
deeply reduced rates, sometimes as much as 90%.
On May 3, 2024, Sohee and I were married in a ceremony open
to the whole church. In August, we bought a home on 53rd St—
much closer to the church—which has been a wonderful change.
With thanks,
Chris
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