Annual Report 2024-2025 - Flipbook - Page 8
community organizing training with AMOS, A Mid-Iowa
Organizing Strategy that builds community power for important
justice issues in our city and region. I have also attended
monthly meetings with the Rainbow Faith Coalition, a
network of proudly LGBTQ+ open and affirming churches
here in the greater Des Moines area.
• My calendar tells me that I have had at least 25 pastoral,
get-to-know-me, tell-me-about you conversations over coffee,
a meal, or in my office since I started. If we haven’t a chance
for a one-on-one conversation yet, I hope you’ll consider
sending me an email to get something on the calendar!
• Additionally, I have helped lead my first funeral under Pastor
Bill, and have done both shadow and solo visits to homebound
congregants or folks in the hospital.
• This winter I applied for and was accepted to a summer
intensive unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Iowa Methodist,
where I will learn how to offer care as a hospital chaplain. You
might be seeing less of me starting at the end of May until
the program wraps up in early August, but I hope to still be
able to contribute to weekend worship and other community
life events pending my hospital schedule. CPE is an important
step as I continue to discern a pastoral calling to ordained
ministry, and my hope is that it will also allow me to offer
more competent, expert pastoral care to our church during
the rest of my time at Plymouth.
Public Witness:
• An early green flag in my application process to join the TiM
program at Plymouth was the hiring of Pastor John as a fulltime spiritual formation and social justice pastor. Public
witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ is such a key part
of this church’s identity. I have been able to learn and grow
in this area of ministry under Pastor John and the rest of the
pastoral team, and also by the incredible efforts of so many of
you in the community.
• As the staff liaison for the Board of Benevolences, I have been
able to help support Plymouth’s benevolent giving in the Des
Moines community. Our church’s Special Offerings collections,
like the ones we have done at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and
Easter, are ways that we as a church put our money where our
hearts wants to be: with the people of our city. The Board of
Benevolences fields dozens of grant applications each offering
cycle, making sure that we are making the most of our
commitments as a Just Peace church.
• Plymouth expands its public witness through denominational
connections through the UCC and also through ecumenical
partnerships. In January, I was able to spend a weekend of
6
• The relational work of gathering in the Rainbow Faith
Coalition, beyond expanding the reach of events like our
ecumenical Pride service in June for Capital City Pride and
RFC’s upcoming concert with the drag performer Flamy
Grant, was an incredible asset for organizing this spring in
response to the Iowa legislative attacks against trans Iowans.
Working with Pastor Jared, Pastor John, and Pastor Bill, we
drafted a joint pastoral letter that was ultimately signed by
over 30 LGBTQ+ affirming clergy and sent to every member
of the Iowa Senate and Iowa House denouncing the erasure
of protected status for gender identity under Iowa law. I am
proud to be a pastor at a church that is unequivocal in its
support of trans people and that locates its impetus to love
in our shared sacred story of Jesus.
TiM Pastoring by (some of!) the numbers:
[Nov 2024 - April 2025]
(1) Good Friday service
(1) Easter Sunrise service
(1) Funeral shadowed
(1) Annual giving report for the Board of Benevolences
(1) Interview for Plymouth Magazine
(1) All-night lock-in with the Matins chaperoned
(1) Weekend Confirmation retreat shadowed
(1) Accepted application for Clinical Pastoral Education [CPE]
(2) Book studies [Being Christian by Rowan Williams; Anti
Racism As Daily Practice by Jen Harvey]
(2) Vigil services [post-election; Trans Civil Rights]
(3) Plymouth Artists Circle gatherings
(3) Pride service worship planning meetings [and (1) Pride
worship team rehearsal so far!]
(4) Sermons preached
(4) Original songs shared in liturgy
(8+) Hours of community organizing training with AMOS
(11) Poems curated for worship [Palm Sunday; Good Friday;
Easter Sunrise]
(14) Prayers of the People written
(25+) Pastoral conversations with congregants over coffee,
a meal, or at the church
(30+) Collected clergy signatures emailed to the Iowa legislature
in support of trans rights
(35+) Hours of Stephen Ministry training
Plus, among other things, Bible studies, Confirmation nights,
home and hospital visits, so many hugs…
= (6) months of pastoring!
