History of Plymouth Presbyterian Church

Although Plymouth was settled in the 1850s, at approximately the same time as other settlements in the area, it was not heavily developed before the 1970s and 80s. By the mid-1980s, there were many Presbyterians living in Plymouth who traveled to other, long-established churches in neighboring suburbs, as well as the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. During those years, the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area was not actively involved in developing new churches. The last, Trinity PC in Woodbury, was chartered in the early 1980s. In fact, for several years, there was little interest within the Presbytery to start new churches. Under new committee leadership in the late 1980s, the Presbytery’s Council on United Action addressed the need to develop new churches in areas without Presbyterian or Reformed presence.

Finally, in late fall 1987, the Presbytery distributed fliers in the Plymouth area, in the Sun Sailor newspaper, and within the Presbytery, announcing a public meeting for anyone interested in starting a PCUSA church in Plymouth. The meeting was to be held at Oakwood Elementary School at the corner of Highways 101 and 6. Most of the people there were members of other Presbyterian churches in the area–House of Hope, Valley, Grace, Westminster, Peace, and Calvin. At the end of the meeting, the group was told they would not hear anything further until April and not to begin meeting on their own until then.

In the spring of 1988, monthly potluck gatherings were organized at Greenwood Elementary School, and the creation of the new church began with visioning and committee formation in the true Presbyterian tradition. The committees diligently worked with Presbytery representatives for the next two years, taking all necessary steps to formally establish a PCUSA church. During those early potluck gatherings, it was jokingly suggested that they name the new church Potluck Presbyterian Church or Church of the Blessed CorningWare.

Weekly worship services began on September 24, 1987, in the newly opened Plymouth Creek Elementary School cafeteria at the corner of Vicksburg and 41st Avenue. Because the space was available only on Sunday, every week required packing, moving, and off-site storage of all items needed for worship–chairs, Bibles, hymnals, lecterns, etc. In addition, the congregation began weekly fellowship times after worship, organized a choir, started church school, developed youth activities, and participated in numerous mission projects outside the church. Committees were formed to handle the everyday activities of the church: membership, finance, worship, and education.

A Naming Committee was also created to decide on a permanent name for the developing congregation.  Suggestions were received, and a straw vote was taken to narrow the choices to three: Star of the North, Tree of Life, and PlymouthPresbyterian. Plymouth Presbyterian Church was chosen after a vote of the persons who had signed their intent to become charter members.

Finally, in the fall of 1990, the number of persons expressing interest in becoming charter members passed the required presbytery number of 100, and the church was officially chartered on December 11, 1990, at Plymouth Creek Elementary School. That day was cold for early December, and the heating system had not been turned on for Sunday morning. It was a chilly morning worship and charter service without the heat. Despite that, the cafeteria was full of charter members and families, members of the Presbytery’s Chartering Commission, and visitors. Amazingly, the organizing pastor, Rev. Cal Cooper, individually introduced each charter member by name, occupation, and city of residence--without notes! To date, it is still the longest service we have ever held!

On September 11, 1994, the congregation broke ground for the building, and on March 19, 1995, the first worship service was held in the new church building. Shortly thereafter, Plymouth Presbyterian Church received the Sam and Helen Walton Award as one of the outstanding Presbyterian new churches in the country. In addition to the certificate, the award included a $30,000 check, which was received in October, just in time to be used to pave the parking lot before winter.

What follows is a chronological time-line of significant events in the church's history:

• Fall of 1987: The Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area invited local residents to form a core group to establish a new Presbyterian congregation in the area. Over the next two years, this group, along with others from the Presbytery, formed a steering committee, a site committee, and a pastor nominating committee.
• August 1, 1989: Cal Cooper arrived to begin work as the organizing pastor.
• September 24, 1989: The first worship service was held at Plymouth Creek Elementary School.
• December 2, 1990: Plymouth Presbyterian Church was chartered with 111 members. A congregational meeting was held that same day to elect elders and deacons. Amazingly, Pastor Cal introduced every single person, telling a little story about each person.  It was perhaps the longest service in our history!
• April 5, 1992: A building committee was elected and proceeded with the planning that led to the original church building. To assist the new church, the Presbytery donated the ten acre site. Three acres were given to the city for streets, leaving a seven acre site for the church building.
• September 11, 1994: The congregation broke ground for the building.
• March 19, 1995: The first worship service was held in the new church building. Hallelujah!
• June 1996: Plymouth Presbyterian Church received the Sam and Helen Walton Award as one of the outstanding Presbyterian New Churches in the country. The $30,000 award was used to add the second tier of the parking lot.
• August 1, 1997: Susan Marvin arrived to accept the church’s call as associate pastor.
• Fall 2004: A building committee was elected to plan an educational wing and new offices to the original building.
• August 2005: Cal Cooper retires as Senior Pastor of Plymouth Presbyterian Church.
• January 2006: Gene Orr starts as Interim Pastor
• June 2006: Construction starts on educational/administrative addition to the building.
• December 3, 2006: Dedication of the new building addition was celebrated.
• Fall 2007: Jennifer McCurry accepts the church’s call as associate pastor.
• February 2008: Chris Hagen accepts the church’s call as interim senior pastor.
• September 1, 2008: Ewen Holmes became the new senior pastor and was installed by the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area on Sunday, November 16, 2008.
• March 1, 2009: Allison Nahr accepted and started in the role of Director of Christian Formation.
• October 1, 2012: Josh Ahn started as Director of Music Ministries.
• Current: Membership is 275 active members plus nearly 60 children and youth.

• December 1, 2012: The congregation began our journey with Vibrant Faith Ministries, connecting home and congregation as partners in ministry.

• January 2016: Rev. Ewen Holmes leaves for another opportunity in Michigan.

• September 2016: Rev. Anne Fisher accepts the church's call as interim senior pastor.

• September 2016: Peter Hendrickson started as Director of Music Ministries.

• July 2018: Rev. Jeff Foels is named as senior pastor.
• October 2018: Jusun Kim started as Director of Music Ministries.
• September 2022: Rev. Jeff Foels ends four years of significant leadership, leading the congregation to retire our mortgage, worship through the Covid 19 pandemic, and establish live streaming of services to unite the congregation in worship.
• September 2022 - January 2023: Rev. Dr. Barbara Anne Keely serves as Bridge Pastor.
• January 2023:  Rev. Dr. Carol Reed accepts the church's call as Transitional Pastor to assist the congregation in our search for our next pastor.