History

50 Years of Making a Difference

Plymouth is a local congregation of the United Church of Christ, which is descended directly from the Pilgrim and Puritan settlers.

It all started in 1892 when "Old Plymouth," a Congregationalist church, came into being and one year later erected a church building at the corner of Franklin and Dolbee streets in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Congregationalists, believing in the unity and dignity of all people under God, united with the "Christian" denomination in 1928.

Jump ahead to 1955 when a new congregation was forming in the growing southeast section of the metropolitan community. It took the name "Bowen Congregational Church" and first met in the Paris Township Hall. Around that same time,  Plymouth on Franklin was looking to move into an area of residential growth. The two churches decided to combine their efforts. The old Plymouth Church building was sold and the church disbanded so that all could start together as Plymouth in its present location.

The two churches incorporated in 1957 as Plymouth Congregational Church. That same year, the United Church of Christ (UCC) came into being as a merger of the Congregational Christian Church (to which Plymouth belonged) and the Evangelical and Reformed Church (itself a 1934 merger of the German Evangelical Church and the German Reformed Church). Votes by local Congregational Churches to join the merger would follow within the next few years. Plymouth is one of 25 UCC churches that marks its 50th anniversary along with the UCC.

The current church building has been updated and undergone two additions, the latest completed in 2004.

Information taken from "The History of Plymouth Church."

The symbol of the United Church of Christ comprises a crown, cross and orb enclosed within a double oval bearing the name of the church and the prayer of Jesus, "That they may all be one" (John 17:21). It is based on an ancient Christian symbol called the "Cross of Victory" or the "Cross Triumphant." The crown symbolizes the sovereignty of Christ. The cross recalls the suffering of Christ—his arms outstretched on the wood of the cross—for the salvation of humanity. The orb, divided into three parts, reminds us of Jesus' command to be his "witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

The verse from Scripture reflects our historic commitment to the restoration of unity among the separated churches of Jesus Christ.