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A Brief History of Plymouth
Early History
Plymouth United Church was created in 1978 to serve the Spring, Texas community. Spring is a suburb of Houston, Texas. The founding members of the church were primarily Congregationalists (one of the original denominational strands of the United Church of Christ) from the New England area who moved to Houston because of their jobs in the oil and gas industry. In the 1980s, the oil bust hit Houston and brought immense devastation to the area. Plymouth was one of many churches affected by the oil bust. Some members retired and moved back to New England while new native Texan members joined the Plymouth community.
Open and Affirming
In December 2004, the UCC aired a commercial publicizing the extravagant welcome of the UCC, that all people are welcome. Plymouth benefited tremendously from the commercial as new members joined the church. There is a rich diversity and beauty to the Plymouth community which mirrors God’s reflection here. In 2006, Plymouth voted to become Open and Affirming (ONA), which means that we welcome all people regardless of their ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical or mental abilities, and place in life. Plymouth is proud to be one of six ONA UCC churches in the Houston Association.
Serving the Wider Community
From its birth, Plymouth has been a faith community committed to serving its neighbors in Spring, Texas. We are one of the founding congregations of the Northwest Assistance Ministries (NAM), and have offered leadership in its programs such as the food pantry, Interfaith Hospitality Network, and the NAM garden. We are also active participants in the Spring area Interfaith Dialogues with other faith traditions.