On this final Sunday of September, we are excited to be hosting International Peacemaker Noemi Sanchez from El Salvador. Pastor Katie will reflect on Philippians 1: 21-30 https://bit.ly/3Rq9HsY and preach on “Contagious Confidence.” We also commission Taylor Wittman to her service in the Peace Corps in Albania, where she will do health education.
On this Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Matthew 18: 21-35 https://bit.ly/44ZqHJS will focus our attention on Jesus’ words about forgiveness and Pastor Katie will reflect on “Maxing Out the Card.” We are excited to begin the program year this week with Sunday school for children and Confirmation class following worship.
Our Name that Member! feature gave us the opportunity to learn just how well we really know each other. But how well do we know our church?
Here’s this week’s Did you know? Tuesday Trivia!
From a resolution read and adapted at a congregational meeting held February 27, 1923 – the basement under the building was to provide space for bowling alleys.
TRUE
or
FALSE
Answer:
TRUE: From a resolution read and adapted at a congregational meeting held February 27, 1923: We recommend a well built and substantial foundation of concrete sufficiently deep to provide a basement under the entire building. This basement to provide space for bowling alleys, locker rooms, shower baths, toilets, furnace and fuel room and in addition a very fair auditorium if needed at some future time. For the present we believe the large room in the rear part which will also serve as a basketball court can be used for social meeting and programs.
Thanks for playing!
We want you to do more than just play Did you know?, we’d also like you to contribute! If you have some church fun facts to share, please send those to Cheri at communications@firstpresgreenbay.org and we’ll have your contribution added to an upcoming Did you know? Tuesday Trivia!
This Sunday we are kicking off our program year with a very special worship service that will include a “blessing of the backpacks” for children, youth, and educators. Our story sermon will be an interactive re-telling of the creation story from Genesis. We welcome our friend Micah Zuelke back to accompany our hymns and look forward to having special music from two guitarists as well.
On this holiday weekend we are excited to offer a very special hymn sing worship service that will take us through the entire church year! Come to sing songs from Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and more. Pastor Katie will reflect on the liturgical seasons and Psalm 104 https://bit.ly/47OGb65 with “Singing the Story of Praise.” Grace Estes Collins will offer a solo of “Amazing Grace” accompanied by Matthew Thorne, and we will share in the sacrament of communion as well.
The church year is NOT the same as a calendar year, but you may not notice it spread over the course of 12 months—when is Lent, why do we celebrate Epiphany, what comes after Pentecost?
For our worship service on Sunday, September 3th at 10am, we will attempt to sing our way through the whole church year with a few verses or a few hymns to represent each season. We’ll begin with Advent, move through Christmas and Epiphany, remind ourselves of Lent and Holy Week and Easter, then Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, All Saints’, and Christ the King.
It’s a LOT to squeeze into one service, but we think we can do it!
As it’s the first Sunday of the month, we will celebrate communion as well. Come join us for this hymn sing and perhaps learn a thing or two along the way. This service, planned by Pastor Katie and organist Matthew Thorne, will be our farewell to Matthew with deep thanks for his musical gifts and leadership over the summer.
“Back to school” sales are in full force and that means it is time for us all to come back to church after summer vacations and breaks! We celebrate the beginning of this new program year with a fun and casual outdoor worship on Sunday, September 10th at 10:00 am (weather permitting) on the front lawn. Bring your own chair or sit in one we’ve set up on the sidewalk—please don’t let navigating the grass keep you away.
Our worship service will feature a playful re-telling of the creation story and a special blessing of backpacks for all those headed back to school. If you are a student of any age, a teacher or administrator or helper in a school setting of any kind, please bring your backpack or other school bag on this day to receive a blessing including a special keychain to add to your bag. Let’s see how many backpacks and bags we can bless this year!
Following worship, we welcome everyone into the Fellowship Room for an ice cream social featuring dipped ice cream with all the toppings—plan to build your own sundae. This is a perfect day to bring a friend or neighbor or grandchild to worship, so please join us!
Our Christian Education Committee is excited to announce the launch of a new program for adults that we’re calling Fourth Sunday Faith Forum. This is a direct result of input received on our congregational survey last spring, which indicated a desire for more adult education opportunities. This gathering will feature a special speaker or a special topic led by a member of our congregation. On the fourth Sunday of each month, the committee intends to offer a forum from 9:00 to 9:45 am in the Fellowship Room. We hope to welcome lots of participants to this new opportunity for growth in faith and knowledge.
We kick off this new program with a speaker all the way from El Salvador, Noemi Sanchez. Noemi works for the Calvinist Reformed Church of El Salvador and is with us as part of the International Peacemakers program of the Presbyterian Church (USA). Her denomination works closely with the PC(USA) in sustainable agriculture and innovative farming practices, school and community support, and migration issues in her country, which is the most densely populated country in Central America. We are honored to host her for the first part of her visit to Winnebago Presbytery and hope to have a big turn-out on September 24 to hear her presentation about ministry in El Salvador.
Noemí Sánchez
More about Noemí
Abdias Noemí Iglesias Sánchez has been a member of the Calvinist Reformed Church of El Salvador (IRCES) for approximately 30 years, as part of the youth group and now as a member of the IRCES Board of Directors. Through the IRCES Board of Directors, Noemí is the primary representative, ensuring the implementation of General Assembly agreements as well as the community and pastoral work of the IRCES’s strategic plan.
In youth ministry, she attended various youth camps as well as workshops on building a culture of peace. She studied Business Administration from the University of El Salvador, and has put her faith and skills into practice by assisting IRCES colleagues in coordinating youth workshops and community activities promoting peace and teaching peaceful inter-personal skills.
Married 16 years with 2 children, family is one of the most important parts of Noemí’s life.
Watch this short introduction video and hear Noemí’s story in her own words
We are pleased to welcome four new members into the life and ministry of First Presbyterian this month!
Please reach out and make them feel at home in our family of faith.
Carole Biddick lives in Kewaunee and is a retired oncology nurse. She is widowed and has two adult daughters who live in Mercer and Mequon.
Besides being with family and friends, Carole loves to travel, read, and watch old movies. She is involved in the Order of the Eastern Star. She has been participating in the Bible study group since she started attending here and has already served as host of coffee fellowship several times as well. She loves the feeling of welcome and friendship here.
Kris & Mike Melton live in Pulaski and are transferring from Peace Lutheran Church of Green Bay. They have three adult children who live in Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
Kris is retired from clerical and church musician careers, and Mike from a career in nuclear engineering. They spend their time with family—especially grandkids! They like to read, travel, camp, garden, and watch football.
Kris has shared her gifts of music leadership in worship already, and Mike was one of our storytellers at Vacation Bible School this summer. They appreciate the friendly and welcoming people they’ve met here and are encouraged by our worship services and sermons.
Barbara Perret actually spent some of her growing up years here but has been away for a long time and is happy to be back. She works as a mental health nurse and has a schedule that only allows her to come to church every other weekend.
Barbara lives in Green Bay and she is looking forward to connecting with people and programs in this church again.
The Chix were unfortunately unable to meet in August because our outdoor social was cancelled due to heated weather, however it’s only been postponed till our upcoming gathering in September when our outdoor social is planned for Thursday, September 7th at 6pm. Our hostess for the evening is Sue Russell at her home. Consult your directory or contact the office at office@firstpresgreenbay.org or call (920) 437-8121 for address details. Our entrée is chicken on the grill and we ask that everyone bring a side dish or dessert to share. Please contact Leah with what you plan to bring so we can avoid duplicates. To RSVP there’s a sign up sheet on the bulletin board or email office@firstpresgreenbay.org. Hope to see you then!
Vacation Bible School reflections
Our VBS theme this year was Ready, Set, Move! Follow Jesus Here, There and Everywhere!
Ready, Set, Move Vacation Bible School was designed to inspire kids to: DO What He Says, BELIEVE Who He is, LOVE Who He loves, SHARE What he did, and GO Where He leads. We had 14 children attend this year with 12 volunteers helping out. We had 20 different obstacles in our obstacle course. Special thanks to all of our volunteers who made VBS such an amazing experience for everyone involved!
The Pantry thanks Treehouse Foods!
Treehouse Foods once again gifted our Pantry with soooo much food. This included graham crackers, salad dressing, pickles, macaroni and cheese and oatmeal. Treehouse has recently adopted our Pantry, and the workers and guests all say a big THANK YOU! Treehouse Foods has truly been a blessing to many.
August Brat Fry
Thank you to everyone who came out to support our August Brat Fry! The event was hosted by the Outreach Committee with the proceeds going to the Presbyterian Pantry. Thanks to everyone’s involvement we were able to raise $830 for the Pantry!
Rundowns will publish with our Connections issue on a monthly or bimonthly basis. To submit rundowns for consideration contact us at communications@firstpresgreenbay.org by the 15th of the month to be included in the following month’s publication. And, as always, we look forward to receiving your Rundown of what’s been Happening Now!
