Blog

Coming Soon in 2023 – Online Church Directory

Cheri Simonet
Instant Church Directory

View our church directory online or via the FREE mobile app.

The Communication and Technology team are hard at work getting our Online Church Directory all set up for its 2023 debut! Stay tuned for news on our Download App Parties and Picture Parties set to happen during Fellowship Hour in February and March, 2023.

Our Directory App Team will be on hand to help download the free mobile app available for download at the Apple App store in iTunes, Google Play store and the Amazon Fire App Store. Or if you like, don’t wait for the App Party – download your App today! Simply search for “Instant Church Directory” to get the download.

Want to join our Directory App Team? Contact us at communications@firstpresgreenbay.org and join the party!

Our Church Directory will be powered by Instant Church Directory.

Instant Church Directory

December 19, 2022 Name that Member BIG REVEAL!

Cheri Simonet
Name that Member

Earlier this week we featured our Monday Member Spotlight Name that Member through email and on our social media and now it’s time for the BIG REVEAL! In case you missed it, here’s our Member’s story:

  • I was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
  • My favorite childhood memories was being a leprechaun in the St. Patrick’s Day play in elementary school.
  • I am married with two kids (son and daughter).
  • I have one sister and no brothers.
  • My favorite thing to do is to travel.
  • What I love most about being a member of this church is the people–we have such a wonderful community of people in the church.
  • I’ve been a member of our church for my entire life.
  • My favorite place to visit is Walt Disney World.
  • I’m most passionate about my family. Even though my kids are “adults” I am very passionate about my family.
  • I failed my driver’s test miserably–I didn’t even make it out of the parking stall on my first try. Must have been the shortest driver’s test on record.

Who am I?

Do you give up?

I’m Amy Wittman!

Betcha didn’t know all that about Amy, did you?

But more importantly – are you comfortable with Amy driving your carpool?

Tell us your story! Complete our Name that Member Form or email csimonet@firstpresgreenbay.org so you can be featured in an upcoming Monday Member Spotlight of Name that Member!

January 2023 Gestures of Generosity

Cheri Simonet
Gestures of Generosity 2022

Thank you for your Gesture!

One of the greatest gestures of generosity that any one person can give is the gift of themselves in the service of others. Judy Knutsen-Nerad is that person filled with Gestures of Generosity. She is selfless in the time, energy and effort she brings to our office whenever the need arises.

In early December, Leah took ill for more than a week and without hesitation, Judy quickly stepped in to fill the void. Whether it be answering the phone, receiving visitors, putting together the bulletin or working on the newsletter, throughout the year Judy doesn’t hesitate in the least to help when called and always with heartwarming smiles. Judy’s positive energy never falters and we’re all so thankful for how she gives so generously of her time and talent. THANK YOU, Judy, for your ongoing Gestures of Generosity!

Merry Christmas from Red Lobster! by Stephanie Fahringer

Gestures of Generosity

Meet James… James is Manager of Red Lobster on Lombardi Ave. Red Lobster donates frozen potatoes & Red Lobster biscuits for our pantry on a weekly basis.

For this Christmas season James & his entire crew donated nearly $600.00 of toys for our Toy Shop with a huge resounding MERRY CHRISTMAS from our Red Lobster crew!!

I am overwhelmed by the kindness & generosity displayed. James delivered them to our church & made sure I saw the guitar that he picked out!
A huge THANK YOU to all of your crew & may you all have a BLESSED & BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS! AMEN

Socks of Love receives some unsolicited Love

A new element of our annual Advent Workshop was a service project called “Socks of Love.” We collected donations of travel-sized toiletries and other items that might benefit people experiencing homelessness in our community, then stuffed them into a pair of warm wool socks. Thanks to all who contributed to filling these socks of love. An extremely generous financial contribution came in through our online giving portal to support this project as well, so we’ll be making more Socks of Love soon—thank you to our secret supporter!

We’d love to include your story in one of our upcoming Gestures of Generosity newsletter columns.

If you have a Gestures of Generosity story to share, please contact Cheri at communications@firstpresgreenbay.org.

January 2023 Rundown

Cheri Simonet
Monthly Rundown

FMSC is a WINNER and awarded $10,000!

Thank you to all who voted in Thrivent Financial’s “Carols for a Cause” contest! We placed third so our Feed My Starving Children: Green Bay MobilePack will receive $10,000. That’s over 41,600 meals for children in need! It also means that our 2022 fundraising goal has now been met and we have started raising money to kick off the efforts for 2023. We are so incredibly grateful to the team at Thrivent for selecting our organization to be a part of this amazing contest and for their generous support, not only of our cause, but others from the Green Bay area as well.

Advent Workshop

We kicked off the Advent season with a wonderful chili lunch and workshop to get us all in the mood for the Christmas season. Cookies were decorated and eaten, candles were crafted, and hot chocolate spoons were created for gift-giving. We stuffed 48 pair of wool socks with necessary toiletries and other goodies for people experiencing homelessness. What a great day! Thank you to everyone who participated in this wonderful event.

Christmas Prayer Baskets

Our three adopted families had a beautiful Christmas thanks to so many wonderful people! All the tags were taken from our baskets to fill each family’s wish lists. Many people within the church and several outside of our church helped make this possible. The Outreach Committee thanks everyone so much for the wonderful presents and for spreading joy!

Toy Shop

This year’s Toy Shop on December 13th for our Pantry guests was a great success! We served 51 families and gave away toys for 221 kids! Thank you to everyone for your generous support with monetary gifts and toys, and special THANKS to our elves that were personal shoppers. Thanks to everyone’s support there’s 221 kids who found presents under the tree on Christmas morning!

Youth Lock-In

Our Youth had a great time with their annual lock-in on December 16th! Presents were wrapped for our three adopted families for our annual prayer basket campaign. There was Christmas trivia with prizes and one of the prizes was a 1 pound gummy bear! Who wouldn’t be happy to win a 1 pound gummy bear as a prize? It was a wonderful time of fellowship. As youth wrapped for our adopted families, they were reminded just how fortunate we are to have presents under our own trees and grateful for the opportunity to help others in need.

Winter Storm Notification

Cheri Simonet
Winter Storm Notification

It’s that time of year when winter storms may dictate our time to worship or whether other church events will happen as planned. The decision to cancel or delay is based on taking several conditions into consideration:

  • Reports on area road conditions
  • Forecasts of storm continuation
  • Predicted snow accumulations, temperature, and wind chill
  • Predicted ability of the contracted crew to keep the Church parking lot cleared
  • Conditions of city streets (are they open enough to allow access to the Church)

Please visit our Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates. We also contact all the media in our area so please watch the ticker at the bottom of the screen for updates on delays or cancellations.

December 5, 2022 Name that Member BIG REVEAL!

Cheri Simonet
Name that Member

Earlier this week we featured our Monday Member Spotlight Name that Member through email and on our social media and now it’s time for the BIG REVEAL! In case you missed it, here’s our Member’s story:

  • I was born and raised in Green Bay.
  • Until I was about 14, I spent all my summers at our cottage in Southern Door County. It was idyllic.
  • I’m an only child, but am very close to cousins on both sides of my family.
  • I have 2 grown sons and 5 grandkids.
  • What I aspire to do most in the world is to make a difference.
  • At first what I loved most about being part of this church was the music and the camaraderie, but now I think it’s the opportunity to explore my faith with our church family.
  • I’ve been a member of the church for 15 years.
  • I have been fortunate to have done my share of traveling. My favorite places include Savannah, Charleston and Great Britain.
  • What I’m most passionate about is making a difference.
  • I was once quite a serious stamp collector.
  • If I tell you more everyone will know who I am! (I was purposely circumspect in my answers.)

Who am I?

Do you give up?

I’m Bruce Deadman!

Did I stump you or give too much away? I consider myself to be a wide open book.

Tell us your story! Complete our Name that Member Form or email csimonet@firstpresgreenbay.org so you can be featured in an upcoming Monday Member Spotlight of Name that Member!

November 21, 2022 Name that Member BIG REVEAL!

Cheri Simonet
Name that Member

Earlier this week we featured our Monday Member Spotlight Name that Member through email and on our social media and now it’s time for the BIG REVEAL! In case you missed it, here’s our Member’s story:

  • I was born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
  • My favorite childhood memories were being able to fly a plane and I went on three cruises.
  • I am the 3rd generation of my family that belongs to this church.
  • My favorite thing to do is hang out with friends and family.
  • What I love most about being a member of this church is that I get to be included in lots of things.
  • I’ve been a member of our church for 12 years.
  • My favorite place to visit is my cabin in Northern Wisconsin and it’s my favorite spot in the world!
  • I’m most passionate about my service to my country.
  • I have Morton’s toe (my big toe is shorter than my middle toe).
  • I’m a 2nd degree black belt in karate.
  • My best friend is the son of the pastor at another Presbyterian Church.

Who am I?

Do you give up?

I’m Elliott Stenson!

Did you guess correct? What gave it away? Was it the Morton’s toe?

Tell us your story! Complete our Name that Member Form or email csimonet@firstpresgreenbay.org so you can be featured in an upcoming Monday Member Spotlight of Name that Member!

Gestures of Generosity – Thanksgiving Blessings

Cheri Simonet
Gestures of Generosity Presbyterian Pantry

By Stephanie Fahringer

A car pulled up in the alley as I was unloading my jeep full of pantry Thanksgiving turkeys. The driver got out and asked if he could deliver some items he just bought for the Pantry.

This gentleman is a former Pantry guest and just wanted to say,

“Thanks for all the Presbyterian Pantry has done for me”.

I told him a HUGE THANK YOU and God Bless You!

Its Gestures of Generosity like this that make our community of faith what it is.

Gestures of Generosity is a new feature to our Connections newsletter. If you have a Gesture of Generosity that you’d like to share with our community, please contact Cheri at communications@firstpresgreenbay.org.

And, thank you to all who returned their 2023 Gestures of Generosity Pledge Cards. If you haven’t done so already, please return your pledge card as soon as possible. Thank you in advance for your generous support of our Gestures of Generosity campaign!

December 2022 Rundown

Cheri Simonet
Monthly Rundown

Trunk-or-Treat

Ten decorated trunks, 50+ costumed guests, and hundreds of tasty treats! Our first annual Trunk or Treat was a spooky success. Thanks to all who hosted a trunk and all who turned out for treats!

Thanksgiving with our friends at First United

A glorious joint service of thanksgiving was held on Saturday November 19, 2022 at First United Presbyterian Church in De Pere with more than 75 people present from the two congregations. The service was followed by a delicious turkey dinner for everyone present. We raised $366.48 in free will offering, plus a grocery cart of canned good for the Presbyterian Pantry. Thank you, everyone, for your generous support!

November 7, 2022 Name that Member BIG REVEAL!

Cheri Simonet
Name that Member

Earlier this week we featured our Monday Member Spotlight Name that Member through email and on our social media and now it’s time for the BIG REVEAL! In case you missed it, here’s our Member’s story:

  • I was born and raised in Southeast Wisconsin.
  • Growing up, my family loved to camp, and my siblings and I would line up tallest to smallest and sing songs from the Sound of Music for the campers.
  • I have seven brothers and one sister.
  • I DID NOT marry my high school sweetheart.
  • I LOVE to eat sweets! Chocolate cake with buttercream frosting is the best but I do love a powdered paczki.
  • I love how our congregation fellowships together. Especially during potluck lunches!
  • I have been a member of the church for 32 years.
  • My favorite vacation was in Italy visiting the Vatican, seeing the Statue of David, and then being in Assisi. Assisi is one of the most beautiful places ever!
  • What I’m most passionate about is my family.
  • When I was in college, I punched a guy in the face for picking on my friend.
  • I LOVE STEAK and DURKE FRIED ONIONS!
  • I love to sit on the beach in the sun.

Who am I?

Do you give up?

I’m Loni McCormick!

Did you guess correct? What gave it away?

Tell us your story! Complete our Name that Member Form or email csimonet@firstpresgreenbay.org so you can be featured in an upcoming Monday Member Spotlight of Name that Member!