November 21, 2022 Name that Member BIG REVEAL!

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

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

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!

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!

Final Gesture of Generosity – Planned Giving

What does it mean to be a generous person? During this season of giving we’ve explored how we’ve been called to be generous in our lives of faith: our gestures of generosity.

But, what about when our life has ended? Does our generosity end as well? This can actually be a time when we make one of our strongest statements about our faith!

Do you have a will? In addition to your family members, have you named organizations that will continue doing the work you value? Have you included the church in that list?

Gifts like these provide a tremendous opportunity for you to make a powerful statement about your faith. As a loyal giver throughout your lifetime, making a planned gift allows you to continue showing your faith even after you’re gone.

Planned gifts often enable you to make a larger donation. Most annual gifts come from income. Planned gifts come from your accumulated assets when they are no longer needed, allowing you to make a final larger gift.

Planned gifts allow you to maintain the work of the church. A gift from your estate will keep giving over a longer period of time. What could bring greater satisfaction now than knowing your resources are continuing to benefit others after you’re no longer here?

And, planned gifts allow you to establish a permanent living memorial for you or loved ones. Few remembrances are as lasting or meaningful as a living memorial that continues to minister to others in Christ’s name for generations to come.

Our church has been blessed with some very faithful givers – providing a final tribute to enable us to continue our mission.

One of those we celebrate every year on the first Sunday in March. The Augusta Jeffrey Award was a planned gift established to honor Augusta Jeffrey, a fervent volunteer and church member, while also recognizing the volunteer efforts of other church members. The money from the gift goes to support a ministry of the church of that year’s award recipient’s choosing. Over the years, many of our church members have been honored by this thoughtful and planned gift.

Other members have also thought of the church with one last gesture of generosity. Some have given from their estate, Russ and Margaret Leicht gifted us their cottage on the bay that we could later sell, and Lucia Stanfield wanted us to “dream big” with her dream fund to enable us do something that we might not otherwise be able to do without her gift.

Recently, Gene Reynolds promised to remember our church in his estate. Many years ago he purchased life insurance to provide for his wife Joan and their children. Because that financial assistance is no longer necessary, Gene has decided to honor Joan’s life and service to the church by making us the beneficiary of that policy. Gene’s thoughtful gift in memory of Joan will be used to help people in need, either through our pantry, Tank School, or by enhancing our church’s audio system to improve the worship experience for all, and especially those with hearing-related needs.

What does it mean to be a generous person? Studies often talk about characteristics like altruism, enthusiasm, energy, gratefulness, humbleness, optimism and patience.

While all these traits are probably accurate, John the Evangelist, boils it down to a single word: Love.

16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters. 17 How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? 18 Little children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth.

1 John 3:16-18

Let these words be your guide as you show your gestures of generosity both in the coming year and for the many years to come.

FMSC 2022 MobilePack Rundown

FMSC MobilePack

The 2022 Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) Mobilepack was a great success during the week of October 3rd! 

Over 614,520 meals were packed during the Mobilepack, which will feed 1683 kids for an entire year!! 

There were over 2,800 volunteers that came to pack food during the 10 different packing sessions. There were also 75 different event support volunteers from the churches that worked in greeting, registration, and roving to make sure everything ran smoothly.

While the Green Bay Mobilepack is finished for the year, we are still in need of donations to help cover the cost of the food that was packed. 

Please prayerfully consider a generous donation to this worthy cause. Select FMSC in the dropdown menu and Donate Now!

And, check out our 2022 Photo Gallery!

Thank you for your support!

YouTube Channel Debut – Subscribe Today!

The Communications and Technology committee is excited to share that our @FirstPresGB YouTube channel has debuted!

Please visit First Presbyterian Church of Green Bay – YouTube to watch the latest and greatest from our video gallery, and while you’re out there please SUBSCRIBE!

Our complete collection of Gestures of Generosity videos are on the channel for your viewing. Our first video, Motivations for Giving, was shared during worship earlier in October. Even if you viewed the videos when they premiered during worship, they’re worth viewing again so please visit our channel. And, if you missed it in worship you haven’t missed out altogether – visit our channel!

Thanks to our videographer, Tom Shoffelman, for your incredible, creative, talent! And, although our Gestures of Generosity videos are complete and commitment Sunday has passed, it’s not too late to turn in your pledge card so please send those in soon.

Our worship video archive will remain housed on our Facebook Livestream video archive.

Reading Corner – What Kind of Christianity

What Kind of Christianity

A History of Slavery and Anti-Black Racism in the Presbyterian Church

Like most Americans, Presbyterians in the United States know woefully little about the history of slavery and the rise of anti-Black racism in our country. Most think of slavery as a tragedy that “just happened” without considering how it happened and who was involved.

In What Kind of Christianity William Yoo paints an accurate picture of the complicity of the majority of Presbyterians in promoting, supporting, or willfully ignoring the enslavement of other human beings. Most Presbyterians knew of the widespread physical and sexual violence that enslavers visited on the enslaved, and either approved of it or did nothing to prevent it. Most Presbyterians in the nineteenth century-whether in the South or the North–held racist attitudes toward African Americans and put those attitudes into daily application.

In short, during that period when the Presbyterian church was establishing itself as a central part of American life most of its members were promoting slavery and anti-Black racism. In this important book William Yoo demonstrates that to understand how Presbyterian Christians can promote racial justice today, they must first understand and acknowledge how deeply racial injustice is embedded in their history and identity as a denomination.

November 2022 Rundown

Monthly Rundown

Congratulations Eric Sperduto!

Aaron and Jody Sperduto’s son, Eric, was recognized in October by the Green Bay West Rotary Club as one of their Students of the Month. Eric is a senior at Pulaski High School. Congratulations on your accomplishment, Eric!

Fall Clean-up THANKS!

We couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful fall day to do our fall clean-up! It was sunny, warm and in the 70’s which made our chores feel far less chore like. The yard was cleaned up and the windows were washed. So much was accomplished thanks to the help of our amazing volunteers—Pat McCormick and his granddaughter, Grace, Pete Blashka, Dave and Lisa Solper, Judy Knutzen-Nerad, Kirke Ryder (our magician on windows), Joel Morien and John Belanger. Mary says a big THANK YOU to one and all! We couldn’t have gotten it done without you!

BURM Conference

What can be said about connecting with our partners in Russia, the Christians in Ukraine who are suffering from the war, the refugees in Belarus who are being used as pawns in a political game, the authoritarian regimes that are rising to political power in Europe and elsewhere, and the fact that we’re fighting wars over access to fossil fuels that are also degrading our planet?

Lots can be said, and lots was said – we learned so much at the Belarus, Ukraine, Russia Mission (BURM) Network conference October 6-8. We were honored to host the event in-person and virtually via our Facebook Livestream. There was a LOT of great information. Ellen Smith, our mission co-worker shared her recent newsletter telling us about how refugees in Belarus are at risk and details about her recent travels. Everyone walked away with a better understanding of the region, its challenges and what we can do to get involved. For more visit BURM 2022 Network Conference Rundown.

Confirmation Class and Apple Crisps

On Sunday, October 23 our Confirmation Class gathered to make and bake apple crisps for some of our homebound members. There were lots of apples to peel and dice, LOTS—dozens of apples. Later that afternoon the crisps were delivered to great acclaim and appreciation. Thank you to our confirmation class for your outreach efforts!

Generosity Defined

What does it mean to be a generous person? Generosity is defined as the spirit and action of freely and frequently giving to others.

During this season of giving – as we contemplate our own pledge to the church for the coming year – we’re exploring how we’ve been called to be generous in our lives of faith. After all, Jesus talked about generosity often in his parables and sermons.

Did you know that giving is actually good for you? There’s science to back this idea up! Studies have shown that giving of your time, your talent and your treasure benefits the giver in multiple ways:


Giving makes us feel happy; it actually activates regions of the brain associated with pleasure and releases endorphins which improve our sense of well-being.
• Giving is good for our health. It’s been shown to lessen stress, a risk factor for high blood pressure, heart disease, and other conditions.
• And giving is contagious. Think about our pay it forward campaign from a few years ago and the people who picked up on the idea and did something similar.

But don’t just take science’s word for it. Listen to what your fellow church members have to say about how giving has positively affected their lives.

Kirke Ryder says that being generous – whether it be through the giving of his time, money or expertise – makes him feel happier because he knows he’s helping make the world be a better place. He says he finds it very rewarding, pointing to his support of Feed My Starving Children for the past nine years. Knowing that he’s helped feed countless children and turned their lives around for the better is a feeling of joy that Kirke says can’t be matched.

Judy Knutzen-Nerad knows that exact same feeling. She says being generous gives her tremendous joy because she knows she’s making a difference in someone else’s life. Even more than the tangible gift being given, Judy believes it’s the love the person feels that’s the real benefit, knowing that someone cares and that they are not alone in their time of need.

Even the smallest among us understands this joy. Loni McCormick’s granddaughter Grace recently gave her a gift of love that warms both their hearts. Grace spent an entire afternoon drawing Loni a picture, and then cutting it up into little pieces and placing them in a Valentine box. Grace wanted Loni to have all those little pieces of her artwork because she knew they would make Grandma happy and show how much she loved her. The box sits on Loni’s headboard, quietly awaiting the next gift of specialness from Grandma’s sweet girl.

In economic terms, giving means we have less than what we started with, but science, the Bible and our fellow church members teach us that when we give to others, we gain. In Acts chapter 20, verse 35 we hear the words of Jesus who said, “It is more blessed to give than receive.” This heartwarming quote reminds us that giving to the church to help us fulfill our mission can bring a great sense of fulfillment and joy to the giver.

The story of Jesus’ ministry is filled with examples of generosity. Jesus sets a high standard of giving and caring for others. As we learn how to adopt gestures of generosity, let us continue to look to Jesus as the ultimate expression of generosity and sacrifice.