Category: Children

Epiphany Sunday 2025

Cheri Simonet
Epiphany

Sunday, January 5th

There are twelve days of Christmas (and not just in the song with all the gifts from your true love!) and then the church calendar turns to Epiphany. This is the traditional day celebrating the arrival of the Magi to visit baby Jesus, but Biblical scholars tell us it was probably not just twelve days after his birth but maybe even a few years! We celebrate it as a whole season of the church year, all the way up until Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on March 5th this year.

The word “Epiphany” means revelation, showing forth. When we say we have an epiphany it means we suddenly recognize or understand something important. So during the season of Epiphany at church we celebrate the recognition and revelation of Jesus Christ and the light he brings to the world. 

For the last several years we have celebrated the season of Epiphany with a “star word”. A star word is a random word that becomes your prayer guide, your focus, your way to watch for God in the world. God can use anything to speak to us. There is nothing magic about a star word. But a star word begins as a mystery—you do not get to choose it. And so, it invites investigation, attentiveness, waiting. A star word orients you to watch for God in a particular way, to be receptive to the Spirit who is moving right now in the world around you.

On Sunday, January 5th our 10am worship celebration of Epiphany will include the distribution of “star words” for everyone present. Come and see what word might guide you in 2025!

2025 Cozy Kids Campaign

Cheri Simonet
Cozy Kids 2025

January 1st—31st

The Cozy Kids Campaign this year will benefit 265 children from nearby Lincoln Elementary School. Our community at First Presbyterian aims to keep those kids cozy with a collection of items needed this year of:

  • Stretchy pants size 5-7 and 6-8
  • Sweatpants size 5-7, 6-8 and 10-12
  • Gloves for boys (bigger is better)
  • Waterproof Gloves
  • Zip-up Sweatshirts size S/M/L
  • Chapstick
  • Wide-Lined Notebooks

Anything that will help the kids get through the winter would be greatly appreciated. All donations can be gently used – we’ll find a home for them.

Place the items – by January 31st – on the table at the back of the sanctuary.

Please help keep Lincoln Elementary School kids COZY this winter.

The Outreach Committee thanks you for your support!

Save-the-Date: Souper Bowl of Caring 2025

Cheri Simonet
Souper Bowl of Caring

February 9, 2025

As Super Bowl Sunday approaches that means it’s time for our 3rd annual Souper Bowl of Caring!

The Souper Bowl of Caring is the signature event for Tackle Hunger. This program boasts millions of dollars raised for food charities and thousands of mobilized groups across the country. We sponsor the Souper Bowl of Caring each year as it demonstrates the power of community mobilization and the importance of local action to Tackle Hunger.

Our #FirstPresGB Souper Bowl of Caring is led by the Christian Education Committee along with Youth Group and is held annually on Super Bowl Sunday. The event is meant to bring an awareness to hunger and to curb hunger through soup.

The cost will be $5/person and there will be 8 different soup stations for people to experience. Each soup sampler will have a chance to vote and judge our Souper Bowl winner. The awardee will receive the cherished Golden Ladle that’s passed on year over year to the awarded winner. The current Golden Ladle holder from our 2024 Souper Bowl of Caring is chef Cassandra Aceituno with her stuffed pepper soup.

More details will follow in February’s newsletter but in the meantime, we’re looking for 8 soup chefs to help us pull this off! All you need to do is craft a crock pot full of your favorite soup.

If you’re able to be one of our 8 soup chefs, please contact Director of Children, Youth and Families, Joel Morien, at ce@firstpresgreenbay.org or there’s a sign up sheet on the bulletin board.

2024 Advent Workshop

Cheri Simonet
Advent Workshop

Sunday, December 1st

“Advent” means coming or arrival. Rather than just waiting for Christmas to get here, we use the season of Advent to prepare for Christ’s coming. Advent begins this year on Sunday, December 1st and we will kick off the season with our annual Advent workshop following worship.

Open to all ages, this event will feature crafts, activities, and Kevin’s famous chili lunch. Brenda has designed some great crafts once again, including reindeer ornaments and Loni has an aroma therapy potpourri project for us to create. And of course, as always, we’ll have Loni’s cut-out cookies to decorate (and eat!).

New this year is a reverse Advent calendar. With this project we’ll provide you with a list of items and a box. For each day of Advent you’ll place an item from the list in the box and by Christmas you’ll have a full box of items that include dried and canned goods, hygiene items and cleaning supplies that you can then donate to a local pantry, homeless shelter or other organization that helps members of the community that are in need and less fortunate than ourselves. We believe that it’ll prove to be a very enriching experience for everyone.

Please join us for this all-church celebration.

Annual 2025 Ski Trip

Cheri Simonet
Annual Ski Trip

The snow has begun to fly so the time has come to have some fun on the slopes at our annual Ski Trip! This year we’ll once again be joined by our friends from First United Presbyterian Church of DePere.

And, although primarily coordinated with Youth Group, the ski trip is considered a family event so all are welcome to join!

Our ski destination is Ski Brule and we’ll be checking in on Friday, January 31st, checking out Saturday, February 1st at the Chicaugon Lake Inn. 

We will need a minimum of 20 skiers to take advantage of the Ski Brule group discount so spread the word to family, friends and neighbors. The more the merrier!

If you’re interested in joining the fun, please reach out to Loni McCormick at (920) 655-8258 or email pmccormick1@new.rr.com for our registration form.

We hope to see you on the slopes!

2024 Annual Pajamas and Carols Worship Service

Cheri Simonet
Christmas Pajamas Carol Sing & Worship Service

Sunday, December 29th

Ugly Sweater Christmas Carols Worship Service

Break out your favorite Christmas pajamas or ugly Christmas sweater or even just a festive tie—it has become our tradition to celebrate the Sunday between Christmas and the New Year by encouraging folks of all ages to wear pajamas or other seasonal garb to our 10am worship service!

The Worship committee will serve hot chocolate and donut holes BEFORE worship in the back of the Sanctuary. Our service will feature all the Christmas carols you want to sing one more time, and Bruce Deadman and friends on brass will add to our festivities.

Please join us!

World Communion Sunday and International Food Potluck

Cheri Simonet
World Communion Sunday

Sunday – October 6, 2024

World Communion Sunday began way back in 1930. The PC(USA) has long promoted this occasion with encouragement to its churches to not just offer “communion as usual”, but to explore the use of different breads, global music, and creative liturgy to enter into the spirit of the celebration and allow congregations a taste of the sacrament from our sisters and brothers around the world.

We will celebrate this year with Christian churches around the world as we share the sacrament together on Sunday, October 6th. Each tray passed will offer several different kinds of bread from which to choose, symbolizing different communities around the world who share the sacrament with us. We look forward to a special message in this service from Taylor Wittman, currently serving in the Peace Corps in Albania.

International Food Potluck

Following our celebration of World Communion on Sunday October 6th, the congregation is invited to a very special potluck lunch in Fellowship Room.

We will continue the global community emphasis by inviting your international food contributions for the potluck—plan to try out a new recipe or bring a favorite from your own ethnic background, but the point is to have a wide variety of foods from around the world as our lunch together. We first tried this last year and had a great time tasting Swedish meatballs, Greek lasagna, Indian curry and more.

Bring a label for your item with ingredients listed or make one with blanks provided here as you drop it off that morning. We want to inform everyone about what they can expect as we enjoy fellowship around the tables and sample foods we may have never tasted before!

Trunk-or-Treat 2024

Cheri Simonet

Has your neighborhood ‘aged out’ of trick-or-treating? Do you buy too much candy and then get stuck eating it all on your own? Or, are you happy enough to turn off your lights and hide in the basement on Halloween?

We have a deal for you!

It’s time for our 3rd annual Trunk-or-Treat when we seek to meet our neighbors and community where they are.

Trunk-or-Treat will happen in our church parking lot from

4:00—5:00 pm on Sunday, October 27th

The trunks of our cars will be open and decorated for the Halloween season, parked around the perimeter of the lot. Each car needs to be hosted by its owner. Children of this church and those from the neighborhood are invited to come trick-or-treat at our trunks, moving from one car to the next collecting treats and perhaps play a game or otherwise interact with each trunk host.

Sounds like fun, right? Now we need the trunks to make it happen!

With your trunk open and your heart wide, please volunteer to join us!

To participate, sign up on the bulletin board or call the church office at 920-437-8121 or email office@firstpresgreenbay.org to get on the list.

Check out a few trunks from our past Trunk-or-Treats!

  • Trunk-or-Treat 2022
  • Trunk-or-Treat 2022
  • Trunk-or-Treat 2022

Sunday School Begins September 8

Cheri Simonet
Sunday School

It’s back-to-school and back to Sunday School, too!

Sunday school class is for preschool through fifth grade children and begins on Sunday, September 8th. We leave the worship service at the conclusion of the children’s message and head upstairs to rooms 204/206 for a Bible story, lesson, craft or project, and prayer. All are welcome—bring a friend along!

This fall we’ll be using the Shine Curriculum. The lessons will include a bible story, discussion, sharing and craft activities. It’s easy to teach and easy to adjust for the ages and size of the group.

If you might be willing to teach a week or a month or more, please see Joel Morien.

Vacation Bible School 2024

Cheri Simonet
Vacation Bible School

August 5th thru 8th

The Christian Education Committee is excited to begin preparations for our 2024 Vacation Bible School! Our theme this year is We are God’s People.

We are God’s People will go through different stories in the bible that include Solomon from Solomon’s Temple, Jesus and the Resurrection, the man who was lowered through the roof for Jesus to heal, and on the final night our focus is We are the Body when we reflect on how we all have different gifts but together we form the body of Christ.

Bible School is led by members of our CE Committee and is open to children aged 4 through those who have completed fifth grade. Older children and youth are welcome to participate as volunteers. This year we have four fun-filled evenings planned from August 5 through 8. We ask that children are dropped off shortly before 5:30 so our light meal can begin at 5:30, and our evening ends with class concluding at 7:30.

This is an excellent opportunity for friends, neighbors, cousins, and grandchildren. Please spread the word to members and non-members alike, the more the merrier!

Registration is online only.

Register Now!

To volunteer or for questions please contact our Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries, Joel Morien, at (920) 437-8121 or email ce@firstpresgreenbay.org

We look forward to seeing the children at VBS in August!