Category: Events

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.

January 2025 Fourth Sunday Forum

Cheri Simonet
Fourth Sunday Forum

Sunday, January 26th

Please join us for our January Fourth Sunday Forum which takes place at 9am before worship on Sunday, January 26th.

Our speaker for the month will be Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges who’ll present Finding Awe in Everyday Moments: Boosting mental health and happiness.

In this forum, Georjeanna will explore the profound impact of experiencing awe in our daily lives.  By paying attention to the beauty around us – whether it’s a blooming flower, a child’s laughter or a stunning sunset – we can create small moments of awe that significantly boost our mental health and cognitive functions.  Join us as Georjeanna delves into practical ways to cultivate these moments, fostering a more joyful and mentally enriching environment for everyone.  Let’s discover how the simple act of noticing can transform our well-being and bring a sense of wonder to our everyday lives.

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.

Christmas Eve 2024

Cheri Simonet
Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve worship service will be held at 6:00pm on Tuesday, December 24th in the sanctuary.

Adult and children’s choirs will sing, the children’s message will be an extended story time, and familiar carols will be sung. Bring your family and friends to celebrate this special evening together.

2024 Blue Christmas

Cheri Simonet
Blue Christmas

Thursday, December 12th at 6pm

For any of us who have experienced loss or are in the midst of struggles, the holidays can be a particularly painful time, stirring up grief in acute ways. As a result, churches of every denomination and style have adopted the practice of a “Blue Christmas” service. We continue this tradition with a Blue Christmas service on Thursday, December 12th at 6:00pm in the sanctuary.

This time of worship is designed to provide space for prayer, reflection, and remembrance in the midst of the holiday hustle and bustle. It will include special music, candle lighting, and the sacrament of holy communion.

All are welcome to join us for this contemplative service of worship. A dessert reception will follow in the Fellowship Room. Invite a friend or neighbor!

2024 Christmas Toy Shop

Cheri Simonet
Christmas Toy Shop

This year our Toy Shop, that benefits Pantry guests, will be held on Tuesday, December 10th. Please consider donating toys to support our cause.

Toys are needed for ages 2 through 18 years old and should be dropped off before Sunday, December 8th. Please place your unwrapped donations in the toy chest that’s at the bottom of the Sanctuary stairs.

And for those not interested in shopping, you can contribute with a monetary gift by selecting the Pantry Toy Shop Fund through our online giving portal at Give Now – First Presbyterian Church Green Bay or send a check to the office at 200 S. Ashland Avenue, 54302 and note Toy Shop in the memo line.

As guests arrive for the Pantry between 10am and noon, they’ll receive a slip of paper to shop the toy shop. We’re in need of 3-4 of Santa’s elves to be personal shoppers for our guests.

Personal shoppers will assist our guests to choose from the age-appropriate selection of toys. If you’re able to help as a personal shopper elf, please call Jane Bies at 920-621-6400.

Thank you for your support and for helping us make a Merrier Christmas for those in need!

Youth Group 2024 Lock-in

Cheri Simonet
Youth Group

It’s time once again for our Annual Youth Group Lock-in! This annual tradition started many, many years ago with the task of wrapping Christmas gifts for Tank Elementary School families that our church previously adopted for Christmas each year.

Christmas Baskets

The Christmas Prayer Basket campaign, supported by the Outreach Committee, selects three families to adopt each year and this year its from nearby Lincoln Elementary School. We obtain wish lists for the children and adults in each family and those wishes are placed in three separate baskets on the table in the back of the Narthex. Congregation members select from the tags and return gifts unwrapped to the church by Thursday, December 12th. And the following night of the 13th is when our Youth Group gathers in the Memorial Room to wrap the dozens on dozens of presents generously donated by our members.

Although the primary purpose for the youth getting together is to wrap all those presents, the larger picture is having our youth connect with the local community and with those who’re less fortunate than us. Our youth focus on seeing those who are sometimes forgotten and unseen during the busy hustle and bustle of the Holiday season. The lock-in is the fun part of it but moreover youth draw a connection to how fortunate we are to be blessed in so many ways. It’s easy to take for granted our blessings and there’s no better time of year than Christmas to reflect, remember and give thanks for all those blessings.

We gather at 6:30p on Friday, December 13th to wrap, retire to the youth group room for our sleepover and return home the following morning after breakfast. It’s a memorable and rewarding experience for all who participate. If you’d like to know more or get involved in this year’s lock-in, please contact Joel Morien at ce@firstpresgreenbay.org. And thank you to all our members who will generously donate those gifts for the youth to wrap!

December 2024 Fourth Sunday Forum

Cheri Simonet
Christmas Around The World Fourth Sunday Forum

Sunday, December 22nd

Please join us on Sunday, December 22nd before worship at 9am in the Fellowship Room for our monthly Fourth Sunday Forum!

For the month of December our featured speaker will be Loni McCormick and her presentation will focus on Christmas Characters Around the World.

During the Forum you’ll learn how different cultures and countries celebrate Christmas Characters. So many rich traditions and the stories behind how the tradition came about will be just some of what you’ll learn during Loni’s presentation. You may even walk away with some thoughts on new traditions to include in your own Christmas celebrations.

And, the forum wouldn’t be complete without festive Christmas treats and coffee to enjoy!

We hope to see you there!