Category: General

Congregational Meeting – June 11, 2023

Cheri Simonet
Congregational Meeting

The Session of First Presbyterian Church has called a meeting of the congregation for Sunday, June 11th immediately following the worship service.

The purpose of this meeting is to hear a report from the Nominating Committee and elect new elders and deacons to serve the church, and to approve changes to the By-laws.

The By-laws have been thoroughly reviewed and updated to reflect our current practices and future needs by a small task force of the Session and will be presented for discussion and approval at this meeting.

Ginney Amen Celebration of Life—June 9, 2023

Cheri Simonet
Celebration of Life

Please join us for Virginia (Ginney) Amen’s Celebration of Life on Friday, June 9th from 9am till 11am at the Lyndahl Funeral Home located at 1350 Lombardi Avenue.

Ginney died on December 26, 2022 at Unity Hospice having suffered a fall earlier in December which resulted in a broken hip. She spent almost a week at Bellin Hospital and then was transferred to Unity Hospice in order to keep her comfortable during her final days.

Born June 9, 1919, Ginney was a member at First Presbyterian all her life, and influenced many people and programs of the church over her 103 years. Thanks be to God!

On what would have been Ginney’s 104th birthday, June 9, 2023, the family is having a celebration of her life from 10am to 11am. She will be buried next to her sister, Winifred, at Pleasant Hill Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Unity Hospice or First Presbyterian Church in her memory.

2023 Vacation Bible School

Cheri Simonet
VBS Ready-Set-Move

August 7 – 10, 2023

The Christian Education Committee is excited to begin preparations for our 2023 Vacation Bible School! Our theme this year is Ready, Set, Move! Follow Jesus Here, There and Everywhere!

Ready, Set, Move Vacation Bible School will inspire kids to: DO What He Says, BELIEVE Who He is, LOVE Who He loves, SHARE What he did, and GO where He leads.

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 7 through 10. 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 ce@firstpresgreenbay.org.

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

Thank you, Volunteers!

Cheri Simonet
Volunteer Thanks

We don’t say thank you enough to all the generous hearts who complete our weekly worship experience!

Thank you to the Greeters that welcome us each week, thank you to the Ushers who prepare us for worship, thank you to the Readers who share God’s Word with us, and thank you to our Fellowship Hosts who make bringing our family together possible following worship.

If you’re interested in becoming a Greeter or a Reader, please contact Leah at (920) 437-8121 or email office@firstpresgreenbay.org.

To volunteer as an usher, please contact Judy Knutzen-Nerad at jlkn1947@gmail.com or call (920) 336-5678.

To become a Fellowship Host, our summer schedule sign up sheets are on the bulletin board for June, July and August. Sign up soon before the best Sundays are taken.

Thank you again, Volunteers, for all that you do!

Gestures of Generosity, June 2023

Cheri Simonet
Gestures of Generosity

Thank you for your Gesture!

It was a wonderful turnout and a delightful time to learn and share together in early May when the Generosity Team hosted The Rev. Kyle Nolan of the Presbyterian Foundation for our Legacy luncheon workshop. Thanks to all who attended and helped focus our attention on how to give in new and different ways to our church.

One attendee was inspired to go directly to their bank the next day and set up a special account that will come straight to the church upon their death. This is a restricted account that was opened with a particular amount of money, but can be added to over the years. What a gesture of generosity!

Other attendees liked the presenter’s suggestion that one way to think about leaving a legacy when dividing your estate is to consider the church as another “child.” This couple has three adult children among whom the estate will be divided—but as they are all doing fine for themselves, they’ve decided to add the church as a fourth recipient and let the kids know about the new plan. Again, a wonderful gesture of generosity!

We all took away a new understanding of the importance to our congregation of legacy gifts—how they have sustained us in the past, continue to do so today, and will provide for a long and healthy future for this church. The amount of your legacy gift doesn’t matter so much as the heart with which it is given: your generosity demonstrates your faith today and tomorrow as well.

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

June 2023 Rundown

Cheri Simonet
Monthly Rundown

Church Chix Socials

The Chix had an amazing May social, dining at Parker John’s. There were 9 Chix in attendance and what a memorable night of laughter it was! Our June social is planned for Thursday, June 1st at 6pm. We’ll dine at the Ten-O-One Club located at 1001 Main Street. To RSVP there’s a sign up sheet on the bulletin board or email office@firstpresgreenbay.org and we’ll save a seat at the table for you. Hope to see you then!

Christian Educator Sunday

We had a joyful time on May 21st when we celebrated our teachers and leaders during Christian Educator recognition Sunday. And, the puppet performance added an amazing experience to our worship service that was enjoyed by all. Thank you again to Brenda Hubbard, Lisa Olson, Sara Bostedt, Loni McCormick, Deb Gauthier, Stacy Bostedt, Olivia Crooks, Jessica Gauthier, DeShawn Estes Collins, Grace Estes Collins, Bobbi Holl, Jill Stenson, Nancy Siewert, Joel Morien and Katie Estes!

Letter Carriers and Boy Scout Food Drive

The Boy Scout food drive in April and the Letter Carriers drive in May sure filled our Pantry. The Pantry crew thanks all who helped pick-up, sort and put away all the food. The Outreach Committee really appreciates all your help and so do our Pantry guests! The many new items offered surely brings smiles to many.

Softball Stats

We had a grand slam time at our first game on May 21st but walked away with a disappointing loss of 17 to 20. Our spirits are still high though as we look forward to our next game on June 4 at 6:45, Field 2. We hope to see you there!

June 2023 – Faith Facts:

Cheri Simonet
Faith Facts

Our Name that Member! feature gave us the opportunity to learn just how well we really know each other, our Did you know? Tuesday Trivia! shows us how well we know our church but we’re pleased to ask yet another question—How well do we know our faith?

Well, we’re excited to tell you that our newest newsletter feature is Faith Facts: which aims to tell us just how well we know our faith. Our June Faith Facts is courtesy of Russ Christensen. Thank you, Russ, for your contribution!

Are you ready to play?

QUESTION:

Why is our altar not against the wall where they are located in most other churches?
(choose one or more of the following answers)

A) When it was against the wall, it blended in too well; its seen better where it currently is.

B) When communion was being served it always had to be pulled out from the wall for the minister to stand behind it. Once, someone forgot to place it back against the wall and because it looked good where it was, it stayed there.

C) Prior to remodeling in the 1950’s it was underneath the choir/organ balcony and the minister did not stand behind it.

D) Both A & B

E) A, B and C

F) None of the above

F – None of the above
Presbyterian churches don’t have altars. Altars indicate a place of sacrifice. Though some denominations do have altars, Presbyterians do not. We believe Christ was the ultimate sacrifice, and no others, or re-representations are needed. Presbyterians have a communion table as represented through Christ’s last supper. (Please stop calling it an altar….if you do.)

Did you guess correct, or did you learn something new?

Thanks for playing!

If you have Presbyterian faith facts to share, please contact Pastor Katie at kestes@firstpresgreenbay.org and become a contributor to an upcoming Faith Facts:

May 23, 2023 – Did you know?

Cheri Simonet
Did you know? Tuesday Trivia!

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!

Prior to the year 2000, what’s the longest term a pastor has served dating back to 1876?

  • 12 years
  • 22 years
  • 16 years

Answer:

Between 1876 and 2000 the longest term a pastor has served was 16 years. Rev. Elmon Ward served as pastor from 1970 to 1986. Rev H.E. Easly served 11 years from 1919 to 1930 and Rev. H.W. Knox served 10 years from 1907-1917.

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!

Worship Service May 21, 2023

Cheri Simonet

On this Seventh Sunday of Easter, our scriptures are Act 1:6-14 https://bit.ly/41T9MXG and Luke 11:1-13 https://bit.ly/3Ms5vF5. We recognize and show appreciation for our Christian Educators and Paster Katie’s reflection is “Who Taught You”. We welcome Jeff Verkuilen as our guest organist.

Worship Service May 14, 2023

Cheri Simonet

On this Sixth Sunday of Easter, we celebrate mothers and all who play a mothering role in our lives as we turn our attention to the gift of the Holy Spirit in John 14: 15-21 https://bit.ly/3LUWzHL and Pastor Katie’s reflection on “Anxiety and the Advocate.” We welcome a new substitute organist in Matthew Thorne.