Category: General

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.

Association of Partners in Christian Education Annual Event 2025

Cheri Simonet
APCE 2025 Logo

Pastor Katie and CE Director, Joel Morien, are both looking forward to attending the annual conference of the Association of Partners in Christian Education later this month. The event will be held in Memphis this year, taking place over four days at the Peabody Hotel, where the ducks inspired by the classic book Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey take a daily walk from their rooftop duck palace to the fountain in the hotel lobby. There’s even a red carpet for them to walk!

Wrestling With God and Church Toward a More Beloved Community is the theme of this year’s conference which will feature 60+ workshops for pastors, educators, and youth leaders. Keynote speakers and preachers will provide plenary sessions and daily worship services.

Thank you for making this continuing education opportunity possible for our staff!  

January 2025 Rundown

Cheri Simonet
Monthly Rundown

Advent Workshop

Our annual Advent Workshop was another wonderful event! We had great crafts including a reindeer ornament designed by Brenda Hubbard, Kevin Kabacinski’s famous chili lunch and Loni McCormick’s cut out cookies to decorate and eat. New this year was a reverse Advent Calendar which we’re sure will provide an enriching experience to everyone this holiday season. Other activities included making a seasonal potpourri to warm on the stove and a Christmas card making table hosted by Nancy Siewert. Thanks to everyone who was able to join us!

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! Special thanks to our family coordinators: Stephanie Fahringer and Deb Shober for the Angel Family, Kris Walker and family for the Jesus Family, and Pat and Katie McCormick for the Star Family. A large fleece blanket was given for each family and each child received their own fleece blanket too.

Red Lobster Thank You!

A BIG thank you to Red Lobster Managers, James and Bridget, and for their team’s generous donations to our Toy Shop of more than 50 toys! Each year we’re blessed with their generosity and this year there was another 2 overflowing dollies with toys. Not only do they pay for all those toys they also shop and then deliver them to our church! Red Lobster also donates frozen potatoes, salmon and Red Lobster biscuits on a weekly basis to our Pantry.

  • Red Lobster Toy Shop Gifts
  • Red Lobster Toy Shop Gifts

Toy Shop

This year’s Toy Shop on December 10th for our Pantry guests was a great success! We served 74 families and gave away toys for 301 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 301 kids who found presents under the tree on Christmas morning! Check out our photo gallery!

Toy Shop 2025
Toy Shop 2025
Toy Shop 2025
Toy Shop 2025

Youth Lock In

The Youth Group had their annual lock-in on the weekend of December 13th and wrapped all the Christmas Prayer Basket gifts. It was a great night of fellowship filled with games and fun plus reflection on how fortunate we are for all the gifts in our life. Special thanks to our chaperones—Olivia Crooks, Deb Gauthier and George Hubbard—who helped wrap gifts and made the lock-in possible!

Rundowns will publish with our Connections issue on a monthly or bimonthly basis. To submit rundowns for consideration contact us at communications@firstpresgreenbay.org by the 15th of the month to be included in the following month’s publication. And, as always, we look forward to receiving your Rundown of what’s been Happening Now!

First Presbyterian Church Sesquicentennial

Cheri Simonet
150th Anniversary

Celebrating how we got here!!

The 150th Anniversary of our church is May 2, 2026. It’s time to plan our celebrations!! We have set dates for our big event (place to be determined) for Saturday, May 2, 2026 and our celebratory church service on Sunday, May 3, 2026. Please save those dates on your calendar.

We are looking for logo ideas.

  • The logo colors will be gold and black. Ideas for a logo don’t need to be in their final form. We have people who can assist you in bringing your ideas to life either by putting them on paper for you or putting on the finishing touches.
  • Things you might want to include as part of the logo are our church name, dates of the anniversary (1876-2026), 150th Anniversary.
  • The logo needs to be simple and look good in different sizes since it will be used in a variety of ways – invitations, banners, clothing, and much more.
  • Logo ideas need to be submitted to the church office by January 23, 2025 so there will be time to put the finishing touches on your idea. The Steering Committee will make their decision in February.

If you have old pictures or articles about our church’s life and are willing to share them, please let the history committee know. All pictures and articles will be returned to you.

We are very excited about planning for our 150th Anniversary – we have a lot to celebrate. Events are in the works and we would like to have everyone involved in making this a special time of celebration for our church.

150th Anniversary Committees are looking for members, so if you have an interest in a special area, please contact a co-chair.

Sesquicentennial Committees

Worship Service December 15, 2024

Cheri Simonet

On this third Sunday of Advent, we welcome the Griffon String Quartet to provide special music in worship. Our children will also sing, and Jeff Verkuilen will substitute at the organ. Our From the Manger theme will have us consider how joy comes from the manger. Texts include Isaiah 12: 2-6 https://bit.ly/3PbBJpX and Luke 2: 8-20 https://bit.ly/3ZuCIpW and the sermon title is “Stirring Up Joy.”

Worship Service December 8, 2024

Cheri Simonet

On this Second Sunday in Advent, we continue our series on what comes From the Manger with a look at Luke 2: 8-16 https://bit.ly/49klVKs and Luke 10: 1-6 https://bit.ly/3OFugPq to discover how PEACE comes. Pastor Katie’s sermon is “The Peace of Christ.”

Worship Service December 1, 2024

Cheri Simonet

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent! Our Advent theme has us considering what comes From the Manger: hope, peace, love, and joy. We will light the first candle on our Advent wreath as we look to Luke 2: 1-7 https://bit.ly/3ZoYj46 and see how the birth of the Savior brings hope to a weary world.

Thanksgiving Worship Service November 25, 2024

Cheri Simonet

Please join us for our Thanksgiving Worship Service when we celebrate with members of First United Presbyterian in DePere and Wequiock Presbyterian. With members from each church we have a full choir of 22 singers.

December 2024 Rundown

Cheri Simonet
Monthly Rundown

Commitment Sunday Dinner

What a glorious Sunday to IMAGINE our future together! November 10 was our Generosity Commitment Sunday and we had a grand time. Jesse Nummelin of the Griffon Strings blessed us with special cello pieces and many pledges for the 2025 budget were submitted. Everyone enjoyed a delicious pork loin dinner in Banner Hall that was catered by Renard’s, and Jane Bies’ cupcakes were better than ever. Thanks to all!

Thanksgiving Worship Service & Dinner Celebration

Thanksgiving worship on Monday, November 25th was a wonderful chance to gather with members and friends from this church and First United Presbyterian in DePere and Wequiock Presbyterian. We had 83 people in attendance and a full choir of 22 singers, and we enjoyed a beautiful piece by the handbell choir from DePere as well. Apple, pumpkin, and pecan pies were featured during our time of fellowship.

Confirmation Sunday

Confirmation Sunday was a joyful celebration on November 24th with four young people confirming the faith into which their parents baptized them. We welcome Maame Yaa Berko, Alaina Erickson, Vic Jimenez, and Elliott Stenson as full members of the church. Cupcakes were enjoyed following the service—thanks, Jane!

Rundowns will publish with our Connections issue on a monthly or bimonthly basis. To submit rundowns for consideration contact us at communications@firstpresgreenbay.org by the 15th of the month to be included in the following month’s publication. And, as always, we look forward to receiving your Rundown of what’s been Happening Now!

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.