Category: General

February 20, 2024 – 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!

When was the church dedicated to the worship of God?

A) 1876

B) 1881

C) 1873

Answer:

A) From December 20, 1876 press release *** “On Sunday December 24, 1876 at half past ten a.m. the First Presbyterian Church of Howard situated on Chestnut between Main and Hubbard will be dedicated to the worship of God. The Pastor, Rev. David Street, will deliver a discourse befitting the occasion and several ministers of the different churches in Fort Howard will be in attendance to assist in the ceremonies. It is expected that the services will be of an interesting nature.” ***

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 February 18, 2024

Cheri Simonet

On this First Sunday in Lent, we begin our emphasis on the discipleship of Peter with the story from Luke 5: 1-11 https://bit.ly/4bFo8Ro and Pastor Katie’s reflection “Peter: Resisting Abundance.”

Worship Service February 11, 2024

Cheri Simonet

This Sunday February 11th we celebrate the Transfiguration of Jesus. Our text is Mark 9: 2-9 https://bit.ly/483rJGd and Pastor Katie will reflect on “Contagious Glory.” Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges will share the solo “Here I Am.”

February 6, 2024 – 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!

What year was the mortgage burned?

A) 1945

B) 1950

C) 1955

Answer:

B) In 1951 our 75th Anniversary was celebrated under the pastorship of Rev. Arthur Adams who had come to us from Billings, Montana in February of the previous year. The Mortgage had been burned in April following his arrival.

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 February 4, 2024

Cheri Simonet

On this first Sunday in February, we are pleased to celebrate Scout Sunday and offer a blessing to the troop who meet in our church. Our scripture focus will be Isaiah 40: 21-31 https://bit.ly/3UsJP1f, and Pastor Katie’s message is “Compared to a Grasshopper”. We will share in the sacrament of holy communion, and we welcome Jeff Verkuilen as guest organist.

A Message from Pastor Katie

Cheri Simonet
Thank you

Dear members and friends of First Presbyterian:

My heart is full to overflowing. I cannot thank you enough for all the love and care you have shown to me over the last three weeks since the sudden and unexpected death of my beloved mom in Texas. I can’t imagine what those without a family of faith like this one do in such difficult times. To those who stepped up to fill in for me in leading Bible study, preaching the two Sundays I was away, and just managing the day-to-day, to those who sent cards and meals and gifts to help us with travel expenses and a memorial, and most especially to all who held us in prayer during this time, I am deeply grateful. My mom would have loved you just as I do. I’m only sorry she and my dad weren’t able to get here to meet you in person before she went on to her heavenly home. But she was often with us in worship, participating on the livestream and thereby extending this family of faith.

With love in Christ,

Katie   

Ash Wednesday 2024

Cheri Simonet
Ash Wednesday

February 14, 2024

What are you doing for Valentine’s Day this year? Want to avoid the crowded restaurants and skip the overpriced greeting cards?

Here’s a completely different option: Wednesday, February 14th is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. Lent is the forty days (not including Sundays) leading up to Easter, and is a time set aside in the church year to reflect on our Christian walk.

An Ash Wednesday worship service will be held virtually via our Facebook Livestream and in person at 6:30pm on February 14th in the Sanctuary, and features candlelight, scripture, contemplative music and the imposition of ashes on each person’s forehead as a reminder of our own mortality. We wear ashes not to brag about our humility or piety, but to mark ourselves as part of the community of faith and recognize how far we are from God’s will for us. While some feel like this is primarily a Roman Catholic practice, the distribution of ashes has been a part of Protestant and Reformed traditions for many years.

Please come join in the family of faith as we begin our Lenten journey together.

Scout Sunday

Cheri Simonet
Scouts of America Logo

February 4, 2024

Calling all scouts: young, old, and in-between!

The first Sunday of February is set aside as a day to lift up and celebrate scouting in our midst.

We have invited the scout troop who meet in our facility to join us for worship at 10am and we will recognize them and offer a blessing. We also hope to include others in our congregation who are currently involved or have been involved in the past in the Scouts program.

If you were or are a Scout, please wear your shirt or other garb and help us in this celebration.

Souper Bowl of Caring 2024

Cheri Simonet
Souper Bowl of Caring

February 11, 2024

As Super Bowl Sunday approaches that means it’s time for our annual Souper Bowl of Caring which takes place on Sunday, February 11th, following our 10am worship service in Banner Hall.

Since 1990, close to $193 million has been reported donated to local food charities across all fifty states with over 305,000 unique groups participating. Every dollar donated to Souper Bowl of Caring creates over $18 for food charities. The cause unites all communities 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 per 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. Proceeds from the event will go toward the Presbyterian Pantry.

We invite each person to bring a muffin tin to hold the soup samples. (One muffin tin per person.) Disposable cups will be available to place in your muffin tin to avoid the mess that we experienced last year. You will be required to try all the soups but you can only vote for one. The Souper Bowl awardee will receive the cherished Golden Ladle that’s passed on year after year to the awarded winner. The current Golden Ladle holder from our 2023 Souper Bowl of Caring is Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges for her Christmas Corn Chowder.

There’s no need to sign up—ALL are welcome—we hope to see you there!

Lenten Theme: Wandering Heart—Figuring Out Faith with Peter

Cheri Simonet
Lent 2024 - Wandering Heart

The Sundays of Lent will carry a special theme this year: Wandering Heart—Figuring Out Faith with Peter. We will focus on the life and faith of one of Jesus’ most famous disciples. In Peter, we see a person who is both steadfast and unsteady, a dear friend and a betrayer, a follower and a wanderer. In Peter, we often see ourselves. By following Peter’s journey, we watch the story of Jesus unfold through the eyes of a very normal human trying to figure it all out—just like us.

One element of our worship practice will be a deep dive into hymn #475 “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” As we look at Peter’s faith journey, the lyrics of this hymn sound in our hearts. It’s as if Peter himself wrote this song, though we know he did not. Like many of us, Peter has a wandering heart. His journey is not polished, or linear, or perfect, but he is always tethered to the love of God.

Together through this season, we intend to affirm that faith is a constant journey of steadfast pursuit, one that ebbs and flows. We will focus on the ways Peter keeps going: he drops his nets, he walks on water, he runs to the empty tomb, he swims to the shore to meet the risen Christ. He keeps searching and yearning and loving, even after missteps or mistakes.

Ultimately, in Peter’s story, we are reminded that God loves imperfect people—in fact, time and again, that’s precisely who God claims and calls.

Through this series, we will look for ourselves in the stepping stones of Peter’s story. We will reflect on the stages of our own faith journeys as well as who and what has shaped us along the way. As we wander, let us tune our hearts to sing God’s grace.