Category: Youth

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.

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!

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!

Confirmation Sunday

Cheri Simonet
Confirmation

November 24th

In the Presbyterian tradition, young people confirm the faith their parents chose for them when they were baptized as infants.

Five students from our congregation have been working for more than a year on topics including scripture review, worship, beliefs, church history, and much more. They have contributed to the design of a Sunday morning service for November 24th and will share their personal statements of faith with the Session prior to that date.

Please join them in celebrating faith as well as doubt in the journey on Sunday, November 24th.

Confirmation Class and Youth Group is Back

Cheri Simonet
Confirmation

Welcome back to our middle school and high school youth after a long hot summer!

In Confirmation Class, intended for students in 8th grade or higher, Pastor Katie and CE Director Joel review Bible basics, Presbyterian traditions, and lead in discussion about where and how we experience God and Christ and faith in life today. We will meet on Sundays following worship beginning September 8th.

FPCGB Youth Group

After a little more than a year, this class of students is almost ready to write their faith statements and confirm their faith in worship. Watch for the date soon!

Youth group meets each Wednesday night beginning September 11th from 6:30 to 8:00pm and is led by CE Director Joel Morien along with members of the congregation. These informal gatherings are a chance to connect with others and discuss a wide range of topics relating to our daily lives and our faith. We also have a number of service and fellowship events planned:

Packing meals for Feed My Starving Children in early October

An overnight at church in December to wrap gifts for our Prayer Basket families

Ski trip in January, and more!

August Confirmation Social

Cheri Simonet
Confirmation

August 18, 2024

Confirmation students and their mentors are having one more summer gathering since we’ve had so much fun so far! Sunday, August 18th beginning at 5:00pm we will gather at Bruce & Sandy Deadman’s (6375 Sturgeon Bay Road, Luxemburg) for brats on the grill and maybe even a ride on the boat out on the Bay.

Please bring a side dish to share. If transportation is needed, contact Pastor Katie or Joel in the church office in advance.

See you there!

Confirmation Summer Social

Cheri Simonet
Confirmation

July 14th

The confirmation class and mentors will be having a social on Sunday, July 14th following Fellowship Hour. We’ll carpool to Deb Shober’s house in Sobieski who graciously offered to host the event.

The main course will be chicken on the grill and everyone is asked to bring a dish to pass. The social is an opportunity for everyone to get together and build on the relationships that were formed between confirmands and mentors during our hours of confirmation class. We’re excited for a night filled with food, fun and fellowship.

The confirmands will be confirmed sometime this fall. Stay tuned for the date to mark your calendar.

Congratulations 2024 Graduates!

Cheri Simonet
Graduation
Nana Berko
Nana Berko

Graduation Sunday, June 9th

Join us on Sunday, June 9th at 10am worship service as we recognize this year’s high school graduates, Nana Berko and Gaby Jimenez. The fellowship hour following worship will be a chance to congratulate both graduates and continue the celebration.

Gaby Jimenez
Gaby Jimenez

Nana graduated on May 29th from Xavier High School in Appleton. She will be attending Macalester College where she’ll study Biology/Pre-med. She was awarded the Catherine Lealtad Scholarship. Dr. Catherine Lealtad was Macalester’s First African-American graduate. The scholarship exists to honor Dr. Lealtad for her life-time of service to the medical profession and her community, which reflects Macalester’s traditions of academic excellence and service to others. While in high school Nana participated in varsity tennis, soccer, varsity mock trial team, wind ensemble, National Honors Society, French Honors Society and French club. Her favorite high school memory was senior year homecoming with friends.

Gaby graduated early on January 22, 2024 from Preble High School and plans to attend the Empire Beauty School. Her goal following her secondary education is to own her own beauty salon. During high school Gaby was active in choir and her favorite high school memory is all those memories made with friends through the years.