Pentecost – Youth Sunday

Pentecost Sunday

Sunday, May 19th

The Festival of Pentecost is probably the least-known of all the church holy days. It occurs 50 days after Easter, marking the arrival of the promised Holy Spirit. It’s the official birthday of the Church, the time when the disciples and others understood their charge to go out and preach, teach, heal, and make disciples of all nations.

This Pentecost, Sunday May 19th, our youth will lead our 10am worship service, preaching and teaching just as the disciples did after Jesus’ resurrection. It’s an opportunity for our youth to let their talents and abilities shine. During the service, they showcase their gifts in a number of ways from performing the readings to giving the sermon. In collaboration with the worship committee, the youth are hard at work preparing the details of which youth will do the various responsibilities within worship. As a group they will choose the prayers and music that fits Pentecost Sunday and also the accompaniment of the music that’s selected. The steps in preparation of, and the actual worship service is a spiritual experience that draws each youth closer to their faith.

Following worship, we hope you’ll join us in fellowship hour where you’ll have the opportunity to thank the youth for all their efforts in taking the lead during worship on this Day of Pentecost.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Mental Health Awareness Month

The PC(USA) Store has resources for children and adults.

For information on mental illness contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness. NAMI provides advocacy, education, support and public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental illness can build better lives.

The NAMI HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10am – 10pm, ET.

Call 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), text “HelpLine” to 62640 or email at helpline@nami.org.

In an emergency dial 911. Ask the operator for police officers trained in crisis intervention or trained to assist people experiencing a psychiatric emergency.

988 Suicide and Crisis Hotline – 24/7 free and confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. Dial or text 988.

Crisis Text Line  – Text HOME to 741-741
Connect with a trained crisis counselor to receive free, 24/7 crisis support via text message.

Batter Up!

FirstPresGB Baseball

It’s that time of year when we prepare for our return to the field with our #FirstPresGB co-ed softball team. The season gets underway in May and ends with playoffs at the season end in late summer. The schedule will be released soon so stay tuned for that, but we’ll be playing at the same field we’ve been at for the last seven years, Cornerstone in DePere. Our time of play will vary with each game on Sundays at 4:15, 5:45 or 6:30pm.

Men, women and youth age 14 and older are welcome to join the team! Practices are primarily getting together before game time and when it comes to the playing schedule matching up with your schedule, you play ball when you’re able to play ball. No commitment required.

If you’re not up for joining the team, volunteer field and plate umpires are always needed. No experience required. You just need to say – “you’re out”, “you’re safe”, “ball” or “strike”. It’s that easy!

So, mark your calendars for Sundays this summer to play, cheerlead or umpire our softball games. It’s a night of fun, fellowship and a little bit of exercise that you don’t want to miss out on!

For more information or to sign up to batter up or umpire contact George Hubbard by calling or texting (920) 680-1421 or email georgeahubbard@yahoo.com. See you at the ballpark!

Souper Bowl of Caring 2024

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!

Save-the-Date for Souper Bowl of Caring 2024

Souper Bowl of Caring

Souper Bowl of Caring—February 11, 2024

As Super Bowl Sunday approaches that means it’s time for our 2nd annual Souper Bowl of Caring!

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/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 2022 Souper Bowl of Caring is Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges for her Christmas Corn Chowder.

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 sign up on the bulletin board.

Outdoor Worship and Ice Cream Social

Outdoor Worship

September 10, 2023

“Back to school” sales are in full force and that means it is time for us all to come back to church after summer vacations and breaks! We celebrate the beginning of this new program year with a fun and casual outdoor worship on Sunday, September 10th at 10:00 am (weather permitting) on the front lawn. Bring your own chair or sit in one we’ve set up on the sidewalk—please don’t let navigating the grass keep you away.

Our worship service will feature a playful re-telling of the creation story and a special blessing of backpacks for all those headed back to school. If you are a student of any age, a teacher or administrator or helper in a school setting of any kind, please bring your backpack or other school bag on this day to receive a blessing including a special keychain to add to your bag. Let’s see how many backpacks and bags we can bless this year!

Following worship, we welcome everyone into the Fellowship Room for an ice cream social featuring dipped ice cream with all the toppings—plan to build your own sundae. This is a perfect day to bring a friend or neighbor or grandchild to worship, so please join us!

2023 Youth Pool Party

Pool Party July 20, 2023

Calling all #FirstPresGB Youth!

Youth Group may have started their summer hiatus but why go the whole summer without seeing each other? Join us for our annual Youth Pool Party!

Bring your friends – the more the merrier!

Our hostess, Loni McCormick, invites all youth to her home on Thursday, July 20th from 1p till 4, 4:30p. Loni will provide the beverages, but youth are asked to bring a snack to share.

We’re hoping for a warm summer day to relax in or by the pool to have some fun, play some games, splash around and take time to reconnect over the summer. So, grab your sunglasses, swimsuit, pool toys and a snack to share and join the fun at Loni’s pool!

For questions please contact Loni at (920) 655-8258 or pmccormick1@new.rr.com or contact Joel Morien at (920) 437-8121 or email ce@firstpresgreenbay.org.

We hope to see you poolside!

April 2023 Rundown

Monthly Rundown

2—4—2 @ the U

Thank you to all who helped make 2-4-2 @ the U happen! We served 22 kids plus workers and all were happy. The menu was homemade chili (vegetarian too!) with all the fixings along with wonderful desserts. The kids were appreciative about everything. Thank you again for your support!

Dear Souper Bowl Makers and Tasters

The Outreach Committee would like to extend a thank you to all for the Souper Bowl Sunday! The Pantry appreciates your gift and thanks to your contributions raised we’re giving each Pantry family a ham for Easter. Blessings to all who helped us succeed in giving our folks a beautiful Easter dinner!

March 2023 Rundown

Monthly Rundown

Souper Bowl of Caring Tackles Hunger!

Our Souper Bowl of Caring was a great time of food and fellowship! Using muffin tins (genius!) everyone had the opportunity to sample 8 amazing soups. The judging was tough because all were delicious! We had nearly 40 votes and the grand prize winner was chef Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges with her Christmas Corn Chowder. Georjeanna was awarded the golden ladle during worship on February 26th.

We raised $285 for the Presbyterian Pantry but thanks to a generous, anonymous donor, that amount was matched and the grand total raised was $570—wow! Thanks to everyone who attended and voted, and thanks to our amazing chefs—Brooke Bruette, Russ Christensen, Al Smith, Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges, Brenda and George Hubbard, Ross and Lyn Early, Joel and Brittany Morien and Pastor Katie.

Thanks also to our CE Committee who made the event possible and to Mary Belanger who helped configure our crockpot outlets so we didn’t blow a circuit!

Cozy Kids are cozy thanks to you!

THANK YOU to everyone who made our Cozy Kids January Campaign such a success! The kids were so grateful for all the generous contributions! Our community of faith is truly blessed to have so many members who give back to our local community, especially to our friends and families in need at Tank School.

February 2023 Rundown

Monthly Rundown

Unforced Rhythms of Grace

Pastor Katie and Joel Morien were thrilled to attend the annual conference of the Association of Partners in Christian Education in late January, held in Birmingham Alabama. They appreciated plenary sessions with speaker John Pavlovitz whose most recent book is If God is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk, worship with local gospel choirs and nationally-known preachers, and a multitude of workshops. It was also an opportunity to network with others in ministry as the event drew more than 500 participants from around the country.

2nd Annual Burns Night—an Evening in the Highlands

Thanks to everyone involved in last Saturday’s second annual Burns Night Benefit Dinner: An Evening in the Highlands! More than 100 people gathered at the Green Bay Distillery to raise funds to help Hurricane Ian victims and to enjoy an wonderful evening. An optional Scotch tasting session was followed by a hearty feast of Whiskey Glazed Salmon or Whiskey Glazed Pork Loin with lots of extras. We also enjoyed amazing entertainment and activities including the Clan Donald Pipe Band, the Irish Heritage Dancers, sword dancing, Address to the Haggis, and more! It was a great evening, but don’t you think it’s a little cold for kilts?

Annual Ski Trip

This year’s ski trip was a fabulous time! We were fortunate to have our friends from First United along for the fun. The weather was perfect for a day on the slopes and the day was filled with fellowship and fun. And, this year everyone was off the bunny hill by 10:30 check-in!

Happy 100th Birthday to Theda Nero!

Wishing you a blessed day on your birthday and all the days ahead in your 100th year!

Theda Nero 100th Birthday
Stephanie Fahringer and Donna Jansen join Theda Nero for her 100th Birthday Celebration