Category: Adults

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.

May, 2023 – Composing a Legacy Workshop

Cheri Simonet
Gestures of Generosity

How do we tell the story of God’s grace and love—not just today, but for generations to come?

We have been blessed with many special gifts and estates over the years of our history in this church, and our endowment provides a great support to who we are and what we can do together in the kingdom.

We have set aside Sunday – May 7, 2023 as a time to focus our attention and intentions on legacy giving, from wills and bequests to life income plans that will benefit this church for generations to come.

The Rev. Kyle Nolan, a Ministry Relations Officer for the Presbyterian Foundation, will be with us on that day to preach and lead a workshop after the 10 am worship service offering tools to help us craft our faith legacy. He will cover topics including donor advised funds, charitable trusts, retirement accounts and more.

A luncheon will be served following the Fellowship coffee hour for all who wish to attend this workshop—please make your reservation by signing up on the bulletin board or calling the church office at (920) 437-8121 by May 4, 2023.

Gestures of Generosity, May 2023

Cheri Simonet
Gestures of Generosity

Thank you for your Gesture!

We are still basking in the glow of a spectacular Holy Week and Easter celebration, and it took a village to make it all happen. From Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday and Good Friday to Easter morning, we had worship, music, food, fellowship, scripture, prayer, and praise together.

We are grateful for the generosity of all who made it happen: Mary Steeno and Amy Wittman for leading the children’s choir, the folks who put together our second-annual Palm Sunday brunch, the Worship Committee who hosted dinner and foot-washing and a lovely Last Supper on Maundy Thursday, the faithful few who came on Good Friday to walk through meditation stations and consider the sacrifice of Jesus, Patcee Bucher and Jane Bies who picked up and arranged 42 pots of Easter flowers for display on Easter morning, Becky Christianson who made beautiful bows for each pot, all those who donated the flowers, Tom Schoffelman and Andy Parks who pulled together our Easter choir, and all who sang. Thanks be to God for each one!

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

April 2023 Rundown

Cheri Simonet
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!

Composing a Legacy Luncheon Workshop

Cheri Simonet
Gestures of Generosity

We have been blessed with many special gifts and estates over the years of our history in this church, and our endowment provides a great support to who we are and what we can do together in the kingdom.

But what does our call to discipleship say about how we follow Jesus now in our lifetimes and later, after we die?

The Generosity Team is pleased to offer a special luncheon conversation and workshop called “Composing A Legacy” on Sunday, May 7th with Rev. Kyle Nolan, area representative with the Presbyterian Foundation.

This workshop is appropriate for all adults, whether you are thinking about your legacy yet or not! Kyle will provide resources and ideas for how our gifts can impact the ministry of our congregation today and in years to come. Sign up on the bulletin board or call the church office to make your reservation.

Gestures of Generosity, April 2023

Cheri Simonet
Gestures of Generosity

Thank you for your Gesture!

Sometimes the needs are not as focused on monetary donations but on caring people power. A member of our congregation was recently informed that she had to leave her apartment after 29 years of living there, and we all know that moving is a very stressful situation.

Through our Deacons, the word went out that this person needed our help. We were able to set up teams of two and three people at a time to go in and help with sorting, packing and the actual move.

Our deep gratitude goes to Judy Knutzen-Nerad, Judy Exl, Jacki Jensen, Lisa & Dave Solper, Nancy & Dennis Siewert, Becky Christianson, Lyn Early, Linda Christensen, and Pat McCormick for answering this call. Your gestures of generosity are much appreciated!

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

March 20, 2023 – Name that Member BIG REVEAL!

Cheri Simonet
Name that Member

Earlier this week we featured our Monday Member Spotlight Name that Member! through email and on our social media and now it’s time for the BIG REVEAL! In case you missed it, here’s our Member’s story:

  • I was born and raised in Green Bay.
  • Some of my favorite childhood memories come from time spent up north with my cousins.
  • I am the youngest of two siblings.
  • I am currently married with three kids and two grandkids.
  • My favorite thing to do is spend time with my family watching my kids participate in their activities, relaxing up north, and traveling.
  • I love the sense of community in our church. It is such a welcoming environment. Coming to church feels like being at home.
  • I have been a member of our church my entire life. I was baptized, confirmed, and married in our church.
  • Some of my best vacation memories revolve around a cruise taken with extended family in 2018. Lots of laughs were had!
  • I am very passionate about anything that is important to me. When I am doing something, I love to give it my all.
  • I had a role in the movie Ed Gein: The Musical. I played a patient in the crazy house (some days, that seems appropriate!). It was a locally filmed, independent movie, and I had the greatest time during shooting!
  • In my spare time, I love baking, but oddly enough, I don’t eat much of what I bake. My family and coworkers are usually the benefactors!
  • I love dance, and I have been a dance teacher for the past 26 years.
  • I am currently working towards my black belt in karate after years of being badgered by one of my kids to start. I loved doing karate so much, I also became an instructor.

Who am I?

Do you give up?

I’m Jill Stenson!

Were you stumped? Or, did you learn something new about Jill?

Tell us your story! Complete our Name that Member Form or email csimonet@firstpresgreenbay.org so you can be featured in an upcoming Monday Member Spotlight of Name that Member!

We’re officially COOL! We text now!

Cheri Simonet
Text Messaging

Surprise, we can text now! We’re officially COOL!

If you’re a church member and we have your mobile number in our Online Directory,

You’re signed up to receive text messages!

Here’s how it works:

  • When our first message is sent to Members, you’ll also receive a welcome message to let you know that you’ve been opted-in to receive text messages from us.
  • If you’d rather not receive future messages, simply reply STOP and you’ll be opted-out.
  • You can opt-out of our text messages at any time.

And,

  • You have our commitment that we WILL respect your text message box.
  • Members will ONLY receive relevant, church related, time-sensitive communication from us.

You’ll only receive text messages if your mobile number is in our Online Church Directory. If we don’t have your mobile number but you’d like to receive text message reminders and alerts, please forward your mobile number to office@firstpresgreenbay.org and we’ll have it added to our text list. Not sure if it’s in there? Check the Online Church Directory. If it’s not there you can add it in yourself or simply email us and we’ll take care of it for you!

If you’d like to receive text messages but would rather not have your mobile number in the Directory, no problem! You can still receive our text messages even if you’d rather not publish your mobile number for other members to see. Just let us know that you’d like your mobile number private but that you’d still like to receive text messages and we’ll set you up.

More details about our text program:

What you need to know:

  • The maximum text messages you’ll receive from us each month is 3-4 (if any)
  • All messages will be church related, relevant and time sensitive in nature
  • If there’s nothing to communicate during any given month, then you won’t hear from us
  • Once we opt you in, you can opt out at anytime

What we WON’T DO:

  • We WON’T send reminders about when worship is (we assume you know that!)
  • We WON’T remind you of communion days (we assume you know that, too!)
  • We WON’T send reminders about when Pantry days occur
  • We WON’T text you outside of 8am to 9pm
  • We WON’T clutter your message inbox with irrelevant messages
  • We WON’T disrespect your message inbox

What we WILL DO:

  • Above all we give you our promise that we WILL respect your message inbox!
  • We WILL only send relevant, church related, time sensitive messages such as weather alerts that might cause cancellations or reminders of important events about to happen

Coming Soon – Did you know? Tuesday Trivia!

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?

Well, we’re delighted to tell you that you’ll soon have the chance to learn just how well you know the church. Coming soon in April is our newest feature Did You Know? Tuesday Trivia!

Each month we’ll share with you our church fun facts that we’ve learned from various sources like past minutes, annual reports, the Board of Trustees, and more! Much like Name that Member! you’ll receive your Tuesday Trivia in your inbox with a multiple choice or true/false answers for you to choose from. The correct answer will be revealed through a link to our website Tuesday Trivia portal, which can be found in our Happening Now section.

But wait – there’s more! We want you to do more than 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!

Our Church Directory – Picture Time!

Cheri Simonet
Instant Church Directory

We hope everyone’s had a chance to download the Instant Church Directory app on your phone or signed up on your desktop to view the directory on your computer! If not, please let us know when we can be of assistance to help you.

If you’re already set up, now we’d like you to take a few minutes and swap out the placeholder image that’s in your profile for an actual picture of yourself or your family.

  • On the app, select the Menu in the upper left hand corner
  • Select Edit My Family
  • Choose an image from your phone
Instant Church Directory

And, that’s it!

If the image isn’t perfectly centered don’t worry, once your changes are submitted we’ll go into the directory and make sure the image is centered perfectly. And, if you’d rather we take care of inserting the image for you, simply email it to communications@firstpresgreenbay.org and we’ll get it taken care of.

For step by step instructions on how to change the picture from the website visit https://help.instantchurchdirectory.com/article/638-navigating-the-online-member-directory

And just a reminder, if you’re not set up with the mobile app yet you can download the app to your Apple device at https://bit.ly/3ZsoR2w.

To download the app to your Android device visit https://bit.ly/3Gwr2JN.

And, from your computer visit https://members.instantchurchdirectory.com/.

We hope to see your picture in the directory soon!

Instant Church Directory