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

January 2023 Rundown

Monthly Rundown

FMSC is a WINNER and awarded $10,000!

Thank you to all who voted in Thrivent Financial’s “Carols for a Cause” contest! We placed third so our Feed My Starving Children: Green Bay MobilePack will receive $10,000. That’s over 41,600 meals for children in need! It also means that our 2022 fundraising goal has now been met and we have started raising money to kick off the efforts for 2023. We are so incredibly grateful to the team at Thrivent for selecting our organization to be a part of this amazing contest and for their generous support, not only of our cause, but others from the Green Bay area as well.

Advent Workshop

We kicked off the Advent season with a wonderful chili lunch and workshop to get us all in the mood for the Christmas season. Cookies were decorated and eaten, candles were crafted, and hot chocolate spoons were created for gift-giving. We stuffed 48 pair of wool socks with necessary toiletries and other goodies for people experiencing homelessness. What a great day! Thank you to everyone who participated in this wonderful event.

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!

Toy Shop

This year’s Toy Shop on December 13th for our Pantry guests was a great success! We served 51 families and gave away toys for 221 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 221 kids who found presents under the tree on Christmas morning!

Youth Lock-In

Our Youth had a great time with their annual lock-in on December 16th! Presents were wrapped for our three adopted families for our annual prayer basket campaign. There was Christmas trivia with prizes and one of the prizes was a 1 pound gummy bear! Who wouldn’t be happy to win a 1 pound gummy bear as a prize? It was a wonderful time of fellowship. As youth wrapped for our adopted families, they were reminded just how fortunate we are to have presents under our own trees and grateful for the opportunity to help others in need.

December 2022 Rundown

Monthly Rundown

Trunk-or-Treat

Ten decorated trunks, 50+ costumed guests, and hundreds of tasty treats! Our first annual Trunk or Treat was a spooky success. Thanks to all who hosted a trunk and all who turned out for treats!

Thanksgiving with our friends at First United

A glorious joint service of thanksgiving was held on Saturday November 19, 2022 at First United Presbyterian Church in De Pere with more than 75 people present from the two congregations. The service was followed by a delicious turkey dinner for everyone present. We raised $366.48 in free will offering, plus a grocery cart of canned good for the Presbyterian Pantry. Thank you, everyone, for your generous support!

N.E.W. Pride Alive 2022 Festival

NEW Pride Alive2022

We’re pleased to announce that our congregation will be represented at the N.E.W. Pride Alive Festival on Saturday, September 24th at the Brown County Fairgrounds. Several welcoming churches in the greater Green Bay area have come together to host a table in the exhibit hall, letting participants know that there are faith communities ready to welcome and embrace them. The table will be staffed from noon to 5:00 pm on Saturday by church volunteers, with plans to distribute a flier with details on welcoming churches as well as offering hand-held fans, glitter blessings, opportunities for prayer, and more. If you’d like to volunteer for a two-hour shift at the table, contact Pastor Katie at kestes@firstpresgreenbay.org or call (920) 437-8121.

The purpose of N.E.W. Pride is to enhance the lives of LGBTQ+ people in the Greater Fox Valley & Green Bay regions by empowering people and organizations that share this purpose. Through partnerships, education, funding, creating more opportunities for community connection, and raising visibility/awareness of LGBTQ+ issues, we strive to create a Northeastern Wisconsin where all LGBTQ+ folk thrive. Each year, N.E.W. Pride puts on a number of events including Northeastern Wisconsin Pride. This family-friendly pride event features fireworks, live music, a local history exhibit, drag performances, and more!

Please join us!

Your Monthly Rundown

We’re excited to tell you about our newest addition to Connections – the Monthly Rundown.

Have you wondered about the outcome of a recent event? Well, this is where you’ll find the answers!

The Rundown section of Connections features a rundown of recent events so you’ll know the outcome of our outreach efforts, ministries and more. It’s also our bulletin board to receive special messages from fellow members and committees.

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!

Visit the March Rundown NOW!

Returning to In-Person Worship

Yes we're open

Beginning Sunday, February 6

After careful consideration, the Session has voted to re-open the Sanctuary to an in-person worship option beginning Sunday February 6, 2022.

We closed in January due to the recent surge in Covid infections in our area, and are glad to see that number beginning a downturn. We will continue to offer the livestream worship service for any who are not healthy or not yet comfortable coming in-person. It is our strong recommendation that everyone continue to wear masks while in the church building, and KN95 masks will be available at the entry doors if you need one.

The nursery will re-open as well, and Confirmation class will resume on February 6. Sunday School class will not be held that day because of communion but will resume February 13.

However, the Fellowship hour following our worship service, with coffee and treats, has been discontinued for the time being. Thank you for your understanding.

We hope to see everyone in-person or virtually via our Facebook Livesteam on Sunday mornings at 10am!