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Greetings! we are pleased to present your 2021 February First Presbyterian Church of Green Bay newsletter!

Along with youth groups in Presbyterian and other churches around the country, our youth have regularly promoted and participated in the “Souper Bowl of Caring” on Super Bowl Sunday each year. Due to COVID restrictions, they are unable to host their traditional soup cook-off this year, but they’d still like to support the drive to feed hungry people with this program. On February 7, Super Bowl Sunday, please bring to church canned soups to contribute to the Pantry. Youth members will stack and display in the front of the Sanctuary as many cans as they receive—so let’s make a huge pyramid! Thanks for your participation.

After worship, youth members are invited to a special lunch meeting in the youth room to meet Pastor Katie and join a discussion about the possibility of an intergenerational mission trip this summer.

All youth in sixth through twelfth grades are encouraged to attend. Social distancing and masks will be required.

A new study opportunity will be offered during the season of Lent for youth and adults on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. or on Thursday mornings from 11:00 a.m. to noon, both via Zoom. The devotional book is called Lent in Plain Sight and is written by Jill Duffield, former editor of The Presbyterian Outlook magazine. It is divided into six chapters for the six weeks of Lent, each chapter focusing the readers’ attention on an everyday object, something we encounter in our daily living—like coins, dust, shoes, bread—and asks us to consider through these objects the possibility, the promise, that God is present, speaking, and seeking to be in a relationship with us.

We will meet on the online platform Zoom for this study, as it is still not safe enough for everyone to gather together in person. If you have not had a chance to discover how easy Zoom can be, call Pastor Katie and she’ll help you get set up for the first meeting. We are offering two different times for this study, but each weekly meeting will look at the same material, so no need to come to both! Please indicate which time you will likely attend so we can plan for numbers. Books can be purchased now in the church office or on Sunday mornings in the Sanctuary for $5.00.

What do jellybeans, pony beads, rocks and tissue paper have to do with Lent? How can I teach my kids about prayer and make it part of our family life? The Christian Education Committee wants to assist families and all members and friends of the church to observe Lent and prepare hearts and homes for the celebration of Easter this year. They are putting together a bag full of items that will support all ages in their prayer lives, help us understand the meaning of the symbols and stories during Lent, and provide some crafts and activities which might have been part of the Sunday School experience in regular times. If you’d like to have one of these bags, you may pick it up at the church office beginning February 15 or it can be delivered to your home if you prefer. Call and let us know.

Lent is the season of the church year set aside for reflection and preparation before the celebration of Easter. The season is 40 days long, beginning on Ash Wednesday and ending on holy Saturday, the day before Easter, but the six Sundays are not counted, as Sundays are always thought of as “little Easters,” an opportunity each week to celebrate the resurrection. By observing the 40 days of Lent, we recognize Christ’s sacrifice and withdrawal into the desert for 40 days.

Members and friends are encouraged to begin the season of Lent with us on Wednesday, February 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary or online via Facebook Live. Our brief service of worship will include the traditional imposition of ashes, though worshippers will be encouraged to mark themselves or those in their family group only. For anyone worshipping at home, a packet of ashes will be available for pick up at the church beginning February 8 during office hours, or you may contact the church office to arrange for home delivery before the service.

The Pantry is open for guests on February 9 as well as February 23 from 10 am to noon. All are welcomed, however masks MUST be worn, as well other precautions taken to help prevent the spread of COVID.

For February, pantry volunteers are requesting donations of canned tuna or chicken. Thank you to everyone for your donations!

From Bruce Deadman: First Pres is in the process of completing a number of badly needed improvements to our IT infrastructure and media capabilities. These include:

Session approved paying for this work - which amounts to about $40,000 - out of Endowment funds, with the proviso that a campaign be conducted to raise half of that sum. Taking into account contributions on hand, the campaign goal will be about $15,000. Please give serious consideration to making a generous contribution. Without these improvements, First Pres would not be able to effectively reach out to our virtual congregation, provide effective WiFi service for our many committees and other groups, or enjoy enhancements to both our live and virtual worship experience. It may sound a bit crass, but we also need to look at these projects as essential if we are to remain “competitive,” for lack of a better word, in the worship community.

We also need help operating sanctuary media for services and other events. This includes the virtual Sunday service and operating the projector and screen when they become operational. Experience is not necessary and training will be provided. Please contact Pastor Katie or Bruce Deadman if you are interested in either of these opportunities. 

Each Sunday following worship, at 11:15 a.m., we have a Zoom Fellowship time. If you haven't joined in during this time, you might want to try it and see a face or two you haven't seen for a while. It is always a wonderful time to spend some relaxed, casual conversation among members - join us! (If you need to be refreshed on the link to the Zoom meeting, let Connie know via email: communications@firstpresgreenbay.org or phone: 920-621-3382 and she will re-send that to you.)

If you are an online donor to First Pres, or if you would like to be, please take the time to review both your donation information, and your personal data. Log in on our website (www.firstpresgreenbay.org) under the "Giving History & Profile" option at the top of the page. First time online donors should click the "Donate Now" tab instead. If you need any assistance with this, Lynne Nelson is willing and happy to help at 920-437-8121, ext. 114.

If you've pledged a new amount to the Generous Giving Stewardship campaign, have a new email or home address, a new cell phone number, or new bank information, we want to make sure that we have the most current data possible.

A reminder if you haven't already done so, that per capita gifts allow us to work with other churches to further the mission of Jesus Christ around the world. Per capita in 2021 will again remain at $37.00 for every confirmed member of the congregation, and should be paid by March. More details from PC(USA).

18th - Gifty Berko, Phill Mikulsky

20th - Amanda Jackson

22nd - Morgan Siewert

24th - Cindy Bayless

25th - Kayla Jones

26th - Sara Dietzen

28th - Georjeanna Wilson-Doenges

*** February Calendar ***