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As was announced in church in recent weeks, your Pastor Nominating Committee is pleased to report that we made a unanimous recommendation to Session to call a new pastor which Session has unanimously approved, and that our candidate has accepted!

There is much to be done between now and September 20, when our candidate is scheduled to preach a call sermon and be voted upon by the congregation. Presbytery rules require that we maintain confidentiality regarding the candidate’s identity at this time, but you will receive a full report and biography the week of September 15.

Of course, the COVID-19 situation has greatly complicated this entire process. Session, the PNC, staff, and the IT subcommittee are all working hard to come up with solutions that will allow the congregation to participate either in person or virtually for all events that weekend. This includes improved audio and video for the service and other events as well as having the ability to vote on the call remotely.

We anticipate that means that you will need to sign up for seating on September 20 in order to ensure that appropriate social distancing can be maintained. Details will be forthcoming. While it would be great for as many of you as possible to meet the candidate in person, we want to make it super easy for those who feel more comfortable to participate virtually to be able to do so.

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Blessings,

Bruce Deadman, on behalf of the PNC

Thank you to Gene Reynolds who facilitated the donation of the windows, and to Dave Solper for heading up the committee to determine placement and arrange for installation.

Congratulations and Thank You! We recently celebrated the installation and ordination of Elders and Deacons. Congratulations to those newly elected as Elders: David Anderson, Ross Early, and Pat McCormick; and as Deacons: Jacki Jensen, Melissa Peters, and Sara Bostedt. Thank you to Bruce Deadman, who will be serving another one-year term as an elder; as well as Judy Exl and Lisa Solper, who have agreed to serve another term as Deacons.

We also celebrated the installation of Ross Early as an Elder; and the ordination of Jacki Jensen and Melissa Peters as Deacons; as well as the ordination of David Anderson and Pat McCormick as Elders. Thank you to Mary Ginnebaugh and Deb Schober as they rotate off Session as Elders. Thank you as well as to Sandy Deadman, Devin Wellner, and Zach Wittman for their service as Deacons. We very much appreciate the generosity all of you in serving the congregation.

Thank you also to Pastor Susan Zencka from Frame Memorial Presbyterian Church in Stevens Point who officiated the Installations and Ordinations remotely.

You should recall the Session commissioned an Ad Hoc committee with marching orders to review existing, then further develop plans regarding increased audio/visual (AV) technology at First Presbyterian Green Bay. I agreed to chair the committee and was pleased that Lisa Olsen, Russ Christensen, Mary Steeno, Pete Blashka and Bruce Deadman agreed to serve.

Our first business item was to identify what type of system would best suit the needs and preferences of the congregation. A variety of options were considered. They included monitors suspended from the balcony on the left and right sides of the sanctuary, projection against the wall to the sides of the Christ window, and, the option that we unanimously selected; a descending screen.

The descending screen option gained our favor for two primary reasons. First, it is only deployed at that time of need, and therefore does not permanently change the look and feel of our worship space. Second, the screen and laser projection technology offers better resolution and brilliance than competing monitor systems. Our descending screen option would be a retractable 78” x 139” screen suspended by wires; as such, it gives the impression of hovering in space. When not needed the screen can retract back into its stowed position above the altar and behind the facade that currently accommodates our various spotlights. Significantly, our present overly complex and finicky audio system will be replaced as part of the worship space projection system. This summer, the session received this recommendation along with our preferred vendor bid-for-purchase contract quotations from Camera Corner Connecting Point (CCCP). Like the Ad Hoc committee, the Session voted unanimous approval.

The second, concurrent, item of business was the consideration of recording and broadcast options. The Ad Hoc committee asked CCCP to develop this quote as well, with emphasis on system integration. It's important the cameras and computers of the recording and broadcast system work and play well with the worship space AV projection system. 2020 events happened. Now we have a more pressing need for the broadcast components...they've been approved for immediate purchase. Too, the funding for the broadcast system is available as a previously awarded Greater Green Bay Foundation grant for exactly this type of community broadcast of our worship.

Of the total system, most of the cost is in the worship space projection system. I'll leave it to Session to communicate the remaining financial need. The congregation has some justifiably impatient but reasonable supporters who were ready to help fund a project like this over a year ago.

A few weeks ago, the AV Ad Hoc committee, having fulfilled its charter, asked the session for and gained dismissal. Some members of the session wish the committee would have “stayed on” to see the system through; perhaps to get it all up and running. Being personally sensitive to “mission creep”, I railed against that. But the point is well taken. First Presbyterian will now need to significantly grow its communications and marketing committee...or stand up a new committee...with the talent and resource to reliably put this system into service. Please volunteer to that service if God has given you talents.

On behalf of my committee friends, I thank you for the opportunity to steer this initiative. Pray we use this ability (and all our undertakings) foremost to give Glory to God, to proclaim His Word as Trustworthy and Sufficient, and to always Proclaim the Saving Gospel of Jesus Christ that the world may know more of Him and less of itself.

Thank you to our guest pastors who have agreed to provide the sermon for each of the following Sundays.

Thank you to Mary Steeno for making these arrangements. We really appreciate each of our guest pastors who provide us with their enlightening thoughts and words.

3rd - Benjamin McCormick;

Linda Michael; Nancy Siewert

4th - Patti Kabacinski

10th - Sarah Arcand

13th - Gabrielle Minor

14th - David Anderson; Lisa Escott

15th - Melvin Collins; Kevin Kabacinski;

A.J. Walker

16th - Bryan Ryder; Tammy Schober

17th - Hannah Bauer; Wes Michael

*** September Calendar ***