Called to Be ‘God’s Hands in the World’

Isabella Pérez Sanchez has always believed in miracles. The 18-year-old high school senior, who was raised primarily by her mother and stepfather in a Christian household in Bogotá, Colombia, had always found that everything came so easily to her, she knew it must be a “God thing.”

Yet the one thing that, at first, didn’t seem so easy was Isabella’s lifelong dream of attending high school and college in the United States. But when the Presbyterian-related Colegio Americano de Bogotá, or the American School of Bogota, where Pérez was a student at the time, told her about their partnership with the Presbyterian Pan American School in Kingsville, Texas, the way seemed clear. Everything lined up easily, and even though it was hard for her and her mom to let each other go, they both kept saying that this was God telling them, “This is my plan for you.”

The Presbyterian Pan American School is an international, college-preparatory, boarding school related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Established in 1911, the school motivates and equips young people for lives of Christian leadership in the global community and is supported by gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering.

A cherished Presbyterian tradition since the 1930s, the annual offering distributes gifts equally to Presbyterian-related schools and colleges equipping communities of color and the Assistance Program of the Board of Pensions.

Once Pérez arrived on campus, she thrived. Yet in 2019, Isabella, an aspiring doctor, encountered the greatest challenge of her young life. It was a Sunday morning, and she was coming out of church when she had the strongest pain she’d ever felt and was taken to a hospital immediately.

Diagnosed with an abnormal tangle of blood vessels that irregularly connects arteries and veins, disrupting blood flow and oxygen circulation, she underwent brain surgery and spent nearly two months in the intensive care unit. “That was when I realized I had a personal relationship with God,” said Isabella. “That was when I received my calling for life, which is to help others and to be God’s hands in the world.”

Today, more than five years later, she is completely and miraculously healed. Isabella shares, “After my brain surgery, God gave me a second life opportunity and said I should use my hands to help other people. I am completely thankful to everyone who has donated to the Christmas Joy Offering. I hope more people have the opportunity to grow as I have grown, not only in knowledge but also in faith.”

Please give what you can to the Christmas Joy Offering to help more students like Isabella achieve their dreams — for when we all do a little, it adds up to a lot. We ask that any donations be received by December 29, 2024. Use the envelopes that are in the Sunday bulletin or donate online here.

Let us pray ~ 

God, thank you for students like Isabella as they grow into the fullness of who you created them to be. May our gifts be used to ensure that all people are given the gift of education as we all strive to be your hands in the world. In the name of Jesus, we pray, Amen.

Christmas Cookie Exchange

Sunday, December 8, 2024 | 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. | Magnolia Hall at First Pres

A cookie exchange is a fabulous way to celebrate the holidays and get everyone together! So, here’s the scoop on how this will work while you Connect Over Coffee after worship:

• 2 dozen cookies are requested (6 each in plastic sandwich bag - labeled with cookie name) BUT
• You don’t need to bring cookies to get some!
• Bring copies of your recipe to share with anyone who finds your cookies delicious!
• Drop off on Sunday morning, December 8th, in the “Cookie Exchange” bin next to the hospitality table (by church office)
• Meet in Magnolia Hall at 10:30 a.m. to choose treats - and hang out with the crowd!

Lunch and a Movie: White Christmas

Sunday, December 8, 2024 | 11:45 a.m.| Multipurpose Room (#103) at First Pres

Don’t miss this fabulous opportunity to gather with friends and family for an afternoon at the movies. Laugh, talk, and bond with all who attend. Feel free to bring your own camp chair if that enhances your comfort at this event!

We’ll enjoy a scrumptious chili lunch (regular and white meat chicken) – plus mini corn dogs, corn bread, fixins’, and more; and then the movie begins! The classic White Christmas will bring joy to your heart! Two talented song-and-dance men team up after the war to become one of the hottest acts in show business. One winter, they join forces with a sister act and trek to Vermont for a white Christmas. The real adventure starts when the star performers discover that the inn is run by their old army general who’s now in financial trouble. And the result is the stuff dreams are made of!

So, bring your family and friends. And let us know today that you’ll be joining the fun!

Ecumenical Blue Christmas Service

Wednesday, December 18, 2024 | 6:30 p.m. | Peace Lutheran Church | 240 W. 9th Avenue, Oshkosh.

(Please note - 6:30 reflects the new time for the service.)

Join us as we participate in an ecumenical Blue Christmas on December 18th with our friends and neighbors from other churches in the Oshkosh community. The service offers comfort to all who are grieving and struggling to find joy and hope during the season. A Blue Christmas Service is a tradition that happens around the longest night of the year; and through song, prayers, and readings, we acknowledge pain and emptiness alongside hope. It’s a reflection which gently speaks of light in darkness.

Traveling Oshkosh Memory Café

Wednesday, December 18, 2024 | 1:30 – 3:00 p.m.

Copper Hall | 203 Otter Avenue, Oshkosh

Healthy Holidays – Celebrate the season with fun trivia, food tips, and a hands-on cooking demo! Discover simply ways to enjoy the holidays while making healthier choices and sharing favorite traditions.

Father Carr’s Christmas Day Meal Program

Christmas Day, December 25, 2024 | 1062 N. Koeller Street, Oshkosh

Dine-in: noon – 1:30 p.m. (no reservation required)

Delivery: 10:30 – noon (call 920.231.2378 to place an order)

With their goal of not wanting anyone in our area to go hungry on Christmas, Father Carr’s Place 2B offers Christmas Day meal dine-in or delivery options. If you or anyone you know could use a holiday dinner on Christmas Day, Father Carr’s can help.

Food Drive Focus: Holiday Baking

Oshkosh Area Community Pantry | 2551 Jackson Street, Oshkosh

Donation Hours: Monday – Friday 9:00 a.m. – 3: 30 p.m.

Are you looking for a fun and unique food drive opportunity? Are you interested in making a difference in the lives of our community? Join the December Food Drive Focus this month and help us switch up donations to kick off the holiday season for families that visit OACP! OACP, of course, can still use any donations whether it be food or monetary; but this month they are encouraging donors to pick up these themed items.

Items they’re looking for include:

Yeast * Cake Mixes * Pie Filling * Pie Crust * Extracts * Flour * Sugar * Frosting

Baking Powder * Baking Soda * Baking Chips * Molasses * Marshmallows * Jiffy Mixes

Sprinkles * Corn Syrup * Brown Sugar * Evaporated Milk * Sweetened Condensed Milk

Cooking Oils * Cookie Mixes * Pudding Mixes * Jell-O Mixes

Some faith leaders disappointed in the outcome of the UN Climate Change Conference

PC(USA) staffer bemoans ‘lack of real progress’ at COP29

Jessica Maudlin, Presbyterian Hunger Program | Special to Presbyterian News Service

PC(USA) Communications strategist Darla Carter contributed to this report

November 26, 2024

After days of long, intense marathon sessions of negotiation, the UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) concluded in the early hours of Sunday morning in Baku, Azerbaijan. The negotiated outcomes included a new $300 billion international climate finance goal, known as the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG).

President Joe Biden issued a statement praising the outcome, noting this goal “will help mobilize the level of finance — from all sources — that developing countries need to accelerate the transition to clean, sustainable economies.”

Talking to reporters after 3 a.m. in Baku, U.S. Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy John Podesta described the outcome as “a very good result.”

That’s only one opinion, though. Read more.

Sunday Worship Service: 9:30 a.m. † In-Person † Facebook † YouTube

We're proud to be a More Light congregation.

Learn more.

More Light Presbyterians