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Where do you find the hope and good news of the resurrection in/through your star word? | | | |
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Oshkosh Pride 2025: Volunteer Sign-Up Open
First Pres is a proud sponsor of Oshkosh Pride, and we’ll have a table at Oshkosh Pride 2025 on Sunday, June 29th (2:00 – 7:00 p.m.)! If you’d like to volunteer to hang out at our table for an hour or two chatting with Pride visitors and handing out complimentary stickers and such, just give Pastor Deb call or sign up online.
Volunteer Sign-Up Form
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Pentecost Special Offering
The Pentecost Offering, one of our denomination’s four churchwide Special Offerings, supports ministries with children, youth and young adults in our community, across the nation and around our world. As you give to this important Offering, remember that 40% of your gift remains in our church to support ministries with younger people in our community as we choose. The remainder of your Offering is forwarded to the denomination so that young adults can form a foundation for their lives through a year of service in the Young Adult Volunteer Program; youth can be among the 5,000-plus having mountaintop experiences in worship, play and faith formation at events like the Presbyterian Youth Triennium; and children can receive educational support through the Educate a Child, Transform the World initiative. Read more.
We ask that all Pentecost Special Offerings be received by Friday, June 6th. Give Now!
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Tuesday, May 20, 2025
Noon – 1:30 p.m.
Magnolia Hall at First Pres
Join us for a delightful gathering where we’ll worship God and explore the Bible side by side. You’ll feel right at home in our inviting space as we discuss the teachings and celebrate Jesus Christ! Remember to bring your Bible, your lunch, and your eagerness to learn more about God’s word.
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Saturday, May 24, 2025 | 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. | Magnolia Hall at First Pres
Join your friends and family for a wonderful experience at the Community Breakfast! Enjoy delicious food and engage in heartfelt conversations. It's a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends and meet new ones.
If you're up for it, we would love any help you can provide while you're there. We could use assistance in different areas, such as setting up, cooking, cleaning, serving, or just chatting with guests. Let’s team up to make this event a memorable one for everyone! Whether you’re coming to enjoy a meal, lend a hand, or do both, it’s always a pleasure to see you and share some quality time!
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Saturday, June 7, 2025 | 8:00 a.m. – noon | First Pres Parking Lot
June is just around the corner, so it’s time to gear up for our Great Plant Exchange! And keep in mind, you don’t have to bring a plant to take one home!
Indoor and Outdoor Plants - free to a loving home!
Meet friends & exchange gardening tips
Drop off your extra flowers and plants to share with others
Donate plants in non-returnable containers
Pick up something new for your own garden
Non-invasive plants only!
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More Light Presbyterians (MLP)
Young Adult Gathering
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
7:00 p.m. EDT, 6:00 p.m. CDT | Zoom
The MLP Young Adult Gathering is for 21-30 year olds, and its objective is to creating a community of support for young adult, LGBTQIA+ Christians where they can talk their experience with life, church, God, and/or faith. It’s a safe space to be. It’s a space to create connections. Sign Up Here
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Grand Opening:
Northeast Wisconsin Rainbow Collective
Saturday, May 24, 2025 | 2:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, May 28, 2025 | 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
First Congregational Church | 137 Algoma Blvd., Oshkosh
Everyone’s invited to the grand opening of the physical space in Oshkosh for the Northeast Wisconsin Rainbow Collective! There will be snacks and a chance to meet the board and learn more about this new organization. We can’t wait to see you there!
It is important to note that NEW-RC is not a religiously affiliated organization. FCC has graciously donated the use of one of their spaces to them to provide in-person support and services to the LGBTQ+ community.
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Thursday, May 29, 2025 | 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Bubolz Nature Preserve | ChargePoint | 4815 N. Lynndale Drive, Appleton
Buy Tickets
Radiate Hope is Samaritan’s premier fundraising event. Held annually in May during Mental Health Month, this gathering brings together community members, business leaders, and supporters who share a commitment to ensuring mental health care is accessible to all, regardless of financial barriers. Proceeds from the event benefit the Samaritan Fund, which provides financial assistance to individuals and families in need of counseling services.
This year’s event features live music from local recording artist Lilie Collins, games, raffles, and auction opportunities. Tickets are $75 each.
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New Baby Clothes Needed
Community Clothes Closet | 1465B Opportunity Way, Menasha
Donation Hours:
Monday-Friday 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Monday Evening 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
The Community Clothes Closet is running critically low on NEW baby clothes for baby kits. New items needed are:
*Sleepers, Onesies, Outfits: size Newborn to 9 months
Oshkosh Gunderson Cleaners also accept donations on behalf of the Community Clothes Closet. Please call Gunderson’s for their hours of operation and be mindful of the guidelines listed below when donating through Gunderson’s:
653 N. Main Street * 920.235.0150
2415 Westowne Avenue * 920.230.4455
2100 W. 9th Avenue * 920.235.1370
- Place clothing in a plastic bag; do not donate items loosely.
- Use bags no larger than a 13-gallon trash bag. Remember, someone must physically lift your items out of a bin, into a vehicle, and onto a sorting table. Large, heavy bags pose a safety risk for the volunteers.
- Limit your donations to a maximum of 3 bags. Gunderson locations and the collection van have limited space.
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Nurture Your Mental Wellbeing
Self-connection, or self-care, is about finding practices that help you thrive, and it can include a range of things. It takes purposeful effort, but it can help you maintain or improve your daily mental wellbeing. It can be helpful to think of it as taking time to connect with yourself and care for yourself as you would others.
Prioritizing time to connect to yourself doesn’t have to be time consuming or expensive, and it is important for you to find out what works best for you. Below are a few different ways to nurture your mental wellbeing, from the Mental Health Coalition:
- Physical: Notice and address the stress that shows up in your body. Notice what physical activities reduce or alleviate physical pain, tension and mental stress for you. Some common activities are massages, hugging loved ones with their consent, fitness, dance, aromatherapy, rest, and boundary setting.
- Emotional: Involves tending to your own internal emotional world – especially your mood and feelings. Ways to tend to your emotional self can include connecting with others, naming and acknowledging your emotions, psychotherapy, journaling or creative writing, art, and setting boundaries for your emotional wellbeing.
- Cognitive: Engages in activities that are intellectually rewarding and/or stimulating. This can include reading, writing, listening to books or podcasts, watching films, psychotherapy.
- Spiritual: This can take many different forms and does not have to be tied to formal religion. It means getting in touch with the less tangible aspects of yourself and the world around you. This can include meditation, breathwork, prayer, connecting with a spiritual or religious community, mantras.
Identify a few ways you’d like to prioritize your own wellbeing. Set aside the time you need to do it, give yourself permission to embrace it if it is hard for you to prioritize yourself, and work towards adding these moments regularly into your life. Know that what taking care of yourself may look like can change over time, and it is okay to adapt to what activities you engage in to fit your needs.
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Majority of presbyteries have approved Amendment 24-C
The Covenant Network of Presbyterians says the vote marks ‘another historic step for inclusion and diversity’ in the PC(USA)
By Mike Ferguson, Presbyterian News Service
May 13, 2025
The Covenant Network of Presbyterians reported Tuesday that a majority of presbyteries have now approved Amendment 24-C, which works to ensure that commitment to inclusion and diversity will play a more substantial role in decision-making about ordination and installation of ministers, elders and deacons.
“This is not only a major step forward for the LGBTQIA+ community, but for the church as a whole,” says Slats Toole of Minneapolis, co-moderator of the CNP Board of Directors. “In a time when we are deeply divided, Amendment 24-C encourages dialogue and gives us opportunities to learn from each other. This is vital to being a healthy, sustainable, and Christ-focused church in today’s world.” Read more.
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Sunday Worship Service: 9:30 a.m. † In-Person † Facebook † YouTube | | | |
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| First Presbyterian Church is a member of More Light Presbyterians, a coalition of churches whose mission is to work for the full participation of the LBGTQ community in the life, ministry, and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and in society. | | | | | | |
