First Pres Moving Forward, Strong Together... Join the Movement

Let’s Keep our Church Beautiful!

As we come together for worship and community every Sunday and during the week for various events, it's essential that our church embodies the love and care we share. We would appreciate your assistance in keeping our environment clean and inviting for everyone. While our spaces are cleaned weekly, we can all contribute by disposing of our trash and recycling—like coffee cups and water bottles—in the right bins before leaving. With the water fountains currently unavailable, please remember to take your water bottles with you or recycle them when you're finished! Thank you for helping us maintain the beauty of our church!

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Noon – 1:30 p.m.

Magnolia Hall at First Pres

Join us for a special gathering where we’ll worship God and dive into the Bible together. You’ll feel right at home in our friendly environment as we explore the teachings and celebrate Jesus Christ! Make sure to bring your Bible, your lunch, and your excitement for discovering more of God’s word.

Saturday, May 24, 2025 | 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. | Magnolia Hall at First Pres

Come along with your loved ones for a fantastic time at the Community Breakfast! Savor delightful meals and have meaningful conversations. It's a perfect chance to catch up with familiar faces and make new acquaintances.

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!

Saturday, June 7, 2025 | 8:00 a.m. – noon | First Pres Parking Lot

June is just around the corner, so it's the perfect time for all you gardeners to start your plant cuttings and gear up for our Great Plant Exchange! And if you're not into cuttings, that's totally fine! Feel free to join us as you are – 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!

Make a Difference – One Meal at a Time

Day By Day Shelter | 420 Ceape Avenue, Oshkosh

For more info: call 920.203.4536

looking for a meaningful way to give back? May has arrived and Day By Day is in need of meal teams to help provide dinner for guests on the following dates:

May: 8, 11, 15, 16, 23, 25, 26, 29, 30, & 31

Early June dates are still unfilled, as well: June: 3, 5, 6, 7, & 8

Grab your friends, family, coworkers, or community group and help make a difference - one meal at a time.

2025 Blue Jean Mile

Thursday, May 8, 2025 | 6:00 – 9:00 p.m.

beem Light Sauna | 4120 N. Galaxy Drive, Appleton

For more info & to register: Run Signup

Lace up your shoes and pull on your favorite jeans (shorts count) and join the Blue Jean Mile – a fun, lighthearted challenged designed to honor Mental Health Awareness Month and raise funds for NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).

Whether you sprint, jog, or power‑walk, you’ll be part of a community that believes in the power of movement and mental well‑being. Limited Edition event T‑Shirt available for a $10 donation, plus an additional $1 will be donated for every mile completed.

Oshkosh Pride ‘25 Volunteer Sign-Up

For more info & to volunteer: Volunteer Signup (to help the Pride organizers)

Oshkosh Pride volunteer applications for our June 29th Pride Event are now available! They need your help - you'll be gifted an Oshkosh Pride t-shirt in your size as a thank you. Please sign up now to join this year's team!

Our church will also have a table at Pride this year, so if you would like to help represent our church and hang out at our booth for an hour or two, please let Pastor Deb know. Do not use the Volunteer Signup link if you're planning to help out at the church's table. Just talk to Pastor Deb. The link is to be used if you want to help the Pride organizers team.

Turn Awareness into Action

Mental Health Awareness Month: May 2025

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. While mental health is important to address year-round, Mental Health Awareness Month provides a dedicated time for people, organizations, and communities to join their voices to broadcast the message that mental health matters.

This year’s theme is “Turn Awareness into Action.” The theme celebrates the progress we’ve made in recognizing the importance of mental health – and challenges us to turn understanding into meaningful steps toward change.

Whether it’s through advocacy, education, community engagement, or direct action in our own lives, “Turn Awareness to Action” reflects our commitment to creating a world where mental health is prioritized for all.

What Are Some Key Facts About Mental Health in the U.S.?*

Despite progress in mental health initiatives, more than 30 million people in the U.S. still lack access to comprehensive, high-quality care. These statistics highlight the ongoing need for Mental Health Awareness Month and the importance of bringing attention to this disparity:

1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year.
1 in 20 U.S. adults experience serious mental illness each year.
1 in 6 U.S. youth have a mental health condition, but only half receive treatment.
50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24.
In 2023, 20% of all high school students seriously considered suicide.

Start your journey this week by exploring your mental health. Explore self-awareness as the foundation of mental health. Encourage journaling, identifying emotions, and understanding triggers.

*Source: National Council for Mental Wellbeing

A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience*

Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month: May 2025

This year’s theme honors the hard work of AANHPI leaders who established a foundation for future generations to thrive and adapt to change and adversity. The 2025 AANHPI Heritage Month poster features bamboo as a symbol of strength, endurance, and resilience for its ability to withstand the harshest conditions. Bamboo’s solid foundation ensures it can bend with the wind and stand tall after the storm passes. The bamboo also acknowledges the colloquial “bamboo ceiling” and the cultural, organizational, and individual barriers that hinder advancement for AANHPIs in the workplace.

Throughout history, AANHPIs have transformed adversity into opportunities for public service, efficiency, and innovation; resulting in lasting change that resonates beyond our community and has positively impacted our world. This resilience is woven into the fabric of our success, and it is a testament to the unwavering spirit of our ancestors who faced their own struggles with dignity and strength.

d the way for future generations. Lieutenant Susan Ahn Cuddy prevailed against anti-Asian sentiments during World War II to become the first Korean American woman in the U.S. military and the first female Navy gunnery officer. Former Congressman Dalip Singh Saund, the first person of Asian descent to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1956, successfully lobbied to end restrictions to citizenship for Indian and Filipino immigrants and gave Asian Americans a voice at the national level. The late Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta overcame racial injustice as a child of Japanese immigrants in a World War II internment camp to serve in the U.S. Army, Congress, and the Cabinet of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. These pioneers, often facing insurmountable barriers, have not only demonstrated exceptional leadership, but have also risked much to usher in change. Their stories of perseverance—of overcoming doubt, discrimination, and the weight of societal expectations—serve as inspiring reminders that resilience is a cornerstone of our community. Each breakthrough they achieved has laid the groundwork for those who follow, encouraging the next generation to dream boldly.

We embrace “A Legacy of Leadership and Resilience” as both a tribute and a call to action. We honor the achievements of those who have paved the way while igniting the passions of those who will follow. Through this theme, we strive to continue breaking barriers, honor our traditions, and inspire the next generation of AANHPI leaders.

*Source: Federal Asian Pacific American Council

The PC(USA)’s advocacy director warns ‘the failure to utilize our resources on behalf of the poor is a sin against God’

The Rev. Jimmie Hawkins speaks at D.C. sit-in to oppose controversial budget proposal

By Darla Carter, Presbyterian News Service

April 28, 2025

LOUISVILLE — Presbyterians were among a crowd that gathered on the steps of the U.S Capital Sunday to express grave concern about proposed budget cuts that could hurt families and individuals who count on federal dollars for essentials such as health care and food.

The peaceful sit-in — conducted more like a conversation among allies than a protest or press conference — was led by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who are opposed to a Republican-led budget plan that they fear will be devastating for vulnerable populations.

“This bill, we believe, presents one of the greatest moral threats to our country that we've seen in terms of what it will do to providing food for the hungry, care for the elderly, services for the disabled, health care for the sick and more,” Booker said. “And Martin Luther King said budgets are moral documents, and that's the spirit we come here this morning in, hoping to have a larger conversation with all who will watch.” Read more.

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More Light Presbyterians

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.