A Candlelight Service of Lessons and Carols

Christmas Eve | Wednesday, December 24, 2025 | 4:30 p.m.

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Please join us for this special worship service that celebrates the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Bad Weather Closure Info

In case of inclement weather, please check the following sources for closure information:

• First Pres Facebook page
• First Pres website
• Your email inbox (if you’ve provided the church office with an email address)
• Your mobile phone text messages (if you’ve opted in to receive texts from the church)
• WBAY-TV (ABC 2) (Green Bay - Fox Cities) 
• WBAY website

2026 Offering Envelopes

Offering envelopes can be found on the back table in the sanctuary. Feel free to grab what you need for 2026. If you plan to donate weekly, consider taking a 52-pack. If quarterly or monthly donations work better for you, pick up a 4-pack or a 12-pack. Prefer to avoid the hassle of envelopes and want to contribute via automatic withdrawals? Just scroll down to the Potpourri section of this newsletter for online giving options. We have options to accommodate everyone’s giving preferences.

Sunday Flower Patronage - 2026

If you're interested in sponsoring flowers in 2026, kindly fill out the online form below and send your payment to the church office. Reservations will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis. The cost is $45 for each Sunday.

Preparing A Way Forward in the Wake of Disaster

Secure in a nearly century-old home built on a stone foundation in the shelter of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Rev. Lynn Bledsoe never had any reason to fear for her safety. Until the mountains literally trembled.

Soon after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida in 2024, the catastrophic storm blazed a path of destruction through the southeastern United States and the Southern Appalachian Mountains. In North Carolina, the mountains were the hardest hit.

Lynn’s peaceful world was rocked in an instant when the hurricane swept away not only her long-held sense of security but also the very ground beneath her feet. Read more.

If you feel called to donate, please ensure that your donation is received by the church office before December 24th or give online today. Thank you for your generosity.

Brody’s Christmas Lights for Charity

Through New Year’s Day 2026

Sunday – Thursday 5:00 – 9:00 p.m.

Friday – Saturday 5:00 – 10:00 p.m.

1874 Westbreeze Drive, Oshkosh

Brody Enli is a young holiday hero in Oshkosh who has been designing Christmas light shows and collecting donations from visitors for local charities for the last several years. He began putting up lights outside of his family’s home in 2016 when he was seven years old. So far, Brody’s Christmas Lights for Charity has resulted in food (1,313 pounds), books (1,346), and monetary ($21,662) donations supporting organizations such as the Oshkosh Kids Foundation, the Oshkosh Area Community Pantry, Oshkosh Area United Way, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and the Christine Anne Center.

Every donation matters! Every donation helps a local student or family in need. This year, Brody is focusing on the Oshkosh Kids Foundation. Items can be placed in the box at the end of his driveway. Monetary donations can be dropped into the large candy cane that is next to the donation box at his house.

Marriage Enrichment Workshop

Samaritan’s Mary Beth Nienhaus Community Room

1205 Province Terrace, Menasha

As you start prepping those 2026 calendars, be sure to save the date for Samaritan's 4th Annual Marriage Enrichment Workshop! Seating is limited so don't delay in registering. Scan the QR code below or register online here.

Holiday Baking Food Drive

Oshkosh Area Community Pantry

2551 Jackson Street, Oshkosh 920.651.9960

Help us head into the holiday season by participating in the Holiday Baking Food Drive!

Some examples of items OACP is looking for include: 

Baking Mixes * Pie Filling * Flour * Sugars

Baking Powder * Baking Soda * Baking Chips

Molasses * Marshmallows * Frosting * Sprinkles

Yeast * Evaporated Milk * Sweetened Condensed Milk

Cooking Oils * Pudding Mix * Jell-O Mix

Any donations whether they be food or monetary are still needed and appreciated. However, this month OACP is encouraging donors to pick up some of their favorite holiday baking staples to share with an OACP family!

Give OACP a call today for their donation hours.

Holiday High Needs!

Christine Ann Domestic Abuse Services

240 Algoma Boulevard, Oshkosh

920.235.5998

We hope you are able to take some time during the busy holiday season to give back to the organizations and communities that mean the most to you.

Christine Ann has some specific needs they are looking to fill during December, and they rely on the generosity of our community.

Check out the list on the left - you can drop off or mail items directly to Christine Ann. Please give them a call for donation hours if you prefer to do a drop off.

Winter Essentials

Day By Day Shelter

420 Ceape Avenue, Oshkosh | 920.203.4356

Day By Day needs your help this winter! They're currently collecting essential cold-weather items, including:

• Jackets (especially men’s coats size XL or larger)
• Gloves and hats
• Warm socks
• Hand & toe warmers

If you’re able to donate, please call the Shelter for their donation hours.

Thank you for helping keep our community warm this winter!

A dramatic photograph inspires a new hymn

Presbyterian pastor Carolyn Winfrey Gillette publishes ‘Your Little Ones Are Suffering’ after seeing a photo from a Pulitzer Prize-winner

December 5, 2025 | Mike Ferguson | Presbyterian News Service

LOUISVILLE — “Your Little Ones Are Suffering” is the name of the most recent hymn by Presbyterian hymn-writer the Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, who penned the lyrics to the hymn after seeing this photo by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Carol Guzy. The new hymn is set to PASSION CHORALE, the tune for “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded.”

Gillette said she finished the hymn on Monday shortly after President Trump said he was ordering the banning of all immigrants from “Third World” countries. The hymn laments the suffering of immigrant children and their families while encouraging Christians to help them.

The hymn references Jesus' teaching in Matthew 18:6-7: “But if you give them a hard time, bullying or taking advantage of their simple trust, you’ll soon wish you hadn’t. You’d be better off dropped in the middle of the lake with a millstone around your neck. Doom to the world for giving these God-believing children a hard time! Hard times are inevitable, but you don’t have to make it worse — and it’s doomsday to you if you do,” The Message by Eugene Peterson. 

Permission is given for free use of the hymn in worship, including streaming online.

Your Little Ones Are Suffering

PASSION CHORALE ("O Sacred Head, Now Wounded")

Your little ones are suffering from evil things we do.

So, Lord, we pray for children, for youth and families, too.

A girl cries for a loved one who’s just been ripped away.

And so a mighty millstone is ours to wear this day.

Her mother can’t console her; her dad has disappeared.

The land we love has told her, “There is no mercy here.”

We see the things that happen; we sigh, and let them go.

A heavy-weighted millstone— our guilt— is bound to grow.

The harm comes from ignoring— participating, too.

When we look back on suffering, will we admit we knew?

God, where is our compassion, that we would let this be?

And now we wear the millstone— and none of us are free.

When nations harm the children you’ve placed within our care,

Lord Jesus, you give warning to people everywhere.

And when we show compassion, and mercy, love and grace,

We’ll all know peace and freedom together in this place.

Sunday Worship Service: 9:30 a.m.

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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.