Weekly News — July 1, 2026

Contents

News

• Quick Glance At The Calendar
• Summer Office Hours
• Single Worship Service, July 5
• Moment for Ministry - Ghana & Lifetime Wells - NEW
• Moms Group Survey
• VBS Decoration Party
• 2nd Strategic Planning Listening Session & Lunch
• VBS & Music Adventure Camp Items Needed
• Summer Spanish
• Summer Greeting Volunteers Needed
• Coffee Ministry - Help Needed

Prayers

Quick Glance At The Calendar - July

7/1-22: Pickleball

7/2 - 8/27: Summer Spanish Lessons

7/5: Single Worship Service at 10am

7/6: Church Office Closed

7/8: VBS Decoration Party

7/12: Strategic Planning Listening Session & Lunch

7/20-24: VBS & Music Adventure Camp

Summer Office Hours

We have transitioned to Summer Office hours. The church office will be open 9am-4pm on Monday-Thursday, and will be closed on Fridays.

Single Worship Service Sunday, July 5

There will be a single worship service at 10:00am on Sunday, July 5. The nursery will be open, but there will not be any other children‘s programs that morning.

Please also note that the church office will be closed on July 6 in observance of the Independence Day holiday.

Moments for Ministry - Ghana & Lifetime Wells

As we heard from pastor Caroline last Sunday, the Ghana team made their way home to First Pres with full hearts and deep admiration for the work Lifetime Wells International is doing to support people in rural villages. The Team fell in love with the resilience and hospitality of the people they met, and are deeply proud to be a small part of the work that Lifetime Wells is doing to improve the health of the communities they serve. Please enjoy the presentation Paster Caroline shared last week by pressing the button to the right.

Moms Group Survey

The First Pres Moms Group has been meeting regularly for the past several years and aims to be a place of friendship and support for moms of kids ages newborns through college. Planning is already underway for the group to resume meeting in the fall, and we are looking for input to direct our plans. Even if you have never attended Moms Group, we'd still love to hear from you! Please go to the Sign-up tab of the church website to complete the brief survey. Contact the church office to reach Liz Single or Mary Hambleton with any questions.  

VBS Decoration Party

Help us transform First Pres into a winter wonderland in preparation for Vacation Bible School! All hands are invited to gather in the Chapel from 9 - 11am on Wednesday, July 8. We will create and distribute decorations throughout the stairwells, hallways, and classrooms of the church. The more hands the merrier! Let Sara Pantazes know if you have any questions.

2nd Strategic Planning Listening Session & Lunch

On Sunday, July 12 at 12pm, we will host another Strategic Planning Listening Session in Fellowship Hall followed by lunch. This will be an opportunity for you, the congregation, to give the Strategic Planning committee your feedback so that we can create a comprehensive strategic plan focused on what we believe God is calling First Pres to do, the energy and desires of the congregation, and the leadership of the Session.  

Our discussion will be center on the five priorities set by the session:

1. Worship & Music

2. Faith Formation & Church Life

3. Building & Technology

4. Mission & Evangelism

5. Staffing & Organization

We're looking forward to being with you all, and for the opportunity we have to pray and imagine what it is God is calling us to do. Thank you so much for your faith and your commitment to our wonderful Church!

Please sign up below so that we can know how many to expect and how much food to order. 

VBS & Music Adventure Camp Items Needed

Plans are well underway for this summer's week of VBS and Music Adventure Camp! Please continue to bring in your cleaned, empty 1 gallon water or milk jugs. Music Camp is also looking for donations of individual sized soda bottles (roughly 16 oz), including their tops. Both items can be left in bins on the stage in Fellowship Hall. In addition, we are looking for some items to borrow as decorations, including white Christmas lights, skis and sleds, and white sheets or towels. Check out this Sign-Up Genius on the church website for more information about these items we hope to borrow.

The igloo is coming along - almost done!

Summer Spanish

Are you interested in learning some

conversational Spanish this summer? From July 2 – August 27, First Pres will host classes on Mondays and Thursdays from 12-1pm. Bring your lunch and learn practical skills from an experienced teacher. Come as often as you can; we ask $5/class for participants. To sign up, please click here or contact Pastor Caroline

Greeting Volunteers Needed this Summer

We are in need of greeters on Sunday mornings to hand out bulletins and collect offering (at the 9am service). If you would like to help out or find out more, please reach out to Elizabeth Hess or sign up below. 

Coffee Ministry - Help Needed!

The Board of Deacons’ Fellowship Committee Coffee Ministry is looking for a few helping hands! Whether you enjoy coffee, tea, juice, water, or simply the opportunity to connect with others after worship, this is a wonderful way to serve and build community. You do not need to be a Deacon to participate, and training is available for anyone interested. You can even sign up here for an open Sunday and learn alongside an experienced volunteer. If you'd like to help or learn more about this welcoming ministry, please contact the church office. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thursday First Pres Prayers

This Month’s Prayer Request:

Lord of all, as our nation celebrates the anniversary of its founding, we give thanks for the opportunity to worship you freely, to follow you without fear, and for our forebears’ dream of a new land of safety and opportunity. We thank you for people of faith who guided this country's creation, for those prophetic voices that call us back when we fail to live in accordance with our highest values, and for your faithfulness as we strive, and often fail, to work together as you call us to. Help us to live with gratitude for what we’ve inherited, and hope for that which has not yet been realized. In your Son’s name we pray, Amen. 

Each week we pray for our congregation at 12:00pm on Thursdays.

Set an alarm or schedule it in your calendar to join us! You don’t need to only pray for the topic of the week, but you can continue to pray for previous topics as well or anything that God lays on your heart.

For those who would like to set up time to meet one-on-one with someone to navigate a time of transition or difficulty, Stephen Ministers are here to help.

Prayer Requests

If you would like to add a prayer (in joy or in time of need) to our Prayer Band, complete the website form, send an email, or call the church at the number below.

First Presbyterian Church | 130 W. Miner Street | 610-696-0554

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