Presbyterian Women | First Presbyterian of Ann Arbor

Presbyterian Women

If you are a woman at First Pres, then YOU are a Presbyterian Woman!

Join us and…

Enrich your faith
Participate in local and global mission
Work for peace and social justice, and
Support ministries at First Pres

Come to a Presbyterian Women meeting, join a Bible study, or contact Meg Brown, moderator, (lmegbrown@gmail.com) for more information.

Learn More - Stay Connected

PW sends out an email blast once a month from September – May sharing activities of interest to women.
Watch the bulletin, read Our Life Together, or consult the PW bulletin board by the Welcome Center for current information.
Click on the pdf of our current yearbook to access our slate of officers, Monthly PW Gathering agenda and lessons and more!

Enrich Your Faith

The Horizons Bible Study

Schedule

10:30 - 11:30 a.m. Bible Study - Contact Kyle Hall at jim.kylehall@comcast.net to order a Horizons Bible Study ($10).
11:30 - 11:50 a.m. PW Business Meeting
11:50 - Noon - Break
Noon - PW will join Mature Ministries’ Lunch & Learn program in the Social Hall. Sign up to attend Lunch & Learn in the Church Office.

Evenings with Jenna - Evening Horizons Bible Study
Second Thursday of the Month, September through May
7:00 - 8:00 p.m., Founders Room
Zoom https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84155918470
Can’t do mornings? This friendly and informal group, led by our own Jenna Mares, is open to ALL …women, men, members, visitors, and anyone else interested in connecting with others at First Pres and expanding their faith. If you are looking for a place to be, this is it! The group is currently studying Celebrating Sabbath by Carol M. Bechtel. Questions? contact Jenna at jenna.harms66@gmail.com, or 712-299-1971.

William Barclay Bible Study
Wednesdays
10:30 a.m., Vance Room
Study, delve into history, and make the Bible personal. Read, ponder, and pray with us as we dig deeper into Corinthians. The study runs from September 22 - November 1, then a holiday break, and January 11 - March 8. For more information, contact Meg at lmegbrown@gmail.com or 734-623-4323.

Spiritual Writing
First Thursday of the Month, September through May
10:30 - Noon, Vance Room
Join us in the Vance Room on the first Thursday of the month. Participants are given a one-word prompt, write for the next 45 minutes, then share and discuss their work. Group meets from October - May. Questions? Contact Meg Brown at lmegbrown@gmail.com.

Mission

Local mission
PW is actively involved in supporting local mission initiatives including

Hope Clinic, Ypsilanti - financial and volunteer support
Cass Community Services, Detroit – spring cleanup, planting gardens, and financial
Detroit Hunger Mission- delivery of all church monthly food collection to the Detroit Presbytery three months per year
Second Mile Center, Detroit- financial support
January Rotating Shelter at First Pres- financial and volunteer support
House By the Side of the Road- donations used for free distribution of gently used clothing and small household items
Friends Indeed Circles program, Ypsilanti- financial and volunteer participation to help others improve their lives

Ingathering 2022 - October
Ingathering, as it is known, is organized by the Presbyterian Women - Presbytery of Detroit. Every local PW is sent a list of items to gather for the agencies which we serve. PW’s annual collection of donated items and money, supports Second Mile Center in Detroit this year. Donations of new towels, queen and king-size sheets, clothing for children and teens, and $25 gift cards to Kroger, Walmart or Target are needed. Drop them off at the Welcome Center during October. Monetary donations are also welcome! Make your donation of gratitude through First Pres by clicking this link: https://firstpresbyterian.wufoo.com/forms/donate-to-presbyterian-women/

Send checks made out to PW with Thank Offering in the memo to Bonnie Hughes, 3520 Paisley Ct., Ann Arbor, MI 48105.
Questions? Contact Joyce Himebaugh at joycehimebaugh@gmail.com.

Religious Education Scholarships
Presbyterian Women (PW) is now accepting scholarship requests for the 2023-2024 school year.
Men and women beginning or in seminary, or are in religious education, are encouraged to apply by the end of April, 2023. Contact Kyle Hall at jim.kylehall@comcast.net for more information. The scholarship honors dedicated women and men who are/were active members of First Pres, vital participants in the work of PW, that have given financial gifts to support students studying for the ministry. The original scholarship endowment was established in 1984 in honor of Doris S. Barnett. In 1990, the Kooyers family added memorial monies to this endowment to honor Joanne Kooyers, and designated those funds to aid women scholars. One more outstanding contributor was Mable Rugen, who was honored in 1999 when additional funds were added in her name.

If you know of someone who may benefit from this scholarship, please encourage them to apply.
The application can be downloaded here.

Memorial Receptions
Presbyterian Women provides a simple reception following a memorial or funeral service consisting of coffee, punch, and cookies. Help us continue this loving service by volunteering a few hours of your time to be a memorial reception volunteer. Contact Nelly Petrock, nkeizer43@aol.com, for more information. Interested in baking cookies for memorial receptions?
Contact Michele Derr, michelederr9@gmail.com, to sign up.

Global Mission

PW THANK OFFERING

The Birthday Offering
Since its inception, the PW Birthday Offering has contributed more than $36 million to mission projects that improve lives around the world and here at home.

Fellowship of the Least Coin
Fellowship of the Least Coin is a global, ecumenical prayer movement. The least coins and prayers given by each participant joins with others from around the world to represent our common quest for peace, justice and reconciliation. This offering is used for grants to special projects of evangelism, service, ecumenical solidarity, relief, and awareness-building among women throughout the world.

2022 Special Recognition
Butterfly Effect Award
PW Moderator Meg Brown declared 2022 as the year of the “Butterfly Effect”. In the 1950’s, Dr. Edward Lorenz, a scientist, and believer in chaos theory, found that when butterflies flap their wings, air ripples are put into motion that can result in large consequences of air motion, halfway around the world. The PC(USA) Fellowship of the Least Coin, is a global movement that through the collection of pennies, our least coins, provides over $170,000 for projects related to peace, justice, and reconciliation (see more on page 7). Mary Polkowski’s devotion to the Presbyterian Women’s (PCUSA) Least Coin offering demonstrated this “Butterfly Effect” over and over again. So many of her friends and acquaintances have given to Mary’s Least Coin collection of pennies through the years that have then been used throughout the world for peace, justice, and reconciliation. What a perfect example of how something so small as a penny can result in something so good around the world!

FSIL Haiti School of Nursing
The Faculté des Sciences Infirmières de l’Université Episcopale d’Haïti (Faculty of Nursing Science of the Episcopal University of Haiti or FSIL) is the first four-year baccalaureate school of nursing in Haiti. Our own Dr. Ruth Barnard was instrumental in organizing this nursing school. PW continues to support FSIL through the Haiti Foundation, Ann Arbor, in honor of Ruth and her vision and work.