First Presbyterian Church of Hightstown

Children, pre-school through 8th grade, are invited to Galactic Blast: A Cosmic Adventure Praising God! This year’s Vacation Bible School takes kids on an outer space voyage praising God. Our fun-filled activities will include singing songs in Music, playing cosmic games in Recreation, exploring art in Cosmic Crafts, and learning “green” earth tips in Discovery Time. You can register your child by picking up a registration form from the church office or download the registration form here.

Vacation Bible School will meet Monday – Friday, August 2 – 6 from 9 AM – 12 Noon. On Friday evening, August 6 there will be a program for families.

Our summer special music has already begun! On Sunday, June 27, Anna Laufenberg joined us for our service and shared her beautiful flute music with us. As we continue through the summer months, the schedule for special music is as follows:

July 4 – Union Service at the Methodist Church
July 11 – Tom and TJ Walton, vocalists
July 18 – Kelly Kleinmann, Double Bass
July 25 – Becky Petrenka, singing “The Lord’s Prayer”
August 1 – Mission Trip Sunday
August 8 – Bible School Sunday
August 15 – FPCH Bell group
August 22 – FPCH Choir group
August 29 – Lynda Harrington & Debbie Warfield, Piano ensemble

As our choirs take a vacation from their year-long commitment to the music ministry at the church, we hope you will join us for a different kind of music inspiration each week as we welcome our guest musicians.

Worship in the Sanctuary will be held at 8:15 and 10:00 AM, starting Sunday, June 27 and will remain at that hour through Sunday, September 5.

Please note that there is NO worship here on Sunday, July 4. We will gather for a community worship service with our friends and neighbors from the Baptist and Methodist churches at First United Methodist Church on Stockton Street at 10 AM.

Join us Father’s Day, Sunday, June 20 in Etra Park for worship followed by a picnic. Service will held at 10:30 AM. Bring a lawn chair and a dish to share. Hot dogs and drinks will be provided.

On Sunday, April 18, the choirs of First Presbyterian Church will be presenting a Music Sunday in celebration of the Psalms at our 10:30 AM service. These beautiful verses from the Bible’s Book of Psalms express the full range of human emotions. They address our feelings of lamentation and suffering, help us to know God and trust him, and lead us to bring Him thanksgiving and praise for His many blessings.

We hope you will come and be a part of this service, “A Celebration of the Psalms”. We will use many styles of song to honor our Lord, who through his unconditional love, provides all comfort and joy to his children. There will be many opportunities for the congregation to participate in word and song!

We are happy to tell you that the members of our adult mission trip to Ghana returned home last Sunday and all are well. They had a very successful trip. They are going to share their experiences with the congregation during worship this Sunday, March 7. Please note that this is a change in schedule. Come join us on Sunday and share in the memories, photos and experiences of our mission trippers. They are anxious to tell you their stories.

Each Wednesday evening at 7 pm  during Lent, Fellowship Hall is the place for some spectacular soup and fellowship.

How can everyone be involved? Glad you asked! We'd love to have you simmer your favorite soup recipe and share it with all.

The meals are prepared by members of the congregation who volunteer their time and bounty in service to the community. The menu is simple -- soup, bread and grapes. Music, reflection and prayer follows the supper.

Here are some frequently asked questions.

■ How much soup should I provide?

A soup pot or large pot full, enough to serve 20-25 or around 6 quarts.

■ When should I bring it to fellowship hall?

Bring your soup by 6:45 p.m.

■ Can I provide anything else?

No, Fellowship commission will provide the bread and grapes

■ Where do I sign up to volunteer?

A poster to sign up to make soup or to attend will be in the narthex

■ When and what time is soup supper served?

Wednesdays during Lent at 7:00 p.m.

■ Do the suppers cost anything?

Your donation of $3.00 per person is appreciated to cover the cost of bread, grapes and supplies.

■ Do I have to sign up for all weeks?

Come to all - or just one night as your own schedule allows.

Contact Joanne Bini, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you have any questions or suggestions

It's time for our third annual Crock Pot Cook-Off!  It's this Saturday, February 13 at 5:30 PM in Fellowship Hall.

In honor of Valentine's Day, we'll be accepting entries in two categories - red and white.  Please think about entering a delicious appetizer, main dish or dessert!  They just have to be either red or white, and made-in and served-from a crock pot.  Everyone gets to judge, and prizes will be awarded to the first place winners in each category!

Admission: $5.00 for adults, $2.00 for children, and FREE to anyone entering a crock pot entry.

This should be a fun event to chase away those winter blues!  Please call Donna Scheifele at 609-585-4417 (or email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) by Thursday and let her know if you are coming, how many adult and child tickets you will need and/or if you are entering the cook-off.  Thank you!

Annoucning the first issue of FPCH's weekly calendar publication, Connections. The purpose of Connections is to feature those calendar items taking place during the current week, and to highlight important upcoming events and action items.  Connections will provide information to our church family regularly and immediately.

Connections will publish electronically every Friday and you will receive your copy via email or you can download directly from this website.  Click here to view the first edition or select the Connections link in the "Click Here For..." menu on the left to see all available editions.  A limited number of printed copies of the most recent edition will be available in the Narthex on Sunday morning.

Please send calendar items you would like to see in Connections or feedback on how we can improve to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

I want to thank you in advance for your offer to support the First Presbyterian Church's mission trip to Ghana. As you probably know, over 540,000 women die in childbirth every year! This is often due to issues resulting from fistula and poor birthing practices. It is hard to think that there are places in this world where a child can lose their mother simply because they did not have access to a routine doctor visit. In a modern world where we have technology, why do so many die needlessly?

This year the First Presbyterian Church of Hightstown is sending 10 adults to Ghana to help with a maternity clinic. We believe that this mission trip is going to really make a difference in the lives of expectant mothers in Africa. We will be on mission the last week of February. It is not often that we are given a chance to change a community in such a dramatic way.
Not only can we think of the lives a clinic like this will save, but we can also think about the families that we will be able to keep healthy and intact. However, as you can see in the photo, a lot of work still needs to be done! They hope to be ready to roof by the time we arrive in February.

While in Africa, because of the skills of those going, we will not just be working on the clinic, but will also be working on training, teaching nursing skills, agricultural skills and much more! By our witness of work and love we will truly make a difference in this community.

How can you help?

Saturday, January 30 - Come to Dinner at 6:00 PM!
Not only will you feast on a wonderful meal, you will hear interesting facts about Africa, be entertained by the noted illusionist, Gary Filson, and you'll try to outbid your neighbor on fantastic Silent Auction items. It's a night that's not to be missed! The community-wide dinner will be held on Saturday, January 30, at 6:00 PM in Fellowship Hall at the First Presbyterian Church.

We would appreciate your support by coming to this event ($20 per person or $50 per family suggested donations), providing a Silent Auction item, or by making a free-will donation to our mission. Anyone donating a Silent Auction item will be mentioned in our dinner program. Tickets to the event are now available - call the church office at 448-0055 or pick them up at church after worship from any member of the team. We're Ghana Make a Difference! T-shirts will be available for a $20 donation. Place your order now.

Thank you again for your offer to help! It will make such a big difference. Your donation will help us aid many expectant mothers in Africa live past childbirth to raise happy and healthy babies.

Rev. Bryan James Franzen