Peace be with you!
First Congregational Church UCC 1018 Cedar Street De Pere, WI 54115 Phone: 920-336-4038 Fax: 920-964-1080
First Congregational Church
United Church of Christ
1018 Cedar Street De Pere, WI 54115 Phone: 920-336-4038 Fax: 920-964-1080
Administrative Assistant, Ivy Summers
Biography for Ivy Summers
I have been at First Congregational UCC since December of 2005. I have learned a ton of new things since I have been here both spiritual and administrative. I am responsible for this website and just about anything you can think of in the office! I am a "Jane of All Trades" (and a master of none!) I enjoy working with the congregation and I especially like the visits I get during my workweek!I am a native of West De Pere I have lived here since I was 5-years-old. I attended West De Pere High School, class of 1998. I now live just a stones throw away in Oneida. I am married to my best friend, Vincent and together we have three amazing children. I have a 12-year-old stepson, Keanu; a 11-year-old stepdaughter, Sierra; and an 10-year-old son, Dareios. I guess you could say I am the typical “Soccer Mom”. Most of my time is spent at my children’s school and sporting events. Dareios is in just about every sport you can think of: Basketball, football, soccer, baseball, and gymnastics. Sierra loves cheerleading and dance and is also a big help around the house. Keanu’s is a talented football player and football is his number one priority, even though he is a Minnesota Vikings fan. He gets that trait from his father! I have been able to keep Dareios and Sierra on the winning team; they are both die-hard Packer fans. I guess two out of three isn’t bad.We love to spend time as a family. We enjoy swimming, hiking, camping and playing games. We also have a dog, Gus, a Doberman, Shepard, Lab mix. We call him the “Big Ox” he so funny and clumsy! He has a great personality. I really enjoy being with First Congregational and hope to be here for years to come! If you have any concerns or questions feel free to contact me, or stop in to say hello. Blessings,
Ivy
Music Director, Christy Dunsmoor
Biography for Christy Dunsmoor
Hello! My name is Christy Dunsmoor and I have been serving here at First Congregational UCC as the Music Director for almost three years. Presently, I play for the services, work as the choir director, and play for other special needs and areas. I have truly appreciated the opportunity to be here and thank you to all of you who have participated in the music!I was born and raised in Green Bay, WI . I attended West High School and went directly to Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, MI after high school. I earned a BA in fine art and a minor in music and math. While at Hillsdale, I founded and directed the pep band, played piano for brunches and ceremonies, and accompanied singing lessons. (Hillsdale is located about 20 miles above the Ohio and Indiana border.) After graduating from college, I returned to the Green Bay area and began to work in art galleries. I also played on a worship team for a local church.While working in Green Bay, I began attending Bible classes through a local church that had opened up a branch of a Bible College. Within a year, I was able to earn a BA in Biblical Studies. Within another year or two, I applied for a Master’s Program in Akron, OH.In the fall of 2002, I moved to Akron, OH to attend the University of Akron where I studied for a degree in Arts Administration. In the fall of 2004, I graduated with this degree. While in Ohio, I worked for the Jack Richard Art Gallery. He has painted over 3000 paintings including four of our United States Presidents. I really enjoyed my time there, working, learning, and taking some more painting classes!I again moved back to the Green Bay area and began working in the arts field. I now work for an art gallery part-time (Ambrosius Framing and Gallery), here at the church as the Music Director, teaching piano lessons, and I also do art commissions (painting and drawing) when I can. I teach an art class in the spring at St. Norbert College. In the summer, I help out with the Music Theatre with props at St. Norbert where they usually run a semi-professional Broadway show put on by the community. For fun, I enjoy traveling to Washington D.C, and Columbus, OH where my brother and sister-in-laws live. My older brother and sister-in-law had twin daughters last year. My younger brother and sister-in-law, in Columbus, just welcomed their first daughter this year. So, I enjoy my new nieces! I also enjoy outdoor activities such as camping, swimming, water parks, and hiking. I have also been on an award winning National Snow Sculpting Team where we have carved figures into large blocks of snow and have chiseled our way through making ice sculptures! Who said there isn’t a sport in art?Thank you once again for the opportunity to be here. If anyone is interested in singing, playing, or sharing some of their music talent or discovering a new musical gift, please let me know! We would love to hear from you. Maybe we’ll see you in the choir!Blessings, Christy
“I feel so at home here.” “People are so warm and welcoming!”That’s what I hear constantly from guests and visitors to this church. And it’s exactly how I’ve felt since becoming the new Pastor here in mid-September.I spent the first 22 years of my life in Platteville, WI, leaving after graduation from UW-Platteville with a degree in broadcasting. That degree carried me through radio and TV jobs in Madison and Fort Atkinson for ten years, while earning a Master’s in teaching speech communication at UW-Whitewater, where I taught for six more years.Then at age 38, having lived in Wisconsin all my life, I moved to Pennsylvania after resigning my teaching position at UW-Whitewater to enter seminary. I had finally received and responded to God’s call to parish ministry! My intent was to spend three years in the “wilderness” of Pennsylvania and then return to Wisconsin. God had other ideas. I spent ten years in PA serving two different churches. Finally in 2000 I was called to a church five miles from the Wisconsin border – just into Bear country. God has quite a sense of humor! From there I was rather inexplicably called to Ohio. I’m only now beginning to figure out a rationale for that one! But finally, I’ve been called home to Wisconsin.Although this part of Wisconsin had never been my home, I feel right at home here in so many ways. In addition to serving such a hospitable congregation, I’ve always been a Packer fan. Well, maybe not “always,” but at least since I’ve known better. In addition, when my family arrived here from Germany in 1857, they arrived in Manitowoc and set up a homestead north of there – just 35 miles from here!My wife and kids haven’t quite caught up to me yet. We have a house to sell back in Ohio before they can move. I have two teens at home, a doctor son in Seattle, and an MBA daughter in Milwaukee. We have exciting plans here for the future of First Congregational in the De Pere community. Why not enjoy our hospitality some Sunday morning?Blessings,
Pastor Jim
Pastor, Rev. James Pfefferkorn
