Building community, sharing hope, and standing for justice since 2004

Celebrating ESTHER’s

20th Anniversary

Anniversary events: 7/27 Classical Guitar Concert • 8/22 Summer Gathering & Cookout
• 10/5 Walk with NAMI • 10/8 Justice in Crisis Movie & Panel • 11/16 Banquet

Learn more at 20 years of ESTHER

Upcoming Events

Please join us for any of these upcoming ESTHER and related events!

  • To learn more about a particular event, click on its title
  • To see the complete ESTHER calendar in a new tab, click here
Monday, December 2, 2024 - 6:00pm - 7:30pm
 ESTHER Transformational Justice Task Force St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 140 South Green Bay Road, Neenah
Tuesday, December 3, 2024 - 4:30pm - 6:00pm
 Oshkosh ESTHER Task Force Meeting Zoom and Various Locations in Oshkosh
Wednesday, December 4, 2024 - 3:30pm - 5:00pm
 ESTHER Executive Committee Zoom Meeting
Thursday, December 12, 2024 - 2:00pm - 3:30pm
 Oshkosh Housing Task Force Zoom and Various Locations in Oshkosh
Thursday, December 12, 2024 - 4:30pm - 6:00pm
 ESTHER Leadership Board Meeting Hybrid Meeting
more
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Rising Together 2025: Lessons on Healing from the Front Lines of Activism

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Date: 
Saturday, January 25, 2025 - 9:00am - 1:00pm
Location: 
Fox Valley UU Fellowship, 2600 E Phillip Ln, Appleton

Rising Together 2025: Lessons on Healing from the Front Lines of Activism

Are you wondering how to sustain your activism in the face of so much despair and uncertainty in our world? Do you long for the opportunity to nurture your own spirit as you care for others in the community? Join us for Rising Together 2025: Lessons on Healing from the Front Lines of Activism! 

Hosted by the Fox Valley UU Fellowship, along with co-conspirators from the Green Bay Area UU Fellowship, Congregational United Church of Christ Neenah/Menasha, and ESTHER Interfaith Community Organizing, Rising Together gives local advocates, activists, justice-makers, and community-builders the opportunity to get centered on what matters most and feel grounded in a nurturing community.

More info & register here: https://fvuuf.org/rising/

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Book Note: Redeeming Justice

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Redeeming Justice: From Defendant to Defender: My Fight for Equity on Both Sides of a Broken System, by Jarrett Adams

Keith Findley, keynote speaker at ESTHER’s 20th Anniversary Banquet on November 16, is a key figure in this 2021 book by Jarrett Adams. You can support ESTHER’s work on transformational justice and hear from the co-founder of the Wisconsin Innocence Project by attending ESTHER’s 20th anniversary banquet on November 16.

Get Banquet Tickets

Adams was seventeen when an all-white jury  in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, sentenced him to twenty-eight years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit. In this unforgettable memoir, Jarrett recalls the journey that led to his exoneration—and inspired him to devote his life to fighting the many injustices in our legal system. With time running out for him to file his appeal, the Wisconsin Innocence Project at the University of Wisconsin Law School offered to represent him, both in drafting his appeal and representing him in court.

Marking 20 Years of Advocacy for Social Justice

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This year, ESTHER is celebrating 20 years of advocacy for social justice in the Fox Valley. It has been an exciting and inspiring journey. ESTHER was formed by people who felt that their religious faith needed to be expressed in action to bring our world closer to the just society that all of our faiths envision. ESTHER stands for Empowerment, Solidarity, Truth, Hope, Equity, & Reform, and they are ideals that have inspired us for two decades.

In celebration of our 20th anniversary, we have planned a number of special events. We hope that you will attend as many of them as possible. For info, go to https://esther-foxvalley.org/20years

ESTHER 20th Anniversary Banquet: Registration

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Date: 
Saturday, November 16, 2024 - 4:30pm
Location: 
Waverly Beach Banquet Hall, N8770 Fire Lane 1, Menasha

ESTHER’s 20th Anniversary Banquet November 16, 2024

Help ESTHER celebrate 20 years of
Justice, Hope and Action
In the Fox Valley Region
NOTE FINAL NOTICE: REGISTRATION CLOSES
AT 5:00 PM ON NOV 10

Tickets

Doors open @4:30 pm • Dinner at 6:00 pm

Keynote speaker: Keith Findley, professor emeritus, UW Law School, and Co-founder, The Innocence Project

 

ESTHER gratefully acknowledges 20th anniversary corporate sponsors:
Community First Credit Union, 91.1 The Avenue, US Venture, and Apex Accident Attorneys, LLC, Curtis Law 
with additional support from Mike & Mary Gage and Sara & Bruce Companik in honor of ESTHER’s visionaries Rev. Joseph Ellwanger, Rev. Joel Schlachtenhaufen & Rev. Maynard Beemer

 

View the Film: The Invisible Class

Date: 
Tuesday, October 29, 2024 - 6:30pm
Location: 
118 E Wisconsin Avenue, Appleton WI

October 29, 6:30 pm,  doors open at 5:30 pm
The Center (Home of ESTHER and Mountains of Hope)
118 E. Wisconsin Avenue, Appleton.

A culmination of our ESTHER book study Poverty, by America will include viewing the film The Invisible Class". 

Open to everyone, even if you did not participate in the book study. No cost.

The film explores what it truly means to be homeless in America, challenging stereotypes and examining the systemic causes of mass homelessness in the wealthiest nation in the world. The film contains strong, potentially offensive language; not recommended for young viewers. 
 
What additional insights do you have after having read and discussed the book?

Book Kickoff - Community Invitation!

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Date: 
Tuesday, October 1, 2024 - 6:30pm - 8:00pm
Location: 
116 E. Wisconsin Ave, Appleton

ESTHER invites the community in a common read:

POVERTY BY AMERICA

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

by EVICTED author Matthew Desmond

“The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Evicted reimagines the debate on poverty, making a ‘provocative and compelling’ (NPR) argument about why it persists in America: because the rest of us benefit from it.”

UPDATED INFORMATION! If you missed the book kickoff on October 1, never fear. You can still sign up for the discussions. We will be reading and discussing parts of the book each week this month. Schedule, facilitators, locations and QR code are here:

Books will be available for purchase, and you can sign up for one of several discussion groups. OR your group can hold its own discussions. Guides available.

Register here  to participate in one of the four study groups.  Each group is meeting for three sessions to discuss portions of the book  The link provides zoom links for the zoom meetings.  

For more information, call 920-843-8083.  We have books available for purchase, discount, or scholarship.

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NAMI Walks Fox Valley

Date: 
Saturday, October 5, 2024 - 8:15am - 12:00pm
Location: 
Fox Cities Stadium

NAMI Walks Fox Valley

October 5, walk starts at 9 am.
NAMI Walks starts at:  Fox Cities Stadium: 2400 N. Casaloma. Appleton

Register here.  The Mental Health Task Force (ESTHER & First Congregational UCC team is Faith, Hope, & Love.  You can join their team or donate to that team to support our teams participation.


Our ESTHER mental health task force who collaborates with the First Congregational UCC Mental Health team encourages your participation and/or donations to people who walk in this event.  Participate in a scenic and inspiring 5K walk on October 5th through the nature trails near Fox Cities Stadium and the Fox Valley Tech campus. If a full 5K isn't for you, a shorter walk option is available. During the event, you’ll have the opportunity to pause at the Outagamie Asylum Cemetery grounds to pay your respects.

Registration for the event is free, and everyone is welcome to join. To support NAMI Fox Valley’s mental health programs, encourage your friends, family, and colleagues to donate to your team.

Register here.  We look forward to walking with you! For more information or to inquire about becoming a sponsor, please contact Morgan O'Connell at morgan@namifoxvalley.org or (920) 954-1550.

Justice in Crisis: Movie and Panel Discussion

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Date: 
Tuesday, October 8, 2024 - 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Location: 
Fox Valley Technical College, Room C190, Entrance 15 North Parking Lot, Appleton

Note the updated correction of entrance 15 and Room C190.
Register at esther-foxvalley.org/justicefilm

Film showing of Justice in Crisis: Mass Incarceration in America, with panel to follow.

Sponsored by ESTHER’s Transformational Justice Task Force.

Environmental Justice Task Force Hosts a Cookout

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Date: 
Thursday, August 22, 2024 - 4:30pm - 7:00pm
Location: 
Telulah Park Pavilion, 1300 E. Newberry, Appleton

Here’s another event celebrating ESTHER’s 20th Anniversary

All are invited to join us in a meal and social gathering sponsored by ESTHER’s Environmental Justice Task Force at Telulah Park in Appleton.

Includes entertainment by Karma’s Mailbox Band, playground equipment for kids and kids games, networking opportunities among environmental action and environmental justice groups.

Cost: $15 for adults; kids under 12 free.

Featured speaker: Sharon Cook, Development Director, Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance.

Sharon will speak about challenges to the Northeast Wisconsin ecosystem, why Fox-Wolf addresses them at a watershed level, and how the alliance builds partnerships with diverse stakeholders.

Register here