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

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
Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 3:00pm - 4:30pm
 ESTHER Communications Committee Meeting Zoom Meeting
Tuesday, February 18, 2025 - 6:30pm - 8:00pm
 ESTHER Immigration Task Force Meeting Zoom Meeting
Thursday, February 20, 2025 - 10:00am - Wednesday, December 31, 2025 - 11:30am
 ESTHER Finance Committee Meeting Zoom Meeting
Tuesday, February 25, 2025 - 7:00pm - 8:30pm
 ESTHER Environmental Justice Task Force Meeting Zoom meeting
Tuesday, March 4, 2025 - 4:30pm - 6:00pm
 Oshkosh ESTHER Task Force Meeting Zoom and Various Locations in Oshkosh
more
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ESTHER's Promise in 2025

ESTHER’s Promise in 2025
Empowerment, Solidarity, Truth, Hope, Equity, and Reform
Connie Kanitz, ESTHER President

ESTHER is rooted in the commitment of knowing there is inherent worth and dignity in each and every person. Everyone deserves respect, access to rights and to the promise of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

ESTHER is committed to acting in love for one another. When we expand our understanding of “family” to include everyone; when we welcome cultural, racial, economic, and gender diversity AND a diversity of ideas and perspectives; AND when we ensure everyone has access to rights and opportunity, we can build a community that is amazing to behold. 

As the new administration begins on January 20, 2025, on the very same day we celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., ESTHER will continue to tell the truth and stand up for the truth…

Madison Action Day 2025

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Ready to take action for social justice? Join us for Madison Action Day 2025 in Madison, WI!

 Engage with policymakers, connect with advocates, and make your voice heard. We are sharing our priorities for the State Bienium Budget. Together, we can create a more equitable future.  Includes box lunch and Madison Action Day tshirt. We are taking a coach bus with bathrooms. Sign up for bus in registration, additional $10 per person towards bus costs. 

 April 10, 2025

Arrive to Madison Masonic Center by 9:00 am.  Finish meeting with legislators by 4 pm, buses will return to the Fox Cities at 4:30.

$35 Early Bird / person

Register now: https://bit.ly/madisonactionday2025

Madison Action Day April 10 2025 Early Bird $35 Registration Link

Eye on Oshkosh

Learn more about ESTHER:

On this edition of “Eye on Oshkosh,” host Cheryl Hentz spends the hour talking with representatives from ESTHER, a Fox Valley interfaith nonprofit that seeks to find social justice in all areas of life – whether it be in affordable housing, the prison and court systems, environmental, mental health, race and sexual identity, even transportation. ESTHER works to identify leaders who can focus on and lead others in working to correct problems and injustices in these very issues. You can see the show by clicking on the image to the left or by following this link:

https://youtu.be/lvdPtX_C7Hw

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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, the keynote speaker at ESTHER’s 20th Anniversary Banquet on November 16, is a key figure in this 2021 book by Jarrett Adams. Adams introduced Findley at the banquet and gave moving testimony about the new life Findley’s Innocence Project gave him.

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.

Fox Cities MLK Celebration

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Date: 
Monday, January 20, 2025 - 6:00pm - 7:30pm
Location: 
Lawrence University Memorial Chapel, 510 E College Ave, Appleton

34th Annual Community-Wide MLK Celebration

Keynote speaker: Dr. Charisse Burden-Stelly, Associate Professor of African American Studies at Wayne State University. Dr. Burden-Stelly is a Black studies scholar and author focused on political theory, political economy, intellectual history, and political and historical sociology. She has given multiple talks regarding the life and legacy of MLK, including at Penn State University, Georgetown, and Western Carolina University.

Musical performances by:

  • NOIR | Lawrence University student group
  • Preston Parker ft. The Omoladé Academy
  • The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Community Choir

Also featuring the presentation of Jane LaChapelle McCarty Unity in Diversity Awards: MLK Community Leader and MLK Educator.

Thank you to our committee members and co-sponsors!

  • Appleton Area School District
  • The Boldt Company
  • Boys & Girls Club of the Fox Valley
  • City of Appleton
  • Fox Cities Community Foundation
  • People of Progression
  • ThedaCare
  • United Way Fox Cities
 

 

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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

As we look ahead to 2025, many of us are feeling anxiety, dread, or at least trepidation about the political moment we are heading towards. But we also know that, in community, we can find a different path forward filled with possibilities, support, and hope! If you're looking for spiritual sustenance, community connections, and opportunities to deepen your skills for making change, please plan to join us here at the Fellowship for Rising Together: Lessons on Healing from the Front Lines of Activism on Saturday, January 25th from 9 am - 1 pm.

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/

 

See choices for breakout sessions below!

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.