March 13, 2020 Newsblast

March 12, 2020 God's peace, First Church Family and Friends, As I communicated yesterday, details around the coronavirus are changing quickly. The church's response has also changed. The collective wisdom has agreed that we will not meet for in-person worship effective immediately and for the foreseeable future. What has become clear to me is that our behavior is not individual but communal. Gathering in person may not be a problem for those of us who appear well but it might have unexpected and unintended consequences for those around us. The choices we make today will have an impact on our neighbors – known and unknown. We will strive to make thoughtful choices. China has been able to reduce daily cases from 3500 to 24+ because of swift and decisive action. Italy is playing catch up. We want to follow China's lead and do what we as ordinary citizens can do to limit our contact with crowds. The New York Times said today that people have historically failed to take viruses seriously until someone close to them has been impacted. We will not let that be true of us. If you are wanting to join the New Member Gathering this Sunday from 9:45 am to 10:45 am, meet me on Zoom from your computer or phone. Join Zoom Meeting at https://zoom.us/j/416750927 (Meeting ID: 416 750 927) or call in at 1.929.205.6099 (416750927#). Worship online with me Sunday at 11:00 am at FPC.CHURCH. There will be prayers. There will be beautiful music. There will be the preached word. And I pray you will feel the love and care of our loving community of faith. You are loved, A Prayer for a Pandemic May we who are merely inconvenienced, remember those whose lives are at stake. May we who have no risk factors, remember those most vulnerable. May we who have the luxury of working from home, remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent. May we who have the flexibility to care for our children when their schools close, remember those who have no options. May we who have to cancel our trips, remember those that have no safe place to go. May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market, remember those who have no margin at all. May we who settle in for a quarantine at home, remember those who have no home. As fear grips our country. Let us choose love. During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other. Let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors. Amen. -anonymous If you begin to feel sick, stay home and call your medical provider. If you do not have a medical provider, or it is after hours and you develop symptoms of COVID-19 and were in close contact with a person who spent time in an area known to have widespread community spread of COVID-19, please stay home and call 311 to be connected to a provider. Online Donations: Set up a recurring gift to the church through a secure online account. To set up an account or to edit an existing gift, go to First Presbyterian Church's website. Flower Donations. We welcome flower donations of $30 or more in memory or in honor of friends and loved ones. Call Annie Solages in the Church office at 718-624-3770 or see Barbara Cummings during fellowship hour on Sundays. Appointments with Ministry Staff: Contact the Church at 718-624 -3770.

First Church Brooklyn
124 Henry Street
Brooklyn, New York 11201

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