Friday, June 5, 2020

Newsblast 06/05/2020



June 6, 2020


The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn mourns and condemns the murders of Ahmaud Arbery; Breonna Taylor; Nina Pop; Tony McDade; and George Floyd at the hands of police and other racist actors. We lift these most recent names while not forgetting the countless others whose lives were taken in racist and senseless acts of terror. We hold the pain of the devaluation and dehumanization of Black life against the backdrop of COVID-19 and its disproportionate effects on Black communities. We admit that these events have devastated our faith community and we admit that we are not okay.

We mourn together even as we pray and continue the work of seeking to disrupt what bell hooks called an "imperialist, white supremacist, capitalistic, patriarchy" that adversely afflicts every member of our society. Our world needs transformation and healing, but it won't come without a struggle. As people of faith, we are committed to a just world, a world "on earth as it is in heaven." 

We are a vibrant, welcoming, intentionally inclusive community of faith committed to the ongoing work of racial and social justice, protesting and lamenting racial violence in all its forms, and celebrating the possibility of transcendent change. We believe that all people are made in the image of God and that Black lives matter. We strive to be a place of refuge where all God's people feel God's love and where each person is cherished as God's beloved.

We often sing a spiritual at First Church Brooklyn that says, "I don't feel no ways tired."  Well, in this moment, we do feel tired, but when one of us feels too weary to move forward, we trust this community to carry us until we've regained our strength. That is what it means to be the church of Jesus Christ – to do life and to do struggle together. Together, our work, our faith and our witness will go on.

The First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn
June 2020

Please watch our website, social media pages and email newsletters for action and programming opportunities.

The Brooklyn Community Bail Fund has met its need for demonstration bail and is deploying funds to pay bail for demonstrators in NYC, New York State, and around the country, and to support grassroots, black-led organizations fighting for systems change.
Their other work, should you choose to support it, is to dismantle the prison industrial complex and includes freeing immigrants from the horrific conditions of ICE detention, working to end pretrial detention in New York, and strategically paying bail in cases where they believe it will have maximum impact toward systems change. To support this important work, go here.

The Brooklyn Community Bail Fund suggests donation to the organizations below and this article will direct you to even more opportunities to support the fight for justice, against police violence. 

G.L.I.T.S.
Funds go directly to securing necessities for trans people being released from Rikers, including temporary and long-term housing, food, harm reduction materials, laundry, and healthcare.https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-house-lgbtq-young-adults-during-covid19

F2L Relief Fund
Funds go directly to queer and trans people incarcerated in New York.
https://www.f2lrelieffund.com/

COVID-19 Bailout NYC
Donations go towards posting bail for medically vulnerable people held in New York City jails and providing comprehensive post-release support, such as shelter and food for these individuals.
https://www.covidbailout.org/

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.

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