| | | See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
Isaiah 43:19 |
| Happy New Year, First Church Brooklyn Family and Friends! Thank God we have made it to another new year. Another fresh start. Another opportunity to walk more closely with Jesus. Sunday's sermon will focus on the boy Jesus studying in the temple, "sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions." We are teachers to one another church, and next Sunday we will begin sitting among our community of faith to listen and share stories about race. If you've not yet signed up for Dismantling White Supremacy at Our Church, please indicate your interest today. Contact Rev. April at astace@firstchurchbrooklyn.org for the white affinity group and Annie Solages at info@firstchurchbrooklyn.org for the Black, Indigenous and people of color group. This new thing we are doing is deeply transformative, and we hope to welcome many of you to the table. In conjunction with our Sunday affinity groups, former FPC intern, Conor Foley, also returns next week to lead a 6-week Bible study on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 pm. Conor is a Hebrew bible scholar and graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary. His study, planned with our church in mind, is called The Bible & Race and is not to be missed. Thank you for making plans to courageously begin this new year. #BeginBrave2021 You are loved, |
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| Rest. Our Church office will be closed from December 25th – January 4th so that our hard-working church staff can catch their breaths and enjoy some sabbath rest with their loved ones. Happy Christmas, church!
Explore. As we are preparing to launch Dismantling White Supremacy at Our Church, find and explore good reading resources here about why it is helpful to meet in racial affinity groups. Scroll to the bottom for additional links.
Watch. Cultural Ways of Healing as we prepare to do transformative work, healing work around white supremacy beginning January 10th learn about or be reminded of the ways grandmamas and mamas bless and heal across time and generations. |
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| | | | Friday, January 1st Happy New Year The Church Office will be closed in observance of the New Year. Sunday, January 3rd NOTE: You can find the Bulletin for Sunday's worship online here. 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM Power Hour Zoom Meeting ID: 608 557 2880 Discussion: Finishing Anne Lamott's book "The Three Essential Prayers" Children's Choir For info email Victoria Goff Kid's Church For info email Rev April 11:00 AM |
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| | Congregation and Community News |
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This Sunday is Communion Sunday. Please bring your bread and cup to worship. If you are worshiping with children and they'd like to use cookies and milk, that's beautiful and welcome. If you'd like to worship in live community this Sunday, meet me and our church elders on Zoom. The meeting ID number is 812 9262 6196. Join us. We will break into small groups, share our screens and be able to worship while seeing other members of the community in real time. Some have been worshipping in this way already, and I'm told it makes a world of difference. We are grateful to Elder Jim Johnson for moving this idea forward. Whichever way you worship this Sunday, we look forward to being together with you. Sending you love and light for the new year,
Pastor Adriene |
| NEW MEMBERS Join us online to welcome 2020 new members into fellowship at First Church Brooklyn. We will do this via Zoom on Sunday, January 3rd following worship. This is a beautiful ritual and I hope you will be a part of it. Please join with the information below. The session and I look forward to welcoming you. https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81292626196 |
| Virtual Grief Groups - Registration link 
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Food Pantry 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM On Thursday, December 31st, our pantry served approximately 85 clients with the help of 11 volunteers. We will maintain the bins on the church steps to support the food insecure and the homeless population who have benefitted from the offering. If you need food, please help yourself. If you have food to share, thank you for dropping off. Please contact the church office to inquire about volunteering. PLEASE DO NOT ARRIVE UNSCHEDULED as we must manage the number of personel on site. Can't make it to the First Church Brooklyn? Text FOOD to 877-877. No questions asked, food for kids. Use your zip code to see if there is food available in your area. |
| Worship service video is streamed live over the internet. We provide the worship bulletin on the website so that you can follow along. Tune in to worship at 11:00 AM Eastern time. If you have access to a screen of any size, try our Video LIVE Stream on firstchurchbrooklyn.org and our Facebook page. Want to hear a Sermon again? We have a podcast of Sermon audio! Click the "Sermon Podcast" icon, below, to subscribe. |
| Reminders and Looking Ahead |
| On hiatus – resumes Monday, January 4th! 
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| Men's Fellowship Book Discussion 
FPC Men's Group enjoying a recent discussion via Zoom FPC Men's Group meet virtually each Wednesday morning from 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM to discuss what they are reading and, if time allows, solve as many of the world's problems as possible. Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World by Fareed Zakaria 
From the publisher: "COVID-19 is speeding up history, but how? What is the shape of the world to come? Lenin once said, 'There are decades when nothing happens and weeks when decades happen.' This is one of those times when history has sped up. CNN host and best-selling author Fareed Zakaria helps readers to understand the nature of a post-pandemic world: the political, social, technological, and economic consequences that may take years to unfold. Written in the form of ten 'lessons,' covering topics from natural and biological risks to the rise of 'digital life' to an emerging bipolar world order, Zakaria helps readers to begin thinking beyond the immediate effects of COVID-19. Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World speaks to past, present, and future, and, while urgent and timely, is sure to become an enduring reflection on life in the early twenty-first century." Contact Adam Wright if you would like to join our Wednesday morning discussion. |
| Prayer Requests "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." (1 John 5:14 NIV) Our world is changing daily, and yet we still believe in the power of prayer. We still desire to pray with and for our community. If you have a prayer request – a joy or a concern, please send your prayers to us at info@firstchurchbrooklyn.org. We will add prayers to our worship bulletin each week and keep your prayers in our hearts and on our lips for the week to come. |
| Wednesday "Flash" Text Devotionals Sometimes the weeks are long, right? Our Wednesday morning "flash" text devotional is meant to help give you a boost in the middle of the week. Simply Text the word DEVOTIONAL to 66599 to sign up. Every Wednesday, a super-short, thought-provoking piece will be texted to you - written by a different First Church member each week! A history of the devotionals can be found here, also on Twitter and Facebook. |
| A full calendar of church events can be found on the church website. |
| This week's eNewsletter was edited by Christina Adorno. |
| 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 Church Brooklyn's website. Appointments with Ministry Staff may be arranged by calling the Church at 718-624-3770, or via email. |
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