| | | Greetings First Church Brooklyn Family and Friends, Can you feel it? Despite the snow on the ground, spring is coming! We can feel the planet pulsating with the promise of new life. It's getting brighter sooner and staying sunny longer. Those determined daffodils have decided to make what seems, every year, like a too early appearance. Dare we admit that we feel the stirrings of joy? Granted, every broken thing isn't fixed. True, what has been lost cannot be found. And yet…like the wave of the East River that washed up and over my sneakers this week when I didn't expect it and wasn't paying great attention…there joy is like grace. Soaking our feet. A free gift from God. I am excited to welcome Jennifer Jones Austin, Esq. to the pulpit this Sunday as we celebrate Black History in worship. Jennifer and I met a few years back, and I have admired her passion for justice and joy ever since. Tell your neighbors. Invite your friends. This will be a sermon you will not want to miss. Joy is coming and we are loved, |
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A fourth-generation leader of faith and social justice, Jennifer Jones Austin fights for equity. As CEO of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), a social policy and advocacy organization with 170 member agencies and faith partners, she has led and secured monumental changes in social policy to strengthen and empower the disenfranchised and marginalized. Jennifer brings to her work a profound understanding of the link between race, poverty, and social policy in America, and the role religion plays in addressing economic injustice. Prior to joining FPWA, Ms. Jones Austin served as Senior Vice President of the United Way of New York City; the City of New York's first Family Services Coordinator, a city-wide leadership position to which she was appointed by Mayor Bloomberg; Deputy Commissioner for the NYC Administration for Children's Services; Civil Rights Deputy Bureau Chief for Attorney General Eliot Spitzer; and Vice President for LearnNow/Edison Schools, Inc. Ms. Jones Austin has chaired and served on several influential boards and commissions. |
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| | | | Sunday, February 28th NOTE: You can find the Bulletin for Sunday's worship online here. 10:00 AM - 10:50 AM Power Hour Power hour participants are sharing scripture to focus their thoughts and efforts in 2021. All are welcome! Zoom Meeting ID: 608 557 2880 Children's Choir For info email Victoria Goff Kid's Church For info email Rev April 11:00 AM Worship Jennifer Jones Austin, Esq., preaching: "Being an Anti-Racist Christian in a Religion-Rationalized, Racist Nation" Scripture: Psalm 122 and Luke 13:1-9, 31-35 Worship with us at FirstChurchBrooklyn.org or Facebook Monday, March 1st 12:00PM - 12:30 PM Monday Meet-Up with Pastor Adriene Zoom Meeting ID: 863 9710 5794 Wednesday, March 3rd 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM Men's Fellowship Book Discussion Discussion of Rutger Bregman's Humankind: A Hopeful History For invite info contact Adam Wright (See info below on the March 13th church-wide discussion of this book) 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM Bible Study with Rev. April Zoom Meeting ID: 842 1213 6172 Thursday, March 4th 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Food Pantry For information on how to volunteer contact the church office |
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| | Congregation and Community News |
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ORDINATION AND INSTALLATION OF ELDERS
Please join us immediately following worship on Sunday, February 28th for the ordination and installation of elders to Session.
Join Zoom Meeting 895 2439 6998
Note that "sermon talk back" will follow on the same number. |
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CHURCH-WIDE BOOK DISCUSSION Rutger Bregman's "Humankind" See more on this book below, in the Men's Fellowship newsletter entry Meeting ID: 958 2460 4476 Passcode: vqEf46 |
| Here are two letters that, together, offer a window into how our church is being represented in the larger interfaith world. 
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POSITIVE DISCIPLINE Dear Parents, "The primary goal of Positive Discipline is to enable both adults and children to experience more joy, harmony, cooperation, shared responsibility, mutual respect, and love in their life and relationships. We often act as though we have forgotten that love and joy are the whole point of living and working with children, and find ourselves acting out of fear, judgment, expectations, blame, disappointment, and anger. Then we wonder why we feel so miserable." - Jane Nelsen, author of Positive Discipline Cooperation. Shared responsibility. Mutual respect. Come learn Positive Discipline parenting and get more of what you've been looking for. New class series for parents of preschoolers and school-aged children begin next month. Here's the schedule: Tuesdays: Series C: March 2 to April 13 for parents of kids 6 to 12 years old Mondays: Series D: March 8 to April 19 for parents of kids 3 to 5 year old Time: 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM Location: online Cost: Pay-What-You-Can (a special price for extraordinary times) What parents have said: "I am always amazed that I signed up for an 8-hour childbirth class but not one single parenting class until my oldest son was 6 years old." - M "My fellow parents in class felt like life boat companions and the trust and openness we all brought to every session was pretty awesome." - C "My relationship to my daughter immediately felt healthier than it had after a stressful time; parenting became fun again." - K "If you are looking for ideas on getting kids to engage more, for you to yell less, to feel less like you don't know what to do in certain situations and for everyone to be happier, go." - C "We have a happier home life because we can all understand each other better and figure out how to solve our problems." - M Mary Lynn was always encouraging, allowing us to celebrate better communication while recognizing that we won't be perfect every time. - J I get a great group of people in PD class, and we have a lot of fun. Come join us, Mary Lynn Fiske Positive Discipline Parent Educator |
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Food Pantry Serving Thursday, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM On Thursday, February 25th, our pantry served approximately 158 clients with the help of 7 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/watch-listen/ 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. |
| Ash Wednesday at First Church |
| Reminders and Looking Ahead |
| Men's Fellowship Book Discussion 
FPC Men's Group enjoying a recent discussion via Zoom First Church's Men's Group meets 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. We are currently discussing: Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman, Erica Moore, Elizabeth Manton 
From the author of the New York Times bestseller Utopia for Realists comes "the riveting pick-me-up we all need right now" (People) which offers an "extraordinary" (Susan Cain) argument that humans thrive in a crisis and that our innate kindness and cooperation have been the greatest factors in our long-term success on the planet. When we think the worst of people, it brings out the worst in our politics and economics. But if we believe in the reality of humanity's kindness and altruism, it will form the foundation for achieving true change in society, a case that Rutger Bregman makes convincingly with his signature wit, refreshing frankness, and memorable storytelling. 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, Twitter and Facebook. |
| A full calendar of church events can be found on the church website. |
| This week's eNewsletter was edited by Ben Cosgrove. |
| 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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