| | | To Seek and Save the Lost |
| Greetings First Church Brooklyn Family and Friends, What a terrifying and heartbreaking week this has been with the mass shooting in Atlanta. The rhetoric of the past year makes this event unsurprising but deeply painful and tragic. We are praying and planning for next steps even as we weep and grieve. Thank you to, Ping Moy, for alerting us to the vigil this Friday evening. I am grateful also to Elder Chester Lee for alerting me to an interfaith conversation supporting Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. I was able to join the Commission of Religious Leaders on Thursday evening for this conversation, and I will keep you apprised of our next steps. In the meantime, check on our people. Commit to calling at least one member of our faith community this week and asking how they are doing. Educate. Advocate. Donate. Pray. You are loved, |
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| | | | Sunday, March 21st 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 Youth 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 |
| SOCIAL ACTION COMMITTEE/White Rose Ministry The First Presbyterian Church White Rose Ministry supports the repeal of sanctions on Cuba. The Biden Administration and the 117th Congress have indicated they are willing to change the U.S. policy toward Cuba. Now its time to support this and let them know you want them to act. On February 4th, the Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced the U.S.-Cuba Trade Act of 2021 to repeal sanctions on Cuba and establish normal trade relations.
Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) co-sponsored the bill as well. The White Rose Ministry asks you to call or write your Senators and Representatives and urge them to support improved U.S.-Cuba relations and to support this new legislation in the U.S. Senate. |
| Family Retreat - June 19th-20th We had to cancel our retreat last year due to COVID, but found a place this year to have a SAFE and fun family retreat! Join us for a time of playing in the water, boating, exploring the woods, roasting marshmallows and enjoying the outdoors at Camp DeWolfe in Wading River, NY. Families are able to lodge in separate cabin units. Cost is $80/person and includes meals. |
| Many parents are facing difficult choices about sending their children back to in-person classes: will the students get sick? Will other members of our household be safe? But for Asian American families, there is an additional concern: will my children be the target of racism built on slander, lies, and blame for the coronavirus? These fears are well founded: between just March and December of 2020, more than 2,800 incidences of harassment or violence were reported to the group Stop AAPI Hate. Recent acts of extreme violence against members of the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community across the country make it clear that the issue is not going away. In New York City, principals report that some AAPI parents are not picking up their children's school supplies due to fear of encountering anti-Asian violence or harassment, "even if the building is two blocks away."
In the words of James Baldwin, "History is not the past. It is the present." Recent derogatory aspersions have inflamed long-simmering racism that reaches back to a history of discrimination. The harm experienced by generations of Asian American students, whether being bullied based on physical features or stereotyped as a "model minority," are rooted in past racism embodied in the Page Act of 1875, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, and the Chinese Massacre of 1871. (For an example of EL Education students unearthing the silenced history in their own community, check out this project from Silverton, CO).
At EL Education, we know that all students need "mirrors, windows, and sliding doors"—the opportunity to see their own lived experience reflected in stories, both ones they read and those they create; views into the different perspectives of others, and how power and privilege look in different cultures; and doors that empower them to be changemakers in creating a better world. Through such learning experiences, students build their identity and imagine how their lives are connected to the larger human endeavor. Racism in all its forms, including anti-Asian and anti-Black, has shaped our students' lives and our educational systems. In response, we have committed to four pillars of anti-racist education: Instruction that challenges, engages, and empowers learners Access to standards-based, content-rich, culturally affirming curriculum Explicit anti-racist discussion, practice, and action School culture that fosters positive identity, belonging, agency, and purpose Building these pillars is very much still in progress—in the work of our organization and likewise in our own growth as individuals. As the Lunar New Year celebration comes to a close and the Year of the Ox gets underway, we look to this symbol of trustworthy patience and diligent hard work for inspiration. Please join us: together we will succeed in creating an equitable future for all. READ Further resources from EL Education: Asian and Asian American Books that Changed Us. Ingrid Wong, Genie Kang, Alison Lee, Karmela Herrera Billones, Laxmi Rajak, Roel Mason-Vivit, Rominna Villasenńňor, members of the EL Education AAPI Affinity Group More Than Dumplings and Red Envelopes: What Happens When We Question Who is Absent in Our Curriculum. Ingrid Wong, New York City: Outward Bound Schools. Collecting Family History: Rooting Ourselves in Identity During the Pandemic. Khizer Husain. Two Rivers Public Charter School. Impounded Identity: Nidoto Nai Yoni from the Anser Charter School, Boise Idaho and Honor for All from Harmon Middle School in Aurora, Ohio. Models of Excellence, EL Education. Other helpful resources: NASP, Countering Coronavirus Stigma and Racism: Tips for Teachers and Other Educators New York Times, "Anti-Asian Racism Isn't New" Quan Julie Wang, 2/19/21. Primary Source Guide for Educators: Asians and Asian Americans in the U.S. Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center Stop AAPI Hate |
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Food Pantry Serving Thursday, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM On Thursday, March 18th, our pantry served 180 clients with the help of 8 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. |
| COVID-19 Testing and Vaccine Resources |
| Reminders and Looking Ahead |
POSITIVE DISCIPLINE Dear Parents, "The primary goal of Positive Discipline is to enable both adults and children 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 Joy. Harmony. Cooperation. Shared responsibility. Come learn Positive Discipline parenting. New class series for parents of preschoolers and school-aged children begin next month. Here's the schedule: Tuesdays: Series C: 16 March to 27 April for parents of kids 6 to 12 years old Mondays: Series D:15 March to 26 April for parents of kids 3 to 5 years old Time: 8 pm to 9:30 pm Location: online Cost: Pay-What-You-Can (a special price for extraordinary times) You'll learn a lot of concrete strategies that can help your family life—especially during a global pandemic. And you might even forget about said pandemic for two hours. - C The approach of being kind and firm while relating to your child's needs and feelings is a simple concept, but putting it all in practice is where the work comes in. But it works. - A "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 "I hope every parent takes this class - it will make for a world of happier parents and well-adjusted children." - S Come join us, Mary Lynn Fiske Positive Discipline Parent Educator |
| 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: 
The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead In this Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times bestselling follow-up to The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys unjustly sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida. Based on the real story of a reform school that operated for 111 years and warped the lives of thousands of children, The Nickel Boys is a devastating, driven narrative that showcases a great American novelist writing at the height of his powers and "should further cement Whitehead as one of his generation's best" (Entertainment Weekly). 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 Mark Elsenheimer. |
| 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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