Friday, May 7, 2021

First Presbyterian Church eNewsletter - May 7, 2021

 

May 7, 2021

 

Time for Some Pruning

 

 

Greetings First Church Brooklyn Family and Friends,

 

I learned a song in elementary school that said, I have decided to follow Jesus…no turning back, no turning back. Making the choice to follow Jesus is something we do through the power of the Holy Spirit, and making that choice means we cannot make other choices. It means parts will die in us so that Jesus can live in us. It means, like a pruned tree, that we grow stronger in the trimmed places. Paul lays it out in this Sunday's letter to the churches in Galatia. I look forward to sharing it with you.

 

You are loved,

 

 

CELEBRATE: The Senate passed Anti-Asian hate crime bill. Our church joined a coalition of interfaith leaders to encourage support for this action.
REGISTER: The primary election for mayor and city council are June 22nd. Are you registered to vote?

 

 

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Listen to our Sunday Livestream

 

Join Zoom events by computer @ https://zoom.us/j/ 
or phone @ 929.205.6099 and enter the Meeting ID specified.

 

 The Coming Week

 

 

Sunday, May 9th

 

Happy Mother's Day

 

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

 
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Youth Choir 

For info email Victoria Goff

 

10:30 AM - 11:00 AM

Kid's Church

For info email Rev April

 

11:00 AM 

Worship

Rev. Thorne preaching: Called to Save

Scripture: Luke 18:9-14 and Galatians 1:13-17; 2:11-21

 
Worship with us on our website or our Facebook Page.
 
Monday, May 10th
 

12:00PM - 12:30 PM

Monday Meet-Up with Pastor Adriene

Zoom Meeting ID: 863 9710 5794

Beginning April 19th we will be joined each week by one of eight candidates running for City Council in the church's 33rd district. This week: Elizabeth Adams. Join the conversation.

 

 

Wednesday, May 12th

 

7:30 AM - 8:30 AM

Men's Fellowship Book Discussion

Discussion of Heather McGhee's The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together

For invite info contact Adam Wright

 

 

Thursday, May 13th

 

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Food Pantry

For information on how to volunteer contact the church office

 

7:00PM

Youthful Fellowship

Zoom Meeting ID: 859 7048 1392

 

Calls to the church office and e-mails are being forwarded to the staff during regular office hours. Please reach us at 718.624.3770 or email info@firstchurchbrooklyn.org

 

Congregation and Community News

 

 

 

 

Newsletter Editor Needed

 

Ever wonder how the weekly newsletter is created and the work that goes into it? Join the editing team for a chance to join the team and edit the newsletter. As an editor you will be responsible for one week a month with a dedicated team of editors. Fear not! CO-Chair, Elder Christina Adorno, will show you how the editing process works until you are comfortable editing solo. Once you get the hang of it, editing the newsletter takes about two to three hours a week. 

 

If interested, please email Elder Christina Adorno.

 

Food Pantry 

Serving Thursday, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

 

On Thursday, May 6th, our pantry served 169 clients with the help of 10 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.

 

We're Social: Like us. Follow us. See us. Hear us. Watch us.

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Sermon Podcast      

 

COVID-19 Vaccine Resources

 

As per NYC Health, all New Yorkers 16 years of age and older are now eligible to be vaccinated. People who work or study in New York are also eligible. Use the City's Vaccine Finder to search for a location near you. Note, people who are 16 or 17 years old can only receive the Pfizer vaccine. Find a location near you here.

 

NY City: vaccinefinder.nyc.gov

Mt. Sinai: www.mountsinai.org/about/covid19/vaccine-information/schedule
NY State: am-i-eligible.covid19vaccine.health.ny.gov/

 

NJ: Vaccine Website: covidvaccine.nj.gov
NJ Hackensack: www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/covid19/hmh-covid-vaccine-first-responders/

 

PA: For those in the Lehigh Valley area there are currently two options: one through Lehigh Valley Health Network at LVHN.org/MyLVHN or by calling the St. Luke's Hospital central scheduling system at 484-526-1009. For those in Bucks County, PA we don't have info yet.
 

CT: portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus/COVID-19-Vaccinations

 

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:

 

The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee

 

 

From the publisher -- "Heather McGhee's specialty is the American economy - and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a common root problem: racism. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for White people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all. But how did this happen? And is there a way out?

 

McGhee marshals economic and sociological research to paint an irrefutable story of racism's costs, but at the heart of the book are the humble stories of people yearning to be part of a better America, including White supremacy's collateral victims: White people themselves. With startling empathy, this heartfelt message from a Black woman to a multiracial America leaves us with a new vision for a future in which we finally realize that life can be more than zero-sum."

 

Contact Adam Wright if you would like to join our Wednesday morning discussion.

 

 

On Hiatus this week

 

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 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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