| | | Greetings First Church Brooklyn Family and Friends, I receive the saddest letters from folks trying to convince me that God doesn't love all the people. I'm sharing part of my response to one such letter below and thanking you for being a faith community that celebrates all God's people in their beautiful, natural, and perfect diversity! #HappyPride You are loved, |
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| I don't agree with your logic, John, or with your description of God. God loves all the people, and all means all. Anyone who understands the truth about God knows that God does not make mistakes. Not a one. Never. God is Spirit. God is not a boy's name. God is unlimited and unknowable. I don't believe that God made people as they are to then call them sinful or abominations. That is not the God of my understanding. You will never convince me that any of God's people are unnatural. Ever. Even the ones, like you, who spend their time telling others that some of God's creation is unnatural. You know what I think is unnatural? Being made in the image of a loving Creator, as you are, and spending your precious life emailing hateful messages to other children of God. Cut it out!
This will be my last correspondence with you. Please kindly remove me from your email list. |
| Starting Sunday July 4th, we will be switching to our summer worship time of 10:00 AM. |
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| | | | Sunday, June 27th 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: 853 2522 6456 Passcode: 491954 Youth Choir For info email Victoria Goff Kid's Church For info email Rev April 11:00 AM Worship Rev. Adriene Thorne, preaching "Joy as Resistance" Scripture: Psalm 30 and John 6:67-69 Monday, June 28th 12:00PM - 12:30 PM Monday Meet-Up with Pastor Adriene Zoom Meeting ID: 863 9710 5794 Wednesday, June 30th 7:30 AM - 8:30 AM Men's Fellowship Book Discussion Discussion of David Brooks' The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life For invite info contact Adam Wright 7:00 PM Queer Healing Space Zoom Meeting ID: 320 510 6472 Passcode: 115027 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM Bible Study with Rev. April Zoom Meeting ID: 842 1213 6172 Thursday, July 1st 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Food Pantry For information on how to volunteer contact the church office |
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| | Pride Month at First Church Brooklyn |
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Claim Our Space -- Saturday 6/26 , 9 AM - 3 PM Support our own elder Dimitri Moise at the Rally for Freedom. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Patrick Tirino, tirinop [at] gmail.com. |
| Pride Fellowship -- Sunday 6/27, 11 AM - 2 PM Calling all LGBTQ+ folks, allies, friends, supporters! Come and join us for a picnic and celebrate the inclusive and sacred love that Pride seeks to honor and spread! If you would like to attend, contact Patrick Tirino, tirinop [at] gmail.com. |
| Congregation and Community News |
| Annual Family Retreat Last weekend, 13 families attended the Annual Family Retreat at Camp DeWolfe in Wading River, NY. They participated in swimming, canoeing, kayaking, paddle-boarding, and made s'mores around the campfire. On Sunday morning, they gathered for worship under the trees, led by Rev. April Stace and Rebecca Stevens-Walter. 
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| Cadman Park Conservancy Juneteenth 2021 Celebration 
Dear Pastor Adriene, On behalf of the Cadman Park Conservancy, I want to thank you for your participation in our first annual Juneteenth 2021 Celebration and for contributing to the success of this meaningful day. Your remarks were a wonderful beginning setting intention for the day. The water ritual took place in the grove where many many people in our community have come together through planting, gardening and promoting our garden's growth. We are grateful for your generosity and being a special part of our Juneteenth Celebration 2021 and we hope that you will join us again next year on Sunday, Juneteenth 2022! Wishing you all the best, Doreen Gallo President, Cadman Park Conservancy |
| New Justice Ministries Website Find out what's happening within NYC Presbytery Justice Ministries. Visit the new ministries website: presbynyc-JMC.org. |
| Tell Mayor de Blasio You Expect to See Portions of Rikers Transferred from DOC to DCAS on July 1 as the First Phase of Renewable Rikers! Social Action Committee, Time Sensitive Item Please click here to see how we can all help to encourage the City to fulfill its obligation to transfer control of currently inactive parts of the Rikers Island land. Initial transfer is to be accomplished by July 1, 2021, and will help to ensure that the Island will gradually be turned over for uses that will benefit our communities. Thank you! |
| First Church Family & Friends, I hope you will join me and my dear friends Rev. Dr. Violet L. D. Lee and her husband The Reverend Canon Terrence Alexander Lee for Conversations on Race. These talks, readings and conversations began in 2019, pre-George Floyd, and are continuing over the summer. In September the monthly reading cycle kicks off with Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019, edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain. You can support local booksellers by purchasing from bookshop.org. Church members and clergy from NYC and beyond join these monthly gatherings to learn, share and build community. I am grateful for the opportunity this invitation offers our faith community to be a part of deepening and growing our faith. All are welcome! Dr. Violet Lee is the Executive Program Minister at Christ Church and Fr. Terrence Lee is the rector of the historic St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Harlem, NY. Rev. Adriene 
Tuesday, June 29, 2020 @ 6:30 PM
Summer Movie Night 
Following up on our June 16 book discussion, we will gather together for a virtual movie night and discussion. Tuesday, July, 14, 2020 @ 6:30 PM
Special guest lecturer 
We are excited to welcome award-winning author Jennifer Harvey and invite everyone to join us for a special night. Writing from a place of hope, Harvey has tackled the issue we see at the forefront of our national and global unrest in the quest for equality and reform. In her book, Dear White Christian, she moves away from a racial reconciliation model for race relations to a reparations model. This paradigm shift is aligned with the gospel's call to justice and speaks hope into a hyper-racialized society. Harvey is a professor of religion, a Christian Social Ethicist, an ordained minister who is committed to the work of supporting white anti-racism and a recent featured panelist on the CNN/Sesame Street Town Hall for Kids and Families, "Coming Together: Standing Up to Racism." |
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Food Pantry Serving Thursday, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM On Thursday, June 24th, our pantry served 180 clients with the help of 9 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 Vaccine Resources |
| 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 Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life In The Second Mountain, David Brooks explores the four commitments that define a life of meaning and purpose: to a spouse and family, to a vocation, to a philosophy or faith, and to a community. Our personal fulfillment depends on how well we choose and execute these commitments. Brooks looks at a range of people who have lived joyous, committed lives, and who have embraced the necessity and beauty of dependence. He gathers their wisdom on how to choose a partner, how to pick a vocation, how to live out a philosophy, and how we can begin to integrate our commitments into one overriding purpose.
In short, this book is meant to help us all lead more meaningful lives. But it's also a provocative social commentary. We live in a society, Brooks argues, that celebrates freedom, that tells us to be true to ourselves, at the expense of surrendering to a cause, rooting ourselves in a neighborhood, binding ourselves to others by social solidarity and love. We have taken individualism to the extreme—and in the process we have torn the social fabric in a thousand different ways. The path to repair is through making deeper commitments. In The Second Mountain, Brooks shows what can happen when we put commitment-making at the center of our lives. 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) May we pray for peace in Jerusalem.
The Bible states FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD....
He did not favor one group over another. The apartheid in Jerusalem is not aligning with Biblical teachings. 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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