| | | Greetings First Church Brooklyn Family and Friends, Our mission and vision in the world have never been stronger, and under the leadership of our dedicated and courageous session, we are preparing for your in-person return to worship! We are changing the carpet and removing trip hazards in the sanctuary; steam cleaning the pew cushions and deep cleaning the balconies; polishing the silver and planning for homecoming; updating our network infrastructure and improving our technical capacity. All this supports our vision to leave no member behind as we prepare to gather face to face and to continue worshipping virtually. While we prepare to welcome you back, know that our mission never stopped, rather it has become more vital than ever: - Our LGBTQIA+ ministry led a thoughtful and joyful month of PRIDE activities throughout June.
- Our interfaith partners and Brooklyn neighbors helped us launch the Brooklyn Heights Community Fridge mid-June.
- Our food pantry has seen a nearly 50% increase in guests, and still been able to meet the need.
- We were awarded a Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Vital Worship Grant.
Let everything that breathes, praise the Lord! We are not the church we were a year ago and we cannot be the church God is calling us to be without each one of you. We invite you to partner with us in telling our good news story in one or both of the following ways: - Make an additional financial gift heading into summer, we could certainly use it, and we would be grateful for it. Every dollar makes a difference.
- Volunteer your time helping us prepare the sanctuary for reopening, we welcome you to our clean-up day, Saturday, August 7th from 9am to 5pm.
Thank you, church, for making our good news story possible. See you Sunday for worship at 10am! You are loved, |
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| Starting Sunday July 4th, we will be switching to our summer worship time of 10:00 AM. |
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| | | | Sunday, July 4th NOTE: You can find the Bulletin for Sunday's worship online here. 10:00 AM Communion Sunday Bring your bread and cup to worship Rev. Adriene Thorne, preaching "We Are a Good News Story" Scripture: Psalm 150 and John 4:24-26 Wednesday, July 7th 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Men's Fellowship Book Discussion Discussion of David Brooks' The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life Join us at Park Plaza Diner Thursday, July 8th 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Food Pantry For information on how to volunteer contact the church office 7:00 PM - 8:15 PM Youthful Fellowship Meeting ID: 859 7048 1392 |
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| | Congregation and Community News |
| New Justice Ministries Website Find out what's happening within NYC Presbytery Justice Ministries. Visit the new ministries website: presbynyc-JMC.org. |
| 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, 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, July 1st, our pantry served 158 clients with the help of 9 volunteers. We are maintaining food bins and a community fridge at the church to provide round the clock support to the food insecure and unhoused. If you need food, please help yourself. If you have food to share, thank you for dropping off. Volunteers are welcome to show up on Thursdays between 9:00-11:00 am to serve in the pantry. No advanced notice required. You may also contact the church office to inquire about volunteering. We look forward to serving with you. Jane Woland Pantry Coordinator |
| 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 10:00 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. |
| This Week at First Church Brooklyn |
| June 25th in the Peace Garden Celebrating Beverly Gettles' Birthday 
June 27th Pride Fellowship in the Peace Garden 
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| 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 will meet weekly in person every Wednesday morning from 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM. They will meet at Park Plaza Diner at 220 Cadman Plaza West where they will 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. |
| 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 Chi Ling Moy. Photos provided by Zuri Terrel, Zayn Silva and Elder 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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