| | | Greetings First Church Brooklyn Community, Rebecca Stevens-Walter will be in the pulpit this Sunday for her first sermon in community with us! Since arriving in June and working closely with Reverend April through the summer transition, Rebecca is connecting with folks across the FPC family and helping us reimagine church in a Covid world. Minister Rebecca is proof that the dry bones of our church can live. Please pray as she prepares to bring a word. Recently, the session approved a partnership with my Lutheran colleague, the Reverend Becca Seely, to ensure college students have enough to eat. On the first Wednesday of the month, we have opened our doors to Rev. Becca and her college volunteers to serve students from across the city. Bones alive!!! The Brooklyn Heights Community Fridge partnership has launched a newsletter. To receive it, email brooklynheightscommunityfridge@gmail.com and sign up here to volunteer. FPC will partner with our fridge peeps for a community caroling event on Sunday, December 19th following worship. Bring cookies, hot drinks, or crock pot soups to share. News of the fridge and the way it connects community is spreading far and wide. I've been interviewed by several news outlets and will lecture next year about our ministry as part of the Thompson Scholar's Seminar in Atlanta. The theme is Beloved Community and none other than Senator Raphael Warnock has been invited to join me. Bones alive!!! So much good is happening here at our church, and that goodness is spreading out into a neighborhood and world so loved by God. Amid the Covid pandemic that reminds us of the AIDS pandemic and its disproportionate impact on the poor and folks of color, our church is a people and a place trying to make dry bones live. Thank you for supporting the good things happening here with your time, talents, and financial resources. Looking forward to seeing you Sunday and working with you to put broken things back together. Bones alive!!! You are loved, |
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| Welcome Team Update The FPC Welcome Team has protocols in place to help keep anyone who chooses to worship with us in person safe. - Zero COVID infections have been reported by anyone following their in-person worship attendance this past week or any previous week dating back to the earliest stages of reopening in September. Thanks be to God!
- By blocking off every other pew to maintain adequate social distancing, we've streamlined the registration process and will be allowing visitors and guests to seat themselves following check-in.
- Save even more time this Sunday morning by registering in advance to attend in-person worship via the link on the church website or at register.fpc.org.
- Enjoy coffee and light refreshments after the service at Fellowship Hour, which will take place in the Elliot Room whenever the weather is too cold to permit holding it outside. We hope that this opportunity to socialize and reconnect will continue to encourage more members and visitors to join us for in-person worship at God's house at 124 Henry St.
- Do you have any special occasions that you'd like to mark or celebrate by helping to host a fellowship hour for your FPC family? Or would you be willing to help with ushering and greeting duties? Please contact Elder Jenny Gage at to make those arrangements.
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| | | | Friday, December 3rd 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM Junior Youth Group Recommended for ages 11-14; dinner provided For more information contact Rebecca: rstevenswalter@firstchurchbrooklyn.org 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Senior Youth Group For more information contact Rebecca: rstevenswalter@firstchurchbrooklyn.org Saturday, December 4th 12:00 Noon Volunteer to help prepare the Winter Garden All welcome! Sunday, December 5th NOTE: You can find the Bulletin for Sunday's worship online here. 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Senior Youth Group Breakfast Recommended for ages 14-18 Meet at church at 8:45 AM For more information contact Rebecca: rstevenswalter@firstchurchbrooklyn.org 9:30 AM Power Hour Bible Study and Discussion 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Youth Choir On Zoom Email Victoria for log-in information vgoff@firstchurchbrooklyn.org 10:30 AM - 11:00 AM Kid's Time In the Peace Garden Communion Sunday 11:00 AM Worship Pastor Rebecca Stevens-Walter preaching Men's Fellowship Book Discussion Discussion of Zealot: The Life and Times
of Jesus of Nazareth. Join us in person at Park Plaza Diner Thursday, December 9th 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Food Pantry For information on how to volunteer contact
the church office |
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If you haven't submitted your 2022 Estimate of Giving. Please do so today ! Pick up your green estimate of giving card from a pew pocket or in the Narthex, drop it in the offering lockboxes our mail it to the church office. You can also submit your card by going to www.firstchurchbrooklyn.org GIVE page Email to info@firstchurchbrooklyn.org. "Your gifts allow us to do the work of First Church." Help us reach our goal of $350,000 for 2022 Budget. |
Christmas Poinsettias 
If you wish to provide a poinsettia to remember or honor your loved ones, please fill out the Christmas poinsettia form found in the bulletin and the narthex or email: info@firstchurchbrooklyn.org. Put your name, the amount you wish to give and the name of the person or persons you wish to remember or honor. Return to the church office
No Later Than Sunday December 19. |
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Due to the ongoing Covid concerns, we are encouraging all those who wish to worship in person in the sanctuary to please register here.
Pre-registration will help the Welcome Team with logistics and contact tracing If you are unable to pre-register, no worries! There will be greeters at the front door who will take your contact information for contact tracing purposes. If you are feeling under the weather, we ask that you stay home and worship online with us on our website or Facebook page. |
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Regardless of vaccination status, everyone entering the church building is required to wear a mask. Masks must completely cover the nose and mouth, and must remain in place throughout the worship service and/or while in the building. |
| Children Youth and Families |
| CYF Calendar Magnets still available Contact the church office to get yours today 
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2022 MISSION TRIP TO CUBA:
First Church's White Rose Ministry is in the early stages of planning a mission trip to Cuba during May of 2022. Needless to say, a number of condition, both health-related and political, must be met before such a trip can take place. However, we are adamant and excited about extending support to our our brothers and sisters in Cuba through our presence.
Members of First Church who are interested in becoming part of the mission group should contact Rich Greene for additional information.
White Rose looks forward to hearing from you. |
| Food Pantry  Serving Thursday, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM On Thursday, December 2nd, our pantry served 105 clients with the help of 17 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 arrive on Thursdays between 9:00-11:00 am to serve in the pantry. No advanced notice required. Please contact the church office to inquire about volunteering. We look forward to serving with you. Jane Woland Pantry Coordinator |
| Thanksgiving Photos at the Eastern Farm Worker 
The Half Hollow Farm, not far from Riverhead, Long Island. For over two centuries, produce has been harvested by farmers in this area and shipped west to feed the people of New York and the New England region. Now, farm owners rely on seasonal labor to help plant and harvest these essential crops. The workers arrive from South and Central American counties, including Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico.  Operations Manager, Joel Biddle and Administrative Assistant, Alanna Echlin in the office of the Eastern Farm Workers Association, joined by FPC elders Erik Brogger and David Ehlke. 
Joel is speaking with his friend, Isaias Garcia, a worker at the Half Hollow farm, having just delivered a turkey and Thanksgiving trimmings to Isaias and his fellow workers. The food is all the result of donations from churches and local supermarkets from around Eastern Long Island. According to Joel, one of the most significant food contributors is Trader Joe's. 
Joel and David load turkeys and assorted trimmings prior to our driving them out to the Schmitts and Half Hollow farms, about 45 minutes away from the EFWA. 
The assembling area where the "turkey baskets" are put together by volunteers in the basement of the New Bethel Pentecostal Church. These will be delivered in the next few days. 
Dave and Joel collect donations of women's hygiene products from FPC for temporary storage in the EFWA. In the next week or so these will be available to EFWA membership. |
| Congregation and Community News |
From our Friends at First Unitarian Church Thanks for supporting our recent e-waste collection, which went very well. We will probably do another one in the spring. Our connection with assisting Haiti and the Haitian community here led us to a national organization, Soles4Souls, which collects new and "gently used" shoes to send to Haiti and other very needy countries. The shoes are given to women, in particular, to sell on the streets to earn money for their families. FIRST UNITARIAN COLLECTS NEW AND GENTLY USED SHOES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH SOLES4SOULS New and gently used shoes will be collected at First Unitarian, corner of Pierrepont Street and Monroe Place: November 28th at Sunday Service at 11 AM December 4th at UniFair in First U Chapel from 10 AM to 2 PM December 5th at Sunday Service at 11 AM |
|  Clark Street Station Elevator Work
Subway service will bypass the station in both directions until spring 2022 in order to replace all three existing elevators. Please use nearby stations, including the High Street  station located north three blocks and through a walkway to Cadman Plaza, or the Borough Hall-Court Street  subway complex, located two to three blocks south and one to two blocks east, on Montague Street between Clinton and Court Streets. From the Clark Street station, these alternative stations can be reached via the B25 bus. |
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| Men's Fellowship Book Discussion 
First Church's Men's Group meet in person every Wednesday morning from 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM. They gather at Park Plaza Diner, 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: Zealot by Reza Aslan
Two thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher
walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the "Kingdom of God." The revolutionary movement he launched was so threatening to the established order that he was executed as a state criminal. Within decades after his death, his followers would call him God. Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth yields a fresh perspective on one of the greatest stories ever told even as it affirms the radical and transformative nature of Jesus' life and mission. |
| 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. We ask for prayer for our brethren who are incarcerated and their families. We ask for prayer for our partner, GETHESEMANE CHURCH ministers and congregants. Prayers for Jacob Ross who is presently incarcerated in North Carolina. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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 Erik Brogger |
| Pre-Registration: Due to Covid concerns, the Welcome Team as asking congregants to pre-register their attendance for Sunday services. To register, click here. 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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