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| Change is upon us and we begin to address it as the children of God. Many lives, perhaps yours, are being affected by the powers that be. We may be distressed about what is happening, even to the point of finding it hard to focus on one thing before another crashes in. Let's start by remembering who we are: So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them. (Genesis 1.27) But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. (John 1.12) And our mission: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22) If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. (Matthew 16) For me at this time, I want to remember that I am not alone, that my God has been here before and will prevail, and that I remain focused on loving God and neighbor and following in the footsteps of Christ with grace, mercy, love, and justice. And I use the original disciples as examples of standing up, addressing the needs of their community, having courage in doing what was right, and seeking the Spirit of God to guide them in creating a path for faithful ministry in troubled times. More than ever, let's join together now to claim our place as disciples and apostles who work toward the kingdom that is coming. |
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Stewardship 2025 The Stewardship Committee extends its heartfelt gratitude to all who pledged to support the church in 2025. We are pleased to announce that we have reached our Goal thanks to you. Peace and blessings, Stewardship Committee |
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| | | 7:30 PM - 9:15 PM White Rose Cuban Ministry (contact Rich Greene) Malpaso Dance Company Joyce Theatre (ticket holders) Saturday, January 25th 10:30 AM - 4:00 PM Care for Caregivers Trinity Commons Sunday, January 26th NOTE: You can find the Bulletin for Sunday's worship online here. 9:00 AM Choir Warm-Up and Rehearsal In the Sanctuary 10:00 AM Power Hour Adult Christian Education and Discussion on Zoom and in person at First Church 11:00 AM Sunday Worship Minister Conor Foley, preaching
Title: "Finding Each Other" Worship with us in person, our website, or on our Facebook Page. Following Worship 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Annual Congregational Meeting in the Elliott Room Wednesday, January 29th 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Men's Fellowship for more information contact Dave Ehlke 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM Homeless Street Ministry Peace Garden 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM Becoming Peacemakers on Zoom Thursday, January 30th 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM 20s and 20s Group Movie night at church
Email conor.foley@firstchurchbrooklyn.org for more details |
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| | The Annual Meeting of the Congregation and Corporation of the First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn will be held following Worship on Sunday, January 26 from 1pm—2pm in the Elliott Room. For the Annual Report booklet to be presented at the Annual Meeting |
| Want to attend the Annual Meeting online this Sunday? If you are a member of the church and wish to attend and vote at the annual meeting this Sunday online, please note the following: 1. Send a request to interim pastor Danila Noble at danila.noble@firstchurchbrooklyn.org before 9 a.m. Saturday. 2. You will receive an email with instructions on how to vote. 3. The annual meeting will be broadcast via the church website only. It will not appear on Facebook or YouTube. |
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The Power Hour are currently reading and discussing Howard Thurman's Jesus and the Disinherited, at 10:00 AM on Zoom and in person in one of the ground floor classrooms at First Church. |
| Hearing Help We have a wireless headphone listening system available for anyone who is hearing impaired. For more information please see any tech operator for assistance. |
| Church of the Gethsemene Emily Thomas from First Presbyterian Church (FPC) provided lunch on Sunday, January 19th, 2025. Providing lunch is a function of the Social Action Committee of FPC. 
In photo: Emily, Rev. Diane Lacey, Minister Chibuze and congregants |
| Super Bowl Sunday Tamale Sale Benefiting the Eastern Farm Workers Association's Winter Survival Campaign 
YOU CAN GET YOUR FRIENDS, RELATIVES, NEIGHBORS AND CO-WORKERS TO JOIN OUR WINNING TEAM!!! EASTERN FARM WORKERS ASSOCIATION (EFWA) is an all-volunteer unincorporated membership association of farm workers and other low-income workers in Suffolk County. Every winter our members face an untenable "choice" of whether to heat their homes or feed their children. For others it's a "choice" between paying the rent or seeing a doctor. EFWA members help each other meet some of our daily survival needs through EFWA's year-round membership benefit program while we fight to end government policies that have led to job losses, poverty wages, home foreclosures, utility shutoffs and denial of health care. Join us in organizing our annual Winter Survival Campaign distributions of supplemental food, blankets, heaters, warm winter clothing and our "Operation Winter Watch" program to reach elderly and shut-in members and help stop the winter death toll. To place an order, please click the link here. Print out the form and bring to First Church Brooklyn. The last day to place an order for tamale's will be Monday, February 3rd. To maintain the health of our volunteers and safe preparation of the food, volunteers will wear masks and will test before participating. Test kits will be available onsite as needed. EASTERN FARM WORKERS ASSOCIATION 58 Beaver Dam Road, Bellport, NY 11713 (631) 286-8004 By choice and necessity your financial gifts to EFWA are not and never have been tax deductible. For that reason, your donations are doubly appreciated! |
| Looking for Food and Fellowship Volunteers First Church Brooklyn serves a Sunday fellowship lunch once each month at the Church of the Gethsemane, our sister Presbyterian church in Park Slope, Brooklyn, whose members are mostly formerly incarcerated. First Church volunteers prepare a meal, either at home or at the church's kitchen, attend worship at 11:00AM, and serve lunch after service to approximately 15-20 congregants. It's a wonderful opportunity to make good food and even better friends. We are looking for volunteers for February and March, on whatever Sunday works for you. Please contact Marta Nelson if you have questions or would like to volunteer. |
| Food Pantry Serving Thursday, 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM 
On Thursday, January 23, our pantry served 92 clients with the help of 19 volunteers, including YAI and Packer. According to the 2023 edition of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report, between 691 and 783 million people faced hunger in 2022, representing an increase of 122 million people compared to 2019. Volunteers are welcome to arrive on Thursdays between 8:00 and 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. |
| Congregation and Community News |
| Black History Month - February 2nd Events  Starting Sunday, February 2nd, First Presbyterian Church will be celebrating Black History Month. We will begin on that Sunday with two special guests. First, our preacher for the day will be Rev. Eric Thomas, a friend of this congregation and current pastor at Siloam Presbyterian Church. Siloam Church, established in 1849, was founded as an anti-slavery church and a participant in the Underground Railroad.
Dominique Jean-Louis Also on this Sunday, we will welcome Dominique Jean-Louis, Chief Historian of the Center for Brooklyn History, a division of the Brooklyn Public Library. She will speak on the topic of "Slavery in Brooklyn," both briefly during the service and at a lecture in the Elliott Room following the service. We look forward to our special guests and to your attendance at this special service of worship and learning. Dominique is chief historian for the Center for Brooklyn History who will serve as the institutional scholar for Kings County lore. She is a writer and historian and will oversee the creation of exhibitions and programs at CBH, while collecting and preserving the stories of Brooklynites. |
| Men's Fellowship
The Men's fellowship group meets weekly for breakfast and discussion at the Park Plaza diner (220 Cadman Plaza West, Brooklyn Heights) - Wednesday at 8:00 AM. The Men's fellowship is reading "The Parable of the Sower" by Octavia Butler. Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Octavia E. Butler paints a stunning portrait of an all-too-believable near future. As with Kindred and her other critically-acclaimed novels, Parable of the Sower skillfully combines startling visionary and socially realistic concepts. 
God is change. That is the central truth of the Earthseed movement, whose unlikely prophet is 18-year-old Lauren Olamina. The young woman's diary entries tell the story of her life amid a violent 21st-century hell of walled neighborhoods and drug-crazed pyromaniacs - and reveal her evolving Earthseed philosophy. Against a backdrop of horror emerges a message of hope: if we are willing to embrace divine change, we will survive to fulfill our destiny among the stars. For her elegant, literate works of science fiction, Octavia E. Butler has been compared to Toni Morrison and Ursula K. LeGuin. All men in the church are welcome, even if you have not read or viewed the selection we discuss each week. Contact Dave Ehlke at dave.ehlke@gmail.com if you have any questions. |
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Becoming Peacemakers January 29 at 8PM Aspiring peacemakers meet to consider our role in interrupting violence and creating peace. We'll be thinking this week about Palestine, Cuba, and the new administration. We will be meeting on Zoom. |
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20s and 30s Group This Thursday January 30 at 7PM Young adults gather for community-building through food, fellowship, and fun activities. This Thursday will be a movie night at the church. Email conor.foley@firstchurchbrooklyn.org for more details! |
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The Needlework Group The Needlework Group is meeting the first Wednesday and third Friday of each month in the Elliott Room. Our monthly potluck is on the third Friday after the meeting at 6:30PM. |
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Whether you identify on the queer spectrum or as an ally…all are welcome to build a community of radical inclusion and love every 3rd Sunday of the month. Please gather at the front of the sanctuary right after service. |
| 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. |
| 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 connected screen of any size, try our Video LIVE Stream on our website and our Facebook page. |
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| Wednesday "Minute Message" video! 
Signup for our Wednesday morning devotional and receive a link to a short video message from our staff or an inspirational bible verse or quote to meditate on. Give yourself a boost in the middle of the week! To sign up, simply scan the QR code at the right or text the word DEVOTIONAL to 718-689-6171. This number is private to First Church for this ministry and your information will not be sold or distributed in any way. |
| A full calendar of church events can be found on the church website. |
| This week's eNewsletter was edited by Chi Ling Moy. Photo provided by Emily Thomas. |
| 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. Flower Donations: We welcome flower donations of $75 or more in memory or in honor of friends and loved ones. Please contact Annie Solages in the Church office via email. Appointments with Ministry Staff may be arranged by calling the Church at 718-624-3770, or via email. |
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