June 2021 Newsletter
If you have questions or comments about anything here, please feel free to contact newsletter@oldfirstbrooklyn.org. Thank you and God bless you!
| Outdoor Sunday Evening Worship Services in June During the month of June, and in advance of returning to Sunday morning worship in the sanctuary in September, the congregation of Old First will begin to explore the process of gathering in person, with a series of outdoor Sunday evening services of reflection and prayer. Join us today, Sunday, June 6 at 6:00 pm in the Old First garden for an in-person service of prayer, scripture, and reflection. All are welcome. We encourage the use of masks, and will have extra masks available for anyone who needs one. The Reopening Team at Old First welcomes feedback, ideas, and questions about service plans; please email info@oldfirstbrooklyn.org. |
| HousingPlus Fundraiser HousingPlus, one of our core missions, is hosting a virtual fundraiser for the benefit of mothers and children (over 150 families and 95 children) who have found a home in the HousingPlus community. Old First’s Brooklyn Relief Kitchen has been supporting their food pantry, but BRK will be ending their support by end of June. We’d like to continue to support HousingPlus by making a donation of $1,000 to their fundraising effort. They plan to spend donations as follows: -$500 will support children’s remote learning needs, including laptops, tablets and access to wifi. -$250 towards restocking the HousingPlus food pantry for families to combat food insecurity. -$100 purchases school supplies for HousingPlus children including printer paper, notebooks, pencils etc. Any amount will be appreciated! Since Old First was so generous at Christmas, we hope that you can again help our neighbors in need. If you want to learn more, join their virtual Movie Night event on June 10 at 6 p.m. There will be film shorts by and about HousingPlus followed by a panel discussion lead by the Rev. Susanah Wade from Marble Collegiate Church. Pre-registration is required, link here. Send In Your Donations Please make your contribution through the Tithe.ly app on the Old First website, select “Spring Drive – HousingPlus” from the drop-down menu. Or you can write a check made out to Old First with “Spring Drive – HousingPlus” in the memo line and send it to the church office. We are requesting that all monies be sent in by June 15th. Thank you! Your Deacons, Phil, Susan, Kelly, Jane and Anita |
| Update on the Brooklyn Relief Kitchen The Old First Brooklyn Relief Kitchen will be winding up food relief efforts by the end of June. In the meantime, they will continue to cook up a storm. There is no need for more volunteers, but the donations tent will be up at the front entrance of the church at 126 Seventh Avenue on Fri-Sat 10 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The following items are needed: Pantry supplies Granola bars Sugar Canned tuna Canned/dried Beans Paper towels Canned fruit Dried fruit/nuts Hand sanitizer Soups Pasta Sanitizing wipes PB & J Rice & grains Dish soap Crackers Flour Bulk items You can also donate funds to the Old First Brooklyn Relief Kitchen through Tithe.ly by selecting the OF Brooklyn Relief Kitchen option in the dropdown menu. The Relief Kitchen will also be out front at the Seventh Heaven Street Fair on Sunday June 20 to collect donations to restore and improve our kitchen after a year of tremendous use and service. We hope that the Relief Kitchen will come back to work again during times of need, as they have done in the past. The renovation of our kitchen is important for the continuation of this mission. Please support the Old First Brooklyn Relief Kitchen – they have done a heroic job for our Brooklyn community! |
| Upcoming Baroquelyn Concerts Dear Friends of Baroquelyn, We are thrilled to announce that we are back in person! Join us TODAY, Sunday June 6, to hear Johann Bernhard Bach’s Suite in E Minor, a gorgeous cantata by Handel, and more. The concerts will be at 3:00 and 4:30pm in the charming courtyard of St. Paul’s Church at 234 Congress St. in Cobble Hill. Please CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS. If you are a Baroquelyn subscriber and you can not attend the concert, but are interested in watching it over livestream, let us know at least 24 hours in advance and we will send you a ZOOM meeting invitation where you can watch it from. Please put “Zoom” in your email’s subject heading. We’re so excited to perform for you in person again! Can’t wait to see you there! Aleeza Baroquelyn Founder/Director |
Information and Resources
Giving to Old First
| Giving to Old First Though we are not currently passing a collection plate for offertory, the following options are available for you to give to Old First: Tithe.ly Available as a smartphone app, via the Donations tab on the Old First website, or through a phone call to Old First staff members. You can select a credit or debit card, or an account with a financial institution. If you currently have a check mailed to Old First from your bank, please consider switching this service to Tithe.ly OR Mail a check to: Old First Reformed Church 729 Carroll St. Brooklyn, NY 11215 Please Identify Your Intended Area of Support Remember, whichever method you send in your offering, to identify your offering as either: GENERAL FUND for general offering, CAPITAL CAMPAIGN for building restoration, or MISSION (CHiPS and HousingPlus) |
| Services and Meetings Note that the Consistory of Old First has voted that the sanctuary remain closed for worship at this time. Sunday Worship at Old First Old First is offering online worship via Zoom each Sunday morning at 11:00 AM. The service includes readings, prayers, music, sermon, and other elements from Old First’s pastor and members. Please join us as we learn to love God and our neighbor in this new space. Click here to join the worship service (This link stays the same from week to week; you will be able to join once the service has begin on Sunday morning at 11:00 AM.) If you miss the service, you can find recordings of past services here. |
| Sunday Coffee Hour Following the worship service, there is a more informal Coffee Hour as a time for attendees to chat, catch up, and see each others’ faces. Join us for a joyful group video meeting from our homes. |
| Antiracism Reading Group THE ANTIRACISM READING GROUP meets at 1:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Sunday of each month, and anyone is welcome to join. Please email Margaret Kearney (kearney.margaret@gmail.com) for more information. Our next meeting is May 23, when we will discuss chapter 5 and the conclusion of The Cross and the Lynching Tree by James H. Cone. In June we will begin reading How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice by Jemar Tisby. |
| Remembrance and Reparative Racial Justice Working Group THE REMEMBERANCE AND REPARATIVE RACIAL JUSTICE WORKING GROUP meets the third Sunday of the month, from 1 – 2:30pm, currently via Zoom. If you’d like to be part of effort, please contact Phil Alexander at alexander.arts.ed@gmail.com |
| Prayer Team THE PRAYER TEAM OF OLD FIRST meets at 9pm on Thursdays, to pray for the needs of our congregation, our community, and our world. If you would like to request prayer, for yourself or anything/anyone else, please email prayerrequests@oldfirstbrooklyn.org. If you would like to join the prayer team or learn more, please email Jessica Bagnulo, jsbagnulo@gmail.com. |