February 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!
| News and Updates |
| Consistory Report: January meeting The Consistory is the governing body of Old First, composed of volunteer Elders and Deacons confirmed by the congregation. Consistory meets monthly to discuss the financial, physical, communal, and spiritual life of Old First Reformed Church, and shares updates on their work here. The Consistory has been planning special events for the upcoming Lenten period, including for Ash Wednesday (February 17th) and Holy Week (March 28th – April 4th). You will find more details about these events elsewhere in this newsletter. We continue to evaluate the feasibility of safely resuming in-person worship and expanded use of the building. Based the continued impact of Covid-19 on our community, and on a variety of well-considered reasons, in-person worship is suspended until circumstances change, as is the use of the building for any purpose other than the Brooklyn Relief Kitchen, the Old First Nursery School, the building electrical and lighting upgrade project, and the church office and maintenance staff. We will continue to reassess the safety of resuming in-person worship and expanded building usage. The Brooklyn Relief Kitchen continues to provide fresh meals and groceries to several community pantries and soup kitchens in Park Slope and neighboring communities. The need continues to be great, and the Kitchen will be continuing through the end of April. The Electrical/Lighting Upgrade Team has been given the authorization to proceed with a full electrical upgrade of our entire building, to ensure safety, and a lighting upgrade of the sanctuary, lower hall, administrative offices and stairways. The sanctuary lighting upgrade will include repair and restoration of the chandeliers and other lighting fixtures, and new chancel, chancel arch and organ loft lighting. The lower hall upgrade will make the space more desirable as a rental option for arts performances and other activities. The upper hall upgrade will be part of a later phase. We expect the construction phase of the project to begin later this year, and to last for about nine months. We will share more timing details as we have them. This is an exciting new chapter in our beautiful old building’s restoration! The project is eligible for a matching grant through the Partners for Sacred Places National Fund. Our work with Partners for Sacred Places continues. The Strategic Visioning Team is made up of members of our congregation and community members, and together with Partners is working on a vision statement for the building based on the trends, common concerns, ideas and strategic opportunities identified in last Fall’s survey. The vision statement will be supported by two documents: a Space Use Rubric defining a way to discern rental proposals, goals and how to think about them in light of the church mission, and a Roles and Responsibilities document outlining the organizational structures and roles of the 501c3 and Old First staff and leadership. The primary goal for the 501c3 in its first five to ten years is to raise money for the restoration and preservation of the building, continuing into phase 2 and beyond. Old First Consistory: Elders: Jeff Cribbs (Vice President), Wayne Adams, Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, Ken Nieuwenhuis, Jabe Ziino Deacons: Kent Adams, Philip Alexander, Jan Barber, Kelly Greene, Susan Snyder Contact the Consistory: consistory@oldfirstbrooklyn.org |
| Congregational Meeting Old First Reformed Church held its annual Congregational Meeting via Zoom on January 31. Consistory presented the budget for 2021 to the congregation, and the congregation also voted to approve a slate of Elders (Jeff Cribbs and Jessica Stockton Bagnulo) and Deacons (Jane Barber and Anita Keire). Reports were also presented on the electrical upgrade project, our work with Partners for Sacred Places, and the pastoral search committee. Aleeza Meir described some of the processes for creating music for special services, and supervising minister Pastor Dan Ramm spoke about beginning the pastoral search process. Feel free to email newsletter@oldfirstbrooklyn.org with additional questions regarding the meeting. |
| Lent Services & Meetings for 2021 Ash Wednesday Service of Prayer and Healing Wednesday, February 17, 7:00 PM In observation of the beginning of the season of Lent, the congregation and community of Old First are invited to take part in a virtual service of prayer and healing led by Interim Pastor Jane Ann Groom. Use the link below to log in to the evening service. Ashes will be available for pickup in front of the church throughout the day on Ash Wednesday, or can be mailed to congregants by request (fill out the Google form below to receive ashes by mail.) Indicate if you would like to receive ashes by mail here(please fill out this form no later than February 8 to have ashes mailed to you) Join the Ash Wednesday service here Small Group for Lent Wednesday evenings Feb. 24 – March 31, 7:00 PM Throughout the season of Lent, all are welcome to a Wednesday evening small group meeting led by Pastor Jane Ann Groom, which will use the Lectio Divina practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer. You may join for one meeting, the entire season, or anything in between. Join the Lent small group meetings here(This link stays the same from week to week; you will be able to join once the meeting has begun on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM.) |
| Arts at Old First literary event: Father James Martin presents Learning to PrayMonday, February 22, 7:30 PM Father James Martin presents Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone How does one pray? It may seem a silly question, but it’s one Father James Martin has received—and asked—many times throughout his thirty years as a spiritual leader. In Learning to Pray: A Guide for Everyone, Father Martin assures readers there is no wrong way to pray. He expands his chapter on communicating with God from his bestselling book The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything into a profound and practical handbook that explains what prayer is, what to expect from praying, how to do it, and how it can transform us when we make it a regular practice. Martin lays out the different styles and traditions of prayer throughout Christian history and invites us to experiment and discover which works best to feed our soul and build intimacy with our Creator. Like any relationship, each person can discover the best style for building an intimate relationship with God, regardless of religion or denomination. Prayer, he teaches us, is open and accessible to anyone willing to open their heart. Arts at Old First is honored to host Father Martin for a virtual discussion of his new book, followed by an audience Q&A.Click here to register for this free event(You will receive an email reminder with a login link.)Click here to purchase Learning to Pray from our neighbors at Community Bookstore(pickup and shipping options available) |
| Music at Old First Old First’s Favorite Hymns Project What are your favorite hymns? We are compiling a list of our most beloved hymns and want to know yours! Please email the names of your top 3 hymns to ofrcmusic@gmail.com. The deadline to send them in is Friday February 12. Baroquelyn Valentine’s Day Concert Cozy up with Baroquelyn (the Park Slope music ensemble founded by our own Aleeza Meir) on February 14 at 3pm when recorder player Daphna Mor and percussionist Daniel Freedman return for our next livestreamed Spotlight with a delightful program on the varied themes of love, including a liturgical prayer metaphor of the sabbath arriving as a bride. To receive the concert link and also support the arts during this challenging time, join our family of Baroquelyn subscribers for as little as $3/mo. More info at www.baroquelyn.com. Hope to see you there! |
| Information and Resources |
| 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. Click here to join the coffee hour (This link stays the same from week to week; you will be able to join once the meeting has begun on Sunday morning at or around 12:00 noon.) |
| 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. |
| Small group for Lent Throughout the season of Lent, all are welcome to a 7:00 PM Wednesday evening small group meeting led by Pastor Jane Ann Groom, which will use the Lectio Divina practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer. You may join for one meeting, the entire season, or anything in between. Click here to join the meeting (This link stays the same from week to week; you will be able to join once the meeting has begin on Wednesdays at 7:00 pm.) |
| Opportunities for Service Brooklyn Relief Kitchen The Old First Brooklyn Relief Kitchen is cooking up a storm and sending out lots of free food. You can volunteer to prepare and package fresh meals, and help delivery to 3 sites: CHiPS, Camp Friendship and Red Hook, plus a new site in Coney Island (probably more to come). You can volunteer to help by Contacting Piper the Volunteer Coordinator at piper@brooklynreliefkitchen.org. We will be accepting drop off donations at the front entrance on 7th Avenue under the tent. Check the Brooklyn Relief Kitchen Facebook page for updates and details about how to help. Find the Brooklyn Relief Kitchen on Facebook |