May 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!
| Consistory Report for May: April meeting notesThe 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 Pastor Search Committee is beginning its work this month, and the committee will continue to meet regularly over the coming months. We are thrilled that the work is beginning, and we will bring you updates on the committee’s progress in upcoming newsletters! The Electrical/Lighting Upgrade Team is proceeding with the full electrical upgrade of our entire building. The upgrade will ensure safety, and will include a lighting upgrade of the sanctuary, lower hall, administrative offices and stairways. The team is reviewing contractor bids that have been received for the electrical upgrade part of the work, as well as bids for the repairs that will be performed on the historic chandeliers and other light fixtures in the sanctuary. The construction phase of the project is expected to begin later this year, and to last for up to 12 months. We will share more timing details as we have them. The Consistory is in the process of reviewing and ratifying the Vision Statement, Space Use Rubric and Roles and Responsibilities recommendations that were presented earlier this year by the Strategic Visioning Team, with support from Partners for Sacred Places. The Vision Statement is designed to succinctly communicate the direction that the Team recommends Old First take with the use and stewardship of the building, including creation of a 501c3. When the documents have been ratified, the Consistory will begin identifying and implementing the next steps for moving forward. We will continue to update you on our progress. As previously announced, we hope to reopen for in-person worship on Sunday, September 12th, and are waiting to see how the situation evolves over the next few months. We expect to continue to provide virtual access to our services in some form. In addition, expanded use of the building will continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Old First Consistory: Elders: Jeff Cribbs (Vice President), Wayne Adams, Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, Ken Nieuwenhuis, Jabe Ziino Deacons: Philip Alexander, Jan Barber, Kelly Greene, Anita Keire, Susan Snyder Contact the Consistory: consistory@oldfirstbrooklyn.org |
| Remembrance and Reparative Racial Justice Working Group at Old First Church Mission Statement, or What are We Trying to Do?We are members and adherents of Old First Reformed Church in Park Slope, Brooklyn. We are engaged in the process of investigating the history of the church – from centuries ago to the recent past – and its record as a primarily white institution, specifically how it has supported, suppressed and oppressed Black, Indigenous, and all People of Color. We aim to be a group that is engaged in authentic reflection and review. We want to document the past, as much as we are able to, so we can hold ourselves accountable as an institution. We want to recognize the different forms of oppression, be they explicit or implicit, no matter what scale. We want to ask ourselves the hard questions: How has the congregation of Old First been tied to systems of white supremacy? How does that legacy carry through to now? Has the church and its members assisted and supported BIPOC in need? What can be done to address past harms? We plan to engage the Old First community in reflecting on these questions, and share our findings with the community. We meet 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 |
| Update on the Brooklyn Relief Kitchen Andy and Piper Wandzilak have been running the Brooklyn Relief Kitchen out of Old First since June, 2020, the height of the pandemic — all time highs for unemployment and tremendously increased food insecurity. They have made thousands of meals and delivered supplies and groceries to a number of sites, such as Housing Plus, CHIPs, Camp Friendship, a church in Flatbush and the West Indian Carnival Association Pantry. They had professional cooks and over 150 volunteers to package and deliver food daily to these and other sites. The Relief Kitchen was awarded a $2,500 grant to support this mission from the Park Slope Civic Council and Andy has just been awarded the Lovgren Award “for individuals and organizations who have provided extraordinary service to the Park Slope community.” Due to our building needs for renovation, the BRK will leave as of May 31st so that much needed electrical and repairs to Fellowship Hall can be done. Andy plans on continuing this summer to buy and deliver groceries to his sites and will collect supplies through a tent set up in front of OF, with the contributions being picked up daily. Money will also be raised through a new GoFundMe page to fund the summer program and to improve the storage and functioning of the Old First kitchen, so that we might be able to have a new year of a part-time mission to relieve food insecurity, and be prepared for future catastrophic needs. We as the Consistory at Old First both marvel and applaud the great effort and service Andy and Piper have completed this past year. We look forward to a scaled-down but vitally necessary program of food support for our Brooklyn neighbors in the year to come. |
| A Letter from BRK’s Andy and Piper Wandzilak April 24, 2021 Dear Friends of Brooklyn Relief Kitchen, Thank you so much for your ongoing support. With your help we have distributed over one million pounds of produce, milk and pantry items and served over one hundred thousand hot meals over the last year. We’ve felt truly fortunate to have been able to create a community of loyal volunteers and donors who together have found a way to do good for others. As summer approaches we will be shifting gears and making changes to our operations. Because of necessary electrical and building renovations to Old First Church, our work preparing hot meals will be pausing at the end of May. The church has graciously delayed their repairs for 10 months to enable us to continue using the kitchen space, but the work must finally begin. During our hiatus from the church space, we will continue to provide pantry goods and fresh groceries to our partnering organizations in Brooklyn, as long as funding allows. Additionally, we hope to use the downtime at the church to make some much needed improvements to the Old First kitchen with an eye to continued service and for use in future food emergencies. We plan to return to Old First after renovations are completed, but that will not be until sometime in the fall. To that end, we’ll be holding fund-raising events and food drives in front of the church and elsewhere, to support summer operations and renovation. We are very grateful to the Old First for their generosity; the community support we have received from Park Slope and all corners of Brooklyn and beyond has been inspiring, and instrumental in providing food relief to our neighbors in need. We invite you to stay abreast of our progress through our newsletter and social media channels. If you are able, we would ask that you consider helping us reach our goal of $100,000 by the end of May so we can keep providing, milk, produce and pantry items throughout the summer. Any and all donations are greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Andy and Piper Wandzilak, Founders Kate O’Donnell, Executive Chef PS As always please follow us on the socials, for updates and details on current needs. https://www.facebook.com/BrooklynReliefKitchen https://brooklynreliefkitchen.org/ |
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. |