The donor of two communion beakers to the Reformed Dutch Church of Breuckelen in 1684, Maria Badie, was named, but more than that was unknown, according to our Pastor Meeter a few Sundays ago. Challenge: who was the woman behind our communion beakers? Research led us to Maria Thomas Badie, a wealthy woman who was married three times. In surviving legal documents, Maria used Thomas or […]
When Pastor Daniel Meeter joined Old First in 2001, he had read in one of the church’s histories that there existed an antique communion cup (Avondmaalsbeker in Dutch. Avondmaal means Lord’s Supper). It’s whereabouts: unknown. Pastor Meeter asked around, but nobody had heard of it or even seen it. A true mystery. “I saw a picture of a former pastor from 40 years ago holding one,” […]
Yesterday on our 364th Anniversary, we enjoyed the presence of Old First’s Staten-Bÿbel or States-Bible. One of the heirlooms of Old First’s history, it’s a massive book. Our copy was printed in the city of Dordrecht in 1737. A States-Bible is the Dutch equivalent of the King James version, and it was first published in 1621 by order of the Netherlands’ States-General (the Staten-General for which Staten Island is […]