Attention Friends, Although services in our Sanctuary have been temporarily suspended, we can still worship together. As our sanctuary temporarily closes, we are transitioning our services to virtual, allowing you to take part in services from the comfort of your own home. Our first virtual service is this Sunday, March 22nd, at 11 AM Eastern time. Below is a link to the service and bulletin: […]
The sanctuary is back, and so are we! Nearly eight years is a long time to be away from such a magnificent space, but we tend to believe that things happen for a reason. So close but so far: fortunately, the Fellowship Hall was only a room (and a world) away; it is not to be underestimated. That modest room kept us together for a […]
Easter celebration at Old First Reformed Church will feature Pastor Daniel Meeter, with the Accord Treble Choir and organist Aleeza Meir performing ancient and modern music April 21, 2019 at 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Old First Reformed Church, 7th Avenue at Carroll Street, Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY 11215 Contact: Alix Friedman, AlixCFriedman@gmail.com, 646-468-4269 BROOKLYN, NY: April 5, 2019 – Brooklyn’s oldest congregation, Old First Reformed […]
The week leading to Easter is full of richly meaningful events at Old First. All events take place at Old First. Thursday, April 18, 7:00 PM Maundy Thursday: Dzieci Theatre’s “A Passion” Theatre Group Dzieci presents a unique and immersive passion play, incorporating Hebraic song and chant and ritual elements of Judaism, and set in the shadow of the Warsaw Ghetto. Join and share on […]
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 […]
One of Jack Holloway’s heroes: Reformed theologian Karl Barth (1886-1968). Among the many things for which Barth is remembered and appreciated: in 1934, he wrote the Barmen declaration, which rejected the influence of Nazism on German Christianity. “It was through Barth that I started getting into the Reformed tradition,” Jack says. “so I thought, maybe I’ll get ordained in the Reformed Church of America. I […]
Last month we posted (here and here) about the history of our annual Bluegrass Good Friday service – how it evolved and why we love bluegrass on Good Friday. Here is a one of the highlights from that service: Jen Larson’s original song “The Garden of Gethsemane”, composed for this very service back in 2013. Jen lives in Nashville now where she works as an […]
Again this year, Old First member Jennifer Nelson brings her beautiful voice to our bluegrass-themed Good Friday service. Although Jennifer sang in churches all her life, she was never quite keyed in to the typical Good Friday service. “I grew up in Oklahoma,” she says. “[For Good Friday services], they just covered everything in black. We would have the service, and then we would walk […]
The idea of incorporating bluegrass music into our Good Friday service is not as original as it sounds. “There is a tremendous amount of gospel music within the bluegrass tradition,” says Old First member and musician Michael Daves. “A lot of it draws from old Scots-Irish ballads, shape note singing, American rural hymnody, and some more recently composed work.” Michael helped bring bluegrass performance to […]
