On February 13 at Old First, author Mary Gordon presents her book On Thomas Merton, in conversation with Father James Martin. Gordon, a best-selling novelist and memorist shares her deeply personal view of her discovery of the celebrated modern monk and thinker through his writings. Thomas Merton (1815-1968) was a Trappist monk, poet, essayist, activist, and author of some of the most influential spiritual writing of […]
Baroquelyn’s 2018-19 season continues! Mark your calendars: Sunday, February 3 at 3 pm at Old First Upper Hall. Our next concert, Sound the Trumpet, is on! Trumpeter Louis Ranger will join us to offer some rich, warm sounds to counteract the cold of February. He and his sister Nancy Ranger will join forces, along with Jason Smoller, to perform Telemann’s joyful concerto for trumpet and two […]
This year, with your support, Old First completed the repair of our sanctuary ceiling, was awarded National Fund for Sacred Places designation, and fundraised $360,000 towards our restoration campaign. We are so grateful and thank you from the bottom of our hearts! If you’d still like to donate, click here. Your tax deductible gift, in any amount, will help insure that Old First can […]
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 […]
“This group is important for Arts at Old First,” says Pastor Daniel Meeter of the Accord Treble Choir. “We have hosted them for five or six years now, and they love to sing in our Upper Hall. They have a remarkable and unique sound. All women’s voices, in a small ensemble, perfectly tuned, singing challenging pieces ancient, classical, modern, and contemporary, in many languages.” In […]
Charles Leech Gulick was at Old First for such a short period with few mentions in the Brooklyn papers, I thought that I would need to include his story together with another organist, for lack of information. I was wrong – his life after Old First was a rich one. Gulick lived entirely for music – studying, composing and performing – and was well-known nationally […]
Each Sunday leading up to Consecration Sunday, we invite community members to share why they give to Old First. Karen Bulthuis shared her reflections this past Sunday. When Christine Scheibl asked me to speak as part of the preparation for Consecration Sunday, I immediately said yes. Because I feel so privileged to be part of this church community, and I have a lot to say […]
As we near completion of Phase 1 of our sanctuary restoration, even more miracles are coming our way: The National Fund for Sacred Places has awarded Old First participation in its grant-making program, Partners for Sacred Places. This is in cooperation with the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Between 2016 and 2020, the Partnership for Sacred Places is determined to award $10 million among 50 […]