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 […]
On October 18, we eagerly welcome poet Christian Wiman, who will discuss his new book He Held Radical Light: The Art of Faith, the Faith of Art. The work meditates on memory, oblivion, and eternity, setting the stage for a conversation on the interplay of faith and the arts. Also included will be a stimulating Q&A between Wiman and editor Paul Elie (Farrar, Straus & […]
You’ve probably seen Michael Reeves’ work if you’ve crossed the George Washington Bridge or rode toward the Lincoln Tunnel from Hoboken (he’s a commercial artist and a sign painter). However, if you want to see some of his crowning glories, simply look up while standing in our sanctuary. Actually, standing and looking up is what he has been doing every day for the last six […]
Curious who wrote the Polytechnic Institute alma mater? Our fourth organist, William Gardiner Hammond, was a highly successful musician and composer, well-connected and well-known during his lifetime. William Gardiner Hammond, was born Melville, Long Island, August 9, 1874, to parents George Tillinghast Hammond and Mary Elizabeth Shipman. His father was from an old Rhode Island family with Quaker ties, his mother from Long Island City, […]
2018-2019 marks Baroquelyn’s first full season, starting with its premiere event on Sunday, September 23, 2018 at 3 pm. This baroque-themed concert series became an immediate hit during its initial peformance in November 2017. Spearheaded by Old First musical director Aleeza Meir, the concert features top-caliber musicians from around the corner and across the globe. A successful Kickstarter campaign helped to make these concerts a […]
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 […]
Old First is thrilled to be entering its eighth annual Summer Respite Shelter! For the past seven summers, for five nights a week, we’ve provided twelve men with a hot meal and a comfortable bed, partnering with other congregations and local service agency CAMBA. Each year, hundreds of volunteers, friends, and neighbors from Old First, Park Slope, and local partner congregations come together to host them. This […]
William Gardiner Hammond was a composer as well as organist and choirmaster at Old First (1903-1912). He formed one of the early musical groups to hold concerts in our Carroll Street building, the Hammond Choral Society. Performances such as these were the forerunners of what Arts at Old First has become today. As a young man, William accompanied singer Lillian Nordica, America’s first home-grown diva. She […]
We are pleased to share a message from our Old First organist and Baroquelyn founder and director, Aleeza Meir: I’m very excited to give you the heads up about a big new endeavor I’m starting: As you may know, I’ve recently formed a music ensemble called Baroquelyn. Our first concert in November was a big success, and I’m about to do a second concert this Sunday. […]
After the departure of Old First’s second organist, Cuban patriot and revolutionary Rafael Navarro, Old First employed Henry E. H. Benedict for eight years. Benedict’s story also ended as front page news. This is the fourth part of an ongoing series. The third organist at Old First was Henry E. H. Benedict. Born in Canada in 1859, he was named Henry (or Harry) Emerson Benedict, […]