As the congregation eagerly anticipated moving into a grand, new building, the 1891 Easter service was held in our upper hall, with the sanctuary still under construction. This is the second part of an ongoing series (read Part 1 here). The first mention of an organist that I found for our church was in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, which named H. C. Meserole, a local, […]
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 […]
On March 1, 2018, the Park Slope Civic Council awarded Old First its Evelyn and Everett Ortner Preservation Award. The achievement: exterior restoration of the church, allowing it to remain a historic landmark in Park Slope. The award was presented to Pastor Daniel Meeter at another Park Slope landmark — the Old Stone House, located in Washington Park between 3rd and 4th Streets and 4th […]
The week leading to Easter is full of richly meaningful events at Old First. RSVP to help the organizers get a sense of attendance, or use the link to share with friends. All events take place at Old First. Thursday, March 29, 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 […]
Our church historian, Jane Barber, has compiled a comprehensive chronicle of our amazing pipe organ, and the intriguing people who have played it. We plan to share with you a serialized version of that story, starting with this introduction and overview. More to come! The organ. It was a big part of our worship life in what now feels like a long time ago. Built […]
“One of the contractors who put a bid on the ceiling restoration said to me, ‘this church has secrets still to be discovered.’” That quote from Pastor Daniel Meeter confirmed what we had suspected all along. Our sanctuary chandelier is as mysterious as it is beautiful, with a hazy, unclear past. “We don’t know who made it,” Pastor Meeter says. “We don’t know when it […]
Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent, and comes out of the ancient Jewish tradition of penance and fasting. The imposition of ashes is a strangely joyful receiving of the somber admonition to “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Old First will be offering ashes to the public outside on our 7th Avenue steps from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. […]
One of the unsung heroes of Old First: our kitchen stove. We use it on the second Saturday of each month to cook our meals for Christian Help in Park Slope (CHiPS), the Fourth Avenue soup kitchen and social service provider. CHiPS partners with local churches, synagogues, civic groups and volunteers to cook and deliver food to the hungry and homeless. It serves as many […]
“A few months ago, we did the stations of the Cross for St. Mary’s Church in Manchester, New Hampshire. We completely restored the old church and a couple of ladies walked in and started crying.” This from church restoration artist Marko Golubovic, who is in the process of bringing all of us at Old First to tears as well. His company, Milan Restoration, has been […]