Are you looking for a beneficial yoga class or perhaps, if you’re a beginner, a non-intimidating, easy-to-follow, thoughtful introduction? Try your hand (and your soul, and your breathing, and your peace of mind) at Sunday yoga at Old First. Our own Jenny Burrill is leading a yoga session now every Sunday afternoon at the church, starting at 2 pm. Classes run a little more than […]
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 […]
River terrapins are considered a critically endangered freshwater turtle species, mostly due to human consumption and habitat destruction. The Turtle Conservation Society of Malaysia (TCS) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that is working hard to reverse and/or eliminate this unfortunate trend. Our Vera Nieuwenhuis’ impactful images are helping TCS to spread the “word.” Each year, Photographers Without Borders (PWB) connects volunteer photographers like Vera to […]
“There is a rich tradition in the Bible of really questioning God,” says our seminarian intern Jabe Ziino. “I find a lot of value there, knowing that it’s okay to not know everything. I think that’s where our experience in faith can really be very powerful for us.” Jabe recently completed his first year at Princeton Seminary (with two more years to go). He’s heading […]
“The history of God’s chosen people is a history of movement, of saying goodbye to your beloved home at a time of pain and broken hopes, of entering an unknown and dangerous new land, of longing for the true home that God has promised to you.” Seminarian Jabe Ziino, July 24. This Summer, as Pastor Daniel Meeter has been away for his vacation and reading […]
I have been asked to speak about why I volunteer at Old First, keeping in mind the theme of Volunteer Sunday: “Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good?” Let me start by describing what I do as a volunteer. I am one of the many volunteers that support our summer shelter program. For several years now, Old First has served […]
Old First Vice President (and resident yoga instructor) Jenny Burrill has written Baby’s Big World: Yoga, for the popular Barnes & Noble children’s book series. The books in this collection — which include subjects like music, chemistry, and even the U.S. government! — are meant to be read to babies (however, don’t let that stop you if you are in a more advanced stage of life). […]
Seminary intern Adelheid Duhm is spending four weeks in Brooklyn and at Old First as she participates in a practicum on her way to the ministry. She’s currently a student at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, and a candidate in the Badische Landeskirche there. She explains that her practicum is a voluntary internship, which supplements her initial experience, in Mannheim, Germany. There she participated […]
Old First respite shelter co-manager Michael Bagnulo repped us at the recent appreciation dinner for our volunteers on September 29th. The Plymouth Church of the Pilgrim, located in downtown Brooklyn, and was once the church of controversial preacher and abolitionist Beecher Ward. Each year, it shares a celebratory dinner (Michael had the delicious curry chicken!) as a chance to recognize the people who help run […]
Cynthia Ponce has just completed her second year of managing the Old First respite shelter, which serves meals and provides beds to homeless men during the summer months. The biggest lesson she’s learned so far: a gift is often more for the benefit of the giver than the receiver. “During dinner with the guys, one gentleman came over and kept replenishing my orange juice,” Cynthia […]