Old First Brooklyn is committed to offering sanctuary to anyone seeking spirituality and hope and to offering outreach to the community. We support several important charities and efforts to help those in need including a summer Respite Shelter for the homeless, CHIPS cooking for those in need, Handcrafting Justice, and others.

Outreach to the community includes Interfaith services for important events like 9/11 and Martin Luther King day as well as hosting important community events like the Jingle Bell Jamboree, Chocolate Chip Chamber Music, Dutch Day service and more.

Old First has been cooking a meal for CHiPS every month for over two decades now. The kitchen is also used to serve meals to our summer respite guests.

Service to Those in Need

Respite Shelter

All summer, 2011, the sanctuary was used for beds and linens for homeless men as part of the Respite Shelter at the church. The project is a collaboration between Old First, the Park Slope Interfaith Social Justice Network, CAMBA, and with the guidance and support from Councilmember Brad Landor.

CHIPS (Park Slope Christian Help, Inc.)

CHIPS is an organization administered by the Franciscan Sisters of the poor with the mission “…to heal the wounds of Christ in poor suffering humanity.” Old First participates in CHIPS through support of their Soup Kitchen. The first Saturday of each month we meet in the morning to cook a meal for the homeless and deliver the meal to the CHIPS soup kitchen on Fourth Avenue in time for their noon meal. Other members volunteer directly at CHIPS by setting up for meals, serving, and cleaning afterwards. Park Slope Christian Help, Inc. (CHIPS)

Our doors and stoop are open during Seventh Heaven

HandCrafting Justice

HandCrafting Justice is a fair trade partnership working with women struggling for economic justice and independent in developing countries. Every year at Christmas, we offer crafts, clothing, art, jewelry and other gift items for purchase to support this important organization. HandCrafting Justice

Service to the Community

Christmas Eve Service Open to All

On Christmas Eve our sanctuary is filled with congregants and community alike. In 2010, as in other years, we celebrated with Festive Music for Organ and Brass, Candlelight Lessons, Vocal Solos, and Carols.

Jingle Bell Jamboree A Brooklyn Family Tradition at Old First

With support from Park Slope Parents, Park Slope Civic Council and Old First Reformed Church, the Annual Jingle Bell Jamboree concert features performances from Brooklyn-based ensembles. In addition, Jingle Bell Jamboree founder and producer, Ethan Schlesser and Rev. Daniel Meeter host and leads a festive sing-a-long throughout the show. The event was originally created as a way to bring healing after the 9/11 tragedy. The annual event includes fundraising activities to help local charities.

Brooklyn Independent Television – Brooklyn On Site:
10th Anniversary of the Jingle Bell Jamboree - Dec 2010 (third video in archive list)

Easter

Easter morning is a festive occasion in which we celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. Please join us.

See videos of dance and music during Easter Service

Dutch Days Service Old First Celebrates Five Dutch Days in Five Boroughs

Every November at Old First we open our doors to all of New York's citizens when we celebrate our religious heritage with a colonial Dutch Worship Service followed by a colonial dinner during the Five Dutch Days in Five Boroughs Festival, which marks the influence of Dutch arts and culture in New York.