The Scorn of Those Who Are at Ease Written by: George Hoffman Originally Posted June 10, 2020 on https://progressivechristianity.org/resources/the-scorn-of-those-who-are-at-ease/ I’ve been spending a lot of time with psalm 123 lately. The church I attend had a session on the...
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Next Sunday, February 26 after worship, the Rev. Geoffrey Black (the UCC’s former General Minister and President) will be with us to present “The Monumental African American – A Presentation on Monuments Commemorating African Americans in American History.” After...
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The Book Group on Race and Racism: We will meet on February 9 to discuss The Color of Law: a Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein. Don’t be discouraged by the size of the book. One-fourth of it is Notes, Bibliography, and Index; but don’t...
Read moreBook Group on Race and Racism Our book group on race and racism will meet after worship on Sunday, Nov 11 to discuss Slavery’s Constitution: From Revolution to Ratification, by David Waldstreicher. The word slavery does not appear in the Constitution, yet of its eighty-four clauses...
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At the last gathering of this year’s series of Sacred Conversations in June, our facilitator, Naomi Washington-Leaphart offered three three books for our summer reading. Lies Across America: What our Historic Sites Get Wrong, by James W. Loewen. Simon and Schuster (Touchstone...
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Old First’s new “Race and Racism Book Group” will hold its first meeting on Sun., June 17 after worship in the sanctuary. The selection will be Burger’s Daughter, by South African writer Nadine Gordimer. This historical novel details a group of...
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James Alison begins with an interpretation of the parable of the Unjust Judge and the Importunate Widow. He sees this as an example of our reluctance to become insistent desirers and to accept less than we deserve. He suggests that we dare to want more. Then he discusses Jesus’ sayings...
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The New Amsterdam Boys and Girls Choir will be with us on the weekend of May 6 and 7. They will be providing the music for our worship that Sunday. They will arrive at Old First midday on Saturday. There will sight-see historic sites and maybe the African American Museum that...
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Last month, several Old Firsters attended an introductory “White Privilege, Let’s Talk” gathering at Calvary Reformed UCC in Reading. A dozen attendees from churches in the Penn Southeast Conference met to reflect on our lives and experiences through the lens of race. Julie Steiner...
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Old First member Julie Steiner will lead a safe, meaningful, substantive, and bold conversation about race, utilizing the UCC’s transformation curriculum this Saturday, February 11 at 9am at Calvary United Church of Christ, 640 Centre Ave. in Reading, PA. A group will be going from Old...
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