News At First Church
Read stories about the ministry and work of our congregation in Oakland. CHECK OUT TEMPLE TIDINGS, OUR CHURCH NEWSLETTERMicheline La Mont Welcomed as Community Relationships Manager
We are very pleased to announce that Micheline La Mont has begun work with First Church as our new Community Relationships Manager. “Mich” will be in charge of First Church’s events calendar and venue rentals, assisting our 18 Community Partners and the public with...
Seeking Reproductive Justice, Presbyterian Church Supports Abortion Access
Nick Skaggs, David Staniunas, Presbyterian Historical Society Under the specter of safe and legal abortion ending in much of the country, let's look at the struggle for reproductive justice inside the PC(USA). Currently the PC(USA)'s office of Mission Responsibility...
First Church Celebrates its LGBTQ Allies
“Rare Cancer Seen in 41 Homosexuals.” This was a small headline buried in The New York Times on July 3, 1981. The rare cancer spread rapidly in the early 1980s, mainly within the gay communities in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. These gay urban enclaves were...
Joel Mackey Joins First Church as Parish Associate
First Church has a new Parish Associate, Rev. Joel Mackey. Joel is a long time Bay Area resident and has served most recently as Parish Associate at Sojourner Truth Presbyterian Church. Joel is currently a professional clinical counselor at Bay Area Community Resource...
The Heat Is On! Campus Central Heating Plant Replacement Completed
After four months and eight days without heat, the campus is warming up tonight. The new gas-fired high-efficiency boiler (and adjacent equipment) has been installed, adjusted, tested, re-adjusted and finally fired up for use. The project cost, approximately $150,000,...
Oakland Civic Orchestra Performs First Concert at New Home
Oakland Civic Orchestra, an all volunteer group led by Music Director Martha Stoddard, performed their first concert at First Church, in the Fellowship Hall on Sunday. The free concert featured the world premiere of Burlesk for Two Solo Violoncelli and Orchestra by...
Southern Pilgrimage Retraces Black Freedom Struggle
Pastor Matt helped guide the Empower Initiative Team on a pilgrimage to Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma Alabama in February, a trip that coincided with Black History Month. The pilgrimage retraced sacred sites of the Southern Black Freedom Struggle. Those attending...
Black History Month Wraps Up With Joy
First Church’s annual celebration of Black History wrapped up on Sunday with an invitation to attend the Black Joy Parade in downtown Oakland. The parade, which begins at 12:30 pm extends along Broadway, from 14th Street to 20th Street. A performance and vendor area...
Christmas Brings Special Worship Opportunities to First Church
Carols & Lessons Sunday, December 19, 10 am We will be joined by Brass Over Bridges quintet for a traditional Advent service of Carols and Lessons, with a special focus on examining the “Song of Mary,” in which Mary rejoices at God’s promise to “lift the lowly,...
Ceasefire Night Walk Calls For Peace Amid Gun Violence
With Oakland’s gun-homicide count reaching 138 deaths as of publication, First Church members joined Faith in Action East Bay for a second “Night Walk,” joining other faith communities in Oakland in calling for an end to gun violence and for peace. Six members from...
Student Concerts Bring Sounds of Joy to First Church
A standing-room only crowd filled First Church for the Oakland School for the Arts annual Winter Concert on Friday evening. Performers included various middle school and high school level ensemble groups, performing choral renditions of mostly popular music and some...
Rev. Matt Prinz Installed as 19th Pastor of First Church
On November 14, representatives from the San Francisco Presbytery and as far south as El Cajon, California, were welcomed for the installation of Rev. Matt Prinz as pastor of First Presbyterian Church. Matt is the nineteenth person installed by the Presbytery as...
With Gun Violence Soaring, Churches March for Peace
When the City of Oakland experienced its one hundredth gun homicide in September, the City Council declared a public health emergency. Since then, the toll has risen to 119 shooting deaths, just shy of the 120 shooting deaths reported for all of 2020. Oakland is not...
Students Walk Out, Protest Assault: First Church Student Leads
Cat calls, groping, teasing, and unwanted advances are a regular part of the school day for many girls at Oakland Technical High School, where a culture of permissiveness and passiveness had left many victims feeling unempowered – until last week when students...
Session Sends Financial Support to Four Local Organizations
At the October Session of elders, Pastor Matt urged funding to three local youth organizations: NOVA Choir, College Awareness Program, and Oakland Kids First. The Session agreed to provide grants of $500 each to these groups with funds provided by the Davidson Family...
Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus performs “Together Again”
The Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus, headquartered here at First Church since June, performed their first concert since the Covid Pandemic began in March 2020. The performance, sung to a socially distanced crowd of approximately 200, consisted of Chorus standards including...
Early Projections of Facility Transformation Plan Show Funding Source for $3M in Deferred Maintenance & Replacement Projects
By Erick Bevington, Chair of Buildings & Grounds Committee Following a year and a half of a disruptive campus closure, the Buildings & Grounds Committee is very pleased to report that new income generated by the Facilities Transformation Plan (adopted in February of...
“Making God’s Welcome Known” Is Not Always Easy
When the blocks around First Church began to transform into the city’s most densely packed residential hub, we all knew that there would be changes to how the neighborhood behaved. The First Church lawn, one of the only green spaces available to many of apartment...
First Church Welcomes Oakland’s Community Women’s Orchestra
The Community Women’s Orchestra will be making its new home at First Church, starting this week. The orchestra, which consists entirely of women, will rehearse in the Fellowship Hall on Thursday evenings, from 7:30 – 9:30 pm. They will also have seasonal concerts...
First Church Honors Identity with Pronoun Buttons
The Building the Beloved Community team continues to make available pronouns buttons for anyone in the congregation who wishes to use them.There are many reasons for making our preferred pronouns evident, among them helping everyone to feel included and respected and...
Finding Wholeness With Disability: First Church Members Discuss Disability, Ableism
Building the Beloved Community met on Zoom Wednesday night to discuss the topic of “ableism,” a form of preferential treatment for able-bodied people and discrimination against those with disabilities. Suzie Inadomi led the discussion. Suzie’s ministry at First Church...
Early Head Start Preschool Expands Broadway Campus at First Church
At its meeting Tuesday evening, the Session agreed to help the Early Head Start preschool expand its Broadway Campus here at First Church. The preschool, a tenant here since 2009, was offered one additional classroom and the use of two offices, enabling the preschool...
Sacred & Profane Chamber Chorus Comes to First Church
The Sacred & Profane Chamber Chorus joins four other choral organizations in calling First Church home – at least temporarily. The Chorus, whose repertoire consists of a cappella music from the medieval through contemporary era, was started in 1977. They ordinarily...
Faith in Action Encourages First Church Involvement in Mental Health Pilot Program
Members of First Church met again with Faith in Action East Bay community organizer Yuri Sadiki Torres on Wednesday to continue to imagine and discern ways to collaborate in building the beloved community in Oakland and beyond. Faith in Action is a coalition of...
Voting in the Gubernatorial Recall Election Has Begun at First Church
The Alameda County Registrar of voters arrived early Friday morning with equipment for the Oakland’s Northgate-Waverly precinct voting location. First Church was selected as an “accessible voting location” and was open to receive voters at 8 AM Saturday. It will...
Goin’ Home: Lucy Kinchen Chorale Returns to First Church
The Lucy Kinchen Chorale met together for the first time since the pandemic began on Saturday, for a rehearsal that was filled with warm embraces and lots of laughter. “We are like a family, it was wonderful to back together,” said conductor Lori Willis. “There were...
Can First Church Help Bridge the Health Care Divide? Pop-Up Clinics Proposed For Broadway Lawn
The Vituity Care Foundation, established by physicians with Vituity Health Care, is committed to bridging the health care divide in the US. The Foundation is interested in partnering with First Church to provide “pop-up clinics” on the church’s front lawn, intended to...
Where was God During Lock-Down? Congregation’s Photos Show Unique Perspectives
Twenty-six framed photos adorn the perimeter of the Reception Room, each offering a unique perspective on a common experience: lock-down. The congregation was asked to submit photos that showed where they found God’s presence during the difficult months of the...
Prayer, Care and Generosity Define Deacons’ Ministry
By Julia Marquez Over the past year or so I have served as moderator of the Deacons. As noted in last week’s Temple Tidings article, I have stepped down as moderator, and Judy Rowan will take my place. My role as moderator allowed me to gain insights about the...
Energy Independence for First Church Campus? Buildings & Grounds Committee Considers Options
At the August meeting of the Buildings & Grounds Committee, a major project was reviewed that could eventually move the entire First Church campus toward energy independence. The Committee is considering installation of a new photovoltaic array, equipped to...
Perspectives on Asian American Identity Shared, More Discussion & Action Considered
Twenty-seven people attended a Building the Beloved Community discussion of United, an essay from Cathy Park Hong’s collection entitled Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning. The essay touched on topics including racial bias, racial self-hatred, psychology, and...
First Church Welcomes New Community Partner, The Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus
On Tuesday evening in the Fellowship Hall, the Oakland Gay Men’s Chorus began preparation for their fall concert. The Chorus recently became First Church’s newest tenant, renting a new office space in the former “Women’s Robing Room.” Started in 1999, The Chorus is a...
Deacons Welcome Judy Rowan as New Moderator, Thank Julia Marquez for Service
First Church Deacons met on Zoom, Tuesday, August 10, at 7 pm. The eight deacons, elected by the congregation, are responsible for administering compassionate care to the First Church community. The deacons meet with Pastor Matt, but they are moderated in their...
Godly Play Foundation Commits to Anti-Racism; First Church Adds New Stories to Curriculum
By Di Pagel, Godly Play ConsultantLike many Christian organizations committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, the Godly Play Foundation recently became more intentional about the work of anti-racism. In 2020 a Task Force was set up and in December of last year...
Keeping People Moving Through Difficult Transitions: ReCares Goes the Distance
Every Friday afternoon, a queue stretches its way up the church parking ramp and onto 27th Street – it consists of a diverse group that includes all ages, races, and walks-of-life. They have one thing in common: they are all currently, or recently struggling with a...
Session Envisions Project to Honor Civil Rights Hero Fred Korematsu
“Fred Korematsu was such a humble man,” said treasurer Rose Mary Richmond, speaking of the man she knew who helped count the offerings on Monday mornings with his wife Catherine. “A humble man with a huge legacy,” said Rich Jones, who also knew the former First Church...
First Church to Partner with Cityteam: Provide Temporary Housing for 25 Men
An old Victorian hotel sits on Washington Street, it’s upper floors covered in 1880’s gingerbread. The ground floor storefronts have been replaced with a dining hall, kitchen and meeting room. The hotel’s former suites are now home to men enrolled in Cityteam’s Renew...