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Interfaith Gathering on Brooklyn Heights Promenade Marks Tenth Anniversary of September 11 Attacks

By on September 12, 2011 12:52 am in Events, Religion, Video


At 12:30 yesterday afternoon there was a gathering on the Promenade to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Cnter, the Pentagon, and the plane that crashed in Pennsylvania. Above, The Rev. Al Bunis, of Plymouth Church, reads a portion of the Beatitudes, from the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5, verses 1-9. More videos and text after the jump. Continue Reading →

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Reminder: St. Ann’s Church to Commemorate 9/11 This Sunday Afternoon

By on September 6, 2011 11:12 pm in Events, History, Literature, Music, Religion

As we previously reported, the Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity, at Clinton and Montague Streets, will host “Sanctuary STILL” this coming Sunday afternoon, September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. The Church has provided the following details about the event:

On Sunday, September 11, 2011, at 3:00 p.m., St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church will host Sanctuary STILL, a community event to honor the spirit of Brooklyn and its particular perspective on our nation’s loss, recovery, and renewal ten years after the attack and destruction of the World Trade Center. The church is located at the corner of Montague and Clinton Streets in Brooklyn Heights. Continue Reading →

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Goodbye Pilgrims, Plymouth Church Rocks It Old School

Goodbye Pilgrims, Plymouth Church Rocks It Old School

By on September 6, 2011 7:05 pm in History, Religion

Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, the historic Brooklyn Heights institution on Orange Street announced today that is returning to its original name. The congregation will now be known as Plymouth Church, just as it was when the legendary Henry Ward Beecher preached there.

“Of the Pilgrims” was added in 1934 when Plymouth merged with the now defunct Church of the Pilgrims on Remsen Street (it is now the Our Lady of Lebanon Maronite Cathedral).

Why the change and new logo? Read the full press release after the jump. Continue Reading →

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St. Ann’s Church to Hold 9/11 Memorial Event

St. Ann’s Church to Hold 9/11 Memorial Event

By on August 15, 2011 11:23 pm in Events, History, Literature, Music, Religion

Sunday, September 11 will be the tenth anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center, and on that day, starting at 3:00 p.m., St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church, at Clinton and Montague streets, will host “a community event to honor the spirit of Brooklyn and its particular perspective on our nation’s loss, recovery, and renewal.”

SANCTUARY STILL will include spoken word, music, and video presentations. Presenters will include elected officials, first responders from the fire and police departments, Brooklyn-based authors, faith leaders, and community members. Music will be provided by the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, the String Orchestra of Brooklyn, Grace and Spiritus Chorale of Brooklyn, and St. Ann’s Choir. Continue Reading →

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Brooklyn Paper Ponders Brooklyn Bridge “Park” Plan

By on August 11, 2011 10:26 am in Real Estate, Watchtower

The Brooklyn Paper weighs in on the latest scheme to fund Brooklyn Bridge Park:

Brooklyn Paper: The deal calls for the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society’s holdings in Brooklyn Heights and DUMBO to be rezoned for residential use — a change that real-estate experts believe will send the value of the Society’s properties well north of $1 billion.

“If they put them on the market now, they’ll be sold very quickly,” said Downtown real-estate broker Chris Havens.

The deal between Mayor Bloomberg and state officials will reduce the amount of luxury condos inside Brooklyn Bridge Park by capturing property taxes from the Watchtower properties after they are sold. The money will be diverted from the city general fund to pay for maintaining the world-class park at the foot of two wealthy neighborhoods — and that has green advocates seeing red.

Brooklyn Heights realtor Donald Brennan pondered the worth of the Watchtower portfolio in a BHB guest post last summer.

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3 Watchtower Properties on the Block

By on August 3, 2011 3:13 pm in Real Estate, Watchtower

Realtor Massey Knakal announced via press release this afternoon that they have been retained to sell 3 properties owned by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in Brooklyn Heights. The buildings are 50 Orange Street, 183 Columbia Heights and 161 Columbia Heights. The three properties combined are being valued at $18.45 million dollars. They’ll be sold separately. Continue Reading →

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Park Consultants Submit Final Report on Housing Alternatives

By on June 10, 2011 10:31 am in brooklyn bridge park, Development, News, Real Estate, Watchtower

Bay Area Economics (“BAE”), the consultants hired by the board of the Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation to study alternatives to housing in the park as sources of funding for park operations and maintenance, have submitted the final version of their report to the board’s Committee on Alternatives to Housing. The full text of the report can be found through a link on the Corporation’s website. The Report makes no specific recommendations concerning whether or not to build housing, but simply evaluates the revenue, and the risks concerning availbility of such revenue, that can be anticipated from various sources that were suggested and studied as alternatives to revenue from housing, and which the Committee deemed to be in accordance with the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) under which the city agreed to take responsibility for construction, operation, and maintenance of the park; in particular, that no funds (other than payments in lieu of taxes, “PILOTs”, on the housing and hotel planned to be built on park land) that would otherwise accrue to the city’s general revenues would be diverted for park use. Continue Reading →

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Two Souls Get Raptured in Brooklyn Heights

By on May 21, 2011 6:32 pm in Lame Excuses, Lost and Found, Religion, War On Fun


BHB tipster “Sara” sent us this photo of what appears to be “evidence” of two souls who were “called home” during today’s Rapture. As for the rest of us, we’re still here.

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Four Heights Houses of Worship on “Sacred Sites” Tour This Weekend

By on May 18, 2011 12:11 am in Architecture, Arts and Entertainment, Events, Religion

Four historic Brooklyn Heights churches–Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral, Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims, St. Ann & the Holy Trinity, and St. Charles Borromeo–will be opening their doors to visitors this weekend (outside of normal service hours) as part of the New York Landmarks Conservancy’s Sacred Sites Open House Weekend. Our Lady of Lebanon, 113 Remsen Street (corner of Henry) will offer guided tours from 1:00 to 4:00 on Sunday, May 22. Plymouth Church, Orange Street between Henry and Hicks, will offer tours from 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 21. St. Ann & the Holy Trinity has not announced a schedule; call the church office at (718) 875-6960. St. Charles Borromeo, 21 Sidney Place (corner of Aitken Place) will welcome visitors from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

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Brooklyn Heights Synagogue Religious School Open House Thursday

Brooklyn Heights Synagogue Religious School Open House Thursday

By on May 10, 2011 2:46 pm in Brooklyn Heights, Education, Kids, Parents, Religion

The Brooklyn Heights Synagogue, located at 131 Remsen Street (between Clinton and Henry), will hold an open house for its religious school this Thursday, May 12, from 3:45 to 5:00 p.m. At the open house, you may learn about the program, observe a class in session, and chat with other parents. Continue Reading →

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Mr. J. Visits St. Ann & the Holy Trinity

By on March 10, 2011 10:05 am in Architecture, Religion, Video

Our man with cam has put together a montage of historic photos of the Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity (simply Church of the Holy Trinity until its merger with St. Ann’s Church in the 1970s), designed by the great 19th century church architect Minard Lafever, at Montague and Clinton streets, followed by some live coverage of yesterday’s Ash Wednesday service. The towering steeple (when completed, it was the tallest structure in New York City), seen in some of the early photos, was taken down in the 1890s when vibrations from subway construction beneath the church threatened its stability. The stained glass windows by William Jay Bolton are justly famous. Video after the jump. Continue Reading →

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New Priest for St. Ann & the Holy Trinity

By on March 3, 2011 12:24 am in Brooklyn Heights, News, Religion

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports that the Rev. John Denaro has been appointed the new Priest-in-Charge for the Episcopal Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity, located at Clinton and Montague streets. The Rev. Nell Archer, who has been serving as Acting Priest-in-Charge, will continue as Assistant Priest-in-Charge, thereby providing the church with two full time clergy for the first time in many years. Continue Reading →

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First Presbyterian to Install New Senior Pastor

By on January 21, 2011 11:45 pm in Brooklyn Heights, News, Religion

seattleu.edu

First Presbyterian Church, located at 124 Henry Street, between Clark and Love Lane, has concluded its search for a new senior pastor. Continue Reading →

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John Manbeck Visits Dawood Mosque on State Street

By on December 3, 2010 3:47 pm in Religion

Eagle contributor and former Brooklyn Borough Historian John Manbeck recently toured Turkey, and was impressed by the respectful and friendly treatment he received in this predominantly Muslim country. On returning to Brooklyn, he decided to look into the history and present state of Islam here. Islam has a long standing presence in Brooklyn, initially brought here by African slaves, Brooklyn having had one of the largest slave populations in the North. Immigrants from the Middle East and South Asia later greatly increased the number of Muslims here. Manbeck learned that there are over twenty mosques in Brooklyn, in various parts of the Borough. One of these, the Dawood Mosque, named, Manbeck notes, “for its Jamaican founder, Sheik Dawood Faisal”, is located at 127 State Street, here in the Heights. He decided to visit it for a Sabbath service. Continue Reading →

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Is That a Cult Holding Court at Plymouth Church?

By on October 13, 2010 9:20 pm in Religion

Photo: Mrs. Fink

Controversial Korean religious leader Pastor Ock Soo Park is holding a Bible Crusade this week at Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims on Orange Street. Part of the Saviorist movement in his home country,  Park reportedly did not attend an accredited seminary and his organization is mostly  known for its orange t-shirted followers who aggressively hand out flyers here and around the world.

They are generally referred to in Korea as “Saviorists,” although their precise name is Association of Korean Christian Baptists. In contrast, the name of the official Baptist organization is The Korea Baptist Convention. … Apparently, Saviorist movement started in the 1960s, when an American missionary named Dick York made Park [Ock Soo] a pastor through an informal mission. Mr. Park did not attend any established seminary. (Ask a Korean via NYT City Room)

So are they a cult? Depends on who you ask.  Some commenters on the definitive website for such things, rickross.com, seem to think it is.  However, Mr. Ross has not added Mr. Park’s Good News Mission to his official list of active cults.

We’ve contacted Plymouth Church of the Pilgrims about the group’s use of its facility and we’re awaiting a reply.
Update: Plymouth spokesperson Ann Geismar tells BHB, “The Good News Church is strictly a rental, and not affiliated with Plymouth Church or our programs. We’re not supporting them financially in any way.

As you probably know, Plymouth Church rents our spaces to other religious organizations (the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue among them) and we don’t ask that they adhere to our views on theology.”

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