First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn

Appreciated the diversity & the gospel music. Excellent message for the First Sunday in Advent. A mix of homey feeling (long passing the peace so you can exchange greetings with everybody) and sophistication (lots of guests visiting from France & Italy today.)

I didn’t have the heart to give 2 or even fewer stars. Its a church for god’s sake. Here in NYC for a weekend, I decided Sunday morning to check out a church service and picked the FPC of B as it had a good description in a few web entries I found at 9 am. First and Foremost, the Chorus is really fine. Excellent voices, well trained, beautiful. If I was reviewing them alone, 4 stars. The problem was the quality of the service… The interim minister who Im sure is well intentioned spent 30 minutes reviewing an obscure passage of the old testament to make an argument about deciding between faiths. Adonai versus Baal traditions. The lack of relevance to my modern, urabn life, The childish silly obediance to a distant mythology, the utter lack of honest let alone authentic demonstration of forgiveness or unconditional love in a 2015 city. Worse, a poorly thought out parallel was then drawn between the Church’s values of non-​discrimination (abolitionist forerunners) and Austin’s recent rejection of transgendered rights to the bathrooms of their choices… Absurd. Making that question equal or on the same level as the civil rights movement for Afro-​Americans is actually offensive — and a convenient venue for safe PC morality. Looking for spiritual direction, maybe authentic devotion? Authenticity? Sadly, look elsewhere. These folks needs to grow, look inward, stop silly obediance. Then, they won’t be troubled by not hearing God’s voice in their lives and the vacant droning to scripture.

Came here as I was walking around Brooklyn Heights on a sort of tour of the neighborhood. I visited a lot of churches on a beautiful spring Sunday morning/​afternoon, when many of these churches are actually open and available to peek inside. A lot of the churches have stained glass windows made by Tiffany (yes, that Tiffany), and First Presbyterian has some of the best. They are gorgeous.
Had to slip in on the side entrance as the service was getting out, but I smiled and nodded at everyone who was chatting afterward. I walked inside and took in the gorgeous stained glass, snapped a few photos, and walked out. Certainly worth the visit if you are into history, architecture, and art.

Wonderful weekly 11AM service in a loving and welcoming atmosphere. Amazing church building from the 1860s. Well worth a visit if you are in Brooklyn Heights on a Sunday.

Amazing service. The people in the church welcomes you with their heart and makes you feel included. The choir is real, it isn’t one of those things fabricated or for tourists. It is the real deal.

Never have I been a part of such a diverse, loving congregation. This church is accepting of all and has a great gospel choir!

Absolutely gorgeous church and a very welcoming community. This has to be one of the oldest and best preserved churches in Brooklyn. They have plaques around the church dedicated to past reverends dating back all the way to the 1700s. This was my first time going to a Presbyterian service (I’ve always gone to Baptist services), it’s very similar. It’s remarkable how little is different with all the Christian denominations. The music here is the best I’ve ever heard in a church (the choir at least), they are very talented here. It was also the most diverse church I have ever been to. Many churches claim to be diverse but this was the first one I’ve been to where they actually had a great mix of races and ages. The people here are very nice and they seem to have a ton of events and activities for the community. The only thing keeping me from giving them 5 stars is that the sermon was quite brief and it would have been nice to be a bit longer and that they currently do not have a reverend and are still looking for a replacement for their last one.

Great experience at Sunday worship — the music is amazing (see
for a sample).
The Sanctuary is beautiful and has some fantastic stained-​glass windows. We had our wedding there, including a reception upstairs in their fellowship room. The ministers are caring, sensitive, and open to hearing ideas for what was important to us in our relationship and with elements of the ceremony.
VERY reasonable price for Brooklyn Heights! The facilities aren’t «state of the art», but flexible. Big plus for the area — there is a kitchen and off-​street parking for caterers!