Mission + Outreach

Volunteer at First Church

Christian Education Committee

This Committee is a standing committee of the Session that oversees the Adult Education and Youth Education programs at First Church. The Committee seeks volunteers to help teach both Adult and Youth classes and to assist with the choir and youth programs.

Programs include:

  • Church School on Sunday mornings
  • Adult Bible Study on Sunday mornings
  • Adult Christian Education Classes on weekday evenings
  • Children’s Choir (1st grade and below), Church School Choir (2nd grade through 5th grade), and Youth Vocal Ensemble (6th grade and up) – Lynne Wilson, Choir Director

For more information, contact Minister of Christian Education, Barbara Davis, at (212) 675-6150.

Church and Society Committee

Church and Society is a standing committee of the Session responsible for community concerns and programs; education and discussion of matters affecting social, political and economic conditions; development of socially needed services; and recommendations on benevolence spending. The Committee sponsors forums, holds an annual Mission Fair, where organizations seeking volunteer assistance can present their needs to the congregation, and supports the following programs:

  • The Committee determines and makes recommendations to Session with respect to mission giving by First Church.
  • The Homeless Shelter at First Church (run jointly with the Church of the Ascension (Episcopal) and the Church of St. Luke in the Fields (Episcopal)) operates from the beginning of November until the end of April.
    To volunteer for the Shelter, see the listing for the Homeless Shelter in Volunteer Opportunities
  • Bailey House Fifth Sunday prepares and cooks dinner for the residents of Bailey Holt House, a residence for AIDS patients, on fifth Sundays.
    To volunteer, see the listing for Bailey House in Volunteer Opportunities in the Community.    .
  • Hunger Outreach collects nonperishable food in the Mellin-Macnab Church House lobby for Church of Gethsemane.
  • Lower Manhattan Together is a grass roots organization of churches and other community-based organizations below 14th Street that have banded together to work for better living and working conditions in lower Manhattan. Permanent delegates are still needed to represent First Presbyterian Church.
  • Center for Arts and the Church seeks to strengthen arts as ministry
    (similar to, for example, social services or counseling) in divers churches and religious institutions by
    (a) cultivating an informal New York City network of managers/directors of such programs,
    (b) documenting, on ecumenical principles, outstanding arts projects based in churches and
    (c) sponsoring workshops focused on arts management and occasional programs in the performance-demonstration mode.

Communications Committee

The Committee is a standing committee of the Session responsible for all of First Church’s in-house publications, including the Church Tower, First Notes, bulletins for worship services, numerous pamphlets and the First Church Website:

  • The Church Tower, mailed quarterly to all members and friends of First Church
  • First Notes, mailed monthly to all members and friends of First Church
  • First Church Website: covering music and events, mission and outreach,
    fellowship, Christian education, Tartan Christmas and more.

The Committee always needs volunteers to assist with editing and designing its publications, to contribute articles to The Church Tower, to program HTML for the Website and to help collate and stuff envelopes for church mailings.

Membership/Fellowship Committee

The Membership Committee is a standing committee of the Session that seeks to build our church’s membership by encouraging people first to join us, and then to make this church their spiritual home. In the past, our work has included assisting the Pastors with the Inquirers’ Classes, welcoming visitors and new members at coffee hour and updating church directories, rolls and databases. We also welcome, discuss and implement new ideas that will increase First Church’s population.

The committee is also responsible for organizing social events for church members and their friends throughout the year. The aim is to strengthen the bonds of the church family, the body of Christ. To that end the Committee has recently sponsored the following events:

  • Soup & Song (at the beginning of Lent)
  • Easter Breakfast
  • Potluck Suppers
  • First Wednesday Light Suppers (following Wednesday Worship and before Committee meetings)
  • Summer Cookouts (on the Church walkways in July and August)
  • Ice Cream Social in June
  • Welcome Home Garden Brunch in September
  • Interfaith Thanksgiving Eve Reception  
  • New Member Receptions

The Fellowship Committee also sponsors the Literary Group, which meets one Sunday a month.

As this congregation grows, this Committee needs more and more people who like to bake, cook, set up and serve at the types of events listed above. Whatever your talents, we can use them! Volunteers are always welcome to pour coffee at Coffee Hour after Sunday Worship.

Food and Kitchen Service Subcommittee

The major responsibility of this subcommittee of the Membership Committee is to provide meals for church events such as the annual meeting, breakfast on Easter and an Advent dinner for the Sunday School. The subcommittee does approximately two events per month with the exception of July and August. The work includes planning, cooking, setting up and cleanup. Other responsibilities include developing procedures for use of the kitchens and purchasing new and replacement items. All members and friends are invited and welcomed to volunteer.

Announcements of events and work times appear monthly in the Volunteer Opportunities section of First Notes, or you may call Jackie Fike to get your name on a call list for the next event.

Nursery School Board of Directors

The Nursery School Board oversees the operation of the First Presbyterian Church Nursery School and is a standing committee of Session. The First Church Board of Trustees is also represented on the Nursery School Board.

For further information about the Nursery School, call Ellen Ziman, the Nursery School Director, at (212) 691-3432.

Personnel Committee

The Personnel Committee is a standing committee of the Session responsible for the employment of non-ordained staff and for maintaining fair employment practices for the employees of First Church. The Committee works in consultation with the Associate Pastor to review policies, conduct annual salary and benefit reviews and to maintain and revise, as needed, the Employee Handbook.

Stewardship Committee

The Stewardship Committee is a standing committee of the Session responsible for developing a continuing spirit of stewardship of all resources – time, talent and finances – within the membership, as well as planning and executing the annual stewardship campaign.
Book of Order G-10.0102(h) – “To challenge the people of God with the privilege and responsible Christian stewardship of money, time and talents, developing effective ways for encouraging and gathering the offerings of the people and assuring all offerings are distributed to the objects toward which they were contributed.”

A Tartan Christmas

Held every year on the first weekend of December, A Tartan Christmas is not a pre-programmed, automatic event. We need your help now and throughout the fall. You can help with the Silent Auction, make crafts, organize volunteers, make signs, create beautiful bows for our greenery, sort and categorize books and White Elephant items, price items and do many things that are essential to the fair’s success. On the days of the fair, we will need lots of volunteers to work in the shops or at the Silent Auction. After the fair, you can help take down and clean up.

Worship Committee

Worship at First Church involves more than you might think from attending an occasional Sunday service. There are Midday Services and Vespers during the week, Special Services of Music, special Holiday Services, Weddings, Baptisms and Funeral Services. Each involves the careful planning and the coordination of many talented and dedicated First Church members. Volunteers are always needed to assist with other tasks, such as arranging and hanging holiday decorations.

The Worship Committee is a standing committee of the Session responsible for preparing (with assistance from First Church staff) and arranging for ordained members of the congregation to serve communion for all regular Sunday and noonday communion services. The Committee also prepares the elements and makes arrangements for special services such as Ash Wednesday evening services in the Parlor, the evening Tenebrae Service in the Sanctuary and the early morning Easter Service.

First Church Choir

If you are interested in the First Church Choir, experienced singers who would like to volunteer can contact First Church’s Organist and Choirmaster, William Entriken at (212) 675-6150

Buildings and Grounds Committee

This Committee of the Board of Trustees is responsible for the maintenance and repair of the physical buildings and grounds of First Church. The Committee welcomes participation by members with knowledge or expertise in building and grounds management and maintenance. Volunteers are also recruited on a seasonal basis to help maintain the First Church gardens

The Fellowship Committee is the only standing committee of the Board of Deacons and Joint Facility Space Use Committee

This Committee, the members of which are appointed,
(a) assesses the manner in which space is used at First Church,
(b) determines how and when space allocation should be modified (as when the South Wing opened) and
(c) establishes policies and procedures for present and future allocation and use of space.

The Committee is chaired by an Elder of Session, and its membership is composed of representatives from specific board committees.

Joint Finance Committee

The Committee, the members of which are appointed, oversees current fiscal year spending with respect to the budget and sets the budget for the coming year. The committee is chaired by an elder, and its membership is composed of representatives from specific board committees.