It is with heavy hearts and a deep sense of sorrow that we announce the passing of two cherished members of our community at First Baptist Church of Crown Heights: Bro. Willie Taylor and Sis. Eloise Thompson. In the silence of our hearts and the utterances of our prayers, we extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones during this time of loss.
The wake for Bro. Willie Taylor is scheduled for Friday, October 6, 2023, from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM. A Celebration of Life will follow on Saturday, October 7, 2023, at 11:30 AM at the Greater Allen AME Cathedral located at 110-31 Floyd Flake Blvd (Merrick Blvd), Jamaica, NY. In these moments, as we gather to remember, we also gather to support one another, finding solace in shared grief and shared love.
During these moments of bereavement and reflection, let us also uplift in prayer those among us who are currently walking through valleys of physical suffering and emotional pain. In these moments of health crises and uncertainty, let's extend our prayers for healing and strength for members of our community:
- Sabrina Downing
- Fitz Cole
- John Brown (father of Deacon Paul Brown)
- And many others listed, who need our prayerful support during their time of need.
During this season, our prayers envelop those who are preparing for surgeries, undergoing treatment, or managing illness at home. Let’s particularly remember Jamari Woodson, a 34-year-old battling stage 4 cancer, who reached out through our website from Norfolk, VA, seeking the healing energy of communal prayer.
We also keep in our prayers those who are celebrating small victories, like William Henry Cooke (home from Rehab and doing fine), and those who are still in need of our continuous prayer and care, like Deacon Hipolito Manzo, Brenda Frazier, Al Robinson, Rhoda Howard, Deacon Esther Tyler, and Hyacinth Peart.
Our prayers craft a tapestry of care and concern, enveloping each name, each individual in a blanket of divine love and human empathy. In our congregation’s collective consciousness, let there be an outpouring of healing energy and a shower of strength enveloping each person, reaching every bed of suffering, every home of care, and every heart of sorrow.
In prayer, we stand in the gap, creating a bridge of faith and hope. Prayer is the song of the heart, a melody of hope, faith, and love that rises to the heavens, providing comfort to the weary and strength to the weak.
Join us in weaving a strong net of support through your prayers, enveloping those listed and unlisted, known and unknown, close and far, in the caring embrace of the Divine and the communal. For in prayer, we find solace; in faith, we find strength; and in community, we find love. Let's continue to uphold each other during these trying times, bearing one another’s burdens and sharing in each other’s joys.
