Brooklyn Tabernacle Archives - There Goes Connie

Revisiting Godward Thoughts from New York City, 2018

12/06/2019 By: CCPearsoncomment

As you read this today, Steve and I are visiting the Christmas markets in Germany and Austria. I am so eager to share the photos and impressions of our visit with you when we return. In the meantime, I wanted to take you back to thoughts I had in New York about the words from “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.” https://www.conniewasthere.com/2018/12/21/when-hate-is-strong/

And, I want to share our experience attending worship at The Brooklyn Tabernacle. If you plan a trip to NYC, please, please, please time it so that you can go to this spirit-filled place. If you don’t think you’ll be able to visit in person, then go to their website and “have church” with them right in your own home. https://www.conniewasthere.com/2018/12/14/when-church-is-that-good/

Have a great week, everyone. Enjoy this season that points the world to Jesus.

Luke 2:14 – “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Merry Christmas Eve, Everyone!

12/24/2018 By: CCPearson4 Comments

It’s Christmas Eve. If you haven’t already had all of your holiday parties and family gatherings, then likely today and tomorrow will be packed with food, gifts, excited children, tons of discarded wrapping paper and the inevitable dilemma of storing all the leftovers. Maybe, too, you will take time to attend a Christmas Eve service at your church or read Luke 2 and remember how all of this began, what it meant then and what it continues to mean today.

Before we start to take our own Christmas trees down this year and pack things away until next November, I just wanted to share a few more Christmas trees that we spotted in New York. Maybe you can start hinting to whoever controls the budget at your house that you’d like to see them for yourself in 2019.

A very Merry Christmas to all of you from Steve and me.

Elaborate tree in a store window on 5th Avenue.

A tree comprised of beautiful Louis Vuitton accessories for the fashionable woman.

A tree in the entrance at the Brooklyn Tabernacle, greeting worshippers coming in for Sunday services and the yearly Christmas programs.

A tree beside a Menorah, when Hanukkah and Christmas intersect. These two symbols were in the Food Hall at The Plaza.

Tiny trees and other symbols of Christmas incorporated into the sweets served at Afternoon Tea at The Plaza.

35-foot tree made of Swarovski crystals in the lobby of Radio City Music Hall.

An unintentional self-portrait while photographing scenes in Rockefeller Center. Can you spy my Silver Fox waiting patiently for me to move along? 🙂

Christmas Experiences in New York City

12/10/2018 By: CCPearson4 Comments

It has been on my Bucket List for several years to “do New York City at Christmastime.” This was not a foodie trip, although we found some great food. This was not a shopping trip — but time for browsing holiday markets and window shopping did happen. This trip was a collection of experiences.

We flew in on a Friday and flew back home the following Tuesday. We lucked out on great weather. It was cold but not freezing, and it rained only on one day. During our 3 1/2 days in the Big Apple, we managed to fit in these activities:

We strolled through Times Square and Rockefeller Center, including the new F.A.O. Schwartz Toy Store, the big tree, and the astounding music/light display at Sak’s 5th Avenue.
We took in a Broadway play. For this visit, we saw “My Fair Lady,” one of my all-time favorites. I know every song and most of the dialogue. For this one, we took the subway to Lincoln Center and saw it in the Vivian Beaumont Theater. It was done superbly — every note, every set change, all the costumes fabulous.
We visited the new World Trade Center and the 9-11 Memorial. Sobering. Such a testament to the resilience of the citizens of NY to rise from those ashes.
We attended a service at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. (More about that in next Friday’s post).
We browsed the holiday markets at Grand Central Station and at Columbus Circle.
We gazed at the elaborate window displays along 5th Avenue.
We had Afternoon Tea at The Plaza — so delicious and elegant. This was my Christmas gift from Steve. I LOVED it!
We saw the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall featuring the Rockettes. We had seen the Rockettes in Nashville in years past, but I’m so glad we saw them in their home setting. The lighting, staging and special effects were SO MUCH BETTER in NYC.
We survived several taxi rides with Middle Eastern taxi drivers. 🙂 Actually, they were very friendly and did a good job of navigating the traffic.
We figured out which way was Downtown and which was Uptown — very important when using the subway system.
We tried real Manhattan Clam Chowder — and liked it a lot.
We averaged over 10,000 steps a day.
We were there for the first two nights of Hanukkah and saw the World’s Largest Menorah.
We stayed at the Marriott Marquis in the heart of Times Square for 2 nights and then enjoyed our biggest splurge by staying at The Plaza for the last 2 nights. Trust me. The Plaza deserves a blog post all its own. It was everything I had hoped and more.

Now, for a few photos that might tempt you to start planning your Christmas visit to NYC.

Radio City Music Hall, home of the Rockettes

Iconic keyboard in FAO Schwartz looking out onto the Rockefeller Center tree

Palm Court inside The Plaza, site of Afternoon Tea

Christmas tree in the lobby of The Plaza

Headed to NYC for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade? Here are some tips.

11/02/2015 By: CCPearson2 Comments

In 2008, Steve and I realized that all of our “people” had made other plans for Thanksgiving, so we decided to mark something off MY Bucket List that had sat untouched for years — seeing Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade live and in-person. For a couple of small-town Alabamians, it might come as a surprise that we love New York City. But, after an amazing trip for my 50th birthday, we really wanted to find an excuse to go back. This was it. We found out some things during that visit that might help if you decide to make a similar trip.

M & M’s are watching for the parade, too.

Macy’s balloons

DO YOUR HOMEWORK. If you can possibly swing it and if you make your reservations early enough, do your best to stay in a hotel that is on the parade route. Basically that means along Central Park West or 6th Avenue to 34th Street. Here’s the 2015 Macy’s Parade website – https://social.macys.com/parade/#home. That’s a good place to start your research. Choose one of these hotels and hope, hope, hope that they have a room available. Eight are mentioned in this article. https://www.nycgo.com/articles/thanksgiving-day-parade. Unless you are Donald Trump’s long-lost cousin, you are not likely to want to splurge enough to book one of the rooms that are on floors 2-10. In those, you can stay in your warm comfortable room and just watch the parade go by, BUT you will pay triple the normal price for your room. No, the reason to stay along the route is to be able to get a spot as close to the police barricade as possible.

Pilgrims

Honest Abe

cornucopia

2. GET UP EARLY. DRESS VERY WARMLY. DON’T DRINK MUCH. As soon as the hotel starts serving breakfast, be there waiting. If it’s after 6:00 a.m., that will be too late. Don’t drink much coffee. Now, you might want to put a bottle of water in your backpack, but wait until you get really thirsty to drink it. Why? Bathrooms, of course. Once you get in your spot, you will lose it if you leave. Yes, even if you have someone holding your place. The barricades start going up about 6:30 a.m. Be out there and ready. Steve and I were there, and we still only made it to the second row. Then, you start waiting, and it will likely be cold in New York on Thanksgiving Day. It hovered between 31 and 32 degrees the morning we were there. Think toboggan, gloves, two pairs of socks, etc. It will NOT matter what your hair looks like. 🙂 Depending on your hotel and how early you get your spot, you will likely not get your first glimpse of the start of the parade until 9:30 a.m. We were VERY fortunate. The people waiting around us were fun and friendly. We actually had a great time laughing and chatting.

3. MAKE LOTS OF PICTURES!! Yes, you’ll see it on television in years to come, but that will not be the same. Plus, the celebrities and the most popular balloons could change from year to year. You will enjoy the costumed people walking beside the balloons and floats almost as much as the actual floats. They add so much to the pageantry.

Buzz!

Princess float

4. When the parade ends, go back to your room to 1) use the bathroom, 2) drink lots of water, 3) warm up, and 4) take a nap. After all, you got up VERY early. Then, spruce yourself up nicely and GO OUT FOR A MEMORABLE THANKSGIVING DINNER AT A GREAT NEW YORK RESTAURANT. No. They won”t serve you every single one of your usual Thanksgiving favorites, but there WILL be turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. Here’s a link to popular restaurants for this special dinner. https://www.nycinsiderguide.com/thanksgiving-dinner-in-new-york-city#.VjU5vfmrShc. Pricey but worth it. Steve and I were fortunate to go to Tavern-on-the-Green in Central Park in 2008, but it closed the next year. It reopened about a year ago, but the reviews haven’t been good since it was remodeled and put in the hands of new owners. Maybe the restaurant you choose will be within walking distance of your hotel. That will save a taxi fare.

5. ORDER TICKETS FOR A GREAT HOLIDAY SHOW to see either the day you arrive or the day AFTER Thanksgiving. Here’s a link to this year’s offerings for November 2015. https://www.newyorkcitytheatre.com/common/monthly_events.php?year=2015&month=11&category=Big%20Site%20Top%20Show

6. WINDOW SHOP and GO TO ROCKEFELLER CENTER. The displays are spectacular, especially in the most famous stores. You don’t have to skate, but at least watch the skaters for awhile. https://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/new-york-city/travel-tips-and-articles/76359 The famous tree will probably be in place, but it is not lighted until later in December.

7. SHOP. Yes, buy a few things. If you fly to NYC, you can always have your treasures shipped home. That’s especially true if you have 12 grandchildren and find lots to buy at FAO Schwartz.

M & M’s in disguise

Yankee Doodle Dandies

So, in summary, attending Macy’s Parade is not for the weak or “faint of heart.” It’s physically taxing, but I believe you’ll be glad you went . . . . once. You’ll feel like a kid again. That’s worth a lot. P.S. If your visit to NYC puts you there through a Sunday, PLEASE, please, please take the subway to Brooklyn and attend a service at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. What a blessing that will be.

Santa at the end of the parade

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