Source: Newsday
On February 1, 2003 Newsday reported that the "First Presbyterian Church of Newtown is alive with the sights and sounds of an infant baptism this Sunday morning... At the baptismal font, a few feet from the church altar, stands Nnenna Ogbonnaya, 38, wearing the colorful dress of her Nigerian homeland and holding Kelechi, her swaddled 2-month-old daughter, in her arms... The church has survived war, fire and even a slide out of the path of progress. With a history of welcoming immigrants that has been renewed in recent times, First Presbyterian has emerged as one of the more diverse houses of worship in the city. The multiracial, multiethnic congregation, about 250 strong, comes from five continents - and includes many immigrants, predominately from Asia and Africa, but also Europe and South America. A few parishioners can trace their ancestors back to the church's English founders."