Reforming the Church Adrienne Flipse Hausch, who is both an attorney and a Reformed Church in America clergywoman, recently told her fellow LICC Board members that in the RCA, Reformation Day is a time for apologies and making amends. They have been influenced in this, she believes, by Judaism's High Holidays, particularly Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Wouldn't it be great if all denominations celebrated such a day of apology and amends, focused on our on-going need for reformation?
Many Protestant congregations used to observe Reformation Day on October 31 or the last Sunday in October, but no longer do so. Maybe this is for the best. In all too many denominations, this was more a day for Catholic-bashing than for remembering the great reformers of the Church or reflecting on how we and our own flocks need to be reformed. Many of the changes Luther, Huss, Knox and the others sought--such as renewing worship, preaching in common language, lay people reading the Bible for themselves--have been embraced more warmly by post-Vatican II Catholics than they have been lately by many Protestants. If we celebrate the changes our founders made by setting them in concrete rather than embracing renewal ourselves, we dishonor their legacy. Shouldn't Reformation Day remind us to work together in new ways, to reach for the future into which God is leading all of us together?
In the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks many of the old divisions between Americans seem less important. While there have, sadly, been some assaults on our fellow citizens who simply "look different" there has also been a remarkable outpouring of ecumenical and interfaith compassion. Christians across Long Island have besieged the Council for help in getting to know their Muslim and Sikh neighbors. Many people are eager to learn about diverse Christians from other lands, from Egyptian Copts to India's Mar Thoma Church. Hundreds and thousands of Long Islanders have flocked to prayer vigils and memorial services which have united us in worship. Maybe God is beginning a new Reformation. Perhaps we are ready now to take a fresh look at our lives, to set new priorities, to come together across our divisions, and to follow God in new ways.
Shalom,
Tom
The third annual Stop the Hate/Start the Healing interfaith vigil against hate violence will take place locally on Sunday, November 11. It is being organized by the Interfaith Alliance, the LICC, and others. Our local vigil will be at CW Post college from 2:00 to 5:00. The Rev. Mark Lukens, pastor of Bethany Congregational Church in East Rockaway is the LICC representative to the planning team and the chair of it. For further information, call Pastor Lukens at 516-599-5768 or e-mail him at revlu@aol.com.
This year All Saints' Day (Nov. 1 or the first Sunday in November) is a good time to offer prayers for those who died in recent terror attacks, for those who have died in Afghanistan, and for their survivors. It is also a good day to celebrate the lives of those in your parish who have gone on to the Church Triumphant in the past year. You might also look through your funeral notes from the past year and say a few words about what the lives of the departed can teach us or preach to us.
If you are celebrating the Eucharist, you might encourage people to think about someone in the Church Triumphant with whom they wish to share communion in your hearts. Perhaps they could whisper a word of thanks for that person during the time of common prayer.
Here are several prayers which might be appropriate for interfaith worship--or for helping Christians to understand non-Christians--as we wrestle with the terror attacks. These excerpts are from the Oct. 16 Multi-Faith Memorial Service at St. Agnes Cathedral:
The Psalms make nice readings for interfaith vigils, since they are sacred texts for Jews, Christians, Muslims, Bahais, and others. Port Jefferson Presbyterian Church suggests these for times of trouble:
Here are some Thanksgiving services on Long Island:
This year we collected 804 "Gift of the Heart" kits (956 pounds) in Riverhead for Church World Service's ecumenical ministry with victims of disaster and 1,475 kits (2,077 pounds) in Hempstead.
The Rev. Tae-Hun Yoon, a member of the LICC Pastoral Care Committee, has begun a Korean-language unit of Clinical Pastoral Education on Long Island. For further information contact him at 631-499-1260 or pastoryoon@hotmail.com.
Here are some additional people available for guest-preaching:
Yossi Klein Halevi is the Israel correspondent for the "New Republic," and a religious Jew deeply committed to interfaith understanding. As Palestinian-Israeli negotiations disintegrated, he sought an alternative peace process. The result is a wonderful new book, "At the Entrance to the Garden of Eden: A Jew's Search for God with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land."
He finds Sufi Muslims who invite him to dance and pray with them in the West Bank and in Gaza--at considerable risk to them and him. Behind the legend of Mohammed's flight to Jerusalem, one sheykh insists, is God making a link between Muslims and Jews. In Jerusalem, Halevi studies and prays with Catholic nuns, Armenian Orthodox priests, and Ethiopian Orthodox monks. He finds similarities between the survivors of the Armenian genocide and Jewish survivors of the Shoah. Among followers of Jesus who have been persecuted and powerless themselves, Halevi overcomes his fear of Christian persecution and his fear of the cross.
He delves into Christian beliefs with a group called "the Beatitudes," a Catholic charismatic community in Bethlehem devoted to reconciliation with Jews and the recovery of Christianity's Judaic roots. The time he spends there forces him to confront his own "Christian problem" and to acknowledge how much Catholic attitudes toward Judaism and the Jews had evolved. The openness of this community lead him to see the Gospels "as familiar Jewish books," and to declare to startled Christians his respect and love for Jesus. Joining them in worship, he cannot recite their prayers but "could still be with them in prayer."
Foreign Christians, Halevi notes, have tended to become "either Christian Zionists, who despised Palestinians and see Islam as a satanic opponent to God's plan for Israel, or else Christian liberationists, whose anti-Zionism merely updated the old theological contempt for Jews as enemies of the good." In choosing sides so readily, he claims, they "trivialize one of the world's most morally ambiguous conflicts. . ."
In the Galilee, Halevi finds Father Yaakov Willebrands, a Melkite Christian (an Eastern-rite Catholic) whose heart is "open to both Arabs and Jews without taking sides." Father Yaakov reverses "the logic of the interfaith movement, which promoted dialogue based on our common origins--children of Abraham, created in God's image" by "focusing on our common future."
"And then," Halevi sadly ends, "the madness came." Violence in Gaza and the West Bank ended his contact with most Muslims and Christians. His journey nonetheless brought a lasting transformation: "I learned to venerate--to love--Christianity and Islam." His book is a fine example of how interfaith encounters can change us for the better.
Note, too, that WLIW/21 will be broadcasting "Jews & Christians : A Journey of Faith" (reviewed recently in the Prelude) on Nov. 18, at 3 p.m. This is the best TV program I have ever seen on interfaith dialogue
North Shore Child & Family Guidance, which has extensive experience with grief counseling, is offering free WTC Trauma/Bereavement Support Groups from Oct. 25 through Dec. 6, on Thursdays from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. at 480 Old Westbury Road in Roslyn Heights. Please arrive by 7:00 for the first session, so that you can have a brief orientation. For further info, call Kathi Morse at 516-626-1971, ext. 351. For directions, call 516-626-1971, ext. 0.
The United Methodist Church is offering a workshop called "Meeting the Faith Needs of Children & Youth in Time of National Crisis" at Babylon UMC on Saturday, Nov. 17, from 1 to 5 p.m. This is for all adults who work with children or youth in the local church in any capacity. If you want to attend, please call 631-366-2396.
Hofsta University is hosting a conference Nov. 8-10 commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, and of particular note is the panel Friday from 10:30 a.m. to noon in which interfaith perspectives on religion, tolerance, and peace will be presented by Christian, Jewish, and Muslim chaplains at Hofstra. For info call 516-463-5669.
The LICC is ready to help those affected by the disaster, both those who have lost family members and those who have lost their jobs as a result of the ripple effects on our local economy. Those with needs beyond the capacity of your congregation can be referred to us at 516-565-0390 or 631-727-2210.
The East End Hospice offers grief and trauma counseling. Call 631-288-8400.
The New York Psychological Assn. offers three sessions at no charge and referral for more extensive follow-up work. Call 1-800-732-3433.
Suffolk County has established a 24 hour helpline at 631-853-8560 and has contracted with 10 agencies to provide free services. They are seeking sites for support groups in local houses of worship and clergy willing to serve as co-leaders of these groups. To offer either, call Lou Gallager at 631-853-3109 or Karen Dolecal at 631-853-8514.
Nassau County is offering services through local mental health clinics. Call Howard Svoransky at 516-571-3335 for more info.
Cokesbury has free on-line resources to help children deal with terrorism. You can find these at www.cokesbury.com or www.infoserv.umc.org.