I am writing these words on the evening of Sept. 11, two weeks after I wrote the column that follows.
I am still reeling from the horrific attacks launched this morning against innocent people, and as of this writing we don't even know who did this terrible thing. Already there are countless tales of brave firefighters, EMTs, and police officers who were injured or killed while trying to save those trapped in the World Trade Center. Already I have heard numerous tales of loved ones saved by twists of fate. As St. Paul told the young church in Rome: "Whether we live, or whether we die, we are the Lord's."
What can we do in response to this barbarity? Thousands of New Yorkers, Long Islanders, and our fellow Americans have responded by rolling up their sleeves to give blood, and the need for donations is going to continue for a long time. We already had an acute blood shortage on Sept. 9. Now we are going to need every possible donor for months to come. Give if you can. Call 1-800-933-BLOOD. If you cannot donate yourself, organize a blood drive. Call Denise Caswell at 1-877-291-6508, ext. 5031 to arrange this.
Another thing we can do is to try to overcome our ignorance of other cultures and other faith communities. There is a natural human tendency (otherwise known as sin) to hate everyone who resembles those whom we think are our enemies. My father-in-law, who fled Nazis (and became both an American veteran and an American Legion commander) was imprisoned as a P.O.W. after Pearl Harbor because he was a German; a Korean pastor I knew in Hawaii was nearly lynched by German-Americans who thought he looked Japanese. We are all called, in the wake of devastation, to remind ourselves that the average immigrant is as innocent of evil-doing as was the average janitor who worked in the Twin Towers, and that so-called Islamic terrorists do not base their actions on the Koran any more than the Aryan Nation follows Jesus. If terrorism makes us more racist, then the suicide bombers have won. Terrorists will have truly destroyed America if we abandon the religious tolerance which has made our nation great. If we stand together and help one another, we will emerge stronger and better than ever.
Shalom,
Tom
It's time for a pop quiz. There are a dozen world religions with members on Long Island who belong to the Multi-Faith Forum. How many can you name? Here's a freebie: Christianity. For the purposes of this exam--and in the MFF--everyone from the United Church of Christ to the United Holy Church is counted as a single faith community. How many of the other 11 do you know? The answers appear elsewhere in this issue.
Don't feel too bad if you don't know all of them. I have been involved in ecumenical and interfaith work for most of my life and have lived on Long Island since 1985 but had never heard of one of these faiths, did not recognize two of them as separate religions, and had no idea three others had many representatives hereabouts. Our region, as the recent demonstrated, is becoming much more diverse than most of us know, with minority communities growing even more rapidly here than elsewhere in the U.S. This is making our area a more interesting place to live, because it forces us to keep learning about other traditions, other cultures, and other ways of understanding God.
This diversity often reminds me of my own ignorance, and as Martha Stewart says, this is a good thing. It is when I know I am weak, Paul told the young church in Corinth--or in my case, when I admit I do not know it all--that I really am strong (2 Corinthians 12:10). And when it comes to knowing our new neighbors, we all have much to learn. In the excellent recent public television program "Jews & Christians: A Journey of Faith" a rabbi laments the fact that most Jews know little more about Christianity than Christians do about Judaism since the time of Jesus--something about which Sister Mary Boys of Union Theological Seminary sadly admits, most Christians know almost nothing.
Christians, of course, have a wide range of approaches to non-Christian neighbors, from wanting to convert them to being willing to learn from them. Those who proselytize often are changed by their encounter with other faiths. As Harvard's Diana Eck points out in the new video "America's Changing Religious Landscape" (from the producers of the PBS series "Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly"), interfaith dialogue almost always leads us to fresh understanding of our own beliefs.
The Long Island Council of Churches and the Multi-Faith Forum want to help you meet your new neighbors. Are you ready to know them? Are you ready to learn something new about yourself and about God?
Shalom,
Tom
October is Pastoral Care month, a good time to thank chaplains, campus ministers, pastors, and pastoral counselors for the good work they do. The newest LICC chaplain at Nassau County Correctional Center is the Rev. Maureen Kessler, a member of the Manhasset Congregational Church. She did her seminary internship at the jail under Dick Lehman's supervision, graduated from Union Theological Seminary in May and was ordained by the United Church of Christ. Welcome aboard Maureen! And many thanks to Goldman-Sachs (where she is a Vice President) for giving her the flexible work hours which allow her to minister with inmates.
We have discovered that no one on Long Island seems to have a list of chaplains who are working locally, so we have been compiling this information. If you have updates or know of others who should be included in future lists, please call 516-565-0290, mail us corrections (LICC, 1644 Denton Green, Hempstead 11550), or send them via e-mail (licc@netzero.com). Do you know a student who has just started college on Long Island? Do you have a parishioner who is hospitalized? Would you like to help with worship in a local jail? These folks can help!
In Nassau:
In Suffolk:
Being the Director of Social Services position is both an honor and a challenge. I have been in this position for about six weeks now, and have learned a great deal, although there is still much knowledge to be acquired. Here are some things that have become clear to me:
One thing that has become particularly clear to me is that while we cannot always provide the financial or other help the client requests, we can and do provide a sympathetic ear, and we do our best to refer them to agencies that may be able to assist them. Sometimes the cup of cold water, the smile, and even a prayer, provide enough hope to give a discouraged client the courage and strength to keep going.
I am available to speak to your church or group. Please call me at (516) 565-0390, or my email address is anavaun@cs.com.
Give your food to the hungry and care for the homeless. Then your light will shine in the dark; your darkest hour will be like the noonday sun. (Isaiah 58:10)
Anne Vaughan, Director of Social Services
Sunday, October 21, is the date for the 11th Annual Western Nassau CROPWALK for Church World Service and the LICC. As in the past, this will be a 5-mile walk at Hempstead Lake State Park.
Church World Service partners with churches and organizations in more than 80 countries, working to meet human needs and foster self-reliance for all those whose way is hard. CWS works worldwide on behalf of 36 Protestant, Anglican, and Orthodox communions in the U.S., offering social and economic development, emergency response, assistance to refugees, education and advocacy, and ecumenical relationships. These walks support flood victims in India and Pakistan by distributing blankets, tools, cooking sets, and tarpaulins. They provide school supplies in the Balkans. They make school kits, baby kits, and cleanup kits available to interfaith recovery groups helping U.S. residents devastated by Tropical Storm Allison. They support the efforts of the LICC's Emergency Food Center.
We can do all this by getting family, friends, and coworkers to pledge money for the miles walked. Our walk will be one of over 2000 held nationwide this year. Last year at Hempstead Lake there were 109 walkers from 13 local churches who raised pledges of $6,230. Let's see how much we can improve on this in 2001!
One morning a little boy who was throwing starfish back into the ocean that had been beached on the sand. He knew they would die when the sun came up. As he threw them back, his friends told him not to bother, that it could not really make a difference. But he continued tossing them back, one by one, and softly replied, "It made a difference to that one!" One individual at a time, one community at a time, we can make a difference.
Don Neugebauer
Western Nassau CROP Walk Coordinator
At the installation of the Most Rev. William F. Murphy as Bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre we sang, "The Church's One Foundation." It would work well for either World Communion Sunday (Oct. 7) or the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January (when we hope you will observe LICC Sunday). Samuel Stone's third verse, which I believe is in the public domain and not copyrighted, says:
Though with a scornful wonder we see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed,
yet saints their watch are keeping; their cry goes up, "How long?"
And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.
Bellport United Methodist Church, which already offers a wide variety of educational programs in their community, is completing a new education building which will house day care programs for both children and the elderly. Both of these will be open to families of all faith backgrounds. They hope to open the expanded pre-school program in January and the new senior program next spring. Painter's Restaurant in Brookhaven graciously offered to host a benefit fund-raiser on Sept. 23. Bishop Ernest Lyght will consecrate the new building on Sunday, Nov. 11. For further information, call Pastor Warren Beaven at 631-286-0525.
New videos in the LICC Lending Library:
The 12 local faiths represented in the Long Island Multi-Faith Forum are: Al-Islam, Bahai Faith, Brahma Kumaris, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Jainism, Judaism, Native American Spirituality, Sikhism, Unitarian Universalism, and Yoga. How many of these are familiar to you? Want to know more? Come to the Multi-Faith Festival Nov. 4! Or call the LICC at 516-565-0290 to request a "Building Bridges" presentation in your community.