I recently spoke to a group of United Methodist clergy, along with Dr. Faroque Khan, the president of the Islamic Center of Long Island, on the topic "Interfaith Dialogue in a Time of International Conflict." My best friend and wrestling partner in grade school was Jewish and my best friend and debating partner in high school was Catholic. I have had considerable experience, you might say, in interfaith argument, but interfaith dialogue is supposed to be something different from a theological slug-fest.
Several years ago, as the debate over abortion was dangerously polarizing Americans, the LICC and the Diocese of Rockville Centre started an Interfaith Dialogue on Abortion. More recently, in the fall of 2000, as we grew concerned that the Al-Aqsa Intifada was straining relations between Jews, Christians, and Muslims on Long Island, the LICC and the American Jewish Committee started an ongoing series of interfaith discussions about the Middle East conflict. Here are some things I have learned about the dialogue process:
And here are some larger lessons I have learned which reach beyond the issues we discussed:
God, I am convinced, often works through conflict, bringing about growth within us which would have been impossible otherwise. Psalm 51 says, "My sacrifice is a humble heart," and Christians usually think of this in terms of yielding to God's will, but maybe it is God's will that we be transformed by our encounter with others. To listen carefully, to recognize our ignorance, to empathize with our adversaries, and to learn from our opponents may be exactly the sort of heart God desires.
Shalom/Salaam/Shanti/Pax,
Tom
This is the third in a series of articles about the Long Island Multi-Faith Forum and its work with interreligious dialogue and education.
Since 1999, more than 80 groups have hosted the LIMFF's Building Bridges programs. These panel discussions involve 3-4 representatives of different religions speaking about what it's like to live as a member of their faith tradition here on Long Island. More recently, the LIMFF has been customizing their programs to fit the needs of Long Island's youth. The last two Building Bridges panels, held in Manorville in November and December, featured youth panelists speaking to an audience of both adults and youth. Those who attended commented that the passion and energy that the youth speakers brought to these programs kept everyone in attendance at "the edge of their seats." In a world where our youth are more often than not characterized by our media as disinterested, problematic and uninvolved, the MFF is revealing a distinctly different view.
In the past 3 years, the audiences for Building Bridges presentations have been widely varied. Many times the panels have been hosted by a religious community. By extending hospitality to members of faith communities unlike their own, these churches, synagogues, mosques, temples and meetinghouses have helped open the door to different voices and points of view. Recently I have read a number of evaluation forms filled out by those who attended these programs; universally, attendees report that have learned about traditions other than their own, and want to learn more.
As important and rewarding as these programs have been for both participants and attendees, the MFF knows that its mission, particularly "to affirm publicly that religious pluralism is a reality on Long Island and is to be valued," means that programs such as Building Bridges need to travel to a great more, and diverse, settings. Already the panelists have presented programs at such sites as Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center, a class in Ethics at Hofstra University, Long Island United Way, and several public middle and high schools. Participants in these settings may or may not have religious traditions of their own, and yet in the course of their work, studies and social interaction, they are aware that the population of Long Island is increasingly diverse. Programs such as Building Bridges can help dispel prejudice and bias, which results from the fear of unknowing, before becoming deeply ingrained.
You can help the MFF with its mission. If you have contacts with settings that you think would be willing to host a presentation reflecting the diversity of faiths on Long Island, please let us know! There are trained speakers waiting for the call...
Alison Cornish - acornish@suffolk.lib.ny.us
Many organizations have extended help to those who lost loved ones during the Sept. 11 attacks or lost jobs they had held in the Financial District, but some displaced workers have "fallen through the cracks." For many people who worked for airlines, travel agencies, and tourism-related businesses, for example, there has been relatively little assistance.
The Long Island Council of Churches has received a grant of $225,000 from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, so the LICC once again has funds to help displaced workers with housing expenses, utilities, food, prescriptions and medical bills, job training, and transportation to job interviews.
"We've been fortunate enough to have the support of a number of denominations and foundations in this important work," explains the Rev. Thomas W. Goodhue, Executive Director of the Council. "We've previously received other grants from the McCormick Foundation, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the United Church of Christ, Church World Service, the Reformed Church in America, and Lutheran Disaster Response. All these funds had been spent, however, so we're very grateful for the generosity of the Presbyterians. Their check arrived just in the nick of time."
Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army and FEGS will be assisting the LICC with intake interviews and referrals for counseling, support groups and employment services. Clients can call Gio Greeley at the Salvation Army (516-747-4902), Michael Arcari at Catholic Charities (516-733- 7300), or Kathleen Murphy at FEGS (516-496-7550) for an appointment. Clients should bring ID, proof of previous employment, and their two most recent pay stubs (or unemployment records) when they come for their appointment.
In conjunction with Church World Service, an ecumenical disaster relief organization, the Council also is offering seminars for clergy and other religious workers on how to take care of themselves while caring for others and is helping local clergy form support groups. "The last fifteen months have been enormously stressful for clergy, church secretaries, chaplains, counselors and all others who have been responding to those in need," observes Executive Director Tom Goodhue. "After the Oklahoma City bombing, pastors and all others in the helping professions experienced burn-out at a terrible rate. We want to help the churches and clergy of our region to avoid the same fate."
The Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) has done much good work to assist people in Manhattan who have been affected by the 9/11 attacks, but Long Islanders who lost their jobs as a result of the World Trade Center disaster have received relatively little financial help from FEMA, the Red Cross, the Sept. 11 Fund, or other charities. At a press conference on January 27, the Long Island Council of Churches will join with Catholic Charities of Rockville Centre, Lutheran Disaster Response of New York, the United Methodist Committee on Relief, and other organizations to urge that the time limit for applying for FEMA's Mortgage and Rent Assistance program be extended beyond Jan. 31 and that the geographic limits be expanded, also.
"We have never faced a disaster like this before," LICC Executive Director Tom Goodhue emphasizes, "and we are all having to adjust as we go along our criteria for helping its victims. FEMA initially restricted their assistance to those south of Houston Street but now will help those living anywhere in Manhattan. Limiting MRA aid to one county is unique in FEMA history and is not justified. Aid should be available to those living anywhere in the designated disaster area. Tens of thousands of people in our region are facing eviction and mortgage foreclosure. Right now, an airport worker who lives in Manhattan may receive substantial help while his co-worker from Long Island will get nothing. This is obviously unfair, and the rules should be changed."
The LICC has raised substantial amounts of private donations through Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Newsday Charities, Church World Service, the United Church of Christ, the Reformed Church in America, the Episcopal Church, and other partners. "We have helped as many Long Islanders as possible," Goodhue explains, "as have Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, the Society St. Vincent de Paul, FEGS, Lutheran Disaster Response, and Project Liberty. The needs that remain, though, are enormous. We need the federal government to help unemployed Long Islanders, not exclude them from assistance."
United in Christ invites you to a concert by the Glorification Singers and Serena on Saturday, Feb. 15, at 7 p.m. at Christ Community Church, 391 East Main St. in East Islip (just west of the Hecksher Parkway, next to the East Islip Library). A free will offering will be received and please bring non-perishable food to help feed the hungry.
The LICC Board has asked local schools and churches to pledge that they will buy clothing only if it is produced in decent working conditions rather than sweatshops. Where can you turn, though, to find good suppliers? Local 25 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, based in Hauppauge and one of our partners in the Long Island Labor-Religion Coalition, found that it could get union-label, made-in-the-USA t-shirts, jackets, caps, and such at no greater cost than sweatshop-produced clothing from Ace Marketing in Valley Stream. For further information, call 1-866-LOGO-JOE.
Recently a member of the governing council of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Hicksville asked if we would be willing to send "The Prelude" to everyone on the council, including some kind words about how they found our newsletter "a valuable source of information, insight, hope and much more." We'd be happy to do so. Just send us a list of addresses, either e-mail or snail-mail.