As I write this piece, the Church of the Nativity is in flames. One of the most important Christian sites in the whole world, shared amicably for centuries by Catholics, Armenians, and Greek Orthodox, has become a symbol not of ecumenical cooperation but of the plight of Christians in the Holy Land, a dwindling community caught between Palestinian gunmen and the Israeli army. Perhaps, if we are lucky, this ancient sanctuary will still be standing when you read these words and the siege of Manger Square will be lifted. Someday, I pray, the massacre of innocents will cease, from the West Bank to Tel Aviv, from Afghanistan to our own streets.
Nearly everyone is dismayed by events in the "Holy Land" over the past year, and yet few of us can honestly claim to understand this unholy conflict. It is very hard for any preacher, or any American Christian for that matter, to say anything helpful: the causes of the current crisis are complex, each side shares both legitimate claims and considerable blame, and American Christians largely abandoned Jews during the Holocaust and Palestinian Christians in the decades since. Moreover, in this fight, as in nearly every intense conflict, it is difficult for combatants to admit that they have done any wrong or that their adversaries might have done anything right.
I have not received "a word from the Lord" as to how this conflict can or should be solved, but I returned last spring from a brief trip to Israel (with even briefer visits to East Jerusalem and Bethlehem) "praying for the peace of Jerusalem" as an Anglican church in the Old City urged those who passed by. I have tried to remind myself when all seemed bleak, that I believe God "can make a way where there is no way." Perhaps the best that we can offer in these days is a prayer or two. The World Council of Churches suggests these prayers by Christian leaders in the Middle East:
"Spirit of the Living God, come afresh on your Holy Land. Help your people to restore broken relationships. Give them patience to break down barriers of suspicion and mistrust, ability to discern personal prejudice, and the courage to overcome fear. Encourage them to respect each other's integrity and rights so that your kingdom may be established on earth..."
Bishop Riah Abu El-Assal
Episcopal Church in Jerusalem & the Middle East
"O Lord God Almighty, we raise our hearts to you asking for your mercy. Please God, look upon us, your children, in the turmoil of this troubled world, full of suffering, pain, depression, persecution, violence, bitterness, hatred, and above all, injustice. O Lord, have mercy on us.... Remember the bereaved and give them condolence. Give homes for the homeless, quick recovery for the sick, and repentance to sinners. Guide the world leaders to be just and understanding."
Archbishop Anba Abraham
Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate
Let us pray for the peace of Jerusalem, the Holy Land, and the whole world.
Shalom/Salaam/Shanti/Pax
Tom
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. What about those who worked for airlines or limousine companies? Or those whose clients were downtown but whose business was based elsewhere? Who is helping Long Islanders who have lost employment due to terrorism?
The Long Island Council of Churches, Catholic Charities, St. Vincent de Paul, and the Salvation Army are among a handful of local agencies that have helped those who lost jobs as a result of the 9/11 tragedy but did not work in lower Manhattan. Catholic Charities, for example, has already given $1,800,000 to help more than 1,000 families and individuals on Long Island and they anticipate that the funds they have raised will last through July.
Thanks to recent grants of $200,000 from the McCormick Foundation through Newsday, $35,000 from Presbyterian Disaster Relief, and $25,000 from the United Church of Christ, the LICC can help displaced workers with housing expenses, utilities, food, prescriptions, scholarship aid for job training, and transportation to job interviews. The LICC operates social service offices at 235 Sweezy Avenue in Riverhead and at Fulton & Washington Streets in Hempstead (inside Christ's First Presbyterian Church). These offices are open Monday through Friday from 9:00 to 4:30. Clients can call 516- 565-0390 or 631-727-2210 to make an appointment. They should bring ID, proof of previous employment, and their two most recent pay stubs or unemployment records with them when they come for their appointment.
In conjunction with Church World Service, an ecumenical disaster relief organization, the Council also is planning seminars for clergy and other religious workers on how to take care of themselves while caring for others. "The last eight months have been enormously stressful for clergy, church secretaries, outreach workers and all the rest of us who have been responding to those in need," observes Executive Director Tom Goodhue. "In Oklahoma City, our colleagues in the helping professions burned out at a terrible rate after the bombing there. We want to help the churches and clergy of our region to avoid the same fate."
The IRS recently audited a minister and his claim for a housing allowance. The Ninth Circuit Court in its hearing of the case seemed to be striking at the very constitutionality of a "parsonage allowance." The IRS asked the court to allow Congress time to act, and Congress is weighing in fast and heavy! The House passed H.R. 4156, The Clergy Housing Clarification Act of 2002 by a vote of 408 to zero on April 16, and it is headed to the Senate. Essentially, it would take IRS Revenue Ruling, 79-78 and codify it into law. The fear is that if found unconstitutional, parsonage and housing allowances to ministers would become taxable. Stay tuned.
At the April 11 Annual Meeting of the LICC at Temple Beth David in Commack, a distinguished panel discussed a timely topic: "How Should We Pray When We Come Together?" As our region grows more diverse and people have come together in droves after 9/11 to pray together, to hold community-wide memorial services, to celebrate Thanksgiving and Martin Luther King's Birthday together, worship leaders are confronted with new opportunities to build bridges between varied faith communities. They also have to navigate around new ways they might offend one another. Our panelists, who were moderated by LICC President Hope Koski, shared these thoughts:
The Rev. Reggie Tuggle, pastor of Memorial Presbyterian Church in Roosevelt, emphasized the need for worship leaders to talk about the ground rules for shared prayer or shared worship "at the outset to avoid embarrassment and discomfort. Give yourself time to work through these ground-rules together." Based on his extensive experience with ecumenical (interdenominational) and interfaith worship he cautioned, "Assume that you will need dialogue and negotiation, and expect that there will be unintentional violations of whatever agreement you reach."
Rabbi Ronald Androphy, President of the Long Island Board of Rabbis and leader of a Conservative synagogue in East Meadow, confessed that he often feels torn between being inclusive and not watering down our distinct traditions. Whether we should attempt to share a common prayer or invite each leader to pray their own way, he suggested, depends on what the purpose of the gathering is: are we trying to unite the community or are we trying to educate one another about our differences. In some settings, such as a commencement at a private college, "we can seek to create a spiritual moment rather than a religious one." Three things need to be negotiated in advance for joint worship services, he said, the nature of the prayers, the nature of the readings, and the nature of the homily or sermon.
If we attempt common prayer, insisted both Bishop David Benke of the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) and Msgr. Donald Beckmann, Ecumenical/Interfaith Officer for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, we need to ask ourselves not only "How do I feel about saying a prayer from someone else's tradition?" but also "How do they feel about saying my prayer or me saying their prayer?" Joint worship services require not only a previously-negotiated agreement, Beckmann added, but a strong M.C. able to hold people to it.
Bishop Benke explained how he has found that he must respect his own convictions as well as those of others: he would not claim in interfaith gatherings that "we pray in the name of Jesus" but he cannot be true to himself without saying "In the name of Jesus I pray." How do we allow people to opt out of saying things they may not believe? Bishop Benke told how an imam handled this gracefully at a joint service at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem: "I am going to pray to God the way I usually do. If you cannot join in prayer with me, Please remain silent and pray to God in your own manner."
Many of the people who come to the Long Island Council of Churches for help have been exploited by loan sharks, check-cashing places, and abusive lenders. At our Social Services offices in Hempstead and Riverhead we regularly end up trying to help those who are already in deep financial trouble, often because they have been victimized by predatory lending. The LICC has launched a new program to help prevent these tragedies and to help parishioners get a fair deal from banks and other financial institutions.
These free seminars, which will cover such topics as
Each presentation will be tailored to the needs of the host congregation and its community. The LICC will arrange speakers, publicity, educational materials, free credit checks for those who come, and other freebies. Thanks to the generous support of Greepoint Savings Bank, Astoria Federal Savings & Loan, Citibank, and the Dime Savings Bank/Washington Mutual. All you need to supply is the location and food.
The Rev. Marvin Dozier and Unity Baptist Church in Mattituck hosted the first of these presentations on April 25, which received rave reviews from the participants. If you would like your congregation to host a presentation, call Tom Goodhue at 516-565-0290, send a fax (516- 565-0291) or e-mail licchemp@aol.com.
Please come to our first Planned Giving workshop on Saturday, June 1, 2002, from 1 PM to 3 PM at the Commack United Methodist Church, located at 486 Town Line Road, Tel. # 631-499-7310. This will be the first in a series of seminars to explain what planned giving is and how you can make a planned gift to the Long Island Council of Churches. Rev. Sally Taylor, from the Presbyterian Church (USA) Foundation, will conduct the workshop.
Directions: Take the Commack Road North exit from either the LIE (Exit 52 from the west or Exit 53 from the east) or Northern State Parkway Exit 43. Go north on Commack Road to Jericho Turnpike. The church is on the right at the intersection of the Jericho Turnpike and Town Line Road (extension of Commack Road).
Blood donors are desperately needed during the summer. Here are some opportunities to save a life:
At the Aids Interfaith Long Island annual convocation for clergy and other religious leaders a few weeks ago, the Rev. Calvin Butts, pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, President of SUNY at Old Westbury, and a seminary classmate of mine, spoke movingly about how ministering to those with AIDS had forced him to grow and mature as a Christian. Some of our denominations are immensely proud, he noted, that they "welcome all to the Table," but he challenged us to make this invitation explicit: make it clear that both gays and straights are welcome in worship, both those who are clean and sober and those who are addicted.
Yours truly had the privilege of moderating a panel discussion with three people who are living with AIDS. Diane expressed appreciation for the way her mother's parish welcomed her after they learned she was HIV positive and for the pastoral care she is receiving from her current pastor. She urged us all to do more to let those who are afflicted know that they are welcome, since "many of them already have been rejected or assume that they will be rejected." Fernando urged us to remember that People with Aids are people: they worry about their appearances as well as their health; like him, they may even find new vocations while battling this disease. Vivian, infected in 1983, urged us to talk with our children, our nieces, and our nephews about this disease and she reminded us that people with AIDS pose little health risk to others but have good reason to fear contact themselves: with compromised immune systems, a sneeze or a cough is far more of a threat to them than their hug or kiss is to others.
Bayport United Methodist Church is seeking a music director to lead a choir of 15, and a handlbell choir 40 weeks per year for $4500-5500. Mail resume to Staff-parish Relations Committee, 482 Middle Rd., Bayport 11705 or call 631-472-0770 for further information.
Signs of the (High-Tech) Times! The Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute will no longer be printing on paper their Resource Booklet for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (observed each January) but it will be available online at www.atonementfriars.org. The LICC will be receiving some of their order forms for the resources they will continue to print:
Many churches run annual reminders at the beginning of summer, urging their members to keep up their pledges, saying something such as "The bills keep coming even when you are away on vacation." We hope, of course, that you will keep supporting your congregation (and the LICC) even if you are out of town, but your local food pantry also needs your support during the summer. Donations to our emergency food centers tend to drop off every July and August but hungry people still need food. Could you organize a food drive this summer for the LICC or your neighborhood food pantry? Perhaps in conjunction with Vacation Bible School?
Have you or someone you know been discriminated against because of your race, creed, color or disability?
You are invited to join in a program “Coming Together, Owning Up to Prejudice on the East End” sponsored by the Peconic Community Council at its Annual Breakfast Conference on Friday morning, June 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Atlantica at the Westhampton Bath and Tennis Club on Dune Road. Native Americans, African Americans, Jews, Quakers, Hispanics, Moslems, the Disabled and others suffering from discrimination on the East End have been invited to come and tell their stories.
Rev. Calvin O. Butts III will give the Keynote Address and lead us toward the goal of respect and harmony. For more information or to make reservations, call the Peconic Community Council at (631) 727-7972.