The controversy over Mel Gibson's movie and the continuing Israeli-Palestinian conflict have provoked a great deal of discussion about what is bigotry and what isn't. As I hope you realize, this column does not represent the official position of the LICC or anyone else but me. I have not been elected the bishop of anything and I offer these thoughts in hope of prompting dialogue and debate among Christians and between Christians and non-Christians. It's easy to define anti-Semitism - prejudice against, or hatred, dislike, or persecution of Jews - but harder to recognize it in practice. In my humble opinion:
So, what do you think?
Shalom/Salaam/Shanti/Pax,
Tom
Some readers of "The Prelude" may wonder why they receive both the printed and emailed versions of the LICC newsletter. The answer is that the two editions are not identical. The paper version often has flyers we would like you to see (and post somewhere) that are difficult to email to many of our readers, and the electronic version often has announcements, job listings, and blood drive info that was received after the deadline for the printed version, (which was June 1 for this issue). We would be happy to send you either version, or both, or neither. Just let us know your preferences and your correct addresses.
We are grateful to the following for their gifts of $500 or more:
We also thank the numerous faith-based institutions, agencies, businesses, and others who gave less but whose gifts are just as important, and we thank the individuals who also gave but asked that we not publish their names. We also thank those who have responded to our most urgent needs monthly requests. Thank you for being a blessing to all those we serve.
A great way to remember a loved one is to give a gift to the Long Island Council of Churches in his/her name. In your letter accompanying such a gift, please tell us who the gift is in memory of, and who is giving the gift. We will send a thank you letter to the contributor and to the family of the loved one in accordance with your instructions. Please send your contribution to the LICC, attention: Sara Weiss. If you have questions, call Sara for further information at 516-565-0290 .
This month’s most urgent need is for funding for medical prescriptions. Eight families in previous months have asked us for assistance with prescriptions that collectively will cost about $1,500. Each prescription costs anywhere from a low of $25 to a high of $380 for one essential medical prescription. Our clients must pay for these prescriptions themselves because they are uninsured, so most end up going without, to their unfortunate detriment. Each month we get requests for between $500 and $1,000 in medical prescriptions for our own clients. Our partner agencies call us seeking help for their clients as well. To cover both past and current month's requests, we need a total of $2,500 for medical prescriptions as soon as possible.
One of the things I enjoy about worshiping among people of many different denominations is the chance to pick up new ideas. I have long sought ways to encourage congregational movement in worship, so that we might praise God in both body and soul, and I have tried to free myself up to move in ways which embody what we say, such as leading "the prayers of the people" from the middle of the pews rather than from a pulpit, to demonstrate that I am praying with them rather than as some sort of intermediary. Recently I visited the Episcopal Church of the Messiah in Central Islip, and came away with several more ideas:
Give these a try!
"May God bless you with DISCOMFORT ...
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, So that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with ANGER ...
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, So that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with TEARS ...
To shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war. So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them And to turn their pain into JOY.
And may God bless you with enough FOOLISHNESS...
To believe that you can make a difference in this world, So that you can DO what others claim cannot be done. Amen."--from Bob Edgar, General Secretary, National Council of Churches USA
"It's encouraging that the right is less hostile to gays and lesbians than it used to be. . . .On the other hand, the left seems more contemptuous than ever of evangelicals. Sensitive liberals...blithely dismiss conservative Christians as Jesus freaks or fanatics....Moreover, saying that one will tolerate evangelicals who do not evangelize - well, that's like Christians saying they have nothing against gays who remain celibate."--Nicholas Kristof, "The New York Times," April 24, 2004
In the late 1990s, about 1500 Latinos moved into Farmingville, a quiet, sprawling suburb of 15,000 people on Long Island. Part of the largest influx of immigrants in the history of the United States, these new arrivals lined up by the hundreds on street corners, seeking employment as day-laborers. Verbal and physical harassment of Chicanos increased steadily and in September 2000 two young white men with ties to racist organizations posed as contractors, picked up two day-laborers, asked if they were Mexicans, took them to an abandoned building, and attacked them with shovels and a knife.
The brutal assault prompted the biggest protest rally seen on Long Island in decades. Catholic Charities courageously offered to build a hiring hall to get day laborers off street corners, provide English classes, and otherwise help assimilate them into the community. Anti-immigrant sentiment ran so strongly, though, that their local legislators voted against the hiring hall and the Suffolk County Executive vetoed it. Yours truly must admit that he is not impartial: I helped organize the protest vigil after the laborers were attacked. It must have been even more difficult for Carlos Sandoval to remain neutral. One evening as he walked down a street in Farmingville, where he lived for a year while making this film, a car veered directly toward this 5th-generation American of both Puerto Rican and Mexican ancestry, a graduate of Harvard and the University of Chicago Law School with a home in the ritzy Hamptons, and yelled "You - - - illegal! Why don't you go back where you came from!"
The film does allow us to hear both sides fully and fairly, however. Anti-immigrant activists explain why they do not consider themselves racists--and introduces us to blacks and Hispanics who support mass deportations. We also hear Paul Tonna, the Republican who presided over the County Legislature, tell why he supported the hiring hall - and helped organize the rally.
The film has its failings. It does not dig very deeply into the racial tension sweeping the Island as absentee landlords cram ten to thirty people into a house, knowing that illegal tenants will pay outrageous rents without protest when slumlords do not maintain the property. Anglo and African-American families are thus being priced out of the rental market while neighborhoods deteriorate - and often blame their new Hispanic neighbors.
By limiting its perspectives to the adversaries in this conflict, "Farmingville" also fails to address the class dynamics of this battle that they themselves avoid: in this community, Anglos mostly cut their own lawns and see little benefit as wealthy Long Islanders hire immigrants to work elsewhere. In Glen Cove, by contrast, then-Mayor (now Nassau County Executive) Tom Suozzi created a hiring hall near the homes of many immigrants and near the homes where many of them toiled. Combined with English classes for laborers awaiting employment, the Glen Cove Hiring Center united neighbors rather than dividing them.
"Farmingville" airs on WNET/13 and most other public television stations on June 22 at 10 p.m. (Eastern Time), as the first installment in the new season of "P.O.V." the outstanding PBS series that is America's most-watched documentary showcase. An extended presentation with updates on the conflict and local responses will air on Thursday, June 24, at 8 p.m. on WLIW/21.
The Medicare drug benefit bill passed Congress in November 2003 to take effect on Jan. 1, 2006. But in the meantime there will be a prescription drug discount card issued in May of this year to take effect on June 1st.
Who is eligible? - All Medicare recipients.
Cost for the discount card. - About $30 a year until Jan 2006.
How does one obtain the card? - It will be offered by at least 100 health maintenance companies (HMOs). Each will charge its own fee and each will offer one discounted drug in each category ( ex. one blood pressure medicine or one cholesterol drug) so that if one takes a number of medicines one may need more than one card to find those that cover the medicines one needs. Check to see which card(s) offer discounts on the meds you need.
Where can the card be used? - Only locally except for cards from Aetna, United Healthcare Insurance, and Medco Health Solutions, which offer national cards.
Who will benefit from the card? - Individuals with an income less than $12,569 per year or a couple less than $16,862 per year.. Those with no other drug coverage, and who spend more than $300/yr on prescription drugs.
Who should not buy the card? - Those who spend $250 or less a year on prescription drugs. Those with EPIC coverage, Medicaid coverage, or private insurance coverage that is better than this offer.
Where can one get more info? - Websitez: www.medicare.gov or tel: 1-800-Medicare. When on the web, give your zip code and list the medications you take, and that system will tell you which card is the most helpful.
--Mary Dewar, LICC Public Issues Committee
When faith is missing, fear germinates. What is fear?? A painful emotion or passion excited by the expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger; anxiety; solitude. Fear is an uneasiness of the mind, upon the thought of future danger likely to befall.
Most of the time we human beings live either in the past or in the future. Either we are planning for the future or busy recalling the memories of the past (bitter and/or sweet). We forget that the Past is history and the Future is the mystery. We have no idea how to cultivate the art of living in the present. Until and unless we reinvent this ancient art of living in the present, we will continue to endure this painful emotion [fear]. The Bhagwad Geeta is the storehouse of this ancient art, and the central idea is that in this world, everything is changing. Nothing is static, the galaxies, the stars, the planets, the oceans, the mountains, the trees and the space, all are moving and changing. While I am writing these lines I am changing and you are changing too while reading this article. If we start living in the present, the element of fear evaporates. Our mind becomes stable and at ease. Our conviction in the omnipresence of the Lord is reestablished and instead of fear, our faith is rejuvenated.
So many mundane things engage people today that they have no time to devote energy to spirituality. To be religious is one thing but to be spiritual is another? Religion makes you narrow-minded. It makes you dogmatic. It closes the window of your mind from where the fresh air enters. It stops you respecting the diversity. But on the other hand, spirituality teaches you to be open-minded. If you are spiritual, your perception towards life changes. You see diversity as strength not a problem. Once you start respecting diversity, conflicts diminish. Once conflicts diminish, the element of fear evaporates. This is exactly what you see through the prism of fearless mind. Fear is another name of attachment. The more you are attached to something, the more you are anxious and fearful of loosing it. Less attachment, less fear. No attachment, no fear.
The Next Christian-Jewish-Muslim Dialogue on the Middle East Conflict will take place on Tuesday, June 22, 2004 at 8 PM, at Plainview Jewish Center (95 Floral Drive). The program is "Abrahamic Voices from the Holy Land" featuring Imam Khalid Abu Ras, Rev. Samuel Fanous and Rabbi Ariel Picard. Please join us for this interesting presentation and discussion. RSVP to the American Jewish Committee 516-942-2651 or email mattesc@ajc.org.
The Long Island Council Of Churches is co-sponsoring a workshop at Memorial Presbyterian Church on Tuesday, June 29, where you can discuss the Faith Based Initiative with representatives from state and federal agencies. You will gain an understanding of the federal and state funding process and opportunities for collaboration and the problems and pitfalls you might want to avoid! This event will take place on Tuesday, June 29th, 2004 at Memorial Presbyterian Church, 189 Babylon Tyke, Roosevelt, from 8:30am to 12noon, To register for this free event, please call Mrs. Devore at (516) 623-9561.
Many congregation recognize, celebrate, and pray for those who are graduating from high school in June and heading off to college in the fall. One more thing you can do to help new college students is to give their names to a campus minister. College chaplains, campus ministers, and student fellowship coordinators often labor at the front-lines of ecumenical and interfaith work - without getting sufficient support from the rest of the church. If you know a student who will be attending college on Long Island this fall, you might give one of these folks a call:
If you have updates or additions, please call 516-565-0290, fax 516-565-0291, mail corrections to LICC, 1644 Denton Green, Hempstead 11550, or e-mail licchemp@aol.com. We will publish an updated list in our next directory of churches and synagogues on Long Island.
The Long Island Council of Churches is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit. All gifts are deeply appreciated and are tax-deductible.
Tom Goodhue
Executive Director
Long Island Council of Churches
1644 Denton Green
Hempstead, NY 11550
voice: 516-565-0290, ext. 206
fax: 516-565-0291
email: licchemp@aol.com
Web: www.ncccusa.org/ecmin/licc