PRELUDE, March 2004

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:

SERVANT LEADERSHIP

Some Christians have practices they find difficult to explain to members of other denominations, let alone other faith communities. Yours truly wrote a master’s thesis about one of the odder customs found in Christendom: washing one another’s feet. This tradition is mostly observed only on Holy Thursday (April 8 this year) or several times a year among small denominations, though the Church of God in Christ and the Seventh-Day Adventists have grown into sizeable denominations, and some COGIC congregations are now so large that they have had to find a way to symbolically enact this ritual by having the senior pastor wash the feet of 12 people, as Catholic leaders have long done.

This thesis on John 13 led to my writing for half a dozen Seventh Day Adventist magazines and for half a dozen other foot washing denominations. It also led to many gracious invitations to visit, worship with, and pray with folks whom “mainline” Christians wrongly assume are a bit aloof: it is hard to remain stand-offish while caring for the lowliest, dirtiest part of another’s body, or to act superior while kneeling before them.

It has been many years since I was in seminary, but I have been thinking lately about what John 13 has taught foot-washing Christians about leadership. You see, Jesus did not tell the least of his brothers and sisters to do basin ministry--he commanded it of those who were most likely to lead his movement. Clergy often water down the meaning of John 13 to some sort of syrupy lesson in humility, but when he stripped off his robe, girded himself like a servant, and poured water into a basin, Jesus did something both lowly and profoundly radical. In all recorded history, no rabbi had done anything like this for his followers, nor had any teacher for his students: he stepped into a role reserved for wives, children, and slaves. Foot washing was considered so demeaning, in fact, that Jewish masters could not require it of slaves who shared their faith. Jesus was, quite literally, kneeling with the downtrodden in order to overturn their debasement. After stunning his friends by his action, he tells them that they—free, adult males—should do the same for one another.

This is, to say the least, a pretty audacious form of humility: being humble enough to overturn hierarchies. Some foot washers take this lesson, too, quite literally: many Mennonites, for example, choose their leaders by drawing lots, and they believe the results the Holy Spirit gives them are at least as good as those achieved by nominations committees, search committees, ordination examinations, and highly-politicized procedures for choosing bishops. Foot washing pastors often display a rare combination of acting as if anyone else could have been called instead of them and yet also being bold enough to lead their flocks in directions they might never have chosen.

There are other aspects to foot washing, of course: accepting others despite their sweat and grime, loving them down to the soles of their feet, overturning hierarchical privilege and rigid roles assigned to men and women, but the most revolutionary teaching found in John 13 may be the new vision it offers us of servant leadership. As the Rev. Easton Marks, pastor of Hempstead Seventh Day Adventist remarks, “It is truly a challenge for those of us who think we belong to His inner circle to go and do likewise, not just at the Foot washing Service, but to be full time foot washers.” At Westhampton Presbyterian Church, as was the case in the early Church, by the way, confirmands are welcomed into the church by their pastor washing their feet. The Rev. Trey McAnelly does this after they have walked a length of newsprint with their feet covered in finger-paint, symbolizing their journey in faith and the servanthood to which we are all called.

Preachers seeking new inspiration for Holy Week services or sermons might want to visit Seventh-Day Adventists or Church of God in Christ foot washing worship. Perhaps COGIC and SDA members might visit an Episcopal Holy Thursday/Maundy Thursday service on April 8. Who knows, maybe we can learn something from one another as we kneel at the basin? Perhaps we will learn the humility and the audacity that it takes to reunite the Body of Christ.

Tom

OPPORTUNITIES TO WASH FEET:

• Pastor Easton Marks of Hempstead Seventh Day Adventist Church (285 Belmont Parkway & Greenwich St.) invites visitors to their foot washing service on the evening of Friday, March 12, or their communion services in June, September & December, which usually are Saturdays at 10:45 a.m. They practice open communion: all believers in Christ are welcome and may fully participate.
  
  
• The Rev. Hope Koski, the Past President of the LICC, invites one and all to St. Lawrence of Canterbury Episcopal Church (655 Old Country Rd. in Dix Hills) for their Maundy Thursday service on April 8 at 8 p.m.
  
  
• The Rev. Charles Coverdale, another Past President of the LICC, invites one and all to 1st Baptist Church in Riverhead (1018 Northville Turnpike) for their Maundy Thursday service on April 8 at 8 p.m.

DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

Sara C. Weiss, Director

Special thanks go to Newsday Charities for its generous grant of $48,000 to support our social service programs that help families in crisis. We also thank the following for their gifts of $500 or more:

Community Reformed Church of Manhasset

$1,000 where most needed

Garden City Community Church

$1,000 Emergency Food

JPMorgan Chase

$500 where most needed

Long Island Fund for Women & Girls

$3,500 Women at the Well

Long Island Unitarian Universalist Fund

$9,500 Multi-Faith Forum

Old First Presbyterian Church of Huntington

$1,000 for prison ministries.

United Church of Rockville Centre

$1,500 where most needed.

United Way of Long Island

$1,475 monthly allocation for social services & core operations

United Methodist Church of Hicksville

$684 where most needed

United Methodist Church of Hicksville

$1,519 Emergency Food

And we thank the numerous faith-based institutions, agencies, businesses, and others who gave less but whose gifts are just as important, and the individuals who gave but asked that we don’t publish their names. Your gifts are a blessing to hundreds of people every month.

Story for the Month for Church Bulletins
(names and circumstances changed to protect the privacy of our client)

Mr. Shah and his wife are from India. They have two boys and two girls, ranging in age from 6 through 18. The oldest is married and pregnant with her first child. She and her husband live with the family. Mr. Shah is trained as a medical doctor but has not yet been able to get his license to practice in New York State. Before 9/11 he worked as a limo driver but lost his business after the terrorist attacks. Since then he has not been able to find steady work. His wife obtained a license to provide day care but has not been able to find clients because of the continuing economic downturn. The married daughter’s husband has not been able to find steady work either. Your contributions to the Long Island Council of Churches enabled us to help the family with a large Christmas basket, money to buy toys for the younger children, and a King Kullen gift certificate to purchase food.

IDEAS YOU CAN USE: St. Patrick’s Day

The Sunday before St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) is a good occasion to celebrate Celtic spirituality. The Evangelist of the Emerald Isle may have been a Scottish, a Britton, French or Italian, so you don’t have to be Irish to celebrate his ministry--and both Protestants and Catholics can look to him for inspiration.

You might hire a bagpiper. Many local police and fire departments have bagpipers, or ask the Hibernians in your area where you can find a piper. Nearly every piper knows the Gaelic tune to “Morning Has Broken,” which makes a wonderful processional hymn. “Amazing Grace” is a beautiful offertory on pipes.

You might sing the Irish hymns such as “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” “The King of Love My Shepherd Is,” “Be Thou My Vision,” “At Length There Dawns the Glorious Day,” and “Above the Hills of Time.” Msgr. Donald Beckmann, who represents the Diocese of Rockville Centre on the LICC Board, has set Patrick's most famous prayer to “Morning Has Broken.” You could use this as an anthem or congregational hymn if you ask his permission (516-678-5800x613). You also might use “St. Patrick's Breastplate” as a Creed:

“I arise today with the gift of the Holy Spirit, with the strength of God's love, in the hope of resurrection in eternal life.

"I arise today joined with the prayers of the Church,
      the faith of martyrs,
      the teaching of the apostles,
      the communion of saints,
      and the living word of holy Scripture.

"I arise today with God's Wisdom to guide me, with God's strength to see me through, and God's hand to shelter me.”

This is an apt day for the confession of the Cornerstone Community in Belfast:

“Lord Jesus, who prayed that all your disciples might be one, forgive our disunity.

"Give us the honesty to recognize, and the courage to reject, whatever indifference toward one another, or distrust, or hatred that lies hidden within us.

"Let your prayer for the unity of all Christians be ever in our hearts and on our lips.

"Help us find the way that leads to unity in you.”

And you could end with a Celtic benediction:

“Deep peace of the Running Wave to You.
Deep peace of the Flowing Air to you.
Deep peace of the Quiet Earth to you.
Deep peace of the Shining Stars to you.
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.”

FROM THE MULTI-FAITH FORUM:

HOW CHRISTIANS CELEBRATE SACRED TIME

There are two seasons of preparation in Advent and Lent. Advent is a season of hope calling upon us to reflect on the past, present, and future comings of Jesus Christ. This season precedes the Christmas Season. During this latter season, besides the Feast of Christmas, there are also the Feasts of Epiphany and the Baptism of the Lord Jesus. An epiphany is a manifestation or revelation by which God revealed himself through the humanity of Jesus.

Lent is a preparation for the celebration of the Easter Season. Lent is a time devoted to such practices as prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, the last of which means outreach to the poor, more out of concern for justice than charity. The heart of the year is The Triduum (The Three Days) before Easter Sunday. It is a special time to remember The Paschal Mystery, or The Mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus.

The Easter Season, or The Great Fifty Days, concludes with The Feast of Pentecost. Easter time is a time to initiate new members into the faith community and for those already initiated to renew their Baptismal commitment.

The rest of the year is known as Ordinary Time. For a number of other Christians, this time is marked off as weeks after Pentecost. At Pentecost, we celebrate not only the gift of the Holy Spirit sent by Jesus to his first followers, but also the Spirit's coming to present day followers or disciples.

--Father Jack Moore, St. Mary’s Church, East Islip

WORTH QUOTING:

Silent Prayer

1st Congregational Church in Riverhead has become one of the latest congregations to offer a Taize-style prayer service. Theirs is on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month at 7 p.m. Did you know that the quiet, meditative, ecumenical worship of the Taize Community in France grew out of both efforts to shelter refugees during World War II and the care of children orphaned by the war? The community explains why they worship the way they do:

“At times prayer becomes silent. . . . Silence means recognizing that my worries can’t do much. Silence means leaving to God what is beyond my reach and capacity. . . . Christ says: `This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you’ (John 15:12). We need silence in order to welcome these words and put them into practice.”

Ateliers et Presses de Taize, “The Value of Silence,” 2001

Leadership

“We tend to view candidates for church leadership as caretakers….We imply that their role is to protect some sacred flame that is already burning the way it ought to burn….But think about it. Why would we want a teacher who cannot imagine a child needing to grow and become capable of growing?…Why would we entrust our institutions to people who cannot imagine a future that is different from what we know?”

--the Rev. James Barnum, Bellmore Presbyterian Church

Ecumenical Spiritual Direction

“As many people probably do, I struggled with my spiritual doubts on my commute home from church…on Sunday mornings. It is a lonely journey.…
“I was relieved to discover that you don’t have to be Roman Catholic to see a spiritual director…many folks select a director who is not a member of their faith tradition. In fact, I have chosen a director who is Roman Catholic. Isn’t it interesting how God challenges our initial assumptions? Our monthly visits are now a mainstay of my life….
“If you are interested in locating a spiritual director, you may contact…Spiritual Directors International at info@sdiworld.org.”

Heidi Erdmann, “The Channel”, Associated Ministries of Tacoma

PRAY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING:

An interfaith coalition is presenting an interfaith prayer service about Long Island's housing crisis on Feb. 29 It will be co-hosted by the Huntington Interfaith Coalition for Affordable Housing Now (ICAHN) and the Huntington Township Housing Coalition. Supporting organizations include the Long Island Campaign for Affordable Rental Housing (LICARH), the LI Labor Religion Coalition, the LI Labor Federation. While the prayer service is being sited n Huntington to help launch the Town's Visioning Process for its master plan, the focus will be Island-wide. There will be no specific affordable housing site on the agenda. Because the Island's shortage of affordable housing is so severe and both County Executives Tom Suozi and Steve Levy have taken strong positions in support of affordable housing, both Suozzi and Levy will be invited to speak. All town supervisors and board members, county legislators the LI state legislative delegation will be invited to attend. Huntington Supervisor Frank Petrone will be invited to welcome the audience. Jim Morgo, President of the LI Housing Partnership, will be invited to keynote the program.

TV WORTH WATCHING:

“THE NEW AMERICANS” MARCH 29-31

Over the past three decades there has been an increase of more than 50% in the number of our neighbors who are foreign-born or children of immigrants. A new seven-hour documentary introduces us to “The New Americans,” giving us some idea why they have come here and what their future—and ours—may be. We meet both those who have fled religious or political persecution, as my Puritan ancestors did, and those like my grandfather, who left Scotland to escape grinding poverty.

“The New Americans” follows immigrants from Nigeria, the Dominican Republic, Palestine, Mexico, and India as they come to America. What makes this series powerful is that it shows us who these individuals were back home, before they emigrated, something we seldom know about immigrants we encounter.

“The New Americans” begins with lively worship by Nigerian Christians in a refugee camp in Benin. All have fled persecution of Ogoni people by the military dictatorship: Israel Nwidor was imprisoned and tortured for advocating protection of the environment. The Ogoni long to emigrate to the United States, even though they will have no choice as to where they will live. The community tells its members that they must find jobs immediately and work hard, or else they will let down their people. They send Israel and his wife Ngozi to America by singing “We Shall Overcome.” English speaking and well educated, they work as a maids and janitors in America. Israel, trained as a chemical engineer, mops floors and washes dishes. He sends money home but cannot bring himself to tell his family how little he earns. Eventually both he and Ngozi go into nursing, which should remind us that we have a vested interest in continuing immigration--unless you never get sick or grow old.

In the West Bank, Naima is a senior at the University of Jerusalem who is engaged to Hatem, an Arab-American in Chicago. He is willing to move to Palestine to marry her, but Naima wants to live in the United States, longing to escape the cultural conservatism of Palestinian society that she finds as oppressive as the Israeli occupation. The rest of her family seems locked in the past. Her mother Umajahed, who never spoke to Naima’s father before their wedding, cannot understand her educated daughter. With one sister already in the States, Naima envisions a future the rest of her family cannot imagine, but pays a price her dreams: though eager to begin a new life in America, she dissolves in tears at the thought of leaving her family. Meanwhile in Chicago, Hatem plays basketball every week with a group of friends who are all first-generation immigrants from Syria, Greece, and Latin America, young men who have bonded despite differences of culture and religion, a testament to our nation at its best.

Today, as before in our nation’s history, however, new arrivals receive an ambivalent welcome. One can easily imagine Massasoit saying as hungry, unwashed, dangerously armed Pilgrims got off the Mayflower, “There goes the neighborhood!” Naima ends up teaching Arabic at a Muslim school, where she must wear the head covering she avoided back home. After 9/11, anti-Arab sentiment descends upon the couple, and the Arab-American center where Hatem works is torched. All the immigrants encounter xenophobia.

“The New Americans” reminds us just why our nation appeals to people around the world—and how badly we often treat those who follow in the footsteps of our ancestors. March 29-31 at 9 p.m. on PBS as part of the series “Independent Lens.”

SAVE THIS DATE!

LICC Annual Meeting—Thursday, May 6, at Temple Beth David in Commack
“How Can We Teach Our Tradition Without Trashing Others?”

DID YOU KNOW?

• Academica Press has just published our Executive Director’s new book “Fossil Hunter: The Life and Times of Mary Anning, 1799-1847,” the first full biography of the young woman who started the world's first prehistoric monster craze. Anning began searching for fossils as a child, found the first complete skeleton of a prehistoric swimming reptile when she was a teenager, and touched off fossil-hunting mania around the world while still a young woman with her discovery of the strange sea creature Plesiosaurus. She was poor but formed friendships with wealthy collectors. Uneducated, she made discoveries that influenced the development of geology, paleontology, and biology. Unable to vote herself, she helped bring down the corrupt political machine that had dominated her town for decades. She was deeply pious, but her work disturbed the beliefs of millions of people and provided raw material for Charles Darwin's unsettling theory of evolution. “Fossil Hunter: The Life and Times of Mary Anning, 1799-1847” can ordered through Books International (todd@booksintl.com or 703-661-1500).
  
  
• Those with income of less than $34,692 in 2003 may be eligible for an Earned Income Tax Credit of up to $4204 from the federal government, plus another $1261 from New York State. As many as one-quarter of those eligible failed to claim this credit last year, meaning that they overpaid an estimated $650 million—and New York’s economy lost this money, too. Those on limited incomes need less assistance from churches and charities--and can donate more to them—when they are not being overtaxed. To receive the EITC, you must file both federal and state tax returns for 2003. Taxpayers with children should file federal Form 1040 or 1040A, plus Schedule EIC. Workers not raising children may file any federal tax form including Form 1040EZ, simply writing EIC on the appropriate line. To receive the state EITC, you must attach Schedule IT-215 (Claim for Earned Income Credit) to your state income tax return. You also can claim “back claim” the EITC for the three previous years by filing amended federal and state tax returns. Pass the word!
  
  
• The Child and Dependent Care Credit for federal and state taxes have been expanded. The maximum amount of eligible employment related expenses is now $3,000 a year for one child or dependent and $6,000 two or more children or dependents. The maximum tax credit has gone up to $1,050 for one child or dependent and $2,100 for two or more. You can also earn more income and claim a credit than was allowed in previous years. All eligible New York taxpayers can receive a state CDCC on a sliding scale according to their income. Pass the word to those who are paying for child or dependent care: they may be paying too much if they do not claim this credit.
  
  
• Cover the Uninsured Week, May 10-16, will focus attention on the growing number of Americans who lack medical coverage. It is being sponsored by the AFL-CIO, the American Medical Association, AARP, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the United Way of America, as well as many evangelical, Protestant, Catholic, Muslim, and Jewish leaders and organizations. Both the LICC and Catholic Charities have identified the lack of adequate medical coverage as one of our region’s most pressing social problems, second only to the lack of affordable housing.
  
  
• According to “Religion in the News,” about half of the 3 million Arab-Americans are Christians. Many Muslims in the U.S. are not Arabs but rather Pakistani, Iranian, African, and many Christians from the Middle East have pre-Arab identities and consider themselves Egyptian Copts, Lebanese Maronites, Iraqi Chaldeans.

NEEDED/OFFERED

Offered:

Guest preachers/speakers

LICC Executive Director Tom Goodhue, Community Resources Director Alric Kennedy, and Director of Administration Anne Vaughan are all available for guest preaching and speaking. Call 516-565-0290 to request them. Jesse Glick and Sarah Hare from Church World Service, our partners in disaster response, also would be glad to preach or speak about the work of CWS. Call 888-297-2767 or email share@churchworldservice.org.

Help Getting a Good Loan

The LICC offers free seminar to help people avoid predatory loans and to help them be good stewards of their financial resources. These are usually an hour to 90 minutes, and we will tailor it to the needs of your parishioners. We will arrange speakers, publicity, educational materials, and other freebies. All you need to supply is the location and refreshments. Some Sundays are available, March 21 to April 18, and you can request a weekday, a Saturday or some other time is best for your flock. If you are interested, call 516-565-0290, ext. 206, fax 516-565-0291, or e-mail licchemp@aol.com.

New video in the LICC lending library:

“The New Americans”

Eight-Foot Poles

The LICC has a dozen 8-foot poles for the taking.

Licensed Infant Care and Child Care

Levittown Community Church (RCA) has just launch a new, licensed day-care center for children 6 weeks to 5 years, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. To register your child, call Linda Clifford at 516-796-5400.

Free Medication for Breast Cancer Patients

CancerCare of Long Island has announced a new program that will provide financial assistance for the cost of a 3 month supply of Tamoxifen and relevant education and support to low-income and uninsured women on Long Island as well as services for the treatment of breast cancer. For more information call 516-364-8130 or toll free at 1-800-813-4673.

Guest Speakers on Consumer Issues

The Nassau County Office of Consumer Affairs has a speakers bureau ready to help your congregation or organization to learn about identity theft, frauds and scams, and how Consumer Affairs can protect you. Call 516-571-3284 to request a speaker.

Support Group for Women

“Self-Esteem in Relationships” an 8-week support group for women, sponsored by Ascension Lutheran Church in Deer Park for women who want to explore present or former relationships. The workshops are free, confidential, and interdenominational. Call Vicki or Helen at 631-667-4188, Tuesday through Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Day Care for the Elderly

Elderly Day Services on the Sound, a not-for-profit, social model day care facility, provides a caring, stimulating, environment that enhances self-esteem, minimizes physical and mental deterioration, and combats loneliness and isolation. It also provides a much-needed respite for caregivers, along with support and referral services. Most importantly, it enables the frail elderly to live at home with loved ones. EDSS is located in Northport and is open year round, Monday through Friday, from 8:30AM to 5:00PM. Daily activities include: word games, exercise, arts and crafts, pet therapy, intergenerational activities, music and sports. Breakfast, lunch and snacks are served to all participants. Transportation services are available. Professional staff provide individual and group therapy, as well as a caregivers support group, which is open to the community. To obtain additional information or to schedule a visit, call Maureen Olsen at 631 261 6603.

Free magazine

The Leonard E. Greenberg Center for the Study of Religion in Public Life at Trinity College offers free subscription to their excellent journal, “Religion in the News.” Call 860-297-2353 or email csrpl@trincoll.edu to request it.

Needed:

A Building in Nassau County

The LICC has received a generous donation to help us move our Hempstead food center to a better building and reduce our overhead expenses, so that we can feed the hungry more effectively. Now we need to find a suitable location. Do you have a building somewhere in Nassau with at least 1500 square feet that we could rent, lease, or buy cheaply? If you sell, lease or rent to us for less than the going rate, you can receive a tax deduction. Please call Tom Goodhue at 516-565-0290, ext. 206, if you have a building to offer.

Folding Chairs

Camp Quinipet, the United Methodist retreat center on Shelter Island, is seeking donations of folding metal chairs in good condition, which they would be happy to pick up. Call 631-749-0430 if you have any to offer.

Literacy Tutors

Project Literacy/Outreach is seeking 70 volunteers to help teach basic reading, writing, and spelling. Free training will be provided in Lynbrook and Huntington, beginning Feb. 28. To register or get further information, call 516-676-7066, email lu@projectliteracy.org or visit www.projectliteracy.org.

A House

Momma’s House, a shelter for pregnant women and new mothers which operates three residences on Long Island, needs to find a new home to replace their Malverne location. If you have a place to rent, lease, or sell to them, please call Patricia Shea at Our Lady of Lourdes (516-599-1269). Their other locations are in Brookville and Glen Cove.

Volunteers

Our Lady of Consolation, a 450-bed nursing and rehabilitative care center located at 111 Beach Drive in West Islip, needs volunteers, 14 years or older, mornings, afternoons, evenings, and weekends as transporters, Eucharistic Ministers, office assistants, gift shop assistants, patient visitors and front desk greeters. Call Joan Coyle at (631) 587-1600, ext. 8330.

Free office space

The Healing Light Center needs free office space somewhere in Nassau County for a program that seeks to house the homeless. They also need volunteers who would like to work with the homeless. Call Ina Martin at 516-546-7345.

JOB OPENINGS:

• Legal Language Services NEEDS bilingual speaking individuals to verbally interpret legal and medical proceedings in the Nassau and Suffolk. No experience is required just confidence in the languages spoken in addition to English. The work is freelance, as available and as needed and pays $10-25 an hour, depending on experience, availability and languages spoken. Contact Joann at 212-766-4187 Ext. 160.

CHURCH BLOOD DRIVES IN MARCH

Long island is facing a critical blood shortage. Here are some places and times that you can give the gift of life:

3/2/2004 - St. Pius X - 270 Washington Ave., Plainview

04:00PM-9:30PM - Steve Lesetz (516)293-7534

3/11/2004 - St. James Parish - 429 Route 25A, Setauket

03:00PM-8:30PM - John Dahl (631)474-1937

3/12/2004 - St. John The Evangelist - 25 Ocean Ave., Center Moriches

03:30PM-09:00PM - Marge Peters (631)878-2585

3/13/2004 - Our Lady Queen Of Martyrs Centerport

07:15AM-12:45PM - Lori Barrett (631)421-6942

3/14/2004 - St. Patrick's - 280 E. Main Street

04:00PM-09:30PM - Rosemary Murphy (631)265-2271

3/14/2004 - St. Kilian - Cherry St., Farmingdale

08:30AM-01:00PM - Nicholas Iervolino (516)694-8305

3/17/2004 - St. Gerard Majella Church - 300 Terryville Rd., Pt. Jefferson Station

3:30PM-9:00PM - Joe Kimmerling (631)736-6121

3/19/2004 - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton - 800 Portion Rd., Lake Ronkonkoma

3:00PM-8:30PM - Christine Harvey (631)737-4416

3/20/2004 - St. Therese of Lisieux - 67 South Essex St., Montauk

1:00PM-6:30PM - Peter A. Libasci (631)668-2200

3/21/2004 - St. Anthony's Church - 110 Anchor Avenue, Oceanside

8:30AM-2:00PM - Peter Caraciolo (516)536-8329

3/21/2004 - St. Mary's Roslyn - St. Mary's Parish Center, Roslyn

8:30AM-2:00PM - Neal Caggiano (516)671-6576

3/22/2004 - St. Peter The Apostle - Greenlawn Ave. & Rockaway St., Islip Terrace

3:30PM-9:00PM - (631)581-9418

3/24/2004 - St. Francis De Sales Church - 7 Amity St., Patchogue

03:00PM-08:30PM - Joanna Ohlandt (631)475-5402

3/28/2004 - Notre Dame Church - New Hyde Park

08:30AM-02:00PM Bernadette Kearney (718)470-9551

3/28/2004 - St. Anne-Garden City - 25 Dartmouth St., Garden City

09:15AM-01:15PM - Brian McKeever (516)248-0026

3/29/2004 - Immaculate Conception - 580 Main St., Westhampton Beach

2:30PM-8:00PM - Jane Campbell (631)653-4757

Show Your Support for Affordable Housing on Long Island

Join Catholic, Protestant, Jewish and Islamic Clergy

Elected Officials and Housing Advocates

In a Prayerful Reflection of Hope and Action

Directions to IBEW: Take the LIE to Exit 55, Motor Parkway. From the west, make a left on to Motor Parkway. From the east, make a right on to Motor Parkway. IBEW is ahead about 1,000 feet on your right. Park in the rear of the building.

MOLLOY CENTER FOR CHRISTIAN/JEWISH STUDIES

Molloy College offers, free of charge, at 1000 Hempstead Ave. in Rockville Centre:

• “Sacred Symbolism in Public Spaces”
  Sunday March 7, 3 p.m. in the Anselma Room
  Molloy professor Thomas Ryley, Gaylon Barker, Lutheran ecumenical/interfaith officer for this synod, and Guy Massey, his counterpart from the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, will speak on such hot topics as the display of the Ten Commandments in public buildings, municipal displays of menorahs, and whether the First Amendment needs to be amended.
  
  
• “The Passion & Death of Jesus Christ: Relations Between Jews & Christians Today”
  Wednesday, April 21, 7 p.m.
  Mary Boys and Rabbi Eugene Korn will discuss Mel Gibson’s movie and other artistic depictions of the crucifixion.

For further information or to be placed on their mailing list, call Marion Lowenthal at 516-678-5000, ext. 6880.

AIDS INTERFAITH LONG ISLAND
Conference for Clergy and Lay Leaders

“HIV/AIDS : Compassion In Action or Inaction?”
Thursday, April 22, 2004 , 8:30 A.M. - 1:00 P.M.

Co-sponsored by The Campus Ministries of the C. W. Post Campus, Long Island University

• “Unwrapping the Gift of Compassion”
• “Scriptural Layers and the Heart Within”
• “It's Not Just Talk: Delivering the Gift”

Conference Co-Chairs:

Rabbi Darcie Crystal & The Rev. Erik Rasmussen

Where:

The Interfaith Center
C.W. Post Campus of LIU
Brookville, N.Y

Why:

To assist you and your faith community in recognizing and addressing the spiritual support needs of persons with HIV/AIDS, their families and their friends.

The cost is $25 per person.
Scholarships are available for clergy.
Breakfast and lunch are included.
Seating for this conference is limited, so please register early.
For information, including scholarships, call Barbara Strongin, 516-496-7550.

DIRECTIONS TO C.W. POST:

• If driving on Rt. 107, turn left onto Rt. 25A and proceed to the C.W. Post Campus. Turn in at the first entrance on left (East Gate).
• If driving on Glen Cove Road, turn right onto Rt. 25A and proceed approximately 2½ miles to the C.W. Post Campus. Proceed past West Gate to the second entrance on the right (East Gate).
• After entering the East Gate, proceed to the Interfaith Center which is the dome-shaped building on the hill, visible as you drive along the roadway. The nearest parking areas are on your left. There are also other parking areas on campus.

Mail registration to:
AIDS Interfaith Conference, c/o FEGS Long Island Division
6900 Jericho Turnpike, Syosset, New York 11791-4414
Include your Name, Phone number, Fax Number, Address, E-Mail, and Faith Community.
Also indicate Lunch selection: Meat, Tuna, Egg, Vegan, or Kosher, and the number of persons in your party. (Please list any additional names on a separate sheet.)
Enclose your check, payable to the Health & Welfare Council/AILI, in the amount of $25 per person.
Indicate whether you need handicap accessibility.
For directions, call Herbert Leiman, 516-365-7445.
If you are unable to attend, you may enclose a tax deductible contribution payable to Health & Welfare Council/AILI to show your support of AIDS Interfaith Long Island.

Workshops on “FROM VIOLENCE TO WHOLENESS”

North Shore United Methodist Church in Wading River and Pax Christi Long Island are offering a series of workshops and a one-day retreat on “Being Non-Violent in a Violent World” on Monday evenings, April 12, 19, 26, May 3, and all day Saturday, April 17, at Setauket United Methodist Church (on Main St. in East Setauket)

You must register by Mar. 31 and plan to be present for all workshops and the Sat. retreat. For further information contact:

• Nancy Arthur (631) 654-7953 or chilepaz@msn.com
• Lucy Burrows (631) 744-2295 or lburrows@ic.sunysb.edu
• Jo Joel (631) 209-9623

UNITY IN THE COMMUNITY

On Sunday, May 2, teens in Grades 9-12 from all over Suffolk County will meet at the Suffolk Y/ Jewish Community Center (74 Hauppauge Road in Commack) and then break into well-staffed teams to accomplish various volunteer projects around Suffolk County. After sign in, tee shirt distribution, and a brief orientation, teams will travel together to their respective community service locations to restore parks, visit hospitalized children, work at shelters and soup kitchens, sort food for the hungry, paint schools, deliver meals to the needy, and such. Lunch will be included. The Suffolk Y JCC sponsors Unity in the Community in cooperation with the Great South Bay YMCA, Huntington YMCA & Islamic Center of L.I. To sign up your youth group or to get further information, call Kelly Vest at 631-462-9800, ext. 142 or email kvest@syjcc.org.

A Seminar offered by the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center

Leadership and Anxiety in the Church:
A Family Systems Perspective

Hicksville United Methodist Church, Hicksville, New York
May 26, 2004
Topics include:

• The Road to Damascus: The Church and Change in an Age of Anxiety
• “They Know Not What They Do”: The Scapegoat Mechanism and Church Conflict
• The Importance of Not Being Ernest: Reversals, Playfulness, and Paradox
• The Road to Damascus: Lessons for Leadership in Anxious Times

For registration information contact:

Lombard Mennonite Peace Center
1263 S. Highland Ave., Suite 1N
Lombard, IL 60148-4527
630-627-0507
www.LMPeaceCenter.org