PRELUDE, November 2003
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:
WE'RE LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD MEN-AND WOMEN
One of the board members of the Long Island Multi-Faith Forum asked me a good question recently, one that made me squirm, but a good question: "Why aren't more ordinary Christians willing to talk about their beliefs? We don't have any trouble finding Bahais or Sikhs who will visit a school or workplace to talk about their faith community, so why is it so hard to find Christian lay people who will do this?"
I started making excuses for my brothers and sisters in Christ - they are probably busy in their own congregations, they're involved in other organizations, they're working extra jobs and extra hours so they can pay for housing and health care, some are shy and hate speaking in front of any group, etc., etc.- but I soon realized that this must be equally true of the Jains and Jews, Buddhists and Brahma Kumaris who volunteer to be panelists for the LIMFF's "Building Bridges" programs. Something else must be at work here. I have two hunches:
- Even though Christianity has been a missionary religion for nearly 2000 years and most Christians call themselves "evangelical," few denominations and few pastors teach their flocks how to gracefully communicate their beliefs and experiences. The denominations that sent missionaries overseas alongside conquering armies are now ashamed - and rightly so - of the way conversion via conquest dishonored the Prince of Peace. Many "liberal" Christians are so turned off by the bad attempts at evangelism they have seen that they are uncomfortable giving their own testimony to their faith. Many evangelicals say they believe in evangelism but seldom practice it - and know deep down inside that they are ill-prepared to do it.
One of the strengths of the Multi-Faith Forum, though, has been that it gets ordinary Long Islanders to tell their neighbors how they practice their beliefs in their daily lives. Our audiences do not expect a lecture on the Doctrine of the Trinity or the composition of the Vedas. What they want and need to know is far more basic: when do you worship, how do you pray, which religious holidays do you celebrate, what is important to you in your tradition. Even the more specific topics we are asked to address - what do I need to know as a corrections officer to respectfully supervise Islamic worship or how does Hinduism affect the way my patients will deal with death - are more practical than academic. The LIMFF trains volunteers before expecting them to serve on a Building Bridges panel, since we want everyone to know the policies and procedures followed by our panelists and to feel prepared to do a good job. If you volunteer with the MFF, you will get to watch other volunteers represent their faith communities, you will have experienced panelists from your community to support you, and you will have the benefit of excellent printed resources and videos we have developed.
- Some Christians, I find, are not willing to "give an account of the hope that is within you" (1 Peter 3:15) unless they have the stage to themselves. The idea of bearing witness to their faith alongside competing religions, as the Apostle Paul did in the marketplace in Athens (Acts 17), gives them the willies. Some Christians, in other words, are cowards. Some of my fellow believers, I know, worry that appearing alongside a Hindu or a Jain implies that "all the religions are the same." I've never seen the logic in this myself, but I was a debater in high school and college, so I've always been clear that standing next to someone never implied you agreed with them, any more than the prosecutor and the defense attorney have the same view of the case at hand. I can assure you too that the widespread belief that "we all believe the same thing" is a theological fiction to which the Multi-Faith Forum has never subscribed. Besides, 90% of success, as Woody Allen observed, is showing up. In our pluralistic, multi-faith world, those who remain absent rather than show up to speak in an atmosphere of mutual respect cannot possibly succeed.
So, can I have a witness?
Shalom/Salaam/Shanti/Pax,
Tom
Development Department
-by Sara Weiss, Director of Development
Special thanks go to The Presbytery of Long Island for its $5,000 gift to our core operations, and to Garden City Community Church for its gifts of $2,000 for emergency food and $3,000 for core operations. We also thank the following for their gifts of $500 or more:
- Commerce Bank
- Long Island Cares
- Suffolk County National Bank
- United Way of Long Island
And we are grateful to the numerous faith-based institutions, agencies, businesses, and others that gave less but whose gifts are just as important, and to the individuals who gave but asked that we do not publish their names. Thank you all for being a blessing to the hundreds of people we help each month. We are able to do this because you care enough to give.
"GIVING MONEY HELPS TO CREATE MORE MONEY"
by Richard Deam, President
Deamoak's Planning Services, Ltd.
A client of mine has an estate valued at more than four million dollars. Being sixty-five years young, my client is concerned that within the next several years her net worth will appreciate to over ten million dollars. This means that upon her death, her estate will pay millions of dollars in estate taxes.
How can I as a financial planner help reduce her estate taxes? The answer occurred to me immediately: her estate taxes would be substantially reduced by using a Charitable Lead Annuity Trust (CLAT).
Here is how a CLAT works. My client transfers $500,000 into a Charitable Lead Annuity Trust for a twenty-year period. After transferring the money into the Trust, she then elects a charity that will receive 5% interest, which amounts to $25,000 annually for the next twenty years. Thus, the charity will eventually receive $500,000 ($25,000 x 20 years = $500,000). Furthermore, the Trust is projected to grow an additional 2% annually. By the end of the 20th year, the Trust will be valued at $800,000, a gain of $300,000 over the 20-year period.
When the trust ends, my client's daughter will receive the entire $800,000 tax free if she chooses to put the money into a Charitable Remainder Trust.
Imagine this wonderful scenario! My client's estate taxes are reduced substantially. Her charity will receive $500,000. Her daughter will eventually receive $800,000 which will provide her daughter with a Life Time Income of $50,000 per year, and the daughter's charity will eventually receive the $800,000.
It really pays to be generous.
MEET OUR NEWEST STAFF MEMBER: ALRIC KENNEDY
Our Personnel Committee and Board of Governors recently combined financial and administrative tasks to create a Director of Administration, a position that Anne Vaughan will fill, and to create a new position of Director of Community Resources, a title we have chosen to distinguish the sort of assistance we give to the poor from the work of the Department of Social Services. We have just hired Alric Kennedy to be this new director.
Alric was born in Spanishtown, Jamaica. He came to the U.S. when he was eleven and has lived on Long Island since 1987. He has a master's degree in public administration from Long Island University and brings a wealth of experience matching clients with resources, which he has done at the Legal Aid Society and at America Works. A member of St. Martha's Catholic Church in Uniondale, he has all the qualities of compassion, faith, enthusiasm and creativity that you would want if you came to us in need of help. Welcome aboard, Alric!
WORTH QUOTING
Progress and Change
At our recent Board/Staff Planning Retreat, Dick Ploth shared this bit of wisdom:
"Everyone wants progress, but no one likes change."
At the opening in October of photo exhibits at the Dennison Building in Hauppauge, on the life of Mohandas K. Gandhi, the Shanti Fund distributed a booklet which included this quotation from the Mahatma:
"Whenever I see an erring man, I say to myself that I have also erred. . . . Differences of opinion should never mean hostility. If they did, my wife and I should be sworn enemies of one another. . . . I have always attempted to regard those who differ from me with the same affection as I have for my nearest and dearest."
Principles for Well Women
At the recent graduation ceremony for the Women's Opportunity Resource Center, the Rev. Lillian Frier Webb and the Rev. Nancy Schaffer shared the "Principles for Well Women" that they use in their weekly support group for women seeking to avoid future incarceration:
- I am not junk.
- I can take the "not" out of "cannot."
- I am not my past.
- I will make do when I feel undone.
- I am more than a thing.
- I am not defined by people, places, and things.
- I will find the purpose God has for me.
- I will fulfill the purpose God has for me.
- I am full of beauty, inside and out.
- I am full of power and creation.
- I celebrate myself.
- I am somebody.
NEWS FROM CHURCH WORLD SERVICE
By Grace MacMillan
THANKS FROM CHURCH WORLD SERVICE!!! Last spring the response from our churches to the Church World Service call for Gift-of-the-Heart Kits was greater than ever. Thirty-four churches and groups in Nassau and 19 in Suffolk delivered their Health, School and Baby Kits to the designated "Depots." The kits were then "consolidated" into two major depots at the Methodist Churches in Hempstead and Riverhead where the CWS truck picked them up and delivered them to the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Maryland. There they have been, or will be, re-packed, baled and stored for shipping to places of need around the world.
Our thanks to all those good people who assembled the Health, School and Baby Kits, and a few Sewing Kits, from Wantagh Memorial Congregational (Nassau) who turned in 361 pounds (177 Kits), and Middle Island Presbyterian (Suffolk) 279 pounds (169 Kits), down to churches who are making a start with six pounds. Now that you have found out how easy and satisfying it is, try again!
Here is the list of contributing churches, with the number of Kits they turned in, according to our records. If we are wrong, please let us know. We want to give the proper credit to everyone. With very few exceptions, they also contributed $1.00 per Kit, as requested, to aid in getting the Kits to the places where they are sorely needed.
SUFFOLK CHURCHES:
- Middle Island Presbyterian 169 Kits;
- 1st Presbyterian Southampton 136Kits;
- Bridgehampton Presbyterian 47 Kits;
- Orient Congregational 48 Kits;
- 1st Presbyterian Smithtown 87 Kits;
- Westhampton Presbyterian 53 Kits;
- Wading River Congregational 42 Kits;
- Babylon United Methodist 67 Kits;
- Mt. Sinai Congregational 49 Kits;
- Setauket Presbyterian (Dare Circle) 25 Kits;
- United Methodist Southampton 23 Kits;
- Patchogue Congregational 40 Kits;
- 1st Presbyterian Port Jefferson 36 Kits;
- Springs Community Presbyterian 23 Kits;
- Bellport United Methodist 24 Kits;
- Montauk Community Church 24 Kits;
- Riverhead United Methodist 23 Kits;
- Orient Methodist 3 Kits;
- East Quogue United Methodist 6 Kits.
NASSAU CHURCHES:
- Farmingdale Methodist 86 Kits;
- Wantagh Memorial Congregational 177 Kits;
- Roslyn Presbyterian 61 Kits;
- Old First Presbyterian Huntington 103 Kits;
- Garden City Community 96 Kits;
- Grace United Methodist Lindenhurst 71 Kits;
- Lutheran Church of Our Saviour, Valley Stream 90 Kits;
- Simpson United Methodist, Amityville 100 Kits;
- Community Presbyterian, Deer Park 40 Kits;
- 1st United Methodist, Amityville 92 Kits
- Chapel of the Redeemer, Flushing 75 Kits;
- United Methodist, Bethpage 43 Kits;
- Holy Trinity Lutheran, Rockville Centre 44 Kits;
- Bethany Congregational, E. Rockaway 61 Kits;
- Hempstead Methodist 62 Kits;
- Bellmore Presbyterian 65 Kits;
- Community United Methodist, Massapequa 62 Kits;
- St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran, Baldwin 15 Quilts;
- Cold Spring Harbor Methodist, Huntington 55 Kits;
- Locust Valley Reformed 39 Kits;
- Hicksville Christian 22 Kits;
- First United Women's Ministries, Queens Village 38 Kits;
- First Presbyterian, Babylon 17 Kits;
- 1st Presbyterian, Baldwin 24 Kits;
- Holy Cross Lutheran, Commack 17 Kits;
- Bowne St. Community, Flushing, 21 Kits;
- United Church of Rockville Centre, 24 Kits;
- Sayville United Methodist, 52 Kits;
- Grace Lutheran (WELCA), No. Bellmore 24 Kits;
- Malverne Community Presbyterian, 11 Kits;
- Our Savior Lutheran, Mineola, 16 Kits;
- North Shore Presbyterian, Great Neck 15 Kits;
- Good Shepherd United Methodist, Hempstead 13 Kits.
Now it is time to start gathering bits and pieces for next April. Watch for special sales, and coupons. If possible, buy in wholesale lots: (Costco, B.J.'s). Of course, one problem is, where to store your accumulation until time for packing! Maybe your church has some closet space available for a good cause!
In 2004, from May 17 to 20, Church World Service will again be sponsoring a 4-day trip to the Service Center in Maryland where the Kits and many other essentials are packed and shipped to those in need around the world. It is a great experience to take the bus trip (cost $240 covers all essentials - travel, room, meals) and spend two days repacking and baling Kits making them ready for shipment to where they are needed ... and to learn more of the scope of CWS. Watch for further information, or contact Grace MacMillan (5l6) 785-395l.
IDEAS YOU CAN USE:
HAVE YOURSELF AN ECUMENICAL ADVENT
Jesus was born to save the whole world, so why not prepare to celebrate his birth with music from many nations and many denominations?
Three of my favorite Advent hymns have roots in more than one nation: "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus" is from England and Wales, "People, Look East" from England and France, and "Hail to the Lord's Anointed" (#203) from England and Germany. "O Day of God Draw Nigh" likewise is from Canada and Switzerland. You might also use the liturgy for Las Posadas, a gift from Catholics in Mexico who re-enact each December the Holy Family's search for shelter.
Other hymns combine Catholic and Protestant sources, such as "Savior of the Nations, Come," written by St. Ambrose (whose feast day is December 7), translated by Martin Luther, and set to a tune by Johann Sebastian Bach. You can sing "Prepare the Way of the Lord" and note that it comes from the Taize Community in France, dedicated to healing divisions among Christians.
If your choir sings Lessons and Carols for Advent, thank the Anglicans. Indicate their Catholic roots as you sing "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" or "Toda la Tierra/All Earth Is Watching." Offer thanks to Lutherans as you sing Gracia Grindal's "To a Maid Engaged to Joseph" or decorate your Chrismon Tree, a custom started by Lutherans in Virginia. The Fourth Sunday in Advent is a great time for the choir or a soloist to sing "Ave Maria," which goes nicely with the Gospel reading, the Magnificat, and even the most dyed-in-the-wool Protestant can sing the first half.
You might acknowledge our indebtedness to Unitarian Christians--yes, some Unitarian Universalists are Christians--for one of the first American carols, "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear." "For lo! The days are hastening on . . ." makes a response during Advent, and it helps those who long for Christmas music before Christmas to sing carol verse appropriate for Advent each Sunday in December. (This is also a good way to use hymns if not all the language is inclusive but at least one verse is.)
Advent is a time to prepare ourselves, along with our brothers and sisters in Christ around the globe, for the coming of the One who prayed that we might all be one.
FROM THE MULTI-FAITH FORUM: GETTING TO KNOW HINDUS
by Tara Kotecha
Hinduism is the Western name for one of the world's oldest faiths, which calls itself "Vedic Religion" because it is based largely on ancient writings called the Vedas. Hinduism has no single creed, but there are four basic beliefs:
- BELIEF IN GOD:
There are many manifestations of God but only one Almighty, Supreme Power who is Master of All Spiritual and Secular knowledge. All human beings are gifts on this earth from the Higher Power with a purpose in life. This purpose will only become known by daily practice of Yoga and Meditation.
- BELIEF IN KARMA: DEEDS OR ACTIONS
Karma is the reason your soul was given a human body. Every action, either good or bad, has reactions or consequences; therefore, it is wise to choose good deeds. Peace and harmony within and around us are only possible by good karma, but final judgment remains in the hands of God, who is in control of this Universe.
- BELIEF IN DHARMA: DUTY AS PART OF RELIGION.
Daily practice of Yoga and Meditation remain our first priority each day. Vedic religion also stresses the importance of following moral principles in all aspects of life. These include living truthfully in thought, word, and deed and restraining oneself from all evil temptations; such as lying, bullying, and harassment. It is also our dharma or duty to control our mind, senses, and anger. Only through Yoga and Meditation can one control all emotions and stay in command of one's impulses. Dharma (Divine Law) dictates not only self-improvement but also reaching out to others with open hearts and minds and with forgiveness.
- BELIEF IN MOKSHA: NIRVANA, ENLIGHTENMENT.
The spiritual reunion with God is the Highest State of Yoga where the Godly knowledge is directly revealed to the Soul. One who lives detached from worldly pleasures and desires adopts the world as one large family, respecting all as brothers and sisters. To cease the cycle of birth and death is to attain MOKSHA, the last stage in life. In Moksha, the soul unites eternally with God.
ARE YOU WILLING TO REPRESENT YOUR FAITH?
The Long Island Multi-Faith Forum is a group of people representing eleven different faith communities on Long Island. Its purpose is to help Long Islanders to understand better their neighbors who practice other religions. The Forum sends "Building Bridges" panels into schools, houses of worship, workplaces, and community organizations to talk about their beliefs and customs. It is a great opportunity to share your faith while learning a great deal yourself. Would you like to be a panelist? If so, there will be a training session for panelists at Temple Beth El in Great Neck (5 Old Mill Road) on Sunday, November 16, from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Coming to the training does not obligate you to be on a panel, but you will probably find that you are eager to do so.
DID YOU KNOW?
- Last January more than 11,000 congregations from 50 denominations asked for $1 to feed the hungry from each worshiper on Super Bowl Sunday, raising more than $3 million dollars for soup kitchens and emergency food pantries, plus substantial donations of canned goods, in the Souper Bowl of Caring. Will your congregation take part this coming January? If so, please consider collecting food and money for the LICC's pantries. Information on the Souper Bowl is available at 1-800-358-SOUP or www.souperbowl.org.
- The South Fork Housing Coalition recently won a significant victory when East Hampton became the first town in Suffolk to create a revolving fund for affordable housing.
THE PARSON'S PICKS: "A WEDDING IN RAMALLAH"
"A Wedding in Ramallah" offers rare glimpses of Palestinian-American life. Bassam returns to the West Bank to find a bride. Having been married to an American who left him heartbroken, he enters into an arranged marriage with Mariam, a 25-year-old who has never slept outside her parents' home and who knows little about life outside her village.
They celebrate a big, traditional Muslim ceremony, but as their families prepare for the festivities, Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are collapsing in Washington. When Palestinian terrorists attack Jewish civilians, the Israeli army seals off the West Bank, making life almost impossible for ordinary Muslims and Christians. Bassam, we learn, came to the United States eleven years earlier after being jailed on suspicion of belonging to Arafat's Fatah. He was offered a choice between emigration and imprisonment, but not before being beaten so badly that he is sterile. To his relief, Mariam does not care about this.
This marriage of strangers begins with separation, as Bassam returns to the U.S. and Mariam moves in with his family in Ramallah, awaiting a visa: Bassam's brother Moussa has been waiting eight years for visas for his second wife Sinora and their child. Bassam puts in long hours in order to send money to his war-stranded family in Ramallah, where Mariam is bonding with her sister-in-law under a constant barrage of explosions and gunfire. Sinora, meanwhile, deeply offends her mother-in-law by buying a cell phone without asking her absent husband; Moussa is so enraged that he talks about divorcing her. No wonder his first marriage ended. Eventually, Mariam receives her visa, and the newlyweds move to snowy Cleveland in 2001. Unable to speak English, she is stuck at home while Bassam, exhausted from working two jobs, eats dinner in front of a TV wrestling match. They seem to have traded one dreary life for another.
But "A Wedding in Ramallah" has an upbeat postscript. This April, Salama visited the couple and reports that they have bought a grocery store where they work together. Mariam is learning English; their arranged union turned out to be a good match.
"A Wedding in Ramallah" airs Tuesday, November 4, at 10 pm in the PBS series "Independent Lens." A companion website (www.pbs.org/independentlens) has preview clips, further resources, and viewer feedback.
ECUMENICAL ADVOCACY TRAINING
How can people of faith advocate public policy without violating the separation of church and state? How can you tackle controversial moral issues such as capital punishment without needlessly enraging the other members of your congregation?
How should religious leaders relate to politics anyway? These topics and more will be addressed in a special ecumenical training event for public policy on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 7:30 p.m. at St. Anthony High School in Melville. Tom Goodhue and LICC Board member Msgr. Don Beckmann are among the presenters. All are welcome!
INTERGENERATIONAL PROGRAMS' CONFERENCE
More and more our communities and families are divided by age as older people either move away or live in age-segregated communities. Younger people and older people need one another and have more in common that commonly assumed. With these concerns, The Long Island Intergenerational Network, a group dedicated to intergenerational programs, policies, and issues invites clergy and laypeople to learn how to organize intergenerational strategies and programs in their congregations. Connecting Generations Strengthening Communities, an intergenerational conference, will be held on Friday, November 7th at Stony Brook University from 8:00AM to 3:15PM. Workshops will include how to organize intergenerational dialogues; older adults mentoring youth; youth helping the dependent elderly; public policy issues that are common to all generations; and funding opportunities to start intergenerational programs.The Network is also seeking nominations for exceptional intergenerational programs.There is a fee which may be waived upon written request. Scholarships are also available. For further registration go to www.igstrats.org or call 631 232 1262.
CONFERENCE ON THE LATINO COMMUNITY
NOV. 14 IN SOUTHAMPTON
The Committee for Hispanic Children and Families, Inc. is sponsoring a conference entitled, "Recognizing the Latino Community on Eastern Long Island: Creating Community Awareness of Unmet Needs" at Southampton College on November 14, 2003. This conference will bring attention to the obstacles Latinos and new Latino immigrants face in communities on the Eastern End of Long Island and will identify resources to help alleviate these obstacles. Latino leaders, government organizations, elected officials, business leaders, service providers and other sectors will enter into lively discussions on these very important issues facing residents of the East End community. For more information, call (212) 206-1090 ext. 331 or email clombardo@chcfinc.org.
NEEDED/OFFERED
Needed:
- Food and drivers
- Donations are needed for our distribution of Thanksgiving baskets and for our annual Thanksgiving dinner in Riverhead for farmworkers and shed workers. Hugh Watts in our Hempstead food center has a particular need for canned corn, green beans, and juice. He also could use some volunteers to pick up food donations during November. If you can help, please give him a call at 516-486-2272.
- Items needed by the LICC:
- The LICC's Hempstead office needs a lateral file cabinet, carpeting, a carpet cleaner, and a dust buster. If you can donate any of these, please call Sara Weiss or Anne Vaughan at 516-565-0290.
- Volunteers
- Wyandanch Homes and Property Development Corp. needs volunteers on Thursday mornings from 9:30 to 12:30 to repair homes for homeless families. WHPDC builds and renovates houses for homeless families and they currently have 27 houses they are renting primarily to homeless mothers and children. Call 631-491-7285, email whpdc@yahoo.com, or visit www.whpdc.org.
Offered:
- New Videos in the LICC Lending Library in Hempstead:
- "A Wedding in Ramallah"
- "Joan of Arcadia" pilot episode
- Help for Veterans
- The Nassau Veterans Employment and Training Services program is assisting veterans who need permanent housing and employment, particularly veterans who are now living with family members or friends. This innovative program is administered by the Nassau County Veterans Services Agency and EAC. Trained professionals are available to help veterans find housing and jobs. call 516-572-8452 for more information.
- Holiday Cards
- The Sisters of Mercy are expressing their belief in the sanctity of human life and their opposition to capital punishment by distributing beautiful holiday cards for Christmas, the New Year, and other occasions that were drawn by death row inmates. For more info, you can write to Sr. Camille D'Arienzo at 72-25 68th Street, Glendale, NY 11385-7216 or email deathrowcards@aol.com.
- Free Lecture by Music Therapist
- The "Music Doctor," Dr. Yeou-Cheng Ma, an internationally renowned lecturer, will speak on "The Spiritual Path of Music" at the United Church of Rockville Centre, 430 Morris Avenue on Friday, November 7th from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Dr. Yeou-Cheng Ma is a developmental pediatrician, a musician, and a graduate of Radcliffe College and Harvard Medical School who works with children with developmental disorders at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx and at Flushing Hospital in Queens. She also performs as a chamber musician, teaches violin, viola and chamber music with the Children's Orchestra in Manhasset, NY. She has a particular interest in optimizing communication in all children, exploring the relationship of music to young children's' temperaments, and using music as a means to find the "inner language" of children who have difficulties in verbal communication. She likes to champion the dark horses of the world, and writes poetry to weave together the many threads of her life. For more information, call the Rev. Bob Gunn at (516) 766-2975.
- Benefit Concert
- The Valaam Ensemble from Valaam Monastery in Russia will perform a benefit concert for the Orthodox Christian Mission Center at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church (77 Montauk Highway in Blue Point) on Sunday Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. The ensemble will perform ancient Russian polyphonic chants, liturgical hymns, and Russian folk songs. A donation of $15 is requested. Call 631-281-5960 for reservations or email stjohnparish@hotmail.com.
JOB OPENINGS:
- BiasHelp seeks a liason to Long Island's diverse communities who will conduct anti-bias education programs in schools and other settings and assist the victims of hate crimes. BA required along with at least one year of experience in a youth-oriented/human rights organization and proficiency in writing, speaking, and computing. Salary in the mid $30s. Send resume to Rob Nicoletti, BiasHelp, P. O. Box 20369, Huntington Station, 11746 or fax to 631-784-7875.
- Available: an ordained Baptist Minister, who has also served Presbyterian and UCC congregations, seeks a position as pastor. Experience: Youth, Young Adult & Men's Ministries, Director of Christian Education, Associate Pastor, Chaplain/counselor in HIV-Aids Project. Requires parsonage or housing allowance. Compensation negotiable. Contact Rev. Wade: 646-526-3640.
WORSHIP IN MANY LANGUAGES
Does you local clergy associations include non-English language congregations in community gatherings for Thanksgiving, Epiphany, Martin Luther King Day, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and such? Having someone read Scripture in Spanish, someone else do the Benediction in Vietnamese, and a choir sing in Malayalam might make your worship far more inclusive-and far more lively. Here are some services and what we know about their leaders:
SPANISH WORSHIP SERVICES IN NASSAU COUNTY:
- Elmont:
- St. Boniface Fr. Angelo Resulto Sunday, 1:00 p.m.
- Farmingdale:
- St. Killian's, 285 Conklin Avenue, 516-249-0127, Saturday, 6:15 pm, Rev. Angelo Resultay
- Freeport:
- Iglesia Luterana de Cristo Sunday, 10:00 a.m. 61 N. Grove Street, Pastor Michael Wilker 516-378-1258
- Holy Redeemer, 37 South Ocean Avenue, 516-378-0665, Sunday, 1:00 pm, Rev. Freddy Lozzano Cruz
- Church of the Nazarene, Alexander & Amanda Madrigal 516-867-3351
- Glen Cove:
- St. Patrick's, 235 Gleen Street, 516-378-0665, Sunday, 9:00 am
- Iglesia Apostolica--at 1st Presbyterian--Rev. Christinos Fuentes
- Seventh-Day Adventist--at 1st Presbyterian, Rev Samuel Arozco 516-294-0745
- Great Neck:
- St. Aloysius, 590 Middle Neck Road, 516-482-2770, Rev. Jose Quiocate, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
- Hempstead:
- Hispanic United Methodist Pastor Victoria Luna, 516-486-8495
- Iglesia Presbiteria Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Pastor Rudolfo Saborio, 516-564-0201
- Iglesia Lutherana Pastor Heriberto Prudencio, 516-486-3287
- Our Lady of Loretto Saturday, 9 am; Sunday, 9 am & 12:30 pm, Mon-Wed-Fri, 7:30 p.m.
- Inwood:
- Our Lady of Good Counsel Sunday, 8:15 a.m.
- Island Park:
- United Methodist Church, Pastor Domingo Moro
- Long Beach:
- St. Mary of the Isle Sunday, 10:00 a.m.
- Manorhaven:
- Our Lady of Fatima Saturday, 7:00 p.m.
- Mineola:
- Corpus Christi, 155 Garfield Ave., 516-746-1223, Rev. Tomaz Gomide Saturday, 8:00 p.m.
- New Hyde Park:
- Notre Dame Sunday, 7:00 p.m.
- Oceanside:
- St. Anthony Sunday, 12:30 p.m.
- Oyster Bay:
- St. Dominic, 93 Anstice Street, 516-922-4488, Saturday, 7:00 p.m.
- Rockville Centre:
- St. Agnes Cathedral Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.
- Roosevelt:
- Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, 196 W. Centennial Ave, 516-378-1315, Sunday, 1:15
- Uniondale:
- St. Martha's, 546 Greengrove Avenue, 516-481-2550, Sunday, 8:45 am, Rev. Edward Sullivan
- Valley Stream:
- Church of the Nazarene Rev. Magdiel Alvarez 718-323-1954
- Westbury:
- St. Brigid Sunday, 11:30 a.m.
SPANISH WORSHIP IN SUFFOLK:
- Aquebogue:
- Ministerios Sion (at 1st Parish Church) Pastor Enrique Carbajal, Sunday, 1:30; Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
- Amagansett:
- St. Michael's Lutheran Saturday, 7:00 p.m. Pastor Richard Mowery/Diacona Emilce Alguera 631-267-6351
- Babylon:
- St. Joseph's Sunday, 10:00 a.m.
- Bay Shore:
- Church of the Nazarene Rev. Florentino Murillo 631-968-5269
- Brentwood:
- Christ Episcopal Church Sunday, noon 631-273-9504
- Church of the Nazarene Rev. John Robalino 631-952-3226
- Iglesia Presbitera
- Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Dr. Bennett 631-273-5444
- St. Anne's Catholic Church 631-273-8113 Saturday, 7:30 p.m. & Sunday, 9:00 a.m.
- St. Luke's Catholic Church 266 Wicks Rd. 631-273-1110 Wednesday, 8:30, Saturday, 7:00 p.m. & Sunday, 9:15 a.m., Fr. Raul Londono
- Center Moriches:
- St. John the Evangelist Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
- Central Islip:
- Grace Lutheran Church Rev. Morales 631-234-8514
- United Methodist Church Sundays, 1 p.m. & Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. Rev. Enrique Lebron & Nelson Bonilla 631-234-6539
- St. John of God, 84 Carleton Avenue, 631-234-6535 Saturday, 5:00 pm, Rev. James Kissane
- Copiague:
- Our Lady of the Assumption, 1 Molloy Street 631-842-5211 Sunday, 11:45 am, Rev. Camillo Lugo
- Coram:
- St. Frances Cabrini Sunday, 10:30 a.m.
- Dix Hills:
- St. Matthew's, 35 N. Service Road, 631-499-8520 Saturday, 7:30 pm, Rev. Bonaventure Thekkeveetil
- East Hampton:
- Church of the Nazarene (at the United Methodist Church), Sunday, Wednesday & Friday, 7:30 p.m. Pastor Hector Ocasio.
- Most Holy Trinity Sunday 5 pm (winter), 7 pm (summer)
- Farmingville:
- Resurrection Church, 50 Granny Street, 631-696-0232 Sunday, 6:30 pm
- Greenport:
- St. Agnes (Front & 6th) Saturday, 8:00 p.m.
- Hampton Bays:
- St. Rosalie Sunday, 4 p.m.
- Huntington:
- St. Hugh of Lincoln Sunday, 8:45 a.m. & Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
- Mastic Beach:
- St. Jude's, 89 Overlook Drive, 631-281-5743 Saturday, 7:30 pm, Rev. Ivan Gonzalez
- Mattituck:
- Church of New Jerusalem (at Mattituck Presbyterian), Pastor Roberto Salcedo
- Montauk:
- St. Therese of Lisieux Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
- Moriches:
- Fuente de Jacob Pentecostal Church Sunday, 11 a.m.; Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Pastor Enrique Guadelupe 631-878-0566
- Patchogue:
- Iglesia Bautista Beth-El Sunday, 11:15 & 12:15 Rev. Juan Carlos Rivera 631-395-4003
- St. Francis de Sales Sunday, 9:15 a.m. & Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
- Port Jefferson:
- Infant Jesus Church Sunday, 10 a.m.
- Port Jefferson Station:
- Emmanuel Church of God Sunday at 2:30 & Wednesday at 7 p.m. Pastors Eli & Annie Turnil 631-737-5303
- Riverhead:
- St. John's Church (Roanoke & 5th) Sunday, 7:00 p.m.
- Southampton:
- Sacred Heart Sunday, 12;30 p.m.
- Wyandanch:
- Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal Sunday, 9:45 a.m.
Worship Services in Other Languages
CHINESE:
- Elim Chinese Baptist Church, 163 Hallock Rd., Lake Grove
Sunday, 11 a.m. (Cantonese & Mandarin)
Pastor Timothy T. L. Wong 631-467-4507
FRENCH/HAITIAN:
- St. Boniface Catholic Church, 631 Elmont Road, Elmont 11003
Sunday, 10:30 am Rev. Ricardo Patrick
- St. Anne's Catholic Church, 88 Second Avenue, Brentwood 11717
Sunday 1 pm. Rev. Marc Jerome 631-273-8113
- St. Francis of Assisi Church, 29 Northgate Drive, Greenlawn
Sunday, 5 p.m. Rev. Marc Jerome, 631-757-7435
- Eglise Pentecotiste de la Croisade Evangelique des Pecheurs D'Hommes
47 E. Fulton Avenue, Roosevelt 516-377-8875 Sunday, 10 a.m.
- Roosevelt-Freeport Church of Christ, 24 Woods Avenue, Roosevelt
Sunday,11 am 516-378-0380
- St. Martha's Church, 546 Greengrove Ave., Uniondale 11553
Sunday 1:30 mass & Wednesday 7 pm prayer service
Rev. Sully Sam 516-481-2550
- St. Brigid's Church, 75 Post Avenue, Westbury 11590
Sunday, 2:30 pm
- Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, 1434 Straight Path, Wyandanch
Sunday, 7:30 p.m., Rev. Moise Aime, 631-643-7568
ITALIAN:
- St. Vincent de Paul Church, 1500 De Paul St., Elmont 11003
Sunday, 9 am 516-352-2127
- St. Rocco's Church, 18 Third Avenue, Glen Cove 11542
Sunday, 8:45 am Rev. Aaron Vellaramparmpil 516-676-2482
- St. Jude's Church, 89 Overlook Drive, Mastic Beach 11951
Sunday, 8 am, Rev. James Atkins 631-281-5743
KOREAN:
- Arumdaun Presbyterian Church, 995 Stewart Ave., Bethpage
516-349-5559
- LI Korean United Methodist Church, 486 Town Line Road, Commack
Sunday, 6 a.m. & 2 p.m.; Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. 631-499-1260
- Korean Presbyterian Church, at St. Lawrence of Canterbury Church,
655 Old Country Road, Dix Hills, Sundays at 1 pm
- St. Aloysius Church, 590 Middle Neck Road, Great Neck 11023
Sunday, 8:45 am and 3 pm, Rev. Benadictus Do Ha Bae
- Korean Presbyterian Church of Suffolk, 163 Hallock Rd., Lake Grove
Sunday, 9 a.m. Pastor Joseph Yoon 631-467-4507
- St. Dominic Church, 93 Anstice Street, Oyster Bay 11771
Sunday, 10:30 am, Rev. Paul Do, 516-922-4488.
- Nanime Presbyterian Church, 175 East Main St., Smithtown
Sunday, 1:30 p.m.
- Soung Young Church, 36 Church Street, Syosset, NY 11791
Sunday, noon, Rev. Tae Kean Kim, 718-225-2990
MALAYALAM/SYRO-MALABAR:
- St. Boniface Catholic Church, 631 Elmont Road, Elmont 11003
two Sundays each month, 10:30 a.m. 516-354-0716
- Long Island Mar Thoma Church, 2350 South Merrick Ave., Merrick
Vicar K. P. Sabu 516-623-1456
- Church of South India, 3833 Jerusalem Ave., Seaford,
Sunday, 10:30 a.m. the Rev. Sam Mathew
- Jubilee Memorial Church of South India, 147 Campbell Avenue, Williston Park
Sunday, 10:30 a.m. Rev. Sabu Cherian
- Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, Floral Park
Rev. Joseph Kandathikudy (Syro-Malabar Catholic)
- St. Gregorios Malankara Orthodox, 175 Cherry Lane, Floral Park
Sunday, 9 am Rev. Thomas Paul 516-775-2281
- St. Basil Malankara Orthodox, 17 Randolph Ave., Franklin Square
Sunday, 8:15 am Rev. P. S. Samuel 516-561-7377
- St. John Chrysostom Malankara, 115 Greenwich St., Hempstead
Rev. Saji George Mukkoot 516-825-2210
POLISH:
- Our Lady of the Assumption, 1 Molloy Street, Copiague 11728
Saturday, 7:15 pm & Sunday 9 am, Rev. Leszek Wieaszek 631-842-5211
- Our Lady of Ostrabrama 3000 Depot Lane, Cutchogue 11935
Sunday, 9:15 am, Pastor Wladyslaw Rudnicki 631-734-6446
- St. Hedwig Church, 1 Depan Avenue, Floral Park 11001
Sunday, 11 am; daily 8 am Rev. Francis Filmanski 516-354-0042
- St. Hyacinth Church, 319 Cedar Swamp Rd., Glen Head 11545
Sunday, 10:15 am, Rev. Richard Kopinski, 516-489-0358
- St. Ladislaus Church, 18 Richardson Place, Hempstead 11550
Sunday, 9:30 am Msgr. Edward Wawerski 516-489-0358
- St. Isadore 622 Pulaski Street, Riverhead 11901
Sunday, 10:30 am Fr. Joseph Walas 727-2114
- Our Lady of Poland, 35 Maple Avenue, Southampton, 11968
Sunday, 8 pm Pastor Stanislaw Kondeja 631-283-0667
PORTUGESE:
- Assembly of God, at Brentwood Presbyterian Church, 125 Second Avenue, Brentwood
Pastor Coelho, 631-968-8935.
- Corpus Christi Church, 155 Garfield Ave., Mineola, 516-746-1223.
Sunday, 8:30 a.m. Rev. Tomaz Gomede
- Church of the Resurrection, 50 Granny Street, Farmingville Sunday, 10:30 am Rev. Tomaz Doming
UKRANIAN:
- St. Vladimir's Ukranian Catholic Church, 709 Front Street, Hempstead 11550
Sunday, 9 & 11 a.m. Rev. Maxim Kobasuk 516-481-7717
- Holy Family Ukranian Catholic Church, 471 Montauk Highway, West Islip 11795
Sundays at 10:15 a.m. Father Nicholas Popovici, 631-661-0031
VIETNAMESE:
- Sts. Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church, 125 Half Hollow Road, Deer Park 11729 631-667-4044
Simdayu, 3:45 p.m. Rev. Francis Sang
And the most multilingual of all:
- St. John the Theologian Orthodox Church in America, 158 West End Avenue, Shirley
Sunday, 10 a.m., blends English, Greek, Russian, Bularian, Slavonic, and Romanian.
Fr. Jonathan Ivanoff 631-281-5960
If you have updates or additions for this list, please send them to the LICC via phone (516-565-0290 ext.206), fax (516-565-0291), email (licc@optonline.net), or snail mail (1644 Denton Green, Hempstead, NY 11550).
