TABLE OF CONTENTS
From Our Executive Director:
MEMO TO TEACHERS: THE KID MAY NOT BE LYING
Nearly every year, the Orthodox priest reported, at least one teacher accuses his child of lying when he says that he will not be in school that week on Good Friday, saying something such as, “Don’t give me that! Good Friday was weeks ago!” Others are accused of fibbing when they say that their father is a priest - which also happens to Preachers Kids (a.k.a. Theological Offspring) among Episcopalians and Lutherans who claim that their mother is a priest. In one particularly memorable exchange, a flustered teacher insisted, “If your father is a priest, then you can’t have a mother!”
The problem is not limited to educators. One of the barriers to achieving greater unity among Christians is that we are often woefully ignorant of those who practice different varieties of our faith. Tell some folks that you are an Orthodox Christian and they will ask if you are still Jewish. During the Cold War, the Rev. Alex Garklavs told our Board of Governors a few weeks ago, he was often called “a Commie” by other boys who discovered that his father was a Russian Orthodox cleric and had no idea how adamantly anti-Communist most members of the Orthodox Church in America were. Other Orthodox Christians suffer the indignity of their neighbors assuming that they are Fresh Off the Boat, even though Orthodox missionaries from Russia arrived in Alaska in 1794. By the time their neighbors’ ancestors landed on Ellis Island, Orthodox Christians had been living in communities across North America for a century.
Sadder still is the case of two boys who approached Fr. Jack Moore and me three years ago at the Long Island Multi-Faith Forum’s festival at Hauppauge High School. Each quietly asked if we considered them to be Christians, even though one was a Copt and the other Greek Orthodox. The joy they radiated when we answered, “Of course!” made the whole day worth the trip — and also demonstrated to both of us that Christian youth may need religious tolerance as much as Muslims and Sikhs do.
So, listen up. Your Christian neighbors on Long Island might belong to the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, the OCA, the American Carpatho-Russian Diocese, the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, the Ukranian Orthodox Church of the USA, “Eastern” Orthodox jurisdictions that are in full communion with one another and have congregations in Nassau or Suffolk. Your neighbors could also belong to Syrian (Syriac), Coptic (Egyptian), or Malankara (from India), “Oriental” Orthodox bodies — which are not in communion with Eastern Orthodox Christians but have much in common with them. Some of their local congregations date back to the 19th century, and all come from churches and traditions far older than most of the rest of ours.
In some Orthodox congregations, visitors immediately know that they have entered into the style and customs of another time and another land; others preserve their ancient faith in thoroughly modern forms. Some Orthodox Christians cling to the mother tongue of their ancestors’ homeland, while others embrace English worship or a broad range of languages. At the Carpatho-Russian church in Seaford, worship is in English and most or the congregation was not raised Orthodox. At St. John the Theologian OCA in Shirley, worship blends diverse traditions and languages: English, Greek, Russian, Bulgarian, Slavonic, and Romanian may be used in the same service.
Orthodox Christians, like all denominations, sometime have internal disagreements - which will hardly come as a surprise to any Methodist - but they are working together in a variety of ways, particularly the Standing Conference of Canonical Orthodox Bishops in the Americas, the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches, and organizations that promote pan-Orthodox cooperation in the areas of humanitarian aid and charity, religious education, campus ministry, and foreign missions. Orthodox communions were among the first members of the National Council of Churches and the World Council of Churches. There have been some recent strains in these national and international ties, but on Long Island and in many other regions, local ecumenical groups are working more closely with their Orthodox neighbors than ever before. Fr. Leonid Kishkovsky of Our Lady of Kazan (OCA) in Sea Cliff, past president of the NCC, and a moving force in the new organization Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A., will be the speaker at our Annual meeting on May 5 at Temple Beth David in Commack.
And about that school exam this month: most Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas, Epiphany (January 6), and the Feast of the Assumption (August 15) on the same days that Catholics and Protestants do, following the Revised Julian (Gregorian) Calendar, while some stick to the Julian Calendar, which places these “fixed” feast days 13 days later, with Christmas falling on January 7, for example. But nearly all Orthodox Christians follow the Julian calendar for the calculation of Easter (and therefore for the first day of Lent, Holy Week, Pentecost, etc.) This year Orthodox Easter is May 1, which is also the Eighth Day of Passover. Orthodox Holy Thursday and Good Friday will be April 28 and 29. If the kids say they’ll be in worship those days, they may be telling the truth.
Shalom/Salaam/Shanti/Pax/Mir,
Tom
(with thanks to Fr. Robert Kondratick and Arlene Kallaur from the OCA for help with these explanations)
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DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT – Sara Weiss, Director
Special thanks to the following for their gifts:
| An anonymous board member | $2,000 Unrestricted |
| Congregational Church of Manhasset | $500 Unrestricted |
| Congregational Church of Riverhead | $600 Unrestricted |
| Good Shepherd Lutheran Church | $500 Where Most Needed |
| UMC Hempstead | $600 Where Most Needed |
| United Way of Long Island | $1,491 Monthly Allocation |
We’re also grateful to the institutions that gave less, and to the individuals who also gave but who have asked us not to publish their names.
Most Urgent Need
Once again our most urgent need is for funding for medical prescriptions, particularly during the cold winter months when people are more likely to be sick. We need $1,000 to help five people who desperately need medical prescriptions. They are uninsured and unable to afford these essential medications. One is diabetic, another needs a prescription for her asthma, a third, who is currently living in a homeless shelter, needs a prescription for antibiotics or she will be ejected from the homeless shelter because she’s contagious, and so on.
Invest in The LICC’s Future
We have uncovered a new way to generate additional funding to help us serve the Long Island community. This new idea is to enhance our e-mail newsletter and our printed newsletter with advertising from appropriate organizations that currently serve the faith-based community on Long Island. In order to develop the technology to generate this additional revenue, we have defined a short-term development project and found a resource to create this new revenue model for us. The total cost to implement this program, which will lead to an eventual revenue stream for the LICC, is approximately $7,000. We know this money will be recovered in revenues from advertising. We need your help launching it. The sooner we launch it, the sooner we start generating revenues. This is a wonderful opportunity to invest in the future of the Long Island Council of Churches. Be a partner with us as we build our capacity to serve Long Islanders in need.
Memorial/Tribute Gifts
A great way to remember a loved one, whether deceased or living, is to give a memorial or tribute gift in his/her name. In your letter accompanying such a gift, please tell us who the gift is in memory of or in tribute to, 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.
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ALL INVITED TO EASTER DAWN WORSHIP AT JONES BEACH
The Long Island Council of Churches, the region's largest ecumenical and interfaith organization, invites all to its Easter dawn worship service at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 27, at Jones Beach State Park. "The Council organizes this event each year so that those who do not have a sunrise service in their own church or community can gather with diverse Christians to celebrate Easter," explains the Rev. Thomas W. Goodhue, Executive Director of the LICC. "For all of us who love the water, there is something special about celebrating the new life promised by the Resurrection as the sun comes up over the sea."
This year's preacher will be the Rev. Adrienne Brewington, pastor of Westbury United Methodist Church. A brass choir from the Hempstead Corps of the Salvation Army will perform. The Rev. Thomas W. Goodhue, the Executive Director of the Council, will tell an Easter story from his book "Sharing the Good News with Children," which was published by the Franciscans (St. Anthony Messenger Press). Major Carol Ditmer, who leads the Salvation Army in Hempstead with her husband Stephen, will offer prayer. The service has been planned by the LICC’s Western Area Steering Committee, which is chaired by Dick MacMillan from Wantagh Memorial Congregational Church.
The worship will be brief and informal. Worshipers are encouraged to dress warmly and to bring a beach chair or blanket. A free-will offering will be received to support the work of the LICC, which unites diverse Christians to serve Long Islanders in need and promotes greater understanding between Christians and non-Christians.
The service will be held at Jones Beach, east of the Wantagh Parkway and near the East Bath House. Enter Parking Field 6, and head due south toward the shore. Look for the blue LICC banner and signs leading you toward the shore.
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IDEAS YOU CAN USE:
Scavenger Hunt for Food
Old Steeple Church (UCC) in Aquebogue recently sent its youth group on a scavenger hunt, with a twist on the traditional game: they gave the teams a list of food items chronically needed by the LICC’s emergency food pantry in Riverhead and asked the kids to seek donations of these items. In short order, the kids collected three baskets of food. What a great way to help the hungry while having some fun! Want to give it a try? Our food centers perennially need canned meat, fish, stew, chili, fruit, and vegetables, and unopened containers of cereal, spaghetti sauce, pasta, peanut butter and jelly, and macaroni and cheese — and all non-perishables are welcome. Who knows? Your youth might even find some fruitcakes that have been sitting around since last Christmas. . .
How to Make Your Sanctuary More Welcoming
The ecumenical movement seeks to bring together “the whole household of God” but in many churches, those who cannot hear well, cannot read the bulletin, or cannot climb the stairs to the front door are unintentionally but persistently excluded. All of the congregations I have served have needed to make their worship services more handicap-accessible, but none have had much money for renovations. Here are a few ideas that worked for me in such situations:
- Begin worship with silent prayer or a call-and-response (antiphonal) prayer rather than a printed litany. The visually impaired, the illiterate, and young children can repeat a phrase more easily than read a church bulletin.
- Tape the worship service and have volunteers drop them off at the homes of shut-ins. Being sick or injured need not cut off your parishioners from the worship life of your flock. Besides helping the homebound to pass the time and benefit from my pearls of wisdom, a tape ministry lets shut-ins hear announcements and prayers about people they know — including hearing prayers for themselves. It also insures that someone from the congregation will drop by more frequently than I could myself. Sometimes the volunteer would take the altar flowers, Christmas poinsettias, or Easter lilies to brighten the shut-in’s room. If you cannot afford fancy equipment to record music, seek donations of old cassette players, which will work fine for prayer concerns, announcements, the pastoral prayer, Scripture readings, and the sermon.
- Encourage Boy Scouts to organize their troop to build wheelchair (and stroller) ramps as an Eagle Project. Or remodel restrooms for greater accessibility.
- Set up a lending closet for canes, crutches, wheelchairs, and other medical equipment that people can borrow for short or lengthy periods of restricted mobility.
- Publish periodically a "wish list" for memorial gifts the church has not put in its budget but would like to receive, including such items as a hearing amplification system or large print hymnals and Bibles.
- Use the talents of anyone in the community who knows sign language to teach Sunday School students some ASL signs. With luck, you may eventually find a volunteer who will sign the sermon or the communion liturgy.
The ecumenical movement seeks to make every congregation in the Body of Christ more diverse and inclusive of all people. How has your church become more welcoming to those with hearing, vision, and movement impairments? What successes would you like to share?
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WORTH QUOTING
Resurrection Joy
From the Easter sermon of St. John Chrysostom (347-407), which is still read today in Orthodox Christian liturgies, and might be used on Bright Sunday, or Holy Humor Day, which this year is April 3:
“If anyone is devout and loves God, let him enjoy this fair and radiant and triumphal feast. If anyone is a wise servant, let him rejoice and enter into the joy of his Lord.
“He gives rest to him who comes at the 11th hour, even as to him who has worked from the first hour. And He shows mercy upon the last, and cares for the first.
“Let all then enter into the joy of your Lord, and receive your reward, both the first and likewise the second. You rich and poor together, keep the feast. You sober and you heedless, celebrate the day.
“Rejoice today, both you who have fasted and you who have disregarded the fast. . . Let all receive the riches of loving kindness.
“Let no one weep for his iniquities, for pardon has shown forth from the grave. Let no one fear death, for the Savior’s death has set us free.
“O Death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Christ is risen, and thou are overthrown.”
The Meaning of Noah and the Ark:
“Human sin caused environmental destruction. The evil of people brought about the flood. Can we say today that human greed and selfishness have brought about degradation of our environment?
Every type of animal was to be brought onto the ark so as to be preserved. This was the first endangered species act.”
--Charles Lamb, “Sierra Atlantic” Winter 2004/2005
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TV WORTH WATCHING: “LET THE CHURCH SAY AMEN”
Ecumenical cooperation is hampered by how little “mainline” Christians understand and appreciate storefront churches. “Let the Church Say Amen” is a powerful, uplifting portrait of a small storefront ministry in Washington, D.C.
Over the past century these congregations have sprung up in urban neighborhoods across the nation, born out of a desire to reach the poor where they live. First flourishing in African American communities, they are an increasingly important part of Hispanic neighborhoods and are moving into some suburban areas.
With the support of her mother and eleven siblings, the Rev. JoAnn Perkins founded World Missions for Christ Church. While living on welfare, Perkins earned at Ph.D. in Special Education at Georgetown University. She also watched her brother Bobby slip into drug addiction, then turn away from self-destruction when he joined her church, prompting JoAnn to turn her pastorate over to him.
“Let the Church Say Amen” draws a stark contrast between the secularized festivities of the annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House and the soulful celebration of the Resurrection in the nearby Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It also implicitly compares the gentility of mainline worship services with the fervent, demonstrative style of the storefronts.
We see at once the strength of this storefront ministry: its ability to turn lives around in a tiny congregation that manages to distribute free food and clothing, provide after-school tutoring, a book club, GED test preparation, computer training, and help for battered women. Their ministry with impoverished neighbors puts many tall-steeple congregations to shame.
The weakness we see in this storefront is that its pastor sometimes preaches pure nonsense. Pastor Bobby bears powerful witness to the power of God, but he also indulges in dangerous delusions. Saved addicts, he insists, are no longer addicts and need neither medical help to get clean nor self-help recovery groups to stay straight and sober. Most Christians who are battling addiction say it is a prescription for disaster.
Darlene, a mother of eight who has only a 6th grade education, wants to get off welfare by training to become a nurse’s assistant. David, whose substance abuse cost him his job, his children, and his home, now lives and works in a shelter for the homeless; working every odd job he can find and saving every penny, he hopes to reunite his family by buying a house. Singer and street evangelist “Brother C.” wants to reach out to youth by cutting a gospel music CD.
Remarkably, against all odds and with the support of their church, all three members make progress toward realizing their dreams. Even when gang violence takes the life of Brother C.’s oldest child, the congregation surrounds him with love that provides consolation in his grief and courage as he prods the police to seek his son’s killer.
“Let the Church Say Amen” airs on WNET/13 and most public television stations on Tuesday, March 29, at 10 p.m. as part of “Independent Lens,” but check your local listings for the public television station in your area. At a time when the gulf between “fundamentalists” and “progressives” is widening, and some “liberals” mislabel every expression of faith that disturbs them, from the Taliban to American militias as “fundamentalism,” this film shows us one fundamentalist church from the perspective of the congregation itself.
twg
Other TV Worth Watching in April on WLIW/21:
- “Tartan TV” — particularly for all of those who are at least a wee bit Scottish, on Saturdays, beginning April 2
- “Marion’s Triumph: Surviving History’s Nightmare” — how Hewlett resident Marion Blumenthal survived Nazi concentration camps, Wednesday, April 13, at 10 p.m.
- “The Hidden Life” — The Episcopalian Sisters of the Community of Saint Mary and their ministry with sick children in Queens, Wednesday, April 27, at 10 p.m.
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REFLECTION ON RACISM
In conjunction with the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Catholic Charities, and other organizations, the LICC is observing a year of repentance and reflection on racism.
Save this date: Friday, April 8, 9-5 an all-day workshop at St. Joseph's in Babylon on "Racial Sobriety" led by Fr. Clarence Williams. For more info, visit www.ifrfr.org.
RACIAL SOBRIETY
Racial Sobriety® is witnessing to ourselves and others that our thinking, feeling and acting reflects our commitment to seeing each person as a member of the same human family. Racial Sobriety requires a self awareness that examines our prejudices in regard to another's racial caste in society.
Date: April 8, 2005
Place: St Joseph’s Parish
39 North Carll Ave. Babylon
Time: 8:30am - 5:00pm
Fee for the Day: $10.00
Light Breakfast and Lunch Will Be Provided
Workshop Presenter: Fr. Clarence Williams, CPPS, PhD
Fr. Clarence Williams, CPPS, PhD presents lectures and workshops on the subject of racism to civic, educational and religious leaders throughout the United States, South America, Africa and Europe. In November of 1989, Fr. Williams produced a nation-wide satellite teleconference on racism involving more than 4,000 participants in 20 states and 44 cities. A second teleconference was produced in 1992 with 8,000 participants. In 1998, he received his doctorate in Education and Communications with emphasis in Global and Cultural Studies from the Union Institute and University. He is the author of two books, “Recovery from Everyday Racisms” (1999) and “Racial Sobriety: A journey from hurts to healing” (2002).
Directions:
Southern State Pkwy to Exit 39 South (Deer Park Ave.)
Make a left at the stop sign and a right at the light.
Stay in the right lane and take Deer Park Avenue South approximately 2 miles –
over Sunrise Highway – into Babylon Village.
Go under the LIRR overpass.
The second corner after the LIRR is Grove Place -
Make a right onto Grove Place.
The church is 1 ½ blocks on the left, corner of Grove Place & N. Carll Ave.
Sunrise Highway to Route 231 South to Montauk Highway West.
After the third traffic light make a right turn onto N. Carll Avenue.
Long Island Expressway to Exit 51
and go South on Route 231 and follow directions above.
Parking is in the back of the Church and across the street from the front entrance. The Church is handicapped accessible.
To register, send your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, parish, and town, and your ministry involvement to:
The Office of Family & Laity
P.O. Box 9023
Rockville Centre, NY 11571-9023
by April 1, 2005.
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We urge you to print these inserts in your worship bulletin or newsletter:
(Publish April 3rd)
Segregation: How Long Island Got This Way
"If those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it, then the first step to saving Long Island's handful of chronically-struggling school districts is to understand how they came to be this way. The shame of the suburbs must not continue.... The future of thousands of children and the local economy depend on it....To respond to this challenge, Long Islanders must comprehend how housing patterns, some the product of racist real estate practices, saddled the poorest and least influential communities with the most difficult and expensive students to educate. They must understand how state and local funding policies ...[leave] these districts with the highest residential tax rates but the least to spend in classrooms....They must realize how white middle-class flight was followed by black middle-class flight, making the districts progressively poorer. They must know how these districts were left with even less money to hire top educators who can earn more in less difficult conditions in districts nearby. The key to lifting the poorest performing schools and not letting others collapse is to recognize what went wrong."
Source: Newsday editorial, June 14, 2004
(Publish April 10th)
Long Island's Public Schools: Separate and Unequal
In 1968 the Kerner Commission Report on the causes of the urban race riots that had swept American cities issued this ominous warning: "Our nation is moving toward two societies, separate and unequal, one white, one black." Today, a half century after the Supreme Court ordered an end to segregated schools, Long Island has become two unequal societies, separated by race and class and ethnicity. For example, Wyandanch, a largely poor, black and Hispanic district, spends $16,000 per pupil, while Manhasset, an affluent, mostly white community, spends $22,000 per pupil. Meanwhile, Wyandanch has one the highest property tax rates on Long Island and Manhasset, until Nassau reassessed the entire County several years ago, had one of the lowest property tax rates. Part of the reason Manhasset has low property taxes and more money to spend per pupil is its "commercial tax receipts - money, for instance, from its 'Miracle Mile' shopping strip." Wyandanch's shortage of school funds is made worse by the fact that only $7,000 of the $16,000 per pupil expenditures goes directly for classroom instruction. Much of the rest is used to "deal with the problems poverty has imposed on the children. They must spend for remedial and social services, for instance, and to patch up deteriorating buildings." Wyandanch and Manhasset - separate and unequal.
Source: Newsday editorial, June 16, 2004
(Publish April 17th)
Separate Schools....Suffering Children
Generations of immigrants used the public schools to lift themselves out of poverty. This was especially true a century ago when a person with a high school education could find a decent job and a path into the middle class. In today's high tech economy, especially here in the New York Metropolitan Area, a college degree is virtually a pre-requisite for entry into the middle class. So the stakes are higher than ever for children in Long Island's schools. And here, the differences in the expenditures per child in our segregated schools are striking. For example, the $22,000 spent in Manhasset educating each student can support a median teacher's salary of $76,500 a year. A typical Manhasset 10th grade English class has only 15 students. The $16,000 per pupil expenditures in Wyandanch can support a median teacher's salary of only $53,000 a year. A typical Wyandanch 10th grade English class has 29 students. These differences are stark when college placements are compared: 83 percent of Manhasset graduates compared with only 48 percent of Wyandanch graduates went on to 4 year colleges. One depressing result of poor educational resources for Wyandanch and other segregated schools is high teacher turnover. "Most teachers don't want to work for less pay, in more crowded classes and rundown buildings.... The stress of teaching under tough conditions increases the burnout rate." So, as dedicated teachers leave, as classes grow more crowded, as the special needs of poor children go unmet, as dropout rates rise and standardized test scores fall, public schools are not the path into the middle class they were 100 years ago. And Long Island children, stuck in poor, segregated schools, are too often stuck in poverty.
Source: Newsday editorial, June 22, 2004; New York State Department of Education Comprehensive Assessment Reports for Manhasset and Wyandanch, 2003
(Publish April 24th)
Separate and Unequal Health Care
"Families that live in racially and economically segregated areas face multiple, mutually reinforcing barriers to achieving health, stability and advancement." This conclusion in the 2002 report, Racism and the Opportunity Divide on Long Island, comes sharply into focus when health care is examined. For example, Long Island probably reflects the national picture in which 10 percent of whites have no health insurance compared with 19 percent of blacks and 33 percent of Hispanics who are uninsured. Due to the large number of blacks who are poor or without health insurance, or lacking access to decent health care, Newsday found significantly higher numbers of Long Island blacks, compared with whites, who died from heart disease, cancer, strokes, pneumonia/influenza, diabetes and kidney disease. The infant mortality rate for black children in Nassau and Suffolk Counties averaged 234.5 percent higher than for white children. A 2001 Nassau County Community Health Assessment found more low-birth weights and less prenatal care in black and Hispanic communities than in white communities. And, while the health of blacks and Hispanics can affect whites, as well as the economic health of Long Island, Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee of NYIT sadly concluded, "The general population does not perceive the problems of minority health status to be significant." Blacks and Hispanics are again out of sight, out of mind and therefore sicker than whites.
Sources: Racism and the Opportunity Divide on Long Island prepared for ERASE Racism by John Powell of the Institute on Race and Poverty, 2002; A Difference of Life and Death special report on "The Racial Health Divide," Newsday, November 29, 1998; For the Good of All by Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee, Newsday, November 30, 2003; Nassau County Community Health Assessment 2001, Nassau County Department of Health
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AN INVITATION TO HEAR BILL HYBELS OF WILLOW CREEK CHURCH
You are cordially invited to be part of a special meeting with Bill Hybels on April 7. Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Church, Founder of the Willow Creek Association and author of numerous books including "Courageous Leadership," Bill Hybels has given leadership to a movement that has produced tremendous church growth results. The purpose of these meetings is to look toward the future and hosting a Leadership Summit this summer in several Greater New York locations. Cutting edge leadership training from some of the most renowned leaders and from a spectrum of disciplines are featured at each Leadership Summit. This year's event, marking the 10th anniversary for the Summit, will include Rick Warren, Kenneth Ulmer, John Maxwell, Ken Blanchard, Jack Groppel, Henry Cloud and Mosa Sono of South Africa. This three-day event will bring the convergence of 100 cities and 50,000 leaders from across the nation through the latest broadcast technologies. If there is sufficient interest shown from Long Island, an additional Long Island location will be added in 2006. More information about the Leadership Summit can be obtained by visiting online at: www.willowcreek.org.
A brunch meeting is planned for April 7th at 11:00am in Brooklyn. Your RSVP is required. Please contact Peggy Tseng at ptseng@copgny.org or 718-721-2626 ext 16.
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CHURCH WORLD SERVICE Disaster Response Event
Saturday, April 9, 9:30 a.m. - 1:30 pm
Presbyterian Church of Sweet Hollow in Melville
This informative event is for all congregations, community leaders and individuals who wish to know more about Church World Service emergency responses in the Continental U.S. and overseas.
Representatives of Church World Service Emergency Response Program Staff from New York and Washington D.C. Offices will be present to share news from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and more. Come and learn more about the projects that your congregation supports (or can support), and celebrate the good work that is being done! To register call 888-297-2767.
Directions to the Presbyterian Church of Sweet Hollow:
From the Long Island Expressway
Take the LIE ($95) to Exit 49 North (Route 110).
Go north one mile to Old Country Road.
Turn left onto Old Country Road and go west ¾ mile.
The church is on the right.
From the Northern State Parkway
Take the Northern State to Exit 40 South (Route 110).
Go south 1/8 mile to Old Country Road.
Turn right onto Old Country Road and go west ¾ mile.
The church is on the right.
From the Long Island Railroad:
Take the Port Jefferson line to Huntington Station.
Taxis are available at the station.
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BOOK DISCUSSION SERIES
“God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It”
by Jim Wallis
April 3, 10 and 17 from 4:00-5:30 pm
at First Presbyterian Church,
717 St. Luke’s Place, Baldwin
Pastor Mark F. Greiner, 516-223-2112, Baldwinchurch@netzero.net
Directions:
Take the Southern State Parkway to exit 20S (Grand Avenue) and go south 2 miles.
Turn right on St. Luke’s Place.
Park in the municipal lot on the right.
The church is on the next corner.
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"PERSPECTIVES ON FREEDOM"
Interfaith Breakfast Celebrating Religious Freedom and Pluralism
Where: Holocaust Education Center at Suffolk Community College Selden Campus
When: April 15, from 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
What: Religious leaders representing the Catholic, Islamic, Jewish, Protestant and other faith communities will join together to share their perspectives on religious freedom in America, as well as share narratives from their respective scriptures on this theme. Student representatives from an area college will speak about their experiences advocating for religious understanding and respect on the campus. In addition, the first annual “Promoting Harmony & Respect Awards” will be given to an outstanding educator and a student leader who have made contributions in this area. The new SCC Holocaust Education Center will be open for tours and will bridge the lessons of the past to the present. This gathering will also launch the Holocaust Center’s Student Advisory Board. Resource materials on teaching religious and ethnic diversity and tolerance will be provided. Park in lot 3J.
RSVP: Steve, 631-451-4700 or chdhu@sunysuffolk.edu
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“Colorful Christian Values: Red, Blue, or Purple?”
The Presbytery of Long Island invites one and all to “Colorful Christian Values: Red, Blue, or Purple? What does it mean to be a Christian in America today?” on Saturday, April 16, at First Presbyterian Church in Levittown.
The Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr., Senior Pastor of the Riverside Church in New York City, is giving the keynote address.
The conference will look at ideas such as:
- What does it mean to be the light of the world in a multicultural, secular world?
- How are we to be open and inclusive without losing boundaries, values and faith?
- Can we learn to live in detente with differences in Biblical interpretation and polity?
- What do we have in common as disciples of Christ?
- Can Christians really respect an alliance with people of other faiths and still be true to Christ?
The conference is Saturday, April 16, from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm. Lunch will be available for a donation of $6. To make reservations, please call 516-731-3808 or email levitfpc@optonline.net with the names of those in your party and whether you want lunch.
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WHY CHILDREN DON'T LEARN MUCH IN SUNDAY SCHOOL
--AND HOW TO FIX IT
Saturday, May 7, 9:00-3:00,
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 22 East 18th Street, Huntington Station
Keynote Speaker: Barbara Bruce, an educator with a passion for learning about learning. She is a nationally known speaker, author and curriculum writer. Barbara has a BS in education and an MS in Creative Studies. She has written seven books to help church school teachers spread God’s Word. She is a freelance consultant for churches across the country. She is a clergy spouse, proud grandmother of two little ones and is owned by a cat. Her website is www.bbruce.com.
Workshops:
- Many Ways of Knowing - Multiple Intelligences and Your Classroom
- Creativity & the Learning Brain
- Activity & Craft Displays
- Curriculum displays with Publisher representatives for Q & A
To get more information or to sign up for this workshop, churches in Suffolk County should call the Parish Resource Center, East at 631-821-2255. Churches in Nassau or New York City call The Parish Resource Center, West at 516-285-0919.
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Community of Faith Task Force on Domestic Violence
“Celebrating Survivors Luncheon” - May 9
The Community of Faith Task Force on Domestic Violence is “… a Task Force of faith communities and domestic violence agencies that have come together to understand and address religious and ethnic concerns regarding Domestic Violence.” On Monday, May 9, COFADV is “Celebrating Survivors” at the Huntington Town House from noon till 3 P.M. Our key note speaker will be Sr. Marguerite Torre of the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation, which seeks “to end the cycle of violence and save lives.” The cost of the luncheon is $35, $40 at the door. A table of 10 is $300. To make this luncheon affordable for some survivors, COFADV we are also asking you to consider donating the price of admission for one or more survivors so that we can invite those who are unable to attend due to cost. For further information, email COFTFDV@aol.com or call 631-499-1680 (Chris) or 631-427-6526 (Fran).
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DID YOU KNOW?
- Newsday has resumed its Houses of Worship advertising section in its “Faith” pages (Part II on Saturdays). For further information, contact Peggy Stein at 631- 843-3158 or peggy.stein@newsday.com. The LICC is establishing its own policies for advertising in this newsletter. See details below!
- The LICC and the LI Board of Rabbis recently held a first-ever interfaith sermon preparation seminar at Temple Chevarim in Plainview, with Rabbi Mark Greenspan and Pastor Jerome Taylor sharing how they approach the Scripture texts for Passover and Holy Week.
- Our Executive Director has just published an essay in the British science journal “Endeavour” on the religious life of the pioneer fossil hunter Mary Anning. “Mary Anning: The Fossilist As Exegete,” which is available online at ScienceDirect, examines two Anning manuscripts that have previously not been analyzed. Goodhue has published two biographies of Anning, the first ever written about this woman who started the world’s first prehistoric monster craze. “Curious Bones: Mary Anning and the Birth of Paleontology” was published in 2002 by Morgan Reynolds and named one of the best books for the Teenage Years by the New York Public Library. ‘Fossil Hunter: The Life and Times of Mary Anning, 1799-1847” was published last year by Academica Press.
- The Orthodox Church in America [OCA] unveiled its redesigned and expanded web site, www.oca.org, on March 2. The site features thousands of pages of information on Orthodox Christian Scripture, doctrine, worship, history, and spirituality; a wealth of educational and ministry resources; a popular question and answer service; extensive photo galleries; daily liturgical texts, commemorations, and music; and directories of the OCA's hierarchs, clergy, parishes, and institutions.
- Several denominations have announced the end of their three-year consumer boycott of Taco Bell. In a joint statement, Taco Bell and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which had called the boycott and enlisted the support of many religious groups, confirmed their agreement to work together to address the wages and working conditions of farm workers in the Florida tomato industry.
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COMING CHANGES TO THIS NEWSLETTER:
FORMAT & ADVERTISING:
To help support the community service efforts of LICC, this monthly newsletter and the weekly email newsletter will soon begin accepting paid advertising...both sponsorship ads, display ads and simple listings (classifieds).
Format, policies and prices will be established over the course of the next month.
Advertising will begin being accepted:
- - for the May printed newsletter, with a March 30th deadline.
- - for email newsletters starting with the first email newsletter in May, with an April 18 deadline.
If you would like to advertise or can suggest a business or organization that might like to advertise or sponsor to help support our services to Long Islanders in need, please contact Steve Hosmer at 516-565-0290. More information will be released in upcoming newsletters.
Would you like to receive the weekly email newsletters if you are not already receiving them? If so, send a request to LICCHEMP@aol.com and put email Newsletter in the subject.
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NEEDED/OFFERED
Needed:
- Our Riverhead Food Pantry (407 Osborn at Lincoln, opposite the Polish American Civic Association) is running low on nearly everything besides rice, soup, and stew, so nonperishable food of all kinds would be most welcome. It has been really difficult to keep up with the need for emergency food lately. We also need Styrofoam egg cartons to repack flats of eggs provided periodically by Liz Wines from First Parish Church (UCC) in Jamesport. You can recycle the cardboard cartons in most communities but not the Styrofoam ones. Could you bring your empties to our Pantry or any LICC meeting? They also could use additional donations of day-old bread. We also need a small desk and low room dividers.
- Our Emergency Food Center at 404 Peninsula in Hempstead particularly needs cereal, tuna, canned fruit, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, jelly, and juice. They also are seeking a few tables for sorting donations and someone who might be able to repair doors. If you can help with any of these, please call Hugh Watts at 515-486-2272 or Alric Kennedy at 516-565-0290, ext. 204.
Offered:
- Copier and a Communion Set:
- Sweet Hollow Presbyterian Church has a Canon N6221i copier to give away. It will do double sided copies, but you have to print one side and then re-feed them through. It is a black and white copier and still works well. They did perhaps 1000-2000 copies a month on it, but have upgraded recently. They also we have a communion set of four plates and four holders of the little cups that they would like to donate to a church in need. Contact the Rev. Rebecca Seegers at rebelyn@optonline.net.
- Motorized Wheel-Chair:
- St. James United Methodist Church has a motorized wheel chair, almost new, to give to anyone who needs one but can't afford it. Call at 631-584-5340.
- Free Home Repairs & Modifications for Handicap Accessibility:
- Rebuilding Together, Long Island provides free repairs and home modifications to eligible homeowners living in Nassau and Suffolk County. Eligibility is based on income level. Services are provided by skilled volunteers and include all minor repairs as well as modifications to the house that will improve access for the handicapped such as wheelchair ramps, widened doorways, and grab bars. Referrals, contributions, and volunteers are welcome. All contributions are tax deductible. For further information, call 516-541-7322 or 516-741-5291. E-mail cialione@aol.com
- Kidney Disease Screening:
- Memorial Presbyterian Church in Roosevelt, Long Island and the National Kidney Foundation of Greater New York recently organized a medical screening in which 75% of participants learned they might have kidney disease. The screening included blood and urine testing as well as height, weight and blood pressure calculations. Because of the outcome of the screening, the leaders of Memorial Presbyterian Church will be holding another screening on February 25, and are also seeking to educate other church leaders about the risk factors of kidney disease. Kidney disease impacts one in nine Americans. 2 million New Yorkers have chronic kidney disease and an additional 2 million New Yorkers are at increased risk for developing kidney disease…but most don’t even know it. Anyone interested in attending this free screening at Memorial Presbyterian Church, or looking to obtain more information for their parishioners, should call the National Kidney Foundation of Greater New York at 800-622-9010.
- Interfaith Drama:
- Molloy College’s Center for Christian & Jewish Studies is presenting a free performance of Sal St. George’s play “The Melting Pot—Immigrant Women” on Sunday April 10 at 3 p.m. and Monday, April 4, at 3:30. Call 516-678-5000, ext. 6880 for information.
- Space for an Early Childhood Education Program:
- St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Sea Cliff has up to five classrooms available that conform to village and county codes for partial-day programs. For further information, call 516-676-4222 between 9 and 3, Tuesday through Friday, or email jluttrel@optonline.net.
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GUEST PREACHERS
- Our Executive Director, the Rev. Tom Goodhue, is available some Sundays this summer for guest preaching. You can reach him at tomgoodhue@optonline.net or 516-565-0290, ext. 206.
- Alric Kennedy also does some guest speaking and preaching.
- The Rev. Lillian Frier Webb, an African Methodist Episcopal clergywoman, therapist, and LICC chaplain, is available occasionally for guest-preaching and would be glad to tell congregations about our Women at the Well project that seeks to avoid incarceration. You can reach her at 516-764-8728.
- The Rev. Nancy Schaffer, another of our chaplains, is not available on Sundays but would be glad to speak to church groups at other times about Women at the Well. She can be reached at 631-586-9667.
- The Rev. Dick Ploth, a member of the LICC Board and the Presbytery of Long Island, is available for guest-preaching, supply-preaching, and interim pastorates. You can reach him at 631-734-2587 or lyndik@optonline.net.
- Dr. Eugene Purvis, a Conference Evangelist for the AME Zion Church and a member of our Public Issues Committee, is available for guest preaching. He can be reached at 516-623-0716.
- The Rev. Alan Bentz-Letts, an ordained Lutheran (ELCA) clergyman and campus minister is available for guest preaching, supply preaching, and part-time interim pastorates in Queens, Nassau, and Western Suffolk. Call 718-380-7234 or email alanbentzletts@aol.com.
- Sue Terry, a graduate of New Brunswick Seminary who is a licensed preacher in the United Church of Christ and who is authorized to serve communion in Suffolk, is available for guest-preaching, supply preaching, and interim pastorates. You can reach her at gterrys@aol.com or 631-751-1170.
- Jesse Glick and Kathy Burton from Church World Service, our partners in disaster response, would be glad to preach or speak about the work of CWS. Call 888—297-2767 or email jglick@churchworldservice.org.
- Tom Lyons, a member of Mt. Sinai Congregational Church (UCC) who is active in the Heifer Project, would be happy to speak or preach in local churches. He can be contacted a 631-928-4317 or lyonheifer@aol.com.
- Ed Eckart, founder and director of World Mission Crafts, is available to speak about fair trade for developing countries and his work with impoverished artisans in Asia, Africa, Central America, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. He can be reached at 631-289-3880 or edbfp@optonline.net or by fax at 631-363-3197.
- The Rev. Randall Broger, a member of the Presbytery of Long Island who trained in interim ministry at Princeton Seminary, is available for guest preaching, supply preaching, and interim pastorates. You can reach him at randallb1@usa.net or 631-589-2923.
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JOB OPENINGS
- Chaplain:
- The LICC has an opening for a part-time chaplain at the Nassau County Correctional Center. A Master’s Degree of Divinity and some Clinical Pastoral Education credits (or the equivalent) are required. Mail resumes to Tom Goodhue at LICC, 1644 Denton Green, Hempstead, NY 11550 or fax to 516-565-0291 or email licchemp@aol.com.
- ORGANIST/CHOIR DIRECTOR:
- Congregational United Church of Christ in Farmingville is seeking an organist/choir director. They have an electronic Conn organ. Salary is negotiable. Call 631-981-2343 for further information.
- Church Secretary:
- Three days a week, four hours at day at Hillside United Methodist Church in New Hyde Park. The position will be open June 1, 2005. Please send resume and salary and other requirements to: Rev. Dr. John H. Hill, 12 Heywood Street, New Hyde Park, NY 11040
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MEDICAL RESOURCES: PARISH NURSES
One ministry that has been launched in a number of churches is that of the Parish Nurse who visits homebound members and others such as families with newborn babies. If you would like to learn more about how this works, here are some people you might contact:
Parish and Visiting Nurse to visit homebound members or offer other services
Thomas Smoot
St Paul’s United Methodist
288 Main St., Northport
631-261-0804
Christine Harvey
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
800 Portion Rd., Lake Ronkonkoma
631-737-4416
Loretta Stelter
St. Patrick’s Church
630 New York Ave., Huntington
631-673-5378
Francine Jennings
St. Dominic’s Church
93 Anstice St., Oyster Bay
516-922-4488
Madeline Swarckof
St. Vincent De Paul
1346 Broadway, Hewlett.
516-569-0834
Sister Kathleen McCarthy
St. Ignatius Loyola
20 East Cherry St., Hicksville
516-935-8841
Sister Patricia Turley, CSJ
Sacred Heart Church
720 Merrick Ave., North Merrick
516-379-1356
Rev. Larry Duncklee
St. Luke's Church
266 Wicks Rd., Brentwood
631-273-1110
Pastor Marianne Tomacek
St. David's Lutheran Church
20 Clark Blvd., Massapequa Park
516-799-7832
Pauline Winterbottom
North Fork Parish Out reach
PO Box 1756/260 Horton’s Lane, Southold
631-765-4037
Rev. Christopher David
St. Mark’s Episcopal
PO Box 887/Main St. & Potonk, Westhampton Beach
631-288-2111
Sis. Mary Seton, CSW
Our Lady of Mercy
500 S. Oyster Bay Road, Hicksville
516-931-1306
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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
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