TABLE OF CONTENTS
From the Executive Director:
FIGHTING THE WRONG BATTLE
Military historians have often observed that French generals sealed their doom at the outbreak of World War II by having planned to fight a war just like World War I. France built a fortified “Maginot Line” across its border with Germany—only to see Panzer tanks sweep around it from the north.
In much the same way, our elected leaders sometimes re-fight old political battles rather than plan realistically for the future. Many years ago, the Long Island Council of Churches identified the lack of affordable housing as the biggest problem facing our region, second only to lack of universal health coverage in the toll that it takes on our families and our neighbors. Catholic Charities, the Long Island Association, and many other organizations have reached the same conclusion. We’ve all seen young people leave the Island because of our housing crisis, employers unable to recruit and retain skilled workers, and working people reduced to poverty because they cannot find a decent place to live at a reasonable price. The public now identifies this crisis as their greatest concern about the future of our region, and some politicians, at least, have gotten the message.
This crisis has not, however, penetrated very deeply into the consciousness of many leaders at the neighborhood level of decision-making in our Balkanized local government. Okay, that metaphor is unfair to the Balkans—our maze of sewer districts, zoning boards, huge townships, and miniscule school systems would drive Serbs, Croats, and Albanians nuts. With rare, happy exceptions such as Bay Shore, school boards across the Island often oppose any housing construction that might bring parents and school-age children into their district: they fear being swamped with young adults, even though the Census found that the number of young adults in Nassau and Suffolk declined by 128,000 between 1990 and 2000. What’s worse, from 2000 to 2004 the loss of 25-to-44-year-olds accelerated, the birth rate on Long Island fell dramatically, and the number of children under six years old has now declined. Unless parents can find apartments and houses, the school age population will soon plummet.
Many churches report that they are already losing members and potential members because they cannot afford to live in our communities. Some have fewer children in their nursery schools than there were last year. At least one congregation I know recently closed its weekday nursery school for lack of kids—while the community continues to oppose the construction of “Next Generation” housing.
This “birth dearth” has serious implications for congregations that have provided early childhood education as a way to serve their neighborhoods, draw in new families, and pay for the upkeep of the classrooms that otherwise would be used only a few hours a week . If you operate or are thinking of operating a day care center, you would be wise to consider intergenerational care for both frail elderly and tiny tots—as Paul Arfin helped Bellport United Methodist Church create a few years ago. And if we do not find new ways to be in mission together, churches and synagogues across the Island will close. The LICC’s Eastern Area Steering Committee is exploring something like this as a theme for our Annual Convocation in 2007: how can struggling congregations work together more effectively to survive and thrive in a time of demographic change and economic challenges.
School boards, also, need to read the writing on the wall: those that have blocked affordable/workforce/next-generation housing should be planning to close schools and lay off teachers.
In some communities, of course, schools are already overcrowded, but building a few affordable homes is unlikely to overwhelm teachers. Some of the opposition to housing development comes from the appalling inequities in school funding in this state—a problem that the LICC has begun to address. And sometimes a proposed development of McMansions does not make sense in a particular location, if anywhere. If ordinary folks cannot afford to live within miles of these lavish homes, though, how can there be an expectation of finding anyone to mow the lawn, educate the children, or fix the plumbing? We need local officials who will shepherd “smart growth” that preserves open space while creating the housing we need, with decent schools and thriving centers for our towns and villages. We need representatives who will prepare us for the future, not cower in fear.
Shalom/Salaam/Shanti/Pax,
Tom
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A WORD OR TWO OF THANKS
Sara Weiss, Director of Development
Special thanks to an anonymous donor who gave $15,000 to help us overcome the decrease in donations that resulted from Hurricane Katrina. We are very grateful that this donor came to our rescue. We also extend a special thanks to the Nassau County Bar Association for its generous gift of $15,000 mentioned in our last newsletter. We thought we should mention it again because of its importance to our emergency food program.
We also thank the following for their generous support and are grateful for the blessings these gifts bestow upon our needy clients:
| Episcopal Diocese of Long Island | $5,000 social services, general operating |
| Wells Fargo Foundation | $5,000 predatory lending prevention |
| Garden City Community Church | $2,000 emergency food, general operating |
| United Way of Long Island | $1,491 monthly allocation |
| Presbytery of Long Island | $1,163 general operating |
| Old Steeple Church, Aquebogue | $1,100 where most needed. |
| Community Church of East Williston | $1,000 emergency food, general operating |
| Massapequa Reformed Church | $1,000 where most needed |
| Church of Our Saviour (ELCA) Manhasset | $750 where most needed |
| Oyster Bay High School PTSA | $500 Multi-Faith Forum |
| Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Shelter Rock | $500 emergency food |
Although we publish only the names of institutions donating $500 or more, we also thank the many institutions that gave less and to the many individuals who made contributions in December. All of you are essential to us in sustaining our ministry to serve Long Islanders in need.
Most Urgent Need
Transportation is another chronic and continuing need for our clients. Here are some examples of the people we help. One of our clients lives in a homeless shelter. Although he works part-time, he needed clothes and shoes for the cold weather, but the only place we could refer him to was located several miles from the shelter. Because he does not have steady work and does not own a car, he needed our help with transportation so he could pick up the clothes and shoes.
A mentally ill woman goes to the Nassau University Medical Center for medication and counseling. If she misses her appointment, she will be denied both her medication and counseling for that month, so we help her every month with transportation to get to the hospital.
A single mother with two young children needed to take documentation to the Nassau County Department of Social Services (now called Health & Human Services) so she and her family could qualify to receive our emergency food and social service assistance. Although she has been seeking employment for several weeks, she ran out of money and came to us for help with transportation so she could get to DSS and our food pantry.
You can now contribute to the Long Island Council of Churches using your Visa or MasterCard. Please call the Hempstead office at 516-565-0290 and our staff will assist you.
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Bulletin insert:
ADVOCACY FOR THE POOR
We serve all of Long Island, a region noted for enormous economic and social contrasts. Among the wealthiest suburban regions in the nation, Long Island is also America’s most segregated. Our advocacy for the poor works to eliminate these economic and racial disparities.
We advocate for a wide range of social issues including affordable housing, adequate health care access, the environment, social, racial and gender equality, anti-poverty and anti-bias programs, prison reform, substance abuse and domestic violence programs. Through our Multi-Faith Forum’s educational programs that promote religious tolerance, we have created an extensive network of advocates from diverse religious, cultural and ethnic groups to help combat the region’s segregation and dismantle the barriers of race, ethnicity and religion.
Through organizing for advocacy, we hope to move from education to democracy in action, organizing the people and the agencies that work with those most affected by the issues, in the communities where they live, in collaboration with the individuals and institutions that have the poor to remove barriers and to implement social change.
If you can contribute to our advocacy programs, would like to join our advocacy efforts, and/or would like to receive our monthly newsletter, please contact us at 516-565-0290, e-mail us at: licc@optonline.net or contact us at:
Long Island Council of Churches
1644 Denton Green
Hempstead, NY 11550
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“FAITH & POLITICS” - LICC CONVOCATION APRIL 1 (NO FOOLING)
The Rev. Dr. Robert W. Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, will speak on Saturday, April 1, 2006 at the Long Island Council of Churches’ annual Convocation at 1st Baptist Church in Riverhead. His theme will be “Faith & Politics,” a timely topic for people of faith in an election year!
Faith communities face many challenges in discerning how to practice their beliefs in public life. Should preachers address partisan politics? Should those running for office be invited to speak in sanctuaries? How can we prevent our values and beliefs from being hijacked by someone’s political agenda? How can we hold politicians accountable once they are elected? As a United Methodist clergyman, a former Congressman and president of Claremont School of Theology, and now the leader of the nation’s largest ecumenical organization, Bob Edgar is uniquely qualified to help us reflect on these issues.
The Convocation will be from 9 a.m. to noon at the First Baptist Church of Riverhead, which is located at 1018 Northville Turnpike, a little north of Old Country Road. All are welcome! A donation of $10 is requested for this event. You are invited to bring “Gift of the Heart” disaster response kits for Church World Service, the NCC’s partner in relief and development efforts across the country and around the world. Directions for assembling these kits can be found at www.churchworldservice.org or requested from 1-800-CWS-CROP. You also are encouraged to bring non-perishable food for the LICC’s emergency food pantry in Riverhead and/or perishable food for the Open Arms Soup Kitchen in Riverhead.
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IDEAS YOU CAN USE
- Embodying the Golden Rule:
- The Huntington Clergy Association recently found a great way to demonstrate that while each religion is unique, they have much in common. Representatives of various congregations read versions of “The Golden Rule” from Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Confucian, Hindu, Muslim, Jain, Jewish, Native American, Sikh, Taoist, and Zorastrian sources. These have been compiled by the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding in Manhattan and can be found at www.tanenbaum.org/resources/golden_rule.aspx. The Huntington clergy achieved some rare moments of grace, such as the reading of the Quran by a local rabbi.
- Multi-Faith Prayer:
- The Nassau County Executive’s office recently asked how they might represent the diversity of faiths in our region without either taking two hours to parade a host of clerics across the stage or doing injustice to the distinctiveness of our diverse traditions.
This is, to say the least, a bit tricky. When asked how to best do interfaith prayer, I sometime reply, only partly in jest, “Don’t.” We do not all venerate the same Scriptures or pray the same way, and any attempt to water-down our beliefs to the lowest common denominator or to deny our differences is likely to offend many people, me included.
There are, however, some sacred texts that are widely read and a few prayers that are used by widely varied faith communities. At a recent meeting of the LICC’s Public Issues Committee, and at the January 16 “day of reflection” on race relations that the LICC co-sponsored, along with the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Catholic Charities, the Multi-Faith Forum, and many other organizations, we began with the reading of a verse from the prophet Micah--“This the Lord asks of you, only this, that you do justice, and love mercy, and walk humbly with your God”--a scripture verse shared by Jews, Christians, and Unitarian Universalists (and I think also by Muslims)--and a Hindu prayer that is also used by Jains, Christians, Sikhs, Brahma Kumaris in India, and maybe also by Buddhists (and a Bahai friend tells me that there are parallels within their writings):
"O Lord, guide us from untruth to truth,
from darkness to light, and from death to eternal life.
O Lord, protect us all from evil,
make us brave in difficult times,
make us loving, tolerant, and generous."
- Scout Sunday/Sabbath:
- Scouting often brings youths together across denominational differences and has given many Scouts (and adult Scout leaders) their first experience of ecumenical worship. Many congregations observe a Scout Sunday/Sabbath, often during the second weekend in February (traditionally used to celebrate Boy Scouts) or the second weekend in March (traditionally used to celebrate Girl Scouts), though these dates are nowhere carved in stone. While many clergy invite Scouts to lead part of the worship service that day, wouldn’t it be better to incorporate into our worship things we have learned from Scouting and our prayers for those who are engaged in it? Here area few ideas you might try:
- Invite all Scouts, leaders, and former Scouts to stand briefly and then offer a prayer of thanksgiving for all that these people have learned, and given, through Scouting.
- Pray for those engaged in Eagle projects or other service to the community.
- Tell a story that celebrates Scouts. You can find my story about Juliette Low, founder of the Girl Scouts, and the story of how the Scouts of Le Chambon helped refugees escape during the Holocaust in my story collection Sharing the Good News with Children (St. Anthony Messenger Press).
- Ask Scouts to host Coffee Hour (maybe working on that cooking merit badge at the same time), to show off their projects after worship, and to tell kids and parents how to join a local Scout, Cub, or Brownie group.
- Ask the Scouts to recite the Scout Law and then use this to call the congregation to reflection and confession, since none of us manages to always be Friendly, Courteous, Kind, etc.
- Invite Scouts to sing an appropriate offertory from their repertoire of songs.
- Sing hymns that celebrate all that Scouting teaches about loving and caring for the earth. Some I remember from my camp-out days are “All Creatures of Our God and King,” “For the Beauty of the Earth,” “How Great Thou Art,” and “This Is My Song”—the last of which embodies the best Scouting tradition that we should both love our own country and respect others.
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WORTH WATCHING: “Bonhoeffer” & “The End of the Spear”
“Bonhoeffer”
Martin Doblmeier’s critically acclaimed documentary film “Bonhoeffer” will be broadcast on WNET/13 and most public television stations on Monday, Feb. 6, at 10 p.m.
The PBS premiere coincides with the 100th anniversary of this courageous theologian who remains a hero to both evangelical and progressive Christians.
Doblmeier has a rare talent for probing the major religious events of our time and has produced excellent documentaries about Vatican II, Cardinal Bernadin, the Taize Community, and many other topics. In this film he tells how Dietrich Bonhoeffer challenged his church to stand with Jews and others who were being persecuted by the Nazis, how he joined the German resistance movement, how he plotted to kill Hitler, and ultimately paid for his courage with his life at age 39. The Nazis executed him during the final weeks of World War II, but his brief life continues to have an enormous impact on Christian theology and ethics.
Doblemeier pays particular attention to his formative years at Union Theological Seminary in New York and the way in which the faith and fervent worship he experienced at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem profoundly influenced Bonhoeffer’s spiritual journey, showing him both the consequences of the racism and the possibility that the church might be God’s agent for social change.
--TWG—-
Auburn Theological Seminary is hosting a screening and discussion of “Bonhoeffer”
Open to the public at no cost
Auburn Seminary
3041 Broadway, New York, NY 10027
Thursday, February, 2, 2006, 7:00PM
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The life of martyred Christian leader Dietrich Bonhoeffer is brilliantly captured in Martin Doblmeier's film. Join us for a screening and discussion with the director.
Co-sponsored by NYU Center for Religion and Media, Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University Center for the Study of Science and Religion, and the Hartley Film Foundation
"a touching narrative on the nature of faith...fascinating" - The New York Times
For additional information, please contact: Jenna Tiitsman, 212-662-4315. To RSVP, email cjm@auburnsem.org.
“The End of the Spear”
The step-daughter of LICC Board President Pamela Spence Bakker plays Rachel Saint in this new film about the missionaries who went to Ecuador in the 50's and risked their lives to make contact with the Waodani tribe. Pam reports that, “It's a true story, written by Elizabeth Elliot, the wife of one of the missionaries. The movie was good, the story was great and the Waodani warrior who had killed the missionary Nate Saint (Rachel Saint's brother) was at the premiere in Manhattan with her son. A powerful story of conversion and forgiveness--I highly recommend it.”
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WORTH QUOTING
Welcoming People of All Sexual Orientations
“A church must be careful to recognize that we are human vessels through which God’s grace is channeled, and it is our responsibility not to be an obstacle to the flow of God’s amazing grace to God’s people. When the words of Amazing Grace were written, it was in response to the transformation in the life of a man who had experienced profoundly God’s grace in the midst of a system of oppression and degradation. It is my hope that as a church we too will be open to the power of God’s grace to transform lives. For if ever there is a place for God’s grace to flow fully, the church must be that place.”
--the Rev. Allen Pinckney, Jr., United Methodist District Superintendent,
“Long Island East District Connector” December 2005
Being Ashamed of Peace
“Peace is a central teaching of every religion but we often seem ashamed of it.”
--Rabbi Ronnel Lubith, “Voices of Peace from the Holy Land”
Temple Beth El, Great Neck, December 6, 2005
Paying a Living Wage
“It is but equity . . . that they who feed, clothe, and lodge the whole body of people should have such a share of the produce of their own labor as to be themselves tolerably well fed, clothed, and lodged.”
--Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (1776)
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BEWARE TAX REFUND LOANS!
Tax refund anticipation loans are short-term, high-cost loans that are being made by many unscrupulous lenders to those who are waiting to receive tax refunds. Taxpayers generally pay $100 to $250 in fees to borrow a modest amount of money for a very short period of time: If you pay $215 to borrow $2,000 for only a few weeks, you may be paying an annual interest rate of 628%. Tax preparers often partner with out-of-state banks to evade New York’s usury laws and charge interest rates of 70% to 700%. Like those now-notorious “payday” loans, these refund anticipation loans are overwhelmingly aimed at low and moderate-income taxpayers, most of whom could get their full refunds quickly, in 7 to 10 days, from several hundred free tax preparation sites throughout New York State.
The LICC offers seminars to help people avoid being exploited by loan sharks, check-cashing places, and deceptive lenders. We want to help local congregations confront exploitation and encourage parishioners to be good stewards of their financial resources. Would you like us to do an educational program for your congregation, senior center, or community organization? Or you might focus on a particular segment of your congregation—such as your youth group or seniors fellowship. Our presentations usually run an hour to 90 minutes, and we will tailor it to the needs of your audience. We will arrange speakers, educational materials, and other freebies. Thanks to grants from Astoria Federal Savings, Bank of America, Bank of New York, Citibank, Dime Savings Bank (Washington Mutual), Greenpoint Bank Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, we can provide this program without charge. All you need to supply is the location and refreshments. If you would like to have such a seminar, call 516-565-0290, ext. 206, fax 516-565-0291, or e-mail licchemp@aol.com.
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From the Long Island Multi-Faith Forum:
A BUDDHIST TELLS HOW HER TRADITION HELPS TO KEEP HER SANE
Arvind Vora, the Chairperson of the Long Island Multi-Faith Forum, has encouraged members of the Forum to reflect on how their faith helps to keep them sane in a world that often seems fearful, unbalanced, and crazy. Would you like to share your thoughts on this with our readers? Next month, the LICC’s Director of Development, Sara Weiss, who has helped to raise money for the Forum, will offer a Jewish perspective. Here Suzanne Stein, describes Zen Buddhist centering prayer/meditation, which is practiced by people of many faiths:
As humans, we experience a full range of emotions stretching from one end of the spectrum to the other. We are exposed to heart-wrenching daily news, feel bombarded with demands at home or work, look to resolve boredom, and allow the stress of everyday life to build up. The underlying question is, "How do I stay sane???"
For me, the practice of Zen over the past 27 years has been the guiding core to help me wake up and experience life as it is in this moment. Meditation, as well as staying aware throughout the day, keeps me centered and sane.
There are a myriad number of ways to view life and the world. All perceptions of how one thinks life is, is not, or is supposed to be, are always filtered through one's viewpoints, opinions, judgments, past history, and fixed belief systems. Through awareness of how the above functions as a system of conditioned responses, I am often able to break through these limitations by challenging my own fixed ideas. I am then able to "experience" the sanity of living life to it fullest. Rather than deny my humanity, I embrace it.
As a Guidance Counselor for 34 years, I dealt with alcohol, gangs, physical and sexual abuse, drugs, teen pregnancy, suicide, rape, eating disorders, and other assorted problems. Through my daily Zen practice I slowly began to refrain from superimposing my personal self-centered demands in order to truly "hear" each student. With sensitivity, I was then able to take the appropriate path within the law for each individual. This allowed for a transformative process for everyone.
Compassion, love, joy, appreciation, and a good laugh now and then is the very foundation of sanity in my life.
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STOPPING GENOCIDE IN DARFUR
In general the LICC does not take positions on foreign policy issues, both because there are more than enough problems on Long Island for us to deal with and because we do not have the expertise of Church World Service, the National Council of Churches, the World Council of Churches, and our other colleagues when it comes to international relations. Sometimes, though, events require us to venture into unfamiliar waters, and the ongoing genocide in the Sudan is an evil that demands action from us all. The LICC Board of Governors voted on Jan. 26 to urge the U.S. government to do everything in its power to end the slaughter in Darfur and our Executive Director will be joining an interfaith delegation to DC in February, organized by the American Jewish Committee, to urge action to stop genocide there. Marc Leopold from the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Huntington (which recently joined the Friends of the LICC) offers these thoughts on the tragedy in the Sudan:
“People of faith have been watching genocide in Darfur with both horror and a feeling of powerlessness. In a time with natural disasters du jour displacing Darfur in the media it is easy for us to get involved in the “easy” tasks of sending humanitarian aid. Yet when it comes to the difficult business of saving lives from the depredations of other people somehow we avert our eyes, later to say “Never Again.” Darfur can become another Rwanda. There are a number of humanitarian aid organizations, both secular and religion-based, that have been trying to support and save the lives of over 2 million internal refugees in Darfur, but without security the aid workers cannot function.
“The UN endorsed an effort by the African Union to field a peacekeeping force; the US administration pledged $50 million to the effort. The House of Representatives, however, has failed to pass the necessary appropriation – in spite of a direct individual request to each House member by Secretary of State Rice. A middling New York State Lottery payout is close to $50 million; it’s miniscule on the federal budget level. There are about 7,000 peacekeepers to police an area the size of France with about 15 million inhabitants. Contrast this with New York City’s 41,000 police officers for a population of 8 million. The African Union’s funds will run out in March.
“What can people of faith do? Two efforts to save lives from genocide in Darfur that we can support are: Genocide Intervention Network and Save Darfur Coalition (of which NCC is a member). Genocide Intervention Network sends funds directly to the UN-endorsed African Union peacekeepers in an audited way. Save Darfur Coalition is currently running “A Million Voices for Darfur” letter writing and email campaign and is planning a demonstration in Washington on April 30th. Both approaches are important.”
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WHEN YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING
Women of Substance offer this timely reminder in the wake of a recent tragedy. They encourage you to publish this in your own newsletter:
Nixzmary 7 years old and beaten for most of them.
She was buried yesterday because no one did a thing.
No help from family.
No help from friends.
No help from the system.
There was no one there that could help this child.
What Would You Have Done?
What Can A Christian Do To Help?
Have You Witnessed Child Abuse of Any Kind?
Have You Reported It?
Afraid To Report It?
IF YOU HAVE HEARD OR WITNESSED CHILD ABUSE AND YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN YOU MUST MOVE IN RIGHT NOW AND SPEAK UP, BE RIGHTEOUS, AND PROTECT THE POOR.
PROVERBS 31:8-9 "Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless. Speak for them and be a righteous judge. Protect the rights of the poor and needy."
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DID YOU KNOW?
- The Riverhead CROP Walk this October raised $1277 for our Riverhead emergency food pantry and the Western Nassau CROP Walk raised $1347 for our Freeport pantry. And, of course, both walks raised much more for Church World Service, our ecumenical partners in disaster response and development work. Many thanks to the Rev. Led Baxter, Don Neugebauer, and all the walkers and sponsors!
- There have been so many disasters in the past 15 months that there is now a worldwide two-year backlog of orders for tents.
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OFFERED/NEEDED
Offered:
- Free Paraments:
- Bayport United Methodist Church has older paraments available for the taking. The following colors are available:
- Green - 2 Podium, 1 bookmark - Good condition
- Purple Altar Cloth, 2 podium and 1 bookmark ( bookmark is faded)- Good condition
- Red - 2 Podium, Altar Cloth, Bookmark - Fair condition, some pulls and discoloration.
- White - Creamy in color, 3 podium, 1 bookmark - condition fair, some stains.
All the embroidery is IHS. Call 631-472-0770 for questions.
- New Candles from Old Ones:
- Pastor John Hill of Hillside United Methodist Church (2801 Hillside Ave. in New Hyde Park) will take your old candle stubs and make them into new candles. What a great way to recycle those little stubs of altar candles and those used-a-few-times Christmas Eve pew candles! He promises a gift of a Celtic Cross candle made from old candle stubs will be your reward for every ten pounds of old candle stubs. You can drop them off at his church, mail them, or bring them to the UMC’s Long Island West District office. Please include your name and where you want the candle sent. For further information, contact ObeJohn@aol.com.
- Hammond Organ:
- Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Great River has a two-manual organ in good working condition they would be happy to donate to any congregation that can use it. It needs to be picked up at the church, which is located at 320 Great River Road. If you are interested, call the Rev. Domenic Ciannella at 631-277-2933.
- Toshiba copier with collator:
- Epiphany Lutheran in Hempstead has a Toshiba copier with collator and stand that they would be happy to give to anyone who can come and pick it up. The unit is about 6 or 7 years old. Call Pastor Chuck Oberkehr at 516-481-9344.
- Free “Marriage Tune-Up” for Valentine’s Week:
- The Lutheran Counseling Center in Mineola is offering a free ‘Marriage Tune-Up” session for couples during Valentine’s Week, Feb. 12-18, to promote happy, loving marriages. Call Molly Blancke at 516-741-0994 or 800-317-1173 to schedule an appointment.
- Interfaith Bible Study in Garden City:
- The Garden City Interfaith Clergy Assn. is offering a Bible Study series on Thursday evenings in February that will be based on Bill Moyers’ acclaimed PBS series about the Book of Genesis. Each session will begin at 7:30 p.m. Here are the locations:
- Feb. 2 Garden City Presbyterian Church
- Feb. 9 Garden City Community Church
- Feb. 16 Garden City Jewish Center
- Feb. 23 Ethical Humanist Society
- New videos in the LICC lending library at the Presbytery in Commack:
- “Walking the Bible” Bruce Fieler’s PBS miniseries - the first two episodes on VHS: “Go Forth: From Creation to Abraham” and “A Coat of Many Colors: The Israelites in Egypt.”
- “Country Boys” (DVD & VHS) - the recent PBS miniseries
Both of these were reviewed in the January Prelude. The reviews can be found at www.ncccusa.org/ecmin/licc.
- Free Education & Job Training:
- Job Corps, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, is the nation’s largest and oldest federally funded job training and education program serving young people ages 16-24 years. Established in 1964, Job Corps has trained approximately two million young people, serving more than 65,000 each year. At Job Corps, a student can earn a high school diploma or GED, obtain a driver’s license, receive hands-on training in their choice of approximately twenty trades that vary from nursing and computer repair to culinary arts and facilities maintenance as well as learn employability and independent living skills.
After graduation Job Corps has one of the highest job placement rates among the nation’s job-training programs. Approximately 90 percent of Job Corps graduates secure jobs, enlist in the military or advance to college. After graduation, Job Corps will help a graduate find a job, housing, transportation and the other things you will need to begin a successful life.
Nassau County
Myra Breitburg
Job Corps
50 Clinton Street, 4th floor
Hempstead, NY 11550
Phone: 516.485.5000 x 1115
Fax: 516.485.5009Fax: 516.485.5009
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Suffolk County
Tammy Torelli
Job Corps
Suffolk County Dept of Labor
Building 17
Hauppauge, NY 11788
Phone: 631.853.6542
Fax: 631.853.6961
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Seventeenth Annual African American Read-In in Southold
Sunday, February 5, 2006
The Mission Committee of First Presbyterian Church of Southold has found a great way to celebrate Black History Month and the contributions of African American literature to our culture. Each year they hold a Read-In, one that has now outgrown their church building and has moved to the public library.
Their 2006 Read-In will take place at the Southold Library on Sunday afternoon, February 5, from 2;00 to 4;00 p.m. Sponsored annually by the National Council of Teachers of English, readings are held on the same day across this country and around the world. To take part in the event, all one needs to do is select and read a work of their choosing that is authored by an African American. A list of recommended readings for both adults and children is available at the library, or can be accessed via the NCTE website.
Once you have chosen and read your selection, plan to come and share it with others by reciting a brief excerpt. If you prefer not to read aloud – just come to listen and enjoy the fellowship and refreshments!
For further information please contact Gordon Moore at 765-1772, or the church office at 765-2597.
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LABOR RELIGION PRAYER BREAKFAST FEB. 10
The Long Island Labor-Religion Coalition invites you to a Prayer Breakfast at 8 a.m. on Friday, February 10 at IBEW 25, 370 Motor Parkway in Hauppauge. Tickets are $15. Islip Councilperson Pamela Greene and Building Trades President Jack Kennedy will be the guest speakers. To RSVP or for further information, contact Candice at 631-589-3576 or LILaborReligion@yahoo.com.
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“WHY HOUSING IS LONG ISLAND’S #1 PROBLEM”
Matthew T. Crosson, President of the Long Island Association, will speak at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock (48 Shelter Rock Road in Manhasset) on Sunday, Feb. 12, at 1:00 p.m. on how the lack of Next Generation/Workforce/First Purchase housing affordable affects our region.
The LIA is about to roll out a major media campaign addressing this crisis, and Matt Crosson will give a preview of these efforts on the 12th, as well as answering questions and chatting during the reception that will follow his speech. For further information, call the church office at 516-627-6560 or Jean Judd at 516-671-0915.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST ON “SEEKING SABBATH”
The Lord’s Day Alliance announces its annual essay competition for middle school students.
Theme/Topic
"SEEKING SABBATH: FINDING REST FOR MY SOUL"
Based on Jeremiah 29:12-14, this year's theme encourages students to think and write about how Sabbath provides opportunities for finding rest for the soul through a relationship with God.
General Rules
Essays should demonstrate serious thought about this theme/topic and must be more than just copying Scripture passages. Parental and teacher assistance should be limited to discussion about the theme/topic and suggestions for research. Essays must be written in the original words of the contestant and must show thoughtful consideration of the theme/topic. Essays not prepared using this theme/topic will be disqualified prior to consideration.
Eligibility
The contest is for students in grades 6, 7, and 8 who attend a public, private, home or parochial school. Other than former first place winners, all are welcome to submit an essay for consideration.
Length
Essays should be 500-600 words; record word count on title page.
Prizes
Cash prizes may be awarded as follows: First Place - $100, Second Place - $75, Third Place - $50. Depending on the number of entries, some number of honorable mention prizes may be awarded. Additionally, a $100 special recognition gift will be given to the school and/or church library of the first place winner (including Home Educator Support Libraries for home scholars). The winning essay and the first place winner's photograph will be printed in Sunday magazine.
Deadline
Entries must be postmarked or received via email no later than February 28, 2006.
The announcement of awards will be made on March 30, 2006.
Submission of Essays
Essays should be submitted as follows:
Email: essaycontest@ldausa.org
Mail:
2005-2006 Essay Contest
Lord’s Day Alliance of the U.S.
P.O. Box 941745
Atlanta, GA 31141-0745
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GIVE BLOOD—SAVE A LIFE!:
COMMUNITY BLOOD DRIVES IN FEBRUARY
Long Island’s perennial blood shortage grows worse each December and January. Is your congregation having a blood drive? If so, the LICC would be glad to help publicize it.
Here are the drives we know about thus far:
| Date | Site | Address | City | Time |
|---|
| 2/7 | St. Mark’s United Methodist Church | 200 Hempstead Ave. | Rockville Centre | 4:30 PM - 8:30 PM |
| 2/7 | St. John's Cold Spring Harbor | St. John's Church | Cold Spring Harbor | 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM |
| 2/8 | St. Paul's Lutheran Ch.-E. Northport | 106 Vernon Valley Rd | E. Northport | 4:00 PM - 9:30 PM |
| 2/10 | Grace Lutheran Church | Mastic Rd | Mastic Beach | 3:30 PM - 9:00 PM |
| 2/11 | First Baptist Church OF Patchogue | 482 North Ocean Ave. | Patchogue | 3:00 PM - 8:30 PM |
| 2/13 | Huntington United Methodist Church | 180 W. Neck Road | Huntington | 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM |
| 2/20 | St. Anselm’s Church | 55 No. Country Rd. | Shoreham | 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM |
| 2/21 | St. John’s Lutheran Church | 1675 Coates Ave. | Holbrook | 2:00 PM - 7:30 PM |
| 2/26 | Memorial Presbyterian Church | 189 Babylon Turnpike | Roosevelt | 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM |
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO SCHEDULE A CONVENIENT APPOINTMENT
PLEASE CALL 1-800-933-BLOOD (2566) |
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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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