TABLE OF CONTENTS
From Our Executive Director:
FAITH AND HUMILITY
In putting together the LI Multi-Faith Forum's DVD "Faiths of Long Island" Michael Fairchild discovered something that nearly all religions have in common: we teach humility before God and a certain awe with which we behold Creation.
Science and religion deal with different questions and deal with reality in distinct ways, but that does not mean they have nothing to say to each other. Nearly every faith teaches humility that can help scientists do good work. Recently at my home church, 1st United Methodist Church of Amityville, for example, we spent a Sunday reflecting on Genesis. One of the hymns we sang was Tom Troeger's "Praise the Source of Faith and Learning," which says, "O God of wisdom we acknowledge that our science and our art/and the breadth of human knowledge only partial truth impart."
I saw a good example of this once when I asked my doctor, Joseph DiGiovanna, if an over-the-counter "remedy" I had seen might be helpful with my frequent nasal congestion and ear infections. Reading the list of ingredients, quantity of each not specified, he simply said, "I know nothing about these," since the homeopathic ingredients had not been tested, at least not in any scientific double-blind experiment. When I pressed him to hazard a guess, he said once more, "I know nothing about these ingredients." Dr. Joe did exactly what a good scientist should: he limited his scientific opinions to issues where there has been scientific testing - and I chucked the brochure in the trash.
In his recent book Evolution for Everyone (reviewed in the October 2007 Prelude), David Sloan Wilson notes that Darwin's success was due in large part to his humility. He shared his theory with people of all walks of life and almost always treated them with respect, cordiality, and good humor. Far from thinking himself better than other people, he maintained a wide-ranging correspondence with folks scattered around the globe on topics from plant distribution in India to the expression of emotions in Africa. Darwin, who was ordained as an Anglican priest, may have strayed from some doctrines of the Church of England, but he embodied the best ideals of Christianity humility.
Wilson finds the same humility in the Dalai Lama, who admits that Einstein's theory of relativity "involves understanding a set of complex calculations which I am afraid are beyond me." Wilson quotes the Tibetan Buddhist leader as saying that he is ready to change "the rudimentary physics of its early atomic theories, despite their long-established authority within the tradition." The Buddha is not remembered for his studies of the nucleus, the Dalai Lama notes, but rather for his "boundless compassion for all beings."
Scientists need humility to keep them from believing their own hunches and prejudices so thoroughly that they slip into pseudo-science. In the new book Intelligent Design: William Dembeski and Michael Ruse in Dialogue (reviewed in last month's Prelude) Martinez Hewlett, a biologist who now teaches at the Dominican seminary in Berkeley, observes that what really disturbed religious people about Darwinism was not anything that the Rev. Charles Darwin himself said about evolution. Instead, it was the way folks such as Thomas Huxley "championed Darwin's model beyond science" to claim it proved atheism, as did Herbert Spencer in claiming the model supported an economic notion he called Social Darwinism, and as Francis Galton did in misappropriating Darwin's theory in support of "eugenics." Darwinism kicked up such a ruckus in the United States, Hewlett contends, not because of Darwin but because of the hubris of "Darwinians" who overstepped the limits of science to spew their own ideology and pseudo-science. (Hewlett and Lutheran theologian Ted Peters have much more to say about faith and science in Can You Believe in God and Evolution? A Guide for the Perplexed, the very best book on this topic for teachers and preachers.)
Hundreds of congregations across the nation are celebrating Evolution Weekend this month, mostly Feb. 8-10. Whether or not you do so, it is worth remembering the humility of the Rev. Charles Darwin - and the humility needed by all scientists and all people of faith.
Shalom/Salaam/Shanti/Pax
Tom
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SAVE THESE DATES
Easter Dawn Worship at Jones Beach
The LICC’s Ecumenical Easter Dawn Worship will be Sunday, March 23, at 6:30 a.m. at Jones Beach, parking field #6, just east of the East Bath House. Bring blankets or beach chairs.
Special music by the Salvation Army Band, Soh Young Lee-Sagredo, & the Multicultural Peace Mission Choir
Annual Convocation April 5 in Riverhead
Saturday, April 5, from 9 AM to 12:30 at 1st Baptist Church of Riverhead
This year’s annual convocation will address how to help lift people out of poverty. What works?
MICAH Conference Monday, April 28 8:30-3:00 at Adelphi University
Ending Poverty on Long Island: An Action Plan
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A WORD OR TWO OF THANKS
Sara C. Weiss, Director of Development
We thank the following for their support during the month of December 2007 (we prepare our copy a month before publication), and for the blessings these gifts bring to our needy clients:
| Community Church of East Williston | $1,375 Emergency Food, General Operations |
| Community Church of Syosset | $650 Where Most Needed |
| Garden City Community Church | $4,000 Emergency Food, Women at the Well, Heat Assistance, General Operations |
| Grace United Methodist Church | $600 Where Most Needed |
| Massapequa Reformed Church | $1,000 Where Most Needed |
| Oceanside Interfaith Council | $1,036 MICAH |
| Nassau County Bar Association | $10,000 Freeport Emergency Food Program |
| Reformed Church of Locust Valley | $1,250 Where Most Needed |
| Religious Society of Friends/Westbury Mtg. | $1,000 MICAH, Emergency Food, Chaplaincy |
| Roslyn Presbyterian Church | $2,750 Emergency Food, Social Services |
| Setauket United Methodist Church | $1,000 Where Most Needed |
| Thrivent Financial/Suffolk Co. Chapter | $600 Holiday Baskets |
| United Church of Rockville Centre | $1,300 Where Most Needed |
| United Methodist Women (Amityville) | $500 Where Most Needed |
| United Way of Long Island | $1,777 Monthly Allocation & Special Gifts |
Many thanks, also, to an individual who gave $500 to help our clients with transportation assistance. We also thank the many other individuals who gave but asked that we don’t publish their names, and we thank the institutions that gave less than $500. We are grateful for all of these gifts.
Most Urgent Need
This month’s most urgent need, again, is for prescription assistance. Seniors who own their own homes, in which they have lived for decades, are being particularly hard hit by rising gasoline and fuel costs, higher property taxes, and Medicare’s donut hole for prescriptions. They must choose between paying their mortgages, property taxes, fuel and gasoline, or paying for their prescriptions. They’re coming to us for help and expressing their frustration at being unable to pay for their medication. A typical client is a 75-year-old senior whose prescription costs are $300/month. Like an increasing number of seniors, she must choose between keeping warm and filling her prescriptions, between paying her taxes and buying groceries. We have no money to help her with her prescriptions. $1,000 would enable us to help between three and four seniors with their prescriptions.
Memorial/Tribute Gifts
A great way to remember a loved one, whether living or deceased, 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 or 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 any questions, call Sara for further information at 516-565-0290, ext. 207. Naming and Tribute opportunities are also available for our programs. Call Sara for a list. We also have planned giving opportunities that will sustain these programs in perpetuity.
Our Website Address
Our new website addres is: www.liccny.org. If you have bookmarked our old website address, you can still reach the site through that address.
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MORE ABOUT THE MORTGAGE MELTDOWN
The November and December issues of The Prelude have addressed possible solutions to the mortgage mess. There has been some progress in recent weeks. A number of banks are reaching out to borrowers before their adjustable rate mortgages readjust to higher rates to see if they may need help in refinancing or modifying their loans. President Bush signed into law the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007, which was summarized by Wells Fargo Bank:
- Elimination of the “phantom tax” on foreclosures, short sales or other discharges of debt on a primary residence. Consider this scenario: A property is worth $250,000, and the mortgage balance is $300,000. Under the old rules, if a lender forgave the $50k difference as part of a foreclosure, short sale, refinance or loan modification, the borrower had to claim the $50k as income and pay federal income taxes on that amount. The new law eliminates this “phantom tax”, and the forgiven debt is no longer treated as taxable income to the borrower as long as certain requirements are met, such as the discharged mortgage balance must be on the taxpayer’s principal residence.
- Extension of the tax deduction for mortgage insurance premiums. The same rules apply as before in terms of the income limitations etc., and these rules are covered in the taxation section of the CMPS curriculum.
- Raising the capital gains exclusion to $500,000 from $250,000 for an unmarried individual who sells their primary residence within 2 years of the time their spouse has died. This new guideline applies to sales after December 31, 2007, and provides relief for widows and widowers by giving them a 2 year window from the time their spouse has died to sell their home and receive the $500,000 exclusion. Of course, the same rules apply as before, where the individual(s) need to have lived in the home as their primary residence for 2 out of the last 5 years.
As many analysts have observed, this law helps some people caught in the mortgage meltdown but not everyone who needs and deserves help. Since there is more than enough blame in this crisis to go around, it will probably take a number of steps at the local, state, and federal level to repair trust in borrowing, prevent future lending abuse, and help those who have been victimized by unscrupulous lenders. Several interesting ideas have been floated recently:
- Senator Christopher Dodd has proposed a tough bill to prevent predatory lending, the Homeownership Preservation and Protection Act, which would eliminate prepayment penalties and create a “good faith and fair dealing” duty for all lenders, including brokers, loan servicers, and appraisers. Non-traditional products, such as “option” Adjustable Rate Mortgages are included in the protections of the bill.
- Senator Charles Schumer and others have introduced legislation that would provide $300 to HUD-certified nonprofits for foreclosure prevention and intervention - an important step to keep good agencies such as the Long Island Housing Partnership from being overwhelmed in the rising tide of defaults — and to regulate mortgage brokers and loan originators under the Truth in Lending Act, which seems only fair since the depository banks that now have the greatest scrutiny are the lenders who are generally least to blame for the current crisis.
- Professors Michael Barr, Sendil Mullainathan, and Eldar Shafir proposed recently (New York Times Dec. 26) that a simple way to avoid getting a bad deal is to make a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage the loan that everyone automatically gets “unless they choose to opt out in favor of another option, after honest and comprehensible disclosures from brokers or lenders about the risks of the alternative mortgages." An opt-out mortgage system would mean borrowers would be more likely to get straightforward loans they could understand.
Breaking news on the mortgage mess:
The Mortgage Bankers Association reported recently that 54,000 home owners modified their loans in the third quarter of 2007, approximately 13,000 of which were on subprime loans. This is a much higher number than Moody’s found in September, when they reported that most subprime-loan servicers this year had modified only about 1 percent of their adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) that had reset to higher rates by the end of July. "Loan modification" includes interest-rate adjustments or changes in the length of the loan. The term also includes write downs of loans, which are reductions in the total amount that a borrower has to pay. Unfortunately, 384,000 borrowers began the process of foreclosure in the third quarter. (This news comes from www.CommunityInvestmentNetwork.com, a great source of information on these issues.)
The economic stimulus package put together in the House of Representatives includes a provision that would allow government-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy mortgages up to 75 percent more expensive than the current $417,000 limit. At this writing, the Senate and White House have yet to sign off on the proposed stimulus plan and it is possible that the jumbo threshold will not be raised that high. Raising the limit on how much people can borrow without needing a more-expensive “jumbo loan” will allow a larger pool of borrowers to find lower rates when buying a new home or refinancing an existing mortgage. This move will certainly help revive lagging home sales, particularly for homes priced over $450,000, and will benefit homebuyers who have good credit, have some money to put down and can meet the new, tougher standards for getting a loan, but it will not do much for homeowners who already are struggling to pay their mortgage. And if the higher borrowing limits make it easier to treat your home like an ATM, taking out equity and still racking up huge credit card balances, it will only part fools from their money all the quicker. And if banks need new computer programs to assess underwriting risks for larger loans, this could delay many loans. As one of Goodhue’s Laws states, “every solution creates a new problem.”
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NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY A HOME!
Housing prices have eased a little lately and mortgage rates are expected to come down considerably in coming weeks. There are also, finally, a number of new affordable/workforce/next-generation homes being built on Long Island. A growing number of these are “smart growth” projects, too, which make the most sense for many buyers. According to the Long Island Index report released last week, nearly half of young adults in our region would consider an apartment, condo, or townhouse in a local downtown and a majority of those 50 and older would prefer to live in this sort of neighborhood where they can walk easily to stores and be less dependent upon cars. The good news is that villages such as Patchogue are now creating exactly this sort of housing at affordable prices.
The sub prime mortgage meltdown has frightened many potential borrowers, but nearly no one who got an affordable home through the Long Island Housing Partnership or went to them for mortgage counseling and then bought a home on the open market has run into trouble with their loans. If you have good credit and are shopping for a home you can afford rather than a McMansion, this is a great time to buy.
--TWG--
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HOW TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE IN AN ELECTION YEAR
Congregations often come under considerable pressure during elections to take sides in partisan politics. According to the IRS Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations, congregations must not “participate in, or intervene in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” This rule applies to all tax-exempt not-for-profits. The United Methodist Interpreter recently summarized the legal advice in “Politics and the Pulpit,” a report commissioned by the Pew Foundation that was written by Deirdre Dessingue, Associate General Council for the US. Conference of Catholic Bishops:
Congregations can:
- Discuss issues, so long as the discussion is not biased for or against particular candidates.
- Advocate position on issues (as opposed to promoting a party or candidate).
- Encourage voter registration, distribute voter-education materials, and sponsor “get-out-the-vote" campaigns, so long as these are not skewed toward one party or candidate.
- Host candidate forums where all candidates for an office are invited.
- Serve as a polling place.
Congregations cannot:
- Endorse or denounce a particular party or candidate.
- Invite only one candidate or the candidates of one party to speak from the pulpit.
- Distribute material biased toward (or against) a particular candidate or party or give the congregation’s mailing list to a campaign.
- Raise money for a candidate or political party.
Clergy may support any candidate they wish but they should not use the pulpit, church publications, or similar forums to declare their preferences.
The Religious Action Center of Reformed Judaism adds some other important distinctions:
- Congregations can take positions on public policy issues, including ballot initiatives and legislation, but
- Congregations may not post signs favoring a party or candidate on their property, and
- Religious organizations can not provide membership lists to candidates, even if the candidate him or herself is a member.
For more information, visit rac.org, www.irs.gov, and www.gcfa.org/legalreport.html.
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WORTH QUOTING
The Myth of Self-Sufficiency
“The myth of self-sufficiency encourages people to think that they do not need to learn anything about other cultures. They borrow music, food, and ideas from other cultures without giving credit for what they have taken. . . . As long as this attitude persists, America remains psychologically and spiritually segregated.”
--The Rev. Dr. Hak Joon See, January 21, 2008
1st Baptist Church of Riverhead’s 23rd Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Breakfast
How Recession Impacts the Poor
“Many of the poorest people in the United States are still struggling to recover from the effects of a recession that ended six years ago, making them very vulnerable as the country stands on the brink of a new downturn.”
--Jon Hurdle, Reuters, Jan. 23, 2008
Iraqi Muslims Help Christian Neighbors Celebrate Christmas
Religions for Peace recently reported that the Chaldean Catholic Church, Mar Eliya, in Bagdad was filled with Iraqi Christians and Muslims who joined together to celebrate the holiday and the fact that they felt safe enough to venture outside of their homes for Christmas Mass. Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, patriarch of Iraq's ancient Chaldean Church who last month was elevated by Pope Benedict XVI to become Iraq's first Roman Catholic cardinal, said Mass, appealing for peace and unity across the war-scarred country. "Iraq is like a garden and its beauty is the variety of its flowers and scent," Delly said during the service. Among those attending were several Shiite Muslim sheiks, including Raad Tamimi, who said they had come "in solidarity with our Christian brothers . . . to plant the seed of love again in the new Iraq." This sign of solidarity joins other efforts to encourage cooperation and unity between Iraqi Muslims and their Christian neighbors.
Stopping Genocide
“We’ve gone through Generation X and Generation Y, but if Generation Z is in formation, and the massive outpouring of student action over the Darfur genocide is any indication, we have very good reason to hope in the future.”
--Don Cheadle & John Predergast, Not on Our Watch: The Mission to End Genocide in Darfur and Beyond, (Hyperion, 2007)
“One hundred letters to each member of Congress could have prevented genocide in Rwanda.”
--Senator Paul Simon, 1994, quoted in Not on Our Watch
Faith and Science
“I see no good reason why the views given in this volume should shock the religious feelings of any one. It is satisfactory, as showing how transient such impressions are, to remember that the greatest discovery ever made by man, namely, the law of the attraction of gravity, was also attacked by Leibnitz, ‘as subversive of natural, and inferentially of revealed, religion.’ A celebrated author and divine has written to me that ‘he has gradually learned to see that it is just as noble a conception of the Deity to believe that He created a few original forms capable of self-development into other and needful forms, as to believe that He required a fresh act of creation to supply the voids caused by the actions of His laws.’”
--Charles Darwin, Origin of Species (London, 1872, 6th and final edition)
“It is not our biological past but rather our spiritual future that determines who we are. . . . God starts with redemption and then draws all creation toward it. Or perhaps better said, God’s ongoing creative work is also God’s redeeming work.”
--Ted Peters & Martinez Hewlett, Can You Believe in God and Evolution? A Guide for the Perplexed (Abingdon Press, 2007)
School Prayer
“United with government, religion never rises above the merest superstition; united with religion, government never rises above the merest despotism; and all history shows us that the more widely and completely they are separated, the better it is for both.”
--Ohio Supreme Court, in an 1869 ruling in favor of Catholic parents who sought to stop Cincinnati public schools from mandating what prayer their children should recite.
“We are not a free nation if we compel children to take part in religious exercises alien to them in public schools. A nation that values religious liberty does not require science to bow before rigid sectarian dogma.”
--Bayard Brick, Connection (Arvada, Arizona) December 2007
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What’s New with MICAH?
MICAH offers “A Mardi Gras to Remember” on Tuesday, Feb. 5, at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Wyandanch. Please sign up your congregation’s youth group by Jan. 31 if they want to come. Info on this can be found at the end of this message.
Bread for the World, one of the supporters of MICAH, invites one and all to their ecumenical Soup & Bread Suppers on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 6. The dinner in Setauket will be from 5:30 to 7:00 at St. James Church (Route 25A & Ridgeway Ave.). The Smithtown dinner will be 6:45-7:45 at the United Methodist Church (230 Middle Country Road/Route 25, just east of Route 111).
Micah 6:8, the verse that inspired this campaign (“What does the Lord ask of you? Only this: that you do justice, and love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.”) appears in the ecumenical lectionary (the calendar of Scripture readings used by many churches) for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, which is Feb. 3 this year.
To receive MICAH inserts for your weekly bulletin or monthly newsletter, occasional sermon starters and other resources, send an email to robinson.mary@catholiccharities.cc and add Koubek.Richard@CatholicCharities.cc to your address book. The bulletin inserts are available in Spanish, also. Let Mary know if you would like to receive the Spanish version.
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How Church World Service Is Helping in Darfur
Church World Service, our ecumenical partner in disaster response, has been at work in the Darfur region of Sudan, where violence and government directed racial genocide have uprooted 2.2 million people in a crisis that is now entering its fifth year. A joint United Nations/African Union force for Darfur begins work this year in an attempt to quell the violence and establish the conditions for a return to peace. Since the outbreak of the violence, the CWS-supported coalition has assisted hundreds of thousands of uprooted people: water and sanitation (233,886 direct beneficiaries); health and nutrition (272,520); emergency preparedness and response (150,000); protection, psychosocial, and peace building (82,295); agriculture (8,250); and school support (27,240). For more on CWS and how you can help, visit www.churchworldservice.org.
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NEEDED/OFFERED
Needed:
- Church World Service “Depot” Needed:
- We need a new “sub-depot” somewhere in Eastern Nassau or Western Suffolk to collect Gift of the Heart Kits from 10:00 to noon the last Saturday in April for Church World Service. A room in your congregation or even a covered porch at your home will do fine, since we only need about 10 feet by 10 feet of space. If you can provide this space, or if you have a van or SUV to help schlep the donations from a sub-depot to your county’s “depot,” please call Helen Samuels at 631-744-3870 or Grace MacMillan at 516-785-3951.
- Book of Common Prayer:
- The New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church is seeking donations of copies of the Book of Common Prayer—how is that for ecumenism—which its Volunteers in Mission team will take to Costa Rica in February for their host, St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Squires, which needs more English-language BCPs. Donations can be sent to or dropped off at Southold UMC, 54020 Main Road [Route 25], Southold 11971, which is their physical address for UPS, etc. The mailing is address is: The Rev. Lorraine De Armitt, Southold United Methodist Church, P. O. Box 62, Southold, NY 11971.
- Old Clergy Robes and Stoles:
- Peter O’Neill, Lay Speaking coordinator for the Long Island East District of the United Methodist Church, is collecting old clergy robes and stoles for pastors and lay preachers in Sierra Leone. Many receive little or no compensation, need housing and face rejection by their families for being unable to provide food and clothing for them. With little income to spare, most are unable to afford the trappings of their position – clergy robes and stoles. Many churches have a few old robes hanging in a closet that could be put to good use. If you would like to contribute to this effort, send robes and stoles to:
Peter O’Neill
55 Riverview Court
Oakdale, NY 11769
If a pick up is needed, please call him at (631) 750–3488 or (516) 314-1994.
Offered:
- Finance Seminars:
- The LICC is presenting a personal finance seminar in both English and Spanish on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 10:00 a.m. at Christ Lutheran Church/ Iglesia Luterana De Cristo, 61 North Grove Street in Freeport (516-378-1258). There will be simultaneous seminars in two rooms, one in Spanish and one in English, then gathering for coffee, goodies, and informal conversation. All are invited.
The LICC offers seminars on how to manage your money well - and not get ripped off on loans. Our presentations usually run an hour to 90 minutes, and we will tailor it to the needs of your audience. We can do shorter programs, for example, for a college class, campus ministry group, or youth group and their parents. They could be a great addition to your congregation’s stewardship campaign, helping people to think faithfully about our stewardship of all our resources. We would also be glad to do presentations for religious leaders on how to manage a congregation’s money more effectively, reduce expenses, and encourage planned gifts.
The LICC will arrange speakers, educational materials, and other freebies. There is no charge for this program. Thanks to grants from Astoria Federal Savings, Bank of America, Bank of New York, Citibank, Washington Mutual, Greenpoint Bank Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, Ridgewood Savings Bank, and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage for making it possible for the Long Island Council of Churches to provide this free program. We have speakers who can handle a variety of languages. 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.
Each presentation is shaped around the needs of the audience and we are prepared to address a wide variety of topics. Here are some we have dealt with recently that might be of interest to students and their parents:
- How to shop for a good loan
- How to get a good deal on checking and savings accounts and other financial services
- How to manage credit cards and other forms of credit
- How to “repair” a bad credit history
- How to reduce expenses on things you think are essential.
- How to convert a loan you already have into a better deal.
- How to talk with your kids (or your parents) about how they manage their money.
- Free office tables:
- Seven long office tables with steel bases and Formica tops, most with a drawer in the middle, all in good condition are available for the taking. They must be picked up in Elwood. Contact Jeanne DeMaio at Family Service League, jdemaio@fsl-li.org.
- Free Mammograms & Cervical Exams:
- FREE mammograms for UNINSURED women over the age of 40 and FREE cervical exams to all UNINSURED women over 18 years of age will be provided by the Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Partnership, in conjunction with Nassau University Medical Center, North Shore/LIJ Health System, Planned Parenthood, South Nassau Community Hospital and others, on Saturday, February 9, from 8:30 AM until 3:30 PM at NUMC, 2201 Hempstead Turnpike, East Meadow. Appointments are necessary. Only some form of identification with photograph is required. Please call 516-572-3300 for appointment and exact location of the particular screening exam or exams that you want.
- Free Trauma Training for Clergy and Their Staff:
- South Nassau Communities Hospital offers free trauma training for clergy members and their staff. This training will help support people who have been victims of crime, assault, abuse, violence & tragic accidents as well as individuals who have witnessed disturbing events. The trauma training includes suggestions for screening, engagement, psychological first aid and referral of the traumatized child, adolescent, adult and/or family. Clergy members will also learn how to restore their own personal wellness following their work with traumatized members of their congregations. The training will be offered by Dr. Thomas Demaria who has responded to more than 250 community disasters in the past 15 years and has received numerous awards for his work in community disasters. For more information call 516-632-4850.
- Free Spiritual Care Training:
- Are you looking for an avenue to volunteer your time with others? Catholic Health Services is offering free training for “Spiritual Care Companions” with those who are hospitalized or living in nursing homes. The six–week training program begins at the end of February, covering:
- Goals of ministry to the sick;
- How to be a good listener and serve as a Spiritual Care Companion, and
- How to respond to crisis and grief
For further information, please call Carol Cella at 516-705-3714 or Mary T. O’Neill at 631-474-5663, or Peggy Nixdorf at 631-587-1600, ext. 8297.
- Tax Refund Information:
- Where’s My Refund? — one of the IRS’ most popular online features — gives taxpayers access to information about the status of their individual federal income tax refunds, regardless of whether they ask IRS to direct deposit their refunds to one, two or three accounts or request paper checks. Other features let taxpayers:
- Initiate a refund trace to re-issue lost or missing paper checks; and
- Update their mailing addresses if the Postal Service returned their checks to IRS as undeliverable.
Taxpayers can access Where’s My Refund? at www.irs.gov. Spanish-speaking taxpayers can access their refund information via the IRS.gov Espanol portal, beginning January 2008. (However the refund trace and address change features are only available on the English version.) Clients without internet access can get the same information by calling IRS’ Refund Hotline at 1-800-829-1954.
Where’s My Refund? is:
- Fast: Check the status of your individual federal income tax refund virtually anytime, from anywhere.
- Easy: Simply enter your personal identification information—your Social Security number, filing status, and refund amount shown on your return.
- Safe: Interact online with the IRS through secure technology that protects the confidentiality of your personal information.
- Convenient: Check the status of a split refund; initiate a trace on a non-received paper check; and/or update your mailing address if your refund check was returned to IRS as undeliverable.
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LONG ISLAND BLOOD SERVICES:
Upcoming Community Blood Drives in February
| Event Date | Site | Address | Start/End Time | Chairperson/Phone |
|---|
| 2/3/08 | Huntington United Methodist Church | 180 W. Neck Road
Huntington 11743 | 9:00 AM
1:00 PM | Bette Jack
(631) 223-3606 |
| 2/4/08 | Nesconset Christian Church | 247 Smithtown Blvd.
Nesconset 11767 | 5:30 PM
9:30 PM | Alana Klages
(631) 265-2141 |
| 2/5/08 | Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. Paul | 110 Cathedral Avenue
Hempstead 11550 | 3:30 PM
9:00 PM | Kay Pamas
(516) 746-3294 |
| 2/5/08 | Grace Lutheran Church | 240 Mastic Road
Mastic Beach 11951 | 2:00 PM
7:30 PM | Donna Barnes
(631) 281-8031 |
| 2/9/08 | Memorial Presbyterian | 189 Babylon Tpke
Roosevelt 11575 | 10:00 AM
2:00 PM | Donna Stuart
(646) 792-7274 |
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO SCHEDULE A CONVENIENT APPOINTMENT PLEASE CALL 1-800-933-BLOOD (2566)
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ADVERTISING IN THE PRELUDE
Each month, about 3000 copies of our newsletter The Prelude are mailed to both the clergy leaders and lay leaders of 1350 faith organizations. We also email this newsletter to 2200 religious leaders. Filled with timely articles, news briefs, updates and notices affecting Long Island’s communities and churches and the wider world, The Prelude is a must read for all who would “work together to improve living on Long Island and promote interfaith understanding and cooperation.” The LICC accepts paid sponsorship ads, display ads and simple listings (classifieds). Advertising in The Prelude is a great way to reach clergy, lay leaders, and volunteers in Long Island’s congregations. To receive a “media kit” with advertising rates, copy requirements, and copy deadlines, please call 516-565-0290 or email licchemp@aol.com. Congregations that join the LICC and groups that join the Friends of the LICC receive a free classified ad in thanks for paying their annual dues.
ADS:
JOB OPENING: Pastor
Small non-denominational Protestant church, 45 minutes from NYC, close to ocean & bay, founded in 1920, seeks pastor with a call & passion for congregation renewal & growth.
Our pastor will have strong communication & organizational skills, a love for preaching & teaching bible scripture, provide nurture to all ages we serve, compassionate pastoral care and children’s services. We require 5+ yrs. pastoral experience, must be ordained, and a Master of Divinity degree from an accredited theological seminary is preferred. Please send resume & cover letter to: pastorsearchcomm@yahoo.com.
Space Available for Groups in Dix Hills
Educational/cultural groups preferred. Classrooms and all-purpose settings. Handicapped accessible. Conveniently located between Northern State Pkwy. and Long Island Expressway. Contact Pastor David Czeisel at 631-499-2831.
”Moments in Black History” Dinner Theater Feb. 1 in Riverhead
Featuring Gwendolyn Briley-Strand as Harriet Tubman, “The Chosen One”
Friday, February 1, at 7 o’clock in the evening, doors open at 6:30 p.m.
Donation: Adults $12.00 Children (12 & under) $8.00
For tickets and information contact:
Betty Langhorne 631-727-1619 - Marie Futch 631-727-4075
Kim Stephens 631-722-4606 - Mary Langhorn 631-727-7866
Debbie Brown 631-369-2071 - Sarah Mayo 631-727-1173
Tayanee Sykes 631-727-8695 - Christine Braunskill 631-369-2364
The Human Price of the Iraq War
A Panel Discussion
at The Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock
Sunday, February 3, 1 PM
Requested donation: $5, veterans free
Panel Members:
- Jim Smith, Vietnam Veteran, UUCSR
- Wayne F. Smith, Vietnam Veteran, UUSC
- Camilo Mejia, Iraq War veteran who refused to return while on leave and was jailed, author of Road from Ar Ramadi.
- Liam Madden, Iraq veteran, founder of "Appeal for Redress"
- Nancy Lessin, cofounder "Military Families Speak Out"
- A Muslim representative of "Hands Across Mideast Support Alliance"
Purpose:
To raise awareness of how being in a war zone affects our troops, to discuss the lamentable state of veterans’ benefits, and to explore things civilians can do to help veterans make the transition back to society.
HAYDN CONCERT Feb. 10 in Garden City
The Waldorf Choral Society, accompanied by an orchestra of early baroque instruments, will perform Haydn's CREATION on Sunday, February l0, at 4:00 p.m. in the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City. They will be joined by Jessica Tranzillo, soprano; Philip Anderson, tenor; and Michael Reder, bass; singing the roles of the Archangels Gabriel, Uriel and Raphael. Tickets are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and students and $5 for children under l2. For tickets or more information please call Lucille Bjorneby at 516-747-4457.
Forum on Housing Opportunities & Challenges Feb. 11
Keynote Speaker: Lawrence Levy, Executive Director,
Center for Suburban Studies, Hofstra University
A panel of speakers from nonprofits and government agencies will address housing issues on Long Island -- the opportunities as well as the challenges. Participants will learn about:
- Housing discrimination and anti-discrimination laws;
- New HUD and Nassau County initiatives;
- The impact of residential foreclosures on owners, tenants, neighborhoods, and the economy;
- Predatory lending legislation.
Panelists include:
- Cathryn Harris, Project Manager, ERASE Racism;
- Martha Krisel, Chief Deputy County Attorney for Special Projects for the Office of the Nassau County Attorney;
- Connie Lassandro, Director, Nassau County Office of Housing and Homeless Services;
- Michael Miller, Long Island Housing Partnership;
- M. Yvette Pacheco, Deputy Director, Homeownership Center, Nassau County Office of Housing and Homeless Services.
Summation: Louise Skolnik, Director of Human Services, Nassau County Health & Human Services
When: Monday, February 11, 10 a.m. to noon
Where: Central Synagogue of Nassau County
430 DeMott Avenue, Rockville Centre, N.Y.
For directions, call 516 766-4300. For more information, contact Sara Hill at 917-418-3780 or sara@sarahill.net.
"CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY"
An Evening of Tap, Rhythm and Soul Food
Friday, February 22 at 7:30pm
First Baptist Church of Port Jefferson
315 E. Main Street, Port Jefferson, NY 11777
Contact: Brother Louis at 631-219-8660
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The Long Island Council of Churches is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. The Long Island Council of Churches unites diverse Christians to work together in ministry with the poor and to promote interfaith understanding. All donations are tax-deductible and much appreciated.
The Rev. Thomas W. 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.liccny.org
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