|
| |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| | |
| |
|
| | |
| PRELUDE, January 2008 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
We thank three individuals for their gifts of $500 each, the many other individuals who gave but asked that we don't publish their names, and the institutions that gave less than $500. We are grateful for all of these gifts. Most Urgent NeedTransportation assistance is a chronic need. In our Nassau office alone, at least 23 clients a week ask for transportation assistance. A recent guest was typical. A man in his 50's who is receiving medical care at the Nassau University Medical Center is hypertensive and has diabetes. His doctor asked him to return for a follow-up visit, but he could not afford the transportation to get there. A gift of $368 would enable us to provide one month of $4 round-trip MetroCards for the 92 people who need transportation assistance. Memorial/Tribute GiftsA 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 of 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 at 516-565-0290, ext. 207. Naming and Tribute opportunities are also available for our programs. Sara would be glad to give you a list of these. We also have planned giving opportunities that will sustain these programs in perpetuity. Return to topFAREWELL, LILLIAN - HELLO, LARRYThe Rev. Lillian Frier Webb retired in December after serving the LICC for 25 years as a chaplain at the Nassau County Correctional Center and more recently as the co-director of our Women at the Well jail-diversion project. Lillian's father, the founder of Emmanuel Chapel in Harlem (later renamed Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church), was born a slave and raised by a stepfather who was also an AME pastor. Lillian grew up in a home on West 135th Street that was visited by such people as Cicely Tyson, Myles David, and James Baldwin. Lillian skipped two grades in elementary school, graduated from Hunter High School at the top of her class, and earned a bachelor's degree from Hunter College, a master's degree in religious education from New York University, a Master of Social Work from Adelphi University, and a certificate in Pastoral Studies from the Blanton-Peale Institute. The first woman ordained in her district of the AME Church, she served as associate pastor of Bethel AME in Freeport and pastor of Mt. Olive AME in Port Washington and part-time chaplain for the LICC while also conducting a private practice as a sex therapist and writing a column about sexual health for ten years for Essence magazine. And if this weren't enough, she also did a pretty decent job of raising three children: Joan Owings is now pastor of her grandfather's church, Mt. Zion AME; Cay Fatima is a photographer and musician; Leslie Webb is a professional dancer and instructor. In 2000 the NAACP honored her with its Sojourner Truth Award. Lillian has certainly earned this-and a much-deserved retirement. We recently bid adieu to two other LICC chaplains, the Rev. Maureen Kessler, an attorney and former vice president at Goldman Sachs, who has retired a second time, and the Rev. James Parker, who is leaving the LICC to work with a hospice program in the city. We recently hired the Rev. Larry Swensen as a chaplain at the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow and the Juvenile Detention Center in Westbury. He has also begun Clinical Pastoral Education supervisory training with Episcopal Health Services under the guidance of the Rev. Richard Lehman, our Director of Pastoral Care. Larry has served congregations in Long Beach and Dix Hills. Best wishes in your new adventures, Lillian, Maureen, and James! Welcome aboard, Larry. Return to topWHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE MICAH PROJECT?The MICAH campaign (Mobilized Interfaith Campaign Against Hunger) now includes 260 congregations and agencies as members and more than 400 local religious leaders. MICAH is encouraging communities to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Poor People's Campaign as they remember the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Here are services we have heard about already: MICAH is having an MLK service, hosted by the Huntington Interfaith Coalition for Affordable Housing Now. It will focus on the Poor People's Campaign and the challenge of providing health care for all children. (As we have been learning in MICAH, the two greatest causes of hunger on Long Island are the lack of affordable housing and lack of health coverage.) It will be Sunday, Jan. 20, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Church of St. Hugh of Lincoln, 21 E Ninth Street in Huntington Station. Last winter more than 11,000 congregations from 50 denominations took part in the Souper Bowl of Caring. They asked each worshiper for $1 to feed the hungry on Super Bowl Sunday, raising more than $3 million dollars for soup kitchens and emergency food pantries, plus substantial donations of canned goods. In doing this, they also encouraged people to remember our neighbors in need even after the Christmas-Hanukkah-New Year's Eve season has passed. Will your congregation take part in Souper Bowl this year? The MICAH interfaith anti-hunger campaign encourages you to consider doing so on or near the date of the Super Bowl, Feb. 3! And please consider collecting food and money for the LICC's pantries. Information on the Souper Bowl of Caring is available at 1-800-358-SOUP or www.souperbowl.org. Return to topThe Garden City Clergy Fellowship Presents an Interfaith Study Series: "MICAH & HUNGRY LONG ISLANDERS"
On Long Island, in the midst of great prosperity and abundance, some 260,000 of our neighbors turn to soup kitchens, food pantries, and shelters each year because they and their children are hungry. These people include the working poor, who hold down two or more jobs in order to feed and house their families; the homeless; veterans who fought for our freedom; the mentally ill who have no access to mental health care; and young families who have fallen through the tattered safety net. What can good people of faith do about this? The Long Island Council of Churches (LICC), Catholic Charities, Bread for the World, the Islamic Center of LI, Mazon: the Jewish Response to Hunger, and other ecumenical and charitable organizations have joined forces and are encouraging Long Islanders to participate in a year-long effort called MICAH (Mobilized Interfaith Coalition Against Hunger), whose goal is to alleviate hunger and poverty on Long Island. As good people of faith in the Garden City area, we will gather together in January to discuss what we can do about hunger on Long Island and the MICAH project. The curriculum we will be using is called "Hunger No More". These Bible study sessions will include discussion of what our faith traditions call on us to do about helping those who are hungry and poor. We will conclude our study series on January 30 by collecting non-perishable food for the Interfaith Nutrition Network (INN) in Hempstead. All are invited to come and participate in the study sessions. Attendance in prior sessions is not required for participation in any session. For each session, we will gather for refreshments at 7:15 pm; then break into small groups at 7:30 pm to go through the lesson and have discussion, and then all groups will gather together from 8:45 to 9:00 pm to share our thoughts and ideas.
For more information, contact The Rev. Debra Low-Skinner at Christ Episcopal Church, 775-2626, or christchurchgc@earthlink.net And here's an idea you can use, from one of the MICAH congregations: First United Methodist Church in Amityville celebrated Children's Sabbath on October 28, followed by a unique Fellowship Hour. Using statistics related to children and poverty a Hunger Banquet was held for worshippers, a banquet without much food. Each person, including children, was randomly assigned an income status: poor, middle income, or rich. Along with the income I.D., there were comments that might be connected to that income, such as for middle class, "I have no health insurance", or with rich, "All you have to do is work hard." The number of persons for each category was based on income distribution in the United States. A few were the high-income participants and sat in the parlor at an elegantly set table and were served fancy cookies and a choice of beverage. Middle-income participants were seated at crowded bare card tables, in the parlor, with animal crackers and serve-yourself beverages. Low-income people were excluded from entry into the parlor and provided only saltine crackers with beverage or water. It was a learning experience for all involved and heartwarming to see the children at the high-income table sharing with their family and friends in the lower income groups. This experience helped us to illustrate and understand the importance of participating in the MICAH project, and working towards the goal of reducing and or eliminating poverty in our own backyard. --Robyn Hyland, Liz LaRosa, Linda Thompson Return to topWORTH QUOTINGThe Meaning of Hanukkah "The meaning of Hanukkah is that we have a right to be different." "What fun! This certainly isn't something I get to do every day." Charity & Justice "The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor; the acts of charity that you do not perform are some many injustices that you commit." School Prayer "Before we talk about prayer in public schools, let me ask, What about prayer in the home? Have your children heard you pray? Have they heard you read the Bible? Don't expect the teachers to do it when you don't. I don't like some of the laws being passed, but I know one thing: Jesus makes it clear in the Gospels, particularly in His temptations, that He would not use secular means or power politics to gain a following." The Real Religious Divide "The real religious divide may be between tribal religion and we-are-all-God's-children religion." Strength Through Diversity "A state which owns but one language and one habit is feeble and fragile." How Young People See Christianity "Majorities of young people in America describe modern-day Christianity as judgmental, hypocritical and anti-gay. What's more, many Christians don't even want to call themselves 'Christian' because of the baggage that accompanies the label." Christianity & Islam "So let our differences not cause hatred and strife between us. Let us vie with each other only in righteousness and good works. Let us respect each other, be fair, just and kind to another and live in sincere peace, harmony, and mutual goodwill." "What is common between us lies not in something marginal nor in something merely important to each. It lies, rather, in something absolutely central to both: love of God and love of neighbor. Surprisingly for many Christians, your letter considers the dual command of love to be the foundational principle not just of the Christian faith, but of Islam as well."Return to top WORTH READING: Storms over Genesis and Intelligent DesignStorms over Genesis: Biblical Battleground in America's Wars of Religion (Fortress, 2007) is a good book with an astonishingly bad introduction. First, the good news: William H. Jennings, Professor of Religion, Emeritus, at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, provides an excellent survey of what Bible scholars have discovered about the first three chapters of Genesis, how fundamentalists have reacted to this scholarship, how feminists and environmentalists are interpreting these texts, the "greening" of Jewish and Christian theology, and efforts to include "Creation Science" or Intelligent Design in biology courses. Jennings is particularly insightful on the battles over creation and evolution. He points out that there are not only conflicts between fundamentalists and Darwinians but also among creationists. Believers who accept that the earth is billions of years old are quite different from "youth earth" creationists who believe dinosaurs lived alongside Eve. He also notes that secular journalists often get this story wrong, never noticing that most Christians accept some form of evolution or that all branches of Judaism reject "creation science" because it "goes against the Jewish ways of reading the Bible. . ." Jennings also offers a good overview of the Intelligent Design movement, which argues that evolution has been guided by a higher intelligence. ID is not "creation science light" he insists, despite what its detractors may say. The leading ID supporters, he notes, "consider the claims of creationism to be outlandish." But Intelligent Design is not a scientific theory, either, Jennings argues, at least it has not yet been formulated as one. As religious doctrine, he insists, it has no place in public schools until it has been established as verifiable science. Now the bad news. It would be fine if Jennings admitted that he gives some religions short shrift because he is not an expert in them - none but the Almighty can know everything - but instead he gratuitously insults at least three faith communities in his introduction. To begin with, he does not seem to know that Baha'is and Unitarian Universalists are also Abrahamic faiths. This is a common mistake but inexcusable from an author who has focused his career "on the intersection of social ethics and world religious traditions." Next, Jennings says he will largely ignore Islam because it "has only recently entered the American religious landscape," a statement that is true only in comparison to Hopi or Cherokee ritual. In 1526 a group of slaves, including adherents of Islam, rebelled in Santo Domingo, drove their masters back to Haiti, seized a ship, and sailed to the Peedee River in South Carolina, settling there among local tribes almost a century before Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts. During the first two hundred years in the English colonies, three African slaves arrived for every European immigrant, and many who were brought here in chains were Muslims. There was a mosque in North Dakota more than a century ago, two decades before my grandfather came from Scotland. Jennings then claims that, "Muslims have yet to become an integrated part of the rumble-tumble scene of open debate that characterizes so much of American religion." If he thinks that there is not open debate among American Muslims, he must not know many of them-as he seems to not know anything about their contributions to geology and the biological sciences when his ancestors and mine were illiterate. Far from rejecting science when it seems to contradict the Qu'ran, my friend Faroque Khan explains, Muslims are supposed to keep studying the Qu'ran and keep pursuing science until they discover whether it was Scripture or science that they have misunderstood. Jennings also writes in his introduction that there is a dichotomy between "Christians and Jews who call for changes in the religion that they follow" and those who take a more "traditional stand," but this is certainly a false distinction. Change is part of every religious tradition, and those who think they are clinging to that old-time religion often embrace theology and practice its founder would not recognize. What Jennings proceeds to show us, in fact, is that liberal scholars sometimes are more interested in the original meaning of Biblical texts than are those who claim to interpret Scripture literally. Intelligent Design: William A. Dembeski & Michael Ruse in Dialogue The ongoing debate about whether Intelligent Design should be taught in high school biology classrooms often generates more heat than light. The ID movement sometimes is attacked as if it completely denies the process of evolution, which it does not, and religious people who support ID often seem to know little about scientific theory. The new book Intelligent Design: William A Dembeski & Michael Ruse in Dialogue, edited by Robert B. Stewart (Fortress, 2007), is a happy exception. Based on the Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, it includes scholars from both sides of the debate-and real dialogue. According to Dembeski, a philosopher at Southwestern Seminary and the Discovery Institute, the ID movement begins with a question: "Might there be natural systems that cannot be explained entirely in terms of natural causes and that exhibit features characteristic of intelligence?" Yes, Dembeski insists, and intelligence can be detected in what he calls "specified complexity," systems too complex to have evolved by chance. The idea is an intriguing one but few scientists think that the ID movement has found persuasive evidence to support it. In Dover, Pennsylvania, a judge threw out the local school board's requirement that ID be taught in biology courses, ruling that it was a faith-based ideology, not a scientific theory. Each side is well represented in this Forum, but the ID doubters come off a bit better. Dembeski raises good questions about whether their need to test natural causes biases scientists against supernatural explanations, for example, but Ruse, a philosopher at Florida State University, raises both questions about Dembeski's understanding of science and even stronger theological objections to ID. If God got involved in the intricate details of designing DNA, he asks, why do birth defects cripple people for life? Dembeski never responds. Short essays by other philosophers and scientists follow the Dembeski-Ruse dialogue. A few are almost completely incomprehensible to non-academics, even science buffs, but others contain the best material in this book. Philosopher William Lane Craig of the Talbot School of Theology does a very good job, for example, of probing the limitations of scientific methodology. Martinez Hewlett, a biologist at the University of Arizona and the Dominican seminary in Berkeley, is particularly insightful. Evangelical Christians sometimes dismiss evolution as being "only a theory," he notes, but something is a scientific theory only if it is a model for which there is abundant evidence. Besides, he observes, what really disturbed religious people about Darwinism was not anything Charles Darwin said about biological evolution but rather the way others misused his evolutionary theory, as Thomas Huxley did in claiming that it proved atheism, and as did Herbert Spencer in saying it supported an economic notion he called Social Darwinism, and as Francis Galton did in misappropriating Darwin's theory in support of "eugenics." Christian fundamentalists initially had no problem with Darwinian evolution, he points out, until Darwin's model was misused by unscientific ideologues. In reaction, Hewlett argues, ID proponents have constructed not an alternative scientific theory but rather their own "well-meaning but ill-conceived" ideology. Why couldn't evolution, Hewlett asks, be the means God has used to shape life on earth? Laying out the principles of the "theistic evolution," Hewlett contends that it is possible "to be both a scientist and a person of faith," as do two other defenders of theistic evolution in this volume, Fuller Seminary's Nancey Miller and the English physicist/Anglican priest John Polkinghorne. The German theologian Wolfhart Pannenberg concludes Intelligent Design with a passionate affirmation of his "faith in God and the world of nature." Theology, Pannenberg insists, must be informed by the best science available. The ID movement has not yet made its case to be included in biology textbooks, but it is possible that the challenges it presents, and respectful dialogues such as this book, may lead to a better understanding of both science and theology. --twg- Return to topDID YOU KNOW?
NEEDED/OFFEREDOffered:
Needed:
Long Island Interfaith Environment Network (LIIEN) NewsThe Long Island Interfaith Environment Network (LIIEN) formed in 2006 with a small group of interested members of the faith community along with the environmental group Neighborhood Network, and has blossomed ever since! It is part of a growing national awareness among places of worship about the importance of stewardship of the Earth. The groups' mission is: "to work with places of worship of all faiths on Long Island to encourage the education of their congregations to the benefits of energy conservation, efficiency and renewables, and to urge places of worship to lead by example by making improvements in their own buildings and practices." Events
Steering Committee Meetings are a force of change
Amazingly, (or with Divine intervention, some might say), LIPA has responded and has dedicated staff and time to responding to these concerns. They have completed most audits, improved their website and audit reports, and attended several of our meetings to discuss and address each of the other issues. Quite a success for our fledgling group! Community Outreach
If your place of worship would like to be part of LIIEN or have LIIEN participate in your outreach efforts, contact Beth Fiteni, Neighborhood Network, at 631-963-5454. See neighborhood-network.org/energy/worship.htm for more information. Return to topLONG ISLAND BLOOD SERVICES
|
| Event Date | Site | Address | Start/End Time | Chairperson/Phone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/5/08 | Our Savior Lutheran Church | 140 Mark Tree Road Centereach 11720 | 3:30 PM 9:00 PM | William & Margaret Kletecka (631) 585-6672 |
| 1/7/08 | St. Andrew's Lutheran Church | 54 Nassau Blvd. W. Hempstead 11552 | 3:30 PM 7:30 PM | Doris Fritzen (516) 292-3224 |
| 1/9/08 | Christ Lutheran Church | Carleton Ave. & Nassau St. Islip 11752 | 4:00 PM 9:30 PM | Joan Heitz (631) 665-0925 |
| 1/12/08 | S.I.J.N.Y. | 48-67 58th St. Woodside 11377 | 6:00 PM 11:30 PM | Ebrahim Issa (201) 647-8393 |
| 1/13/08 | Allen AME Cathedral | 110-31 Merrick Blvd Jamaica 11433 | 8:00 AM 3:30 PM | Roosevelt Dixon (917) 470-4813 |
| 1/14/08 | Three Village Church | 322 Route 25A E. Setauket 11733 | 3:00 PM 8:30 PM | Sue Krause (631) 584-9579 |
| 1/19/08 | First Presbyterian Church | 89-60 164th Street Jamaica 11432 | 9:30 AM 3:00 PM | Sarah Bennett (718) 276-2597 |
| 1/19/08 | Dix Hills Evangelical Church | 28 Foxhurst Road Dix Hills 11746 | 12:00 PM 4:00 PM | Donald Gibson (631) 421-4119 |
| 1/20/08 | Massapequa Reformed Church | 302 Ocean Avenue Massapequa 11758 | 10:30 AM 2:30 PM | Judy Boyd (516) 798-6033 |
| 1/20/08 | Rockville Centre Donor Center | 333 Merrick Rd Rockville Centre 11570 | 10:30 AM 2:30 PM | Linda Hope (516) 678-7888 |
| 1/22/08 | Presbyterian Comm. Church of Massapequa | 150 Pittsburgh Ave. Massapequa 11758 | 3:00 PM 8:30 PM | Joan Tischner (516) 293-3250 |
| 1/23/08 | First Presbyterian Church-Northport | 330 Main Street Northport 11768 | 3:15 PM 8:45 PM | Christine Spiller (631) 757-8167 |
| 1/25/08 | St. Andrew's Lutheran Church | 30 Brooksite Drive Smithtown 11787 | 2:30 PM 8:00 PM | Michelle Earhart (631) 297-8454 |
| 1/26/08 | United Methodist Church | 130 W. Old Country Road Hicksville 11801 | 9:00 AM 2:30 PM | Ginny Visceglie (516) 931-0157 |
| 1/28/08 | Garden City Community Church | 245 Stewart Ave. Garden City 11530 | 3:00 PM 8:30 PM | Cindy Campbell (516) 334-6325 |
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO SCHEDULE A CONVENIENT APPOINTMENT, PLEASE CALL 1-800-933-BLOOD (2566)
Return to topEach 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.
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.
Directions to Hofstra University: Meadowbrook Parkway Exit M4 (Hempstead Turnpike). Go West on Hempstead Turnpike. Make left on California Avenue (second Unispan), South campus to Axinn Library.
For further information, call the LI Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives 516-741-4360 longislandpeace.org UUCSR office: 516-627-9660 ext. 122
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