From Our Executive Director:
WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?
Working together to serve people in need is at the very center of our mission as the Long Island Council of Churches, but this work has become far more difficult over the years. Many years ago, Nassau County asked the LICC to establish an emergency food pantry, so they could send social service clients to us to be fed five days a week. Many local churches and ecumenical organizations operate pantries on a smaller scale, but it is usually beyond the resources of a single church, or even half a dozen congregations working together, to provide an extensive array of non-perishable food every morning and every afternoon. This, in turn, makes it difficult for those who are hungry to get help when they need it. The County has found that we, like many other agencies, can provide these services more efficiently, more compassionately, and more cheaply than they can themselves.
We now feed nearly a thousand people a month in Hempstead, trying to give each enough food for three days. We are deeply grateful for the churches and organizations who collect canned goods for our pantry (or any other pantry, for that matter), haul their donations to the pantry, and give money to help us pay the salaries, rent, and utilities, but the reason we need this support is that the County never has reimbursed us for the full cost of feeding its clients. The County has never paid, for example, for any of the food we supply, and the gap between what the program costs and what the County reimburses us has grown steadily: like nearly every other agency, we are now serving twice as many people as we were ten years ago. Suffolk County recently started reimbursing some of the cost of assisting the clients they send us, but we now feed 600 to 700 people a month, twice as many as a few years ago. We need to receive an extra $3500 a month in donations from congregations, denominations, and individuals just to pay rent, utilities, and salaries for our food pantries - even that does not include the purchase of any food. Between the soaring cost of housing on Long Island and the rising number people who lack medical coverage, more and more of our neighbors must choose between filling a prescription and paying the rent, between utility bills and grocery bills - so the need for food keeps growing.
In Nassau, the current administration, to its credit, has speeded up the issuing of annual contracts and the processing of vouchers we submit for reimbursement. It also has ceased the previous administration's decision requiring us to pay the County's share of matching funds in order to receive state funding. The County is trying to find a building we might buy or lease from them cheaply. We do appreciate all this. We still, though, lose money every day doing the work the County has asked us to do and periodically pay fines imposed by the state because of the condition of the building the county rents us for the food pantry they asked us to establish.
Government likewise has an obligation to provide inmates of its jails with access to religious services, and finds it cheaper to hire us than to put chaplains on the County payroll. Our contract to provide chaplains at the Nassau County jail no longer covers our payroll, let alone our administrative costs. The contract to provide worship and pastoral care every week at the juvenile detention center pays only $900 a year. That's right - $900 a year.
Let me be clear: I am not blaming the Executives of either Nassau or Suffolk County or the legislators of either party. This mess has been a long time in formation and the current office holders inherited fiscal problems not of their own making.
Nor am I looking for government to subsidize religion or to erode the separation of church and state - but neither should faith based organizations subsidize government. If our food pantries were a business, we would have shut them down long ago, but to do so would mean sending thousands of people back to DSS. One reason I am skeptical of the faith-based initiatives of both President Clinton and President Bush is that costs seem to get shifted to any faith-based organization that is compassionate and/or dumb enough to do work on behalf of government. The choice the LICC faces almost daily, as does Catholic Charities, and many other not-for-profit agencies on Long Island, is this: lose money on every client government sends you or abandon the poor. Whenever an agency is forced to curtail services for lack of funding, public officials usually reply, no matter how often we have pled for funding in the past, "Why didn't you ask for more money?" So we're asking. We need more money.
With Nassau County finally digging itself out of its long fiscal crisis, the Legislature recently voted to restore some of the funding for Meals on Wheels and youth services that was cut five years ago. This is certainly welcome news for all who care about seniors and teenagers, but will the county and state legislatures do the same for others? Will they extend to those who serve the poor on their behalf the same Cost of Living Adjustments that they give their own staff? Every year in which funding remains "flat" means that our funding really is cut, and doubly so when government sends more people to serve.
Every major world religion teaches compassion for the poor. Surely the leaders of Long Island can find a way to care for our most vulnerable citizens. God expects nothing less.
Shalom/Salaam/Shanti/Pax,
Tom
DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT - Sara Weiss, Director
We're pleased to announce the launching of our new and upgraded website. A grant from Washington Mutual Bank enabled us to hire an IT professional to create an elegant, contemporary look and an easily navigable new website. Please visit us at: www.ncccusa.org/ecmin/licc.
Special thanks to the following for their gifts:
| McCormick Tribune Foundation (Newsday) | $48,000 for community resources |
| A donor who wished to remain anonymous | 25,000 use where most needed |
| Altria Employees Fund 2004 | 12,500 Riverhead Food Clerk |
| Peaceful Dwelling Project | 2,500 Multi-Faith Forum |
| United Way of Long Island | 1,491 Monthly Allocation |
| St. John's of Lattingtown (Episcopal) | 1,000 use where most needed |
| Congregational Church S. Hempstead | 1,000 use where most needed |
| Presbyterian Church of Southold | 1,000 use where most needed |
| Community Reformed of Manhasset | 700 use where most needed |
| Community Church of East Williston | 500 use where most needed |
| Grace United Methodist, Valley Stream | 500 use where most needed |
We are also grateful to the institutions that gave less, and we are grateful to the individuals who also gave but who have asked us not to publish their names.
Memorial/Tribute Gifts
A great way to remember a loved one, whether deceased or living, is to give a memorial or tribute gift in his/her name. In your letter accompanying such a gift, please tell us who the gift is in memory of or in tribute to, and who is giving the gift. We will send a thank you letter to the contributor and to the family of the loved one in accordance with your instructions. Please send your contribution to the LICC: Attention: Sara Weiss. If you have questions, call Sara for further information at 516-565-0290.
MOST URGENT NEED THIS MONTH
Women at the Well, a project led by the Rev. Lillian Frier Webb and the Rev. Nancy Schaffer, needs donations almost immediately in order to continue. Isadora Robinson, a member of Ebenezer Seventh-day Adventist Church in Freeport who serves on our Pastoral Care Committee and is secretary to the Women at the Well Advisory Board reports on the pen pal project that is one part of this project,
"This Program assists female inmates in returning home, beginning rehabilitation, or transferring to another prison. Our goal is to help in the adjustments needed in these steps and Pen Pals are important in making this possible. I'm truly blessed to know that my pen pals are most grateful for the spiritual growth they have received through their correspondence with me.
"They are determined to let God lead them in a new way of life. We have to say 'Yes' - taking time to let someone know that there is a better way. This is truly rewarding: one former pen pal in the Nassau County jail is now a member of our Advisory Board.
"Upon the request of my pen Pal, I visited her family on Christmas Day. It meant so much to them to know that others cared about them and shared in bringing them joy during the holiday season. I pray that the Lord will continue to use me in preparing others for eternity.
"If you would like to volunteer as a pen pal, call me at 516-483-3605."
From the Long Island Multi-Faith Forum:
COMPASSION FOR THE POOR:
As someone once observed about youth group sleepovers, "we don't all eat the same breakfast." Different religions do not teach the same things, but there often are similarities among them and much that we can learn from one another. Here are some thoughts shared by members of the Long Island Multi-Faith on the topic of compassion for the poor.
BAHA'I
"O Ye Rich Ones On Earth!
The poor in your midst are My trust; guard ye My trust, and be not intent only on your own ease."
--From the Persian Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah
"It became known that thy wish is to serve the poor. What wish better than this! Those souls who are of the Kingdom eagerly wish to be of service to the poor, to sympathize with them, to show kindness to the miserable and to make their lives fruitful."
"Be an abundant treasure to the poor"
--From the Selections of Abdul-Baha
" What could be better before God than thinking of the poor? For the poor are beloved of our heavenly Father. When His Holiness Christ came upon the earth those who believed in him and followed him were the poor and lowly, showing the poor were near to God...But the poor are especially beloved of God. Their lives are full of difficulties, their trials continual, their hopes are in God alone. Therefore you must assist the poor as much as possible, even by sacrifice of yourself. No deed of man is greater than helping the poor."
--From the Foundations of World Unity by Abdul-Baha
BRAHMA KUMARIS
"Many believe that happiness is achieved through material wealth. It is true that it gives a temporary sense of well-being. A rich person is not someone who has more but someone who desires less. Happiness is the result of total appreciation of all that life gives you at every moment."
--From "The Gift of Peace"
BUDDHISM
"Buddhism likens wisdom and compassion to the two wings of a bird. It is only when the cultivation of wisdom and compassion is perfected that one becomes a Buddha. Towards this end, Buddhist scriptures prescribe six practices of perfection, among which the practice of giving is the first. Compassion for the poor and the weak serves as a basis for this practice.
"Not only did the Buddha extol compassion for the needy as a great personal virtue, he regarded it as a guiding principle for government. The scripture called the Cakkavatti Sihananda Sutta describes a state in which a king neglects the poor. As a result, poverty becomes widespread and disorder ensues, culminating in a period of great chaos in which people look upon one another as animals and kill one another with sword. The moral is that lack of compassion for the poor can lead to the disintegration of society. An ideal society should be based on compassion at all levels, both individual and collective.
"The depth of compassion in Buddhism is best summarized by the following verse of Shantideva, a great Buddhist teacher in the 8th century:
For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world."
--Wei Tan
"When compassion and wisdom work together, we can bring to those afflicted with poverty something more durable than mere symptomatic relief. We can make fundamental changes in the underlying network of causes that engender and sustain the poverty that brings so much suffering at so many different levels.
"With the ready knowledge we have today about the conditions of people throughout the world, it is natural that the problem of global poverty should arrest our attention as it has never done before. For Buddhism, poverty is a particularly degrading type of suffering both intrinsically and because it is the breeding ground of many other problems as well, particularly crime. Already in the ancient sutras (teachings) dating from the fifth century B.C., the Buddha taught that when poverty becomes rampant in society, it leads to the spread of criminal activity such as theft, falsehood, and murder. He thus teaches that the way to eliminate crime is not through sterner punishments but through more benign state policies. The Buddha therefore makes it the responsibility of the state to eliminate poverty by providing the poor with the means to earn their own livelihood.
"The Buddhist approach to poverty, however, is by no means patronizing or sentimental.... it ultimately aims to uplift them and enable them to fulfill their latent potential."
--Bhikkhu Bodhi
CHRISTIANITY:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is from Part 4, Section 2, Article 3. The article has to do with The Seven Petitions of The Our Father. Under Article 3, it is number 4: "Give us this day our daily bread." Paragraph 2831:
"But the presence of those who hunger because they lack bread opens up another profound meaning of this petition. The drama of hunger in the world calls Christians who pray sincerely to exercise responsibility toward their brethren, both in their personal behavior and in their solidarity with the human family. This petition of The Lord's Prayer cannot be isolated from the parables of the poor man Lazarus and of the Last Judgment."
HINDUISM
"Everything belongs to almighty God. Srimad-Bhagwadeeta supports the idea of 'Trusteeship'. Love and compassion for the poor are the thought-pillars on which the Eastern philosophy firmly stands. Rich people must share their wealth with their poor compatriots not as owner of wealth but just as trusteeship of wealth."
--Narinder Kapoor
ISLAM
"The state must learn, and the rich must learn, that giving alms is a good deed in times of prosperity and ease. But when duress is extreme and the crisis intense and when a plague strikes, then giving alms is not a good deed but a duty imposed by justice. . . .
"The state must learn that in times of prosperity and ease God commanded the leaders of the Muslims to take from the rich and give to the poor, until no hungry or deprived person remains..."
--Taha Hussein, "The Sufferers," American University in Cairo Press
A man once asked the Prophet what was the best thing in Islam, and the latter replied, "It is to feed the hungry and give the greeting of peace both to those one knows and to those one does not know."
--Hadith of Bukhari
JAIN
"Those who serve poor, serve me."
--Mahaveera [The 24th & last Tirthankara for Jains]
JUDAISM
". . . what makes me most comfortable with the liberal label, and proud of it, is the place compassion occupies within both Jewish tradition and liberalism. Yes, individual responsibility is a fundamental Jewish precept. But so is the responsibility of government and society to relieve human suffering and to provide justice for all citizens. Jewish teaching, while holding high the expectations of the individual, points to the destructive impact of poverty and hopelessness on the disadvantaged of society and demands concern for the widow and the orphan, the abolition of poverty and the repair of the social order."
--Rabbi Jerry Davidson, Temple Beth El, Great Neck
SIKHISM
The Sikh gurus (teachers) initiated the practice of sitting in a "Pangat" or line and eating together. People were supposed to sit on the floor in a line, rich or poor, high caste or low caste, Brahmin or untouchable, kings and paupers, men and women to respect the dignity of the poor who were eating in God's house or the Guru's home. No one says "we are here to feed you because you are poor or homeless" - all eat together. In most gurudwaras (homes of gurus) food is served 24 hours a day and all are welcome to come and eat.
--Raj Singh
Ideas You Can Use: BRIGHT SUNDAY
The Fellowship of Merry Christians, an ecumenical group of religious humorists and pranksters, encourages churches to rediscover the ancient tradition of celebrating Easter as a time of sharing God's laughter at death, evil, and human foolishness. Once upon a time Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant Christians all celebrated "the Easter laugh," a time for great laughter as they celebrated the Resurrection, God's great joke on Death. The frivolity often continued for days or even a whole week, with Christians in various lands paying particular attention to Easter Monday, Dyngus Day, Emmaus Day, and Bright Sunday. Easter was a sacred season but hardly a somber one: it was a time for picnics, practical jokes, singing, and dancing. Rolling Easter eggs did not originate on the White House lawn -- centuries ago in the Church of England clerics started tossing eggs to choirboys, right in the middle of cathedrals.
"Bright Sunday" or "Holy Humor Sunday" is observed by a growing number of congregations , often on the Second Sunday of Easter (April 3 this year) with jokes, laughter, humor, and general foolishness. This may be a "low Sunday" in many parishes, but those who observe Bright Sunday find that it rapidly becomes one of the best-attended services of the year. I took full advantage myself of the 40-foot ceiling at the United Methodist Church of Bay Shore, lobbing Easter eggs dyed by the congregation's youth to our choir, children seated up front, and even elderly parishioners in the back row. They were startled - as the Resurrection is meant to surprise us, I believe - but they also loved it.
I must warn parsons that the laity often give as well as they get. My invitation to merriment in Bay Shore led to the choir scoring the sermon one year like Olypmic judges and unleashing squirt guns on me after I joyfully "aspirgated" the congregation during a baptism (another fine old custom I commend to your use). Someone replaced the water in my glass on the pulpit with clear jello, which I naturally discovered only in the middle of the sermon. The Sunday School replaced the throne-like pulpit chair, which fit my 6' 5" frame but was too grand for my tastes, with one from the kindergarden classroom. Stuffy preachers without a sense of humor need not apply.
The Fellowship of Merry Christians, suggests that you:
- Encourage folks to dress as wildly as they like -- such as the choir coming in bathrobes rather than their usual attire.
- Have a joke-break in which parishioners are invited to share their favorites.
- Do a sermon that consists largely of funny stories and humor -- and perhaps do the same the following week!
To join the FMC and get further ideas for Bright Sunday, call 1-800-877-2757 or visit joyfulnoiseletter.com. What better way is there to proclaim Good News than with gales of laughter?
PRESBYTERIANS, JEWS, AND MESSIANIC CONGREGATIONSAmong the actions of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church last summer that kicked up an interfaith ruckus was the narrow defeat of a resolution or "overture" to cut off funding for a Messianic congregation in Philadelphia, which led at least one local rabbi who should know better to claim that Presbyterians "hate Jews." Presbyterian and Jewish leaders have held fruitful dialogues about their differences in recent months, but this particular issue leaves many Jews outraged and many Christians baffled. Jewish leaders have asked yours truly how the Presbyterians could fund such a congregation; Christians have asked why Jews get so worked up over a single mission project. Why do we see this congregation so differently?
Christians and Jews have radically different attitudes towards proselytizing, to begin with. Being Jewish is a matter of lineage and ethnicity as well as beliefs, and if those not born of a Jewish mother want to convert to Judaism, a rabbi is supposed to try at least three times to talk them out of it. A core belief of Christianity, on the other hand, is that we are called to share our faith in Jesus with others "make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19), though one evangelical friend observes that "even most Christians who call themselves evangelical have never evangelized anyone." It is little wonder that Jews have seen us as heretics. We Christians also have a long history of thinking Jews need to be converted more than anyone else and have sometimes slaughtered Jews who resist conversion. Christians may see proselytizing as an attempt to save their Jewish neighbors, but Jews may view this as an attempt to finish us off.
Even Christians who reject any "mission to the Jews" often don't know what to make of Messianic congregations. Are they churches? Synagogues? Something else? Messianics are sometimes accused of pretending to be Jews in order to lure Jews into Christianity, but they insist that they are Jews who don't want to become Christians, thank you very much. For a Christian to pretend to be a Jew in order to woo people away from Judaism is wrong, but what if she is not pretending? What if he was born Jewish, fell away from the faith, and now claims to have found it again under a rabbi, albeit one outside mainstream Judaism? Isn't this what many Lubavitchers claim? Are they Jews? Why not Messianics who follow Rebbe Yeshua?
It often offends Christian clergy - including me - when their Jewish colleagues vehemently reject Messianic leaders and threaten to leave any interfaith clergy association where they are welcome. A recent conversation with a friend who is a conservative rabbi provided insight into this conflict: most Jews expect rabbis to have not only a theological degree but also a secular one. The spiritual leaders of Messianic congregations often lack a B.A. or a graduate degree from a seminary recognized by most other rabbis. Consequently, Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist rabbis view the leaders of Messianic synagogues the way they view freelancer clerics who claim rabbinic authority without credentials: as phony rabbis. Ecumenically minded Christians, who are used to accepting the gifts and good intentions of colleagues who have been trained, credentialed, and selected in widely varied ways, are likely to cut Messianic rabbis some slack.
It is no wonder that we disagree, but perhaps we can differ without accusing one another of bad faith.
--TWG
WORTH QUOTING
"Government funders need to acknowledge once and for all that time and the costs of rent, electricity, insurance, paper, pens and pencils do not stand still. Flat-funded program budgets which are frozen year after year are an absurdity and a clear indication that government doesn't really care about the services it is purchasing."
--New York Nonprofit Press, January 2005 (www.nynp.biz)
"Violence begets more violence. When we kill in response to killing, we perpetuate the cycle of violence.
"Sometimes there is no other way. When violent criminals are still at large, or when terrorists or aggressor nations make war on others, violence may sometimes be necessary to stop them and protect the innocent.
"Once a violent criminal has been apprehended, however, we have the ability to employ nonviolent means to protect the public from that criminal - and thereby help us break the cycle of violence. In a world as steeped in violence as ours is, it is essential to the public safety that the state take the initiative in doing so."
--Rick Hinshaw, "No Death Penalty for Scott Peterson,"
Long Island Catholic, January 19, 2005 (www.licatholic.org)
"In India today, the Prime Minister is Sikh, even though Sikhs make up only 2% of the population, the President of India is a Muslim, even though only 13 % of the population is Muslim, and the leader of the ruling party is a Christian, in a land where only 2% are Christian."
--from the Long Island Multi-Faith Forum's commemoration of the 57th anniversary of Gandhi's death
DID YOU KNOW?
- The Long Island Housing Partnership, to which the LICC belongs, is taking applications for 80 low-income apartments that are being built on Corprate Drive in Westbury as part of the larger Archstone Westbury development. Income limits range from $23,800 for single people to $46,050 and montly rents vary from $640-$800 for a one-bedroom unit to $887-$1,109 for three bedrooms. Preference in the lottery will be given first to those who now live in the Town of Hempstead, second to those who live elsewhere in Nassau County, and finally to all others. Applications for the lottery must be mailed or hand-delivered to the LIHP (180 Oser Avenue, Suite 800, Hauppauge, NY 11788) by March 4. Call 631-435-4710 for further information.
- The Rev. Maureen Kessler, the LICC's chaplain at the Juvenile Detention Center in Westbury, has organized parties each holiday at the JDC, bringing her mother and her sister to help with the festivities and paying all the expenses of the parties herself.
- St. Edward the Confessor Church in Syosset and Faith Lutheran Church, which shared their building with St. Edward’s for more than a year after a fire damaged the Catholic church, are joining in a series of “Lutheran-Catholic Conversations” on four Wednesday evenings: April 13, 20, and 27, and May 11 at 7:30 p.m. Sharing facilities allowed the two congregations to observe their many similarities, and these ecumenical conversations will explore a wide variety of topics, including interchurch marriage, shared communion, women in ministry, devotion to Mary, things that unite or divide us, and our prayers for the future together. For more info, contact the Rev. James Anderson at 516-921-3330.
- The New York State Labor-Religion Coaltion is having a 40-hour fast from Tuesday, March 1, at 8 a.m. through Thursday, March 3 at noon, during which time its members will be praying for health care for all and calling attention to the plight of 45 million Americans who have no health insurance. The Long Island Labor-Religion Coalition is one of the groups participating in the 40-hour fast. For further info, contact Candace Wetherell at lilabor-religion@yahoo.com Or 631-589-3576.
- Christian leaders from many different denominational, theological, and ethnic backgrounds are coming together to heal divisions among them and to work cooperatively on behalf of the poor. As the National Council of Churches recently reported, "A vision for the most inclusive Christian organization ever in the United States advanced dramatically when a diverse group of 46 national church leaders agreed on a concrete proposal to take back to their church bodies for consideration. The proposal - for what is provisionally called Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A. (CCT) - builds on more than two years of behind-the-scenes work by church leaders."
- St. George's Church (319 Front St. in Hempstead) is presenting an interesting, multi-ethnic and musically eclectic “MID-LENTEN TEA & CONCERT” by the St. George's Steel Orchestra and the Guild of the Christ Child Chorus on Saturday, March 5 at 4:00. Call (516) 483-2771 for information. Requested donation: $10.00.
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER MARCH 4
The churches in the town of East Hampton will celebrate the World Day of Prayer with a service on Friday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. at the Springs Community Presbyterian Church. The service was written by church women in Poland. The World Day of Prayer is an international celebration sponsored by Church Women United. Everyone is invited to attend the service.
"What's Killing Our Kids?" March 11 Conference at C.W. Post
The threat of gang violence is now a reality on Long Island. Getting a handle on the types of violent behavior that feed gang recruitment will give parents, schools and communities the tools to put a stop to behaviors that put children at risk.
On Friday, March 11, a panel of experts will present workshops at a conference titled "What's Killing Our Kids?" from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Hillwood Commons at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University (Northern Boulevard/Route 25A in Brookville). Workshop topics include: Programs to Prevent Youth Violence; Adolescent Suicide; Childhood Obesity; Dating Violence; Fight Intervention Strategies; and Self-Mutilation and Cutting. The conference fee is $100, payable upon registration. To register or for more information, call (516) 433-9444 or email LIPEN21@aol.com.
The Long Island Board of Rabbis and the Long Island Council of Churches
present the first ever LI Interreligious Spring Sermon Seminar
Wednesday, March 16th, 2005 at Temple Chaverim, 1050 Washington Ave., Plainview
Featuring: Rabbi Mark Greenspan, Oceanside Jewish Ctr. & President, Rabbinical Assembly of Nassau/Suffolk, and the Rev. Jerome Taylor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Roosevelt & President, LI Council of Churches
These two distinguished colleagues, each a master preacher, will share texts, homiletic ideas and sermonic sparks focusing on springtime holiday themes related to rebirth and renewal. They will discuss strategies for preparation and delivery as well.
The Board of Rabbis and the Council of Churches will have separate meetings from 10:00 to 10:30 am. The seminar is scheduled to begin at 10:45. A kosher luncheon will be hosted by Rabbi Jonathan Hecht of Temple Chaverim. There is no charge but reservations are essential. No one can be guaranteed seating at lunch without responding. RSVP to Rabbi Hecht at 516-367-6100.
SAVE THIS DATE-Aids Interfaith Conference April 12
"Speaking of Ethics...Public Policies and Personal Needs"
April 12, 4-8 pm Top of the Commons, Hillwood Commons CW Post - $35.
BULLETIN INSERTS FOR REFLECTION ON RACISM
The LICC is observing a year of repentance and reflection on racism.
Save these two dates:
- Friday, April 8, 9-5 an all-day workshop at St. Joseph's in Babylon on "Racial Sobriety" led by Fr. Clarence Williams. For more info, visit www.ifrfr.org.
- Tuesday, May 3, 7:30-9:30 p.m. "Ending Long Island Segregation" at Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Wyandanch
We urge you to print these inserts in your worship bulletin or newsletter:
(Publish March 6th)
Continuing the Bigotry ... On Long Island
Institutional racism occurs when racism - that is, treating people of one race as inferior - is found in institutional structures (e.g., schools, businesses, government, religious congregations,) social practices, political acts, public policies and economic circumstances. Southern Jim Crow laws that segregated black schools, water fountains, rest rooms and just about every aspect of life were obvious examples of institutional racism. But, northern states have a long history of institutional racism as well. For example, during the 1940s and 1950s, the U.S. Fair Housing Administration (FHA) guaranteed low-cost mortgages that helped many World War II veterans buy their first homes in suburban communities like Levittown. The FHA warned against mixing "inharmonious racial or nationality groups" and urged "suitable restrictive covenants." The 1947 rental contract for a home in Levittown included this clause: "No dwelling shall be used or occupied by members of other than the Caucasian race, but the employment and maintenance of other than Caucasian domestic servants shall be permitted." Levittown - like most Long Island communities - remains overwhelmingly a white community today because, while restrictive racial covenants are now illegal, other largely illegal practices continue to foster segregation. Some banks and lending companies make it difficult for people living in African American or Hispanic communities to obtain a mortgage, either by denying them credit or charging them higher interest rates than whites pay. In another practice called racial steering, real estate agents show whites homes in white communities and blacks or Hispanics homes in segregated communities of color. Sometimes blacks and Hispanics are told that an apartment or home is no longer available when, in fact, it is available for whites. And then there is the powerful understanding that African Americans and Hispanics are not welcome in white Long Island communities.
Source: ERASE Racism; The New York Times, June 28, 2002
(Publish March 13th)
The Birth of a Segregated Long Island Community
Because many Long Island home rental and ownership contracts excluded African Americans from living in white communities, black ghettos were born during the 1940s and 1950s. In 1949, 647 mostly-white people lived in Wyandanch. Between 1952 and 1954, two housing developments were built in Wyandanch: Carver and Lincoln Parks. Advertisements for these homes were placed in black newspapers such as The Amsterdam News in Harlem. The homes were comparable to those in Levittown with one exception - blacks were allowed and encouraged to purchase them. These homes drew from the growing black middle class. In a few short years Wyandanch became a "planned suburban ghetto." Eventually almost all of the whites moved out. Soon, the Department of Social Services began to place welfare families in the community; by 1969, 68 percent of Wyandanch residents were on public assistance. And, because few businesses chose to locate in this African American community, the commercial tax base is quite small, making Wyandanch property taxes among the highest in Suffolk County.
Source: Wyandanch: A Political Profile of a Black Suburb by Richard Koubek, Queens College, 1971
(Publish March 20th)
The Burdens of Segregation on One School District
"The conclusion was clear: The school district didn't have the money or the people to educate its children. The recommendation of the New York University report was dramatic: Wyandanch schools should be dissolved." This report was released 35 years ago. Today, little has changed; the Wyandanch school district is still plagued with problems that defy solution. In 2002, only 43 percent of 4th grade students met or exceeded standards in the English test, compared with a Suffolk County average of 73 percent. Eighth grade students fared even worse, with just 7 percent meeting or exceeding standards in math - the lowest on Long Island. At the high school, only 38 percent of students earned Regents diplomas, compared with a County average of 64 percent. Wyandanch serves some of the most academically needy children in Suffolk County. More than half the students qualify for free or reduced price lunches. About 17 percent of the district's students have been classified as special education - the highest percentage on Long Island. Yet, in 2002, only 17 percent of these special education students graduated from high school, compared with 69 percent countywide. "One by one, the district struggles through a very long list of things to do, and history, it seems, shadows them each step of the way."
Source: Newsday, April 13, 2003
(Publish March 27th)
Long Island: The Most Segregated Suburb?
Could it be, 50 years after the U.S. Supreme Court ordered an end to segregation in the south, that Long Island is the most racially segregated suburb in the United States? According to a 2002 study conducted for ERASE Racism, Long Island is America's most racially segregated suburb in two important areas. In housing, while the African American population has grown, two thirds of Long Island's towns and villages remain less than 1 percent black; 90 percent of African Americans live in just 20 percent of Long Island's communities. Segregated neighborhoods lead to segregated schools. More than half of Long Island's African American and Latino students are concentrated in just 13 of the Island's 124 school districts. Seven of these districts are 90 percent black or Hispanic. Nine of the 10 Long Island school districts with poverty levels greater than 40 percent - measured by the number of students eligible for free or reduced price lunches - have 60 percent or more of their students who are African American and Hispanic. "The structures that shape Long Island ... produce not only underprivileged communities of color, but also over privileged white communities."
Source: Racism and the Opportunity Divide on Long Island prepared for ERASE Racism by John Powell of the Institute on Race and Poverty, 2002
NEEDED/OFFERED
Offered:
- Chairs:
- Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in New Hyde Park has about 20 adult and children size molded fiberglass school chairs for donation. The chairs are in very good condition. Please contact Gloria Dei at 516-354-6956 for additional information.
- New videos in the LICC lending library at the Presbytery in Commack:
- "Briars in the Cottonpatch" - one hour documentary on Clarence Jordan, Koinonia Farm, and the founding of Habitat for Humanity.
- Help Developing Your Property:
- The Long Island Housing Partnership, our region's largest builder of workforce/affordable housing, provides technical assistance to congregations and others who might like to turn their property into affordable housing but need help with permits, financing, finding a builder, selection of home-owners, and other such matters. For further information, call LIHP President Peter Elkowitz at 631-435-4710 or Tom Goodhue at 516-565-0290, ext. 206.
- Medical Equipment:
- Hicksville United Methodist Church has medical items to donate:
- Pulmonary Aid Unit
- Wheel Chair
- Hospital Tray
- Shower Bench
- 3 Walkers
- Acu-Check Glucose Monitor
- Knee Brace
- Bathtub Gripper
- Leg Immobilizer
- 2 Sith Sticks (for Blind person)
- 8 sets of crutches
- Telex Seat
- 2 Quad canes
- Metal Adjustable Cane
- Pedal Exerciser (Hand or Feet Use)
Contact: Darlis Gross at hidol51@aol.com, (Work) 631-755-7823, or (Home) 516-731-1793.
- Breast Cancer Screening & Education:
- Central Suffolk Hospital in Riverhead, through a grant provided by the Greater NYC affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, is offering outreach, education and screening for breast cancer in the Latino and African-American populations to help them overcome barriers to receiving care. For more information, contact Sylvia Pottenger at (631) 548-6430.
- Training in Nonviolence:
- The Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Global Justice and Peace Ministries, and the Wellness Center of the Riverside Church invite you to participate in a weekend of nonviolence training for personal and social change. It will be an experiential, spiritual retreat, focusing on the causes of violence, the transformative power of nonviolence, nonviolent social movements, community building and action planning.
- When: May 14 – 16, 2004
- Where: The Riverside Church, 91 Claremont Ave., between 120th & 122nd St.s, New York City
- Cost: $100 (Sliding scale of $50 - $150) includes all materials
- To Register or for more information contact Heather Maxwell at (845)358-4601 x26 or nv-intern@forusa.org.
Needed:
- A computer:
- The LICC needs a desktop computer or laptop with a CD-ROM to replace an aging machine in our Hempstead office. If you have one to donate, please call 516-565-0290, ext. 201, or email licchemp@aol.com.
- Food donations:
- The shelves are nearly bare at our Riverhead food pantry (407 Osborn at Lincoln, opposite the Polish American Civic Association.) We particularly need donations of canned meat, stew, fruit, cereal, spaghetti sauce, pasta, canned vegetables, canned fruit, peanut butter and jelly, and macaroni and cheese.
- Disaster Relief Kits for Kids:
- The recent tsunami has demonstrated the need for the sort of disaster preparations made by relief agencies, including all those "Gift of the Heart" health kits, cleanup kits, and school kits made by many LI congregations for the ecumenical relief and development agency, Church World Service. Because folks made them up in advance last spring, and because CWS maintains huge warehouses not only in Maryland but also in India and Malaysia, and other locations, CWS was able to ship relief supplies immediately to those who needed them most. You can find information about how to assemble these kits by visiting www.churchworldservice.org. We are seeking additional collection sites for these CWS kits, particularly a "depot" and driver in Western Suffolk to gather the relief kits on the last Saturday in April. If you can help with this, call Grace or Dick MacMillan at 516-785-3951. This year CWS is seeking a new variety, which they call "Heart to Heart" Kids Kits. These include:
- A small stuffed bear
- A small soft ball
- A harmonica or other small musical instrument
- A 6"x9" spiral notepad
- A slinky
- A Yo-Yo
- A 7-foot jumprope
- A comb
- A tube of toothpaste & a toothbrush
- A box of 24 crayons
- A large eraser
- A pencil sharpener
- A 12' (30 cm.) ruler
- A pair of blunt scissors
- Host congregation for the homeless:
- The Huntington Interfaith Homeless Initiative needs additional houses of worship that will open their doors one night a week to give shelter and a warm bed to approximately 10-20 men. Twenty churches are involved in some way with food preparation, volunteers, providing bedding, etc. Bethany Presbyterian,
- Central Presbyterian, Bethany Presbyterian, Central Presbyterian, Our Lady Queen of Martyrs, St. Paraskevi in Greenlawn, and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington already are open a night a week each, but two more host congregations are needed. The Family Service League picks up those who are homeless, screens them, and delivers them to each host site. The host congregation, along with volunteers from other churches, provides some kind of beds, a hot dinner, fellowship, breakfast, a bag lunch to take away with them, and a safe environment with constant supervision. If you have any questions or a willingness to volunteer, please call me Becky Crabtree (Central Pres) at 631-470-1131 (or email mamacrab@optonline.net, or contact any of the other host congregations, or call Peggy Boyd or Susan Rodriguez at the Family Service League in Huntington at 631-427-3700.
- Volunteers to provide shelter:
- Maureen's Haven, the ecumenical project of the Peconic Community Council and the Peconic Housing Initiative that shelters the homeless in East End churches, needs volunteers November through April for set up, chaperones, and cleanup, particularly in the Riverhead area from 5 p.m. on Saturdays through 8 a.m. Sunday. To learn more or to request a speaker for your congregation or organization, call Jay at PHI: 631-727-6820.
JOB OPENINGS
- Organist/Choir Director:
- Grace Lutheran Church in North Bellmore is seeking an organist/choir director, to begin in August 2005. Call 516-785-5029 for further information.
- Youth Leader:
- Wading River Congregational Church is seeking a part-time (25hrs/month) Youth Leader to work with our High School program. Responsibilities include running a weekly evening program, organizing and taking part in outreach ministries, leading youth in worship and Bible study. He/she will work with existing youth leaders and committee. WRCC is located on the North Shore, 10 miles east of Port Jefferson. Interested people can review a full job description at www.wrcongchurch.org, and should contact (631) 929-8849 or pastor@wrcongchurch.org.
Guest preachers
- Our Executive Director, the Rev. Tom Goodhue, is available some Sundays this spring and summer for guest preaching. You can reach him at tomgoodhue@optonline.net or 516-565-0290, ext. 206.
- Alric Kennedy also does some guest speaking and preaching.
- The Rev. Lillian Frier Webb, an African Methodist Episcopal clergywoman, therapist, and LICC chaplain, is available occasionally for guest-preaching and would be glad to tell congregations about our Women at the Well project that seeks to avoid incarceration. You can reach her at 516-764-8728.
- The Rev. Nancy Schaffer, another of our chaplains, is not available on Sundays but would be glad to speak to church groups at other times about Women at the Well. She can be reached at 631-586-9667.
- The Rev. Dick Ploth, a member of the LICC Board and the Presbytery of Long Island, is available for guest-preaching, supply-preaching, and interim pastorates. You can reach him at 631-734-2587 or lyndik@optonline.net.
- Dr. Eugene Purvis, a Conference Evangelist for the AME Zion Church and a member of our Public Issues Committee, is available for guest preaching. He can be reached at 516-623-0716.
- The Rev. Alan Bentz-Letts, an ordained Lutheran (ELCA) clergyman and campus minister is available for guest preaching, supply preaching, and part-time interim pastorates in Queens, Nassau, and Western Suffolk. Call 718-380-7234 or email alanbentzletts@aol.com.
- The Rev. Robert Terry, a semi-retired UCC clergyman, is available locally for guest-preaching, supply preaching, and interim pastorates. His wife Sue is a graduate of New Brunswick Seminary and a licensed preacher in the United Church of Christ. You can reach them at gterrys@aol.com or 631-751-1170.
- Jesse Glick and Kathy Burton from Church World Service, our partners in disaster response, would be glad to preach or speak about the work of CWS. Call 888-297-2767 or email jglick@churchworldservice.org.
- Tom Lyons, a member of Mt. Sinai Congregational Church (UCC) who is active in the Heifer Project, would be happy to speak or preach in local churches. He can be contacted a 631-928-4317 or lyonheifer@aol.com.
- The Rev. Randall Broger, a member of the Presbytery of Long Island who trained in interim ministry at Princeton Seminary, is available for guest preaching, supply preaching, and interim pastorates. You can reach him at randallb1@usa.net or 631-589-2923.
BLOOD DRIVES DURING MARCH 2005
Long Island Blood Services reports that its supply of blood has dropped to alarming levels as a result of the flu outbreak and winter storms, which forced the cancellation of 20 blood drives in our region on a single weekend in January. Here are some opportunities to save a life:
| 3/1/2005 | Grace Methodist Church | 21 Franklin Avenue | Valley Stream | 3:00 PM-8:30 PM | Bob DiSalvo | (516) 561-2513 |
| 3/1/2005 | LICC Levittown | First Presbyterian Church | Levittown | 3:00 PM-8:30 PM | Betty Towner | (516) 735-6489 |
| 3/7/2005 | Trinity Episcopal Church | 130 Main St. | Northport | 3:15 PM-8:45 PM | William Marsden | (631) 757-6432 |
| 3/13/2005 | Christ Lutheran Church | 189 Burr Rd. | E. Northport | 8:30 AM-2:00 PM | Andrea Moon | (631) 499-3414 |
| 3/19/2005 | New Apostolic Church | Woodlawn Ave/ Fourth Ave. | St. James | 9:00 AM-2:30 PM | Fred Wallenmaier | (631) 467-1990 |
| 3/21/2005 | LICC Garden City | Garden City Community Church | Garden City | 3:00 PM-8:30 PM | Cindy Campbell | (516) 334-6325 |
| 3/23/2005 | Trinity Lutheran | Trinity Lutheran | Islip | 4:00 PM-9:30 PM | Dianne Daly | (631) 581-3133 |
| 3/25/2005 | St. James Episcopal Church | 490 N. Country Rd | St. James | 3:00 PM-8:30 PM | Patricia Pawelko | (631) 327-5863 |
| 3/30/2005 | St. James Lutheran Church | Woodlawn & 2nd Aveune | St. James | 3:00 PM-8:30 PM | Linda Mugford | (516) 478-5045 |
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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