TABLE OF CONTENTS
From Our Executive Director:
ARE YOU A RECOVERING SINNER?
In recent months the Board of Governors of the Long Island Council of Churches has been pondering how we might help local congregations to survive and thrive in the future. It is no secret that churches, synagogues, and other faith-based organizations face enormous challenges as they cope with a recession, massive social change, and the growing secularization of our society. As the American Religious Identification Survey concluded, "The challenge to Christianity in the U.S. does not come from other religions but rather from a rejection of all forms of organized religion." Most branches of Judaism face the same challenge, as do many other faith communities.
We are convinced that to thrive in the future - and to be faithful to God's yearning for our lives - congregations must work ecumenically in an interfaith, multicultural world. They must also be willing to re-invent themselves, to retell "the old, old story in a new way," as the Rev. Richard Visconti recently noted that St. Patrick and early Celtic Christians did.
One opportunity for congregations to grow is to learn how people involved in recovery groups are working seriously on spiritual growth and to learn how to invite those who are meeting in the basement to worship in the sanctuary. Mt. Sinai Congregational Church, for example, has started "Serenity Sunday" worship services for those in recovery on the last Sunday of each month at 5 p.m. ASL interpretation is available at all worship services. (For further information, visit http://mtsinaichurchli.org or call 631-473-1582.) St. John Nepomucene Church (1140 Locust Ave. in Bohemia) has a special mass for those in 12-step groups (and their family and friends) on the 1st Sunday of each month at 7 p.m., followed by a meeting focused on the 11th Step in recovery. (For more information, call Father Kevin Gruber at 631-589-0540.)
It is not always easy for congregations to reach 12-steppers to invite them to worship or to invite them to share what they have learned about spirituality. One reason for the success of Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, and similar groups is that they maintain the anonymity of their members - so you cannot easily mail an invitation to everyone who meets in the basement on Tuesday evening. They also have a strongly-enforced rule against making announcements in their meetings about anything other than their meetings: even if you know someone who attends a 12-Step group, it would be inappropriate to ask her to announce your Recovery Mass or to put up a poster for 12-Step Sunday School in the meeting room.
You can, of course, put up posters inviting all who enter your doors to drop by for worship, if they are so inclined - and you should. And if you offer a Serenity Sunday service or plan to preach on the origin of the Serenity Prayer, by all means you should advertise this in front of your building and in the local media.
Many people who attend AA, though, pick a meeting out-of-town, precisely because they don't want their neighbors to see their car parked there. Once, long ago, when I was worrying excessively about a church secretary who'd fallen off the wagon, I did what I had urged countless parishioners to do when they found themselves losing sleep over someone else's drinking: I went to an Al-Anon meeting, but I picked one that was miles from home. Pastors live in fish bowls and I didn't want anyone to wrongly guess that I was going to this particular Lutheran church in Hempstead because someone in my family had a drinking problem. And, by the way, that Al-Anon meeting did me a world of good.
To reach folks who may live near your congregation but attend meetings far away, you need to cast a wider net - as I hope we just helped Mt. Sinai Congregational Church and St. John Nepomucene Church to do. Let me know what you are doing to reach out to and learn from those in recovery and I'll help pass the word!
Of course, the other challenge congregations face in trying to move people from the basement to the sanctuary is that what happens in the pews may be a pretty tame version of what happens in the meeting. We may talk about our church as a "fellowship of recovery sinners," for example, but we don't always mean it. As one member of the LICC staff told me recently, "The problem is that most people do not want to recover from sin as badly as addicts know that they must face their addiction." And, in that, sinners such as you and I have much to learn!
Shalom/Salaam/Shanti/Pax,
Tom
Return to top
DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT:
Sara C. Weiss, Director of Development
A special thanks goes Newsday Charities, a Fund of the McCormick Foundation, for a $60,000 grant for our Community Resources programs.
A special thanks also goes to Mr. Harry Janson, Sr., owner of Shoprite of Hauppauge located at 335 Nesconset Highway, for large donations, valued at nearly $30,000, of food, bottled water, household items, toiletries, cleaning items, toys, baby items, educational items and many other items our Riverhead clients will gladly receive.
We also thank John Weisman, Sr. from Kundig Contracting in Ronkonkoma for lending his truck to carry the items to Riverhead and his son, John Weisman, Jr. from 1st Presbyterian Church of Smithtown, for driving, loading, and unloading the truck. And we thank Karen Colby and the Youth Group from 1st Presbyterian for fasting and collecting food for the hungry which inspired Harry Janson to give.
And we thank an individual donor who gave $5,000 where most needed, and two individual donors who each gave $1,000 to help get our Special Fundraising Event started.
We also thank the following institutional donors for their gifts of $500 and more:
| First Parish Church UCC-Jamesport | $558 Where Most Needed |
| First Presbyterian Church Northport | $500 Where Most Needed |
| First United Methodist, Amityville | $683 Food/most needed |
| Garden City Community Church | $2,000 Food/most needed |
| New York Community Bank Foundation | $5,000 Most Needed |
| Pine Hills South Co. | $1,058 Transportation |
| Presbytery of Long Island | $1,000 Most Needed |
| Trinity Lutheran Church Rocky Point | $750 Most Needed |
We also are grateful to the institutions that gave less than $500, and to all of our individual donors who asked to remain anonymous.
Most Urgent Need
This month's most urgent need is for prescription assistance for our uninsured and underinsured Riverhead clients. Several clients a week are asking for help, but we do not have the funds to do so. The Suffolk Department of Social Services told them they had no money for prescription assistance either, so DSS sent them to us. A typical client who needs our help is a Caucasian family with two teenage children. The husband had just been discharged from the hospital after being operated on to put stents in his heart valve. He cannot work and was too ill leave home so his wife came to us for prescription assistance. The hospital had sent him home with several prescriptions that will cost him $500 to fill. He cannot afford even one. If he doesn't get the necessary medication, he will end up right back in the hospital. A gift of $500 will enable us to fill all of his prescriptions and help him get well enough so he can go back to work.
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. Please call Sara for a list. We also have planned giving opportunities that will sustain these programs in perpetuity.
Return to top
IDEAS YOU CAN USE
Engaging Children in Mission
Each Sunday at Patchogue Congregational Church, children bring canned goods for the church's emergency food pantry and put it in a large basket as they come up for the children's sermon. And during a recent service when our Executive Director was preaching, kids and youth reported on their impressive array of mission projects, including donating their hair to cancer patients on St. Baldrich's Day, and how they were learning about other religious traditions, such as visiting a Taize worship service at Mt. Sinai Congregational Church.
More Ways to Celebrate Aldersgate Day Ecumenically
Many Methodists and other spiritual descendants of John and Charles Wesley (such as the Church of the Nazarene) celebrate Aldersgate Day on or near May 24, the day of John Wesley's spiritual experience in which he felt his heart "strangely warmed." It is good to celebrate our founders but needlessly divisive to act as if the Mother Church has not changed at all since our schism. We can move closer to Christian unity if we share what the founders of our denomination received from our elder brothers and sisters in Christ. Here are a few suggestions for Aldersgate Day.
- Tell how Anglicanism nurtured the Wesleys, how the Church of England gave them a profound appreciation for the Eucharist or how Methodist innovations, such as small group meetings and a methodical approach to discipleship and mission, grew out of the Anglican's Oxford Movement.
- Tell your denomination what we lost when it broke with its predecessors: how Christians descended into dualism and an unhealthy mind-body split when we broke away from Judaism, how Protestants forgot most of the women of the Bible when we rejected the veneration of saints, and how Methodists nearly stopped practicing the Lord's Supper when we decided we could do without priests.
- It would be fitting, while observing the founding of the Methodist movement, to offer thanks for the good things we received from the Church of England and to pray that God will help us overcome our divisions, including those that may have seemed necessary at the time. You might sing, for example, "Amazing Grace" by the Anglican John Newton and "The Church's One Foundation" (#545 in the United Methodist Hymnal) by the Anglican Samuel Stone, who says,
"Though with a scornful wonder we see her sore oppressed,
with schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed,
Yet saints their watch are keeping; their cry goes up, `How long'?
And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song."
- You could also use this Bidding Prayer from the Anglican (Episcopal) Festival of Lessons & Carols:
"Beloved in Christ,
it is our duty and delight
to prepare ourselves to hear again the message of the angels,
and to go in heart and mind to Bethlehem,
and to see this thing which is come to pass,
and the Babe lying in a manger.
But first, because this would rejoice Jesus' heart,
let us pray for the needs of the whole world and all its people
for peace upon the earth he came to save,
for love and unity within the Church,
for goodwill among all people. . . .
And particularly at this time let us remember
the poor, the cold, the hungry, the oppressed,
the sick and them that mourn, the lonely and the unloved,
the aged and the little children. . ."
Return to top
WORTH QUOTING
What Separates Us from God
"It is not sin that keeps us from heaven but our refusal to repent."
--Presiding Elder Cynthia Willis-Stewart, Good Friday service, April 2, 2010
Jackson Memorial AME Zion Church
Injustice vs. Disorder
"Those who fear disorder more than injustice will end up producing more of both."
--the Rev. William Sloan Coffin, Jr.
Return to top
MORE WAYS TO SAVE MONEY
Last month we shared some ideas for saving money and reducing expenses that came from the first group of students in the LICC's personal finance seminar for the Salvation Army in Blue Point. (You can find the April Prelude at www.liccny.org.) Here are some additional suggestions from the Salvation Army's second group of students:
- Borrow videos from the library instead of renting them.
- Combine errands into a single car trip to save gas (and protect the envirornment).
- Switch to cheaper gasoline.
- Make sure that the decline in home values has not left you buying more homeowners insurance than you need.
- Use up leftovers before buying more food.
- Increase the deductible on your car insurance.
- Grow produce cooperatively with your neighbors and share the bounty so you don't all end up with more of the same crop than you can use.
- Rent out a spare room in your home to a college student or senior citizen through a program such as HomeShare which screens potential renters for homeowners over 60 who have a room to share. In Nassau County, call the Family & Children's Assn. at 516-292-1300 ext 2312 or visit familyandchildrens.org. In Suffolk call the Family Service League at 631-427-3700, ext. 305 or visit fsl-li.org.
Any other ideas you'd like to share?
The LICC offers seminars on how to manage your money well - and not get ripped off on loans. For more info on these, please visit www.liccny.org/managemoney.html.
Return to top
HELP WITH MORTGAGE TROUBLES
One of the most common frustration that borrowers face in trying to talk with their lenders about mortgage problems is that they have difficulty reaching someone with the authority to correct mistakes in their bill, help them with a loan modification, or otherwise assist them in straightening out their mortgage. Below are the customer contact telephone numbers of lenders and loan services. If you are a homeowner having trouble with your mortgage, please call your servicer's hotline for assistance (please have your account number ready when you call). The department you want is often called "loss mitigation."
- Aurora Loan Services 800-550-0509
- Avelo Mortgage, LLC. 866-992-8356
- Bank of America 800-846-2222
- Carrington Mortgage Services 800-790-9502
- CitiFinancial/Citi Trust Bank 800-422-1498
- CitiMortgage Conv/FNMA 800-695-0384
- CitiMortgage/Gov't & Freddie Mac 866-272-4749
- CitiResidential Customer Care 800-430-5262
- EMC Mortgage, Inc. 877-362-6631
- First Horizon Home Loans 800-364-7662
- GMAC/Homecomings/ResCap 800-799-9250
- Home Loan Services, Inc. 800-500-5022
(doing business as First Franklin Loan Services and NationPoint Loan Services)
- HomEq Servicing 888-270-6663
- HSBC Consumer Lending 800-333-5848
- HSBC Mortgage Services 800-365-6730
- HSBC Mortgage Corporation 888-648-3124
- IndyMac Bank 800-880-6848
- JPMorgan Chase Prime Loans 800-446-8939
- JPMorgan Chase Non-Prime 877-838-1882
- JPMorgan Chase Home Equity 866-582-5208
- JPMorgan Chase Default Help Line 866-345-4676
- Litton Loan Servicing 800-999-8501
- National City Mortgage Corporation 800-523-8654
- Nationstar Mortgage, LLC. 888-480-2432
- Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC. 877-596-8580
- Option One Mortgage Corporation 888-275-2648
- Saxon Mortgage Services 888-325-3502
- Select Portfolio Servicing 888-818-6032
- SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. 800-443-1032
- Wells Fargo Home Mortgage 877-216-8448
- Wells Fargo Financial 800-275-9254
- Wilshire Credit Corporation 888-917-1050
Need some good advice on how you might hold onto your home? Both the Long Island Housing Partnership (632-475-4710) and Long Island Housing Services (516-292-0400 x 311) offer free foreclosure prevention counseling. Foreclosure prevention hotlines have been established by Nassau County (516-571-HOME) and Suffolk County (631-853-4800). Those off-island, can get free foreclosure-avoidance counseling referrals by calling NeighborWorks at 888-995-HOPE or by visiting their Web site: www.foreclosurehelpandhope.org.
Return to top
NEED A GUEST PREACHER? WHAT SHOULD YOU PAY?
Our Executive Director, the Rev. Tom Goodhue, has some Sundays available for guest preaching this summer and fall. You can reach him at tomgoodhue@optonline.net or 516-565-0290, ext. 206. For a listing of other pinch-hitters, please visit www.liccny.org/guestpreachers.html.
Return to top
DID YOU KNOW?
- Maureen Garner is now offering English as a Second Language classes three mornings a week at the LICC's Freeport food pantry (450 N. Main Street).
- According to a recent study by the Scuyler Center, only one out of every three children eligible for public assistance is receiving it. Before welfare reform, two in three were.
- Profits and bonuses on Wall Street are now three times higher than at the previous all-time high in 2006 - right before the financial meltdown.
Return to top
NEEDED/OFFERED
Needed:
- Senior Volunteers
- GOT TIME? The Retired Senior Volunteer Program has dozens of volunteer opportunities for energized adults 55+ throughout Suffolk County. Volunteer placements range from environmental gardening, tour guides, soup kitchens, hospitals, mentoring etc. If you have some community spirit and free time call 631-979-9490 (on the East End, 288-0754) for more information. Training, a small travel reimbursement and liability insurance are included with your RSVP volunteerism.
Offered:
- Multi-Faith Education
- The Long Island Council of Churches and Auburn Theological Seminary launched the Long Island Multi-Faith Forum in 1993 to help people in our area understand their neighbors. The LIMFF unites hundreds of Islanders from eleven different faith communities and many races, nationalities, and cultures. Our volunteers represent the Bahai Faith, the Brahma Kumaris, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduisms, Islam, Jainism, Judaism, Native American Spirituality, Sikhism, and Unitarian Universalism. If you are not familiar with all these traditions or did not know that they are your neighbors, you may need a Building Bridges program! The Forum has presented more than 240 programs in schools, workplaces, and houses of worship, for audiences ranging from ten to 1100. While most of our programs are done in English, we have also been able to accommodate requests for Spanish language and bi-lingual presentations and could try other languages as well. For more information on this, please visit www.liccny.org/buildingbridges.html.
- An Hour of Christian Musical Praise
- A new, joyful service has been created that directly shares some of the best Protestant hymns with our Catholic brothers and sisters in their churches. It's easy to coordinate, not expensive, and the free will proceeds can be used by the participating churches for their special needs. While all are welcome, this is not an interfaith service; rather it is a way for Protestants and Catholics to practice individual ecumenism by singing together for about an hour or so. For further information email fcornman@verizon.net.
- Summer Camp for Kids
- The Salvation Army is offering a week of camp July 13-20 for children ages 7-11 at Star Lake Camp, located on 400 acres in the beautiful foothills of the Ramapo Mountains in Bloomingdale, New Jersey. The week-long sleep away camp provides new opportunities for campers to learn positive life skills and a variety of activities different from those available at school and home. Star Lake Camp is accredited by the American Camping Association and Christian Camping International. Children should be between the ages of 7 - 11 on the first day of camp. Each child should receive a physical or have had a physical within the year of the camping session. All the counselors have been well trained; each counselor is equipped to handle 8 children. They are also offering a sports camp the same week, with bus transportation to and from camp. The Salvation Army only asks that each child pay a non refundable fee of $25 for registration. To apply, call the office at 631-363-6100 and ask for Irene. An application along with a brochure will be mailed to you immediately. Irene can also answer any questions you may have about the camp.
- Affordable Homes in Bay Shore
- 34 New 2-bedroom condos and 6 new 3-bedroom condos are being built in downtown Bay Shore at part of the Cortland Square Condominium. Applications are now available from the Long Island Housing Parternership. The application includes a full explanation of guidelines for entrance into the lottery. Entrance into the lottery is limited to households who earn under 120% of the Nassau/Suffolk area median income based on household size. Please note there is also an asset limitation policy. The deadline for applications is May 28. Fair housing laws will be followed. To receive an application, please call the Long Island Housing Partnership at (631) 435-4710 extension 0 between 9 A.M. and 5 P.M., Monday through Friday or visit the Housing Partnership at 180 Oser Avenue, Hauppauge, NY 11788.
- Domestic Violence Prevention Training
- The New York State Coalition Against Domestic Violence is offering free training on preventing domestic violence and dealing with vicarious trauma on Thursday, May 27, from 9 to 3 at Touro Law Center, 225 Eastview Drive in Central Islip. For info, please contact Kaitlyn Pickford, Kaitlyn@brightertomorrowsinc.org.
- Scholarships for Organizing Blood Drives
- Here's a unique way to raise college funds for your high school and college aged children, grandchildren or neighbors. Help your student to organize a community blood drive. Simply invite friends, family, teachers, co-workers and religious leaders to the blood drive. Collect 30 or more pints and Long Island Blood Services will award a $250 scholarship to a college on behalf of the student. Collect 50 pints and they will award a $500 scholarship. To participate, students must host their blood drive from June 21 - September 15, 2010. For more information, please send your name, your student's name, town, phone number and school name to LIScholarship@nybloodcenter.org or call Natalie Barnofsky at (516) 478-5006.
- Help for Returning Vets
- The VA offers Vets 101, an educational and social support program for the families of returning veterans. Vets 101 provides information about veterans benefits, referrals for assistance, and help dealing with such issues as anger, combat stress, and brain injuries. Vets 101 is offered the first Thursday of each month from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at Suffolk Community College's Brentwood Campus (Captree Commons, Room 104) and the third Thursday of each month from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at the Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Building 200/Main Hospital, Room A 1-5). For directions or more info, please contact Gillian Rooney at 631-831-0481 or Gillian.Rooney@va.gov.
Return to top
MENTORS NEEDED - AND OFFERED
BUDDY (Building Unique, Dynamic & Diverse Youth) brings together three nonprofit organizations - the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, the Long Island Council of Churches, and the Mentoring Partnership of Long Island - to launch a mentoring program for children in Nassau County whose mothers are incarcerated.
Children of incarcerated parents often experience fear, anger, sadness, loneliness, abandonment, embarrassment, guilt, resentment, isolation and emotional withdrawal from family and friends. Family instability, trauma linked to witnessing the parent's arrest, incarceration and/or criminal activities and uncertainty about the future challenge even the most resilient children. Without assistance, many of these children are at increased risk for poor academic performance, drug and alcohol abuse, unsafe sexual behaviors, and juvenile justice or criminal justice system involvement. This program will help break the cycle and ensure that Nassau's most at-risk kids get the help they need to be successful.
We need volunteer mentors who can devote an hour a week to a young person. Orientations are held monthly and we'll give you all the training and support you need to have a great experience. Also, if you know of a young person (4-18 years) whose mom is incarcerated and who could benefit from mentoring, please call Valerie Taylor at LICADD (516-747-2606).
Return to top
LONG ISLAND COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
PODCASTS ON "LIFE IN DIFFICULT TIMES"
Our friends at Podarama have just launched "Life in Difficult Times - How to Make It Through," a series of podcasts to inform and aid people in need during this stressful economic period. It features Thomas Goodhue (Executive Director of the Long Island Council of Churches), Allan Varela and Barbara Sakovich. "Life In Difficult Times - How to Make It Through" is produced by Sunlost Publishing for Podarama Matrix in cooperation with the Long Island Council of Churches. Those who download these programs are encouraged to support the LICC's efforts to feed people in need. All net proceeds go to LICC Food Pantries. The first three programs are
- The Magnitude of the Problem
- Pride
- How You Can Help
I'd love to hear what you think of these programs. Please visit: http://www.podarama.com/licc.
Return to top
Grace MacMillan Memorial CROP Walk May 16 in Wantagh
On Sunday, May 16, Wantagh Memorial Congregational Church is hosting the annual Wantagh CROP Hunger Walk, the 30th year that the congregation has been instrumental in organizing and running this event, which benefits the LICC Freeport Emergency Food Pantry as well as the disaster response work of the ecumenical agency Church World Service. In honor of a onetime LICC Board member and longtime CWS coordinator, this CROP Walk is now officially the Grace MacMillan Memorial CROP Walk. The Walk is led by WMCC's new pastor (and the LICC's preacher at this year's Easter Dawn service), the Rev. Ron Garner.
The Church on the Hill in Flushing (Reformed Church in America) will be taking part in the Wantagh CROP Walk so that they might sponsor one in their area next year, bringing walkers to Wantagh and participating in the planning prior to the event.
You can sponsor walkers online - and give thanks to God for the long, good life of Grace MacMillan - by visiting www.churchworldservice.org and clicking on CROP Hunger Walks. Then locate our walk on the map provided. You can contribute to the fund on a general basis or to a specific walker such as Pastor Garner. Donation forms for walkers and sign up sheets for volunteers and walkers are available from WMCC (516-785-1829).
Registration for the walk begins at 1:30 pm on May 16 and the walk kicks off at 2:30 p.m.
Return to top
THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY TO FEED THE HUNGRY
Did You Know?
- One in eight Americans receives food assistance from the nation's charitable food distribution system annually. On Long Island, the figure is 1 in 10.
- Nationwide, there was a 50% increase in the number of children served through the charitable food distribution network compared to 2006. Many were first time users of food banks. On Long Island, it's now more than 110,000 children who obtain food through pantries, soup kitchens, etc.
- The Federal Government plays an indispensable role in the fight against hunger by funding programs that provide relief for hungry Americans. Through programs such as SNAP/Food Stamps, it is the largest provider of food for our country's at-risk children.
Remember the saying "Think Globally; Act Locally?" Here are some ways you can help your neighbors who know hunger first-hand:
- Donate to the National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive on Saturday, May 8. Leave canned and packaged food at your mailbox. Your Letter Carrier will collect your donation, and it will be delivered to a food pantry, soup kitchen, or other program in our network right here on Long Island.
- Volunteer to Help Sort & Pack This Food with Island Harvest at Bay Shore Postal Warehouse on Saturday, May 8; Monday, May 10; Tuesday, May 11; or Wednesday, May 12.
Return to top
SAVE A LIFE - GIVE BLOOD!
- Sunday, May 2 from 8:15 to 1:15 St. Raymond's Church, (263 Atlantic Ave. in East Rockaway. Call 516-887-9197 for more info.
- Saturday, May 8, 9:45-2:15 Parkway Community Church, 95 Stewart Avenue in Hicksville. Call Millie or Cindy at 516-938-1233 for an appointment.
- Sunday, May 16, from 9:30 until mid-afternoon Temple Beth David in Commack (100 Hauppauge Rd., 631-499-0915) is having a blood drive during their annual Mitzvah Day.
- Saturday, May 22, 10-2 First Baptist Church of Riverhead, 1018 Northville Turnpike. Call Linda Bullock at 516-658-4459 for an appointment.
Return to top
LICC ANNUAL MEETING AND LUNCHEON 2010
WHEN: Thursday, May 6, 2010
TIME: 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
WHERE: First Presbyterian Church of Smithtown
175 E. Main Street, Smithtown, NY
COST: $40 per person (includes lunch)
AGENDA
11:00 AM - 11:30 AM Registration & Coffee
11:30 AM - 12 Noon Business Meeting
12 Noon - 12:30PM Panel Discussion
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM Lunch & Awards
Discussion topic: Guest speakers Gregory Blass, Commissioner of Social Services for Suffolk County, and John Imhof, Commissioner of Social Services for Nassau County, will address the plight of the working poor on Long Island, how their Departments of Social Services are trying to help, and how they can help congregations and faith-based organizations minister to victims of the current economic crisis.
ANNUAL MEETING RESERVATION FORM
Registration and payment must be received no later than April 30, 2010.
Name _______________________________________
Number attending __________
Address ____________________________________________________
City __________________________________ State_________ Zip ________________
Day-time telephone ____________________________________________________
E-mail address ____________________________________________________
Please complete and print out hard copy. Address check for $40 per person to: Long Island Council of Churches. Please write "Annual Meeting Registration" in the memo section and mail to:
Timothy Denton, Director of Finance
Long Island Council of Churches
1644 Denton Green
Hempstead, NY 11550
Or call 516-565-0290 to charge your reservation to your credit card.
Directions:
From the WEST: Go East on Northern Parkway past Sunken Meadow to the end of Parkway. The road divides about 2 miles past the end of the Parkway. At the divide, take Rt. 347 to the left; go to Highway #111. Get into the right lane, then turn around & come back to the light at the intersection of #347 & #111. Go North on #111 about 2 miles to Route #25 (also Main Street). At the intersection you will see the church-a stately white building-ahead of you. Turn left, then take the first right into the church driveway.
From the EAST: Take the LIE West to Exit 57. Go Northwest on Veteran's Highway (#454), then turn right onto Route #111 and go North about 2 miles to Route #25 (also Main Street). At the intersection you will see the church ahead of you. Turn left, then take the first right into the church driveway.
Return to top
WELCOMING THE IMMIGRANT
Resources to Teach, Preach, and Talk About Comprehensive Immigration Reform
The Long Island Council of Churches, Long Island Wins, and Long Island Jobs with Justice invite religious leaders, clergy members and active lay leaders to be our special guests for an afternoon to discuss immigration on Long Island.
This event is for members of all faiths. Please join us on one of these dates, at the location most convenient for you:
- Friday, May 7 - Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Stony Brook
- Friday, May 14 - St. Hugh of Lincoln Catholic Church - Huntington Station
- Friday, May 21 - United Methodist Church - Southampton
All sessions will be 2:00pm to 4:00pm
In this workshop you will receive resources to start a dialogue in your congregation and community on the need for comprehensive immigration reform and concrete tools for public-policy advocacy. Topics will include:
- The DREAM Act: Helping Our Undocumented Children Become College Students
- How to Preach, Teach, and Talk about Difficult Issues
- Facts and Fears: Immigration in Historical Context
- Putting a Human Face on Immigration
- Comprehensive Immigration Reform: The Time is Now
Speakers:
- the Rev. Tom Goodhue (Long Island Council of Churches)
- Fr. Bill Brisotti (Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal)
- Maryann Slutsky (Long Island Wins)
- Richard Koubek & Maria Contreras (Jobs with Justice)
Sessions are FREE but seating is limited. Please RSVP by April 20. Send your name, house of worship, and which session you will attend to: teachingandpreaching@gmail.com
Return to top
HELP FIGHT HUNGER ON LONG ISLAND
Join musical groups of our community for a
Concert of Sacred Music
Saturday, May 22, 7:30 PM
Sponsored by the Mineola Clergy Association
Featuring the Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra with
Members of the Mineola Choral Society, Mineola High School,
Chaminade Glee Club and congregational choirs.
Location: Chaminade High School Auditorium
340 Jackson Avenue at Saville Road
Mineola, NY 11501-2441
(one block south of Jericho Turnpike)
Benefiting the Interfaith Nutrition Network & the Long Island Council of Churches
Tickets available at Area Houses of Worship and at the Door
Suggested Donation: General Admission: $20
Seniors Citizens: $10
Students: $5
Booster advertising available to businesses, individuals and others
For booster info, contact event coordinator Dan Mason, 516-865-2090
If you know where your next meal is coming from, please consider helping those who don’t.
Return to top
ADVERTISING IN THE PRELUDE
Each month we mail about 3000 copies of our newsletter The Prelude to the clergy leaders and lay leaders of 1400 faith organizations. We also email this newsletter to 3000 religious leaders and post it on our Web site (www.liccny.org), which receives nearly 2000 visitors each month. 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 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 tomgoodhue@optonline.net. 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.
Return to top
ADS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
JOB OPENING AT UU FELLOWSHIP OF HUNTINGTON
The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington is seeking a part-time office administrator to work Monday-Friday 9am-3pm or 9:30am-3:30pm. The salary range is $21,450 to $24,310, depending on experience, with generous benefits, including access to group health insurance, flex plan, pension, disability, life insurance, vacation, sick days and holidays. If interested, please apply immediately by sending a letter of interest, resume, and contact details for at least two references to uufhjobs@gmail.com. A full job description can be found at uufh.org.
“In the Beginning, was the Meal:
Social Experimentation and Early Christian Identity”
Monday, May 3 - 9:30 to 3:30
Smithtown United Methodist Church 230 E. Main Street, Smithtown
This workshop examines early Christian worship and what it has to teach us about worship today. A number of recent scholarly breakthroughs have substantially changed how we think about the worship life of the early Christians. This workshop summarizes these new developments, and considers their implications for both our view of the first two centuries of "Christianity" and worship today. It examines particularly the important ways worship shaped early Christian identity. It consults major sociological studies of 21st century America in considering how Christian worship today can address key problems in this country.
- How the Early Christians Worshiped: A New Portrait.
- How Early Christian Worship Recasts Our Understanding of Early Christian Beginnings
- The Crisis of Community in America and the Role of Churches.
- New Paradigms for Worship Today.
Light sandwich lunch served. Fee: $79
“3 TRADITIONS, ONE ROOT” MAY 16 IN BRENTWOOD
On Sunday, May 16, from 2 - 5 pm at St. Joseph's Renewal Center (1725 Brentwood Road in Brentwood) offers a program exploring the common roots of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It is designed both for high school students and families of all spiritual/religious backgrounds. The speakers are:
- Dr. Thomas Petriano, Chair of the Religious Studies Dept. at St. Joseph’s College in Patchogue,
- Dr. Usuf Gurtas, a mathematician who speaks frequently about Islam, and
- Rabbi Rhonda Nebel, leader of Temple Beth Chai in Hauppauge.
A donation of $15 is requested of adults and a free-will offering from students. Please register by May 10. Call 631-273-1187, ext. 23 for more information.
“GREEN UP! THE EMERGING GREEN ECONOMY” MAY 21
Abundant Communities Together (ACT) invites you to attend a free conference that will educate and inform you, your parishioners, and the communities you serve about opportunities in the emerging green economy. Green Up! The Emerging Green Economy: Access & Opportunity for Diverse Communities” will be held on Friday, May 21, 2010, 8:30am – 2:30pm at 68 South Service Road, Melville, NY. Attend Green Up! and receive valuable information about opportunities to reduce costs, increase revenues, and inform your constituencies about career & business opportunities in the emerging green economy. Green Up! is sponsored by ACT, Mercus Consultants, Citigroup, LISBAC, the Long Island Power Authority, and a growing list of Long Island & New York area companies.
ACT is a faith-based community development corporation, and a ministry of the Congregational Church of South Hempstead/UCC. ACT provides community and economic development assistance to churches, nonprofits, and businesses that serve low and moderate income communities.
Admission to Green Up!, which includes breakfast and lunch, is free. Since seating is limited to the first 150 participants, advance registration by May 14th is required. Please register online at www.actogether.net or call us toll free at (888) 634-4447.
FREE WORKSHOP FOR FAMILY CAREGIVERS May 22
Janna P. Visconti, Esq., will speak at the Caroline Church in Setauket on Saturday, May 22. This important workshop will give valuable information for support in your caregiving role and help you and your loved one to live with dignity, safety and security. Please RSVP to Julie at Day Haven 631-585-2020 ext 260.
“HEART FOR HAITI” BENEFIT CONCERTS MAY 22 & 23 IN MATTITUCK
Mattituck Presbyterian Church is hosting “Heart for Haiti” concerts, with more than 80 performers playing everything from classic rock to spirituals, on Saturday, May 22, at 7 PM and Sunday, May 23, at 3 PM. The cast includes performers from Haiti, Jamaica, and the East End.
Seating is first come, first served. Admission is free: an offering will be received for humanitarian work to relieve and rebuild Haiti. Original art by Haitian and local artists will be available for sale before and after the shows. Over the past twenty-five years, Mattituck Presbyterian Church, located at 12605 Main Road in Mattituck, NY, has raised money and played a hands-on role in Haiti, building water wells, feeding children, caring for orphans, and creating a permanent medical clinic in LaGonave, Haiti.
CHRISTIAN UNITY SERVICE in UMC Babylon May 23
On Pentecost Sunday, May 23rd at 3 PM the United Methodist Church of Babylon will host a special service to worship our universal Savior Jesus Christ through the miracle of Pentecost. This will be followed by a Coffee Hour hosted by the Christian Unity & Interreligious Concerns Committee. All are welcome. For further information, please call the Church Office at: 631-661-5151.
Return to top
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:tomgoodhue@optonline.net
Web: www.liccny.org
|
