FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR:

ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE

I'm not thinking of the Grateful Dead song about crossing the Rocky Mountains but rather an issue that separates Christians. I often find myself asked to explain Christians in one camp to Christians in the other faction or to explain to non-Christians why we are fighting amongst ourselves so ferociously. I'd like to try an analogy. All analogies are inexact and I may offend people on both sides of the debate, but such are the risks of ecumenical work. Here goes:

Are you a vegetarian or a carnivore? If you are a vegetarian/vegan, do you eat eggs and milk products? Onions and other vegetables pulled up out of the ground? How do you feel about people who follow a diet drastically different from yours?

Deer hunters and broccoli lovers seldom come to blows, but we do disagree. Some do not understand how a Christian can eat meat, while it makes no sense to others that cattle or clams should have the same rights as people. Jains think that pulling onions or potatoes out of the ground is a form of violence, but this seems ludicrous to those who do not see vegetable matter as endowed with feelings. Deer hunters believe "culling the herd" is more compassionate than letting Bambi starve from overpopulation. Everyone has a point, but their point makes sense only to those who share their assumptions about plants or animals.

In a similar way, we are divided over embryonic stem cell research: some see this technology as potentially life-saving; others believe it destroys potential lives. Those who see human personhood as beginning at conception are duty-bound to reject abortion. You can hardly expect someone who views this medical procedure as murder to not try to get it outlawed. On the other side of the Divide, Christians who believe personhood is endowed with your first breath find it incomprehensible that terminating a pregnancy can be called murder, or that anyone could object to using discarded embryos to save lives. You can hardly expect those who hold this view to do anything other than uphold a woman's right to choose abortion or a scientist's desire to find a cure for a dread disease.

What doesn't follow logically is to judge your adversary's intentions on the basis of your own presuppositions. Onion-eaters do no intend to torture defenseless vegetables and hunters are not violating the rights of anyone they recognize as having them. It is unfair to say that Christians who support legal abortion "have little regard for human life," since they do not recognize a fetus as a separate human being. It is equally unfair to claim that abortion opponents oppose women's rights, since none of us believes we have a right to murder another. It is equally unfair for either side in the stem cell debate to accuse the other side of not valuing human life, since both camps are committed in their own way to saving lives. We should, at the very least, not lie about each other's motives.

Perhaps women view this issue differently than men. For twenty-nine years my wife and I have nearly always ended up agreeing on the big questions in life, but we often get there by different routes. The research of developmental psychologist Carol Gilligan confirms this: girls and women tend to do their moral reasoning differently than boys and men, beginning by thinking about relationships rather than abstract principles. In one Catholic couple I know, he thinks abortion is always wrong, but believes Christians are equally obliged to fight capital punishment; she believes abortion is sometimes the lesser evil in situations where all options are bad.

It seems to me, though, that when we talk about abortion, we almost always "beg the question" - a deceptive tactic recognized by nearly every high school debater. We assume we are right about what may be the key question: is a zygote or fetus a human being? As in many matters of faith, the answer to this question can be believed but not proven. Nor does the Bible provide a definitive answer, at least not that I have ever found. When Christians quote Scripture to support their position on this topic, they nearly always beg the same question. The Bible may say "Thou shalt not kill," for example ("thou shalt not murder," to be precise) but unless the fetus is a person, ending a pregnancy isn't either killing or murder. The Hebrew Scriptures, I am told by those who know better than I, assume that you become a person when the "nephesh" (breath/spirit) enters your body but do not say precisely what rights a fetus may or may not have. Pro-choice Christians note that Jesus never said a word about this issue - he seems to have been far more interested in wealth and poverty than sexuality - and that the Bible does not explicitly prohibit abortion, in contrast to the legal codes of the surrounding cultures, but an "argument from silence" is never a strong one. The Church Fathers weigh in on the life-begins-at-conception side, but their views are normative for some Christians while at most informative for others. It may not be very convincing to argue, "If my assumption is right, then you are wrong," but that is the most honest thing any of us can say on this topic. We cannot expect either camp to stop fighting for its position, but we can and should expect ourselves to deal honestly and respectfully with our differences, even when we are convinced that the other side is wrong.

Most Christians are not zealots on this issue. Some abortion opponents object to this procedure even in cases of rape or risk to the mother's life, for example, but Catholic teaching has always allowed for the termination of an ectopic pregnancy or one that otherwise threatened the life of the mother. As with most Catholic moral reasoning, intent matters: if the intent is save a woman's life, the secondary effect of terminating the pregnancy may be acceptable. Catholic Health Services emergency rooms on Long Island, according to a recent survey, are even more likely than secular ones to provide the standard hormone treatments for rape victims: the fact that this may prevent implantation is an acceptable, secondary effect of giving the best possible care to a traumatized and potentially infected victim. Many Catholic leaders, in fact, get denounced by others in the right-to-life movement because the church has a more nuanced approach to complicated situations than the zealots would like.

I also find that most pro-choice Christians are not extremists. They may oppose legal restrictions on abortion but urge pregnant women to tell their parents, make sure they are not being pressured into an abortion by the guy, and so on. They may insist on their right to conscientiously choose abortion but are troubled by casual use of this or any other medical procedure. Many are anti-abortion but pro-choice: condemning abortion but believing it is counterproductive to outlaw it, just as most teetotalers concluded that the Prohibition was a mistake. It is also possible to defend a woman's right to choose but want abortion to be "legal, safe, and rare." Nearly everyone I know who is pro-choice, in fact, wishes exactly that, though almost no one I know who is anti-abortion believes this.

Is there any common ground? There may be. Both those who want abortion outlawed and those who provide abortions, for example, do not want to see women and girls in the situation where they face difficult choices. Both sides want to end the poverty, lack of insurance, and exploitation by older guys that often make pregnancy a crisis. The good news is that those of us who believe in the Good News are increasingly working together, despite our differences, to confront the underlying injustices that make pregnant women desperate. Wouldn't it be nice if we held politicians accountable not only for what position they take on abortion but also for doing something to overcome poverty and injustice?

Shalom/Salaam/Shanti/Pax,
Tom

SARA WEISS, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Many thanks to these recent donors:

Altria Employees Fund	$12,500	food pantry staff, Riverhead
Bahais of Huntington	575	Multi-Faith Forum
Chicago Title Insurance Co.	500	Fall Convocation 2004
Community Church of East Williston	1,375	emergency food/where needed
Congregational Church Manhasset	500	where most needed
Garden City Community Church	2,000	emergency food
St. Mary's Church	500	social services, Riverhead
Presbyterian Church of Malverne	559	emergency food
Ridgewood Savings Bank	2,500	general support & social services
Roslyn Presbyterian Church	1,800	emergency food & social services
Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at Stony Brook	500	where most needed
United Church of Christ, Metro Association	2,500	general support
United Way of Long Island	2,950	allocation July & August
Washington Mutual Bank	4,000	Online Advocacy project

We're also grateful to the institutions that gave less. Their gifts are just as important.

Most Urgent Need

This month's most urgent need is for MetroCards. As of this writing, we have only four left. Many of our clients need transportation assistance to get to the Department of Social Services and to us to start the application process for the social services they need. We often get calls, especially from senior citizens on fixed income, saying that they can get to us, but they don't have enough to get to our food pantry or to get back home once they're here. They also need MetroCards to get to job interviews, doctor's appointments, grocery store, etc. We urgently need $750 to purchase MetroCards. This is one of our most chronic and continuing needs.

A Correction:

In the last issue we expressed thanks to one of our supporters, Charles Vasoli, for a great idea he had, but we got the story garbled. Here's the true tale:

Recently the Community Church of East Williston had a "Trash and Treasures" sale in the parking lot of his church, which is itself a nice way to raise some money for a congregation while encouraging both recycling and garbage-cleaning. Each vendor made a small contribution to the church. Charles took charity a step further: he donated the proceeds of his sales to the LICC. Many thanks to him, and to Susan Huyck for filling in while he attended another obligation during part of the day. Would you be willing to do the same at your church to help raise money for the Long Island Council of Churches?

Chaplaincy Story

The Long Island Council of Churches provides chaplaincy services to inmates of the Nassau County Jail and Juvenile Detention Center. Our chaplains provide a "ministry of presence" as companions, advocates, and supporters for the inmates, and they conduct weekly Sunday church services for the inmates. Here is one inmate's story of how our chaplains help:

Sam is in his early 30's. He has a wife and three children - two girls and a boy ranging in age from two to nine. Here are the circumstances that brought him to jail: "It was a holiday season and I was in desperate need of some fast cash to buy Christmas presents for my family, so I decided to rob a bank. I handed the teller a simple note that said, 'Give me all the money from your till and nobody gets hurt.'

"The teller immediately started dumping cash into my bag. As she did, I looked out the window to make sure the local authorities hadn't been notified of a 10-13 (robbery in progress). It was just my luck - as I was looking out the window, they were being notified by silent alarm. By the time the teller handed me the bag of money and I got to the door to leave the bank, several police cars were out in front. Officers stood with guns drawn, pointed at me. I gave up without a fight."

"After being in jail, I began to lose my mind. I asked to see a counselor of some kind, and I was referred to the jail's chaplain who works for the Long Island Council of Churches. The chaplain explained that I was fighting a spiritual battle between myself and the Lord, but the final outcome wouldn't be up to me. Before the chaplain left, he handed me a Bible. As I read the Bible, I began to see things differently, and things were beginning to look good again. I also realized that the Bible was my 'sword' with which I could do battle with the forces of Evil.

"I started to experience God's everlasting love and I began to feel things changing in my life. I wasn't able to give my children Christmas presents for the past six years because I was spending all my time dealing drugs to support my own habit. I won't make it home for Christmas this year, but next year I'll be there."

FALL CONVOCATION 2004

"HELPING THE HUNGRY ON LONG ISLAND"

The Long Island Council of Churches’ Fall Convocation, "Helping the Hungry on Long Island," will be held on Saturday, September 25, 2004, from 9:00AM to 3:00PM at the First Baptist Church in Riverhead. Registration and a light breakfast will begin at 8:30AM. Reservations are required @ $15/person and will include lunch.

"Helping the Hungry on Long Island" will feature a panel of experts including law-makers and representatives from human service agencies, who will:

• Describe the systemic causes of hunger on Long Island.
• Examine impact of public policy over the last decade on hunger in our region.
• Discuss changes in public policy that are needed to solve our chronic hunger problem.
• Describe how local agencies have responded to the changing demands for food assistance.
• Determine how we can advocate to implement systemic changes that will diminish chronic hunger in our region.

The Long Island Council of Churches (LICC) operates one of the largest emergency food centers on Long Island through its Hempstead office and a smaller facility in Riverhead. The two emergency food centers feed over 2,000 hungry Long Islanders each month. Most are the working poor, and many are from large families of six to eight members each. Every day, as many as 35 families come to each pantry for emergency food assistance. The majority are the working poor.

According to America's Second Harvest, a national food rescue agency, the poverty level is continuing to rise nationally while household median income is declining. The agency reports that the number of chronically hungry people rose from 8.5 million to 9 million from 2000 to 2001, the latest year for which the agency provides figures. Survey after survey of food assistance operations in New York State, from soup kitchens to food pantries to food banks, reports dramatic increases in the number of people requesting food assistance. Most agencies surveyed report that they expect the trends to continue.

Although Long Island is one of the most affluent regions in the nation, approximately 10% of our population is hungry, about the same as national averages. How can this be so in a region where the median household income is over $80,000 per year?

We believe the causes are systemic and that only dramatic changes in public policy will solve the problem. This will be the focus of "Helping the Hungry on Long Island." Where has the system broken down? How many people are suffering as a consequence? And how can we advocate for the necessary changes in public policy that will solve the problem of chronic hunger on Long Island and elsewhere in our nation?

Collaborating agencies for the event include Bread for the World, Catholic Charities, Church World Service, the Interfaith Nutrition Network (I.N.N.), Island Harvest, Long Island Cares, Inc., Catholic Charities, and the Southampton Town Human Resources Department.

COME TO THE FALL CONVOCATION SEPTEMBER 25—
AND BRING SOMETHING WITH YOU!

Are you coming to our Fall convocation on Saturday, Sept. 25, at noon at 1st Baptist Church in Riverhead? If so, would you be willing to bring non-perishable food for our Riverhead Food Pantry? Or produce from your garden or farm for a soup kitchen? Would you like to take part in our mid-day Mini CROP Walk to raise funds for the relief and development work of Church World Service and our Riverhead Pantry? These are all ways that you can do something to feed those who are hungry while learning more about what we can do together to reduce hunger on Long Island.

IDEAS YOU CAN USE:

Show a Film about Punishment and Forgiveness

Many denominations have a long history of opposing capital punishment but few clergy address this issue. The overturning of death sentences on the basis of new DNA evidence and the moratorium on executions in New York after courts found the sentencing procedures to be unconstitutional have focused fresh attention on the morality of the death penalty. Recently the East Hampton Jewish Center and the East Hampton United Methodist Church have held screenings of the new documentary film "The Empty Chair," a 50-minute documentary that tells the compelling stories of four families who have dealt with the murder of loved ones and have wrestled with their desires for retribution and forgiveness.

"The Empty Chair" will air on the Hallmark Channel sometime this winter, but its producers and directors would be glad to show it to local congregations and civic groups before then. Recently, the League of Women Voters in Albany had a screening, followed by a panel discussion with their District Attorney; a member of New Yorkers Against the Death Penalty; and a murder victim's family members. Tom Goodhue, our Executive Director, and Dick Koubek, the head of Catholic Charities' Public Policy Action Network, are both active in NYDAP and would be glad to take part in such a panel or to suggest other speakers.

To arrange a screening, contact Jacqui Lofaro or Victor Teich at Justice Productions in Bridgehampton (631.537.3361/jacqlo@hamptons.com/tvvic@aol.com). Further information on the film is available at www.justiceproductions.org. Our Executive Director's review of the film will appear in a future issue of "The Prelude."

GETTING TO KNOW THE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTISTS

The LICC Board of Governors recently spent some time with the Rev. Dionisio Olivo, the Seventh Day Adventist President for the Greater New York Conference, and will meet with SDA leaders again at the end of September to explore how the LICC and the SDAs might work together more closely. Our Executive Director has written for a half a dozen Adventist publications and is eager to further this relationship.

Over the years, many Christians have come to appreciate the distinctive emphases of SDAs: healthy living, honoring the Jewish Sabbath, paying respect to a female founder, opposition to warfare, and upholding religious freedom and the separation of church and state. These traditions don't seem so radical anymore, do they? Many of us, though, still have some outdated stereotypes of Adventists. President Dionosio has supplied a summary of basic SDA beliefs:

1. The Holy Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, are the written Word of God.
2. The Trinity: there is one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a unity of three co-eternal Persons.
3. God the Father is the Creator, Source, Sustainer, and Sovereign of all creation.
4. God the eternal Son became incarnate in Jesus Christ.
5. God the eternal Spirit was active with the Father and the Son in Creation, incarnation, and redemption.
6. God is Creator of all things. When the world was finished it was "very good," declaring the glory of God.
7. Man and woman were made in the image of God with individuality, the power and freedom to think and to do.
8. All humanity is now involved in a great controversy between Christ and Satan regarding the character of God, His Law, and His sovereignty over the universe.
9. The Life, Death, and Resurrection of Christ
10. Through Christ we are justified, adopted as God's sons and daughters, and delivered from the lordship of sin.
11. The church is the community of believers who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
12. The universal church is composed of all who truly believe in Christ, but in the last days, a time of widespread apostasy, a remnant has been called out to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
13. The church is one body with many members, called from every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Distinctions of race, culture, learning, and nationality, and differences between high and low, rich and poor, male and female, must not be divisive among us.
14. By baptism we confess our faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and testify to our death to sin and our walk in newness of life.
15. Preparation for the Lord's Supper includes self-examination, repentance, and confession. The Master ordained the service of foot-washing to signify renewed cleansing, to express a willingness to serve one another in Christlike humility, and to unite our hearts in love. The communion service is open to all believing Christians.
16. God bestows upon all members of His church in every age spiritual gifts that each member is to employ in loving ministry for the common good of the church and humanity.
17. One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is prophecy.
18. The great principles of God's law are embodied in the Ten Commandments and exemplified in the life of Christ.
19. The observance of the seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath.
20. We are God's stewards, entrusted with time and opportunities, abilities and possessions, and the blessings of the earth and its resources.
21. We are called to be a godly people who think, feel, and act in harmony with the principles of heaven.
22. For the Christian, a marriage commitment is to God as well as to the spouse, and should be entered into only between partners who share a common faith.
23. There is a sanctuary in heaven, the true tabernacle that the Lord set up and not man. In it Christ ministers on our behalf, making available to believers the benefits of His atoning sacrifice offered once for all on the cross.
24. The second coming of Christ is the blessed hope of the church, the grand climax of the gospel.
25. When Christ, who is our life appears, the resurrected righteous and the living righteous will be glorified and caught up to meet their Lord.
26. After thousand-year reign of Christ with His saints in heaven, the universe will be freed from sin and sinners forever.
27. On the new earth, in which righteousness dwells, God will provide an eternal home for the redeemed and a perfect environment for everlasting life, love, joy, and learning in His presence.

--Excerpted with permission from the SDA "Church Manual"

HOW TO STAY OUT OF TROUBLE IN AN ELECTION YEAR

Political campaigns often try to co-opt congregations in ways that are of dubious legality and tend to tick off parishioners. The more heated the election - and this year's presidential race is a doozy - the more intense the pressures may be to do the wrong thing. Here's some advice from the Interfaith Alliance as to what current election laws and IRS regulations permit and prohibit for churches and other houses of worship:

Dos:

• Houses of worship may conduct a voter registration drive, so long as it is open to anyone regardless of party affiliation.
• Religious leaders may encourage people to vote and take stands on issues facing their communities so long as they do not favor one candidate over another.
• You may invite candidates to a debate or public forum in your parish so long as you do not favor one candidate or one party over another. [When the LICC invites public officials to a public forum such as our Fall Convocation, for example, we make a point of inviting representatives from both parties who have expertise in the field and we insist that they address the Convocation theme, not give a campaign speech.]
• You can run a Get Out the Vote drive, so long as it aims to increase civic participation, not to favor one candidate or party over another.

Don'ts:

• A house of worship should not endorse a candidate, political party, or potential candidate.
• A house of worship should not coordinate its voter registration drive or Get Out the Vote drive with a party or candidate.
• A house of worship should not organize groups to work for a candidate.
• A house of worship should not allow distribution of partisan materials on its property.

For further information and resources on conducting a voter registration drive the right way, visit www.ourfaithourvote.org or www.ncccusa.org/letjusticeroll. The National Catholic Social Justice Lobby has information on maintaining your tax-exempt status at www.networklobby.org.

And, for what it's worth, here are our Executive Director's words of wisdom:

It may not be illegal but it still may be really dumb for any pastor, priest, or rabbi

• to invite a candidate to preach during the campaign, even if he or she is ordained,
• to prominently display a campaign poster in your church office (I've seen 'em - and in the office of a parson who objected to his colleagues committing the offense listed before this one),
• to sign an advertisement endorsing a candidate or party (as opposed to one on an issue),
• to put a bumper sticker for a candidate on your car (as opposed to one on an issue), or
• to preach as if you have a word from the Lord on a controversial issue, unless of course the Almighty has whispered the text in your ear. Your parishioners can tell.

WORTH QUOTING

A Better Cup of Joe:

The Rev. Donna Schapper, a UCC pastor and former LICC Board member, suggests that serving better java is one way to attract new members. Too many congregations, she argues, "stick to the same insipid coffee they have been serving for years - while coffee shops are the most popular new business in the country."

"Zion's Herald," May/June 2004

Faithful Citizenship:

"Politics is an art and a craft to be practiced by all. Those who offer themselves as candidates are pursuing a noble calling to serve the common good. We as Catholics and citizens are called to be political but not partisan, principled but not ideological, clear in our priorities and our defense of life but also civil, and engaged but not used.

"My prayer is that we all exercise our right and our responsibility to vote and that our choices be guided by who we are, what we believe, and how we can achieve the most good for every human being in the common good for all."

Bishop William Murphy, "The Long Island Catholic" June 30. 2004

The full text of all seven of Bishop Murphy's columns on this topic are available at www.licatholic.org/columns. The document on which they were based, "Faithful Citizenship," is available from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (www.USCCB.org), along with their recent statement on Catholics in political life.

Managing Change in the Parish

"Few obstacles present more of a challenge to Church growth than resistance to change. That people, in general, fear change is natural. Change has to do with the unknown, and people fear those things they do not know or do not understand. Fear of change is also a spiritual issue, since Christians are, by definition, a people that are evolving, becoming holy, changing from one degree of glory to the next [2 Corinthians 3:18]....

"Baptism involves change. Confession and repentance involve change. Receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord involves change. Living a Christ-like life involves change, and yet we do not seem to fear those forms of change....

"Many well-meaning Orthodox Christians think that we do not need advice, counsel, or training from anybody or any group that is not Orthodox. However, many non-Orthodox groups have a wealth of experience that may mirror our own and thereby offer us examples, corollaries and analogies to our own problems. We simply have to learn how to sift the wheat from the chaff and discern the gold amongst the dross as part of the process. Jethro was not a Jew, yet even the great Moses listened to the advice of his father-in-law."

--Father Jonathan Ivanoff, "The Orthodox Church" May/June 2004

Interfaith Dialogue

"We have come together in three steps:

• to learn more about one another,
• to learn together about the Bible
• to learn from one another.

I am for the Israelis. I am for the Palestinians. I am for peace. I am for human life."

--The Rev. Maurice Youman, Dean of Talitha Kumi School
"Abrahamic Voices for Peace in the Holy Land," Plainview Jewish Center, June 22

Tolerance as a Form of Evangelism:

"Once I entered into the fold, so to speak, I would occasionally run across someone who seemed to truly know God, and I realized that religion, like a bad toupee or a face-lift gone sour, is only obvious when it's done badly. For those doing it right there seemed to be a continuity of peace and strength that was visible only in the kindness - tolerance, in the best sense of the word - shown toward others and toward themselves."

Nevada Barr,
"Seeking Enlightenment. . . One Hat at a Time: A Skeptic's Path to Religion"

Autism and Invisibility

"The little girl was upset because her Sunday School was cancelled for a special program in the sanctuary. She cried to the point her mother had to take her outside, leaving her two sisters behind. In the pew to the rear of the sisters, a woman's voice loudly proclaimed, 'She's too old to be acting like a baby.' This really upset the oldest sister and she had to be calmed down after the service by her mother, who told her that the woman didn't understand...

"Some people with Autism Spectrum Disorder can be upset by changes in routine. So when you see a parent with a child who's acting volatile or eccentric, don't be too quick to chalk it up to poor parenting. You may be watching someone struggling to make the best of a very difficult situation. You'd never knowingly criticize a person in a wheelchair struggling to get up a ramp. Living with a disability that isn't obvious doesn't make it any less real."

Dan Coulter - "Autism and the Pew Lady" (used with permission)

TV WORTH WATCHING

"TheQuestion of God: Sigmund Freud & C.S. Lewis" Wednesdays, Sept. 15 and 22, 9 p.m. (Eastern Time) on PBS.

More TV worth watching on WLIW/21

• "Smart Growth: Long Island's Future" Can we have jobs, homes, and natural preservation? A Town Meeting hosted by Matt Crosson and Seema Kallia, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m.
• "Peter and Paul and the Christian Revolution" Sept. 28 at 9 p.m.
• "Affluenza" - the social and environmental cost of over-consumption, Sept. 28, 10 p.m.

DID YOU KNOW?

• The LICC, in conjunction with Catholic Charities and other organizations, is calling Long Islanders to a year-long "Examination of Conscience" on racism. The first of many planned events will be a convocation on faithful citizenship on Saturday, Oct. 2. More details to come!
  
  
• Stop World Hunger is holding an essay contest for World Food Day, October 16. The contest is open to students in grades 1-12 and our Executive Director will be one of the essay judges. They also are urging students to give up snacks on Oct. 16 and donate the money, to collect "Change for the World" in October, to "Trick or Treat for UNICEF" at Halloween, to organize food drives before Thanksgiving and to collect soup and other non-perishables in January. For more information, call Matt Switt at 516-694-0633 during school hours or 631-789-3618 between 9 and 10 p.m.
  
  
• Several additional congregations, including St. Agnes in Greenport and Sacred Heart in Cutchogue, have joined Maureen's Haven, the ecumenical ministry with the homeless on the East End that was started by the Peconic Community Council. Many of the congregations are working across denominational lines, with Sacred Hearts volunteers working at Mattituck Presbyterian, for example. Want to get your congregation involved? Call the Peconic Housing Initiative at 631-727-6820.
  
  
• Habitat for Humanity Suffolk has building supplies for both homeowners and general contractors that they sell to raise funds to create homes with the homeless. Many of the materials are surplus donations from large commercial projects that might otherwise end up in a landfill. You can promote both recycling and affordable housing by visiting their ReStore at 643 Middle Country Rd. in Middle Island. It is open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9:00 to 3:00.
  
  
• More than 1,000 people have taken part over the past three years in Church World Service's Interfaith Trauma Response training events, which were coordinated by Bill Sage and taught by Dr. Katrina Bright Cochran and the Rev. Denise Glavan. The LICC co-sponsored these Long Island trainings for clergy, chaplains, bereavement counselors, Stephen Ministers, and social service workers--and our own staff has benefited greatly from them. CWS also helped us to organize a major day-long conference in September 2002 on preaching and teaching in a time of trauma and terror. CWS continues to offer its STAR seminars. For more information about STAR visit www.emu.edu/star. For information on other training, disaster assistance, and opportunities provided by CWS, visit www.churchworldservice.org, email cwsitrtsecr@aol.com, or call 917-584-9120.

NEEDED/OFFERED

Offered:

New videotapes in the LICC Lending Library

"A Thief of Time" - an American Mystery film of Tony Hillerman's novel

"Celibacy" - the recent HBO documentary

"INDIAN POINT: IMAGINING THE UNIMAGINABLE" - the current HBO documentary

"Assertive Communication Skills" by Carol Price

New Audio Books on Cassette in the LICC Lending Library (thanks to Anne Vaughan):

"Original Prayer: Teachings and Meditation on the Aramaic Words of Jesus" by Neil Douglas Klotz

"Voices of Wisdom Anthology"

"The Power of the Mind to Heal" by Joan Boysenko

"Your Sacred Quest" by Joan Boysenko

"Relationship Strategies" by Tony Alessandra

"Unlimited Power" by Anthony Robbins

"The Confident Woman" by Marjorie Hansen Shaevitz

"The Psychology of Achievement" by Brian Tracy
Do you have any books on CD to lend or trade? If so, our Executive Director might like them!

Organ

Brookfield Presbyterian Church in Manorville has been given an organ that they do not want and would like to sell to some church for any reasonable donation. It is a Yamaha, white wood, and seems to be in working order and complete. Contact Lorraine Petrigliano 631-696-6700 or Petriglianoesq@AOL.com.

Trauma Training for Clergy

Long Island Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster and Lutheran Disaster Response of New York are offering a workshop for clergy and chaplains of all faiths on "Comprehensive Acute Trauma Stress Management: Managing the Spiritual and Psychological Aftermath of Disaster and Crisis." The presenter, Dr. Ray Shelton, is a recognized expert in the field who has worked extensively with police, fire fighters, EMTs, and other "first-responders." It will be Saturday Oct. 16, 8:30-4:00, at the Nassau County Sheriff's Academy in East Meadow and Monday, Oct. 25, 8:30-4:00, at the Suffolk County Police Academy in Brentwood. Details will appear in our next newsletter.

Help Finding an Affordable Home

The Community Home Purchase Process Initiative, to which the LICC belongs, is offering a free Home Buying Expo on Saturday, Oct. 16, at EAB Plaza, on Hempstead Turnpike in Uniondale, just west of the Meadowbrook Parkway.

Help Getting a Mortgage on the Reservation

As they prepared for our Fall Convocation two years ago, our Eastern Area Steering Committee discovered that one of the problems contributing to our housing crisis on the South Fork (and fueling the drive to develop casinos, but that's another story) is the difficulty Native Americans have in getting loans for homes built on tribal lands. GreenPoint, a leader in creative home loans, has created the Tribal-POINT Housing Partnership to make homeownership within reach of more tribal members. More information, call (toll free) 866-818-3798 or visit www.tribalpoint.com. Hat's off to GreenPoint!

Worship/Education Space

Japanese Church of the Nazarene (2650 Wilson Avenue in Bellmore) has sanctuary and classroom space to share with another congregation for worship services, Bible study, prayer meetings, etc. Call Pastor Brian Kido at 516-679 6848 or email jcn@jcn.us.

Needed:

Items for Maureen's Haven

Maureen's Haven, the ecumenical effort to provide shelter for the homeless on the East End, is gearing up for the winter already. They need donations of sleeping bags, air mattresses, rain ponchos, toothbrushes and paste, chap stick/lip balm, disposable razors, socks, underwear, and nail clippers. If you have any to donate, call Jay Batterman at the Peconic Community Council (631-727-6820).

Mentors

HEVN (Help End Violence Now) is seeking mentors for junior high and senior high students. To volunteer or to get further information, call R.J. McKoy at 516-538-1026.

JOB OPENINGS

CHURCH SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT

at First Presbyterian in Port Jefferson, to oversee administration of the Sunday School and children's programs in conjunction with the Christian Education Committee, the Rev. Anne McAnelly and the Rev. Molly Blythe Teichert. The job duties include evaluating and ordering curriculum and resources, recruiting and training church school staff, keeping church school records, and conducting parent/child workshops. Contact the church office (631-473-0147/office@pjpres.org) for details.

CREATING INTERGENERATIONAL PROGRAMS AND COMMUNITIES

Friday, November 5, 2004
Student Activities Center, Stony Brook University

Keynoters: Nancy Henkin, Ph.D., Center for Intergenerational Learning, Temple University, and Brenda Eheart, Ph.D., Hope Meadows.

A workshop on faith-based programs will be led by Pastor Joe Nock of the Second Antioch Baptist Church in Philadelphia and the Church Mentoring Network, which has dozens of African American churches involved in intergenerational programs. Other workshops will examine Housing Model, Public Policy Issues, Mentoring At-Risk Youth, Meeting the Needs of the Elderly, and Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: The Legal, Emotional and Social Issues.

For conference registration information, go to www.igstrats.org or e-mail igstrats@optonline.net

SEPTEMBER BLOOD DRIVES

Long Island's perennial blood shortage grows worse every summer and lingers into the fall. If you can possibly give blood this month, please do!

LI Churches Running Blood Drives in September
9/12/2004	Maria Regina	Maria Regina R.C. Church	Seaford	07:30AM - 01:00PM	James O'Hara	(516)221-1830
9/13/2004	Infant Jesus Church	110 Myrtle Ave.	Port Jefferson	03:30PM - 09:00PM	Barbara Romonosyske	(631)473-4676
9/14/2004	St. Thomas More	115 Kings Rd	Hauppauge	04:00PM - 09:30PM	Ed Rogan	(631)366-1085
9/15/2004	New Covenant Church	757 Bellmore Ave.	East Meadow	04:00PM - 09:30PM	Alice Bruno	(631)957-2820
9/16/2004	Our Lady Of Grace	666 Albin Ave.	W. Babylon	03:30PM - 08:30PM	Betty Duffy	(631)587-5185
9/16/2004	St. Peter's Lutheran	Ogden Court ( off E. 17th)	Huntington Station	03:30PM - 09:00PM	Kristina Burger	(631)266-5009
9/17/2004	St. John The Evangelist	25 Ocean Ave.	Center Moriches	03:30PM - 09:00PM	Marge Peters	(631)878-2585
9/17/2004	St. Mark Episcopal Church	754 Main St.	Islip	03:00PM - 08:30PM	Barbara Weir	(631)581-0581
9/17/2004	First Baptist Church-Patchogue	482 North Ocean Ave.	Patchogue	02:00PM - 07:30PM	Elizabeth Porcelli	(631)241-0339
9/19/2004	St. Kilian	Cherry St.	Farmingdale	08:30AM - 01:00PM	Nicholas Iervolino	(516)694-8305
9/19/2004	Our Lady Of Victory	Our Lady of Victory School	Floral Park	09:00AM - 02:30PM	Jim Reid	(516)352-5984
9/19/2004	Glen Cove Christian Church	74 Walnut Rd.	Glen Cove	09:30AM - 01:30PM	Eula Forgione	(516)759-9847
9/20/2004	St. Cyril and Methodius	125 Half Hollow Rd.	Deer Park	03:30PM - 09:00PM	Allen Helmbrecht	(516)731-3710
9/20/2004	First Presbyterian Ch.-Oyster Bay	60 E. Main Street	Oyster Bay	03:00PM - 08:30PM	Rita Rosell
9/21/2004	Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. Paul	110 Cathedral Avenue	Hempstead	03:30PM - 09:00PM	Kay Pamas	(516)746-3294
9/21/2004	LICC Garden City	Garden City Community Church	Garden City	03:00PM - 08:30PM	Cindy Campbell	(212)780-2274
9/21/2004	Church On The Sound	335 Oxhead Rd.	Stonybrook	03:30PM - 09:00PM	Leah Mills	(631)941-4100
9/23/2004	Wantagh Baptist Church	Wantagh Ave. & Twin Lane	Wantagh	03:30PM - 09:00PM	April Masie	(516)826-1216
9/24/2004	Church Of The Resurrection	50 Granny Road	Farmingville	03:30PM - 09:00PM	Connie Hornick	(631)696-0233
9/26/2004	St. Joseph-Garden City	130 Fifth Ave.	Garden City	08:00AM - 01:30PM	Marie Faherty	(516)747-7120
9/27/2004	First Presbyterian Church-Babylon	79 E. Main St.	Babylon	03:30PM - 09:00PM	Gail Rogals	(631)666-0297
9/27/2004	St. Philip Neri	Parish Center	Northport	03:00PM - 08:30PM	Patti Adam	(631)757-2711
9/29/2004	Grace Methodist Church	21 Franklin Avenue	Valley Stream	03:00PM - 08:30PM	Bob DiSalvo	(516)561-2513

"WHO YOU GONNA CALL?"

Perhaps you are the new rabbi in town and would like to meet other clerics or to take part in the interfaith Thanksgiving service. Maybe you want local congregations to address some important community issue. Here are some contact people for ecumenical and interfaith groups:

Amityville Ecumenical Ministries	David Anglin	631-264-0763
Babylon Clergy Cluster	Conrad Strauch	631-661-5562
Baldwin-Freeport Church Women	Helene Kappelmann	516-223-3565
	& Bobbie Angelello	516-623-6898
Baldwin Interfaith Clergy	David Dooley	516-379-0720
Baldwin Interfaith Conference (Lay)	Tom Ryley	516-623-1896
Bay Shore Interfaith Clergy Assn.	Ronnie Kehati	631-665-5755
Bay Shore Interfaith Council	Stu Napier	631-968-0667
Bellmore-Merrick Interfaith Clergy	Peter Dooley	516-785-0054
Bellport-Brookhaven-E. Patchogue	Warren Beaven	631-286-0525
Black Clergy Council of Nassau	R. K. Davenport	516-546-2459
Bridgehampton Community of Faith	Rose Ann Vita	631-537-1187
Central Islip Ministerial Alliance	Roderick Pearson	631-234-2731
Deer Park Interfaith Clergy	Bob Rainis	631-667-4188
East Hampton Clericus	Donald Desmond	631-324-0134
East Meadow Clergy Fellowship	Ronald Androphy	516-483-4205
E.Northport-Northport Ec. Council	Betty Lockwood	631-261-7715
East Rockaway-Lynbrook Clergy	Stuart Geller	516-593-4004
Farmingdale Clergy Association	Eldon Simpson	516-694-3424
Five Towns Interfaith Clergy	Paula Winnig	516-569-0267
Floral Park Ecumenical Committee	Al Martin	516-775-9669
Floral Park Church Women United	Chong Ye Sikes	516-354-0059
Franklin Square Clergy Assn.	Tom Kane	516-352-0146
Garden City Clergy Association	Lynn Sullivan	516-746-1700
(Glen Cove) North Shore Clergy	Douglas Hutchings	516-676-0015
	& Betsy Simpson	516-671-0258
Great Neck Clergy Association	Matt Mardis	516-487-1620
Greater Hamptons Interfaith Council	Reggie Barnett	631-288-3628
Greenport Ecumenical Ministries	Thomas Murray	631-477-0048
Hempstead Clergy Association	Phil Elliott	516-485-1499
Huntington Clergy Association	Peter Sanborn	631-427-9220
Islip Clergy Association	Steve Moss	631-563-1660
Long Island Clergy Council	Frank White	516-623-7513
Long Island Leadership Coalition	Bob Considine	631-689-5346
Long Island Multi-Faith Forum	Arvind Vora	631-269-1167
Manhasset Clergy Assn.	Jimmy Only	516-627-4911
Massapequas Interfaith Clergy	Jeffrey Meyers	516-541-0740
Mattituck-Cutchogue Clergy Assn.	George Summers	631-298-4918
Moriches Church Women United	Sylvia Prill	631-878-5676
Nassau County Interdenominational Assn. of Ministers' Wives & Widows	Hazel Thomas	516-485-1631
North Amityville Ministerial Assn.	Robert Abbott	631-643-6133
Oceanside Interfaith Council	Mark Greenspan	516-536-6112
Oyster Bay-E. Norwich Interreligious	Ken Nelson	516-624-4938
Port Washington Church Women	Hazel Nolan	516-767-0177
Riverhead Clergy Council	Haywood Tolbert	631-467-4507
Rockville Centre Clergy	James Dalton-Thompson	516-766-0693
Sayville Clergy Association	John Rowlan	631-589-0042
Shalom Interfaith-Pt. Jeff	Molly Blythe-Teichert	631-473-0147
Smithtown Multi-Faith Council	Tim Riss	631-265-6945
Southampton Clergy Association	Jack King	631-283-0951
Southold Clergy	Peter Kelly	631-765-2597
Southold Women in Faith Together	Ellen Witko	631-722-2556
Suffolk Black Clergy Assn.	Roderick Pearson	631-234-2731
Three Village Clergy Association	Lynda Bates-Stepe	631-941-4167
Valley Stream Religious Council	Alice Howard	516-825-9462
Wantagh Clergy Council	Martin Nale	516-221-3286
Wantagh-Levittown Church Women	Grace MacMillan	516-785-3951
Westhampton Church Women United	Greta Hedberg	631-288-3138
Westhampton Clergy	Larry Dunlap	631-288-1158
Woodbury-Syosset Interfaith Clergy	Bill Parker	516-921-0755
Woodbury-Syosset Church Women	Barbara Jagy	516-921-3066
Wyandanch Christian Clergy Assn.	Sherman Roberts	631-491-0669

If you have additions or corrections for this list, please call 516-565-0290 ext. 206 or e-mail licchemp@aol.com. Call, too, if you would you like our Executive Director or Community Resources Director to speak to your group--or help you to start or expand a group.

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