Lucinda Williams recently released a great song called "Blessed" that reminds us,

"We are blessed by the ministers who practice what they preach
We are blessed by the poor man who said heaven is within reach."

I recognize that this column may tick you off. In many congregations, I suspect, clergy are far more sympathetic to the labor movement than are most of the people in the pews. I grew up in a working-class anti-union home myself.

Union-bashing seems to be particularly popular these days when it comes to public employee unions. I readily admit that unions sometimes have not served workers well, and sometimes the labor movement has obstructed advances in public policy and progress toward social justice. Some locals have blocked the entry of women and people of color into well-paying jobs. When I did sheet-metal work many, many years ago, there was not a woman, a black man, or a Latino working in our trade in the entire county. I also worked in a cannery where the local won us better wages but tolerated appalling working conditions. Labor leaders are not perfect. Nobody is. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the young church in Rome, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

In most cases, though, unions have been on the side of the angels. Organized labor has done more than any other force in our society to improve the safety of the places where we work and live. Teachers unions may not be perfect, but they have done much to ensure that our children are educated by people who earn a living wage. Perhaps they are sometimes unreasonably rigid but when I taught in a non-unionized church-operated school in Manhattan thirty years ago, and a very fine one, thank you very much, I made only $12,000 a year--after I earned a second master's degree.

Why are unions vilified today? As somebody observed at a recent Council of Churches meeting, people tend to resent most those who are only slightly better off. This is, I believe, one more manifestation of sin: we gripe about the neighbor who makes a bit more than us rather than the guy at the top of the pyramid. Clergy in my own denomination sometimes resent the colleague who gets promoted to "a great new appointment" even if his take-home pay turns out to be only $500 more a year. Politicians rail against "greedy" union members who get "lavish" benefits that cost half as much as the coverage the pols receive. And have you noticed how those who say we cannot afford Medicare or Medicaid or Social Security pretty much look like they will never have to depend on these themselves?

Even in hard times for our region and our nation, we are blessed with great abundance. Our challenge is to help those who have more than enough to share with those who have too little, not to bring those who have good health coverage or a decent pension down to the level of the most exploited worker.

Compassion does not require you to become a socialist. Christians in the first century did not wait for government to free slaves or share the wealth - they began treating the downtrodden as brothers and sisters. As a colleague remarked recently, "When I tell my parishioners that I believe in limited government, some of them ask whether or not I think we have a duty to feed our neighbors who are hungry. But that's the point: we should feed the hungry."

Yours truly believes in my own idiosyncratic way both that government should stop doing half the things it does and that we need organized communal compassion. I haven't entirely worked out in my own mind what the proper role of organized labor is in the marketplace. I did study comparative econ at Stanford long ago, but I am no expert in labor economics and it is entirely possible that I do not know what I am talking about. This Labor Day, though, I urge you to offer thanks to God for a teacher who made a difference in your life. For me, one of these was Mrs. Scott in the fourth grade, who got this bored C student excited about learning.

Did anyone like that change your life? She was probably a union member.

Shalom/Salaam/Shanti/Pax,
Tom

DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT:
Sara C. Weiss, Director of Development

We are extremely grateful to the additional donors who gave generously in response to our Spring Appeal. We especially appreciate the Knapp Swezey Foundation?s generous gift of $10,000 for Riverhead Emergency Food. Thanks to all who gave to the Spring Appeal, we made up the $27,000 deficit resulting from Nassau County DSS?s 21% cut to our contract this year.

A special thanks also goes to a former board member who gave $1,500, a current board member who gave $800, both where most needed, and to Episcopal Health Services for $12,500 toward our contract to provide Clinical Pastoral Education training.

We are grateful to the following institutions for their support to help us respond to the ever-greater numbers of guests who come to us for help:

Astoria Federal Savings	$3,000 Predatory Lending Prevention Ed.
Citigroup Foundation	$5,000 Directory Printing, Community Resources
Community Church of East Williston	$1,060 Where Most Needed (2 gifts)
Congregational Church of Manhasset	$1,700 Where Most Needed
First Presbyterian Church of Northport	$500 Where Most Needed
Garden City Community Church	$4,000 Emergency Food, Where Most Needed
Knapp Swezey Foundation	$10,000 Riverhead, Emergency Food
Mallouk Family Foundation	$5,000 Emergency Food Program
Massapequa Reformed Church	$500 Emergency Food
Reformed Church of Locust Valley	$500 Where Most Needed
Ridgewood Savings Bank	$1,500 Predatory Lending Prevention Ed.
Southampton Bath &Tennis Club	$1,500 Annual Migrant Thanksgiving Dinner
TD Charitable Foundation	$2,500 Predatory Lending Prevention Ed.
TD Charitable Foundation	$1,000 GreenFaith Training Program
Trinity Episcopal Church	$500 Emergency Food
United Methodist Church of Hempstead	$600 Where Most Needed
United Methodist Women of Amityville	$1,000 Where Most Needed
Wells Fargo Housing Foundation	$4,000 Predatory Lending Prevention Education

We apologize to Old Steeple Church in Aquebogue, a regular donor that also gives food and clothing to our Riverhead emergency food center. We forgot to list them when we thanked the last group of in-kind donors in our June 2011 Prelude.

And many thanks to Dorothy Mowatt and Marian Hubbard for donating coin collections to the LICC that we have sold, bringing much-needed income to the LICC.

And of course, we are grateful to the many individuals and institutions that gave less than $500. We don?t identify individual donors because they have asked to remain anonymous.

Most Urgent Need

This month?s most urgent need is for prescription assistance for both Nassau and Suffolk Counties. This is a chronic, constantly recurring urgent need for the guests we serve because so many work at low-wage jobs which often do not provide health insurance for their employees. Typical examples, one from Nassau County and one from Suffolk County, are as follows:

A 51-year-old woman who was injured at home worked for a company that did not provide health insurance. Her doctor prescribed medication she was to take for 10 days before she could return to work, but she could not afford the medication. Although we were able to help her, there are several others in similar straits that we did not have the funds to help.

In Riverhead we are getting a steady stream of people who are being released from hospitals with prescriptions for medications that they cannot afford. They lost their jobs and their health insurance and have not been able to find new employment. Two of our staff also did not have sufficient insurance coverage to be able to buy their medications. A woman who had worked for 21 years for the Riverhead School System was finally provided with insurance this year for the first time. But she is a cancer survivor and has thousands of dollars of unpaid medical bills she cannot pay because she did not have health insurance when she was sick. Combined gifts totaling $2,000 would enable us to help the school employee pay off her debts and provide prescription assistance for at least some of the others who need our help.

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.

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SAVE THIS DATE: SHARE THE HARVEST NOV. 10
SHARE THE HARVEST: HELPING NEIGHBORS IN NEED

Serving Individuals and Families in Crisis on the East End
Join us for an elegant guided Chocolate and Wine Tasting.
Enjoy exotic fair-trade, organically grown chocolates,
paired with Long Island wines.
Thursday, November 10, 5:30 PM - 9:00 PM
Giorgio's, 100 Fox Hill Drive, Baiting Hollow, NY

Please visit www.liccharvest.com for sponsorships, ticket purchases and more.
Have anything to donate for our auction?
Contact Grace Simonette at gsimonette@verizon.net or 631-265-5823

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Meet Our Staff: MARCIA PINKNEY

Garden City Community Church recently asked Marcia Pinkney, a long-time clerk in our Freeport Emergency Food Center to talk about her work there. Here is what she said:

I have been working with the LICC food pantry since 1991. How I got started is interesting. My friend Felicia was working for the organization. After she had told me about her job and what the food pantry does I knew I wanted to be a part of this place that helps those in need. I walked into the LICC food pantry to talk to the manager and he said I could start volunteering. I started going every day. My job was to do the clerical work and to help pack the bags for our guests. I really enjoy helping out in any way that I can.

I come across different types of people each day and feel good knowing that I am able to help put food on the table of someone who was hungry. This is rewarding in so many ways.

As the years have gone by, the demand for food has risen. Sometimes our donations are low, but we still manage to give out food.

Our guests fill out paperwork and them we give them food based on the size of their family. It is mostly non-perishable food such as canned vegetables, pasta, dry milk, cereal, tuna, and canned fruit. We do receive donations of fresh produce and bread sometimes and are able to give that away, too. Sometimes mothers come in looking for baby food, formula, and diapers which we are able to help them with. We often can give out toiletry items, too.

Our guests are very appreciative. Many express how happy they are that the LICC food pantry is in the community, because every little thing helps.

I am very grateful for what I have. I do not take anything for granted, because it could all be gone in the blink of an eye. I never look down on or judge a guest, because I may be in need of help one day. I believe in treating others the way I want to be treated, and for me that is with dignity and respect. That is why I always say, ?Have a nice day.?

We appreciate your donations to the pantry, no matter how large or small. We just want to say thank you.

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IDEAS YOU CAN USE

Host a Gold-Selling Party
With gold prices at historic highs lately, many people have thought of selling their unused jewelry, coin collections, and such. Congregations might want to consider hosting gold-selling parties with a reputable dealer. The dealer buys gold, coins, jewelry, stamps, etc. from a bunch of folks all in one evening and then typically donates to the house of worship 10% of what he or she pays the sellers. When two donors recently gave coin collections to the LICC to sell, we found that they were worth more than we initially guessed. We would be glad to recommend the local dealer we used. And if your church or its members chooses to share part of what it receives with the LICC, that would be great!

Invite a Chaplain
October is Pastoral Care Month, and one way to support chaplains, campus ministers, and pastoral counselors is to invite them to speak at your congregation. The LICC publishes a complete list of these folks each year in our directory of LI churches and synagogues, and several of them have asked to be included in our roster of pinch-hitters. Here are some people you might want to invite from our guest-preachers list:

• LICC chaplain Nancy Schaffer, who is ordained in the United Church of Christ, is available for guest preaching. Call 631-586-9667.
• The Rev. Lawrence W. Swensen, the other LICC?s chaplain, also is available for guest preaching. You can reach him at 516-794-4505.
• The Rev. Marianne K Tomecek, the new Executive Director of Long Island Campus Ministry and the preacher at our 2011 Easter Sunrise Service, is ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. She is available to preach and celebrate communion in English and Spanish in Nassau and western Suffolk Counties. You can reach her at 516-425-7094 or mktomecek@aol.com.
• The Rev. Dr. Penny Gadzini, a pastoral counselor in Babylon who is ordained in the United Methodist Church, is available for guest-preaching. You can reach her at (917)287-0583.
• Pastor John Dornheim is the Protestant Chaplain at C. W. Post/LIU. Ordained in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, he is available to preach or speak at congregations near the Post campus (East from the Nassau/Queens border, North of Old Country Road, and West of Elwood Road). You can reach him at 516-299-2096.
• The Rev. Kitt Von Braunsberg, who is ordained in the United Church of Christ and is a chaplain at Nassau University Medical Center, is available for guest preaching in Nassau & Suffolk. You can reach her at 516-801-4275.

For a listing of other pinch-hitters and information about the ?going rate? for guest preachers and substitute organists, please visit www.ncccusa.org/ecmin/licc/guestpreachers.html

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Fall CROP Walks

Hicksville CROP Walk
October 15, rain or shine, at Cantiague County Park, W. John Street
Times:

• 8:30 am begin setup, including Walk signs
• 9:30 am registration
• 10:00 am Walk begins after words by a speaker
• 11:30 am clean up and depart

Coordinators: Hank Lay (516-938-1233) and Rose Mattei (RLMattei@yahoo.com)

East Meadow CROP Walk
Eisenhower Park, Saturday, Oct. 15. Registration begins at 10:00 and the Walk begins at 11 a.m., with options for either a 1-mile or 3-mile walk.
Contact Arlene Kallaur at arlenekallaur@hotmail.com or 516-942-7841.

Western Nassau CROP Walk
Baldwin Park, Sunday, Oct. 16
Contact the Rev. Mark Lukens at revlu@optonline.net or 516-599-5768.

Sayville CROP Walk
Sunday, October 30
Registration at 12:30 P.M. at the Sayville Common Ground, between Gillette & Candee Avenues.
The walk begins at 1:00 P.M. Contact: Jerry Avolio, Jerry.Avolio@Firstdata.com

Are you taking part in another CROP Walk this fall? Send us the details and we?ll help pass the word!

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WORTH QUOTING

Spirituality

"At its best, perhaps, Christian spirituality is the promise of wholeness that is to come and the grace to live with the absence of wholeness along the way."

--Bill Leonard, Becoming Christian

Christianity & Irony

?Once the pieties of the candle and the novena have been peeled away, much of Christian doctrine is surprisingly hospitable to paradox. To accept a single being as ?completely God and completely man? requires an ironic mind.?

--Vince Passaro, Harper?s Magazine July 2011

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DID YOU KNOW?

Spiritual Atheists
According to a new study by Rice University, 20% of scientists who described themselves as atheists also consider themselves ?spiritual,? (Religion News Service/United Methodist Reporter, June 3, 2011).

Biblical Texts Online
Scholars at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary are compiling thousands of changes that have occurred in early manuscripts of the New Testament. They plan to create the world?s first searchable online database, making it easier to track changes in the text over centuries of copying manuscripts by hand. This fall they will publish an online catalogue of textual changes in Philippians and 1 Peter (Religion News Service/United Methodist Reporter, June 3, 2011).

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OFFERED/NEEDED

Offered:

Free Foreclosure Consultations Sept. 12 in Mineola

The Nassau County Bar Association is offering Nassau homeowners facing foreclosure free consultations with attorneys on Monday, Sept. 12, from 3 to 6 p.m. Consultations are available in a variety of languages. I am attaching fliers in English, Spanish, and Creole. If you know of any homeowner who may be facing the possibility of losing a home due to mortgage foreclosure, please inform them of this free service of the Nassau County Bar Association. Advance registration is required - call 516-747-4070 for an appointment; request a bi-lingual attorney if desired.

Free New Testament Greek Class

The Prince of Peace Independent Catholic Community is offering a free class in New Testament Greek in Bethpage. The Fall Greek Group dates are Tuesday evenings, 7:30-9:00 p.m. on Sept. 27, Oct. 4, 11, 18, 25, and Nov. 1 & 8. By Thanksgiving you should be able to read the Lord?s Prayer with new understanding and to pray it in Greek. The fall classes will focus on the Lord?s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13. This is a relaxed approach without homework or vocabulary lists. To register or get more info, please email ginger@princeofpeace-li.org or call Michael or Ginger at 631-881-5252.

Help Reducing Energy Bills?Anywhere on Long Island

Someone recently expressed interest if having the LICC do one of its programs on how to ?save green while going green? but wondered if there was much point in their congregation hosting such a seminar in a community that is served by a municipal electric company?and hence where many people are not eligible for rebates and incentives through the Long Island Power Authority. Are there any energy-conservation programs, she asked, for congregations or individuals who are not LIPA or National Grid customers?

Yes! NYSERDA, LI Green, the Community Development Corporation of Long Island, and others are available to folks everywhere. NYSERDA, for example, provides homeowners and houses of worship throughout New York State with free energy use audits, low-cost financing, and conservation rebates. If you are a LIPA or National Grid customer, you can get benefit from additional incentives.

Want to learn more? Call the LICC at 516-565-0290, ext. 206?and plan to come to our Fall Convocation on Oct. 29 in Riverhead.

Needed:

School Supplies

We are collecting school supplies at our food pantries in Freeport (450 N. Main Street, 516-868-4989), Hempstead (in Christ?s 1st Presbyterian Church, 516-565-0290), or Riverhead (407 Osborne Avenue at Lincoln, 631-727-2210). Do you have a calculator you no longer use? Pencils, pencils, rulers, or notebooks to donate? Anything else that might be useful to a student returning to school in September?

Locations for Clothing Collection Boxes

Tons of used clothing end up in landfills every year ? clothes that somebody somewhere needs. The LICC is helping our long-time partners at the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to find additional sites for their clothing collection boxes. If you have a corner of a parking lot where you would be willing to have a clothing box, they will empty it as often as needed. Recycling used clothes is good for the planet, good for people who need inexpensive clothing, and generates some much-needed revenue for the Society and the Council. For more info about the LICC?s collection box placement, please call Tom Abate at 1-800-884-7837.

Spiritual Care Companion

Are you looking for an avenue to volunteer your time with others? Come learn about sharing your gift of time and presence as a Spiritual Care Companion. Catholic Health Services of Long Island sponsors this free six-week training for volunteers of all faiths, with basic pastoral care skills and information to become a caring, attentive, listening presence to those in hospitals, nursing homes or working with the developmentally disabled. For further information please contact Carol Cella at 631- 465-6307 or Trish Luvin at 631-465-6306.

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LONG ISLAND BLOOD SERVICES? SEPTEMBER BLOOD DRIVES

Blood supplies are often critically low during the summer months, making September donations all the more important. Here are some opportunities to give ?the gift of life.?

9/4/11	Glen Cove Christian Church, 74 Walnut Road, Glen Cove	9:15 AM - 1:45 PM
9/11/11	Knights of Columbus, 2333 Bellmore Ave., Bellmore	8:00 AM - 2:00 PM
9/14/11	Calvary Lutheran Church, 860 Town Line Road, Hauppauge	2:30 PM - 8:30 PM
9/20/11	Christ Lutheran Church, 3384 Island Road, Wantagh	2:15 PM - 8:15 PM
9/26/11	First Presbyterian Church, 79 East Main Street, Babylon	3:00 PM - 9:00 PM
9/27/11	Church on the Sound, 335 Oxhead Road, Stony Brook	2:45 PM - 8:45 PM
9/28/11	St. Mark?s Episcopal Church, 754 Main Street, Islip	2:45 PM - 8:45 PM
9/28/11	Grace United Methodist Church, 21 S. Franklin Avenue, Valley Stream	2:45 PM - 8:45 PM

You can call 1-800-933-2566 or visit www.nybloodcenter.org to verify the date and time of the blood drive.

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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 2300 religious leaders and post it on our Web site (www.liccny.org), which receives about 1000 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 Preludeis 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.

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ADS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

?PRESERVING OUR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID: A CONGRESSIONAL FORUM?
With Congressman Steve Israel And Congressman Tim Bishop

Tuesday, September 6th, 6:00 pm
Suffolk Community College, Brentwood - Van Nostrand Theatre

This is your chance to ask two Long Island Congressmen:

• How solvent are Medicare and Medicaid?
• Why are these vital safety-net programs under attack?
• Should these programs be used to reduce the national debt?
• What can be done to protect Medicare and Medicaid?
• What are some responsible ways that Medicare and Medicaid can help reduce America?s soaring health-care costs?

Sponsored by the Long Island Federation of Labor and Long Island Jobs with Justice
RSVP REQUIRED at 631-348-1170 ext. 310 or lijwj01@gmail.com.

Directions:
From the South: Take Southern State Parkway to Sagtikos Parkway north, exiting at Crooked Hill Road.  Bear left as you exit and go to the light (Crooked Hill Road.)  Make a right on Crooked Hill Road and make the next left at the campus entrance (Campus Road.) Then bear left on Loop Road, then bear right on Loop Road, following the signs to the Van Nostrand Theater.
From the East: Take the LIE to Commack Road (Exit 52).  Make a left on Commack Road, passing under the LIE and make an immediate left on to the South Service Road.  The next right at the light is Crooked Hill Road. Travel south about two miles, passing the police station on your right. Make a left at the campus entrance (Campus Road) then bear left on Loop Road, then bear right on Loop Road, following the signs to the Van Nostrand Theater.
From the West: Take the LIE to Commack Road (Exit 52) and stay on the South Service Road, crossing over Commack  Road going east.  The next right at the light is Crooked Hill Road.  Travel south abut two miles, passing the police station on your right. Make a left at the campus entrance (Campus Road) then bear left on Loop Road, then bear right on Loop Road, following the signs to the Van Nostrand Theater.

The proceeds will support the LICC?s Freeport Emergency Food Pantry - individuals and families in crisis who do not have enough money to take care of necessities, including food. The pantry provides a short-term supply of food while assisting people in finding more lasting solutions to their needs.

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES ARE AVAILABLE.
We also welcome donations of merchandise, gift certificates or store credits for our raffle.

?COME AND SEE?:
9/11 MEMORIAL SERVICE & COMMUNITY DAY IN EAST MEADOW Sept. 10

Holy Trinity Orthodox Church (369 Green Avenue in East Meadow) will host a day of worship, fellowship, education, and information about local resource and assistance programs on Saturday, September 10, from to 6 pm.

A 9/11 memorial service will be celebrated at noon, led by Father Martin Kraus and other Orthodox Christian leaders. Father Sergei Glagolev will give a presentation on ?How to live a Christian life in today?s world? at 2 pm. Other events include a prayer service for the sick and infirm, great vespers, information about parish programs and Orthodox Christianity. Displays and resources will also be available from a variety of Nassau county and community organizations. A food drive will be collected by LI Cares for the needy.

A complete schedule of the day?s events is available at: http://www.come-and-see.org.

A TIME TO REMEMBER, A TIME TO DO
The clergy of Long Island are invited to the Northport VA Medical Center, Building 5
on Wednesday, October 26, at 8:30 AM

• to discover what resources are available for Veterans.
• to discover what you and your house of worship can do for Veterans and their families, and
• to participate in a welcoming home ceremony for our Vietnam Veterans

at the Dignity Memorial® Vietnam Wall at
Northport VA Medical Center, 79 Middleville Road, Northport, New York
RSVP Chaplain Paul Swerdlow - paul.swerdlow@va.gov - 631-261-4400 x7204

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The Long Island Council of Churches is a 501(c)3 charitable organization. The Long Island Council of Churches unites diverse Christians to work together in ministry with the poor and to promote interfaith understanding. All donations are tax-deductible and much appreciated.

The Rev. Thomas W. Goodhue
Executive Director
Long Island Council of Churches
1644 Denton Green
Hempstead, NY 11550
voice: 516-565-0290, ext. 206
fax: 516-565-0291
email:tomgoodhue@optonline.net
Web: www.liccny.org