rev. vicky l. eastland 2 brookville road...
TRANSCRIPT
Brookville Church
N E W S L E T T E R
REV. VICKY L. EASTLANDPastor of Congregational [email protected]
2 BROOKVILLE ROADBROOKVILLE, NY 11545
[email protected]/BrookvilleChurchwww.BrookvilleChurch.org
Where our doors are always open!June 2015
on texting and driving. It is an epidemic that is causing more and more fatalities. Just last week, Raju’s high school put a sign in prominent view that says, “Stay alive, don’t text and drive!”
So, you may think by now that my answer to the question in the title is that social media is bad. This is my answer if it controls ones life, but if we have healthy boundaries with our time online, not letting it replace good ‘ole face to face contact, then I actually would like to tell you why I think social media is good.Social media is a global phenomena that is shrinking our world in a good way. I have found long lost friends through Facebook like my pre-teen pen pal from Germany and our former exchange student, Raf from France. To be talking online to Raf in real time while he was in Afghanistan 8 1/2 hours ahead of me in New York was mind boggling for me a few years ago.As much as I would love to throw all my son’s electrical devices away so I could interact with him more, I also see the inevitable good it is doing in his life. Yesterday, he got a friend request from Shital, a girl he lived with at the children’s home in India who had been left behind when Raju was adopted. It was hard for our son to leave friends behind not knowing if they would ever find a forever family too. Before social media Raju would have been left wondering whatever happened to his friend Shital. But she found him on Facebook and they have reconnected after five years. Shital is now in an adopted family in Finland and doing well!Churches are using social media to stay connected with their congregants and friends. Networks are being formed that are linking people to one another, like clergy groups where colleagues from across the country and world can interact and provide support and advice to one another.
So is social media good or bad? It is all in the manner in which it is used.
During this past Lent I tried to do a Movie Study on the Walt Disney Pixar film Wall-E that came out in 2008. I think no one signed up for the study because it was an animated film…but my son just recently came home from school having watched the movie in his American Culture
Studies class where they spend time looking at cultural themes in American films. Ah, ha! His teacher is of the same mind that this movie has much to teach us. The theme of social interaction in the film is the one I want to focus on for this article. In the year 2805, Earth is covered in garbage due to decades of mass consumerism which used up all of Earth’s resources. So the Earth’s population was evacuated to automated starliners (spaceships). There were lots of amenities on these ships; one being flying lazyboy chairs that lived up to their name. The chairs were rigged with a computer monitor. Without leaving their chairs humans could watch videos, order food that would be delivered and video chat with each other. One scene is forever etched in my memory. Two passengers were video chatting as they cruised the ship side by side in their flying chairs. Something malfunctioned and the chairs collided ejecting both passengers. They ended up landing in the swimming pool below and when they came up from the water one said to the other, “I didn’t know we had a swimming pool!” They had spent their entire lives on board that spaceship not noticing their surroundings because their eyes never left their computer monitors!Is technology taking over our lives to the point that we are no longer valuing or experiencing human interaction? A recent study showed that most teens today said they don’t need to go out with their friends because they are on social media with them. My god-daughter now has to charge her devices in the living room at night because she was staying up till all hours of the night on social media with her friends. And don’t get me started
Social Media: Good or Bad?
~ Rev. Vicky
Set Up Your Online Giving nowfor the summer!
While you’re away, your supportfor the church continues!
Giving online is easy, fast and secure! And you can earn points byusing your rewards credit card!
Here’s how Online Giving makes your life easier:
• Signing up is quick and uncomplicated• You can choose between using your checking account or a credit card• Budget your giving weekly, monthly, yearly – the choice is yours• Select the fund(s) you wish to contribute toward – General Operating Expenses,
Camp Warwick Scholarship Fund, Rev. Meyers Partnership in Ministry in Oman, etc.
• Your gifts are received and support the work of the church, even if you are not able to get to church as often as you would like
Remember to pray for our Partner in Peace and Education, Rev. Justin Meyers,his wife Stephanie and their sons, Gavin and Collin as they promote peace among religions in Oman.
Collin & Gavin
Invitation to Iftaar
Dinner
June 21, 2015 8:30 p.m.
The month of Ramadan begins on June 17. Ramadan is the month of fasting for Muslims. Each day during this month, Muslims abstain from eating and drinking from dawn until the sun sets. Fasting is intended to educate the Muslim in spiritual awareness, humility and
patience. It is a time to cleanse the soul, focus attention on God, and put into practice selflessness.
Breaking the fast at sunset is called iftaar. On Sunday June 21 Dr. Sultan Abdulhameed and his Muslim community cordially invite members of ALL faith communities on our Multifaith Campus to a community iftaar dinner in Fellowship Hall. The dinner at 8:30 p.m. will be followed by a short discussion on the practice of fasting in Islam.
Please let the Brookville Church office know if you plan to attend by calling: 516-626-0414.
Revs. Vicky and James Eastland are proud to announce their son Raju’s graduation from North Shore High School. Raju will be attending Nassau Community College.
Mr. & Mrs. Matthew Stadler are proud to announce their daughter Heather ’s graduation from Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY. Heather received a Masters in Fiction Writing.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR GRADUATES!
New Church Office HoursSummer Schedule:
June-‐August
Monday: CLOSEDTuesday: 8:00 -‐ 1:00 p.m.Wednesday: 8:00 -‐ 1:00 p.m.Thursday: 8:00 -‐ 1:00 p.m.Friday: 8:00 -‐ 1:00 p.m.
Thank You!
Choir NewsSave The Date: Children’s Spring Play
Sunday June 14th, 10:00 a.m.Let's Rock!
The kids are practicing every Saturday to prepare our presentation of the really cool play, “Let's Rock.” It’s about kids who think being the star is the most important thing, but who find out their unique gifts and talents are what God treasures most.We are having so much fun, and the kids are so creative and inspiring. Please give them your support by attending our play, which will be performed in the Fellowship Hall. We will host a wonderful party outside after the play.
You do not want to miss this!
Multifaith Campus Spring PicnicJune 14, 2015 at 11 a.m.
Don’t miss out on the fun!
@Please Note:
July 26 at 9:30 a.m.Joint Galilean Service
on the shore of Little Neck Bay at the Douglaston Dock
(Shore Rd. at the West end of Beverly Rd.)
Participating Congregations
~ Community Church of Douglaston~ Community Reformed Church of Manhassett~ Reformed Church of Locust Valley~ Brookville Church
Bring your own lawn chair.
On May 20th, a cool Wednesday evening, at 7:00 pm approximately 40 people attended the dialogue given by Rev. Vicky Eastland and Dr. Sultan Abdulhameed. Before the dialogue began, members of various religions chatted and laughed. Some brought food, and placed their dishes on the table for the social hour to follow. Each speaker opened with ideas on reformation in their respective religions. Rev. Eastland said, “The interesting fact about my thesis is that the need to reform in Christianity actually finds its solution in the past.” She explained that, Prince William opened the path for study in the humanities by founding Leiden University in 1575, the oldest University in the Netherlands. In the 1500s Holland embraced intellectual freedom and the study of other cultures. Interest in Islam and the Quran increased, and in 1641 the first Dutch translation of the entire Quran was published.These facts starkly contrast what transpired in the years following. Rev. Eastland stated that our foundation was built on reform, but we “got stuck,” and stopped reforming. “Having strong roots is important, it shows the staying power this Christian denomination has had, but reform has been too slow and the Church has always lagged behind the culture,” Rev. Eastland said.Dr. Sultan Abdulhameed also expressed need for reform in Islam. He stated that many Muslims believe the Sharia law of Islam is considered the infallible law of God and not to be questioned. “Many Muslims believe questioning the laws means you are not a good Muslim,” he said. Dr. Abdulhameed also said many of the prayers services are said by rote, without expressing understanding of the meaning behind the words. This also leads to stagnation, and the religion can not evolve with the culture, he explained.A discussion followed, with many expressing support for reformation. One attendee echoed Dr. Abdulhameed’s emphasis on learning the meaning of the teachings of the Quran and of Islamic prayers. Others compared the Muslim prayer services said in Arabic to Christian services of the past, when the Priest would chant in Latin without the congregation understanding a word.Many agreed it’s easy to point to problems, but what are the solutions? How do we move forward? While it might seem like solutions are scarce, the answers to these questions are simple in application, yet the results are more
profound than we might think. Rev. Eastland said it in one word: “Relationships.” Afterwards, when the dialogue had ended and everyone gathered around the plates of delicious food, magic happened. The words “Muslim” and “Christian” disappeared. But God remained. And within his love, everyone talked about their differences, their commonalities, how to reform, how to share their ideas with others. This is the solution. In talking about our respective religions and what they mean to us now, in forming relationships, we can find a path toward reform, and make our religions relevant and strong in the 21st century. ~ Janîce Leotti
Please join us again soon!
Many more adult mulitfaith learning opportunities to come!
“Muslim/Christian Dialogue” A Great Success!
Please join us at 10:00 a.m.July - at the Brookville ChurchAugust - at the Reformed Church of Locust Valley
Excerpts from
“The Full Chair”The school year is drawing to a close. Summer will soon be upon us. I sit back and think about the happy times I spent with my beloved teacher and friend, Rabbi Joseph H. Gelberman. Rabbi Gelberman dedicated his life to furthering the understanding and cooperation among the world’s faiths. The New Synagogue of Long Island, The Synagogue for Spiritual Judaism, was founded upon the principals and beliefs of Rabbi Gelberman.
Rabbi Gelberman and I shared many an afternoon discussing whatever came to mind. He was a wonderful teacher and could bring insight into the most minute, random thought. I started to keep a journal of our studies and I suggested to Rabbi Gelberman that I put our discussions into print. The result was a booklet called “The Full Chair” and I’d like to share some of Rabbi Gelberman’s thoughts with you:
On Faith:“Faith is the force of Life.”
Faith changes things because it channels divine energy into personal effectiveness. Faith is freedom. Faith means stepping boldly out of a known groove into a brand new channel, and doing it with eagerness rather than reluctance. Faith moves us ;irst and our mountains second. Faith enhances our awareness, experiences and relationships. Faith can never be lost.
On Joy:“Today, whatever may annoy, the word for me is joy, just simple joy.”
Joy, Joy, Joy is the lesson of my life. The greatest threat to joy is jealousy. If we take the ‘j’ out of joy and put it in jealousy, all we have left is oy, oy, oy. Always take the ‘j’ out of jealousy and put it back in joy, joy, joy. In addition, know that even when we are totally dedicated to joy, we cannot have it without some oy, oy, oy. Every challenge in life is a lesson and an opportunity to learn what God wants us to learn.
On Tradition:Shema Yisrael Adonai Eloheynu Adonai Echad.
Listen O Israel, (Listen O Humankind) the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.
If there is only one God and He created man and woman, then what does that make us? We are all brothers and sisters and our job is to love one another as is proper for a family to do regardless of the path we take.
On Interfaith:“Never instead, always in addition.”
Discover who you are, where you come from and embrace your own tradition with knowledge and joy. Then embrace the tradition of your beloved, if it is different from your own. Study and learn about your own tradition and then share it with one another and with your children, as you build a new tradition of, “Never instead, always in addition.”
On Love:“Love with Love.”
When we give love, we are re-‐enacting the primordial act of Creation, for only by love could God fashion humankind. When someone takes the love we offer, it is the greatest act of giving because it gives to the lover his reason for living. To love wisely, we must love with LOVE!
Enjoy your summer! Hakol Beseder (All is in divine order).
Rabbi Stuart Paris, HaKohen
Faith means stepping boldlyout of a known groove
into a brand new channel...
The Reformed Church of Locust ValleyFifth Annual Golf Tournament
Monday, August 10, 2015
Glen Cove Golf Course$175.00/Player
$700.00/FoursomeIncludes: Golf, Cart, Lunch & Dinner at The View Grill
Scramble Format11:00 a.m. Registration / 1:15 p.m. Shotgun
Dinner Only at 6:00 p.m. $40.00/Person, Seniors $30.00 (65+)
Mail this form with your check payable to:Reformed Church of Locust Valley
115 Ryefield Road, Locust Valley, NY11560
Player Cell Phone Home Phone Address Email
1.________________(Primary Contact)
2._________________
3._________________
4._________________
Dinner Only -‐ Name(s) Cell Phone Home Phone Address Email
For more information call the church at: 516-‐676-‐6130 or email [email protected] proceeds to benefit the Reformed Church of Locust Valley
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ReflectionsReflectionsWhat would you do with a hole in the ground behind the house? Probably fill it or plant a flowery bush in it, right? How about if it is a big hole? A really, really big hole? When I was growing up in central Minnesota there were about fifty large holes around the north side of town – open pit mines – holes large enough to drive huge dump trucks down to the bottom.
There was a flurry of excitement in the 1860’s when gold was discovered in the North Woods, but miners could not find large deposits, and in a couple of years, that was a bust. However, one man was aware of another ore, which was close to the surface and could be mined and transported easily. It was iron ore. Soon many small mines were working the ore out of the ground and sending it east. In 1911 a man surveying the center of the state noticed his compass occasionally deflected away from where north was supposed to be. He pondered a while and determined there was iron ore all around him. He was a schemer and a scoundrel, but he gets credit for establishing the third iron ore range in the state. It was called the Cuyuna Range. That was where I lived, in a town called Crosby, which began as a mining town in 1911. Mining for ore of any kind means moving soil, dirt and ore from the ground under you to other places. The ground everyone walks on has a name in mining towns. It is called overburden, and has to be picked up and moved someplace out of the way. In the beginning this was done mostly by hand, so countless laborers were needed, and they came from all over Europe to find work in the mining ranges. Probably more than two thirds of the new people had names that declared their European nationality. Every town was a hodgepodge of foreign languages and accents.
My mother’s father, my Grandpa Anderson, was born in the 1880’s on a ship heading to America from Sweden. He eventually got to Crosby where he was a locomotive engineer hauling the ore to the ships in Duluth on Lake Superior. Mom was the first of twelve children, and they all became capable farm kids working in the garden and caring for the cows, pigs and chickens--everything was grown and eaten right there. Somehow she met my dad (I told you a month ago he lived on a farm with his dad in a nearby town) and when they got married he moved to Crosby and got a job in the mines.
As I grew up, the mines were the wallpaper of my town. If it wasn’t the open pit holes, it was the overburden hills and everyone’s car covered in red rust dust. I remember around 1950 a new pit was started, and the overburden was piled at the end of Main Street getting higher and higher, looking just like a mountain.
The mining companies gave their operations names. The largest one was the Portsmouth, and the closest one, the Croft Mine. We lived on 6th Street and that mine was on 9th Street. Eventually the rich ore was all gone as well as the second grade Taconite ore and then the mines shut down. The Croft Mine became a museum. When they shut off the pumps in the pits, the water in the ground started to fill them.
And that is the answer to my question, “What would you do with a hole in the ground?” Fill it with water, although they filled themselves naturally. The state auto license plates say: Minnesota - 10,000 Lakes, and there were 100 within ten miles of Crosby until the open pits filled up and there were 55 more. Surprise! Instead of destroying the economy the new lakes became vacation destinations because the water cycle was at work maintaining its own equilibrium. The clear water covering the sunken mining paraphernalia was superb for scuba diving. The lakes were stocked with fish and boating ramps were built. I would not recognize much of the town now, the wallpaper has changed.
ED’S FACE ~~ IS ROUGH ~~ AND RUGGEDED’S WIFE ~~ DOESN’T ~~ HUG ED
“We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.”~ Jacques Yves Cousteau ~
End Word:On a bumper sticker: Earth first! We’ll mine other planets later.
Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.~ Virgil A. Kraft ~
Branch Worsham