By Dana Williams
While residents wait for developer Trammell Crow Residential’s apartment complex to replace the controversial hotel, several West Hempstead clergymen have joined forces to create the West Hempstead Clergy Council. The group’s goals include establishing initiatives that encourage residents, especially young people, to remain active in the community.
The council was created last year, after local members of the clergy joined forces to lobby for the private sale of the Courtesy at public meetings at Hempstead Town Hall and at rallies. In between discussing initiatives to push for the hotel’s closure, council members said, they brainstormed ways they could broaden the community participation in the Courtesy fight to other areas of life in West Hempstead. They eventually decided to form the council, in the hope that they could help West Hempstead residents of various faiths become a more closely knit community. The council consists of leaders from the Jewish, Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Baptist and Methodist faiths.
“We saw each other at the meetings involving the Courtesy situation and other community events, and we eventually decided that we needed to establish a clergy association here in West Hempstead,” explained Rabbi Art Vernon, who leads the Jewish Community Center of West Hempstead. “The council has given all of us a chance to know each other a little better and really discuss different ways that we can work together to improve this great community.”
At a meeting on May 28, the members discussed ways to persuade more residents to attend annual parades, such as the Memorial Day Parade. The meeting was also the first time members publicly announced the council’s formation.
“We’re a diverse council, and that allows us to learn from each other,” said the Rev. William Earl Thomas, pastor of St. John’s Baptist Church in West Hempstead. “We learn more about each other each time we meet, and at the same time, we’re working on different ways that we can help to bring residents in this community together.”
The council is focused on uniting young people in West Hempstead because, officials said, it will help them remain active in something positive and get them involved in a community-based group where they can help make a difference in the lives of others. The religious leaders are making plans to establish an Interfaith Youth Dialogue Group, which will bring teens together to discuss issues and current events. The effort, officials said, will help educate young people about different faiths and the importance of peace, respect and embracing diversity, among other values.
“We think the group will give our young people a chance to discuss what’s on their minds, whether it be about religion or some other issue that they want to talk about,” explained the Rev. Dr. T. Monroe Turner, pastor of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in West Hempstead. “It will definitely be a positive experience for them because they will learn about other viewpoints, religions, cultures and backgrounds, and really just learn from being around each other.”
“We hope that the group teaches our youth that there is nothing wrong with talking about things and disagreeing with the opinions that are out here,” added the Rev. Frederick McElderry, pastor of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in West Hempstead. “What’s important is that they learn how to talk about things intelligently and civilly.”
Council members are discussing the establishment of interfaith services in the near future. “What we’re hoping is that the idea of us working together as clergy leaders is going to spill over into our congregations in some way,” Vernon said. “We don’t know exactly how that is going to happen just yet, but we’re starting with the youth first, because they represent the future of this community.”
The council’s next meeting is scheduled for July 9 at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in West Hempstead. The council invites all clergy in West Hempstead to attend. For more information, contact Vernon at (516) 481-7448.
Comments about this story? DWilliams@
liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
