Pastor Tom Speaks at William Floyd High School
Pastor Tom recently was asked to speak to the Gay/Lesbian/Transgender Student Group at William Floyd High School. He found it to be a most rewarding experience in speaking to a group of around 50 students. In addition to fielding their questions about “what does the Bible say” and “what does the Church say” he emphasized that “each of you is an unique individual and it is an ongoing journey to discover who you are, but don't let others define that for you, not even this group.” He spoke of Old South Haven being a More Light Church (explaining what that meant) and our Church received applause!
After the presentation to the group Pastor Tom spent another hour at the school in individual conversations. “As I left the meeting room and made my way down the hallways and out to the parking lot, various students ran up to me to say 'Thank you, Pastor Tom'”.
Lobbying in Albany
On Tuesday, April 28 Pastor Tom and Pastor Erik Rasmussen (Bellport Methodist) joined with other clergy and religious leaders to lobby our local State legislators to support legislation in three areas:1) Dignity For All Students Act (A.3661/S.1987). This bill prohibits harassment against students in school including the areas of sexual orientation and gender identity; 2) Gender Expression Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA) (A 5710/S.2406) which adds gender identity and expression to human rights law in the areas of employment, housing, public accommodations, education and credit; and 3) Marriage for Same Sex Couples. Beside the 1,138 rights and responsibilities that are bestowed on married couples from the federal government, there are another 1,324 rights and responsibilities that come from New York State government with marriage.
In our lobbying we found Pat Eddington supportive of all three pieces of legislation. Brian Foley has announced support for the first two but indicates he has not made up his mind yet on same sex marriage (though he may be leaning toward support!)
Habitat For Humanity
On Saturday, May 30, Habitat for Humanity of Suffolk dedicated its 130th affordable home. This home in Bay Shore was built for a hard working single mom. The organization is celebrating 20 years “of building homes and hopes.”
