Garden City Clergy Breakfast With Village Officials

By The Reverend Debra Low-Skinner

Back row (left to right): The Rev. Lynn Sullivan, School Supt. Dr. Robert Feirsen, GCMS Principal Dr. Peter Osroff, The Rev. Jim Adelmann, Fr. Rudy Pesongco, Deacon George Browne, The Rev. Joseph Pae, Village Administrator Robert Schoelle Front row (left to right): GCHS Principal Nanine Cuttitta, The Rev. Jill Bowden, Rabbi Stephen Goodman, Rabbi Linda Goodman, Mayor Peter Bee, for Mayor Jack McGowan, The Rev. Debra Low-Skinner Earlier this month, an illustrious group of Garden City officials met with local clergypersons at the annual Garden City Clergy Fellowship (GCCF) holiday breakfast meeting. The meeting took place on Tuesday, December 3, 2008 at the Garden City Hotel.

After some time was allotted for the attendees to informally get to know one another, GCCF President, Deacon George Browne, called the meeting to order and offered a prayer. The Rev. Lynn Sullivan then let the guests know about upcoming GCCF events in 2009. These include an interfaith study series in January called "Building Bridges," which offers information about the various faith traditions found on Long Island and how to promote social change through interfaith understanding and cooperation. The three-part study series will use the Long Island Multi-Faith Forum materials and videos from the Long Island Council of Churches (LICC).

The attendees then introduced themselves and shared their hopes and prayers in 2009 for their loved ones and for the community. A couple of persons said they looked forward to retirement and spending more time with their families and pursuing personal projects. Others mentioned the budgetary squeeze they are facing from reduced revenues and pledge income, while providing required services and deciding on infrastructure repairs. It was mentioned that GCHS won the Scholar/Athlete Award for the fourth time, beating all other New York State high schools. And GCMS won a Blue Ribbon as the Best Middle School in the country. Garden City Community Church is working on being becoming "green-er" by reducing their carbon footprint. Rabbi Linda Goodman said that she is slated to become the first woman President of the New York Board of Rabbis. Many of the clergy and Dr. Feirsen noted how much our young people are volunteering in the community to shovel snow, to collect food for the INN, toys for needy children, gifts for soldiers, and helping at Winthrop University Hospital. Some of the clergy mentioned their thankfulness for the collegiality and support of GCCF members and how good it was to see Deacon Jack McGowan again.

The Village officials in attendance were: Mr. Peter Bee, Mayor of Garden City; Mr. Robert Schoelle, Village Administrator/Treasurer; Dr. Robert Feirsen, Superintendent of Schools; Ms. Nanine Cuttitta, Principal of Garden City High School; Mr. Peter Osroff, Principal of Garden City Middle School; and Jack McGowan, former Garden City Mayor, former member of the GCCF, and active Roman Catholic deacon in Elmont.

The GCCF members in attendance were: Deacon George Browne, GCCF President and Deacon at St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church; The Rev. Lynn Sullivan, GCCF Vice President and Associate Pastor of Garden City Community Church; Fr. Rudy Pesongco, Pastor of St. Anne's Roman Catholic Church; The Rev. Jim Adelmann, GCCF Treasurer and Senior Pastor of Garden City Community Church; The Rev. Debra Low-Skinner, Rector of Christ Episcopal Church; Rabbi Stephen Wise Goodman and Rabbi Linda Henry Goodman of the Garden City Jewish Center; The Rev. Joseph Pae, Canon Pastor of the Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation; and The Rev. Jill Bowden, Director of Pastoral Care at Winthrop University Hospital.

The Garden City Clergy Fellowship sincerely thanks the management of the Garden City Hotel for generously hosting and providing breakfast for this special meeting, especially Banquet Manager Sonny Bishop. This is the eighth year in a row that the Garden City Hotel has hosted the December breakfast meeting of the GCCF. This tradition started in 2001, as the Hotel's way of showing thanks to the local clergy for their many good works benefiting the local community.