The Garden City Clergy Association has been working, as has been reported extensively in Garden City Life, to focus attention on the existing conflicts between secular activities, particularly sports, and religious worship and education time. The religious leaders of every house of worship in the Village of Garden City came together last year to call for a moratorium on the scheduling of sports events on Sunday mornings, which creates a difficult situation for families, forced to choose between participation in a team or practicing their religion with their respective congregation. This same effort has been made in communities across America. The Garden City Clergy Association sent an open letter to the religious communities across Long Island looking for their support.

The letter states:

"During the last few months there has been a considerable discussion and debate over a growing problem: the competition between sports activities and religious observances on Sunday mornings.

We heartily endorse the importance of a healthy sporting and recreational life, and we encourage the members of our religious communities to actively participate in them. However, we strongly empathize with the growing number of families distressed by the dilemma of making choices between religious observances and sporting activities. Children should not have to choose between a faith commitment and a sporting opportunity.

We commend those clergy associations and athletic organizations throughout Long Island that have worked jointly to arrange Sunday schedules that do not compete with religious instructions and worship. They have set the example for others to follow.

As religious leaders, we the undersigned make this appeal:

*that Sunday mornings be recognized as a time reserved for spiritual renewal, worship and education;

*that no organized sports or school activities be scheduled for Sunday mornings;

*that men and women of every religious persuasion be encouraged to work together with local and religious and sports organizations to establish schedules that are mutually agreeable."

This letter gained the attention of the Long Island Council of Churches and the religious leaders of different denominations across the area. The Garden City Clergy Association was able to join with clergy in the Three Villages and Bay Shore, who had launched similar efforts in their communities, as well as gain support throughout the area from Judicatory leaders (bishops, conference ministers, etc.) representing various Christian groups. As part of this joint effort, the Long Island Council of Churches hosted a press conference, thanks in large part also to the efforts of Pastor William Meyer of the Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, who all clergy in Garden City have repeatedly credited with spearheading this effort locally. The press conference was held on Friday, Feb. 26 in the basement of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City and members of the press from secular and religious publications were invited.

The Rev. Thomas W. Goodhue, interim executive director of the Long Island Council of Churches began the press conference by reading a list of names of Judicatory leaders who have now signed on to the letter by the Garden City Clergy Association. Those who have signed are: Regional Executive Minister of the American Baptist Churches in Metropolitan New York The Reverend James O. Stallings; Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, Suffolk -- The Diocese of Long Island The Right Reverend Orris G. Walker, Jr.; Auxiliary Bishop of the Epsicopal Diocese of Long Island The Right Reverend Rodney R. Michel; Interim Executive Director of the Council of Churches The Reverend Thomas W. Goodhue; President, Atlantic District, Lutheran Church of the Missouri Synod The Reverend Dr. David H. Benke; Bishop, Metropolitan New York Synod Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Bishop Stephen P. Bouman; Executive Presbyter, Presbytery of Long Island, Prebyterian Church (USA) Dr. Tom M. Castlen; President, Nassau/Suffolk Classis Reformed Church in America The Reverend David Maris; Bishop, Diocese of Rockville Centre, Roman Catholic Church The Most Reverend John R. McGann; Associate Conference Minister, United Church of Christ Metro/Suffolk Area The Reverend John A. Blakwell; Long Island West District Superintendent United Methodist Church The Reverend Joseph Morrison; and Long Island East District Superintendent The Reverend Wilmert H. Wolf.

Reverend Goodhue explained that he believes that an Interfaith effort is critical, as the encroachment of secular activities on religious worship time impacts every faith. He stressed that the clergy "truly value the activities schools and sports do on weekends," but not at the expense of families coming together on a Sunday morning to worship and attend Sunday School. He cited the case of one of his own parishioners who had told him that while he valued the lessons of sportsmanship his children were learning as part of a team, he found that he and his family never had time to sit down and eat breakfast together as a family or go to church together and he also valued the lessons his children could be learning in Sunday School.

Auxiliary Bishop The Right Reverend Rodney R. Michel commented that in his years in Bay Shore they found that when their Clergy Association approached the athletic community and asked them to "give consideration to the Sunday School schedule" they were responsive, but one of the biggest problems facing the local clergy is the issue of traveling teams. Reverend Michel explained that the children often have to be on the road early in the morning to get to games out-of-town, which then prevents them from attending church, even though the game was scheduled after noon on a Sunday. He added that even with schedling consideration given to Sunday mornings, "We have the reality that we're still cutting out the Jewish population, who worship on Saturday." He added that consideration to the worship time of the growing population of individuals praciticing Islam will certainly become an issue as well. He said that while the "tension" between sports schedules and relgious time is "exciting" in the challenges its poses, it is also a "frustrating" tension as well.

Reverend Michel added that while one sports league may comply, another may not, and so the effort is ongoing. He also stated that he understands that the leagues have serious problems with limited space and time and the increasing numbers of children interested in playing time. In order to accommodate all of the kids who wish to play, many leagues say they find it difficult to exempt time on Sunday mornings. He noted, "If the majority of parents would say, 'Then my child will not participate' when sports are scheduled on Sunday mornings, then there would be a stronger reaction from sports," but he said he recognized the difficult position in which parents are put.

Reverend Goodhue added that one method he saw have some success was for parents to volunteer to coach, but only after 1 p.m. on a Sunday. Many leagues are so desperate for coaches that they will work to comply, he stated. He noted that one community started its own Sunday afternoon soccer league as a reaction to the inflexibility of scheduling in existence. He did note that even within the religious community, there are occasions in which religious sports groups encroach on worship time, citing the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) and its playing time on Sunday mornings as an example.

Pastor Meyer said that in Garden City there has been "a really healthy agreement between the teams and the clergy. By and large everyone has agreed to maintain Sunday worship time by scheduling locally played games for later in the afternoon." He also cited traveling team schedules as the major stumbling block in the effort, and explained that by opening the effort's scope to all of Long Island, the hope is that communities will come together to schedule games and events for later on Sunday and work to preserve the religious time of their players.

He also stated that by gaining the support of the Judicatory leaders, this would "give encouragement to other local communities to multiply this same thing and find as pleasant a result as we have here in Garden City." Bishop McGann commented that this is an effort for not only "the entire religious community, but society as a whole." He said that in no way did the signatures of the Judicatory leaders signify that they were attempting to pass regulations from on high, in fact he commented that he was not even telling the CYO to comply, rather asking them to do so and to work together to "work it out."

Pastor Meyer commented that the Garden City Jewish Center had signed the Garden City Clergy Association's letter not only as a fellow member supporting their fellow clergy in the Village, but because while Saturday is their day of worship, they too hold Sunday School for religious education. Also, by expressing support for religious worship, this raises widespread awareness of the need for worship time of all faiths. Reverend Goodhue stated that by showing consideration for the needs of others, a "pact" in a sense is formed and compromise is achieved. For example, he commented, if the Jewish Orthodox community supports the efforts for Sunday mornings, then they can ask for support of Saturday mornings, and so on.

Reverend Goodhue added that he had been "appalled to hear that one school district was conducting testing on Yom Kippur and was threatening to penalize Jewish students for not attending. I would hope that all schools could become sensitive to any religious minority and allow for freedom of religious expression as the First Amendment provides." He noted, "That's why I think leaders from different religions should work together to hammer out an agreement." Pastor Meyer stated that certainly in communities where the Jewish population makes up the majority and the Christian population is in the minority, one would see Saturday consideration play a greater role, which would be "reflective of their community," but by working together consideration could be given to all faiths.

Reverend Goodhue issued a letter along with the Garden City Clergy Association's letter to the members of the Long Island Council of Churches requesting that they "invite school and sports officials to meet with your local ecumenical or interfaith group to seek solutions. The Bay Shore clergy recently did this and found them quite cooperative, as well as gaining a new appreciation for how hard it is for soccer moms and dads to find a free playing field."

The press conference concluded with assurances that this effort will be pursued despite the obstacles, and the clergy reminded those in attendance that the effort will certainly be that much more successful with public support through athletic leagues and by working with local clergy.