Joint Service

On June 12, members of North Country Reform Temple, led by Rabbi Janet Liss, and the First Baptist Church of Glen Cove, led by Pastor Roger Williams, shared a virtual Shabbat service. Through the magic of Zoom, congregants were able to join the service not only from the Glen Cove area, but also from Michigan, South Carolina, Florida and Massachusetts. Members of both congregations prayed together and shared their experiences, and the Reverend Roger Williams gave a sermon regarding the history of racism and segregation in this Country, from the time of the Black Codes passed after the end of Reconstruction through the “separate but equal” decision of Plessy v. Ferguson, the Brown v. Board of Education Decision and Civil Rights Statues, the retreat from Civil Rights starting with the Nixon administration, the destruction of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court, the culture of mass incarceration, and the other effects of systemic racism culminating in the murder of George Floyd. The two congregations began a dialogue which the congregants and clergy members hope will result in joint actions to effect meaningful change.