Newsletter Committee: Merlene Fray, Karleine Graham, Beverly Gray, Kathleen Lyons, Gloria Maffettone

Christmas at St. Martha’s

Outreach Kwanzaa Martin Luther King

remembered Mourning a

dedicated parishioner

Around Uniondale

Fr. Chris celebrates 1st Christmas as Pastor

The Church

“sparkled” for the

Christmas Season.

Bright banners

hung in the sanc-

tuary, lights

adorned the trees

on the altar and

the swags that

were draped

along the sides of

the church.

The Creche, as

usual, was a focal

point for the con-

gregation.

Outreach provided holiday gifts and food for 300 families at Christmas

For the second time in four short weeks, the Social Ministry program staff, under the leadership of Co-Directors Marlene

Jean-Baptiste and Barbara Powell, provided holiday turkey dinners for about 300 Uniondale families. At Christmas, the pro-

gram also provides gifts for all members of each family. All of which is made possible

through the generosity of the parishioners of St. Martha’s and those of surrounding par-

ishes, most especially St. Anne’s in Garden City.

The project takes weeks of preparation and almost a week of organizing the food

and gifts and then distributing them to the clients.

Volunteers from St, Anne’s arrive on the Saturday prior to Christmas with color

coded and numbered bags of food and toys that need to be wrapped,

Many helpers are needed and it is always a blessing to see so many of the young

people of both parishes willing to give the time to help.

In the photo at the right, Juliette Scanlon of Girl Scout Troop 1449 from Garden

City gives Outreach volunteer Gloria Maffettone some of the gloves and hats her Girl

Scout troop collected for the clients of St. Martha's Outreach.

COMMUNITY NEWS-KWANZAA CELEBRATION by Karleine Graham

On December 15, 2016, Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby sponsored the 15th annual Kwanzaa celebration at the Nathan L. H. Bennett Pavilion at Town Hall in Hempstead. Kwanzaa does not replace Christmas. It was started in 1966 as a way for some African Americans to reconnect/recapture their lost African culture. For seven days, starting on Dec. 26, the seven principles are contemplated and celebrated. They are translated from the widely spoken Afri-can Swahili language as follows: Unity, Self-Determination, Collective Work and Responsibility, Purpose, Creativity, Cooperative Economics, and Faith. As each of the seven candles on the Kinara was lighted, a community member was honored.

The young people of Hempstead provided wonderful entertainment of sing-ing, dancing and beating of drums. The Uniondale High School Show Choir, Rhythm of the Knight, brought the house down with their singing and dancing. They closed with a spirited performance of the Hallelujah Chorus from Han-del’s Messiah which was fitting for the Advent Season. St. Martha own Yenixa Galvez, who sings in the parish choir at the 11am Mass, is a member of the on-ly HS Show Choir in New York, which is rated seventh in the nation. It was gratifying to see Sacred Heart Academy as a sponsor of this event.

FOR OUR YOUTH By Beverly Gray How many times did you think to tackle a word search?

You may associate it with just one of those brain exercises

designed for senior citizens. Here’s a challenge for you and

what better time to introduce it, then now! January cele-

brates the birthday and life of the Reverend, Dr. Martin Lu-

ther King, Jr. and February is National Black History

Month. Many of us see Dr. King as a civil rights advocate

and a great orator, but perhaps we should look at him as a

man on a mission to serve God while teaching and preach-

ing about our Creator. His daily prayers were always cen-

tered around love and non-violence, as he reflected on the

teachings of Jesus Christ and echoed the words of Jesus

found in Matthew 26:39. Like Christ, Dr. King spent his

life in service to those who suffered and were oppressed.

Lately, we have seen many protests. Many question the

value of these actions. The marches and actions of Dr.

King encouraged peaceful demonstrations that were pat-

terned in non-violence, with the purpose of bringing to light

the injustice that plagued our society. They were inspired by

love and hope and the belief that all can be treated equally

under the law. His faith in God and his Word gave him a

fellowship with all Americans. How did this faith and trust

in God fit into this picture? He explained that “Just as the

apostle, Paul left his village of Tarsus to carry the gospel of

Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Roman world, so am I

compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own

hometown.” He frequently preached that people must love

their enemies and show forgiveness to those who attempt to

harm them. Some Americans were denied the right to vote,

while the striking sanitation workers struggled for their

rights, demonstrating a sharp contrast with our understand-

ing that we are all children of God. The struggle that he and

these Americans faced was like the story told in the book of

Exodus in the bible. He wrote, in a 1956 speech, that “All

men are created alike in the image of God, and are insepara-

bly bound together. This is at the very heart of the Christian

gospel.” He also spoke of the difficult days ahead, just as

some of us face today. He summed up his mission to serve

the Lord, on that fateful day in Memphis, April 3rd, when he

stated “I’ve been to the mountaintop and I just want to do

His will.”

“The Dream” begins with God, as revealed through His

Son, Jesus Christ.

Take the challenge (printed elsewhere in this bulletin)

of the word search and then decide how you want to serve

our Savior.

Below: Uniondale HS Show Choir

George E, Leonard, Jr. January 26, 2017

A life-long resident of Uniondale and a dedicated pa-rishioner of St. Martha’s, George Leonard passed away suddenly on January 26th.

George served the par-ish faithfully as an usher at the Sunday 7:30am Mass and happily “pitched in” wherever and whenever he was needed. George was a Republican Committee-man for Uniondale but it was the Uniondale Fire Department that claimed a huge portion of his time and heart.

At the 2016 annual Global Village celebration, sponsored by the Uniondale Public Library, George was the keynote speaker. Proudly dressed in his Department uniform, the Ex-Chief spoke of his memories of Un-iondale and his 40-year career in the Fire Department. Often George served as emcee at the Memorial Day cere-mony at the Uniondale Park.

He will be missed at St. Martha’s and throughout the

community. In honoring George, on

the day of his funeral, many of the ushers attended wear-ing their gold jackets and the Fire Department and col-leagues from around Long Island formed an honor guard. Greengrove Ave. was closed to traffic to accommodate the many fire trucks and vehicles present. Speaking at the Global Vil-

lage program last spring.

Order of Holy Sepulchre Advent Retreat

Three members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre attend-

ed the annual Advent Retreat of the Order held at St. Pat-

rick’s Cathedral, in the Lady Chapel, on Saturday, Decem-

ber 17th.

Pictured are Lady Kathleen Lyons, Lady Gloria Maffet-tone and Lady Marie Lucy Lebon with Lady Vicki Downey, who was officially inducted as the Lieutenant of the Eastern Lieutenancy of the Equestrian Order the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem on that occasion. Lady Downey is the first woman to serve as Lieutenant in the Eastern Lieutenancy.

Haitian Flag flies outside the parish cen-ter on January 1st, Independ-ence Day in Haiti. In honor of the day, a Midnight Mass was celebrat-ed, followed by a reception in Bethany Hall.

Parishioners Wilfredo and Sandy Flores had their home

on Hempstead Boulevard featured in Newsday on De-

cember 18. Wilfredo begins putting up his display right

after Halloween and it remains until January 7th. Each

year Wilfredo adds new characters to his display. The

Flores family brings the Christmas spirit to Uniondale in

a bright, shiny way! If you did not see it this year be

sure and see it in 2017.