LI clergy look to Easter rebirth to cope with adversity

As churches prepare for the holiest day of the Christian calendar, ministers and priests on Long Island said they plan to deliver Easter messages of hope and rebirth in the face of adversity.

"We've gone through a harsh winter, economic hardship, facing uncertainties about our jobs, whether we can pay our mortgages and keep our homes," said the Rev. Allan Ramirez, pastor of the Brookville Reformed Church. "We've been scared, we've been on the precipice of death and here is this theme of new life - and we're ready for it."

Easter celebrates a key tenet of the Christian faith, the resurrection of Jesus Christ after his crucifixion.

The Rev. Mark Bigelow, pastor of the Congregational Church of Huntington, said he would emphasize gratitude this holiday season.

"Even in the midst of Jesus' being arrested and tortured and crucified, there was a sense that his disciples were able to give thanks also for what he had given them, which then became very evident in the resurrection," Bigelow said.

"Even in the worst of times," he said, "if we focus on that which are our blessings, we get much more strength to weather whatever is happening."

At Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, a Roman Catholic Church in Wyandanch, the building itself offers up a potent symbol of resurrection.

Reconstruction of the church, damaged by arson in 2007, began last month, said the Rev. William Brisotti.

"There's so much suffering, but at the same time we have this flame of hope that comes from within," Brisotti said.

The world's Catholic Church has once again been buffeted by allegations of child sexual abuse - most recently a group of men alleged they had been abused as boys by a Wisconsin priest who was protected by the Vatican, including by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who is now the pope.

Bishop William Murphy of the Diocese of Rockville Centre spoke of the accusations in his annual Easter letter on the Long Island Catholic Web site in which he vigorously defended the pontiff.

"Even in the midst of darkness and sin, even in times of trouble and sorrow, even when the Church and our beloved Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, are being vilified by evil forces and false accusations aimed at undermining the Church, we are one in our proclamation of faith, our cry of hope, our embrace of the cross which leads to the everlasting Sunday of Easter glory," Murphy wrote.