Just Sayin’: Rudeness on LIRR, at show is disturbing
In 2016, the LIRR reached its highest ridership numbers since 1949 because of millennials, according to the LIRR's Origin and Destination Study. Credit: Newsday / J. Conrad Williams Jr.
Rude behavior on train, at show is disturbing
I traveled into the city recently on the Long Island Rail Road to see a Broadway performance. On the way in, and on the way home, I sat across from women who felt the need to put their feet on the opposite seat next to me.
This was quite rude, I thought.
Then, I couldn’t believe the rudeness I encountered in the theater. I’ve attended Broadway performances for nearly 40 years, and this audience for “Les Liaisons Dangereuses” was absolutely the rudest I’ve seen. People talked to each other, texted loudly, let cellphones sound for messages, and made two actual cellphone calls.
It’s quite rude to fellow attendees, but also to the cast, which I’m sure could hear the disturbances. It makes me sad to live around such egocentric people.
Patricia Milward, Medford
Better Lutheran- Catholic relations
I’m a cradle Lutheran, but I have Roman Catholic roots from my father’s side. While I have recently bridged the divide between these two branches of Christianity, I have been in Lutheran churches that have defined themselves as anything that’s “not Catholic” and Catholic churches that have excluded me from Communion.
But on Monday, Pope Francis and leaders from the Lutheran World Federation worshipped together in an unprecedented service in Sweden. This marked 50 years of conversation between our denominations. On Tuesday, Lutherans began to commemorate 500 years of the Reformation, the initial request for dialogue. This year is about seeing the way God transforms us as Lutherans to converse with the world God has created, including Catholics, other denominations, and other faiths.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest progressive U.S. Lutheran body, welcomes this dialogue. Each week, we say, “I believe in . . . the holy catholic church,” meaning the universal church. After 500 years of pain, finally our churches’ confessions are matched by actions.
Rev. Kevin O’Hara, Patchogue
Editor’s note: The writer is the pastor of Lutheran Church of Our Savior in Patchogue.
