Local Spiritual Health "Not Great, Not Bad"
Say Local Reverend and Rabbi

by Harold Wolfson of the Local Summit

(June 21, 2003) How good is the spiritual health of the community?

A gentlemanly “C” --- not great, not bad. That’s what two local religious leaders told a Local Summit meeting at the Nautilus Diner on June 17th.

Rabbi Jeffrey Sirkman (standing) and Rev. William Crawford conduct a good-humored review of the community's spirituality as Summit members Mary Lee Berridge and Rita Brunbaum look on.

Rev. William Crawford of Larchmont Ave. Presbyterian Church and Rabbi Jeffrey Sirkman of the Larchmont Temple conducted a good-humored review of the community’s spirituality and found a lot of room for improvement.

“What is the biggest unmet need?” long time Summit member Julie Gilligan asked.

Breaking down barriers of religion, wealth, neighborhood and ethnic affiliation was the answer of both clergy. “We have to enable people of different backgrounds to communicate with each other and see their interconnectedness,” Rabbi Sirkman said. He and Rev. Crawford acknowledged that their own congregations were not immune.

Rev. Crawford noted that different religious background and experience should not be a basis for separation. It should provide a bond. “God has many blessings,” he said. There is no single truth and he championed the case for spiritual “pluralism” as distinct from “exclusivity.”

The two clergymen acknowledged that wealth, neighborhood and ethnicity are increasingly keeping people apart. Rabbi Sirkman acknowledged these fences were exceedingly hard to knock down but said we have to work harder to find ways of having open and appreciative individual and community dialogue.

George Latimer, Westchester County legislator, said the last time the community and all of its religious leaders came together in a spirit of unity was some years back to protest Nazi swastika graffiti in Orienta. “It’s too bad it takes a flash point like that to recognize our interconnectedness.”

Rev. Crawford acknowledged that even the clergy could do more. “Too many of us find it difficult to get together as a group. Building our own flock and caring for them is a great challenge. But we have to get beyond this.”

Mary Pecaut of the Summit said that she would like to start a subcommittee to plan for a local “Interfaith Summit Meeting” to promote interconnectedness. Other Summit members said they would join with her.

George Latimer, a practicing Catholic, counseled the emerging committee, “You have to be sure to get the local Catholic clergy aboard. They and their parishoners are a major component.”

The Local Summit is a voluntary citizens’ action group devoted to making Mamaroneck and Larchmont a better community for all. For more information, contact : Harold Wolfson – 834 – 6229 or
Julie Gilligan – 834- 2560.