Free Republic

Lindenhurst Meeting Report Oct. 5, 2007 When 250 people gather from around the country, mostly at their own expense, to consider a topic such as "'This Church' and God's Church," one might assume that they see a difference between those two. Hence, participants at Lutheran CORE's national gathering at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Lindenhurst, Ill., on Sept. 28, reflected on ways they believe the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is not being faithful as God's Church, and how they can testify about God's call to the ELCA to practice obedient discipleship. Meet the Leaders Pastor Erma Wolf, vice-chair of...

An 11-year-old Lindenhurst boy who wanted to put an end to his mother's drug use took cocaine from his house Friday and brought it to school to show authorities, Suffolk police said. The boy woke up Friday morning and wanted his mother, Toni LaBarbera, 43, to take him to school at Deauville Gardens Elementary School in Copiague, police said. When he was unable to wake her, he noticed numerous plastic bags of white powder nearby and took one, police said. LaBarbera's boyfriend, Scott Pinto, 43, of Copiague, took the boy to school, where, upset over his mother's drug use, he...

An atheist group is complaining about two signs posted outside a city hall in New York state that declare "God Bless America." But the signs hung by a Long Island official outside the town hall of Babylon, N.Y., are perfectly legal, according to a group specializing in constitutional law that has volunteered to defend them. "The phrase 'God bless America' does not violate the Constitution," said Gary McCaleb, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund. "If it did," he added, "then all the Democrat and Republican members of Congress standing on the steps of the Capitol singing 'God Bless America'...

KNIGHTS CANCEL PLANNED WITCH EVENTA local council of the Knights of Columbus on Long Island has cancelled a "witch's festival" that was to take place on October 29 in the Knights' Lindenhurst hall.The council's chaplain, Monsignor Daniel S. Hamilton, of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Lindenhurst, confirmed the cancellation and said that the event had been misrepresented as a trade show to the Knights, who are independent of the parish and took action after an item about it appeared on Spirit Daily. It was to be sponsored by an organization called "Crescent Moongoddess," which reserved the hall.Last year a...