After injuries sidelined his career, Frazier, of course, used his athletic talent to rebound his life and has been the Knicks’ announcer for many years. While accepting his honor from Mount Sinai Rabbi Emeritus Joseph Potasnik, Frazier spoke poignantly of the importance of “giving back” to society.

Borough President Eric Adams, also honored that night, pledged to continue protecting and defending Brooklyn. His talk dovetailed on the evening’s theme of congregation as family, as he said that Brooklyn and Mount Sinai are his family also.

Congregants Mannie Corman and Jill and Scott Epstein were also honored. Corman had the chance to perform the Ha-Motzie — the blessing and breaking of challah bread — with Rabbi Seth Wax.

The sports theme reverberated throughout the evening. During the live auction portion of the fundraiser, a ball from recently retired New York Yankees relief pitcher Mariano Rivera reportedly sold for $1,200. Rivera, a longtime friend of Rabbi Potasnik, was an honoree at last year’s gala.

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House of the Lord Church Co-Sponsors Interfaith Service to End Women’s Cancer

Church Acclaimed for Social Justice Teams Up Globe-athon

The House of the Lord Church-Brooklyn will sponsor and host the first international and interfaith service to stamp out women’s cancers.

Globe-athon is a global movement of people all over the world working to raise awareness for and, ultimately, increase early detection and prevention of, gynecological cancers. Last September, 208 events were held in 71 countries to change the lives of millions of women and families affected by gynecologic cancers.

This year’s 2015 Globe-athon event will be marked by the first international-interfaith service sponsored by the House of the Lord Church and the executive leadership of Globe-athon, at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17 at the historic House of the Lord Church on Atlantic Avenue in Downtown Brooklyn.

The service will bring together men and women of all faiths in prayer, service and action with the goal of offering hope and providing women with information vital to early detection and prevention.

Inspirational music from Bishop Nathaniel Townsley and the Gospel Jubilee as well as performances by rock band No Evidence of Disease will provide encouraging, inspirational music. The Balance Dance Theater will also inspire the participants through dance.

A special “Shine the Light” candle-lighting segment to honor those who have lost their battle with below-the-belt cancer will be highlighted.

The interfaith service is the brainchild of Rev. Dr. Karen Smith Daughtry, who was installed as pastor of the House of the Lord Church in January 2014.  She stated that she was uncomfortable with the absence of a faith component as part of Globe-athon’s national events and introduced the idea to the executive leadership, who overwhelming supported this “first-in-a-lifetime event.”

Dr. Daughtry cited her faith and scientific research as the impetus for the service.

“Many studies have found a direct correlation between faith and good health,” she said, citing an extensive report titled “Health Benefits of Faith,” based on evidence from more than 1,200 studies and more than 400 reviews.

The report stated that “the overwhelming majority of scientific studies highlight the positive health benefits of faith, including protection from illness, coping with illness and faster recovery from it.”  

It also highlighted a study that showed regular faith believers had life expectancies up to 14 years longer than those who were not faith believers.  Other health benefits included an increased sense of well being, hope and optimism; lower rates of depression and suicide; less loneliness and less alcohol and drug abuse.

Pastor Smith Daughtry’s husband is the Rev. Herbert Daughtry. His long career of activism began with the Civil Rights struggles in the 1950s, working with Brooklyn CORE, Youth In Action and Operation Breadbasket; he continued in the fight for community control of schools in the late 1960s.  

Like his wife, the Rev. Daughtry, acclaimed for his decades of activism both locally and nationally, has promoted the concept of holistic ministry for more than 50 years, with a special emphasis on faith and healing.

He stated, “Clearly, faith affects our lives and health in many ways. It has a far-reaching, deep impact upon more than our spiritual well being; it also affects our physical, mental and social well being. Being part of a faith-based community is an important piece of the longevity puzzle. By exercising faith, our lives can be more fulfilled, balanced and peaceful than before.”

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Priest-Poet Murray Bodo Presents Readings on Saints Francis, Clare

St. Francis College welcomes acclaimed author, Franciscan priest and poet Fr. Murray Bodo to read poems inspired by St. Francis and St. Clare.

The two Christian leaders from Italy’s Assisi region lived during the 12th and 13th centuries, having rejected privileged upbringings and lifestyles and embracing poverty, communal living and a love for all of God’s creation. Clare formed a religious community for women with a Rule of Life modeled after that of her friend and mentor, Francis.

Fr. Bodo will read from several of his books of poetry, including “Of Francis and Clare” (2013), a collection of poems about St. Francis, his parents Pietro Bernardone and Lady Pica, and St. Clare.

Father Bodo’s books include “Enter Assisi: An Invitation to Franciscan Spirituality” (2015) and “Francis and Jesus” (2013) as well as poetry collections “Autumn Train” (2015) and “Something Like Jasmine” (2012). (Learn more at murraybodo.com.)

Father Bodo has read his poetry at various venues in America, Italy and England, including in William Wordsworth’s church in the English Lake District.

He holds a Ph.D. in English and has taught English and American Literature, composition and creative writing. Father Bodo resides in inner-city Cincinnati, Ohio, and spends two months of the year in Rome and Assisi in Italy as a staff member of “Franciscan Pilgrimage Programs.”

His reading takes place on Wednesday, June 24 at 3 p.m. in the college’s Founders Hall.

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Catholic NET-TV Premieres Documentary in Anticipation of Pope’s Encyclical on Environment

On Sunday, June 14, New Evangelization Television (NET TV) premiered its original production, “Custody + Creation,” a poignant environmental documentary about the care of creation and the role of the faithful.

Assessing the state of the planet Earth and the imminent threat of climate change, “Custody + Creation” focuses on the church’s reaffirmation of the biblical custody of the Earth, the dignity of creation and human ecology. The documentary comes in anticipation of Pope Francis’ encyclical letter on the environment, to be published on June 18.

“Custody + Creation” presents exclusive interviews of scientists and theologians who share their research, experience and perspective, as well as local activists from the New York Harbor, Narragansett Bay, the Delaware River Valley and the Chesapeake Bay, who share viable solutions for taking on the issues of pollution, energy and what Pope Francis has described as “disposable culture.”

“The makers of ‘Custody + Creation’ understand the dynamics of protecting creation and connecting faith and reason, prayer and activism with church and state. They have found voices that can tell this story – that can show the Church in action to protect creation and defend human dignity,” said Bill Patenaude, founder of CatholicEcology.net and one of the interviewees featured in the documentary.

“Custody + Creation” is produced by NET TV, a cable network featuring news and information with a Catholic point of view, which is part of DeSales Media Group, the communications and technology arm of the Diocese of Brooklyn. It premieres on Sunday, June 14, at 9 p.m. on NET TV – on Time Warner Cable, channel 97; Cablevision, channel 30; and, nationally, on Verizon FiOS On Demand. A trailer is available on the network’s web page.

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Milestone in Faith:

Our Lady of Refuge Church

The cornerstone for the first church building of Our Lady of Refuge Roman Catholic Church was laid on June 23, 1912. The parish had been established the year before by then-Bishop Charles Edward McDonnell. The congregation, primarily composed of German and Irish Catholics, was already at 400 members strong.

Some 21 years later, another pastor in the parish’s history, Monsignor Francis P. Connelly, was resolute and successful in raising the funds to build a church for the growing congregation. The parish’s history webpage chronicles the 1933 groundbreaking and completion. The cost was $400,000; however, the parish was very soon free of debt, thanks to the generosity of its members. Thus, Our Lady of Refuge Church became “one of very few in the United States to achieve such a goal upon the completion of a new church and rectory.”

The first mass in the 1,000-seat, artistically ecclesiastical sanctuary at Ocean and Foster avenues was celebrated 81 years ago this week, on June 16, 1934. The following day, Bishop Thomas E. Molloy presided at the dedication ceremony. The church sits in the present-day Midwood neighborhood. Today, Our Lady of Refuge Church now serves some 30 nationalities and three language groups: English, Spanish and Creole. The parish has active community ministries, often teaming up with Holy Nativity Episcopal Church on the same block and the East Midwood Jewish Center, further up Ocean Avenue. Programs and ministries include a Jewish-Christian dialogue, a food pantry and homeless program, an annual blood drive and classes for English as a Second Language and GED-Basic Skills.

Our Lady of Refuge parish also completed a successful international capital campaign to restore its Kilgen organ, with Monsignor Michael Perry and Joe Vitacco spearheading the six-year project. A.R. Schopp’s Sons and Quimby Pipe Organs, Inc. did the action restoration. Upon completion, the parish also launched an organ recital series.

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