Newsday (Nassau Edition) from Hempstead, New York • 17

Newsdat REGION A Church in Oceanside Reaches Out By Michele Ingrassia Oceanside A young man who stopped in at the First United Methodist Church the other day found himself leaving with some advice that hardly was ecclesiastical. "For that job interview, you must wear a three-piece suit. And socks," he was told. "And I want you to get a haircut. If you come by tomorrow, I'll give you money for one." That bit of guidance came from Roger Fields, the director of the church's new community outreach program.

According to officials of the Long Island Council of Churches, the program is a rarity for a church-not only because it is devoted full-time to employment, housing and social problems, but also because it has ventured beyond its own boundaries to assist people in Rockville Centre, Lakeview, Island Park and East Rockaway. churches don't reach too far out of their own communities," said an official of the council. "And when they do, it's usually just by contributing to other helping agencies, like the council." Since the program, Onward to Excellence, began seven weeks ago, Fields, who sees about 60 people a week, has been dealing largely with problems of the poor. But his work does not end there, he said. are people who come to us who have no food, who are burned out of their homes, who are stranded from other parts of the country, who have been robbed, who are just out of jail with no place to live, who need jobs, who are runaways," said Fields, a 29-year-old black who has headed poverty programs in New York City.

"With jobs, it's not one socio-economic level. There are many programs to help the poor. Well, what about the middleclass person with no job?" First United Methodist, which has an all-white congregation of 219, was founded 80 years ago, but its social conscience evolved slowly. Before Oceanside became a bedroom community, said the Rev. Merrill W.

Kanouse, the church's pastor, it was primarily a farming and fishing community. "A number of these needs didn't exist before," he explained. "When you're a self-sustaining community you don't need programs like this. If you were hungry, your neighbors fed Until five years ago, he said, problems were solved on an individual basis, by giving someone a voucher at the or by having a few people help fix up a house. Then, the need for a traffic light at the intersection of Atlantic Avenue and Davison Street, where the church is located, drew the church into its first real community effort, Kanouse said.

After that, they set out on a full-time commitment. In the job program, Fields has placed 41 of the 62 people sent on interviews, mostly through his own contacts and those of church members. The process involves preparing a person for an interview, "selling" him to the company and, when necessary, finding out why he didn't get the job. The church also has become an advocate for the elderly, helping them to find part-time jobs or to wade through bureaucracies like the Social Security Administration. "We want to give them a place to find out information in a nonthreatening situation," Kanouse said.

"Many 'old people, especially first- or second-generation immigrants, have problems asking for something. But they'll often talk to a church because a church is supposed to be concerned; government isn't." With much of the program in full swing, Kanouse said the church is now working on the next phase: establishment of a "refugee center" for people in emergency situations--those whose homes have been burned, or who have been evicted, or who are stranded. Newsday Photo by G. Argeroplos Roger Fields gives some advice to Wayne Denis, 19, at the United Methodist Church Sexuality Focus of Talks By Mitchell Freedman Stony -The state university will run a lecture series this fall on sexuality. The 10-week series, which starts Sept.

21 and costs $60, will include talks by internationally recognized experts on how sexuality is expressed in the orient, Africa, northern Europe, the United States and the Mediterranean region, and on the economic and psychological impact of sex in the United States. The first three talks will deal with the economic impact of sex in the Unites States, sexual research and its applications, and the way "performance-oriented" approaches to sex have affected contemporary sexuality. "Sexuality encompasses a lot more than just the sex act. It's how you feel about yourself and your role in society," said Robert Hawkins, an associate dean in the university's school of allied health professions and one of the program organizers. "This sort of focus will help us better understand our own culture," he added.

Lecturers will include Dr. Maj-Britt Bedrgstrom-Walan, founder and director of the Swedish Institute for Sexual Research; Deryck Calderwood, who created the Unitarian Church's sex education program; Dr. Antonio Vela Bueno of the Clinical Hospital in Madrid; and Dr. Paul Gebhard, director of the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University. "The biggest problem we had in putting this together was getting it to pay for itself," Hawkins said.

"It's a very costly program." The university is contributing about $12,000 worth of services, including free use of a lecture hall, but Hawkins said the 200 who are expected to sign up for the series will be charged $60 to cover lecture and travel expenses of the speakers. Registration is being handled by Helen Lemay in the university's history department. The lectures will be held Wednesdays from Sept. 21 to Dec. 7, from 8 to 10 PM.

Hawkins said the public will be able to attend individual programs, but "they may have to listen in another room on closed-circuit TV." After the series ends in December, university officials hope to publish a book based on it. "I don't know of anywhere you can go now to find a comparison of in those cultures which is written in English. It would be invaluable for students of psychology or sociology any behavioral science," Hawkins said. Major Changes in Three Nassau Bus Routes The Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority, which provides most of the bus service in Nassau County, has announced major changes in three of its routes that will go into effect Sept. 4.

One of the improvements will extend the N72B Hempstead-Levittown-Farmingdale route through South Farmingdale to the Sunrise Mall in Massapequa. The line will be redesignated as N71, and buses will run hourly from 8 AM to 10 PM, Monday through Saturday. According to authority officials, buses on the new N71 route will travel between Hempstead and Farmingdale via Hempstead Turnpike. The old N72B operated via North Levittown and Bethpage to Farmingdale. Authority officials said the new schedule will speed up the travel time between Hempstead and Farmingdale by 10 minutes.

The second service change will extend the N82 Bellmore-Levittown route, which operates through half-hour rather than every hour. Service on the line Hicksville to the Mid-Island Plaza, to North Broad- also will be extended to the Plainview County Comway and Jericho Turnpike. Authority officials said plex. the extension of this service will accommodate the The authority also plans to increase peak-hour serNorth Levittown area, which had been served by the vice on heavily travelled routes, including the N4 N72B line. This new north-south route also is intend- Freeport to Jamaica, the N6 Hempstead to Jamaica, ed to benefit persons travelling across the Island by the N15 Long Beach to Roosevelt Field and the N40 providing connections to Long Island Railroad sta- and N41 lines.

The N51 Merrick to Roosevelt Field tions in Hicksville and Bellmore. route will be rerouted slightly to serve Hofstra Uni- The N71 and N82 lines also will provide connec- versity and Nassau Community College. tions in both directions at Division Avenue and In addition, Saturday service will be discontinued Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown. Commuters who on the N56, N57, N72C and N72G lines because of used the N72B in Bethpage now may use the N80A decreasing ridership. and transfer to the N71 or N72 at Stewart Avenue Full information on the new fall bus schedules and Hempstead Turnpike in Plainedge.

may be obtained from the authority bus information Another major service change will be an increase center by telephoning 626-3000 or by writing to the in service on the N79 line between Mineola, Hicks- Passenger Service Division of the authority at 1 Old ville and Plainview. Buses will be provided every Country Carle Place..