take the citizenship test. The
classes will help those who need
help learning English, politics
and history. Classes should start
by the beginning of November,
said Resettlement Director
Rachel Yoskowitz.
Resettlement is trying to
gauge just how many people will
need the special classes. While
their estimates put the number
r
\ - _D of non-citizens here for under six

"There are no
simple answers."

—Margarete Gravina

/—

years at approximately 200, the
agency carmot measure the num-
ber of individugls who have been
here longer because some didn't
come through Resettlement and
others have moved and lost
touch.
"Our goal is to have as many
people as possible become citizens
and gain the English skills nec-
essary to do that," said Judah

M OVING SALE

Isaacs, Federation's senior staff
associate for planning and allo-
cations. "We are working on de-
veloping some financial assistance
packages for those left without a
safety net. All this depends on
what the state does."
To make the picture bleaker,
Congress is close to passing an-
other welfare bill that would fur-
ther impact legal immigrants.
The provision the Jewish corn-
munity finds most disturbing is
the stipulation that the immi-
grant's sponsor earn 140 to 200
percent of the federal poverty lev-
el (the Census Bureau estab-
lished the 1995 poverty level for
a family of four at $15,570). The
current level is 100 percent.
There is equal concern over a
proposed provision that places
more stringent restrictions on the
length of eligibility for benefits
for immigrants. If the individual
uses benefits for more than 12
months, he could be deported.
"At this point, we just don't
know how all of this will play
out," said Ms. Yoskowitz. ❑

At our original location

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Church On Shabbat

An area church reaches out to new Americans,
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D

espite the Jewish commu-
nity's outreach efforts to
those from the former So-
viet Union, an area of con-
cern is spiritual needs.
Where the overall Jewish com-
munity is deficient, parts of the
Christian community have
picked up the slack. For 2 1/2
years, the Berkley Community
Church, located near 12 Mile
Road and Coolidge in the city of
Berkley, has been transporting
residents from Highland Towers,
Northgate Apartments and Lin-
coln Towers — home to signifi-
cant numbers of elderly new
Americans — to a "nonreligious"
program at the church. The
weekly Friday night programs,
according to the church's pastor,
the Rev. Peter Carlson, provide
the new Americans with English
conversation, friendship and re-
freshments.
The program meets weekly,
except on Jewish holidays and
during the summer.
"Yes, we are evangelic; it's part
of our mission," the Rev. Carlson
said. "We have a message to pro-
claim and we believe sincerely in
that message, and that drives our
mission.
"Our mission is to be evangel-
ic to all people. We end up being
selective only because we have to
have a scope."
The church's particular "scope"
is the new Americans. The Rev.

Carlson would not specify why
individuals of the former Soviet
Union are its target group. He
said the church is acting in part-
nership with "a local representa-
tive of a national mission who
chose the Russian community."
According to the church's tab-
ulations, 100 participants, most-
ly senior citizens, have attended
at least one program in the last
2 1/2 years.
During that time, the church
also hosted four concerts geared
toward the new Americans. Be-
tween 100 and 200 attended at a
time, listening at times to what
the Rev. Carlson described as a
Jewish-Christian pianist from
the Ukraine testify how God in-
spired his composing.
Other performances included
a "Thank God for Israel" concert
and a performance acknowledg-
ing Russian, Israeli and Ameri-
can religious music.
With the exception of one cou-
ple, none of the Russians at-
tended religious services or joined
the church. Even the couple that
went to some of the services
stopped attending them.
Typically, a dozen new Amer-
icans are present during the
weekly Friday night program.
"They talk about their back-
grounds and interests," the pas-
tor said, "and, if the conversation
isn't happening, they will talk

CHURCH

page 10

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