By Kathianne Boniello
After nearly a year of heart-breaking events in and around Queens — from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the war on terrorism to the crash of Flight 587 in Belle Harbor — it is time for the community to come together and pray.
That, according to Monsignor Michael Cantley of St. Anastasia’s Church in Douglaston, will be the underlying theme of this year’s Interfaith Service, which is held annually before the Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade.
There are a number of events held throughout Memorial Day weekend before the parade begins Monday afternoon, including the Interfaith Service, the Arts & Essay contest awards ceremony for neighborhood schoolchildren, and the Community Awards Brunch to officially recognize the parade’s honorees.
Cantley, who will preside over this year’s Interfaith Service, said the event is a time for everyone to come out and support each other after a difficult year.
“In my homily, that’s one of the points I’m going to make,” he said. “We will be praying to ask that there be justice and peace in this world.”
Nearly 3,000 people died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, including 23 city police officers and 343 city firefighters. Two months later on Nov. 12, 265 people died when American Airlines Flight 587 crashed into the Rockaways after taking off from Kennedy airport.
The Interfaith Service will feature members of the clergy from Little Neck and Douglaston, including parade group chaplain Rabbi Morton Pomerantz, the Zion Episcopal Church in Douglaston, the Community Church of Douglaston, the Community Church of Little Neck, and the Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church in Little Neck. It is scheduled to be held Monday at 10 a.m. at St. Anastasia’s Church, at the corner of 245th Street and Alameda Avenue.
The Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade bills itself as the largest Memorial Day event in the nation, and this year’s parade will feature at least 16 bands, organizers said. The parade begins Monday at 2 p.m. and runs from Jayson Avenue and Northern Boulevard in Great Neck, westbound along Northern Boulevard to the St. Anastasia’s parking lot in Douglaston.
The parade features a grand marshal, four division marshals, and several honorees from the community, including the Man and Woman of the Year, Youth of the Year and a Community Service award.
This year’s Community Service Award is going to the community’s uniformed services, including the members of the 111th Police Precinct, city Engine Company 313/Ladder Company 164 in Douglaston and the Manhasset/Lakeville Fire Company just over the cityline in Great Neck, L.I.
The grand marshal for the 2002 Parade is Walter Kaye, the top civilian aide to the secretary of the Army, parade spokesman Victor Mimoni said.
Other division marshals include Col. Ron Linna, commander in the U.S. Army Reserves Regional Support Command, retired Capt. Samuel Greenberg of Douglaston, Baysider and World War II veteran Clyde Smith, and John Costanza of Little Neck, also a World War II veteran.
Reach reporter Kathianne Boniello by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 146.
