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Sunday, August 25, 2002     Page: 2B

OPINION EACH DAY THERE IS PLENTY OF INJUSTICE THAT DESERVES SCRUTINY. WRONGS
THAT DESERVE TO BE MADE RIGHT. COMFORTABLY POWERFUL WHO NEED SOME AFFLICTION.
THEY’LL STILL BE HERE TOMORROW. LET US CELEBRATE INSTEAD, TODAY, WHAT IS GOOD.
WHAT WORKS. FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN THE STREETS START FILLING WITH TRAFFIC MONDAY
MORNING, WORKERS ON SOUTH FRANKLIN STREET IN WILKES-BARRE WILL BEGIN UNLOADING
TWO TRACTOR TRAILERS FULL OF REFURBISHED PARTS OF THE AEOLIAN-SKINNER ORGAN,
THE “GEM” OF THE ST. STEPHEN’S PROCATHEDRAL. BY ALL ACCOUNTS, IT IS A
MAGNIFICENT CHURCH ORGAN, PART OF A 180-YEAR TRADITION OF ORGAN MUSIC AT THE
CHURCH. IN ADDITION TO BEING AN INTEGRAL PART OF A LONG-ESTABLISHED AREA
CHURCH, THIS AELOIAN-SKINNER HAS ACCOMPANIED MANY COMMUNITY GROUPS AND EVENTS
THAT HAVE PERFORMED IN THE SANCTUARY, INCLUDING THE WILKES UNIVERSITY CHORAL
CONCERT, THE WYOMING VALLEY ORATORIO SOCIETY, NOW THE NORTHEASTERN
PENNSYLVANIA CHORAL SOCIETY, THE AMERICAN GUILD OF ORGANISTS CONCERT SERIES,
THE ROBERT DALE CHORALE AND NUMEROUS TOURING COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY CHOIRS.
While the musical instrument is unique and remarkable in itself, what should
be celebrated is a congregation committed to the downtown and a community that
has come together to help.
   
While the church continues to raise money for this substantial “Polish the
Gem” organ rehab project, a third of the $600,000 raised so far has come from
outside the congregation, including a healthy amount from the area Jewish
population.
    Stephen Alinkoff, chair of one part of the fund-raising campaign,
remembered a newspaper clipping he read when he was president of the United
Jewish Campaign. Back in 1919, the call for help for Jewish refugees in
Palestine was answered by a group from the Wyoming Valley led by community
leaders with surnames such as Kirby, Miner and Conyngham, all members of St.
Stephen’s Episcopal Church.
   
“The scions of St. Stephen’s understood that essential lesson of this
country,” said Alinkoff. “What is the great strength of the community? Coal
miners from Wales, Jewish immigrants from Russia, workers from Poland. They
understood. We can all help each other.”
   
Thus, goodwill goes around. A good story. But just one of many. Because it
doesn’t end there. Adjacent to St. Stephen’s, enthusiasts of the Luzerne
County Historical Society carry the torch, remembering what’s significant
about the past. The organization also thrives under the guidance of an
energetic executive director.
   
Farther down the street, the Osterhout Free Library shines in service to
the community. Recently remodeled, the library is computerized and online. But
although the borrowing is free, the operation is not without cost. Too often
the library is waiting for promised government funding. Thanks to a friends
campaign and support from the community, service continues. With a smile.
   
At the end of the block is the First Presbyterian Church, also open to
community groups and events, a gem on the outside thanks to a recent overhaul
of the exterior. A current landscaping project is cream on top. Across the
street, a private law firm has done a handsome renovation on a corner
property. And at another corner, the YMCA is still renovating the facilities
to remain a vital part of downtown. The bookends of the neighborhood are the
campuses of Wilkes University and King’s College, once again bustling with
exuberant students.
   
Wilkes-Barre isn’t just a hole on Washington Street, awash with crime or a
battleground for a mayor at odds with council and public workers. Wilkes-Barre
is grounded by successes built and sustained by people and congregations,
private businesses and dedicated workers.
   
Now take that neighborhood and know that the model is repeated in
communities throughout Northeastern Pennsylvania. Strong congregations,
thoughtful neighbors. Enthusiasm and loyalty. In Hazleton and Pittston,
Mountain Top and Nanticoke, the Back Mountain and Bear Creek.
   
That’s what we celebrate today and that’s what will carry us through the
tomorrows, when injustice, the wrongful and comfortably powerful once again
have their days of scrutiny.