When Long Beach residents were traveling off the barrier island to CenterPoint churches for religious services a decade ago, a 50-person launch team worked to establish CenterPoint’s Long Beach campus. Now, the campus will celebrate its 10-year anniversary on Oct. 4.
The Long Beach campus, which rents space from Temple Emanu-El of the South Shore, at 455 Neptune Blvd., will hold two morning services, at 9:30 and 11 a.m., highlighting its history and founders.
It will then host its third annual Fall Fest, from 1 to 4 p.m., featuring raffles, games, arts and crafts, food, and activities for teens. Admission is free.
Tom “TK” Kennedy has been the pastor of the Long Beach campus since 2022. A Long Beach resident since 2000, he and his wife, Jan Kennedy, were members of the launch team.
“The whole community’s invited to this,” TK said. “Whether you come to CenterPoint or not, come and hang out.”
TK said an idea for the Long Beach campus sparked after CenterPoint discovered at least 30 community members were commuting to the CenterPoint Church campus in Massapequa.
Over the years, the campus has formed support groups for community members in need. One group similar to Alcoholics Anonymous, Kennedy said, meets at the Long Beach Public Library every Thursday night.
The church also provides aid to the MLK Community Center in Long Beach, where more than a dozen CenterPoint members rotate through the center’s food pantry, which provides food to those in need. They spend Friday nights helping to set up tables with nonperishable items before helping with the Saturday rush between 9 a.m. and noon.
Rabbi Jack Zanerhaft of Temple Emanu-El said he started at the temple within days of CenterPoint signing its lease there. Zanerhaft said he and Kennedy have developed a strong relationship, creating joint programs where members can explore both religions. He added that CenterPoint’s worship band performs for the Temple on occasion.
“We have a great relationship with CenterPoint,” Zanerhaft said. “We believe, and will continue to believe, in role modeling the way society should embrace community.”
Recently, Kennedy said, the campus rallied to support a young woman in need of baby items, including a crib and a bassinet.
“We’re trying to do a lot more in the community, so people know that we’re here,” TK said. “We’re here to serve however we can.”
