Friday Feature: Labors of Love from A Scootch

One is proactive because it is less frustrating living life when setting things in motion. Good things need to be nurtured and allowed to flourish. There are two organizations which are the beneficiaries of one of the many projects of The Imperial Court of NYC: Lifebeat.org and The Jan Hus Community Church. It is a very special labor of love to charge up (pester) people to help out either as talent or an attendee.

In the old neighborhood there was a slang expression for a pest, "scootch." In the Urban Dictionary it is spelled, "skutch." The etymology is the same, the Italian verb scocciare, pronounced in dialect, skoochar--picture a young child tugging on a mother's skirt or apron: un bambino socciante. Essere scocciante in some cases is also a labor of love. So, here goes:

The Jan Hus Church and Neighborhood House is located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and is home to the Jan Hus Playhouse Theater. This church was built in 1877 and gets its name from the great Czech Religious reformer Jan Hus. Today, Jan Hus Church practices progressive thinking and is committed to encouraging and welcoming the full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in its congregation and within the church’s hierarchy. They are also active in social outreach, serving as a place of spiritual inspiration, worship and a beacon of hope to the community it serves. Rev. Ray Bagnuolo, the current pastor of Jan Hus, is very proud of the church’s community programs which include a senior center, preschool, homeless outreach program, public cafeteria, AA meeting hall and theater. Recently, Pastor Ray participated in the workshop Carl Stillitano facilitates. After witnessing Carl’s unique ability to guide his participants with grace & integrity, he was inspired to familiarize himself with Carl’s writings. He was so impressed with Kenny & The Virgin Mary; he chose this production to bring the stage at Jan Hus back to life in order to co-create an entertainment venue which serves humanity.


Lifebeat has carved out a unique niche by effectively using the power of music as a nonprofit that uses the power of music to help educate young people about HIV/AIDS prevention. For more than seventeen years, Lifebeat has helped to mobilize the talents and resources of the music industry to raise awareness and funds, and to provide support to the HIV-positive community. Lifebeat relies on a small but dedicated staff and an active Board of Directors to carry out our mission, as well as a wonderful group of volunteers and a network of national AIDS service organizations (ASO’s) to educate young people through our outreach efforts.






We are inviting you to join us for this talent-filled evening. Visit www.love-out-loud.com/events.html where this current event is chronicled.

Love,

Giovanni "Lo Scocciante" Vitacolonna
gio@poz.com