Welcome to the 69^th Annual Meeting of the Association for the Sociology of Religion, this year in New York City! I hope that the additional information will be helpful to you as you arrive in the city and settle into the hotel. If you have any questions after you have read this, email me at bill4329@ hotmail.com.

The final program is now posted here. There are a number of changes from the preliminary pro-gram. You will get a printed program, including meeting room assignments and abstracts, when you register. There is no need for you to print the Web materials. All of our activities will be on the 9th floor of the Marriott Marquis. Registration is on the Upper Terrace of the 9th floor. Registration times are 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. Thursday, 8:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 8:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Sunday. Please join us for the welcoming reception in Marquis C from 9:00-10:00 p.m. Thursday, if you are in town by then.

If you are staying at the Marriott or another downtown hotel, I strongly urge you to have a print copy of your reservation confirmation with you—that is, if you received your reservation by email, print it out! If you do not have a confirmation, recontact the hotel. (If you lack contact information, go to the hotel Web site and work from there: www.nymarriottmarquis.com).

Getting to the hotel from the airports: All three airports offer cab and shuttle services. Cabs from LaGuardia and Newark are metered, and you will also be expected to pay tolls. From LaGuardia you should anticipate a fare, before tolls and tips of $35-40; from Newark, $65-70. The cab fare from Kennedy is a flat $45 fee, plus tolls. Make sure you are absolutely clear in telling the driver that you want the Marriott Marquis at Times Square, not simply "the Marriott." Also note that New York City cabs take cash only. There are also shuttle services. Check with the shuttle service whether it will actually take you to the Marriott or whether it drops you at a central location, where you again have to try to find a cab or negotiate public transportation (see next page). You should anticipate that it will take you at least an hour once you have found your transportation into the city. There is also public transportation into the city that runs 24/7 and is much more reasonably priced. If you have limited luggage, you may wish to consider using this option. Courtney Bender, who has been helping me with arrangements as well as being our Membership Chair, has provided the following details.

The closest subway stop to the hotel is Times Square Station. Trains numbered 1, 2, 3, 7, A, C, E, N, Q, R, and W will stop here. The station is large and sprawling, but well marked. The street exits closest to the Marquis will be Broadway or 7th Avenue, 43rd or 44th Streets. Neighborhood street maps are posted at many exits to help you get your bearings.

From LaGuardia: Purchase a Metrocard inside the airport, then exit and look for the M60 bus. Either transfer to an N or W train at Astoria Boulevard (the quickest route) or continue on the M60 over the Triborough Bridge to Harlem, and transfer to the downtown 2 or 3 train at 125th Street and Lenox Avenue. Whichever train you take, exit at Times Square Station (Fare: $2).

From Kennedy: Take the AirTrain (signs in your terminal) to the Howard Beach subway station. (There are two AirTrain routes. Make sure you take the one to Howard Beach.) Purchase a Metrocard when you exit the AirTrain. Take the A train to Times Square Station. (Total fare: $7)

From Newark: Take the AirTrain monorail to the New Jersey Transit "Newark Airport" stop. Then take a New Jersey Train to Penn Station. For a cab, exit Penn Station on the 8th Avenue side. Otherwise, buy a Metrocard and take the 1, 2, or 3 line Uptown to Times Square—one stop. Exit at 43rd and Broadway, two blocks from the hotel. (Fare: $15 train + cab $5-8 or subway $2)

Rail: Amtrak trains come to Penn Station. See directions immediately above. Buses: Many airport buses come into the Port Authority Bus Terminal at 42nd Street and 8th Avenue. You can either walk from the terminal by exiting on the 8th Avenue side and walking uptown to 45th Street, then walking east one block to Seventh Avenue and Broadway, or you can catch a cab on the 8th Avenue side of the terminal.

We will have arranged for standard overhead projectors and screens for all of you who requested them. If you did not request them, they may or may not be available for your session, and we are not in a position to put them in place at the last minute. In no case is other A/V equipment provided. If you need other A/V equipment, you can either bring your own or contact the hotel. If you bring you own, you should especially remember to bring an extension cord, as well as any other peripherals your system requires. Any arrangements for A/V equipment that you make with the hotel are at your own expense.

If you are giving a paper or are a discussant, you should anticipate a 20-minute maximum for your presentation. It is important that sessions start on time, because sessions need to end on time. The ASA properties are relatively close to our hotel, though if you plan to move back and forth between them from one session to another, you should take time early in your stay actually to walk the route, not just map it.

We have a very encouraging preregistration at this year’s meeting, and I am happy to say we have also met our hotel room-take complement. The program is diverse, and I think there will be plenty to keep people busy. I look forward not only to the many familiar faces of those who are faithful in attendance year-in and year-out, but also to welcoming newcomers into the ASR community.

Bill Swatos

Executive Officer