September 1, 1982

HREE years ago choir members at St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church in Palisades Park, N.J., wanted to raise money to repair the stairway leading to their choir loft. They decided to publish a cookbook based on family recipes handed down over the years in their predominantly Italian parish. The small spiral-bound book has sold so well that they have not only repaired and recarpeted the stairs but also replaced a stained-glass window in the back of the church. In Hartford a coalition of five arts organizations had the same idea several years ago. This summer they jointly published an ambitious and attractively designed 400-page cookbook that they hope will keep them in new rugs and other items for years. Community cookbooks are increasingly popular and effective fundraising tools for private groups, and more are being published than ever, according to publishing sources.

After a two-month strike that halted work on many major projects in the city, the truck drivers who deliver concrete for heavy construction reached a tentative agreement yesterday with the General Contractors Association. J. Kenneth O'Connor, a lawyer and negotiator for Local 282 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, who announced the settlement last night, said that it would be submitted to the union's membership for ratification at a meeting tonight at the International Hotel at Kennedy International Airport. The walkout helped stop such construction projects as subway and water tunnels, sewer-treatment plants, piers and highways. However, a strike of operating engineers remains unsettled, so that work on many of these projects might still be held up even if the teamsters ratify their new pact.

President Reagan was urged by four senior officials to soften trade sanctions against the European companies that violate his Soviet pipeline embargo, according to an Administration official. He said they also told the President he should apply the sanctions evenly. (Page A1.) British-made components for the pipeline were loaded onto a Soviet vessel in Glasgow. It will be the second shipment from Europe in defiance of the Reagan ban. (D1.) Swiss bankers reportedly agreed to relax their secrecy laws, giving American officials access to the details about customers of any nationality who were using secret bank accounts to circumvent U.S. securities laws. The decision, expected today, would mark the first time the Swiss have agreed to set up a procedure to help Washington in its investigations of such cases. (A1.) Bankers predicted the agreement would have only a limited effect. (D13.)

The Government's index of leading economic indicators rose 1.3 percent in July, the fourth monthly increase in a row, the Commerce Department reported today. The rise in the index, which followed a three-tenths of 1 percent increase in June, was generally expected and provided another sign that the economy might be at the threshold of a sluggish recovery, according to several economists. Despite this glimmer of optimism, Commerce Secretary Malcolm Baldrige, in a statement released with the index, cautioned that there would be few signs of any upturn this quarter, contrary to earlier Administration projections. ''Key coincident indicators, such as payroll employment, industrial production and real G.N.P., are unlikely to show much change for the third quarter,'' he said.

The State Commission on Judicial Conduct yesterday censured a State Supreme Court Justice who had refused to accept a transfer from the Criminal to the Civil Division and thus had no cases assigned to him for more than six months. The decision, by a vote of 8 to 1, came nearly a year after a misconduct hearing. ''His error is tragic,'' the commission said in a 10-page opinion, adding that the 61-year-old justice, James J. Leff, ''has disgraced himself and compromised the judiciary.'' What Justice Leff had characterized throughout the proceedings as a principled stand for an independent judiciary, the commission saw as the judge's refusal to work for six months.