Features of the Month

We all want to be part of the solution the land fills and our earth is facing and become Plastic Foam Free….but aren’t quite sure what product to try in a world where things are new and untried.  How will it all work? You are in luck! United Churches is now able to partner with interested congregations and small businesses to provide some replacement cups and clam-shell-to-go-containers at no cost to you, to help you discover what will work best for you.

Thanks to an UMCOR (United Methodist Committee On Relief) Grant United Churches will purchase these materials soon. To apply to be part of this free program please fill out the short application.  Click here for application

God calls us to be responsible stewards of God’s creation. One of the most polluting substances we have in our communities is plastic foam, better known by the brand name Styrofoam®. Plastic foam takes anywhere from decades to millennia to decompose, and it releases toxic chemicals as it breaks down. Unfortunately, plastic foam is very common – in our trash, landfills, streets, and even our beloved rivers and streams. Such pollution sickens our natural world and breaks God’s heart. Thank you for caring!

YOU can also make a difference individually during the Lenten Season with the help of the calendar below

Try it for a day – a week – all of Lent – a lifetime
2/26 – Bring your own shopping bag to all stores
2/27 – Stop buying bottled water
2/28 – Say no to plastic straws
2/29 – Bring your own thermos/cup for coffee/tea
3/1 – Our First Commandment – Keep and tend the garden – Genesis 2:15
3/2 – Rethink your food storage
3/3 – Shop in bulk and refillables– bring your containers
3/4 – Carry metal utensils in the car
3/5 – Refuse plastic bags at the pharmacy or anywhere
3/6 – Shop at the Local Farmer’s Market – bring your bags
3/7 – Buy bakery items packaged in […]

This week I learned that the National Socialist Movement wants to have a rally this spring in Brandon Park.

Twenty nine years ago, when I began this job as executive director at United Churches of Lycoming County, the Ku Klux Klan wanted to hold a public gathering in Williamsport then too.  It happens periodically and each time it does, we at United Churches, dust off the original resolution that for us seems to state our feelings well.

Whereas all people are created equal by God,

And Whereas that equality was affirmed by the mission and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ,

And Whereas our daily activities enable us to strengthen our community so that it offers peace, justice and
dignity for all people.

And Whereas racism is a moral evil which divides the human family by denying the innate dignity and God given
rights of every person and is therefore a betrayal of the most essential values of our religious heritage,

And Whereas racism invades and devastates social structures and through them is perpetuated and transmitted to new generations,

Therefore be it resolved that the Board of Directors of the United Churches of Lycoming County has adopted this statement of unity at the April 18, 1991 meeting.

Be it further resolved that we repudiated any organization whose actions promote division and unrest in our community, and is grounded upon the false and destructive tenets that claim that some people are inherently superior or inferior because of their ethnic origin, language, or religious belief,

Be it further resolved that we rededicate ourselves to break down our own personal prejudices and those of our community and consciously promote racial, ethnic and religious harmony through a community wide effort.

We will reaffirm this resolution at our next board meeting and will also do everything we can to help our community with an alternate event.  We have also been known to restate the resolution for people of more faiths and no faith, who want to sign on to it but are not of a Christian background.  

But most […]