There are many ecumenical ministries that are part of
United Churches.

First, a definition of the word ecumenical might be helpful. The word ecumenical comes from two Greek Words, one meaning the whole inhabited earth and the other meaning house. Christians have used the word ecumenism to speak of Jesus' concerns for unity within our household of faith - Christianity. The goals of ecumenism are for Christians to learn to love each other as Christ loved us. United Churches ecumenical ministries promote a greater understanding and a greater appreciation of each other, and are the ways we work together to show the world visible forms of the unity we have in Christ.

Now let's look at the separate ecumenical ministries of United Churches.  The two ministries that are largest and have their own staff, our Shepherd of the Street Ministry and our United Churches Center City Food Pantry have separate pages .  The other ministries follow.

Menu:
     Ecumenism and Evangelism
     Ecumenical Luncheons
     Pre- Lenten Celebration
     Week of Prayer For Christian Unity
     Church Women United
     Youth Task Force
     Community Ministeriums
     Christian Social Concerns
     Fuel Bank
     CWS Blanket & Kit Collection
     CROP Walks
     Christian Education
     United Churches Newsletter
     Seminars - Family Life Task Force
     School Panel
     Information Source
     Newsletter
     Church Directory
     New Pastor Orientation
     Basic Life Skills
     Radio Show
     Odyssey TV Show
     Daily Telephone Devotional
     Footsteps to Follow
     Institutional Ministry
     Prison Chaplain
     Yokefellow

Gatherings of Christians to develop deeper relationships with each other and more fully express our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ in all facets of their daily lives are held throughout the year. Specific Activities include:

The Weekly Ecumenical Lunch Program which meets at Pine Street United Methodist Church, 441 Pine Street in Williamsport from 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. each week of the school year and once in the summer.  A list of dates and speakers can be found in our newsletter.  Participants are assured of a tasty $4.00 lunch, warm ecumenical fellowship and a thoughtful program all designed to enrich your life mentally, physically, spiritually and socially.  Often known as the hour that refreshes, everyone is welcome and no reservations are needed.  Free parking is available in the lot north of the church.

The Pre Lenten Ecumenical Service: is an annual event to gather Christians together from throughout our county in worship.  It is held the Sunday evening prior to Ash Wednesday and alternates between a Protestant/Anglican and Roman Catholic/Orthodox speaker.  The services are held in a church of the opposite tradition. Clergy from throughout the county gather before the service and are part of the procession. Everyone enjoys a time of fellowship following the service.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated each year from January 18 to 25.  This tradition began in 1908 as Christians the world over began to set aside this special time to contemplate the prayers of Jesus "that all may be one...that the world may believe" (John 17:21). Both United Churches and area Ministeriums hold special events during this time including community worship services, times of dialogue, ecumenical workdays in the community, a pot luck meal, a pulpit exchange, a parishioner exchange (in groups of 10-15) and/or special devotions. Resource material for the Week of Prayer is available from the World Council of Churches News and Resources Page thanks to the work of their Faith and Order Commission.

Church Women United is promoted through United Churches.  The have three services;
World Day of Prayer - held the first Friday of March,
May Friendship Day - held the first Friday in May, and
World Community Day - held the Sunday following the first
    Friday in November.  

Youth Task Force promotes Work with Youth to help them develop a deeper relationship with Christ and with each other.

We work with the Ministeriums of Lycoming County and ecumenical church clusters in sponsoring and coordinating services in local communities and developing pulpit exchanges and ministries.  To contact local ministeriums click here.

 

Christian Social Concerns

The Christian Social Concerns Department promotes and informs discussions of social issues, taking stands as necessary informed by our faith.  The department focuses on the following areas:

Criminal justice (including capital punishment) Economic justice (especially poverty and welfare reform) Elderly Environmental justice Housing Racial justice

Inquire at uclc@sunlink.net to learn about any resolution on specific issues.
 

An Emergency Fuel Bank that has helped hundreds of families in our county who are unable to adequately heat their homes.  Our funds are distributed by the STEP Outreach Office and is one of the resources they draw from when people come in search of assistance.  The persons we help have no other resources available to pay for fuel.  They have exhausted the state and federal funds available to them, and do not fit into any other programs.  They receive extensive budget counseling as part of the process of determining the assistance available to them.  

We sponsor an annual, county wide Church World Service Blanket and Kit Collection in the spring of the year.  Churches are encouraged to work during the winter months to make the school kits, health kits, and baby kits that are provided to people in all parts of the world who are facing the disaster of floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, famine and war.  Churches are also encouraged to collect funds to purchase blankets.  We provide a collection site in Lycoming County the first Saturday in May. Items are then transported to a Church World Service collection site in Harrisburg. More information about the kits can be found on the resource page.

CROP Walk is one way we work together to meet local and world hunger needs.  In Lycoming County there are currently five walks, all held the second Sunday in October. Walks are held in Williamsport, Jersey Shore, East Lycoming, Montgomery and Trout Run.  Each offer a three, six and ten mile routes and the opportunity for people to walk for those who must walk many long hard miles for the food they eat and the water they drink.  Educational information about CROP Walk is provided on the Church World Service Site.  For information on how to reach one of the five local CROP Walk Chairpersons contact United Churches at uclc@sunlink.net.

Shepherd of the Streets

United Churches Center City Food Pantry 

 

Educational Ministries

The Christian Education Department emphasizes and publicizes opportunities for clergy and laity in areas of spiritual growth and programming designed to help equip them to be more effective in their ministries, both individually and corporately. 

The United Churches Newsletter is a key tool for reporting many of the educational through the newsletter opportunities that are made available to individuals and churches through a variety of sources which are both denominational and ecumenical in nature.  Newsletters are a regular means of communication with church pastors and lay leaders.  Published September through May it seeks to share information from our ministries and from area churches and community groups with its readers.  To see the most recent copies of the newsletter click here.

The Family Life Task Force conducts county-wide Seminars designed to help pastors and church leaders deal with current problems and responsibilities related to enriching Family Life in today's world. For information relating to their upcoming seminar(s) click here.

School Panel of Religious Leaders participate each year in the Williamsport Area School District's Health and Family Living Classes in middle schools and high schools by providing a panel that responds to questions from students relating to human sexuality and family life.  

Information Source - The United Churches office serves as a Clearinghouse for information about churches, the religious population, and ways churches can relate more effectively to the life of our wider community.

A Church Directory is published in September of each year.  It lists the churches and pastors in Lycoming County, their mailing address and telephone numbers.  Additional staff people, both paid and unpaid, are also included, often with a phone number to allow ecumenical relationships to flourish.  Clergy are also listed alphabetically in the index. Member churches are entitled to two directories each year.  The directories are also available to non- members and businesses at a service charge.

A New Pastor Orientation is provided in September as a way for pastors new to Lycoming County to get to know about the community and about the ecumenical ministry available here.

Life Skills Resource Packets are being developed to provide workshops for widows, widowers and others to assist them in developing basic life skills.

 

Media Ministries

A Weekly Radio Show, "Religious News and Views" is aired over WRAK, 1400 AM, at 9:15 a.m. every Sunday.  The newscaster, which changes monthly, review news and developments in the world of religion.

A Monthly Television Show, "Faith Odyssey in Lycoming County" is aired the third Wednesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 2 of Susquehanna Communications and the third Tuesday at 9:30 a.m.  This news and issue based show is produced by United Churches in cooperation with the Lycoming College Broadcasting Department under the direction of Dr. Steven Koehn, and Susquehanna Communications.

A 24-Hour Devotion Line is a way for everyone in our community to have "A Closer Walk With God".  Devotions are three minutes or less and change daily and at least once on the weekend.  Devotionalists change weekly.  The phone number is 570-322-5762.

Footsteps to Follow is a weekly sermon editorial that runs each Saturday in the Williamsport Sun Gazette.  The editorials are provided by pastors within our county and are coordinated through United Churches.  

 

Institutional Ministries

Providing Nursing Home and Prison Workshop Services is our largest ministry.  Clergy and laity within the county help us provide 574 services in 14 facilities.  We provide services in area Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Facilities, High-Rises and in the County Prison and Pre-Release Center. Through this ministry Worship is held throughout the year at each of these facilities, most on a weekly basis but some monthly.  A wide variety of Christian traditions are represented by our volunteers, and they bring the church into each facility, allowing residents the opportunity to worship with traditions they are familiar with, as well as to develop an appreciation for other traditions.

A Lycoming County Prison Chaplin is provided, on a volunteer basis, to our Lycoming County Prison.  This ministry has the following goals.  To facilitate, for all inmates, the opportunity to practice the religion of their choice.  To offer to any and all inmates willing to accept them, materials and guidance for the expansion of the inmates religious knowledge and practice.  To offer spiritual help to the families of inmates and staff.  To provide prison staff with religious ministrations as needed and desired.  To work with churches, religious half-way houses, inmate families, and others to help inmates prepare to return to the outside world.  

We encourage congregations to cooperate with Yokefellow Prison Ministry as they relate to inmates of the County Prison, Muncy State Correctional Institution and the Federal Prisons in Lewisburg and Allenwood through small group Bible study, and in after-care programs to help reassimilate persons into the community after they have served their sentence. For more information, call the Yokefellow center at (570) 326-6868

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