REPORT ON THE COUNCIL’S WORK IN 2020 For a longer, more detailed version of this report, click here. The Pennsylvania Council of Churches is church bodies and agencies representing Anabaptist, Episcopal, Orthodox, Pentecostal, and Protestant communions in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania working together for Christian unity for the sake of the world. [John 17:23] IMPORTANT…
Allentown Resident Brings Broad Denominational and Local Ecumenical Skills to Council The Pennsylvania Council of Churches has elected the Rev. Dr. Larry D. Pickens, former worldwide ecumenical executive for the United Methodist Church, as its new executive director. He will begin work on Jan. 2, 2021. “We are blessed to bring Larry Pickens on board…
This is an op-ed submitted for print in the Allentown Morning-Call By REV. DR. LARRY D. PICKENS As we celebrate the life and ministry of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. this week, it’s clear we have much more to achieve in seeking to create his vision of a “Beloved Community.” The violence that…
When I was asked to serve as President of the board, I agreed to do so with an awareness that the Pennsylvania Council of Churches’ future was far from certain. I didn’t know if this body could endure, but my goal was to give it as much of a chance as possible to not only…
The Council is a collaboration among church bodies with two major emphases: First, Christians desire to be faithful: John 17:20-23 (NIV): “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me…
For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. –Jeremiah 29:11 (NRSV) While Americans have always had their differences based on political preferences and how we work to progress the ideal of “liberty and…
By: Sandy Strauss The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.—Leviticus 19:34 In a 5-4 ruling on Thursday, June 18, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision that the Trump Administration…
I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.—Acts 10:34 (NRSV) I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.—John 13:34 (NRSV) The COVID-19…
The Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Council of Churches has announced the hiring of The Rev. Dai Morgan as its Interim Executive Director, effective July 1, 2020. Rev. Morgan, who has been a member of the Council’s Commission on Public Witness since 2010 and Vice President since 2017, is a clergy member of the…
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.—1 Peter 5:10 (NRSV) We are living in times that test our spirits, patience, and energy. Nothing in ministerial training has prepared leaders for…
