‘An advocate for the least, the last and the lost’: Rev. Bradley Walmer earns United Churches of Lycoming County’s 2022 Ecumenical Service Award

In awarding the Rev. Bradley Walmer this year's United Churches' of Lycoming County Ecumenical Service Award, Pastor Tammey Aichner, director, listed Walmer's many acts of service as pastor of New Covenant United Church of Christ and for his work in the community.

"You mentor us all, showing us what Jesus would do if He were walking on our streets today; lifting up and serving Christ in your life of love and service to the faith community in Lycoming County and beyond; leading worship services in our many institutional settings; filling in wherever there is a need," Aichner said.

Aichner highlighted Walmer's work with leading student Bible studies at Penn College as well as working with the Beloved Community Council "toward human rights and justice for all by advocating for economic and racial justice."

"You seek to understand others rather than judge. You become a face the community recognizes as an advocate for the least, the last and the lost," she said of Walmer.

"This is a total surprise...I don't know what to say other than thank you," Walmer told those attending UCLC's annual meeting.

It was announced at the meeting that the Rise-Up Bakery has now become one of UCLC's ministries. Other ministries include Shepherd of the Streets, the Food Pantry and Campus Ministry.

Featured speakers for the evening focused on "The Place We Call Home," and included representatives from the American Rescue Workers, Family Promise, Sojourner Truth Ministries and Journey House, all who deal with the homeless population in the community.

"We often hear people say, there aren't any homeless people in Williamsport. I don't see anyone sleeping on the street, but there have been people sleeping on the street, but fortunately because of the agencies here today, a lot of people don't have to sleep on the street," said Valerie Fessler, director of development and community engagement at ARW.

The agency, which operates three homeless emergency shelters, Fessler said, on any given night has 70 different individuals sheltering at their facilities.

The Rescue Workers also operates a food pantry in collaboration with the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank where, Fessler said, 500,000 pounds are distributed annually to 4,000 families.

Although it operates primarily as a soup kitchen, serving about 32,000 meals a year, Sojourner Truth Ministries also has an after-school kids' program and a home for women coming out of homelessness at the House of Hope, according to Pastor Angelique Labadie-Cihanowyz, director.

Part of the program at the House of Hope includes teaching the women life skills.

"We have identified 60-some life skills that people need based on interviews with people who have gone through homelessness," she said.

Labadie-Cihanowyz shared that the need is great and that the House of Hope is hiring additional staff for the program.

"We're not here to judge them, but we encourage people in their sobriety and we just do the next right thing and all the while we share Jesus Christ with people," she said.

Also speaking at the event, Jenny Hull, executive director of Family Promise of Lycoming County, invited those at the meeting to imagine what a homeless person looks like.

"Did you see me? Probably not. We generally think about the guy who's living under the bridge drinking out of a paper bag," she said.

She shared that at one time, she had been homeless.

"What we have now with Family Promise is a holistic approach to family homelessness," she said.

Family Promise offers a rotational shelter where they partner with churches, where families can stay in the program three, nine months or more depending on the housing market. They also have a grant from the United Way where if they can save up to $2,000 the United Way will match those funds.

"A lot of times people who come from nothing don't understand that they can move past that day that they're living in, step out of the crisis and have a goal toward the future. That is the hope that we offer in Family Promise," Hull said.

Journey House, which is run as a ministry of New Covenant UCC, opened their doors in 2007 to offer shelter for families in homelessness, the only agency doing that at that time.

Since that time they have served over !00 adults and 200 children, according to Rhonda McDonald, executive director.

"One of the unique things about our program is that it's all about self-sufficiency," McDonald said.

"We do require that they are employed-they get a job if they come in there and they don't have a job. It's about being self-sufficient when you leave so that you never have to endure homelessness again," she said.

Another thing unique to the program at Journey House is that they supply everything so that the family moves into a full-furnished two-bedroom apartment when they arrive and if they complete the program successfully they get to take all of that with them.

The speakers expressed concern for those they serve because of the economy and the lack of affordable housing.

"All of our agencies are going to be impacted. We get calls constantly and I have about eight applications right now for families that are already evicted and living with somebody or they're at one of the shelters and they're trying to find a place," McDonald said.