by Brian Dugas

On 6/1 I spoke about our potential camping trip and a possible opportunity to connect to the Latino community. I will give you an update on both of them.

On 6/9 the Community Justice Alliance met at Kings College with members from the Latino community and other concerned participants who would like to find ways to support them.

There were more than 20 people in attendance and we shared a lot of information with each others:

• Attorney Barron spoke about the current legal situation in the country and our region, and shared a list of Pennsylvania organizations which are involved with immigration issues.
• Members of the Latino community shared their issues and spoke about their greatest concern - guardianship.
• A Latino community activist from Lackawanna County shared what they are doing. They held a community meeting on the topic of Constitutional Rights and are planning a meeting on legal documentation in the near future.

We decided that these meetings would be beneficial in Luzerne County and are planning the same meeting down here in the near future. Date confidential, in Spanish, those willing to come could be liaison/supporters.

The Villanova Interdisciplinary Immigration Studies Training for Advocates: VIISTA is a 100% online course that trains students to become immigrant advocates ready to serve migrants and refugees.

Unlike criminal proceedings, migrants are not entitled to court appointed lawyers so 6 out of 10 migrants confront the immigration system without a lawyer, and many of these are children.

Students who earn a VIISTA certificate can apply to become a Department  of Justice accredited representative and can provide low-cost legal representation when they work for a DOJ recognized organization (Catholic Social Services, Church World Services).

The training encompasses all aspects of working with migrant families and can be used for employment or volunteer purposes. There are costs associated to the training but there are scholarships available. We are trying to get a cohort for the fall class, and we need 5 people to do that. We already have several people who have committed. 3 Modules $685 for one, $1,370 for two, $4,110 for three.

Don't forget the Camping Trip -  8/23 -8/24

by Jennifer John

It was a whole decade ago, and is still cause for celebration. On June 26th, it will be the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that made marriage equality possible, granting same-sex couples the right to full, equal recognition under the law in all 50 states. June 26, 2015, was both a long time ago and somehow doesn’t seem that far away. I have to remember, though, that for people under age 20, like my children, it was about half a lifetime or more ago. Marriage equality is worth celebrating and worth fighting to keep.

Since we had marriage equality in Pennsylvania for about a year before that Supreme Court decision, I hadn’t realized that our state is still lacking in providing other basic rights to its LGBTQ+ citizens. While searching for information for this social action minute, I found out about “The Fairness Act” here in Pennsylvania. I had not known that legislation like this had never become law here. Pennsylvania is the only northeastern state without an LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination law.

On the PA House Democrats website, there is a news release from June 3, earlier this month. “As Pride Month begins, state lawmakers in the Pennsylvania LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus...announced the reintroduction of the Fairness Act at a state Capitol news conference. The PA Fairness Act (H.B. 300) would amend the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act to include ‘sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression’ to the current list of prohibited types of discrimination.”

The Pennsylvania Human Relations Act guides the state’s Human Relations Commission, which handles discrimination complaints in housing, jobs, and public services, with the authority to issue fines and refer cases to court. A related bill passed the state House in 2023–24, but stalled in the Senate State Government Committee and never reached a vote.

Let’s encourage our state Representatives and Senators to work to fix this injustice. Please contact them to vote for “The PA Fairness Act” (H.B. 300) because LGBTQ+ individuals should be guaranteed the same rights and safeguards in housing, the workplace, and public spaces as any other person in Pennsylvania.

For more information, please see:

• PA Fairness Act Reintroduced by LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus News Release
  
• Pennsylvania Senate Democrats: The Fairness Act
  
• Press Conference: Reintroduction of the Fairness Act
  

by Lilly Gioia

As a congregation we all know our federal tax exempt status could be lost if we publicly endorse a political candidate. We purposely refrain from doing that because of the JOHNSON AMENDMENT, a law prohibiting any non-profit organization 501(c) (3) from endorsing OR opposing political candidates.

Organizations that provide charitable or socially beneficial services to the community pay NO TAXES and raise funds through tax-deductible donations. Political activities are blatantly inconsistent with those community service goals. If churches are allowed to become political arms of one party or another, the political contributions would effectively become TAX DEDUCTIBLE and less trans- parent than current law allows. The Johnson Amendment is an important barrier to the politicization of non-profits and churches.

That’s why HR.2501 & S.1205, the Free Speech Fairness Act is so dangerous. It kills the Johnson Amendment and allows churches to become big piggy banks for tax-deductible political donations. I call this church pollution. If this threat concerns you, do let your Representative and our Senators know what you think!

In addition to this tax debacle, there is another very dangerous development. In May The House Ways & Means Committee passed a bill giving the

Treasury Secretary power to accuse any non-profit of being a “terrorist supporting organization” without basic due process. Charities that feed the hungry, churches and faith communities, veterans’ groups that care for our heroes, and countless other service providing organizations are at risk today because of this proposed tax bill change. It hands any president’s administration power to label any non-profit as potential enemies of the state if they disagree with the president’s political agenda.

Whether it’s an organization providing health care in a disaster, a small rural church, or a local food bank, NO organization is safe if this becomes law. No president should have the power this bill provides to punish political opponents.

Over 200 charities, churches and non-profits are protesting this threat to their tax status should a Treasury Secretary designate them with NO DUE PROCESS as a terrorist supporting organization.

Section 112209 on page 390 of HR.9495 gives the Treasury Secretary the ability to accuse any nonprofit organization of being “terrorist supporting” which would then trigger a process that jeopardizes their tax exempt status, risks them being de-banked, and can result in long term reputational impacts.

Among the 200+ groups already objecting to being designated a terrorist threat are the AFL-CIO, the American Library Association, the Sierra Club, the Committee to Protect Journalists, Pax Christi USA, Indivisible, the League of Women Voters, Evangelicals for Democracy, the Interfaith Alliance, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the American Public Health Association, Action Together NEPA, Muslim Public Affairs Council and the American Federation of Teachers.

In case you didn’t think churches and public service groups were targets of Project 2025 supporters, think again.

by Brian Dugas

Sorry, I’m going to get real for a few minutes:

• Loss of civil liberties LGBTQ+, minorities, women
  
• Voting disenfranchisement
• Environmental degradation
• Restrictions on institutions of higher education
• Dismantling of public institutions meant to protect us: education, health services, environment
• Corruption, graft, and greed conducted in the open, in front of an ineffective or complicit Judicial and Legislative Branches.
• Rising costs on everything from: services, utilities, and rent, to products, goods and groceries.
• Stagnant and declining wages due to corporate greed and manufactured inflation.

The list seems endless, and I’m sure that it barely scratches the surface. Who knows what deals and corruption are occurring behind the closed doors of our hallowed government institutions.

I realize that I don’t have to tell many of you this depressing news, we see and hear it on a daily basis—--- unless you are lucky enough to be able to turn it all off and avoid the news and social media - might be a good idea if you can do it. In order to avoid being overwhelmed, I am finding that it is easier to deal with issues that impact me at the local level rather than focusing on the collapse of an empire. Things like pollution from fracking, corruption of elected officials, loss of support for public schools, and the denial of rights of friends and neighbors are all local issues that I feel I can focus on, and it is at this level that we as a church community can be most effective. If you would like to get involved with any of these issues, please join us on the social action committee or speak to me at any time.

Today, I would like to share with you an opportunity to strengthen our community at the same time that we reconnect with nature. Some of you might remember that our original intention with buying this church in the country was to have an environmental theme. The efforts of the Green Team and those congregation members and friends who supported our projects was exceptional. In addition to those projects we had a wonderful custom of camping each year at a campground in Tunkhannock in order to reconnect with each other and nature. Over the last few years we have had some success with reinvigorating this nature experience. This year, many of us feel that we need to reconnect and build community more than ever.

Our planning team has met and begun organizing the events and logistics for our camping trip on August 23 and 24 at Bear Creek Camp. This is a Saturday and Sunday with the service being held on Sunday, August 24th in the woods of Bear Creek. There are events and activities planned for both Saturday and Sunday.

There are: Cabins, tent space, a kitchen, an in-door bathroom and showers, a fire pit, and a playground right next to our site. There are costs for the cabins and tents, but assistance and support is available to those in need. The bottom line is that we want everyone to be able to participate, so if there is a way we can help, let us know. Please sign up using the online questionnaire in the announcements, or in person here in the church so we know how many people are coming and what their preferences are.

And for those of you willing and able to get involved with an important issue facing many people in our country and recently in our own communities, we are working with other organizations to organize a meeting between concerned community members, legal experts, and leaders from the Latino community. Our initial intentions are to meet and discuss how we can make personal connections and find ways to support the Latino community in this region. The meeting is on Monday, June 9th at 5:30PM at King’s College. Please see me for any additional information or questions. This is a closed meeting, by invitation only for obvious reasons, but consider yourselves to be invited. Thank you.