Care and Act

St. Paul's UCC supports many ministry partners and other organizations whose aim is to better the lives of people living in York County, Pennsylvania, and across the country and world. But our main geographical focus is the Spring Grove School District and York City.

Housing

Habitat for Humanity: In the past 25 years, Habitat for Humanity, York Affiliate has built or rehabbed 170 houses in the York area for those who could not otherwise afford a home. We support Habitat with an offering.

Bell Socialization. Bell provides homelessness and housing support for individuals and families, intellectual disability services in residential and social environments, and mental health services to empower people to improve their lives. We support Bell with an offering.

Creation Care

Recycling education. To encourage recycling, we have educated our members about opportunities to recycle a variety of materials in York County, and during Earth month (April), have served as a collection point for materials to be recycles.

Energy efficient lighting. The church switched all of its bulbs and fixtures to energy-efficient LED lighting.

Geo-thermal heating. Over a decade ago, the church took a technological leap from its old oil-fired boiler to a a much more efficient geothermal heating and cooling system. We have made significant investments and improvements in this system over the years.

Heritage Grove. In 2024, we planted our Heritage Grove for the dual purposes of honoring past leaders and planting a grove of mostly native trees. We hope this grove will serve as a sanctuary for people seeking peace and healing in God’s presence, and a shelter for God’s many other creatures.

Disaster Recovery

Hygiene kits and Emergency Cleanup buckets. Each Easter for a number of years we have assembled scores of Hygiene kits containing a hand towel, washcloth, wide-tooth comb, nail clipper, bar of soap, toothbrush, and band-aids to be distributed by Church World Service to victims of disasters. We have also assembled Emergency Cleanup buckets to be distributed by Church World Service to help those whose homes have been flooded.

Hunger

Church Garden. For over a decade we have been raising vegetables to give to our local food pantries.

CROP Walk started over 50 years ago in York as a way to raise money to address hunger through local food banks and worldwide through Church World Service. We have participated in October CROP Walks for many years, and raised thousands of dollars to mitigate hunger.

Lifepath Christian Ministries. Lifepath has been meeting the needs of hungry, homeless, and hopeless neighbors for more than half a century. Lifepath provides food, shelter, clothing, and a variety of services to help people get back on their feet, find new life, and get a fresh start. People come to the Mission broken and desperate, and they often leave healed and whole. We provide support by offerings, food donations, cold weather accessories, and by hosting their clothing and shoe bin on our parking lot.
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Food pantries: Food insecurity continues to be a large problem in our area. We continually collect food and funds to help the West York Church of the Brethren and Harvest of Hope food pantries in Spring Grove, and the Harvest of Blessing food pantry in York.

Our Daily Bread soup kitchen: Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen serves between 200 and 300 hot and healthy meals a day to the many people who come, whether their need is physical hunger or the mere desire to not eat alone. On those four months with a fifth Thursday, we prepare a lunch in the church kitchen, which is delivered to the soup kitchen to be served to Our Daily Bread clients. Our monetary donations help Our Daily Bread purchase food in bulk from the York County Food Bank.

York County Food Bank. The Food Bank’s mission is to increase dignified access to nutritious food and community resources that enhance food security in York County. They host weekly distributions where free food is provided to anyone in need and twice monthly Senior Box distributions. Their Mobile Pantry also distributes food in various locations across York County. For over 30 years, they have distributed millions of healthy meals every year. We support the York County Food Bank with Offerings.

Elder care

Homewood at Plum Creek. Homewood is a faith-based organization that provides different levels of housing for seniors living on its Hanover campus. Through the Auxiliary, we help raise money to purchase items that improve the quality of life for those living at Homewood.

Windy Hill senior center of Spring Grove: Our senior center’s mission is to create a diverse and supportive community dedicated to lifelong learning, social interaction, and the well-being of its members. The Center’s vision is to be a vibrant, inclusive sanctuary that supports the members' independence and living their best life. Windy Hill membership is free and open to local community members aged 60+, and their spouses, who are interested in becoming more involved in their community. To learn more about membership and programs, contact Windy Hill Senior Center at 717-225-0733 or visit their website at https://www.windyhillonthecampus.org/. We support Windy Hill with an offering.

Visiting Nurses Association. Since 1909, the VNA of Hanover & Spring Grove has provided compassionate, personal home health and hospice care services to people in their homes. We support the VNA with an offering.

Service by Youth

GROUP Workcamps. GROUP hosts week-long summer workcamps for church youth around the country. At workcamps, youth provide minor home maintenance services to people who could not otherwise afford it. Workcamps combine work experiences with worship and small group devotions. In the last decade, our youth have enthusiastically participated in workcamps in York County, Pennsylvania, Parma, Ohio, Erie, Pennsylvania, and East Bank, West Virginia.

Students

Toiletry Kits. Working alongside St. Paul’s Lutheran (Stoverstown), Ziegler’s Lutheran, and St. Peter’s Lischey’s UCC, we have gathered shampoo, soap, toothbrushes and paste, and other toiletry items for kits give to needy Spring Grove School District students. Three times a school year over the past four years, we have packaged kits for an average of 150 students.

United Church of Christ special offerings

We give monitory support to these annual missions of the UCC:

Christmas Fund for Retired Ministers: This fund helps provide pension and health premium supplementation to low-income retirees, emergency assistance to clergy families in need and Christmas gift checks to hundreds of annuitants. Traditionally, this offering is received during Advent. Contributions to the 2023 Christmas Fund totaled almost $?M.

Neighbors in Need (NIN): Supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. It also helps support the UCC’s Council for American Indian Ministries as well as justice advocacy and direct service projects supported by Justice and Witness Ministries. Traditionally, this offering is received on World Wide Communion Sunday. In 2023, UCC members gave over $??M to NIN.

One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS): One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) works with eight other Protestant denominations, Church World Service (CWS) and other international partners to provide clean water, food, education, health care, small business micro-credit, emergency relief, and advocacy/resettlement for refugees and displaced persons. It also supports domestic and international disaster preparedness and response. Traditionally, this offering is received during Lent. Administrative costs are typically less than eight percent annually. UCC members gave over $?M to OGHS in 2023.

Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM): About 1/3 of OCWM giving goes to support the work of the Penn Central Conference of the UCC. The Conference provides resources for lay leadership development, clergy leadership development and support, stewardship education, mission engagement, justice advocacy, and church revitalization.
Of those monies that are sent to the national office of the UCC, more than half are spent on the assistance, expertise, tools, and support needed to keep local UCC churches effective, strong, and growing: pastoral placement, education for preschoolers through adult, worship material for every occasion, theological background and biblical interpretation for pastors, training for everything from welcoming the stranger to handling church finances. About 30% goes to global missions, and another 13% to justice ministries.

Strengthen the Church: Strengthen the Church supports leadership for new UCC churches and renewing churches, programs for youth and young adults, and leadership development. Gifts to this offering have helped over 150 new and renewing churches since 2000. Conferences retain half of this offering for their own leadership and church growth work. Traditionally, this offering is received during the season after Pentecost. In 2023, UCC members gave $??M to this offering.