The first of two in a series by Cliff Lewis on the Lancaster County Council of Churches

At 344 N Marshall St, the Council of Churches (CoC) headquarters rests behind a thrifty edifice: The simple white building is fronted with a modest parking lot and is adorned with little more than a few signs to identify the organization. But within those walls there runs an intricately patterned network of community services, each carefully modified over time to provide the highest quality care to the greatest number of people.

The CoC was initially formed under a different name in 1947 to increase unity and cooperation among the many churches and denominations resident in Lancaster County. The partnership has since expanded into an extensive system of community services supported by well over 100 local congregations.

Recently, Assistant Director Lindsey Hess offered NewsLanc a tour of the Marshall St center, from which a variety of community services are provided in a time-tested, well-organized manner.

A few doors beyond the front lobby lies the CoC’s food bank—what Hess describes as, “by far, the biggest” program run through the facility. The bank provides the usual dry and canned goods, as well as refrigerated items such as meat, eggs, and butter. The program has recently been reconstructed to a “client choice” model, in which food recipients are allowed to hand-select their groceries to best fit the needs and preferences of their families.

For this process, the bank is arranged like a scaled-down supermarket. Food is organized into three long aisles, sectioned out according to various meal categories. Staff or volunteers guide clients through the selection process, which typically ends with a cart full of free groceries. By closely engaging with clients, the CoC is able to continually refine their donation requests to better align with user preferences. Most of these donations come from participating churches and some individuals.

A nearby room houses the CoC’s clothing bank, which offers a caringly filtered selection of free donated attire—nothing dirty, nothing stained, nothing over-worn—for those of demonstrated need. The bank is cleanly arranged to feel like any retail environment. According to Hess, this service is accessed frequently during winter months by released prisoners, often with only the summer clothes they wore before their sentence. Although it officially operates on Tuesday and Friday mornings, CoC staff will occasionally open the bank to drop-in visitors in crisis, such as a mother and children who escaped a violent home with only their pajamas.

The food and clothing banks are certainly not the only services provided through the N Marshall St facility. There is also a variety of programs that help needy individuals transition into a steady career—from the stately racks of free business attire, to the ready stash of free bicycles, to the practical advice on how to approach a job interview. And, even beyond the N Marshall St facility, there exists a variety of services operating through participating CoC congregations—from overnight winter shelters to daily community meals with no strings attached.

In the midst of the CoC’s myriad programs, there is a unique quality of compassion and ingenuity that runs throughout. Each service is finely tuned and optimized to provide what the community truly needs. But for all the expert services, processes, and systems, the organization never lets go of its human-level commitment to care for each individual in need. Every situation is handled through personal contact on a case-by-case basis. The result is that no one with legitimate need will fall through the cracks. As Hess put it, “We don’t have—like the Government—those guidelines where, ‘if you make a dollar too much, I’m sorry, we can’t help you.’”

For information about the Council of Churches, please click here.