There are two stories to tell. The first is about a two-month-old church plant in Williamsport, located in the Newberry neighborhood. The second is about a century-old church in Lewistown, rooted in the Juniata Terrace neighborhood.
THE NEW CHURCH IN NEWBERRY
Written by Juliette PeÑa
For people outside of the Williamsport area, Newberry is a little hard to conceptualize. In all technicality it’s still part of the city—situated at the western end of Williamsport proper. But we locals, we get it. Newberry has a rich history of otherness, for better or worse. Before we moved here, the otherness really put me off. Whatever was cool and hip about downtown Williamsport, you could count on Newberry to provide the exact opposite. It’s not shiny or impressive; it’s gritty. The people are resourceful, resilient and scrappy—they are other.
But the thing about otherness is it starts to become really appealing when you are serving our God.
As it stands now, for its approximate 5,200 residents there are less than 5 active churches. I happened to grow up in one, and people drove from out of town to attend. In fact, I have tried countless times to recall of a single “neighborhood kid” in my youth group growing up. I can’t. That realization blew my mind.
Part of the beautiful “otherness” Newberry has brought to my life is a sense of community like I have never experienced. My neighbors are like family, so how do we not have churches here that reflect that richness?
In 2020 we moved to Newberry, and our neighborhood is like something out of a movie. If you need a cup of sugar—someone’s got it. Kids too loud and driving you nuts? I promise there is a pre-teen or teen somewhere who wants to take them for a bike ride. Rough day at work? My neighbors already got crisis intervention rolling before you even finish the SOS text. The women on our block are so inspiring. They love well, encourage one another, and share burdens better than I have witnessed anywhere else in my life. Especially G.G.
G.G. lives across the street from us, and is the block grandma, literally. G.G. grandchildren live on our block as well. When we moved here, she waisted zero time including my babies whenever she did something special for her own grandchildren. Every holiday and birthday she is the first to bring a treat and a card.
Over the years as we have gotten to know her, we would talk openly about our faith, and Jesus. We would ask if she needed any prayer, or if she was interested in the church plant, to which she would replay “oh thanks but that’s not really my thing”.
Recently, however, G.G. experienced a deep tragedy, one that my husband and I happened to be present for, and she immediately asked for prayer and counseling. In our living room, G.G. cried out to God for the first time since she was a child and rededicated her life to the Lord.
Two weeks later was the launch of Common Places Newberry, and their G.G. was along with her whole family, and they have been there each Sunday since.
It brings me so much comfort to serve along side the families that have joined us from the community, because they have all expressed a similar sentiment: “This is my church.” At Common Places they don’t feel “other” they feel at home.
Newberry has needed its own church for a long time, God is moving in our scrappy little side of Williamsport, and we can’t wait to see what’s next.
THE 100-YEAR-OLD CHURCH IN LEWISTOWN
Written by Bill Miller
When I tell people in our community that I am a pastor at Lewistown Alliance Church, they will often ask, “Is that the church on the Terrace?” Juniata Terrace is a borough that is celebrating 100 years in August 2025 and just received designation as a historic site. The community was built as a company town for workers from the American Viscose company and included a plan to have a school, general store, and a church.
The company shut down a long time ago and the school was closed, but the general store and church are still here for this unique community. There are 250 row houses with a population of around 550. The church planted in this community 100 years ago is Lewistown Alliance Church.
As a congregation, we continue to seek ways to reach our local community. We had a Trunk-or-Treat event this year which partnered with the borough and the Junction Fire Company. We had hundreds of people through our parking lot as they came to the Terrace for the event. At our chili cook-off, we partnered with the Borough Council to have them serve as judges. Because of this event, we have new kids coming to our Wednesday night Kidz Klub ministry. We have also been invited by the borough to take part in the 100-year celebration in August and to help with hosting and planning a huge block party.
As my family has lived in the Terrace community for the past five years, we and our church are reshaping our perspective on our community and focusing on meeting their real needs. We plan to meet with the Borough Council and have conversations with families to see what the church can do to serve the community well. We are considering a playground outreach in the summer at the borough park, after school tutoring for students, and community meals.
