Letters to the editor

A word of clarification regarding the Christian flag in Triangle Park

Rev. Bruce Wallace

Lock Haven

A number of Lock Haven residents have been angry and disappointed by the recent 4-2 decision of City Council to allow the Christian Flag to fly in Triangle Park for the month of April. Some see the decision as an encroachment on the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, while others have stated that the real problem is not so much the flag itself as it is it's unfortunate association with an anti-LGBTQ organization that has used the flag to promote its own self-declared "Faith Month."

Members of the public aired a number of concerns at the March 4 City Council meeting, but there is one further matter that I need to clear up. The Swissdale United Methodist Church and its pastoral leader Richard Wallace had absolutely nothing to do with the request to fly the Christian Flag and reject any connection with the so-called "Faith Month" or its instigators.

Although the request to Council does read that "Bill Stankiewicz and the Swissdale United Methodist Church and Richard Wallace are requesting to display three crosses in Triangle Park for Easter ... and they're also requesting to have the Christian Flag flown for the month of April at Triangle Park, in coordination with Faith Month," that was not the original request approved by Wallace and the Swissdale Church. As noted by The Express, the church's involvement was limited to the crosses in the park and providing a certificate of liability insurance to protect the city.

Before the written request to display the crosses was submitted to the city, Bill Stankiewicz asked Richard Wallace if he and the church would partner in the flag request. Wallace refused. Subsequently, when Mr. Stankiewicz delivered the written request for the crosses to the city office, he added the flag request to the same request form, without Wallace's knowledge or consent.

The Swissdale United Methodist Church and Mr. Wallace desire only to be a positive force for good in the community, and do not wish to be associated in any way with the anti-LGBTQ group or "Faith Month."