Letters: GOP leaders damaging electoral process; Virtual fair helps nonprofits
GOP leaders damaging electoral process
I am deeply distressed to hear that Rep. Kerry Benninghoff and other leaders of the Pennsylvania House are trying to get our representatives in Congress to contest the allocation of Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes to the Biden-Harris ticket. They are using the grounds of “fraud” for which no evidence has been presented by anyone in the numerous and frivolous lawsuits that have been filed by the Trump campaign and have been thrown out of court by the federal and state judiciary. The Biden-Harris ticket won this state by 80,555 votes. They won it by a larger percentage than they won Arizona and yet that Republican led legislature is refusing to take the very action Mr. Benninghoff and his fellow Pennsylvania House Republicans are taking.
Like Mr. Benninghoff, when I was sworn as a member of State College Borough Council, I pledged to uphold and defend the U.S. and Pennsylvania constitutions. There is no democracy, no republic, and no constitutional government when the losing side of an election refuses to acknowledge the right of the winner to win it and take office. I ask Mr. Benninghoff and his fellow legislators to consider the damage they are doing to the electoral process and to the faith of the voters who elected them and those they represent.
Virtual fair helps nonprofits
Sunday’s article on the needs of area nonprofits prompts me to write about a way that Centre Countians can support 30 local, national and international charities: The Alternative Christmas Fair.
Since its inception 38 years ago, the fair has raised nearly three-quarters of a million dollars for charity. Usually it is held at University Baptist and Brethren Church (UBBC) on Burrowes Street in State College. This year, due to the pandemic, it is a virtual event. People can go to ubbcwelcome.org/acf and select which of the 30 charities they choose to support, how much they wish to donate to each, and whether they want to pay by credit card or check.
UBBC collects the money and sends all of it to the participating charities in the amount that donors have allocated to each. Gift cards are available to notify people of donations made in their name. Local nonprofits and charities know that this has been a winning formula since 1982. It is a one-stop shopping center for philanthropy.
The fair is “open” now through Dec. 20. Hope to see you there —virtually.
Dangers of division
This week is the second week of advent, a time when Christians light the candle of peace and reflect on the importance of inner peace and peace between one another. During a year that has brought so much stress and division, this invitation is one we surely all welcome.
The Bible is clear about the harmfulness of division, and specifically calls out the role that deceit and disinformation play in sowing discord. For example, in Romans 16, the Apostle Paul writes, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions ... (they) do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.” In Titus 3, Paul further calls us to “avoid foolish controversies,” even going so far as to say that “a person who stirs up division ... is warped and sinful.”
Paul recognizes how division and “foolish controversies” harm our ability to find peace with ourselves and with one another. Like him, we must reject efforts to divide us, from false claims of a fraudulent election to those who discourage us from taking seriously the safety measures needed to stay healthy during a deadly pandemic. Just as Job, in chapter 42, confronts his friends about why they didn’t tell him the truth during a time of great suffering, we must also condemn the falsehoods we encounter, and do our part to share the honest and accurate information we all need to find peace and hope this Christmas season.