Hill-based press offers window into world of migrant culture
by RYAN TEITMAN
"Between four and six million undocumented Mexicans live in the United States, and 500,000 more find a way to make it to the United States every year," states Espejos y Ventanas (Mirrors and Windows), the latest offering from Chestnut Hill's New City Community Press. The book chronicles the stories of Mexican immigrants who journeyed to the mushroom farms of Kennett Square, Pa., to start a new, better life. Edited by Mt. Airy residents Mark Lyons and August Tarrier, the book recounts the stories of these often-overlooked Pennsylvanians, as told in their own words.
The nonprofit New City Community Press was founded five years ago by Mt. Airy resident and Temple University English professor Eli Goldblatt and then-Temple professor Linda Hill in an effort to, in the words of executive director Steven Parks, "give voice to people who don't have voices." Parks runs the press out of his Crittenden Street home.
"In every sense of the word, I run it off of my laptop," he said.
Affiliated with the writing program at Syracuse University, where Parks teaches two days a week, and the University Writing Program at Temple University, the press sells its books...
Troubled waters subside slowly for bankrupt Y
by MICHAEL J. MISHAK
Four months after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Germantown Women's Y, 5820 Germantown Ave., continues to fight for its life. Mired in paperwork and court proceedings, the historic institution's board, interim executive director and staff -- mostly volunteers -- are struggling to reclaim a reputation marred by alleged mismanagement. While working to not only maintain, but also increase the Y's programming, board members have found their efforts devoted mostly to sorting out a fiscal nightmare whose origins still remain unclear.
Last week, a bankruptcy court judge granted the Germantown Women's Y an extension to propose a reorganization plan, which must detail how it will address about $600,000 of debt. Also, according to its Aug. 31 bankruptcy filing, the Y owes the Internal Revenue Service an additional $138,384. According to the...
Lesbian minister appeals defrocking
by MICHAEL J. MISHAK
Beth Stroud, the former associate pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Germantown (FUMCOG) who was found guilty of violating the United Methodist Church's ban on gay clergy by a church trial court, filed an appeal this week to challenge the Dec. 2 ruling that resulted in her defrocking.
Still employed by FUMCOG as a lay worker, Stroud had said the option of an appeal "weighed heavy on my heart" in the days and weeks following her two-day church trial earlier this month.
The challenge, filed with the denomination's Northeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Appeals, contends that Stroud was denied fair process when jurors who objected to the United Methodist Church's Book of Discipline -- which precludes "self-avowed, practicing homosexuals" from being ordained -- on moral...