As rain fell steadily on the church grove the afternoon of Aug. 16, parishioners huddled beneath tents and a pavilion, waiting to learn whether months of fundraising had paid off.
When the final total was announced, cheers broke out.
A coalition of 14 Lehigh Valley churches raised $45,000 through Union UCC’s second annual “Love Your Neighbor” fundraiser, more than doubling its $20,000 goal and generating enough funding to erase approximately $6 million in medical debt for residents of Lehigh and Northampton counties and elsewhere in Pennsylvania…