"Everything on earth has its own time and its own season."
Ecclesiastes 3:1 CEV
Early History
By Dr. Milton Loyer, Conference Archivist
Following the 1968 denominational union to form the United Methodist Church, there were two overlapping conferences in the mid-state.
- The Susquehanna Conference of the United Methodist Church (former EUB)
- The Central Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church (former Methodist)
As part of a state-wide plan to eliminate overlapping conferences and re-organize the United Methodist Church in Pennsylvania, as of January 1, 1970, the bulk of the former Methodist and EUB congregations would be reorganized into:
- The Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church
- The Central Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church
- The Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church
In our area, both the Susquehanna Conference (former EUB) and Central Pennsylvania Conference (former Methodist) had newspapers.
The Susquehanna Conference Promotional Bulletin of the United Methodist Church was a quarterly (March, June, September, December) glossy 4-6 publication whose last issue came out in September 1969.
The Central Pennsylvania United Methodist was an 8-page monthly publication whose last issue came out in December 1969.
While there may have been hopes originally to begin producing the new conference’s monthly publication in January 1970, the first edition of the 8-page publication named THE LINK, came out in February 1970.
The first color pictures began to appear in April 1992 (cover page only.)
For a time there were District supplements (Altoona and Chambersburg) included in The LINK.
A Brand New Name
Excerpt from the first issue of The LINK pictured at right:
It was thought best to not use the any of the names of the former papers of the several annual conferences brought together by the union.
THE LINK was chosen for several reasons. It is short and [would] easily identify the publication. The name also carries the connotation of the annual conference being a link between the General Conference and the local church. This monthly paper will endeavor to serve that purpose in terms of program information and promotion.
LINK Timeline and Editors
February 1970
First issue of The LINK
1970-75
Dr. Arthur [“Art”] W. Stambach
1975-83
Rev. Martin [“Marty”] W.S. Trostle
1983-91
Gerald Wagner
1991-95
Stephen Drachler
(ending February 1995)
1995
Bruce Fisher
(February – June)
1995-97
Dean Snyder
(ending August 1997)
1997-99
Gerald [“Jerry”] Wolgemuth – Media Director (beginning September 1997)
and
Melissa Piper Nelson – The LINK Editor (beginning September 1997)
1999-2017
Gerald Wolgemuth
Media Director and The LINK Editor
(beginning October 1999)
2009
The LINK is published bimonthly (instead of monthly)
August 2010
The LINK renamed
Susquehanna LINK
with the formation of the new Susquehanna Conference of The United Methodist Church
October 2011-February 2014
Susquehanna LINK published on YUDU in online pageable format
April 2014
Susquehanna LINK published on blog (in addition to print) to increase interaction with readers and ability to share stories via social media
June 2014
First full-color issue (all pages)
2016-2017
Bulk Susquehanna LINKs sent to every local church to increase exposure
2017 - present
Shawn Gilgore - Director of Communications Ministry
and
Sandii Peiffer - Communications Specialist
Our Ongoing Purpose through Changing Times
By Sandii Peiffer
There is a lot of competition for people’s attention when it comes to communicating a message. The LINK is a witness to many landmark moments in the history of The United Methodist Church, our conference, and our local churches. I have delighted in sharing these stories for 15 of the past 19 years in which I have done the layout and design of the The LINK and Susquehanna LINK.
Our ongoing purpose has been to interpret the mission and vision of our Annual Conference and General Church, to promote resources, and events, and to share inspiring stories of God’s work through United Methodists in central and northeastern Pennsylvania, in an effort to equip local churches and church leaders to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Through the LINK we have:
- Shared the wisdom and insight of our Conference leaders in their respective roles
- Encouraged stories written by members of our local churches about exciting and innovative disciple-making ministries and outreach events.
- Celebrated the formation of The Susquehanna Conference (from the former Central Pennsylvania and Wyoming Conferences.)
- Shown how your Shares of Ministry are at work.
- Educated readers about many ministry callings and advertised opportunities to pursue them.
- Promoted resources and training events for making and growing disciples; mission and outreach opportunities.
- Fostered the connection between local congregations, our Districts, the Conference, and the national and global United Methodist community.
- Informed readers about innovative ministry ideas, and ways to help through disaster response.
Over the years we have tried to adapt to the many changes and upgrades in media and communications to stay relevant and meet the needs of a diverse church membership.
In addition to printing the LINK we made it available as a downloadable PDF through our Conference website for those who wanted to reduce their ‘carbon footprint.’ For a couple of years we published it in an online, pageable format on YUDU, to make it more readable on computers, tablets, and mobile devices, until the YUDU service agreement changed. We created a Susquehanna LINK blog site at www.susquehannalink.blogspot.com so that individual stories could be more easily shared by local churches through social media and church newsletters.
We tried to increase readership by sending multiple complimentary copies to every church in the conference, nearly doubling our circulation, but our budget was unable to sustain the increased costs and feedback suggested it was not an effective measure.
As we wrap this 48th year in print we have been trying to discern what would be best for Susquehanna LINK and our readers as we move into the future. We feel we can be better stewards of your Shares of Ministry by moving to an all-digital publication for the news of our local churches, our Conference, and the Global United Methodist Community. This change will allow us to help more local churches with their communications needs, to enhance other avenues of media and communication, and keep our equipment up-to-date.
Beginning in 2019 we will restyle Susquehanna LINK into a digital magazine format that will be more computer, tablet, and mobile device friendly, and easily shareable. Readers and local churches will have access to all the regular content, and perhaps a whole lot more, without the restriction of printed page limitations. Other conference communications may be incorporated into the new format. An added bonus in our stewardship considerations is that it will reduce our ‘carbon footprint.’
Keep sending us your stories. Keep reading. Keep sharing.
If you are a LINK subscriber, you will receive a full refund of any outstanding amounts.
