Hello Hopefuls!

I hope this finds you well and able to be cool amidst a hot one this week! I have enjoyed engaging in our current message series called Our House, where we are focusing on found congregational values that the Church is called to live out: commission, community, commandment, and collaboration. I hope you have found encouragement and also challenge in the first couple weeks of looking at these!

For me, life in community is inherent in our practice of faith. We really can’t fulfill our own personal call without the help and encouragement of others. And, the Church can’t really be the Church if we are not with each other. And in the midst of community, we find beautiful diversity. I appreciate the diversity we have at Hope! People who think and reason differently than I do, have different gifts and ideas than I do.

Paul’s message in many of his letters to the early churches were focused on how to live among each other as followers of Christ. That’s why those writings are still so applicable to us today. We need that direction, encouragement and challenge from scripture. I hope you find that being part of our community at Hope helps you live out and practice your faith! I know it does for me.

In other news, this Sunday, June 19 our Christian Education Director, Becca, and I will be accompanying some of our high school students on a mission trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin. Keep us in your prayers! I am grateful to Mike Molacek who will be preaching this Sunday, continuing our series by looking at commandment.

Also, as an FYI, please note that we have changed our office hours at the church to 9:00am to 3:00pm Monday through Thursday. This change gives our staff a bit more flexibility while still accommodating deliveries, appointments and group meetings that happen weekly at the church. Bless you all!