New Hope Members

We had a great time getting acquainted with Adam and Jackie Stevens on December 20. And we'd like to take the next step with them. We are encouraging all of New Hope to prayerfully consider how God is leading and be a part of the gatherings on the weekend of January 2 & 3. During those gatherings you will have the opportunity to vote. We are asking that all participate (whether you are a member or not), so we can have as much feedback as possible to share with Adam and Jackie.

There will be ballots for both members and non-members alike, so join us and share you thoughts.

The board has spent much time considering this clergy couple and we are looking forward to all that God is going to do in 2010.

Upcoming at New Hope

Exciting News from New Hope’s Board!

This Sunday, December 20, we welcome Adam Stevens, New Hope’s potential pastor. Adam will speak at one combined gathering on Sunday at 10.30a and we’ll hear from Jackie via video (NO SATURDAY GATHERING). There will be regular classes for our kids.

Then we’ll all hang out afterwards for a Chili Potluck. During the potluck we’ll have a Q&A with Adam. Chili will be provided; bring a salad or dessert to share.

Also, join us on Thursday, December 24, for the Christmas Eve Gathering.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

A Prayer of Self-Dedication

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated unto you; and then use us, we pray you, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

God Offers

In Uncertainty, God offers Faith.

In Anxiety, God offers Calm.

In Confusion, God offers Clarity.

In Spinning, God offers Rest.

In Fear, God offers Strength.

In Insecurity, God offers Solid Ground.

In Pressure, God offers Breath.

Every Morning We Will Raise

Every morning we will raise
to our God our songs of praise.
Every morning we will raise
to our God our songs of praise.

With God's kind protection blessed,
sweet and deep has been our rest.
In the morning we will pray
God's protection for this day.

What this day will bring to pass,
gladness or sorrow we cannot guess.
You, who give the light divine,
shine on us, Christ Jesus, shine.

Then, when comes the dark of night,
all with in us still shall be bright;
you will bring your peace and love,
radient gifts sent down from above.

Music: John B. Dykes, (19thC)
Words: William H. Furness (19thC) adapted
Sequence: Cathouse Pandemonium, Ltd.

Bring the Rain

James Begins This Weekend

This weekend we begin a series from the Book of James. This weekend we'll look at James 1:2-18, "Trials and Temptations."

Here is the passage from the Message:

2-4Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

5-8If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

9-11When down-and-outers get a break, cheer! And when the arrogant rich are brought down to size, cheer! Prosperity is as short-lived as a wildflower, so don't ever count on it. You know that as soon as the sun rises, pouring down its scorching heat, the flower withers. Its petals wilt and, before you know it, that beautiful face is a barren stem. Well, that's a picture of the "prosperous life." At the very moment everyone is looking on in admiration, it fades away to nothing.

12Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.

13-15Don't let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, "God is trying to trip me up." God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one's way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.

16-18So, my very dear friends, don't get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures.

Canticle 18 A Song to the Lamb

Splendor and honor and kingly power *
are yours by right, O Lord our God,

For you created everything that is, *
and by your will they were created and have their being;

And yours by right, O Lamb that was slain, *
for with your blood you have redeemed for God,

From every family, language, people, and nation, *
a kingdom of priests to serve our God.

And so, to him who sits upon the throne, *
and to Christ the Lamb,

Be worship and praise, dominion and splendor, *
for ever and for ever more.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Living Wall

This is CRAZY! You can check out this HUGE living wall in Pittsburgh at the PNC building.The 2,380 sq foot living wall is soil based and includes many regional plants, all acquired locally within 500 miles of downtown Pittsburgh. It's made up of 602 2×2 ft square panels of life.

And it's not just for show. It was designed for beauty as well as energy reduction. As of September 23, the panels reduced the temperature of the building, with preliminary studies showing that the wall behind the panels is 25% cooler than ambient temperatures.

Just goes to show that sometimes you have to look beyond what you've always known to get the job done....of course this makes me think of the New Hope community. What are the aspects of friendship that we need to take another look - or a 'new' look at to allow God to create the community HE sees? Where is God doing a new thing? How can we be a part?

Prayer from the Daily Office

General Thanksgiving:

"Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we your unworthy servants give you humble thanks for all your goodness and loving-kindness to us and to all whom you have made. We bless you for our creation, preservation, and all the blessings of this life; but above all for your immeasurable love in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. And, we pray, give us such an awareness of your mercies, that with truly thankful hearts we may show forth your praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives, by giving up our selves to your service, and by walking before you in holiness and righteousness all our days; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory throughout all ages. Amen."

Check out the daily office.

A Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Welcome Home, Nate Walker!

Monday Morning Smile

23 Kicked Off This Weekend

New Hope's Luau

We had a great time at New Hope's Luau on Friday. At one point in the evening I counted people I had met for the first time, who have never been to New Hope's gatherings and there were over 20. That's awesome! Way to take the "bring your friends and family" seriously! It was great to have fun together and make some new friends.

Hope Miller

Grieving with some friends, celebrating with others...that's the stuff life is made of.

Today, New Hope is praying for Harold & Robyn Miller as they grieve Hope's passing. She was 33. It was unexpected. And it has jolted us. Tonight teens are gathered together remembering her - no doubt sharing great stories. Friends are taking meals and helping to plan her funeral celebration. It's all very surreal.

As I was driving this evening I was thinking of my friend, Hannah. She's 16 months old and she does NOT like to be left - especially when she is left by someone to whom she is very attached like her Momma. When Ang (the Momma) leaves her in the nursery at church, she cries loud cries with big, watery tears. Her world is coming to an end. She can't see beyond her immediate pain. She doesn't remember that in an hour she will be reunited with her beloved Momma. Her comprehension just isn't there yet.

So that made me think of us. We don't understand death. We don't like to be left. It causes the world as we know it to come to an end. We can't see beyond our pain. We struggle to remember that this life is NOT all there is and eventually we WILL all be reunited. Our comprehension just isn't there. The reality is there, though. Whether we can see it right now or not. We will be reunited. There will be a day when ALL is made right. And this life on earth will be a brief memory. With that reality of perfect reunion in the end and the reality of our pain flush against each other, we hope.

New Hope's Retreat at Camp Frederick

It's not too late to sign up for the All New Hope Retreat. The retreat will take place from Saturday, August 1 to Sunday, August 2. It will be a great opportunity for all ages of New Hopers.

During that weekend, we'll have ONE COMBINED GATHERING on Sunday at 10.30am (no Saturday Gathering).

Here is a message from the camp's Director, Tom Breitlow regarding the camp:

A slice of heaven amidst your average town where the spirit of God is felt and lives are changed. Each summer hundreds of people walk the trails, partake in the activities and learn about who they are. Camp Frederick has always been a place for people of all kinds to come and be treated equally, a place where the weak are strengthened, the selfish are humbled, the lost find direction. A place so comfortable that kids are lining up to come back year after year. In many cases, some kids come from troubled homes and count down the days to when they can get back to Camp Frederick where they know they are cared for and treated with love and affection. It is a place where youth groups come to strengthen their friendships and grow in their spiritual journey. It is a place free of judgment where each and every child is given a chance to shine their light and be who they truly are.

Camp Frederick is a place where God's beauty and wonder can be physically seen, visible in its surroundings. In the trees as the wind rushes through the leaves, in the creeks as the water flows effortlessly by, and most importantly, God's beauty is visible in the spirit of the staff. Over the past ten years, one word has defined the spirituality, the atmosphere, the experience, and the way people are treated at Camp Frederick. Namaste is a South Asian word originating in India. In its simplest definition, it means I see God in you. This, however, is what the word is all about:

Namaste
I honor the place in you in which God dwells
The place that is of love, of truth, of light, and of peace
When I am in that place in me, and you are in that place in you
We are one.

Namaste is used as a greeting in place of hello or goodbye as a constant reminder that we see God in each other. The Holy Spirit is one of the Holy Trinity as we understand God in our Lutheran tradition. Through our baptism we are given the Holy Spirit and recited during most Lutheran baptisms is this verse: Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven. With the holy spirit, we are called to let the light of God shine through us. Camp Frederick is a place where kids are given the opportunity to see God in themselves, in others, and in their surroundings. When the staff looks at each other they see God's hands at work and they treat their campers with an undying love and respect because they see God in each child.

Namaste is more than a greeting, it is a way of life. It is a way of seeing our world, seeing the people we encounter each and every day. According to the Lutheran tradition, the Holy Spirit works through all of us, connects us all through God, unites us as one.

I see the God in you, Namaste.

Baptism 28 June 2009

Here are some photos of Erica Baun's baptism.

I love the baptisms at New Hope! We celebrate the difference God has made in our lives by making us NEW in him.

Erica's husband, Curt, was in the water with her.

News

This headline: Ethnic clashes kill 140, hurt 828 in China's west...

was immediately followed up with this headline: Transformers,' 'Ice Age 3' tie for No 1.

It struck me. At least the box office story didn't come first.

Please join me in praying for our brothers and sisters in China.