Messages & News
Hope Lutheran Sunday School Program
Hope Lutheran Church offers Sunday School for children in Kindergarten through 12th grade. Our united teaching team consists of experienced educators with a heart for fostering faith formation in youth. We have a dedicated group of core teachers and substitutes who work together under the guidance and leadership of our Director of Youth Ministry, Rebecca Evans.
Emily Thompson Update from Perth, Western Australia YWAM Mission
Hello friends and family! Wow it’s been a wild three three months in Perth. We have just begun our outreach, but I have Some big updates to share with you! Before we get into it, Let me tell you about our final weeks of YWAM’s lecture phase. Some of the topics we discussed were Team Dynamics, Leading Worship, and Leadership and the Role of the Holy Spirit in Worship. We concluded this phase by recording songs that we all wrote!
(Re-) Doing Christianity In Secular America
For the past 25 years or so I have been pondering the future of Christianity in America. Since childhood I’ve been involved with Lutheran, Episcopal, Evangelical, and Restoration Movement churches — with occasional sojourns in spiritual renewal gatherings hosted by the Jesuits and Benedictine monks…
Unanticipated Blessings
About three years ago I started going back to church and putting God at the forefront of my life. I realized this was important for my journey, as I was feeling the pull of the Holy Spirit. Once back in church, I felt I was being a good Christian. I attended church every Sunday I was in town and watched remotely when I was away. I volunteered for as many things as I could, attended Lenten services, and joined the church council. I began working on my first read-through of the entire Bible. I seemed well on my way to understanding and living my faith.
A Practice of Preparation for When We Gather for Worship
God designs each of us with purposeful spiritual gifts, which we use to serve His Kingdom by serving others. Hope in Jesus Summer Bible Camp was a wonderful opportunity for a team of 12 volunteers to demonstrate God's love to 12 campers, who ranged from Kindergarten to 5th grade. In addition to parents who stayed on campus to help supervise their kids, I would like to acknowledge how valuable each volunteer was in creating a space where kids could learn, play, and grow in the Lord.
2025 Hope in Jesus Summer Bible Camp
God designs each of us with purposeful spiritual gifts, which we use to serve His Kingdom by serving others. Hope in Jesus Summer Bible Camp was a wonderful opportunity for a team of 12 volunteers to demonstrate God's love to 12 campers, who ranged from Kindergarten to 5th grade.
Being Lutheran in Southern California
Bookended each day by worship, the 2025 Assembly of the SW California Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America was inspirational, informative and inclusive.
ELCA News - Remembering Pope Francis
On Easter Monday, we of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America joined with people around the world in heartfelt grief at the death of Pope Francis. We celebrate his life eternal in Jesus Christ.
Pope Francis served Christ’s church with wisdom, courage and humility. Throughout his pastoral ministry, he served as an instrument of God’s justice and peace for all people and the whole of creation.
My Journey to Missions - Emily Thompson
From a young age, I questioned the world around me, and a lot! I would sit in silence and apply secular reasoning as my tool to ponder possibilities, scenarios, and even spirituality. I may have been raised Christian in a loving Christian home, but I was far more concerned with the why and how of things rather than “this is just what I know and what I’ve been taught” and leave it at that. As I grew older, I chalked it up to what I call logistical thinking where I exclusively relied on my own reasoning and understanding of things.
Traveling Mercies by Ann Lamott
Women, Wine, and the Word will read Anne Lamott’s bestseller Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith and meet on June 17. Contact Diane Schmidt or the Church Office for further information.
First published in 1999, and still in print, California author Anne Lamott's collection of nonfiction essays about her spiritual evolution is an irreverent, often humorous exploration of faith and what it means for the author.
Traveling Mercies is divided into thematic sections, beginning with "Overture: Lily Pads,"
The New Look of Hope
Recently, Hope has been busy behind the scenes introducing a streamlined visual "brand" for the church. Branding is important because it helps to create a reliable visual representation of our church, and ensures a consistent feeling of trust among our community.
For Religious Liberty and Against Christian Nationalism
On March 11, 2025, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Bishops in Wisconsin joined several ecumenical Christian colleagues in signing on to a statement, "For Religious Liberty and Against Christian Nationalism."
Many Members - One Body
They say “it takes a village to raise a child.” Likewise, it takes a whole church family to “train up [children] in the way [they] should go, and when [they are] old [they] will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6)
Holy Innocents, Martyrs
The Magi came from the east, brought gifts to baby Jesus , departed for home. Having asked for help from Herod the Great to find the child, they agreed to tell him when they did so but were warned not to.
Francis of Assisi
Everybody loves St Francis. What’s not to love? He loved animals, the beauty of nature, he was kind, he was a Hallmark movie come to life. October 4th is the day we remember him —even we ELCA Lutherans.