Hope Community Presbyterian Church

Exodus 3:1-15

Matthew 16:21-28

Today, during Labor Day weekend, our denomination invites us to celebrate Christian Vocation Sunday. The lectionary readings certainly line up, and today I remember the Sunday ten years ago this weekend, when my call to ministry crystallized. That Labor Day weekend, I was getting ready for my senior year in high school, and it felt like time to decide what my next step in life would be. (more…)

Join us Tuesdays at noon starting September 9 (not the 2nd as in the newsletter) for Food for Thought. Bring a sack lunch and drop in to discuss contemporary issues with other curious folks.

For our first session, we’ll talk about what issues or books you might like to study. Come and bring your ideas!

We meet in the Session Room.

The all-church picnic scheduled for this evening, August 27, will happen even if it’s raining. We have the Italian-American building at Olcott Park, so we’ll be dry even if the rest of the world isn’t.

Come by at 5:30 for fellowship – dinner is served about 6:00!

You are invited to join Hope’s youth and many others on Sept. 20, 2008, for a sleep out and fundraising event, Night Without a Home. Night Without a Home will raise awareness about the reality of homelessness and poverty in St. Louis County. Participants will sleep outside and raise funds to help end homelessness in our county. Guest speakers will share personal experiences with homelessness and advocates will discuss solutions currently underway to end homelessness in St. Louis County.

You can participate by sleeping out and raising money, or by contributing to the event. Every participant is asked to raise $50 toward the goal of ending homelessness. To sign up for our sleepout crew, contact the office.

We’ll meet at HCPC at 5:00, then walk or carpool over to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, the site of the Range sleepout. Sleepouts are taking place simultaneously in Duluth and Virginia, to bring St. Louis County together around this issue.

Ending, not enduring homelessness.

Exodus 1:8-2:10

Our Old Testament reading this morning is from the beginning of Exodus, the story of how God’s people came out of slavery in Egypt and began moving toward the land they had been promised. But that’s not how Genesis ended. When Genesis ended, the memory of Joseph was cherished, certainly by the Israelites, but also by the rulers of Egypt. Joseph had worked for the Pharaoh, and his skill at interpreting dreams had saved the whole land of Egypt from starvation during a seven-year famine. But, as Exodus tells us… (more…)

Social networking just got a little more “Hope”-ful (groan): we now have a Facebook group! Are you on Facebook? Then stop in and join up.

Psalm 133

Matthew 15:10-28

Reading the first part of this passage from Matthew, I’m reminded of a pastor I knew – okay, of several pastors I’ve known, but one in particular. I picture him in Jesus’ place in the story. In the story, Jesus speaks out against the religious purity codes of his day, saying that cleanliness or uncleanliness come from the heart, not from any external rituals we might perform. When Jesus speaks, the disciples get worried. They have a PR situation on their hands, and they don’t want to offend the Pharisees (“What will they think? What will they say at the next presbytery meeting?”). So they bring up the issue with Jesus, and this is where I see that pastor: Jesus says, “Good! If nobody got offended when I spoke, I’d be worried.” (more…)

The Youth Committee invites anyone who would like to be involved with the youth of the church to join them at their meeting on Tuesday, August 19 at 5:00 p.m.  You don’t have to have kids who are involved in the Youth Groups (or even have kids), but please come and share your thoughts and ideas and/or volunteer to help out with events when you can.  This meeting will be a brainstorming session on the future of the youth at HCPC!

August Bulletin Board

Genesis 32:22-31

Matthew 14:13-21

“Hi. I’m Bartholomew. I was there when this happened, with the rest of the disciples. Jesus had tried to get away from the crowd, but there they were on the other side of the lake, thousands of them. (more…)