Update your Serving Preferences

Posted on July 26, 2010

Do you currently serve our church in worship as an usher, greeter, coffee hostess, or another way? Would you like to serve? During the month of August, we will have new blue sheets available for you to update your information regarding the areas you would like to serve and how often.

We would like everyone who is currently serving to fill one of these sheets out, along with anyone who would like to serve in a new way. This will make sure we have up-to-date information. Thank you for everything you do to serve and minister at Hope!

Hope Lutheran Night at the Ballpark

Posted on July 22, 2010

Tuesday, August 24, 7:05 PM—Come see the Texas Rangers take on the Minnesota Twins. Tickets are $16 a piece (Normally $40—Corner Box seats). This would be a great event to invite your friends, neighbors, and coworkers. Sign up with Matt by August 1st.

Worship Team Reminder

Posted on July 22, 2010

Please remember that if you are scheduled to serve on the worship team on a given Sunday (coffee hostess, usher, greeter, etc.) and are
unable to serve that day, please find a replacement and then notify Karine Samer in the church office.

Mandatory Confirmation Parents Meeting

Posted on July 22, 2010

Confirmation Meeting: Sunday, August 8, 11:15 AM—The fall Confirmation season is just around the corner! We would like to have a meeting Sunday, August 8 immediately following the 10:00 AM worship service for all of this year’s Confirmation participants and their parents. We will preview this upcoming year, the confirmation retreat, give out schedules, and answer questions.

Organ Pipe Update

Posted on July 22, 2010

Hope receives protection from expenses related to organ pipes for a pipe organ

This is a follow-up note to last month’s article about God answering prayer with yes, no, and wait. In that article I wrote,

Sometimes asking of God is like asking for presents at Christmas time. Sometimes our request is such that if we did get it we wouldn’t be ready for it. Or it would affect others in ways we didn’t think of, but God thinks of.

Nevertheless, God tells us to “ask,” “seek” and “knock.” And in the process of waiting to see if the answer is ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or ‘wait’ we learn a lot about ourselves and our motives. So ask and seek and knock before God. And learn.

I was thinking about this when I asked for the organ pipes. Yes, you heard that right. St. Paul Lutheran in Farmers Branch is closing and giving their pipe organ pipes away. When I heard about I decided to ask for them (for free). I knew we had to learn a lot after asking. (July Newsletter)

And learn we did. And the learning came in a surprising way. One Sunday after church Stuart Bohannon, who has been attending the 8:00 AM service for some months now, came over to Cathy Peterson with some thoughts about the organ sounds. Cathy realized that he knew a lot about organ sounds and appreciated his help. She then inquired about how he knew about this organ. As it turned out Stuart installed the organ thirteen years ago.

Once Cathy realized what a gold mine he was she asked if he knew about pipe organs. As it turned out he knows a lot. She asked if he read pastor’s July article wondering if that moved him to come talk to her about the organ. He hadn’t seen it. They ended up talking
more and one thing turned to another and soon I was getting copied on emails.

I thought, “Ok, Lord, I think you are helping us out here. Thank you.”

And God did help. Stuart ended up getting us connected to Bill Ehrke who has incredible expertise and soon after both Bill and Stuart went to look at the pipes. They were truly a Godsend because Bill determined fairly quickly that the pipes at St. Paul’s were in a state that it would take quite an expense to bring them back to playing quality, and they were short quite a few pipes on top of it. Bill said that the pipes were basically decorative.

This was all we needed to know. I wrote St. Paul’s and thanked them for the chance to look into the pipes but that we wouldn’t be taking them because of the expense and incredible effort it would take to move the project along. St. Paul’s understood and were happy to learn more about the pipes themselves. They realized they could leave the pipes in place and allow them to decorate the building for the next group using it.

I see God’s fingerprints all over this. He was protecting us from going down a road that would have cost a lot (when we do not have money for such things) and would have cost a lot of effort (when I would rather see effort spent elsewhere right now.) Thank you Stuart. Thank you Bill. And thank you Cathy for seizing the moment to get an answer from God. After a short time of giving the answer “wait,” God’s final answer was, “No.” His ways are best. God is truly good!

Pastor Joel

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