Core Beliefs
The following are things you might like to know about Spirit of Hope Lutheran Church
Our Outlook
Our outlook, or mission if you prefer that term, is to Bring Christ's Love to Life. We mean that and work hard to do exactly that in worship, service and faith formation. Not that we do it perfectly but that is our ultimate reason for being a community of faith.
It can be summed up by two things that Jesus mentioned.
#1 - Matthew 22:36-40 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
#2 - Matthew 25:35-36 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
So basically, love God and your neighbor and feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked, heal the sick and visit the prisoner. Anything else pretty much pales by comparison.
It can be summed up by two things that Jesus mentioned.
#1 - Matthew 22:36-40 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
#2 - Matthew 25:35-36 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’
So basically, love God and your neighbor and feed the hungry, house the homeless, clothe the naked, heal the sick and visit the prisoner. Anything else pretty much pales by comparison.
Who We are
Spirit of Hope Lutheran Church exists as a community of faith that is focused on Bringing Christ's Love to Life in the communities we serve. We will reach into our community and will boldly proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in ways that are meaningful to our community. We acknowledge that this will be a challenge for us at times but trust that our mission and outreach is God-breathed and not limited by our history, traditions and fear. We will commit to these opportunities by immersing ourselves in prayer and following the lead of the Holy Spirit.
Welcome
Welcome is oftentimes is an overused word. Let us explain what we mean when we extend a word of welcome.
We hope that all feel welcome in our worship service. When we come to the celebration of Holy Communion, all are definitely welcome. We believe that Christ is truly present in the earthly elements of bread and wine, and that in this meal, Christ has invited all people to share in his love and gift of salvation.
We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or like our pastor who can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re “just browsing,” just woke up or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Catholic than the Pope, or haven’t been in church since little Joey’s baptism.
We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems or you’re down in the dumps or if you don’t like “organized religion,” we’ve been there too.
If you blew all your offering money at the horse track, you’re welcome here. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.
We welcome those who are inked, pierced or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding hearts … and you!
This is what we mean when we say, "Welcome!"
We hope that all feel welcome in our worship service. When we come to the celebration of Holy Communion, all are definitely welcome. We believe that Christ is truly present in the earthly elements of bread and wine, and that in this meal, Christ has invited all people to share in his love and gift of salvation.
We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or like our pastor who can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re “just browsing,” just woke up or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Catholic than the Pope, or haven’t been in church since little Joey’s baptism.
We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems or you’re down in the dumps or if you don’t like “organized religion,” we’ve been there too.
If you blew all your offering money at the horse track, you’re welcome here. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.
We welcome those who are inked, pierced or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding hearts … and you!
This is what we mean when we say, "Welcome!"