Stories of Hope

  It seems that there's been a relentless string of hardship in so many people's lives that we care about. In my darkest days, during Lorraine's last week, I argued with God, as did a whole community of people, about why he would allow this to happen. My faith was truly tested again. I ended up expressing my feelings in a poem that I wrote over the course of a week, a process that proved to be very therapeutic. - Don

  Several years ago Purolator came up with a plan to host a “Tackle Hunger Week” across Canada. Each Purolator station was given the challenge to raise funds and collect food. In 2007 the Pickering station collected 100 lbs of canned food and $116.00 but were unsure what to do with it.

  Last week, in one of his daily coaching videos, John Maxwell spoke about the word “culture”. “The culture is the most important part of any organization,” he taught. “It’s who you are. It’s your behaviours. It’s the symbols that you have of your organization. It’s the underlying message.

  In the early years of Toronto’s Institute for Christian Studies, their professors would present theological and philosophical lectures in supporting churches. When one of these professors came to Willowdale Christian Reformed Church, my Mom decided to go and hear what he had to say. I went too. The professor spoke for an hour. After his talk, Mom turned to me and said, "Why did he make something so simple into something so complicated? I could have said what he said in five minutes."  

  The annual Synod of the Christian Reformed Church began its one week meeting in Grand Rapids this weekend. Two hundred delegates from every American state and Canadian province will spend hours together in committee work and public plenary sessions, approving the work and budgets of our denomination’s agencies.

  The Canadian Council of Churches met in Ottawa last week. During our two days of meetings, Marja and I went for a walk alongside the Rideau Canal. On the way we saw many beds of tulips. Some were done, their petals dry and scattered on the ground. Others were still in full bloom

  As many of you know, the past 6 months at Hope have included a process whereby the leadership has wrestled with how we discern “The Next Chapter” in the Journey of Hope Fellowship.