Stories of Hope

  Have you found your place yet at Hope Fellowship Church? Do you feel connected? Are you getting to know at least a few people so that your sense of belonging is growing, even though there are so many that you haven’t met and don’t know?   A recent sociological study about “Religion, Social Networks and Life Satisfaction” discovered that people who go to church regularly and have three to five close friends in the congregation tend to be “extremely satisfied” with their lives.

  A few years ago I began hearing rumours of a big motorcycle ride modeled after the Sea to Sea bicycle tour. That rumour has become a reality. Sea to Sea has inspired the birth of a big, loud baby, a transcontinental motorcycle tour called “Shore to Shore With a Roar”

  I've heard many positive comments about last week’s Steve Bell concert. His songs, guitar playing and stories affected people in a deep way.

  Normally, a fire at a church is not a good news item. But then Hope Fellowship is anything but a “normal” church and the fire I am reporting is cause for joy

  Whenever “one of our own” becomes a pastor, a congregation has great reason to celebrate. This week, that’s what happened when Classis Quinte, our regional gathering of nineteen Christian Reformed churches between Ajax and Kingston, examined and endorsed “our own” Allan Kirkpatrick as the new pastor of Grace CRC in Cobourg.

  I remember an old commercial featuring a mechanic selling Fram oil filters. He advised people to regularly go to their garage for an oil and filter job, preferably using the brand that he was promoting. His closing line was, “You can pay me now, or pay me later.”   My former mechanic in St. Catharines told me about a car with less than fifty thousand kilometres on it that needed a new motor. Why? Since purchasing the car new, the customer had never brought his car into the dealership for an oil change.   Marriages are much more valuable than cars.

  One of the best things about working at Hope Fellowship in the office is that I am often witness to acts of service that most people don’t have an opportunity to see. I had one of those experiences this week