Stories of Hope

  When I look back at my time at Hope Fellowship, it has been a ride! If it were not for the praise teams at Hope Fellowship I likely would not be an involved Christian right now. In my time at university, Hope Fellowship was a life raft in my life. As I struggled to stay connected with God, it was the times when I was able to come home and play music on the praise team when I felt God and was able to worship freely

  So here we are again - another year has almost passed and it’s Christmas! I can’t believe it! It’s Christmas and I am actually writing a hopeful story about Christmas!!! That is a miracle within itself

  Don’t you love hearing stories of unexpected gifts and generosity where you least expect it? I do, and Kim, the supervisor at Ultimate School Agers, the daycare that rents space at Hope Fellowship, knows this and will often drop by the office to share a story or two with me.

Dear people of HOPE,   Over the past month, Pastor Dale has been preaching on the “inside out church”, and the past two weeks have been very mission focused… challenging us to think outside of our normal and sometimes comfortable ‘pews’, to find ways in which to engage the world around us in an effort to love and serve our “neighbours”.

YOUTH: Door2Door4Hope   Halloween is one day of the year that I’m sure many parents wish didn’t even exist; a day most youth wish they were still young enough to go trick or treating; and a day where the theme of fear runs rampant throughout the world. But have no fear because the youth of Hope Fellowship have a completely different view of Halloween. They see October 31st as a time to engage their community and bless many neighbours

  On September 26th, Derrick and I took a deep breath and crossed our fingers. We were about to start our second year of running a Tuesday night youth outreach program in the south Scarborough community of Guildwood.

  On October 1st, I was shocked and humbled to be recognized for 20 years of teaching JAM City. Words had escaped me then, but now I have words to share.   First of all, I have to thank Joan for her thoughtfulness in picking such a beautiful sculpture. It reminds me a lot of our baptismal font and it is so appropriate.

"WOW GOD!"   What an amazing week we have had at our Vacation Bible School program!   There have been so many God sightings; we have had the opportunity to host 128 children; the weather has been amazing; and we were blessed with so many fantastic and energetic volunteers, just to name a few

  I would like to take this time to say what I didn't get a chance to say at Kiera & Trevor's wedding (my heart was overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude). Thank you!!

  In recent months the people of Hope have once again proven themselves to be self-less givers and champions to the needy. In March you came to the HSM pancake breakfast and helped raise over $900 for our summer serve trip to Washington DC

We are enjoying a series of devotions written by Pastor Dale. The focus of these devotions is the “kingdom of God” and what that looks like for us.

We are enjoying a series of devotions written by Pastor Dale. The focus of these devotions is the “kingdom of God” and what that looks like for us.

  Recently our high school students hosted a Work Day, where they offered to come and help people with chores in return for a donation for the Pregnancy Resource Centre in the Dominical Republic. The results are in—and it was a great success!

  Most of us don’t like to talk about money all that much, but sometimes it is necessary. As members of Hope Fellowship, it’s important that each of us knows what is going on and what part we play in this place we call our church family

Today we begin a series of devotions written by Pastor Dale. The focus of these devotions is the “kingdom of God” and what that looks like for us. On Earth as it is in Heaven The Kingdom of Heaven is Within Us

  On Sunday, April 30, Pastor Dale and Gloria had their last service as pastor at Maranatha Church in Calgary. Saying good bye is hard and emotionally draining. Especially when you are leaving your beloved wife behind as well as a beloved congregation.   According to Google Maps, the trip from Maranatha Church in Calgary, Alberta to Hope Fellowship Church in Courtice is 3,509 km and takes 36 hours.

An Extension of Love Dear Friends & Family,   We are incredibly thankful for all of you and your support through prayer for Jesse and Andrea. As many of you know this has been an extremely challenging time in their lives as a newlywed couple,

  I have a prevailing image in my life of a long road disappearing a long way off to the horizon. The surrounding terrain is flat, with desert or fields of grain stretching to distant hills. The road is a distinct blacktop with clear white lines on either side and the bright yellow one down the centre

The Month of Lasts   It was the first Sunday of April, it was Soup’n Buns Sunday. The people were crowded in the fellowship hall, sipping their coffees and teas, having conversations of days gone by or days to come. I stood up on a chair, like I always do on this Sunday, to speak a blessing over the food and fellowship we were about to enjoy. I asked someone to whistle for me, to get everyone’s attention… and in that moment, I realized, this would be the last time I do this at Maranatha. And it sunk in … this would be the first of many ‘lasts’

GOD’S TIMING   Hello HOPE! Dale and Gloria here.   Thank you for praying for our transition from Alberta to Ontario.   You may have heard that we were in Ontario on the weekend of March 24, 25.   Our prayer was that God would lead us to a house that would become our home, but also a home that would be exactly where God would want us to be a light – a beacon of Hope. Gloria also specifically asked God to let us know, somehow, which house that might be. That prayer was answered, let me tell you how.

  One of the things any organization struggles with is communication: How do we get word out? How much do we say? Who needs to know? Who needs to be involved in the decision-making process?

  I personally love walks in the woods, finding myself closer to God by seeing the complexity of creation, having all my senses impacted without the noise and distraction of everyday life.   And the trees…sometimes it feels like this part of creation is telling a story. A story of steadfastness, faithfulness, peace, and joy

  The Hope Fellowship Life Groups are studying “Daring Faith” by Rick Warren. As he writes, “You get to choose how much God blesses your life and uses you in his plan for the world. Daring faith is the key to fulfilling God’s will”. The session titles say it all: Building a life of faith; Expecting the best; Stretching your imagination; Taking the initiative; Facing your fears; and Believing while you’re waiting.

  People know that we are living in very precarious times. Definitely, these are days of great uncertainty and concern. As a Christian community, it is ok to express and share our concerns. By doing so, we are not denying that God is ultimately in control. We are basically admitting our humanity and our need for our Sovereign God. We are admitting that we are real and that is what the world needs right now – a good dose of reality!!!

  This past Wednesday I was privileged to represent Hope Fellowship at Pastors Day at Knox Christian School.   I wish you could have all been there to see the Durham High School praise team lead worship and the Knox kids sing along and participate by playing drums!

  Hope Fellowship. Have you ever wondered what exactly the name ‘Hope Fellowship’ means? I imagine in a way it means something a little different to everyone, but for myself, I was curious what the root origins of these words were, and what I discovered was quite interesting

We're Part of Something Bigger   Recently, I've had a number of people ask me how it is that we periodically have pastors from other Christian Reformed Churches in the area preaching for us. You may have noticed that, since this past September, that happens once each month and they are called Classical Appointments

  In July 2016, a team of youth and adult volunteers from Hope Fellowship travelled to the Dominican Republic to work with the Samaritan Foundation, assisting in the construction of a new house for an impoverished family.   During our time together our team experienced such a wide range of emotions.

  In Philippians 4:6 we read "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

  For the past number of weeks, the newest newcomer family consisting of Reem, her mother, Ghada, and 5 children have been safely ensconced in the Youth House from Rehoboth CRC in Bowmanville. All of us are extremely grateful to the members of the Youth Group and the entire Rehoboth congregation for the use of this accommodation.

  What a weekend we had last week! From meeting with our high school students and young adults on Thursday night right through the Q & A session on Sunday afternoon, Pastor Dale and Gloria were kept very busy meeting the people of Hope Fellowship.

  December 28, 2016 saw the arrival of Ghada and her grandchildren. They have joined Ghada’s daughter Reem and children in their temporary home in Bowmanville. We are thankful that they are reunited as a family group and that they have had opportunity to connect with Feras and Shahla and their extended family in Canada.

  When January 1st rolls around I automatically think of it as Family Day. My parents used to tell me this when I was a kid and this was long before the province designated it a holiday in the month February.

  The first conversation that the Succession Planning Committee had with Rev. Dale Melenberg was in January, 2016. He asked us some tough questions about our church and gave very insightful answers to our questions to him. After a few days, Pastor Dale informed us that he was not able to move forward with Hope Fellowship for a number of reasons, including his ministry in Calgary and the work on his doctoral dissertation. We got over the disappointment but did not forget about that great first conversation.

  When we think of church, or anything for that matter, it seems that today's society thinks of the negative first. The songs were too old, the sermon too traditional and the kids learned nothing again in Sunday School.   In the third case, this must not be true for my daughter, Rayna, who is so excited about church and Sunday School she constantly talks about it in her class and with her friends.

  Ignite, our young adults group here at Hope, recently had the opportunity to volunteer at the Immanuel Bazaar on November 26th. The next day, because God just loves to do these types of things, Bernice Baker shared a sermon that felt like a direct response to what we’ve been teaching at Ignite.