Every year at Christmas, we partner with Maple Lawn Elementary School (right across Inwood Road) and David G. Burnet Elementary School (around the corner at Marsh Lane and Walnut Hill) to provide gifts for students who might otherwise go without.

Every year, you open your hearts and give generously, making this a season of celebration for those most in need in our community.

In order to provide more gifts to the students of Maple Lawn and Burnet, we have set up AmazonSmile Wish Lists with all of the gifts requested by the students. With your help, we can provide gifts for all the students at Maple Lawn and Burnett who are in need.

Maple Lawn Wish List

Burnet Wish List

Gifts (averaging about $10-20 per gift) purchased through this AmazonSmile list by December 10 will be shipped directly to the school and distributed to the children in time for Christmas.

Thank you for supporting the children of our community!

This past Sunday we held some very special services as a part of our All Saints’ Day worship. They were designed to help us remember and celebrate the lives of more than 200 people, friends, members and family members who have passed in the last 18 months or so. They were filled with moments that encouraged us to grieve and honor the lives of those on whose shoulders we stand. On Sunday evening we gathered for another special concert/requiem to remember the more that 700,000 lives in the USA and more than 5 million lives globally who have died due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I want to thank you for coming out and participating in these special events. I have heard from many about how helpful these specific services were. 

November continues with our current sermon series, “Created for Love”.  Jesus reminds us that love is at the heart of our faith. We were made by God with love, we were made to love, we are made to be loved. During this short sermon series, we will be exploring why love is the greatest commandment and our most important act of faith. This Sunday we recognize Veterans Day and are reminded that love – love for our co-creation and for what we value – can call us into action, even if it means making a sacrifice.

Sacrifice is something very familiar to the Christian gospel. It is often seen as something done for penance or to deny oneself something. However, sacrifice is also something that we do to the benefit of others. As is our tradition, we are trying to make sure that no one goes without Thanksgiving Dinner this year and planning to donate 500 baskets, filled with enough food for a family of four, meaning that more than 2000 people will be fed this year on Thanksgiving. We are now over half-way to our goal and this Sunday is the last day that we are receiving either donations of cash ($45 per basket) or signups to bring a basket already prepared. For more information, please email Bill Martin (bmartin@cathedralofhope.com) or check this link (https://cathedralofhope.com/thanksgiving)

In closing this week, I want to again thank you for your generosity. We continue our Stewardship drive and many of you have already made your 2022 commitment. Today, I am pleased to announce that we are nearing 65% of our desired pledge goal of $1.1m of a total proposed budget of $2.7m in 2022. You can find out more about pledging HERE.  Please complete your pledge for 2022 from a place of gratitude and prayer. Gratitude for what God has blessed you and us with during this time and prayer, taking a leap of faith and stretching ourselves just a little bit. 

I do look forward to seeing you again this weekend and know that God continues to guide us and bless us as we look forward to this week, this month, the rest of this year, and the year ahead.

Friends,

This Sunday will be another blessed and exciting day at Cathedral of Hope as we take time to remember and celebrate the many who are no longer with us as a part of our All-Saints Remembrance. On Sunday morning, at both our 8:30am and 10am services we will have pieces of music, surrounded by a special liturgy and we will also premier a commissioned piece of music that has been written for us to honor those who have died due to COVID-19. Both the space and the service will feel very different, but I hope that this opportunity to grieve, mourn and celebrate will help us all in our ability to process loss in profound and beautiful ways.

On Sunday evening at 7pm we will host a special concert/requiem here. We will be joined by several other choirs who are helping us to host a community event, designed to help our broader community grieve and celebrate more than 700,000 lives lost to COVID-19 in the USA and over 5 million lost, globally. These number are overwhelming, but I know that having moments to help us remember, opportunities to lean into grief, help us spiritually, emotionally, and physically. They are important moments and I sincerely hope that you will join us in our community response.
November celebrates Thanksgiving and we are still receiving donations and sign-ups for Thanksgiving Baskets. These baskets, filled with the fixings for Thanksgiving Dinner for a family of four helps ensure that no-one will be without a meal of Thanksgiving Day – a day when we remember what we are grateful for and give thanks for friends and F(r)amily. Please sign up today and let’s make sure that we are able to provide more than 500 baskets, feeding more than 2000 individuals on Thanksgiving.

We continue to receive our pledges for 2022 and I want to strongly encourage you to make your pledge to the work and ministry of our church. These pledges are a part of our spiritual responsibility to work that God has called us to do and your pledge helps us manage the budget, programs, outreach, and ministry efforts in our attempt to change the world. Personal stories of transformation encourage me, daily, and help me to remember how vital our work is as we fulfil our vision of Proclaiming Christ through Faith, Hope and Love.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday and at the many other opportunities that we have to gather virtually and in-person.

Friends,

As we bring October to a close and begin a new month, our minds are perhaps thinking about the many celebrations and festivities that the end of the year bring. Certainly, many of us missed out on many of these celebrations last year, and the year before, but it seems that this year, if we remain vigilant and safe, taking care of ourselves and others, this year may be different.

We are hoping for something different this year at Cathedral of Hope, and we are planning some amazing opportunities to gather and to be of service to others.

One such opportunity is Thanksgiving which is always celebrated on the last Thursday of November. This is a season to be grateful and thankful and each year we ensure that no one goes without Thanksgiving dinner in our community. We are invited to either purchase or put together a basket of food, enough to feed a family of four.  These baskets and then distributed to individuals and organizations that make this happen! I want to invite you to help us achieve this goal and make an impact in our community. You can sign up to provide a basket here or you can donate $45 and one will be donated on your behalf. I have to say, it is pretty awesome and humbling to watch folks come by Cathedral of Hope to pick up their basket and it is only through your generosity that this happens.
We have many other ways to celebrate coming up in November and December so please keep connected and participate as you can.

I close today with a personal ask. I believe that we have done everything possible to keep us all connected during this time. We have safely gathered to do church together, provided online resources that have reached around the world, and found new and innovative ways to be church in this changing times. We have managed the resources offered and given to the very best of our ability and continue to find ways to ensure that COH remains strong, vibrant, and relevant. I am asking you to please complete your pledge for 2022 from a place of gratitude and prayer. Gratitude for what God has blessed you and us with during this time and prayer, taking a leap of faith and stretching ourselves just a little bit. 

I know that the best is yet to come AND we all need to contribute our time, talent, and treasure to live God’s abundance, grace, compassion, and truth to a generation who are searching for a reclaimed understanding of God who is for all, and now just for us. I sincerely hope that you will join me in supporting all that we are looking forward to.