Stories of Hope

  More than half of the 180 women who attended last week’s “Beauty Unleashed” women’s conference were from other churches than Hope Fellowship. All were treated to a beautiful sanctuary and stage that was transformed from elegant black and white (the morning) to an explosion of colour (afternoon) in less than twenty minutes while everyone “grooved” outside under the direction of a Zumba instructor. Grace and Colleen, a worship team from Mississauga, ended the day with a powerful version of “I Will Rise” which segued into a balloon release that filled the sky with messages meant for God.

  For the season of Lent we were challenged to a “40 ways in 40 days” Lenten journey. Each day we were asked to list one blessing. We followed this theme as part of our worship services too, and the following was read on Palm Sunday, the week before Easter. It’s a great reminder to look for blessings in some of the things we take for granted every day.

  It’s always nice to get a head start on something. And that’s what our neighbourhood got when our young people roved up and down the roads on Wednesday collecting twenty bags of garbage and litter, two weeks before Pitch-In Canada Week.

  In the Bible, Jacob worked and waited seven years for his dream girl. At Hope Fellowship, Elizabeth (Lisa) worked and waited a dozen years for her dream job. That job began this week when she started her chaplaincy work at Strathaven and Marnwood Lifecare Centres in Bowmanville for Durham Christian Homes.

  Every year, our youth participate in the 30 Hour Famine weekend. It is the world’s biggest youth fund raising event and the money raised is used by World Vision to combat hunger.