“Be the Hope” became our congregation’s unofficial motto after Hurricane Katrina. It’s taken on a life of its own, showing up on banners and on our beautiful lighted sign at the front door of our church campus.

My favorite “Be the Hope” story came to me via Pastor Robert who heard it from a Preschool dad. Seems that it had been a tough morning for dad and son that day. Getting up, clothed, breakfasted, stuff for the day gathered in the backpack…just trying to get out of the house had been especially stressful and nerve-racking that day. Dad was tense as he drove over to school and had been snapping at his son. Just before arriving at the church, the little boy piped up from the backseat: “Be the Hope, Dad!” he said.

I preached a sermon on “Words Matter” a few weeks ago that struck a chord with many of you. I stand by that, but even so, I know how very often what we DO and who we ARE matters even more than what we SAY. St. Francis put it this way: “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.”

Being the Hope means witnessing to the Gospel, to God’s Good News for each and every one of us and for the world and creation–in everything we do, everything we stand up for, every act of compassion and kindness. It means putting God’s Hope at the very center of our heart so that it radiates through the person that we are.

On Laity Sunday, October 14th, we’ll hear from several of our members of different ages and life experiences as they reflect on what “Be the Hope” means to them. Let’s all be in prayer with them, asking God to increase our faith, confirm our hope, and mold our lives accordingly.

“Let us hold firmly to the hope we claim to have. The God who promised is faithful.” Heb. 10:23

Anyone remember a bumper sticker that seemed to be everywhere just a few years ago? “Commit random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty.”

Where did that go? The prevailing norm these days seems to be just the opposite. Alarmingly, public discourse is more often marked by polarization, demonization, ugliness and fear. As songwriter Joni Mitchell once observed: “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.”

How did we get here and how do we find our way back to genuine communities of respect and compassion? As people of faith, we turn to God, prayer, and Scripture to help us find and re-find our way. Sermons through August in the “Bind Our Hearts in Love” series will explore the Letter to the Ephesians and its many teachings for the church about how to be a community worthy of the gospel, lessons essential both to the church and to our larger community.

And, week after week, we will gather together for worship, study, and service. A new year begins in the Preschool as it celebrates its 70th Anniversary. Sunday School classes, Youth group, and Children’s Church will gather. Opportunities for fellowship and service will be in full swing. Committees will meet and plans will be made.

All the “normal” stuff of church life will be happening, thanks be to God. For this is where we learn to “practice what we preach,” creating community united in love, and through it all, witnessing to kindness, beauty, compassion, justice and peace.