A LIVELY FALL SEASON AT HOPE

Now that October has arrived and the school holiday weekends are over, there are several important events and activities that will be going on around our church.
As expected, all our fall programs are well underway, and attendance is picking up at our worship services each weekend. Giving always seems to lag behind, and we have not yet caught up for the "lost Sunday" caused by Hurricane Irene at the end of August. But we keep pressing on.

This fall our church staff increased with the addition of Diane DeNicola and Melissa Itara as staff for the Anchor Nursery School, and Dianne Browning as our Saturday Night Musician.

A series of meetings planned for the week of October 17-21 by the Mission Projects Review Committee is gathering new ideas. The purpose of the meetings was to encourage members to think creatively and collaboratively about mission opportunities that can aid people from our local community as well as from our congregation.

Plans are also underway for an Oktoberfest event on Saturday, October 29 following the 5 p.m. service. German food and drink, music and humor will be featured as part of that event.

Our services on All Saints' Sunday, November 6 will be our Annual Remembrance Sunday services, an opportunity to remember in our prayers our loved ones who died since last November's service. A chart is posted for people to indicate the names of people to be included in our prayers that day.

The Annual Fall Blood Drive is scheduled for Monday, November 14th. Donations are especially important at this time of the year as the holidays approach.

On Christ the King Sunday, November 20th we will have our Stewardship Sunday at Hope. We are taking part in the Metro NY Synod's "Enter into the Joy" emphasis on that day, and members will be asked to make their faith promises for giving as this church year comes to a close.

Later that day, an evening concert and hymn sing is planned by our Men's Gospel Choir, and on the following Wednesday, November 23 we will have our Annual Thanksgiving Eve service at 7:30 p.m.

We are happy to report that registrations have now been made for our teenagers and chaperones who will attend the Youth Gathering in New Orleans next summer.

MISSION PROJECTS DISCUSSIONS

This fall members of Hope have been asked to take part in an exciting discussion of the mission we share as a community of believers in Christ. The Mission Projects Team has scheduled several meetings to foster open discussions of the potential we have for developing new approaches to serving our community using the gifts of many members to address needs of people in our church and community that are not being met by any Christian community or service agency.

They hope that this free and open conversation will result in the forming of new ministry teams and programs to serve people using some of the earnings from the Saint Mark's Mission Endowment Fund established using the proceeds from the sale of the property of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Ridge

Special Project Planning forms were given out so the Team can review and guide projects before presenting them to the Congregation Council.

Currently serving as appointed members are Edythe Budke, Ron Homa, John Hokanson, Joan Swift, and Jean Shaljian. The Council is seeking two additional members. willing to share their gifts on the team.

by Pastor Hill                                                       "Discerning Hope's Future"

This is an important part of the process of discernment that began a couple of years ago here at Hope. It can have a significant outcome when it moves from the idea stage to the project development stage.

Actually, however, it is just one of three processes currently underway to help us plan for our future as a congregation. The other two processes have been underway for nearly two years.

One process is the work of the "Building Development Committee," a group that has surveyed the use of our church facilities and some potential uses of our building with an eye to creating some proposals for renovating existing structures and creating some new ones. There's a long way yet to go, but the process is moving along with the assistance of architect Hans Nepf who designed our sanctuary over 20 years ago.

The other process is the work of the "Pastoral Staffing Committee," which has proposed to the Council the possibility of adding an additional pastor to our church staff on a part-time, if not full-time, basis. This discussion is moving along at the Council level and may result in a proposal in the next few months.

In many churches, any one of these three areas of exploration would be a major undertaking. Some would suggest that we may be stretching out too far by doing this. But each area deserves attention, and taking all three areas together could bring about an exciting new shared vision for our future as a congregation and make our ministry even stronger.

As pastor of Hope, I have no "secret plan" that would define what the future will look like. Some folks may believe that I do, but that's simply not true. My "plan" is simply to do whatever I can to bring people together with God's Word in the presence of the Holy Spirit so we can be open to the possibilities God may bring about through our joint effort.

Discerning the future of a church is a complicated and time-consuming matter. There may be "good ideas" that will ne acted on quickly, and others may take a lot more time. But we are "in the same boat" as we journey together into God's future, and in the power of God's Spirit, we will keep moving ahead.

With Love,

Pastor Hill

     COUNCIL MOVES AHEAD ON PRIORITIES

The Council continues to work on the goals identified last year and expanded at this year's Council retreat. Some of the projects they have been working on include:

* Work on our church facilities, including a new floor in the Nursery School room, new ceilings in the hallways, and a new entrance door from the church driveway.

* A "Care Fair" to share information about and encourage participation in the various ways we go about caring for our members and the community around us.

* A Stewardship Drive that will be part of a synod-wide stewardship emphasis leading up to a Commitment Sunday on November 20th.

* The renovation of "Jacob's Well," the waterfall and pond near the parking lot entrance of the church.

* The hiring of Dianne Browning to serve as our Saturday Evening Music Leader.

* The expansion of our Anchor Nursery School program to a five morning a week program and the hiring of Diane DeNicola and Melissa Itara as members of our Anchor Nursery School staff.

* The possibility of a Pastoral Sabbatical program for Pastor Hill who is completing his 28th year as pastor of Hope. Information is being gathered and a Sabbatical Planning Team is being formed to work with Pastor Hill in developing a proposal to submit to the Lilly Foundation for possible funding.

* The continuing development of the Council "Triad" structure as a way of fostering communication and shared planning efforts for the congregation.

* The renewal of the Hope-Net Inventory as a resource for assisting leaders in planning their ministry efforts.

RUTH LEBENNS

100th BIRTHDAY

On October 7th, Mrs. Ruth Lebenns and her family celebrated Ruth's 100th birthday.

Although Ruth has not been a member of Hope for a long time, she has been a Lutheran and a faithful follower of Jesus all her life.

She grew up in Freeport, LI, one of twelve children, and she was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Roosevelt before she moved to Florida with her beloved husband Fred.

After Fred died, she came back to Long Island to live with her son Bill, and she now lives with Bill and his wife Kathi at their horse farm in Middle Island .

For many years Ruth used her hands to knit items of clothing including caps for newborns which were given out at Saint Charles Hospital. Her faith and her love for God are an inspiration to all who know her.

What a Pastor Does . . .

"Assembling the Saints"

One of the most important things we do as a church is to get people together for a variety of purposes. We are constantly involved in the task of "assembling the saints," whether it be for worship, for spiritual growth activities, for fellowship, or for service.

Sometimes it is easy. Certain times of the year we know we are supposed to get together, like, for example, at Christmas or Ash Wednesday or Easter. It's not so hard getting the saints to assemble for such important events.

Sometimes, however, it is much more difficult to assemble the saints. For example, when we need to sit down together for "family meetings" where we can discuss ideas and issues that need widespread participation from our members, it takes a lot of effort to convince people to "make the extra effort."

This fall we are attempting to do something we do not do very often. Getting people together to talk about the mission God wants us to carry out is a daunting task, especially in these days when everyone has many demands on their time. It's even harder when people think that taking part in such a discussion might lead them into adding another new activity to their list of involvements.

To be completely honest, that type of outcome is always going to be part of any free-flowing discussion about what our church might start doing. Good ideas sometimes are so good that we want to see them become a reality, and we know that if we believe in something we may want to get involved in making it happen.

Assembling the saints always carries the risk that it will lead into "unknown territory" and will bring about something new and unanticipated, and it may cost us something, at least our time and energy, if not also our treasure. But is there something wrong with that?

One of the major activities of any pastor is to keep working at this task. Sometimes it makes me feel like a "salesman" who is trying to get people interested in buying their product. But when I think more wholistically about my role as pastor, I realize that encouraging people to become involved in developing our part of God's mission is essential task of pastoral leadership. Pastors, like shepherds, need to be leaders of their flock. It's not for my personal benefit that I ask people to assemble or to serve--it's for the sake of the gospel--and in that sense, it is for their own good.

What I need the most, and what every pastor needs the most, is for people to take their invitation to assemble seriously. I give invitations with full awareness that not everyone I invite will be able to say "Yes," even if they really want to. What is most distressing is when an invitation is given and those who are invited simply ignore it. I have no desire to increase people's burdens or make people feel guilty.

What I do desire is to know that those who hear the invitation will think seriously about it and will consider making the kind of sacrifice the invitation may call for. Then, if the answer is "No," at least the effort will not be wasted.

XTRA YEARS OF ZEST FELLOWSHIP

Wednesday, November 9th. We will be studying chapter 12 in our Greatest Story study book, with Pastor Hill. At 12:30 p.m. we will have lunch, bring your own sandwich. Coffee, tea and dessert will be provided. We will be discussing plans for future activities. Last month on October 4th 13 of us celebrated Edie's special birthday (?) at the Sea Basin Restaurant.

We are looking forward to our Christmas luncheon on Wednesday, December 14th. We all bring a special food to share and, of course, a grab bag gift--cost no more than $10. Everyone is invited to join us. There will be a sign up sheet posted in November. Hope you will all plan to join us for an early Christmas celebration.