October 1, 2021

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Upcoming Events

Memorial Service for Judy Kietzman

October 4th at 10:30am at Hope Central Campus

Annual Church Picnic

October 8th from 4:00pm to 6:00pm at Hope Central Campus

Blessing of the Animals

October 9th at 8:30am to 11:00am at Hope Central Campus

Angel Tree Volunteer Meeting

October 11th at 9:30am to 10:30am at Hope Central Campus

Men of Hope Breakfast

October 14th at 8:00am at Hope Central Campus

To access the full calendar, click here!

H.O.P.E. University Cancelled For This Week

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H.O.P.E. University has been cancelled for this Wednesday, October 6th.


Updates about the current H.O.P.E. University series will be announced weekly. Please stay tuned to your Digital News in the Pews and the Pastors’ weekend announcements for information.


We will keep you updated on all upcoming H.O.P.E. University opportunities, including exciting new classes throughout the fall.


Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Mark Your Calendar for October 8th & 9th

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2021 Annual Churchwide Picnic at Hope Lutheran


Friday, October 8th from 4:00pm to 6:00pm


It’s almost time for the annual churchwide picnic at Hope Central Campus!


We will be “under the tent” in the Central parking lot on the Fairway Christian side! Tables and chairs are provided.



Your Oktoberfest meal includes the following:

  • Burger, cheeseburgers with all the fixin’s
  • Bratwurst with choice of sauerkraut and trimmings
  • German potato salad
  • Assorted chips
  • Large soft pretzels with beer cheese and/or spicy mustard
  • Apple struedel or Bavarian cream eclairs


Registration is available online! Use the button below to register!

Click Here to Register

Difficulty registering? If you need help reserving your online ticket, please visit the church office and we will assist you.


Registration ends 6:00am on Monday, October 4th. There will be a nominal cost of $5 per person. No payment will be accepted after the registration deadline.

 

Reservations are not available by telephone.


If you would like to help set up or serve at the picnic, we still need volunteers! Contact Debbie Bennett at debbie@hope4all.church.

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Blessing of the Animals at Hope Lutheran Church


Saturday, October 9th from 8:30am to 11:00am


Pet registration begins at 8:30am. The blessing will begin at 10:00am.


There will be opportunities for photos with your pets! Vendors will also be on site. On the day of the event, we will be accepting donations of dog and cat food to be distributed by the Hope Lake Weir Campus Food Pantry. Cash donations will benefit YOUR Humane Society SPCA.


Cookie Donations


This year, we will also be accepting cookie donations. Cookie donations will be accepted starting Wednesday, October 6th through Friday, October 8th. Please drop them off at the front desk at Hope Central Campus during office hours, 8:00am to 4:00pm. Cookies must be in Ziploc baggies. We won't be able to accept dishes.


Important Safety Tips:


Most pets are welcome (sorry, no snakes)! All pets must be on a leash or in a carrier.


Please make sure your pet is current on vaccinations.


Invite Your Friends:


The yearly Blessing of the Animals is a great way to invite your animal-loving friends to enjoy your church in a casual way.


Know someone with a pet who could benefit from a new church experience? Be the connection and invite them to join you!

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Men of Hope Monthly Breakfast Prayer Meeting

Thursday, October 14th at 8:00am


Please reserve your place online before Monday, October 12th.


Please also register a friend you are bringing.


Doors open at 7:45am. Breakfast is served at 8:00am. Donation is $7 at the door.


Menu: Belgian Waffles with syrup, choice of cinnamon apple or blueberry topping, Sausage links, Home fries, Eggs, Yogurt, and Assorted pastries.


Reserve the second Thursday of every month through November on your calendar for future Men of Hope Breakfast Meetings.

Click Here to Register
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New Member Orientation


Calling all folks who have become members recently or plan to become members of Hope! We are excited that you have decided to make Hope Lutheran your church home and want to celebrate with you.


You are invited to take the next step of your membership process at our next New Member Orientation Breakfast on Saturday, October 23rd from 9:00am to 11:00am at Hope Central Campus. This is also the weekend you will be received by the congregation.


Orientation will include a light breakfast, new member photos, and a chance to meet pastors and office staff, as well as the opportunity to learn about fellowship and ministry groups.


Please RSVP to the church office by Friday October 15th, 2021.


In addition to this message, you also should have received a phone call or email from our church office inviting you to the orientation. If you did not, it may mean that we do not have your information on our list. If you joined Hope recently and did not receive a invitation, or if you have any questions, please contact the church office at

(352) 750-2321 or email Jeff at jeff@hope4all.church.

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Southern Congregation Social Night


Do you worship at Hope at the Everglades Rec Center or live in the southern Villages?


There is a social group meeting regularly at Everglades Rec Center on the second Tuesday of every month from 6:00pm to 9:00pm, beginning October 12th. There will be a special meet-and-greet on October 12th for anyone interested.


In the past, this group has hosted game nights, potlucks, cards, and Mexican Train, as well as fun ice cream socials! Similar events are starting again soon.


For more information, please contact Jane Stephens at jstephensrn@aol.com.

Council Connections: September 21, 2021 Council Meeting

 

Greetings and Blessings from your Council.


Click on the attached link to check out a summary of the September Council meeting minutes.


Remember full Council minutes are on file in the church office (after they are approved). September minutes will be approved on October 19, 2021.

 

Feel free to contact any Council Member if you have questions or concerns – we are representing YOU!



Pam Fenn

Council Secretary

Click Here to View

Disciples' Faith Grows


How does your faith grow? As we planned for our stewardship campaign for 2022, we wanted our theme to be something that reflects us as a congregation. As we move forward over the coming weeks, you will see and hear from members of our congregation about how, as Disciples’, our faith is ever growing. We will share stories of our growing faith and how we are giving back to God what He has given to us. It is through your support that we continue growing our Faith within our congregation, community and outside our area for the next year.


Each week we will focus on another aspect of the ways Disciples’ Faith Grows until Commitment Weekend on November 6th & 7th. Please join us as we look at how we are continuing to grow our faith. And think about how you are growing your Faith…

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World Mission Prayer League Update


Thank you Hope Lutheran Church for your partnership in God’s mission through the World Mission Prayer League. The World Mission Prayer League (WMPL) is a Lutheran Community, committed to know Christ, pray for the advancement of His Kingdom and share the Gospel and us with those who do not know Him.


There are 91 Global Workers (missionaries) serving in 15 different countries around the world. The reason for mission is the harvest field that is ready and ripe. The WMPL is called to focus on Unreached People Groups (UPG)--especially those who have limited or no access to the Gospel. There are 17,070 People Groups (different language, ethnic group) in the world, 7,098 People Groups are Unreached. 


The call for the WMPL is to pray for the Unreached People groups that they may hear the Good News of Jesus Christ and receive abundant life which is possible only through the Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. The WMPL is called to share with the Body of Christ this urgent need and invite them to pray and we as a fellowship we are called to go, go to the ends of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6, Acts:13:47 and Romans 9:16-18)

Stories from the Hope Lake Weir Campus Food Pantry

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Every week, we meet many special individuals who visit our Hope Lake Weir Campus Food Pantry. Here is just one story of how our church is impacting our community.


One morning before the food pantry opened, our memorial garden was being attended to and a couple drove up and got out of their car to look around. When in conversation, the couple shared that our church is a special place. They said, “The people here really care about you.” The wife had undergone chemotherapy and she shared with P. Bruce that she could feel our healing prayers.


Thank you for all you do to share the Christ with our neighbors, and thank you for your continued generous support of the Food Pantry!

GET FIT - Try Chair Yoga and/or Walking


If you would like a nice, quiet meditative start to the day and an opportunity to gain more strength and flexibility, please join us on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for Chair Yoga in room 204 from 9:00am to 10:00am at Hope Central Campus. If you have any questions contact Gracia Luoma at (330) 752-3323 or galuoma@aol.com.


If you want something more aerobic try “Walk Away the Pounds” (WATP) in the Fellowship Hall (Central Campus) on Mon., Wed., Fri. from 8:00am to 9:00am. Please direct any questions to Ginny Wilson at (352) 430-3326 or Randy572@msn.com.


Starting on October 11th at Hope Lake Weir Campus, we will also offer a walking class called “Walk 2 Be Fit” (W2BF) on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:00am to 10:00am. Contact Gracia for more information.

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On Our Own Resumes Meeting & Collections


Hope’s On Our Own group has re-started and is meeting on the second Wednesday of every month in the Fellowship Hall at Hope Central Campus beginning at 10:30am. All singles, widows, widowers, or caregivers are welcome and encouraged to join us. We try to have a program at each meeting, and also gather for activities outside the church when available.


We have also resumed our “Snack Pack” program, delivering 80 gallon-size zipper bags filled with food to school children at Stanton-Weirsdale Elementary School every month. The school gives the bags to needy children on Fridays, so that they have food over the weekend. We welcome donations of small food items (I.e. individual size pudding, applesauce, cookies, cheese crackers, Vienna sausages, Pop-tarts and raisins, as well as small jars of peanut butter and jelly {no glass jars permitted}). Of course, monetary donations are always welcome, if you prefer to have us do the shopping.


Please contact Ginny Wilson at (352) 430-3326 or randy572@msn.com with any questions.

An Exciting Message from Dennis Kienitz

Let me introduce myself to those of you who may not know me. My name is Dennis Kienitz and I serve Hope Lutheran Church as Director of the SCB, as well as song leader and Director at the Hope Lake Weir campus. Before retiring and settling in The Villages, I was a high school choral director and also served St. Paul Lutheran Church in Michigan City, IN as Director of Music for 35 years. I have been honored to continue serve here at Hope for the last three years.


I want to take this opportunity to share with you a recent activity that I was blessed to be able to participate in. I recently attended the 2021 Experience Conference at the Coronado Springs Resort Convention Center in Orlando. The Experience Conference is a worship conference created by worshippers for worshippers. Scores of leaders from around the country and across denominational lines gather each year at the Experience Conference. We actually had some people at the Conference this year from Russia. It is one of the largest creative arts and worship conferences in America. It allowed us to connect in community with one another, get equipped with key resources, and become empowered to see how God might use us to spread His word.  


All the newest developments in hardware, software, music, worship, etc. were introduced to us, and numerous workshops helped us to develop ideas on how we might implement some of these things to enhance our worship here at Hope. It was so inspiring to sit in worship with musicians, song leaders, worship leaders and composers and be surrounded by the harmonies lifted in praise to God.


I want to offer my sincere thanks to all those volunteers who lend their voices and time to our worship here at Hope, and also to the congregation for supporting me in activities like this Conference. I look forward to using this experience to introduce new ways “To Know Christ and to Make Christ Known”.

 

God Bless You All,

Dennis

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Angel Tree Volunteers Needed


It is once again time to begin thinking about volunteering during our Christmas Angel Tree Drive! The Angel Tree Team will need roughly ten volunteers spread throughout our three Hope campuses on November 13th and 14th to assign angels. We estimate we will need 6 volunteers for Hope Central Campus and 2 volunteers at both Hope Lake Weir Campus and Hope at Everglades.

 

We will also need between 10 to 12 volunteers for the weekend of December 11th and 12th to receive gifts at all three campuses.


There will be a Volunteer Meeting on October 11th at 9:30am to 10:30am at Hope Central Campus regarding the Angel tree and operations. To sign up, or if you have any questions, please contact Lenea Carnes at lenea@hope4all.church or Gloria Johnson at gigi529ga@gmail.com.

Wednesday Evening

Prayer Bulletin

Hope is excited to offer Wednesday Evening Prayer, also known as Vespers, every Wednesday at 6:00pm at Hope Central Campus.


Our Evening Prayer is a quiet, meditative way to end your day and bring peace to the middle of your week. The Wednesday Evening Prayer bulletin for this week is now available!

Click Here to Access the Bulletin

Faith & Fellowship


Faith & Fellowship has returned to in-person gathering every Monday at 9:30am at Hope Central Campus. The Zoom link is also active, so those who cannot attend in person can use the link below to join the conversations online.


Meeting ID: 952 5901 4615.


Join by phone: (929) 205-6099.


ID: 95259014615# 

Click Here to Access the Zoom Link

Worship Attendance for September 25-26, 2021

Central Campus:

4:00pm = 157

6:00pm = 47

8:00am = 118

10:00am = 244

Lake Weir Campus:

10:00am = 61

Everglades Rec Center:

8:00am = 55

10:00am = 63

Scripture Reading for

October 2-3


Exodus 2:23-25; 3:1-15

John 8:54-59

Scripture Reading for

October 9-10


Exodus 16:1-18

John 6:44-51

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