We have reason to celebrate.  That is what we will do together at Tymor at ten on the twelfth.  It will be our fourth church picnic at Tymor and it will be the third celebration of our movement towards one church in multi site with the goal of planting 15 new faith communities in 15 years.

 This past week Mark baptized a guy from Malaysia, the first Christian in his family, who has been coming to Common Ground.  Common Ground also experienced its first wedding  this summer.  A number of our twenty something young adults from Hopewell are making Common Ground their primary worshipping community.

 Journey has lived into a mission far beyond what we could have asked or imagined in the ministry of Odyssey.  Another local church will be launching an Odyssey service with the help of HRC in October.  The 15 by 15 vision continues to spread.

 Worship numbers overall are up by about 6%.  In Gatherings we have seen a 10% increase from the year before.  Foundations has seen a drop in attendance from year to year, but continues to attract many new families as we celebrated 26 children, most close to the age of five, joining with their families in our spring new members group.

 Our income currently is tracking at a five percent increase year to year overall.  This is fantastic in an economy that is so weak and with so many of our own members struggling with job situations.

 People are living into our 167 vision in so many ways.  We are seeing people willing to serve as we paint the church and bless the community through CMP.  Kids Hope started up this year and Beds In the Name of Christ shared a good night sleep with many.

 This year at Tymor I will be beginning my thirteenth year at HRC.  I served Middlebush Reformed  in New Jersey twelve years before coming to Hopewell.  This starts new ground for me.  I am as excited about ministry here as I begin year 13 as I was as I began year one in 1998. Let us get together and celebrate because with our God we know that the best is always yet to come.

 In Christ,

 Taylor

 “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart”  (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

 I have had a C.S. Lewis summer.  Carol O’Malley loaned me a copy of The Great Courses lectures that featured Lewis’ writings and his life.  I had twelve hours of  Lewis on my drive to Michigan. This past Wednesday a group from the church went down to the city to see Max Mclean in Lewis’ Screwtape Letters.  Lewis is a theologian of pleasure and of longing.  He sees in pleasure the hand of God’s touch upon humanity with everything that is beautiful.  Our deepest joy points us to the even deeper joy that is at the center of creation and is “the serious business of heaven.”  Our deepest longings point us to our deepest needs.  We have a longing for eternity.  It is planted in our hearts.  For Lewis this speaks to us of the truth that we were made forever.

 As we come to the end of summer I hear again and again some variation on the phrase: “I can’t believe that summer is almost over,” or “this summer (or this life for that matter)” has just flown by.”  Those comments, for Lewis, point to a deeper truth- we were made for eternity and it is planted deep in our souls.  When we are surprised by how quickly time goes by we are really touching our deeper truth that we know we were made for forever.

 The Beach Boys sing of endless summer.  This side of eternity it is a nice song that seems to speak to the “real world” of getting back to business, school and work.  But the real world is but a mist that covers the reality of the kingdom of God.  We are meant forever and the Beach Boys song could be a hymn of faith that does not lament the end of summer, but the deeper joy of all that God intends.  I hope you had a good summer, but I know you will have a better forever.

 In Christ,

 Taylor

 I have been welcomed back from vacation by hundreds of kids having a blast under the tent.  It is VBS week at HRC.  A truly awesome week as intergenerational ministry comes together to touch lives of kids in our church and in our community.  I look at the future of our youth ministry as I see the eyes of these young children that very soon will be teenagers.

 Youth ministry at HRC kept me up some nights on my vacation.  I can always tell how deep I am into my vacation from what my dreams are.  When I stop having dreams about the church, I know I am in vacation mode.  I was thinking about youth ministry when I left.  I am thinking about youth ministry as I return, so I guess it is not a surprise that I dreamed about youth ministry on the shores of Lake Michigan.

 Our youth ministry is in transition.  As Randy Prentiss, our youth pastor, becomes more and more engaged with Arlington, we recognize that we are moving into some new territory.  This will lead to new directions in staffing and new structures for ministry.   The elders have had meetings with Randy and with Mark Mast in discussing how we move through these transitions.  These meetings will continue with youth leaders, kids and parents.

This much I know: our young people have had some fantastic mission experiences this summer in Mexico, the Dominican Republic,  FUGE and some local opportunities.  These experiences tie together the essentials of being a 167 Christian: worship, mission, and community.  We seek to develop these areas of our youth program in the coming year.  We have planned five ChristCare groups that will connect junior high and senior high young people to a deeper sense of community.  These will be led by youth and adults.  Mark Mast will be working with our youth ministry in areas of mission and taking some of the passion from mission around the world into a passion for mission in our backyard.  Finally, we seek to expand our youth worship, and intergenerational worship with more opportunities to connect our lives with God and each other. Lourdes and I will be working on this together. Sunday morning programming will become more important to the overall picture of youth ministry.  Many of the features of youth group will be brought to Sunday morning where components of worship, mission and community will be brought together.

  In this time of transition, I ask you to dream about youth ministry at HRC and communicate with me what some of your hopes are.  We will have the opportunity in the coming weeks for church leadership and for you to share with leadership what some of those dreams are.  We recognize that the times are a changin’, but we trust that God is doing something new that will continue to build on the history of life-changing youth ministry at HRC.                   

 Stay tuned!  Taylor

 Every time I drive by the Flatbush Reformed Church in Saugerties I will check out how my corner of the kingdom work is holding up to the wind and weather of Northern Ulster County.  Hopewell helped that struggling church put a face lift on its building.  That small church inspired us to do the same thing.  Starting next Saturday (July 31) you will have a chance to paint our corner of the kingdom on Clove Branch and Beekman Roads.  Instead of spending a ton of money hiring somebody to paint our building, we are putting 167 into practice and asking people to use some of those hours to paint our church.

Kevin Mulligan, a master painter from our church, will be volunteering his time for the next four or five Saturdays to guide the crews in what to do.  Norm Bell is erecting the scaffolding and collecting ladders for the work.  Flatbush Reformed Church in Saugerties will be blessing us with lunch on the first day of work (July 31) as a way to say thanks.  God even sent a guy who has been a roofer and a painter to the church this week.  He needs to get 210 hours of community service in before the end of August.  I said to him, “I think we can help you with that.”  (And this guy even knows Norm Bell.)  All the pieces are coming into place for this to be a great kingdom party at Hopewell.

I hope you will give some of your 167 hours in the weeks that follow to help.  We are hoping that twenty people come out each Saturday. Come with scrapers, sanders, paint brushes, and five gallon buckets to help out on the Saturdays through the end of August.  There will also be work through out the week if you get instructions from Kevin on what needs to be done.  If you don’t like to climb ladders or scaffolding you can bring lunch by on one of the Saturdays, or drop off a case of water for the workers at church.  There will be a need for people to clean up on the ground. Norm also needs some more ladders (28 feet or longer).

You can let me know you want to help by responding to this e-mail and letting me know when you can work, or by filling in the connection card on Sunday.  Whatever you would like to do will be a great help.  Every time you drive by this building on the corner of Beekman and Clove Branch, you can look up at your touch on the kingdom and check out how it is holding up.  Thank you for being a part of this party.

 In Christ,

 Taylor

 June 27 we were all together under the tent.   We had overflow conditions as many of our young people were standing, and others were seated on the wooden parking barriers that line our lot.  It was an awesome day.  It was the first time I experienced the joy of Odyssey.  There was excitement as prayers and songs, even preaching, was greeted with applause.  Somebody said to me, this must be what heaven feels like.  I agreed.  June 27^th ranked as one of the best worship experiences in my 24 years of ordained ministry, and beyond that to one of the greatest worship experiences of my life.  You can view Betsy Dommreis’ pictures of the day at: http://hopewellreformed.shutterfly.com/

 The reason we all got together was for the introduction of our ministry vision for the next three to five years.  We call this our 167 vision: We seek to be a 167 church, putting our faith into practice every hour of every day. Being a follower of Christ is not simply about an hour on Sunday, but a life lived every moment for the glory of God.   As we introduced this vision we talked about the process of transformation that helps people grow into 167 followers of Christ.  The process looks like this:

In the center is the sweet spot of 167 living. When the three areas of discipleship: worshipping, serving and growing are being engaged in fully, then the life we are called to live starts to take shape.

 We would like to hear your reactions and thoughts regarding this vision.  I hope you will take some time to reflect and write me in response to these three questions:

 1)What is your reaction to the 167 vision?

2)What implications does this have for our church?

3)What implications does this have for your life?

 I hope you will use one of your 168 hours this week to give some thought to this, and provide me with feedback by replying via an emailed response.

 Thank you for the taste of heaven.  Taylor

 This Sunday we begin a series titled “Women Who Changed the World.”  It will be launched by a woman who has changed my world, my mom.  When Sherri Hondorp and I first talked about this series, we said it would be nice to launch it with a preacher who is a woman.  We tossed out a couple of ideas and then I remembered that I had worked with my mom on a sermon about the woman at the tomb, and what a difference women had made in the proclamation of the gospel.  I have gotten more and more excited about her coming to Hopewell and I have reflected more and more on the difference that she has made working with women in the Reformed Church in America.

 In the 1970’s my mom traveled the country leading workshops for Reformed Church Women titled “Women in Leadership.”  It was a time of division on the role of women in the church, as the denomination was debating whether women should be ordained to office as elder, deacon or Minister of Word and Sacrament.  I have never heard my mom preach. She has been behind the scenes in many ways as the wife of a pastor; but here, in her four-score years of living, she will be honored in her own right for the difference that she has made.  Through her message she will honor the difference mothers and sisters have made for the gospel in this world. 

 From an introduction to the series this Sunday, we will  go in some interesting directions.  For the next four weeks we will be preaching on the four women who make it into Matthew’s lineage of Jesus: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba…interesting choices to have named in the family tree.  After that we will go to four women of the New Testament whose lives were touched by Jesus.  Along the way we will consider some of the roles of women in biblical times and consider how that translates to our day.  It has caused some controversy and we will look at some of the arguments and understanding.

 I am excited by this series, not just because my mom is preaching, but for my daughters and for the daughters of this church. I want to hold up the vision that they are called to be world changers for Christ and that the church is a place where all are called to proclaim Good News in everything that we do.

 I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters,  by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual  worship.  (Romans 12:1)

 This Sunday, June 27, at 10 AM under the tent at Hopewell all six of our worshipping communities will be introduced to our 167 Vision which states: We seek to be a 167 church, putting our faith into practice every hour of every day. Being a follower of Christ is not simply about an hour on Sunday, but a life lived every moment for the glory of God.

 Mike Reynolds will begin the message and he is going to tell you: “167 Living was my idea.”   Much like the Windows 7 commercial, you can picture Mike dreaming mid-sermon one Sunday:  “How do I put this into practice, not just one hour on Sunday, but every hour of every day?”  167 Living was born, but the goal of the vision is that every follower of Christ will end up saying: “167Living is my idea” because the way we live this is applied to every life by every individual follower of Christ.  We hope to have over four hundred people worshipping together on Sunday and the challenge is for everyone who is present to scratch their head and say: “How do I live this every moment of every day.”

 The truth is 167 Living is God’s idea (sorry Mike).  Paul makes the plea for every Christian to present their bodies as a living sacrifice, that is our spiritual worship.  Worship is not for an hour in the tent, or an hour in the sanctuary. It is a life lived fully surrendered to God’s purpose in everything we do.  Jesus says the law is summed up simply with the call to love God with everything that you have and are, and love your neighbor as yourself.  That sounds like 167 Living to me.

 We will explore this from up front on Sunday, as well as in small groups after fellowship time.  I ask you to invest from 10 AM to 12:15 PM Sunday to explore with others what 167 Living may be for your life.  We will have music groups from most of our services represented:  Glory Bound, the Odyssey Choir, the Chancel Choir and Elev8 will all participate.  Park at Croniser lot if you are able so we will have plenty of parking for those with special needs and those that are new to Hopewell and may not know where Croniser is.  It will be a great day.  I have been looking forward to this all my life.

 In Christ,   

Taylor

 Last Sunday I stood in front of the church and noticed how many people were not singing.  I mean not opening a hymnbook or bluffing the words, just checked out for that moment of worship until we sat down.  Do you sing?  Does it matter?

 As we come to music Sunday I thought about that.  As a culture, music is probably more a part of our lives than ever.  We listen to music, but I think fewer people play musical instruments and fewer people learn how to read music and sing.  Fewer people sing in worship. 

 Is anything at stake for the church in this?  Is anything at stake for our spiritual lives?

John Calvin says: “He who sings prays twice.”  Song gives flight to our prayers.  I know for most Protestants our theology is learned in our hymns as much as anything else.  The picture of heaven in Revelation is a scene of singing praise to God.  We will be singing forever. 

 The role of the choir and musicians in church is to lead the people of God in singing in worship.  How many of us have been taken to another place as the choir, the band, or special musicians, in tune with the spirit, inspire us to lift our voices and hearts to heaven.  When words need wings, we sing. 

 This Sunday we celebrate all who have given so much of their time and talent to leading us in worship through music.  We will feature our musicians and celebrate their contributions.  There will be less talking and more singing.  I hope you sing.

 Yours in Tune,

 Taylor

 “Christianity is always one generation away from extinction”

 “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that lived first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, lives in you.”  (2 Timothy 1:5)

Elder Matt Williams said on Tuesday night: “I wish everybody in the church could hear what I have just heard.”  He was speaking about the confessions of faith shared by fifteen young people in our confirmation group.  In powerful ways they testified to what Christ has done in their lives and how they have grown in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.  They were introduced by their mentors and shared their credos.  It was a truly holy moment as I was a part of seeing the Christian baton being passed to a new generation.

I reflected on these stories of transformation and heard similar themes to other transformation stories.  I heard of the importance of mission, worship and of small groups in changing lives, coupled with the patience of parents and mentors who helped guide relationships of faith. 

Sunday morning a few of the confirmands and mentors will have a chance to share their story.  Sunday night all of them will share and you can experience what Matt hoped for.  It will be a joy to hear them confess that Christ is their Lord and Savior and see them received into the fellowship at Hopewell.

Here’s to the next generation:

Jenna Lynn Argyle                                                     Timothy Alden Berger

Amy Eustace                                                              Amanda Linn Friedemann

Sawyer Madison Georg                                              Shannon Herrmann

Meghan Mary Lynch                                                  Carlton J. MacKay    

Annalise Lynn Maillet                                               Christine Ross                                   

Jake R. Sagle                                                              Skya Catherine Stark             

Clare Viau                                                                  Julianna Leigh Zammikiel

Ariana-Jade Marie Zannelli

 I hope you will join them in dancing with joy this Sunday.

 Taylor

 This Sunday we will have a guest preacher.  He is Doug Leonard.  Doug is a pastor friend of mine whom I worked with as a coach for a couple of years.  He is taking a new position with the Reformed Church in America as a missionary in Oman.  He will be working in the area of Christian-Muslim relationships at the Al Amana Centre in Muscat Oman.  God has already provided him with some amazing stories in his work.  The RCA has had a presence in the Gulf of Oman well before 9/11.  In fact, that presence goes back to 1893 when the RCA established Oman’s first hospital. 

 Doug will continue with a century old partnership that is now more timely than ever.  As relationships between Christians and Muslims are strained and blowing up voices of coexistence and understanding are needed.  One of the unique things about missionaries in the RCA is that we have track records around the world that allow us to enter where others have doors blocked.

 I hope you will be present on this Memorial Day Sunday when, as a country, we remember the cost in lives of service of those who died serving our country.  It is a great Sunday to pray for peace and the healing of the nations.  Doug will do a great job of giving us a vision for how we can understand Muslim culture and share the hope of the gospel in the Gulf.

 He will stay after the second service for questions and answers.  It will be a day of education, inspiration and hope as we remember those who have died and commit ourselves to living together closer to the vision that God has for all of us.

 Yours in Shalom,

 Taylor