 Hope 08 is a national initiative with the bold aim of changing our country.
Christians in every village, town and city are invited to join together to bring the gospel of hope into the communities where they live and work.
Here in York, our desire is to bring lasting change to our city; so working with other Christians through One Voice (www.onevoiceyork.org.uk) we will be launching a series of initiatives to proclaim the message of hope in words and actions. Some of these events will be large, such as the launch in York Minster on 31 December 2007, most of what we do will be small acts of service and outreach.
What all these events will have in common is the aim of bringing hope in Jesus Christ and lasting change into people's lives.
Hope 08 is not prescriptive, although there are plenty of ideas for ways we can all get invoved on the Hope 08 website (www.hope08.com). Also, there is no central controlling organisation, but every opportunity to share ideas and for everyone to catch the vision.
It is all too easy for us to launch staright into thinking of events and activities we would like to see happen. Hope 08 is not jsut about one off events but creating a long lasting impact of the gospel in our communities.
Prayer
Naturally Hope 08 has been built on a strong prayer foundation with 2007 being designated a year of prayer and preparation. The starting place for us at St Michaels as we prepare for Hope 08 is to be prayer.
What are our hopes, dreams and expectations for what God is going to do?
What sort of community does God want us to be at the end of 2008 and into the following years?
How are we going to be involved, with others, in bringing hope into the community where we live and work?
As we pray, various themes will emerge which will then be distilled into an outline strategy for St Michael's involvement in Hope 08. Even this will not be prescriptive but an invitation for everyone to participate in this exciting and transforming adventure.
So, please pray and together we will hear what God wants to do in and through us as we bring hope to York.
Information
During this time of prayer and preparation we would like to hear from everyone, about ways in which you would like to be involved and how you feel a a church we could respond to this challenge. Please contact Chris Hayes (St Michael's Hope 08 Co-ordinator) via the Parish Centre (01904 624190) or email:
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
What we do 