Dungog Anglican Church Reverend Kimbalee Hodges asked her parishioners what the term ‘hope’ meant to them.
Their responses were varied.
“I live in hope. Hope in Jesus, hope that I can always rely on him.”
“Hope is my family and friends.”
“Hope is the good deal: ‘zero dollars for eternal life’.”
“A positive attitude that things are going to turn out okay.”
“Hope for healing.”
“Hope that things can change and that you can change yourself.”
“Hope for time to appreciate life and smell the roses.”
“Hope there is always good friends.”
The exercise taught Reverend Kimbalee that hope is not only respective, but also an invaluable asset.
“All around us we are faced with uncertainties – rising costs of living, the housing crisis, wars and rumours of wars, family violence, mental health epidemics, instability, and fear,” Reverend Kimbalee says.
“Our world needs hope. Hope25 is an intentional season of sharing hope in Jesus.
“In the church, we have seasons. There is a season called Lent and, during Lent, that’s 40 days, we usually have a time of preparation.
“In this case, we’re going to prepare for Hope25 which will take place between Easter and Pentecost.”
During this time, parishioners are being encouraged to do something in their church or in their community to share the hope they have in Jesus.
“In our parish, we’re looking at doing a couple of things,” Kimbalee explains.
“We’ll do a little teaching series in the church about hope, and I’d like to try and get some people to share their stories of being Christian.
“Things like why they come to church, and when they first learnt about God.
“Some of our parishioners have been coming since they were children and are now in their 90s and have not stopped. There are all those stories.”
Reverend Kimbalee is also planning to host a community lunch at Dungog Anglican Church, inviting the community to attend and share a meal and activities with parishioners.
“We’ve got such big grounds here, we’re going to have a market day, with different stalls and activities, so people can make their way around, get some food, and just be part of a hopeful proclamation,” she says.
“We’re going to talk to people about hope and Jesus at that event.”
The Dungog parishioners are also planning to offer a tangible element, with plans to distribute postcards sharing messages of hope, together with church times.
“We’re big on invitational ministry here,” Reverend Kimbalee says.
“But in saying that, we’re also communicating to a secular world, so I would like to find out what hope means to our community and then bring Jesus into people’s lives.
“It’s important to know that our lives are not meaningless, and that we have meaning to God, and that there is a resurrection, and that Jesus offers hope to a world that’s hurting.”
