Living in Hope

I was in a meeting this week when one person - soft-spoken but convinced - named the latest political trend and painted it in dark colours. The conversation, which had begun with a dozen small, ordinary voices, shifted. Words tightened. A gray weight settled over the room. Before long, the air tasted of worry: lists of grievances, quick judgments, the kind of talk that pulls people into the same small, anxious orbit. Then someone asked about the weather, and it broke the spell. The moment reminded me how easily despair can swell - and how easily it can be softened when we choose otherwise.

There is another way to live in anxious, divided times: we can live with hope. 

At St. Philip’s, that’s not just a slogan. It’s the ground we stand on and the story we intend to tell. To be for something - to say yes to generosity, to healing, to neighbourliness - feels far more faithful and fruitful than standing forever against the things that frighten us.

One of the great gifts God gives us is freedom of choice. Those choices shape who we become, and they shape who we become together. A congregation that chooses hope makes a different kind of sound in the world: not naive, not indifferent to hardship, but steady, creative, and engaged.

Negativity rarely builds anything worth keeping. Complaints and cynicism provide cover - an easy retreat where it feels safe to judge instead of to act. Poet Christian Wiman says, “cynicism is a small refuge of superiority, a way to avoid responsibility”. 

Apostle Paul reminds us of another truth: “In [Jesus Christ] every one of God’s promises is a ‘Yes’” (2 Cor. 1:20). That “Yes” is the kernel of hope - the force that creates, repairs, and makes a future.

Hope is not pretending everything is fine. It is choosing to walk toward the future we want and to help build it with the people around us. At St. Philip’s, we want to do that with you.

Please join us for a Lunch and Learn on September 28 after worship to hear how we plan to build a hopeful future and how you can be part of it. Your presence and support help keep our community a place that says “Yes” to life, to love, and to what’s possible. 

Thank you for walking toward that future with us.