The Church We Hope For

Home
United States
Pasadena, CA
The Church We Hope For

We are a beloved community moved by the Spirit to follow the life, love, and justice of Jesus. But that didn’t stop this church plant from moving forward.

Not long after we met a couple of times the world experienced and continues to experience the COVID-19 global pandemic which caused us to put our in-person gatherings on pause indefinitely. Seven core families began meeting faithfully every week from May to September 2020 to pray for one another and the birthing of this church. On Sept. 13, 2020, we extended an open invitation for others to join u

s in our Zoom Living Rooms. After meeting online for a year we started meeting on Sunday afternoons at a rented church space in Pasadena, CA. As of October 1, 2023, we meet on Sunday afternoons at 4:00 PM at Pasadena Church of the Brethren located at 1041 N. Altadena Drive in Pasadena. The church we hope for is the telling of our story of hope. As we sit side by side and invite our Lord to lead us. We’ll let you in on the journey. And as we discover new steps along the way, we’ll pass them on here. Join us in this story of hope. And walk with us. We don’t wanna go alone. We’re not looking for followers. We’re hoping for friends. And fellow journeyers. Those who still have hope for the church. Those who long to see hope rise again.

05/24/2026

Happy Pentecost Sunday familia. 🌬️🔥🕊️

Artwork by Pastor Armando. Originally published with

04/22/2026

Happy Earth Day familia! 🌎

At The Church We Hope For, we believe that creation is a faithful teacher, always revealing the goodness of Creator. We believe that the sacred earth is a mother, nurturing all its creatures, lands and mysteries, sharing her sacred wisdom with us. We remember that we were created by Creator from Earth’s sacred dirt. 🤎🌱

Enjoy this poem from our very own , titled, Progeny of Dirt.

- -

i

To run down the sidewalk at 8 years old
in a red coat that hadn’t been worn for two seasons
too snug because I delighted in new cold air,
55 degrees: winter’s endorsement of welcomed change.

The neighbor boy with a bowl cut came outside
and asked if I was okay, he was confused,
thought I was strange or in trouble.
I was in wind, I made my own and she agreed as I ran,
my ears whistling as proof of the dance.

ii

To relive the wonder of the was at 36
in a rare September Los Angeles rain.
I walk outside barefoot, inhale the mystical petrichor,
run back in the house to open every window

announce it to every family member
with the fervor of an evangelist.
They startle behind their screens,
gratuitous chuckles, eyes not meeting mine,
I don’t care, I run to the porch.

iii

To be in and of rain
air as young as a newborn
I am of sphere
therefore I am
stamen wasp
I am thunder water silt
I am the season the body
muscular delicate
changes and yet does not

mycorrhiza my capillaries
blooms my ovaries
wind my pulse
I lay in soil
the covenant of mud
you all can scroll and click
grit your teeth on the grid
my body miry clay
now I know who I am:

progeny of dirt

04/05/2026

Today, we celebrate the moment that changed everything, which was first entrusted to the eyewitness testimony of Jesus’ women disciples: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others, who were the first to herald the message of resurrection to the world! 👉🏽 In this tradition, Pastor .patton will stand on their shoulders to preach the significance of the Easter story!

👉🏽 We are also planning a fun program and egg hunt for our Pre-K and Elementary age kids. 🩷💚💛🩵🧡💜

👉🏽 In addition, we are curating a wonderful liturgy that will conclude with delicious Palestinian appetizers provided by , a local Palestinian food vendor owned and operated by Khitab, a local Palestinian mother and Chef. This is an intentional act of interfaith solidarity with our Muslim siblings during their observance of Ramadan, which falls on Easter this year. So come ready to partake in our beloved resurrection table! 😋

👉🏽 Easter Sunday April 5th at 4pm

03/30/2026

We invite you, your friends, and your family to join us as we gather to celebrate the resurrected life of Jesus, who conquered sin, death, and the grave!

This moment that changed the everything was first entrusted to the eyewitness testimony of Jesus’ women disciples: Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others, who were the first to herald the message of resurrection to the world! In this tradition, Pastor Nicola (.patton) will stand on their shoulders to preach the significance of the Easter story! 👉🏽 We are also planning a fun program and egg hunt for our Pre-K and Elementary age kids.

👉🏽 Easter Sunday April 5th at 4pm

In addition, we are curating a wonderful liturgy that will include delicious Palestinian/Middle Eastern appetizers as we hold interfaith solidarity with our Muslim siblings during their observance of Ramadan, which falls on Easter this year. 😋

03/28/2026

Join us for a contemplative liturgy of sight, sound, and solidarity as we center a table of remembrance and reflect on the cross of Jesus. Our Good Friday Observance will be a Tenebrae-style service, exploring verbal, visual, and musical meditations centering the six occasions in the Gospels where Jesus either implicitly or explicitly reveals that he will be crucified before fully confronting this grim reality on Golgotha’s hill.

This gathering is inspired by Pastor Armando’s () Lenten art exhibit, Seven Crosses, in collaboration with Pianist/Conductor, Jennifer Oikawa (), who will be composing, curating and performing musical vignettes throughout this liturgy.

April 3rd at 6:30pm

We invite you to come early to quietly view this work exhibited on both sides of our sanctuary. Doors will open at 6pm.

03/25/2026

During Lent we have exhibited this visual homily created by Pastor Armando to help es**rt us towards the Cross of Christ by reflecting on moments when Jesus self-reveals this unfathomable fate to his followers. Pastor Armando writes,

“The Cross was never meant to be revered as sacred object; it symbolized extreme humiliation and torture, used to execute those who dared to defy the formidable Roman Empire. They were weapons of public psychological warfare, erected to intimidate and coerce oppressed onlookers into obedience. Imagine it as a colossal billboard along a bustling Los Angeles freeway, boldly asserting this message: “Obey or Else!” overlaying a picture of an electric chair.

For Ancient Rome, the purpose was unmistakable: the cross was perfected as a stern warning to those who opposed Caesar’s rule and reign. Long before Jesus of Nazareth was unjustly crucified, thousands were executed on a Roman cross. It was so common that it is likely many Jews living in ancient Palestine during the first century would have witnessed this at one point in their lives.

So you can imagine the disorientation and shock that would emerge every time Jesus disclosed to his disciples and followers that there would come a time when he would face the disgraceful end of a Roman cross. Yet, we discover six occasions in the Gospels where Jesus either implicitly or explicitly reveals that he will be crucified before fully confronting that grim reality on Golgotha’s hill. Each of these moments was marked by uncertainty, hesitation, confusion, rejection, fear, cruelty, and mystery.”

👉🏽Invitation: As you sit with each cross, word, and scripture, take a moment to ask yourself, What am I noticing and what might it mean? Where might the Spirit bring awareness, discomfort, curiosity, grief, agitation, surprise, or epiphany? Pay attention to what might arise in your heart and sit with it.

👉🏽👉🏽As we continue walk towards Holy Week, we will return to these seven crosses for our Good Friday Observance, a liturgy of sight and sound.

: April 3rd • 6:30pm-7:30pm

03/06/2026

Here is a little (behind the scene not the band 🫶🏽) from our Lunar New Year celebration. What a gift it was to center and celebrate the provision of a new year together! ✨🥟😍🔥🐴🧧✨

We are so thankful to all who joined us and contributed on Sunday. We were so amazed by the volunteers who spent hours and hours getting things ready and then the beauty of it all coming together. We left with full hearts and tummies! 😍😋

Special thank you for the words, wisdom, testimonios, poetic blessings from our dear siblings , , and . 🤎

03/05/2026

Last Sunday, we celebrated the Lunar New Year by communally making dumplings 👉🏽but before that, we gathered for our food prep party. We washed, chopped, diced, cooked, drained, mixed, and taste-tested our pork and vegetable filling. 🔪🥒🧅🥬😍

It was such a blessing! We are grateful to have participated in the ancestral and familial love, along with the hard work that goes into preparing each dumpling. 🥟🥟🥟

We are so thankful to all who joined us last Saturday.

Enjoy these photographs of the team behind that delicious filling.

02/12/2026

We are thrilled to welcome our new Pastoral Intern, Jasmine El-Tini, who will be joining us for the next nine months! Jasmine will be our second Apprentice as we collaborate with Fuller Seminary to create a safe and supportive learning environment for developing emerging faith leaders. Our goal is to foster an atmosphere of leadership formation, and we thankful for students eager to engage with us as they explore Creator’s calling in their lives. Here’s a brief introduction to Jasmine in her own words. 👇🏽

“Hi everyone! My name is Jasmine El-Tini, and I am excited to be joining the team as a Pastoral Intern. I am currently studying at Fuller Seminary for my Master of Divinity and have been a part of the church since I moved to Pasadena in September 2024. I grew up in Oregon, but it was a four-year stint in England, working in international student ministry, that led me to want to do pastoral ministry and study theology. Outside my studies, you will probably find me at a coffee shop, reading, writing, and taking photos. I am excited to be learning from our pastoral team and getting to know our familia better through this internship. One thing I am hoping for during this time is to create poetry and write with you, where our play through words are spaces of joy and restoration.”

Please welcome Jasmine in person as we officially introduce her this Sunday! We look forward to all that Jasmine will contribute to our pastoral team and how she will partner with our beloved familia. 🤎

02/04/2026

‼️ Sunday, February 8th is a Sabbath Sunday. ‼️

As you know, our church regularly practices communal rhythms for margin and rest. This is an intentional spiritual practice for us, as we imitate our Creator and resist the ongoing hustle. 👉🏾 So may your body feel the holy invitation to rest and restore, by sitting under a tree, reading a book, grabbing a meal with a neighbor or by dancing with Benito during the halftime show! 🐰🫶🏽🏈

So whether you are alone or in community, may you find good rest and renewal.

01/09/2026

🎉We have something new to share with you! 🥳👉🏽 With immense gratitude and excitement, we are thrilled to unveil our new brand identity! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

This past Sunday, Pastor Armando () revealed the new logo that he designed and provided a brief overview of the thoughtful and communal branding process that he has been guiding our leadership team through this past year. If you weren’t able to catch it, you can view the presentation via the link in our BIO. 🔗

We are eager to embrace our story as The Church We Hope For with this new visual identity, which draws deep inspiration from who we are and who we are always hoping to become. 🙏🏽

👉🏽Join us every Sunday at 4 PM and experience a Beloved Community, moved by the Spirit to follow the life, love, and justice of Jesus. In the meantime, whatcha think!?

Address

Pasadena, CA
91101–91110, 91114–91118, 91121, 91123–91126, 91129, 91182, 91184, 91185,

Website

https://thechurchwehopefor.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Church We Hope For posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Want your place of worship to be the top-listed Place Of Worship in Pasadena?