10/15/2023
Friends,
I am sad to announce that after more than two decades of ministry, Seeds of Hope Anglican Church will be celebrating its final service and dissolving as a congregation. We invite you to join us for a final celebration on Sunday November 19, 10am at 259 S Evaline Street. And there is a lot to celebrate! Seeds of Hope has lived out its name during every of its twenty-one years of ministry – sharing the good news, lifting up the lost, and scattering the fruits of God’s abundance throughout our city and the world. God is good!
We want to celebrate all that God has done through our congregation, its members and ministries, and we want to share this celebration with you. On November 19th, Bishop Alex Cameron will celebrate a final service. We will sing the Sanctus that only we sing, shout our hallelujahs like Byron taught us, and then gather for a potluck meal which might have far too many desserts, so bring more. Seeds has most always had more children than adults, so bring as many children as you can.
It is natural to ask what happened, and there are two stories to tell: The short one is that our members have always scattered just like the seeds in the parable to new and different ministries, and it is time for the rest of us to scatter as well. The long story begins with a congregation and ministry that changed over the years. The missional young adults living in community became young families, still with missional parents, but the mission was different. The services were still overflowing with children, but now their parents were present. At the end of 2019, our founding pastor, John Paul Chaney, announced his retirement, and his final service was two weeks before covid, who knew what was coming! Between the challenges of pandemic ministry, and an unsuccessful search for a new pastor, our numbers and energy shrunk. At Eastertime this year the congregation decided to explore merging or joining with another church, and most of our members will be joining Church of the Ascension in Oakland.
We want to give special thanks for our founding pastor John Paul Chaney, and his wife Marilyn, the fruits of their faithful service are abundant. And our two interim pastors: Peggy Means and David Ketter, who walked alongside us in joy and generosity. To the many volunteers and supporters who served and prayed and gave in many ways, you are a blessing. To the members past and present, we love you all. And for all of the children that God blessed us with, the thousands who walked through our doors over the years, what a joy!
Please join us to celebrate all that God has done. We could use some help with various tasks, please let me know if you are able to assist. There will be some opportunities to share photos or videos or stories, also reach out to me about that, especially testimony of God’s transformation in your own life.
At the end of it all, we are sad, but also joyful in God’s provision. There are so many things to say, and not the words to say them all. God is good yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Go forth into the world, sowing the seed of hope, Jesus Christ, in the hearts of many. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah!
Ryan England, Senior Warden
Seeds of Hope Anglican Church
P.S. we are not meeting regularly, so if you can’t attend on the 19th, there is not another Sunday that you can join us. Sorry!
P.P.S. Earthen Vessels Outreach is going strong and continuing in ministry. The renovation of Pacific Sanctuary is finished, and the new director John has been on the job for a little more than a year.
