EVENTS
CHURCH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION AT BOULDER BEACH JULY 2
Posted 06/07/2023
By Susan Thompson
Lake Panorama Times
It was May 16, 2021, when the first official Lutheran Church of Hope Local Panora church service was held in the basement of The Port. More than 80 people attended that first Sunday morning service. On July 4, 2021, an outdoor service at Boulder Beach was attended by 200 people. Today, about 60 people attend the weekly Sunday morning service, with that number increasing in the summer months.
To celebrate the church’s second anniversary, a free Taste of Hope Local Panora event will be at Boulder Beach Sunday, July 2.
First on the agenda will be family-friendly activities and games for all ages, from 3-5 p.m. This will include face painting, temporary tattoos, giant bubble wands, and several outdoor games such as corn hole, Jenga and Connect 4. Basketballs and pickleball paddles and balls for use at the sports courts will be available, or people are welcome to bring their own. Beach volleyball also will be an option.
A worship service will be 5-6 p.m., with a live band. Sandwiches, chips, cookies and bottled water will be served at 6 p.m. A free concert by RetroGold will begin at 6:45 p.m. and run until 9 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or anchor their boat offshore.
Most members of RetroGold play, and several are on staff, at the Lutheran Church of Hope campuses in the Des Moines area, in addition to playing in this band for special events.
Formed in 2020, the Des Moines band has made a name for itself by delivering unforgettable performances at weddings, corporate events, festivals and private concerts. Their repertoire of Top 40 hits ranges from the 1990s to present day. From the classics of Coldplay and Rascal Flatts to current chart-toppers Justin Beiber, Billie Eilish and Bruno Mars, RetroGold plays with an infectious energy that keeps the party going.
Emily and Billy Donovan, who have lived at Lake Panorama for 16 years, first had the idea to pursue a Lutheran Church of Hope Local Panora site. They started attending Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines nearly 11 years ago.
“We loved that Lutheran Church of Hope was available to stream live, so even when we were out of town visiting family and friends, we could still listen to the service,” Emily Donovan says. “One Sunday I was driving back home from Minnesota. Pastor Mike Housholder was discussing their 10 for 10 vision...starting 10 new sites and reaching 10 million people over the next 10 years. I felt a strong nudge to see if Panora could be one of those sites.”
The Donovans contacted outreach minister Mark Brandt to discuss what it would take to start a local site, then developed a list of people who might be interested in helping. A meeting was held Jan. 9, 2020, at the Panora Public library.
“We discussed the steps of looking for a location, budget for weekly rent, storage for equipment, good Wi-Fi and more,” Emily Donovan says. “We planned to launch Memorial Day of 2020, but that was before we knew about the global pandemic. We looked at several locations and decided The Port was the best option. We started meeting there the first weekend in October 2020 and met for five weeks until a second wave of COVID-19 came, and we had to go back to online worship.”
The local Panora site streams the 9:30 a.m. service live each week.
“So we are getting the same message and pastor as the members in West Des Moines,” Donovan says. “We offer communion the first Sunday of each month.”
Each week also includes local announcements, a greeter at the front door of The Port, fresh cinnamon rolls baked by volunteers, and a pot of hot coffee provided by The Port.
The Donovans are the local site leaders. They meet monthly with outreach minister Mark Brandt, Hope staff, and leaders from the other seven local sites, which are in Forest City, Clear Lake, Bondurant, Newton, Iowa City, Kansas City and Omaha.
“What’s cool about a local site is that we get to have community and fellowship with a smaller group and still have the support and resources of the larger Lutheran Church of Hope,” says Emily Donovan. “The other great thing about having a local site is our ability to participate in local missions and support local businesses.”
The idea for the free Taste of Hope event July 2 came from Galen Redshaw.
“My wife, Carol, and I have been attending worship and then getting involved as part of the leadership team since June 2021,” he says. “We were longtime members of a church in Johnston before moving to Lake Panorama in the spring of 2019. We’ve enjoyed being a part of what God is doing through this and the bond of community that has formed. Taste of Hope is a continuation of wanting to reach out to the community with the message of the everlasting love of Jesus Christ, and to have fun and celebrate.
“We want to provide a family-friendly and fun event for people to enjoy and also provide something with a Christian-based focus for those seeking something different at the lake during the holiday weekend,” Redshaw says. “We also thought it was time to celebrate after two years as a local site, and what better way than to throw a party at the beach on beautiful Lake Panorama.”
LEARN MORE:
The Lutheran Church of Hope Local Panora meets each Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. in the basement of The Port. Other opportunities include:
By Susan Thompson
Lake Panorama Times
It was May 16, 2021, when the first official Lutheran Church of Hope Local Panora church service was held in the basement of The Port. More than 80 people attended that first Sunday morning service. On July 4, 2021, an outdoor service at Boulder Beach was attended by 200 people. Today, about 60 people attend the weekly Sunday morning service, with that number increasing in the summer months.
To celebrate the church’s second anniversary, a free Taste of Hope Local Panora event will be at Boulder Beach Sunday, July 2.
First on the agenda will be family-friendly activities and games for all ages, from 3-5 p.m. This will include face painting, temporary tattoos, giant bubble wands, and several outdoor games such as corn hole, Jenga and Connect 4. Basketballs and pickleball paddles and balls for use at the sports courts will be available, or people are welcome to bring their own. Beach volleyball also will be an option.
A worship service will be 5-6 p.m., with a live band. Sandwiches, chips, cookies and bottled water will be served at 6 p.m. A free concert by RetroGold will begin at 6:45 p.m. and run until 9 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or anchor their boat offshore.
Most members of RetroGold play, and several are on staff, at the Lutheran Church of Hope campuses in the Des Moines area, in addition to playing in this band for special events.
Formed in 2020, the Des Moines band has made a name for itself by delivering unforgettable performances at weddings, corporate events, festivals and private concerts. Their repertoire of Top 40 hits ranges from the 1990s to present day. From the classics of Coldplay and Rascal Flatts to current chart-toppers Justin Beiber, Billie Eilish and Bruno Mars, RetroGold plays with an infectious energy that keeps the party going.
Emily and Billy Donovan, who have lived at Lake Panorama for 16 years, first had the idea to pursue a Lutheran Church of Hope Local Panora site. They started attending Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines nearly 11 years ago.
“We loved that Lutheran Church of Hope was available to stream live, so even when we were out of town visiting family and friends, we could still listen to the service,” Emily Donovan says. “One Sunday I was driving back home from Minnesota. Pastor Mike Housholder was discussing their 10 for 10 vision...starting 10 new sites and reaching 10 million people over the next 10 years. I felt a strong nudge to see if Panora could be one of those sites.”
The Donovans contacted outreach minister Mark Brandt to discuss what it would take to start a local site, then developed a list of people who might be interested in helping. A meeting was held Jan. 9, 2020, at the Panora Public library.
“We discussed the steps of looking for a location, budget for weekly rent, storage for equipment, good Wi-Fi and more,” Emily Donovan says. “We planned to launch Memorial Day of 2020, but that was before we knew about the global pandemic. We looked at several locations and decided The Port was the best option. We started meeting there the first weekend in October 2020 and met for five weeks until a second wave of COVID-19 came, and we had to go back to online worship.”
The local Panora site streams the 9:30 a.m. service live each week.
“So we are getting the same message and pastor as the members in West Des Moines,” Donovan says. “We offer communion the first Sunday of each month.”
Each week also includes local announcements, a greeter at the front door of The Port, fresh cinnamon rolls baked by volunteers, and a pot of hot coffee provided by The Port.
The Donovans are the local site leaders. They meet monthly with outreach minister Mark Brandt, Hope staff, and leaders from the other seven local sites, which are in Forest City, Clear Lake, Bondurant, Newton, Iowa City, Kansas City and Omaha.
“What’s cool about a local site is that we get to have community and fellowship with a smaller group and still have the support and resources of the larger Lutheran Church of Hope,” says Emily Donovan. “The other great thing about having a local site is our ability to participate in local missions and support local businesses.”
The idea for the free Taste of Hope event July 2 came from Galen Redshaw.
“My wife, Carol, and I have been attending worship and then getting involved as part of the leadership team since June 2021,” he says. “We were longtime members of a church in Johnston before moving to Lake Panorama in the spring of 2019. We’ve enjoyed being a part of what God is doing through this and the bond of community that has formed. Taste of Hope is a continuation of wanting to reach out to the community with the message of the everlasting love of Jesus Christ, and to have fun and celebrate.
“We want to provide a family-friendly and fun event for people to enjoy and also provide something with a Christian-based focus for those seeking something different at the lake during the holiday weekend,” Redshaw says. “We also thought it was time to celebrate after two years as a local site, and what better way than to throw a party at the beach on beautiful Lake Panorama.”
LEARN MORE:
The Lutheran Church of Hope Local Panora meets each Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m. in the basement of The Port. Other opportunities include:
- Two women’s Bible studies. One group meets weekly; Lori Van Kirk is the contact: llevalley59@gmail.com.
- A monthly Bible study group called “Women in the Middle” meets the second Monday of the month at 6 p.m. Contacts are Emily Donovan, emily.donovan@hopelocal.org, or Allison Stanley, astanleyot@yahoo.com.
- Vacation Bible School will be held July 24-28 at Vet’s Auditorium in Panora 6-8 p.m. for children 4 years old through sixth grade.
- Powerlife is confirmation for students who will be in sixth through eighth grades next year; the group will meet weekly in the fall at the Reshape/Restyle/Restore building. Contact Allison Stanley, astanleyot@yahoo.com.
- Hope Kids is an afterschool program held at Panorama Elementary once a month during the school year. Children start with a snack, then rotate stations of a Bible lesson, games and crafts.
- For more information, Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Hopelocalpanora; or Emily Donovan, emily.donovan@hopelocal.org.