The Hopeless and Helpless began four years ago and has as its goal to share the love of Christ through church community services and activities. All men of the church are automatically members of the group whether they attend its meetings or not. There are no dues and meetings are usually held the third week of the month at a member’s home but have on occasion been held at the church instead.

Probably your first question is WHY the Hopeless and Helpless? In the bible the word helpless appears 9 times and the word hopeless appears 1 (once). In Isaiah 57:10…“You were wearied by all your ways, but you would not say, ‘It is hopeless.’ You found renewal of your strength“…In Psalm12 it tells us…“Do not forget the helpless“. We are far from either being hopeless and helpless and each one of the verses will tell you something about the mission of the group.

We do play a little Dominoes at meetings for fellowship and fun. We have no rules as to what and how we do things. We keep no minutes of meetings. If an activity raises some money it is given away immediately so we have no budget. We raised $455.00 for those kids going on the Breakout Trip with Networks in 2007 by holding a Wild Game Feed on a Sunday evening and a Lasagna Shrove Tuesday Diner before Lent. We pay as we go you might say. We are not in this for profit but for fun and fellowship and to share His love with others.

That is why members of our group started St. Paul’s Softball team. We went 1-14 during the season but made it to the playoffs as every team does. In the playoffs we made it to the championship game and lost in the eleventh inning by one run. The winning team had won the championship game the last 3 years. Do think they are worried about 2008?

In past years we have set up Xmas trees at St. Paul’s, removed trees in the back yard of a member, raked leaves, moved furniture, cleaned gutters, put up mail boxes and power washed windows and lawn furniture.

As you can see we have no limits and no order in the things we do. When we see a need we know that His will is what we seek and with His help we will fill it. If you need help in anyway ask The Hopeless and Helpless or just be a member of the Hopeless and Helpless.

Hope to see you at a meeting and/or just ask us for help.

The Band of Brothers men’s group was formed in order to provide a formal organization to study and discuss issues facing men today. Through discussion, we can better understand these issues in order to deepen our relationship with God and each other.

Over the first few months of 2007 we completed study the book “Wild at Heart” by John Eldredge. These meetings took place once per month from January through May.

In October, we journeyed into the wilderness to the CrossWoods camp in Hayward Wisconsin for a weekend full of praying, sharing, and fishing. Several men spoke to the group regarding their relationship with God which initiated very good discussions. Eleven men attended the weekend and we all had a great time.

In the winter / spring of 2008 we will be looking at the topic – The Heart of A Leader. We are watching the movie Amazing Grace and utilizing associated study materials. Amazing Grace is a movie about the lifelong battle of William Wilberforce, a Member of Parliament in the early 19th century and an Anglican, to outlaw the slave trade throughout the British Empire. It was Wilberforce's biblical worldview, his contagious optimism, and his never-ending belief that faith leads to action that set in motion a "great turning point in history" as one historian wrote. One goal of this study is to give our Band of Brothers the opportunity to put our faith into action, like Wilberforce, in a specific "world-changing" community missions project. We have invited the Rev. Tom Hennes to come and share his vision for a rescue mission in Hudson which will help people who get out of jail to find gainful employment, and hopefully share the love of Christ through action and encouragement. Rev. Hennes will be presenting at our Feb. 9 meeting.

Band of Brothers meetings are open to all of the men of the congregation. We encourage all of the men to join us for this adventure.