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We are two communities, Nativity Lutheran Church and Cross and Crown Lutheran Church, uniting to form a newly merged community called Living Hope Lutheran Church.  ​

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Our new name was inspired by the 1 Peter 1:3

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​“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!

By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a Living Hope”.

 

This has become our cornerstone and a very important part of our life together. 

We are a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) ​

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When Lutherans talk about faith, we are talking about the relationship God’s Holy Spirit creates with us. It’s a relationship where God’s promise of steadfast love and mercy in Jesus opens us to a life of bold trust in God and joyful, generous service to everyone we know and meet in daily life.

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The Confession of Faith of our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) identifies the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the basis for our teaching. This Confession of Faith is more than just words in an official document. Every Sunday in worship ELCA congregations hear God’s word from the Scriptures, pray as Jesus taught and come to the Lord’s Table expecting to receive the mercies that God promises.

Martin Luther was exuberant when he described the freedom of​

“a living, daring confidence in God’s grace, so sure and certain that believers would stake their lives on it a thousand times.”

 

He once wrote,

“Oh, it is a living, busy, active, mighty thing, this faith. It is impossible for it not to be doing good things unceasingly.”

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Faith convictions expressed as statements of belief flow from this confident trust in God. Lutherans share in the faith expressed in the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds. In them, we confess the Triune God and we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

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At the same time faith does not close our minds to the world and our hearts to others. We listen to the witness of others and we watch for the ways God is active in the world around us. Faith opens a place for engaging others in conversation, for seeking the truth, for asking questions and speaking love in word and deed.

Faith is a full life, liberated for a living, daring confidence in God’s grace

Our Staff

Pastor Heidi Calhoun

Pastor Heidi Calhoun has served Nativity since 2019 and Cross and Crown since 2022 and is thrilled to be called as Pastor to Living Hope as of January 2025.  She has been in ordained ministry since 1997 serving several congregations in Western Washington and working for a time with Associated Ministries in Tacoma as the Chief Mission officer.  She has a grown son and she and her partner John (also an ELCA pastor) live in Tacoma.  Together they enjoy time with family, travel and hiking.

Danielle Lemieux

Danielle has been in church ministry since 2002 and has served 3 congregations in the last 20-plus years.  She has been Music Director of Nativity Lutheran since 2021 and now Living Hope Lutheran in 2025!  Danielle earned an undergraduate degree in Music Education from University of Puget Sound and a Masters Degree in Horn Performance from New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.  She also studied music in Norway on a Fulbright Scholarship.  Outside of music and ministry, Danielle loves to bake, take long walks with friends and travel.

Terry Garl

Terry began subbing as the custodian for Cross and Crown Church and Preschool in 2005. He began by assisting the permanent custodian while he was battling an illness. He took a permanent position in 2007. During the day he works full-time for Boeing. He enjoys spending time with his wife, daughters and grandchildren.

Geri Garl

Geri began her work as a Parish Worker in 2024.  She has worked for the preschool since 1995.  She began as a substitute teacher.  In 2001 she accepted a position as a part-time teacher.  Since then, she became a full-time teacher and then the preschool coordinator.  She loves spending time with her family, traveling and volunteering.

Cindie Hollis

Cindie started piano lessons at an early age and began playing for Sunday School when she was 9, and added the organ for Services when she was 12. She is a full-time Accounting Manager, and a Notary Public. In her spare time she and her husband spend a lot of time volunteering with LifeCenter NW, Seattle Children's, UW Medical, and the See Ya Later Foundation. She has 2 grown daughters and 5 grandbabies between them, and her youngest son is a freshman in college."

Emma

Emma is a junior at Kentridge High School and a Running start student at Green River College where she studying for a pre-nursing degree. She is on her high school varsity cheer team, national honors society, and a co-chair for the nonprofit organization, \"Letters for Rose\".  Emma started working at Living Hope in September 2024.

Melanie Aguiling

"Melanie began working as the Church office manager in 2017.  Her two boys also attended the Living Hope Preschool. In her free time, she loves spending quality time with her family, doing simple things and exploring the outdoors, especially during summer. They enjoy going to state parks to walk and hike. She also loves to bake."

Daniel Schreiner

Daniel received his B.A. in Music Education and M.M. in Choral Conducting from Central Washington University. He serves as the Resident Music Director for ManeStage Theatre Company in Puyallup, WA, is the Assistant Conductor for Wellspring Ensemble in Seattle, WA, and sings with Evergreen Ensemble, Resonate, the PLU Choral Union, and Chor Anno. As composer, Daniel was the recipient of the 2011 Opus 7 Undergraduate Composition Award and the 2020 Robert Scandrett Award in Composition. His music is published through Walton Music and Santa Barbara Music Publishers and has been performed all around the world. Daniel teaches music and choir in the Tahoma School District in Maple Valley, WA.

Church Council 

Co-Presidents

Craig Swanke & Tim Willson

Treasurer

Beth Asher

Council Member

Kay Edgerton

Council Member

Geri Garl

Vice President

Candy Abbott

Financial Secretary

Cindy Hekanson

Council Member

Alicia Dehart

Secretary

Donna Lund

Council Member​

Janet Heck

Council Member

Alex Perry

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