A Congregation Rooted on 42nd Avenue
Hope Evangelical Lutheran Church sits one block west of Alameda de las Pulgas at 600 W. 42nd Avenue in San Mateo, a residential corner of the Peninsula that has been home to this congregation since 1955. The church belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and traces its beginning to a storefront on West 41st Avenue, where the first services were held with Rev. L. Henry Nielsen officiating. He was formally installed as pastor in June of that year, and within months a groundbreaking ceremony set the stage for the permanent building at the present address. More than seventy years later, the same address still anchors the congregation, with a sanctuary that was dedicated in September 1964 and a parish hall (Nielsen Hall) named in honor of the founding pastor.
Hope has grown up alongside San Mateo, sponsoring a daughter congregation in Half Moon Bay and remaining active in the social concerns of the wider community. The congregation's mission statement sums up the heart of the place: "Knowing and sharing the good news of hope in Christ." Visitors are greeted with one of the most expansive welcome statements of any parish in the area. Hope welcomes everyone without exception, regardless of age, race, ethnic background, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, family or socioeconomic status, educational background, political affiliation, physical or mental ability, faith history, or life experience.
Sunday Mornings at 10:00
The shape of the week centers on Sunday morning. Worship gathers at 10:00 AM in the sanctuary, and the service runs about an hour. Communion is shared most Sundays by intinction, and all baptized Christians are welcome at the table. A children's sermon is offered every Sunday, and after that moment, children aged two through fourth grade are invited to Spark Time, an age-appropriate Bible study group that uses interactive activities, games, colorful leaflets, art projects, and music. Parents who keep their children with them in the pews are equally welcome; the church's stated philosophy is that children belong in worship and that the congregation's job is to create the spiritual environment in which their own living faith may grow.
After worship, the action moves to Nielsen Hall for Café Hope, the weekly fellowship hour with coffee and refreshments. Adult Bible Study follows at 11:45 AM, and the Sunday School program for children ages three through grade five meets at 11:00 AM from September through June. The building is handicapped accessible, with a single-level sanctuary and accessible parking close to the entrance.
The liturgy itself follows a classic Lutheran shape, with confession and forgiveness, gathering songs, readings, a children's time, sermon, prayers, sharing of the peace, and Holy Communion. Music is woven throughout: a Chancel Choir anthem on most Sundays, hymns led from the organ, and periodic special services that stretch the form. A recent jazz worship featured familiar hymns arranged in jazz style, and a Gospel-themed Sunday included a special medley on trumpet and piano. Services are livestreamed on Hope's YouTube channel, and recordings of recent sermons are posted there for anyone who cannot attend in person.
A Pipe Organ, a Choir, and the Bells of Hope
Music at Hope carries weight. In keeping with Lutheran tradition, it is treated as an integral part of the worship experience rather than a prelude to it. The Chancel Choir prepares and sings special music for the congregation on Sundays and at festival services, and a handbell choir called the Bells of Hope performs on brass hand-held bells that were developed as a worship instrument in place of the great steeple bells of earlier centuries. The Bells of Hope add color and meaning to services throughout the year.
Rehearsals follow a steady rhythm from September through June: the Chancel Choir meets Tuesday afternoons from 4:00 to 5:00 PM, and the Bells of Hope follow from 5:00 to 6:00 PM. Church membership is not required to participate; anyone interested in joining is invited to step in.
Behind both ensembles stands a Schoenstein pipe organ, featured in worship every Sunday. The organist, Eric Holderman, came to Hope with more than twenty years of experience as a church and classical organist and a background as an organ performance major. He is a member of the American Guild of Organists. The choir director, Janice Gunderson, brings a long career in the Bay Area as a choral director, accompanist, and teacher, with past positions at the College of San Mateo, Cañada College, Peninsula Cantare, and the Palo Alto First Baptist Church. She also directs the Peninsula Choraliers, a women's ensemble based locally.
Children, Youth, and First Communion
Hope takes the formation of children seriously, and the programs for young people are woven into the regular life of the congregation rather than tacked on as an afterthought. Beyond the weekly Spark Time and Sunday School, the church offers First Communion classes in the weeks leading up to Holy Week for children age six and up, designed to prepare them to participate in the sacrament for the first time.
For older youth, a Confirmation program serves grades six through eight in a small-group format that combines Pastor-led Bible studies, Lutheran theology, youth-led games and skits, snacks, service projects, and social events. Meetings happen on Sundays during the school year at the church, and newcomers are welcome at any point. Older youth also have the chance to participate in services as leaders and to attend ELCA youth gatherings in the summer. The congregation adopted a Safe Community Policy in 1998, pledging to maintain a sanctuary that nurtures and protects its members and visitors and to keep prevention, intervention, and care procedures under annual review.
Hope Lutheran Preschool
Hope Lutheran Preschool has been part of the congregation's ministry since October 1957, when it opened as a pioneering program and a model that other congregations would later imitate. It still operates today, serving children from age two years and nine months through Transitional Kindergarten. The preschool operates under state license #410500322 and is led by Director Tracy Siri, with a teaching staff that includes Priscilla Nues, Ericka Wong, and Colleen Hurd.
The program is intentionally Christian, designed to expand a child's perception of themselves, God, other people, and the world around them. A typical day at the preschool includes welcome and worship, table time, art and free play, circle time, snack and small group story time, and outside play for large motor development. The teacher-to-student ratio is one to six, and discipline is handled through redirection, choices, and assessment.
Two age-appropriate classes are offered. The three-year-old class meets Monday through Thursday from 8:45 to 11:45 AM, with options of a three-day or four-day schedule. The four-year-old Transitional Kindergarten class meets Monday through Thursday from 12:30 to 3:30 PM, with the same scheduling options. Tuition runs in ten equal monthly payments from September through June, with a non-refundable initial registration fee and a re-registration fee due before February 1. Priority registration is given to active church members and to siblings of Hope Preschool students who attended in the last two years, with remaining spots offered on a first-come basis. Tours for the school year are scheduled through the director.
The Hope Quilters of Nielsen Hall
Few ministries at Hope are as visible, or as generous, as the Hope Quilters. The group meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, January through October, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM in Nielsen Hall. The quilters assemble handmade quilts, share good fellowship and food, and send their work out into the world. Sewing experience is welcome but not required; the group has plenty of activities that do not involve a needle and thread.
About fifty quilts each year are shipped to Lutheran World Relief, where they are distributed around the globe. Others go to local partners including CALL Primrose, Samaritan House, CORA, Hope and Home, and the Children's Fund. Some are given locally to Lutheran Social Services for fire victims, and every graduating high school senior from the congregation receives a quilt. Walk-ins are welcome; no advance call is needed.
Meditatio Mondays, Women's Bible Study, and the Wider Classroom
For those who want to keep the week anchored in something quieter than Sunday, Pastor Lauren hosts Meditatio Mondays on Zoom at 5:00 PM. The half-hour gathering is a moment to slow down, reflect, and hear God's Word for the week ahead, and it has become a favorite midweek touchstone for regulars and newcomers alike.
On the third Tuesday of each month, the Women's Bible Study gathers in Nielsen Hall at 10:30 AM, drawing friends and members into an hour of shared reading and conversation. Adult Bible Study meets on Sunday mornings at 11:45 AM. The church's study offerings extend into longer series, with recent online courses through the congregation walking through Paul's Letter to the Romans, the Acts of the Apostles, the Gospel of John, the Gospel of Luke, and 1st Corinthians, all led by Judy Jeschke.
Confirmation and First Communion classes round out the formation offerings, and the church's commitment to theological education stretches across the lifespan, with adult studies and spiritual reading woven into the rhythm of the year.
Reaching Out Across the Peninsula
Outreach at Hope is concrete and ongoing, not seasonal. Samaritan House, the San Mateo-based nonprofit that operates a ninety-bed homeless shelter and a wide range of services for people in need, is a long-standing partner. Hope supports Samaritan House through planned annual benevolences, through combined gifts from members and the church for special needs like food supplies, and through hands-on events such as back-pack drives, Christmas toy collections, and cookouts at the shelter. The congregation has also served barbecue dinners at the shelter for several years running as part of the ELCA's annual "God's Work. Our Hands." Sunday.
CALL Primrose, a small food pantry based in Burlingame, receives annual benevolence and special-event support. Beyond these named partners, Hope channels financial support each year to Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran Disaster Response (including past responses to the Maui fires and to humanitarian work in Ukraine through UNICEF), and local agencies such as LifeMoves, which provides housing for clients, and CORA, which supports women in need.
The way the church talks about this work is shaped by its Lutheran convictions. As Lutherans rooted in a theology of the cross, members hold that all of life in Jesus Christ, every act of service, in every daily calling, flows freely from a living, daring confidence in God's grace. The word "Evangelical" in the congregation's name comes from the Greek for sharing the good news, and sharing that good news in both word and deed is the work the congregation sets its hand to each week.
What the Church Believes
The statement of faith at Hope is short, direct, and clearly Lutheran. Members believe that they are saved by the grace of God alone, not by anything they do; that salvation is through faith alone, received by believing that sins are forgiven for Christ's sake, who died to redeem; and that the Bible is the only norm of doctrine and life, the true standard by which all teachings are to be judged. Lutherans see themselves as part of a community of faith that began with the gift of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and the church is understood as essential to Christian life and growth: its members are all sinners in need of grace, the church has no claim on human perfection, and it exists solely for the hearing and doing of God's Word.
To that end, the people of Hope Lutheran Church seek to provide programs and opportunities for all ages to grow in faith, hope, and joy. The vision statement is even simpler: worship that welcomes all and is dynamic, inspiring, and biblically based; education that enlightens and empowers mind, body, and spirit; fellowship that nurtures caring relationships for all ages; and loving outreach that serves the community and those in need. From those four commitments, the church says, the congregation goes forth, knowing Christ and making him known.
Pastoral Leadership and Staff
Pastor Lauren Chambers serves as Senior Pastor of Hope. She preaches most Sundays, leads the confirmation program, and hosts Meditatio Mondays. Guest pastors occasionally fill the pulpit, including Pastor Kevin Murphy, who preached during the summer of 2026. The staff supporting worship and ministry includes Eric Holderman on the organ, Janice Gunderson directing the choirs, and Tracy Siri directing the preschool. The congregation is governed by a Church Council led by Council President Don Hermansen, Vice President Helena Dummler, and Secretary Sandi Kane. Judy Jeschke serves as Interim Office Manager. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and the building is a busy place during those hours with staff, members, quilters, preschool families, and visitors all passing through.
Marking the Milestones
Hope offers the full Lutheran round of pastoral care. Baptisms are approached as a serious commitment, with parents and sponsors promising during the liturgy to bring their children to worship and to teach them about God. The church describes baptism as the moment when the gracious heavenly Father liberates us from sin and death by joining us to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, with the waters making us reborn children of God and inheritors of eternal life. Weddings and funerals or memorial services are scheduled through the church office, and the sanctuary and Nielsen Hall serve as gathering places for both the joyful and the sorrowful moments in the life of a family.
Joining in from Anywhere
For those who live near enough to walk through the doors at 600 W. 42nd Avenue, Sunday morning is the front door. For those farther away, services are livestreamed on YouTube, and a sermon archive going back many seasons is available online. The Voice of Hope newsletter, published every other month, keeps the wider circle of friends and members connected to the congregation's life, study offerings, and outreach work. Those interested in supporting the congregation's ministry can give online, and anyone wanting to walk through the building in person can stop by during office hours, call ahead, or simply arrive a few minutes before worship on Sunday morning. The door has been open since 1955, and the welcome inside has only widened.