Pleasant Hope Baptist Church

There are times when my feelings about something can become so overwhelming that I feel like I’m lost or drowning in a sea of emotions. Have you ever been there? If so, you are in good company...in fact, godly company. While you may have heard of the story of Noah and the ark, it's less likely that you've analyzed this story by examining God's emotional state within it. God must have been feeling some kind of way based on the story of Noah beginning in Genesis chapter 6. O

If you grew up in church, chances are you've heard the story of Cain and Abel - the first set of siblings that we read about in the Bible. But, you've probably never heard their story this way. What if Cain's story is one that's meant to help us bounce back after we make terrible decisions and messy mistakes? Writing Cain off doesn't help us, but reconsidering his story just might. Read Genesis chapter 4 then push "play" and prepare for a fresh interpretation of this classic

Each week on Saturday morning, Pleasant Hope members walk together at 7:00AM as a way to set the tone for faith, fitness and fellowship. Staying active and committing to spend time with your church family is one way to help you get through the struggles associated with the coronavirus pandemic. We felt the benefits of walking together this past Saturday as we enjoyed Herring Run Trail! Check out some of the views from our experience and plan now to join us next time!

In the late summer of 2020 - about 5 months into the coronavirus pandemic, Victoria Walton reached out to Pastor Brown inquiring about becoming a member of the church. She had been watching our church services online and had heard about Maxine's Garden in the process. Being that our Sunday worship services weren't happening at the building at that time, the garden served as the real "front door" to the ministry. She met our Garden Coordinator, Bro. Randy, and immediately b

Members of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church and the Black Church Food Security Network spent part of Juneteenth working together with Allen AME Church in West Baltimore to establish a garden on their land! Allen AME is located in a food apartheid zone and they've determined that if they are to change the material conditions of their neighborhood they must begin to grow their own food. The Black Church Food Security Network provided $500 seed money to help them get started and s

The Orita’s Cross Freedom School and the Johns Hopkins University Program in Racism, Immigration, and Citizenship (RIC) seek a part-time intern. This person will coordinate K-12 education programming in conjunction with the core team of the Orita’s Cross Freedom School and a dedicated curriculum specialist. The intern will also publish the school's monthly newsletter and work with RIC’s budget managers at Johns Hopkins to help provision school-age children, support families,

One of the cool things about being a pastor involves helping people to figure out what God wants them to do next. I encounter people all the time who want to experience the sense of fulfillment, peace, and excitement that comes with saying "yes" to the next thing that they feel God wants them to do. My latest experience with this happened in a conversation with Brian, a quite active young adult member of our church. Early on the morning of June 2nd, God placed Brian's name h

While participating last week in one of the Popular Education groups that I'm enrolled in, we began to discuss "ecosystems." Do you know what an ecosystem is? The facilitator of my class broke it down like this. "Eco" is a prefix related to the greek word "oikos" which can mean "Home." The word "system" can mean "something that works together." Therefore, Ecosystem = "Home Working Together." When she said that I immediately thought about Pleasant Hope Baptist Church because a

Pictured: Standing outside of the truck, new Black Church Food Security Network team member, Namita Money with their partner, Edith, in the driver's seat. Our sister organization, The Black Church Food Security Network (BCFSN), was founded in 2015 in the midst of the Baltimore Uprising and following five successful years of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church growing food in its vegetable garden. Seeing the opportunity to systematize and scale deep within the ecosystem of the Black

On Saturday, June 5, 2021, members of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church's "walking church" enjoyed completing some laps around the track at the Sollers Point Multipurpose Center in Turner Station, Maryland. Turner Station is a historic African American community in Baltimore County. A number of Pleasant Hope members have roots here, including our First Lady and her family - many of whom still reside in "Turners" (as it's called by some). Members of our church family are committi