By Ashley Wiehe
Director of Communications

In 2011, two visionaries set out to create a devotional that would speak to the issues, concerns, and activities related to the needs of older adults. From there, Hope-Full Living was established.

For 14 years, the devotional has operated as a publication that is written for seniors, by seniors with more than 60 authors contributing to it each quarter.

The devotional was the brainchild of the Rev. Walter Schoedel and Dr. Rich Bimler, both well-respected older adults in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS).

Hope-Full Living originally began at Creative Communications, a Christian publishing company based out of Missouri, and grew with the model that it still holds to today—to have aging adults writing to aging adults.

“When this devotional was first started, there was very little material out there specifically for Christian seniors. The thought was that there was a need in the church, and the hope was that it would speak directly to older adults in their walk of faith,” said Mark Zimmermann, senior product developer for Creative Communications. “What makes the devotional so special is that each reflection is written by a senior about living out their faith in the world today.”

The team originally began by reaching out to Lutheran Senior Services in the St. Louis, Mo., area to be recipients as well as writers for the publication. The editorial staff at the time held focus groups to receive feedback on the theological content in the devotions and then established guidelines to create the publication.

Bimler was named the honorary editor, and both he and Schoedel wrote for the publication.

In 2020, Creative Communications decided to transition away from Hope-Full Living, and Worship Anew was contacted to pick up the mantle of the publication.

“Worship Anew had been promoting and sending out Hope-Full Living to our viewers for a couple of years before we acquired the publication. It had become a dearly loved devotional, aligning with our primary audience of older adults,” said Matthew Leighty, executive director of Worship Anew. “While we thought about creating our own devotional, Hope-Full Living proved to be such a good fit that it didn’t seem necessary. When the opportunity arose, the ministry and our board recognized that it would be an excellent addition to our mission.”

In the transition, Schoedel continued as writer until his passing in 2023, and Bimler continued on as the Editor-at-Large, working alongside the ministry team at Worship Anew.

“Dad felt that Worship Anew coupled with Hope-Full Living was critical to keeping older adults connected to their church and their Savior,” said John Schoedel, son of the Rev. Walter Schoedel.

Since taking on the publication, Hope-Full Living has continued to grow through more contributors and subscribers, and most importantly, in its mission “to inspire God’s seniors with the assurance that ‘This very day, I have a body, a mind, a spirit and a message — God’s rejuvenating Gospel message to and through me — to share with my world, my friends, and my Lord,’” as shared by Bimler.

“The vision we had then has truly come to pass and then some through the work that Worship Anew has done, not just through the devotional, but through their outreach efforts,” Zimmerman said.