About Our Church
Hope Lutheran Church History
Hope Lutheran Church has served the Driving Park neighborhood since 1918, when the children and grandchildren of German immigrants moved into the area. In the 1960s, the congregation intentionally became a multicultural and intergenerational community of faith, seeking to serve all persons in Driving Park and beyond.
Hope Lutheran Church facilities consist of a handsome stone building constructed in 1955 that contains a large worship space, a fellowship hall, offices, and several classrooms. The congregation also owns a duplex dwelling adjacent to the church and several vacant lots that include additional parking and community play spaces.
About the Pastor
Pastor Smeck is grateful to serve with the people of Hope. She is originally from the central Ohio area and grew up in Baltimore. She graduated from Ohio State and attended seminary at Trinity Lutheran Seminary.
She returned to Columbus after serving St. Mark Lutheran Church in Ypsilanti, Michigan for
twenty-four years.
“I love to worship with the people of Hope. The congregation worships. The musicians are
outstanding, and the congregational singing is powerful. People worship God at Hope, whether
in person or online. It is such a blessing to serve with people of such deep faith. I’m also
grateful to be part of Hope’s ministry in the community. While COVID-19 made that ministry
evolve, what is exciting is the congregations’ abiding commitment to the neighborhood. And
Jesus!