Not too long into my first year of pastoral ministry at Prince of Peace, I (Natalia) was tasked with creating a Cancer Support Group. At that time, it felt like everyone had cancer, so many amazing people were struggling, and there was a need to have a place to pray and encourage each other.

So POP-HOPE (Prince of Peace Helping Each Other in Prayer and Encouragement) was born. This little group has been faithfully meeting monthly since 2012, and they are amazing. So amazing.

In the fall of our second year of meeting, a member of the group asked if I’d be willing to write a devotion once a week to help offer hope and a little extra lift.  So that first week I sat down at my desk to write, and the Friday Uplift was born.

Since then, Uplift has grown from a small, twelve-person email list to a movement.  The devotions were shared, people asked to be added to the list, more were shared, and it just kept on growing.  Somehow my little group of email recipients found a hole that needed to be filled with positivity. So with every Uplift that was forwarded, printed out, and mailed, the Uplift community soon transformed from Upliftees to Uplifters.  

And here we are.  

 

ABOUT NATALIA

Natalia Terfa is a pastor at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.  
She is passionate about grace, yoga, and reading.  She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and daughter, the loves of her life.  

Contact Natalia for questions, comments or speaking: natalia@upliftlife.org