Herald. Katrina Davis Allison Landry Katrina Moe Morgan Radtke Caleb Sand Kylee Youngstrom

Transcription

1 Volume 37 Issue Herald A publication of Hosanna Lutheran Church, ELCA Rochester, Minnesota As a Christian family of faith, we re gathered to grow and sent to serve INSIDE THIS ISSUE Discipleship Ministries Fellowship Ministries Support Ministries Music Ministries Outreach Ministries Worship Schedule Council Page President s Message Pastor Meiers Page Affirmation of Baptism Sunday, October 30th, :30 am The following individuals have completed instruction and will affirm their faith on Sunday, October 30th: Katrina Davis Allison Landry Katrina Moe Morgan Radtke Caleb Sand Kylee Youngstrom We encourage, support and pray for these youths and their families as they continue to grow in their faith.

2 Fellowship/ Discipleship Ministries gathered to grow Page 2 Book Discussion October 15 Join the book discussion group this fall. You ll read a variety of books, engage in fascinating discussions and enjoy good Christian fellowship. Discussions are held on the 3rd Saturday of the month at 9:00 am. Coffee will be on and members take turns bringing treats. The book to be discussed on October 15 is The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. Her mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel creates a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past. The book scheduled to be read in November Something From the Oven by Laura Shapiro. You may contact Barb Anderson at barbpaul@charter.net with questions or for more information. Pastor s Evening Bible Study Pastor s evening Bible study is on Thursdays. This year we are studying the Books of Jeremiah & Lamentations. Jeremiah was a prophet from 626 BC though 587 BC. This covers the period when Babylon took control of Judah until the Temple was destroyed and the people were taken in to captivity in Babylon. There is a signup sheet at the Welcome Center in the Gathering Area. Bible study books are available in the church office. Questions can be directed to Paul Anderson ( ) or barbpaul@charter.net. Hilltoppers October 11 at Noon All those 55+ or who are retired are invited to a catered lunch and a program put on by the staff or outside speakers on the second Tuesday of the month at noon. This month Pastor Ann Klavano will be sharing with us her experience as a missionary to Papau New Guinea. Please sign up at the Welcome Center to let us know you are coming. You may call the office at for a ride. Hannah Bible Study - A Small Group for Women Hannah Bible Study is a daytime women s group which meets on the 2 nd and 4 th Wednesdays of each month from 1:00 2:30pm. New members are welcome to attend and become a part of this small group. The lessons out of the Gather Magazine will be used this year. The Gather Magazine can be ordered from Gather Subscription Order Center: gather@cambeywest.com. The cost for one year of 10 issues is $15. Contact Lisa Nordman ( ) if you have questions. Scrapbooking/Card Making Our next scrapbooking/card making weekend is Friday, October 21, from 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm and Saturday, October 22, from 9:00 am 6:00 pm at Hosanna. (We will be meeting the third weekend of each month (September May (skipping December)). All scrap bookers and card makers are welcome to come anytime during those two days and please feel free to bring a friend. You can come anytime during these times and if you come on Friday you can leave your stuff set up overnight. We will be in the quad room. Please bring any scrapbooking/card making items (paper, stickers, etc.) that you no longer need or want and we will put these items on a table to share with others. Any items left over in May will be donated to the craft room at the Ronald McDonald House. Please feel free to bring your favorite snack or treat to share. If you are planning on coming, please call Kelly Gangelhoff at (home) or (cell) or send her a quick at kellyg@smmpa.org. Look forward to seeing you there!!

3 gathered to grow Discipleship/Fellowship Ministries Annual Fall Pancake Breakfast The 17th Annual Walter Volberding Memorial Pancake Breakfast will be held on Sunday, October 23rd from 9am until 11am at Hosanna. If you have ever attended an event sponsored by the Men s Bible Study Breakfast Group, you know that there is always delicious food and wonderful fellowship. Since this is MEA weekend, it would be a great time to join us before, between, or after church. Bring the whole family. As always the cost is a freewill offering. This year, the funds raised will be donated to the Rochester Women s Shelter. Page 3 The Men s Bible Study Breakfast Group is excited about this opportunity. We encourage each member of Hosanna to join us, and bring friends and neighbors, as we, together with our congregation, spread the Good News of God s great love to others. Men s Bible Study Breakfast Group Attention men of Hosanna! We meet at church each month (September through May) on the 2nd and 4th Fridays at 6:30 am (coffee ready at 6:15 am) for fellowship, a great breakfast, and a Bible study. This is a wonderful way to begin the day. New members are always welcome and if you can only attend once a month or once a year you are welcome. HOSANNA EMPTY NEST SITTER SERVICE Friday, October 14th 6pm to 10pm The sitter service has been a great success for both kids and sitters. The next date is Friday, October 14 th from 6:00 10:00 pm. Just fill out a registration form at the Welcome Center and place in the basket provided. Information requested is: Children s names, ages, health issues and emergency contact information Attention: We are looking for people to help, please consider sitting once or twice a year. It is a great experience and a way to meet some of Christ s youngest gifts to Hosanna. Please contact Paul Anderson if you re interested in helping, or barbpaul@charter.net. GREETINGS HOSANNA FAMILY At the completion of my first month of internship, I am writing to you all to bring you greetings and peace from Our Redeemer Lutheran Church on the east side of St. Paul. Things are going well here for me, I am busy with internship and the responsibilities that are part of the pastoral intern role I have been given. There so many new ways of doing things here and I am learning much. The most common things I find between Our Redeemer and Hosanna, though, is that we worship the same God, share the same bread and wine at the table, and we all love our neighbors well. I do miss you, but there is a connectedness that lets me know that we are not that far apart. God is good and we are blessed children of the same God. If you are ever up in St. Paul on a Sunday morning, come and worship with us. We worship here at 8:45 and 11:00. It would be great to see you. Peace be with you all, Carol

4 Page 4 Support Ministries gathered to grow sent to serve Chrysanthemums in Hosanna's Garden September 2, 2016 September and October...What do those months of the autumn season mean to you? What visions do you have when these months approach? Yellow, red, gold leaves begin to appear as well as pumpkins, apples, acorn squash, and chrysanthemums (mums). The memorial garden team/ministry strives to maintain the beauty of the garden as long as possible. The deep raspberry color mums in this garden originated in Connie Ness's great grandmother's gardens almost 100 years ago! Connie received slips of the mums from her grandmother and mother near Olivia, Minnesota, to plant in her own Rochester gardens. Last spring after the Memorial garden lost some plants to winter, Connie brought slips from her garden. As you will see by the photos, they have enjoyed their new home and are blooming for your enjoyment. My experiences with mums dates back to my Mother's gardens near Montevideo, MN. Her favorite color was light purple. I have always grown mums in my gardens for 36 years. I have an original plant I dug from Mother's garden. Mums are very hardy and grow in almost any soil. This spring I received new plants from Connie. All 3 plants are now full of buds. Did you know the first tiny buds which start in June should be pinched off? This encourages a fuller, healthy plant in late summer or early fall. The plants seem resistant to many insect pests and are easy to grow. Here is a bit of history about this popular plant of the daisy family. Chrysanthemums are named from the Greek prefix "chrys" meaning golden, it's original color, and anthemion, meaning flowers. Mums symbolize optimism and joy, and announce the splendor of fall. They are native to Asia and Northeastern Europe and are some of the most popular flowers in the world, next only to the rose. Mums were originally grown in the Eurasian region, brought to Japan by Buddist monks in AD 400. Japanese emperors so loved the flower that they sat upon thrones made of the flowers. Wikipedia was a great source for me, by the way. Chrysanthemums are part of ancient Chinese medicinal science. The herb contains high amounts of B carotene which converts to Vitamin A in the liver. It also is a good source of Vitamin B and C, Calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium. Tea can be brewed from the diced flowers. It is a natural coolant and helps in lowering the temperature of the body when suffering a fever and heat stroke. Headaches and slight toothaches respond to the tea. I believe that any health food or whole foods store could provide the tea. Hope you enjoy the splendor of fall, especially Hosanna's garden! And please join us in the garden...you will have a lot of fun! Thank you to the Memorial Garden Team for your hard work, extra attention and dedication every week but also in preparation for our daughter Rachel s wedding to Spencer Anderson in August! The garden was beautiful and a wonderful place for the wedding photographs. Your hard work was greatly appreciated! Sally and Dale Nelson

5 gathered to grow Music/Outreach Ministries Page 5 Wisdom in a Fortune Cookie Maturity Is Accepting Imperfections by Nancy Wales My family enjoys reading the sayings in fortune cookies. We like to see what each one says and if it is appropriate for that person. Sometimes the fortune makes us laugh, sometimes it applies more to another family member, sometimes it doesn t make sense and sometimes it is wise and true. I received the following message in one of my fortune cookies: Maturity is accepting imperfections. The phrase made me pause for reflection and I still find myself contemplating its meaning. At first I did not agree with the message. Should we not be getting closer to achieving perfection as we age and gain experience? Should we not continue to aim for perfection in our expectations and goals? But then as I thought about it, I saw the truth in it and the sage advice it was offering. We sure need to hear this message when we create music. We will never be able to perfectly perform a piece. Some note will not be exactly in tune or the tone will not sound ideal or we will miss a note or come in at the wrong time or make it too loud or too soft. All kinds of things can happen. However, when performing you have to keep going and cannot go back and correct flaws. (Many times the audience is not even aware of a problem.) We have to forgive ourselves afterwards and not dwell on the mistakes we made. If we don t forgive ourselves we will be stuck in the past and will be reluctant to try again. Of course more practice helps and working on problem spots will increase the chances that the piece will go well. However, it is unrealistic to expect that we must sing or play perfectly in order to participate in making music. I wonder how many of us turn down the opportunity to take part because we think we will not be good enough. We are too worried we will make a mistake. If everyone who created music had to be perfect the world would be a very silent place. The saying, Maturity is accepting imperfections., also provides us with advice on our Christian walk. We will never be able to attain perfection like Christ to lead a pure, sinless life. As imperfect humans, we have to accept this. We should do our best and work to emulate him, but numerous times we will fall short. At these times we need to seek God s forgiveness. When we repent for our sins, we need to trust that God is gracious and will forgive us. Rather than continually putting ourselves down for mistakes, we can be lifted up by the Lord s mercy. We need to believe that God has unconditional love for us. We also need to forgive ourselves so that we can continue on our faith journey. This will enable us to help others and to do God s work in the world. We are called to be faithful, not perfect. Music Schedule October 2 October 9 October 23 October 30 Grace Team/ Exodus Hosanna Choir Grace Team 8:00 Hosanna Choir 10:30 Confirmands and Youth All Saints Sunday on November 6 Commemorate the Saints Sunday, November 6 is All Saints Sunday. On this Sunday we will remember all our loved ones who have died during the past year, since last November 1. The names will be printed in the bulletin and read during the service. Please write the name of the person who passed away and how they are related to you on the form located on the Welcome Center. That Sunday we wear white and black as a reminder that we are all saints and sinners. You may also contact the office at, secrtary@hosannalutheran.org. Mittens and More Please remember to start bringing in new or gently used mittens, scarves, or coats for sharing with families who are in need of these clothing items as the weather starts to turn cooler. The fleece caps we made on "God's work. Our hands." Sunday will be used to give out during the year as well. You may contact Danielle Koster (b2d2koster@charter.net) with questions. or

6 Outreach Ministries...sent to serve Page 6 3rd Annual God's work. Our hands. Sunday was a success! Thanks to everyone who helped out in so many ways! For a 3rd year in a row, God's work. Our hands. Sunday was a successful, sunny day! This year the dedicated day of service, Sunday, September 11th, commemorated the 15th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the United States. In memory of this, the planning team decided to recognize Rochester's 5 local fire stations for their hard work and commitment in serving our communities. After the service, coffee and fellowship were enjoyed in the Memorial Garden and then everyone got to work. We assembled 240 packages of 6 can soup to give out to Channel One families who come to our monthly food pantry; made 73 fleece caps for our Mittens & More Ministry; made 15 tied fleece blankets and 48 thinking of you cards for the children at the Ronald McDonald House; packaged 35 dozen cookies and delivered 7 dozen to each of the 5 Fire Stations; harvested almost 200 lbs of produce from our Community Garden and delivered 2 totes of produce to each of the 5 Fire Stations. A volunteer thank you lunch was served to about 90 people. After lunch, 16 people helped with Adopt-a-Highway by cleaning up our section of Hwy 52 from Apache Mall South to the Hwy. 63 exit. People also enjoyed taking time to get their picture taken with the classic cars parked in front of the church. Everyone could see we continue to live out our mission statement gathered to grow and sent to serve with lots of enthusiasm and energy.

7 ...sent to serve Outreach Ministries Pastor s Discretionary Fund and Sharing and Caring Pantry Both our Pastor s Discretionary Fund and small Sharing and Caring Food Pantry are ways that Hosanna helps families in the community that are struggling to make ends meet. Through your noisy offering (coin) donations on Sundays or checks written to the discretionary fund, Pastor Meiers is able to help families with a gas card. When the small food pantry is full of food, a family in need who comes to Hosanna can go back home with a bag or two of groceries. Please consider a donation to the Pastor s Discretionary Fund or bring an extra bag of groceries to Hosanna when you re out shopping. (Consider items that can be opened by hand and don t require cooking. Some people are living in their cars.) Your ongoing generosity has helped hundreds of families. Thank you! Quilters Group October 20 Hosanna s quilters meet on the 3 rd Thursday of the month from 9:00 am 2:00 pm. Coffee and treats are served in the morning and everyone brings their own lunch. You don t have to be an experienced quilter to participate. Quilts are pieced and sewn and tied together. They are given to families in need locally and around the world through Lutheran World Relief. Please contact either Darlene Brandt (dwbrandt@gmail.com) or Sharon Dunford (shed14@charter.net) with questions. Prayer Shawl Group October 10 & 21 The Prayer Shawl team meets twice a month, once in the evening and once during the day. Meetings this month are on the 2nd Monday at 6:30 pm and on the 3rd Friday at 1:00 pm. (Note the change in Friday s date due to the Pantry opening) If you like to knit or crotchet or would like to learn, you may join this caring ministry at any time. Contact Carolyn Dahl at crdahl25@charter.net with questions. Members may also stop by the office to pick up a prayer shawl for a family member or friend in need of prayer and comfort. Hosanna s Pantry October 21 & 22 Join Hosanna s Pantry team this fall. It s a great way to share God s love with families in need and work together as a family. Children as young as 5 are invited to help with their parents. It s also a great way for high school students to get service hours. The October pantry opening is on the MEA weekend, so we ll need extra help that weekend. It s scheduled for Saturday, October 22 from 9:00 11:30 am. Setup is Friday, October 21 at 10:00 am. There s something for all ages to do. You can help with the pantry set up on Friday. Or you can help greet families, help them shop, carry out groceries or clean up on Saturday morning. There s a sign-up sheet at the Welcome Center or you may contact Barb Anderson, at barbpaul@charter.net or 507- Gettysburg Food Pantry Hosanna has a strong tradition of service through the Channel 1 Food Bank, our Sharing and Caring box and our Community Garden plot. In October we will have a free will offering for the Gettysburg Seminary Food Pantry. The food pantry, which is located in the basement of the Refectory, is a great resource for students and their families to supplement their necessary supplies free of charge. Thanks to generous donations from congregations and private donors, food, monetary gifts, and gift cards are given to the food pantry for those in need. Kristen Wall is attending Gettysburg seminary in Pennsylvania and her neighbor is the coordinator for the food pantry. Donation envelopes will be in the October 2 nd and 9 th bulletins if you would like to contribute. Thank You! Stephen Ministry If you are compassionate, full of faith, skilled and trustworthy, that is the four points of the caregivers compass with the center being the symbol for Jesus. We need you! To become a Stephen Minister contact Pastor Meiers or Stephen leader Ron Machacek at for more information. Page 7

8 Worship / Outreach Ministries gathered to grow Page 8 Worship Schedule October 2016 Worship Services 8:00 and 10:30am October Worship Theme: Sent to Serve with Our Time October 2 Liturgy: Service of Word and Song/Communion Grace Team Theme: Faith as a Mustard Seed Text: Luke 17: 5-10 October 9 Liturgy: ELW Setting 2 Theme: Global Missions Rev. Ann Klavano preaching Text: Luke 17: October 16 Liturgy: ELW Setting 2/ Communion Theme: The Unjust Judge Text: Luke 18: 1-8 October 23 Liturgy: Service of Word and Song Grace Team Theme: Trust in God Text: Luke 18: 9-14 October 30 Reformation Sunday/ Confirmation Sunday Liturgy: 8am ELW Service of the Word 10:30am Affirmation of Baptism Theme: Salvation through grace by Faith Text: Romans 3:19-28 Good Earth Village Good Gifts Gala, October 20 Enjoy a lovely evening out with supporters, volunteers, and Good Earth Village staff on Thursday, October 20th. The Gala is a fundraising opportunity that is deeply rooted in the tradition started by our Lutheran women's quilt auction and plays an instrumental role in generating the funds needed to provide this essential ministry. Now is the time to consider sponsoring or hosting a table for your friends a n d f a m i l y. T h e 3 r d annual Good Gifts Gala continues to lift up this vital ministry in celebration, prayer, and stewardship. For information about sponsoring and hosting a table or to purchase individual tickets for the event visit: or call(507) Adult Forum October :15 AM October 2 Why Do people Suffer? (part 1) We all suffer as human beings sometime during our lifetime. Where is God in the midst of our suffering. This study addresses this question from the perspective of faith and scripture. Session 1 Mystery and Meaning 2Kings 4: 17-47; John 9: 1-11 October 9 Pastor Ann Klavano Pastor Ann will share with us her experience as a missionary to Papua New Guinea. Our congregation supported Ann as she ministered with the church in New Guinea. She will bring us her story of ministry during her four years with the people in New Guinea. October 16 Why do people suffer? (part 2) What is the relationship between human sin and suffering? Session 2 Sin, Satan, Suffering Genesis 11: 1-9; Mark 5: 1-20 October 23 Hosanna s Annual Pancake Breakfast The Mens s Breakafst and Bible Study Group will be serving up pancakes and sausages between worship services on October 23. Come to church hungry and be fed with good food and the good Word. October 30 Why do people suffer? (part 3) When we experience or observe suffering, pain, hardship, injustices, and heartaches in our lives, we attempt to make sense of it all. Is there meaning in pain? Session 3 (Growth through Suffering) Genesis 50: 15-21; Romans 5: 1-5 Samaritan Bethany Worship Escorts Needed in November Sunday morning worship escorts from Hosanna are needed for the month of November. If you are interested in serving as a worship escort at Samaritan Bethany please sign-up at the Welcome Center. Three to four volunteers are needed for each of the worship services; worship services at 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Duties include: wheeling residents to and from the chapel and passing out song sheets. Both the staff members and residents greatly appreciate our help! If you have any questions, please contact Keith Johnson, or kgjjej@charter.net.

9 gathered to grow sent to serve Council Page/Outreach Hosanna Lutheran Church September 13, 2016, Council Minutes Council Attendees: Pastor Bill Meiers, Ray Ashworth, Rachel Gray, Les Fullem, Terri Ashworth, Ron Machacek, Laurie Maidl, Fred Lust, Natalie Sand. Alice Kub, Nancy Wales & Darcy Youngstrom were also in attendance. The Meeting was called to order at 7:02pm by Ray Ashworth, then Pastor Meier led the Council in a devotion based on the 3rd petition of the Lord s Prayer. Council members shared highs & lows. Stewardship Planning for Fall: We do not have a standing committee for Stewardship. This would fall under Les's oversight as Support Advocate, but if someone else on the Council is interested to head this up, it would be welcome. Staff and advocate reports were highlighted. Outreach: Summary of God s work. Our hands., Gettysburg Food Pantry, and the New Missionaries. Support: The role of Administrative Assistant has been filled by Jodi Solum and her training continues. Thanks to Liz Coltom for the great job she did for us. The budget is behind projections, but we still have money in the bank. Budgeting will look at actual money donated this year vs. other projections. Worship: We are done with the summer schedule. Worship Planning Team wrote thank you notes for those who presented their stories of healing during summer worship. Special summer music was also beautiful and appreciated. Some of them were recorded and they were added to Facebook and linked to our webpage. Sent to Serve is the theme for the next month. Hand cutouts are available to highlight how people are serving in the community. Faith Formation: Confirmation is underway. Conversations are taking place to possibly have a screen out somewhere to have images from events and other happenings scrolling through. Sunday School team is together and ready to go. Natalie moved (Laurie seconded) that we adjourn. It passed unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:34pm & was closed with the Lord s Prayer. TREASURER & FINANCIAL SECRETARY REPORT Budget/Contributions Comparison General 2016 Aug YTD Budget 35, ,736 Contributions 37, ,872 Difference 1,786 (24,864) , ,976 Difference 15/16 6,743 (11,104) Capital Appeal 11,202 27,770 Receipts/Expenditures Comparison General Capital YTD Appeal Receipts 261, ,513 Expenditures 266, ,873 Difference (4,310) 1,640 Account Balances - August Account Name Balance General 9,533 General Reserve 50,903 Special Gifts 49,041 Endowment 64,938 ELCA Scholarship 50,568 Mortgage 332,024 Red Cross Shelter Team Training October 27, 5:00 p.m. 9:00 p.m. Psychological First Aid training will be offered at Hosanna on Thursday, October 27, 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. The training will be held in the quad room. All Hosanna Red Cross Shelter Team members are invited to attend. Andrea Swanson, licensed social worker and a Red Cross volunteer, will be teaching the course. A light dinner, provided by the Red Cross, will be served. Psychological First Aid is designed to prepare Red Cross workers to provide basic care, comfort, and support to people who are experiencing disasterrelated stress. Interactive practice exercises help participants gain confidence in applying what they have learned. All Red Cross disaster responders are highly encouraged to take this training. Red Cross Shelter Team members, please RSVP to Jane Johnson at kgjjej@charter.net by Monday, October 10 to let her know if you can or cannot attend this training. Page 9

10 President s Message Page 10 Hello, Gods work. Our hands. Sunday was a great success and celebration. The weather was beautiful and about 90 people participated in the various projects inside and outside. I spent my time helping to harvest the garden. It was pretty obvious the kids and the adults were having fun picking and washing the produce and the fire departments were grateful for our deliveries. I did not have a chance to get to the other activities, but looking over the results it appears that "our hands" completed many service projects which will be shared within our community. This annual dedicated day of service continues to exemplify the many talents of Hosanna members and the time they put in to serve others. Hebrews 6:10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped people and continue to help them. It has been almost one year since I contracted uveitus, an eye condition that causes inflammation in the eye. Monday, September 19th was my last day of eye drop medicine and my doctor and I believe my eyes are back to normal. I am very happy about this and would like to thank you for your prayers. In the next couple of months the members of the nominating committee will be reaching out to church members asking you to consider taking an open position within the church ministry teams. Please pray for the work of the nominating committee and if called, ask God for guidance and prayerfully consider the opportunity. President Ray Ashworth Hosanna's New Global ELCA Sponsorship -Curtis & Katie Kline Introducing Curtis and Katie Kline who are missionaries serving for the ELCA, with our companion Lutheran Church in Columbia. They are relatively new missionaries who just completed their second year in Columbia. They renewed their contract with the ELCA, and are planning to serve for (at least) two more years. For the past 4 years Hosanna has been sponsoring Pastor Ann Klavano and now that she has officially completed her work we are excited to continue our global sponsorship with Curtis and Katie. Curtis works with the Human Rights program and Katie works with the Christian Formation ministries. Their home base is in Colorado, Wisconsin. Curtis has a B.A. in International Relations and Katie has a B.A. in Sociology/Psychology/Women's Studies. This summer they visited 15 different churches in 6 different states. While on their Home Assignment in the United States they had the chance to meet Pastor Ann Klavano and hear a little about her ministry in Papua New Guinea. Their quarterly newsletter will be posted on the kiosk along with their contact information. If you are interested in hearing more about their day to day lives and highlights from their ministries you may subscribe to their blog at: 8000feetandcounting.blogspot.com

11 Pastor Meiers Page Page 11 Dear Members and Friends of Hosanna, Recently I was reading in Dr. Gerhard Frost s booklet, Hungers of the Heart. He addresses our human search for certainty. This is the hunger of the heart that informs the title of his writing. The problem is that certainty of faith is not a math problem to be solved by amassing the right data. Faith in Jesus Christ is found in living relationship with our Lord. Dr. Frost states it best in his essay entitled, As I Bow. We long to know. We have a passion for picking at locks and prying into things. This curiosity is mostly good, and is not to be discouraged, but in the life of the spirit, it can lure us away from the best. We have all invested time and energy in the Big Lie that if we could only have enough answers, we would be forever blessed. We suppose that if Jesus would only become contemporary in the away that we are contemporary, if he would walk on our street, or, better yet, up our alley and enter our homes, we would willingly let him enter our hearts. But the truth is that explanations never made disciples, and our lust for full and final answers is an enemy of our welfare. Only in encounter with God, where God has the first and last word can we know the joy of discipleship. To bow before the mystery is to leave more and more, yes, even all, to God. This is the Blessed Assurance we have as Christians. Our life and our faith each begin and has its ending in the living God. We are people of faith. We live in God s promises. When we were baptized, we entered into relationship with Christ Jesus. That living relationship empowers us as the people of God to do the work of the Kingdom: love others as God has first loved us. Celebrate the privilege of discipleship that you inherited on the day of your baptism. Live in the love, grace and service of God. Yours in Christ, Pastor Bill Meiers Advent Devotional Booklet 2016 Hosanna has a wonderful tradition of members writing daily devotions for the seasons Advent and Christmas. Please sign-up at the information desk for one or more of the dates. A Bible verse based on the theme of service is assigned for each day.

12 Hosanna Lutheran Church th St. NW Rochester, MN (507) Gathered to Grow, Sent to Serve Check out Hosanna s Website! ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Worship 8:00 am and 10:30 am Education hour 9:15am NON-PROFIT ORG. U. S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 603 ROCHESTER MN God s work. Our hands. Hosanna Herald Writers: Hosanna Staff & members Editor: Jodi Solum Check out Hosanna s Facebook fan page! STAFF Pastor Bill Meiers Nancy Wales Darcy Youngstrom Jodi Solum Charlie Bohlke COUNCIL OFFICERS Ray Ashworth, President Laurie Maidl, Pres. Elect Rachel Gray, Secretary seniorpastor@hosannalutheran.org music@hosannalutheran.org darcy.youngstrom@hosannalutheran.org jodi.solm@hosannalutheran.org custodian@hosannalutheran.org president@hosannalutheran.org president-elect@hosannalutheran.org councilsecretary@hosannalutheran.org COUNCIL ADVISORS Alice Kub, Treasurer treasurer@hosannalutheran.org Paul Anderson, Financial Sec. financialsecretary@hosannalutheran.org OFFICE HOURS 9:00 am 4:00 pm Monday Friday COUNCIL ADVOCATES Natalie Sand, Discipleship Ron Machacek, Fellowship Terri Ashworth, Outreach Les Fullem, Support Fred Lust, Worship discipleship@hosannalutheran.org fellowship@hosannalutheran.org outreach@hosannalutheran.org support@hosannalutheran.org worship@hosannalutheran.org