HOSANNA AND NUEVA VISION CELEBRATE FALL TOGETHER

On October 23, Hosanna was alive with music, games, candy, costumes, conversation, fun, and food. LOTS OF FOOD. Much of it provided by our friends of Nueva Vision church. It is 100% certain that no one went away hungry from this event.

Children were excited by the moonwalk, popcorn, snow cones, games and trunks full of candy. A parade was a highlight of the evening, with skeletons, princesses, cats, ninjas, and more.

Oh, and we can't forget the Good Witch of the South, Hosanna's own Barbara Dejmal, who was the hostess with the mostest, making all feel welcome.

MOTIVATING POSITIVE CHANGE

Pastor Kerry Nelson is the Director of Evangelism for our synod. He writes a weekly message called  Mission Possible Network that  always addresses interesting topics. This week he talked about  three factors that he believes motivates positive change in congregations:

1. Inspiration  These are “whispers from the Holy Spirit” or excitement generated by the passion of a leader or new insights given in prayer.
2. Education    Gaining a fresh perspective and a new kind of action/strategy from hearing the voice of experience, from continuing education events, from reading books, etc.
3. Desperation   The jumping off point where it becomes crystal clear that, if anything is going to change, something has to change.

I feel that all three of these factors are at work at Hosanna and are actively motivating us to make positive changes as a congregation.

Let me know what you think. Click in the "Comment" box below and share your thoughts.

-- Nancy Agafitei, President

To receive the Mission Possible newsletter by e-mail, click here.

MISSION FOCUS PRESENTATION

The new Mission Focus team kicked off its new "team" year with Pastor John, President Nancy Agafitei, Betty and Richard Dove, Lois Heckart, Dorothy Hohenshelt, Jeff Jackowski, and team leader Pat Gibbons in attendance.

To watch the Mission Focus Introduction that this group saw at the meeting, click on this link. (Click on the double arrow at the bottom right of the slides to advance through the slideshow. You might have to install the free Microsoft Silverlight program on your computer to view it. After the show ends, use the back arrow of your browser to return to this blog.)

The disciples who attended the first meeting were asked to be part of the team to build the Hosanna Mission Focus long-term plan. We would like a diverse group to give us input so please feel free to attend the upcoming meetings at anytime. They will be posted on the Hosanna calendar on the website.

This team is not an exclusive group and we invite anyone who wants to dream and build our future to feel free to participate at any time.  All of us at some point will be asked for thoughts and assistance. The only requirement is that “you can dream” and “you want Hosanna to be a major presence in our community in future years doing God’s work”.

Hosanna has a significant foundation already in Mission, so we will be looking at the future of Mission Focus. The Mission Focus Team will review:

·      what we do

·      how we do it

·      other possibilities based on the needs of our congregation and our community

·      other ways to accomplish missions and

·      ways to access resources to accomplish these missions.

God is the driver and we will be listening through prayer.

One of the suggestions from this presentation was to learn more about what each team is doing and who are members of these teams. We want to begin with a better understanding of where we are now. We will be asking Team Leaders to present details about what is currently happening and their plans.

The next meeting will be Sunday, October 24, 2010 at 11:30am in the conference room at Hosanna. We will review our existing Mission Statement before we begin to develop more action-oriented Core Values for Hosanna’s future.

-- Pat Gibbons, Mission Focus Team Leader

A BRIEF LOOK AT HOSANNA'S STORY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE MCCONNELLS!

Good fellowship was the order of the day as Bob and Nerisa McConnell celebrated their 70th birthdays at Hosanna with over 100 family members and friends. Bob has worked with the Men of Hosanna, and has played important roles in the construction, care, and financing of Hosanna's facilities. Nerisa has been a strong contributor  to the Hosanna Care team. As an avid reader, she is a regular participant in the Hosanna Book Club. Both Nerisa and Bob helped to start some of Hosanna's traditional celebrations, like the Advent Workshop and the Texas Thanksgiving party. Happy Birthday and many more to these faithful servants!