Several of us from Hosanna attended the Leadership Gathering on August 6 at Kinsmen. There were over 100 attendees from various Lutheran churches in the area. We heard some of the things other churches are trying and moving forward on. It helps you realize we are all one church but with opportunities to do God’s work in our own locations with our own gifts.Bishop Rinehart, Peggy Hahn and Rev. Pedro Suarez facilitated the event but many others with expertise in other areas presented workshops. Folks, the workshops were great! We listened and learned a great deal.
Peggy Hahn talked about the Peru trip and how we are learning from our companion synods and they from us.
Bishop Mike talked about Texas and how we have become a true melting pot of races and cultures --more so than in other area of the U.S. If we are to minister to all people, we must understand and adapt our ministries to do so. He also talked about our youth being the lifeblood of our churches. If we want to continue our ministries and pass on the tradition of our faith, then we have to be intentional about involving and nurturing our youth.
I attended a workshop by Rev. Brad Otto on talking to and listening to our youth, providing a safe place where they can feel they can come and be safe with others. He suggested ways to talk about faith, sex, drugs, etc. in ways that youth do not feel uncomfortable. He had suggestions for Youth Leaders and parents. I would highly recommend inviting him to come and present a session to our leaders and parents.
The other workshop was on Demystifying Social Media where Rev. David Hansen presented his thoughts on uses of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Blogging. Using these tools can reach a good portion of our communities. We need to examine how to best utilize these tools. The rapid use of each of these social media is almost mind boggling. These touch our youth and many other members.
Bottom line -- the synod has listened to our needs and is providing assistance by presenting such events to help us access information and tools to bring back to our home churches. If we wish to be doing God’s work at Hosanna, then attending these events and others I feel is crucial. Learning from others should become part of our ongoing developmental upgrades.
-- Pat Gibbons, Mission Focus Team Leader/V.P.
