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Hosanna! Lutheran Church
A Welcoming Community of Believers
Norma King, Media Director (Rush Creek Ward)
Holy Communion is a sacred time each week at Hosanna! Lutheran Church in Liberty where, “The faithful experience God with them in a very meaningful and real way,” said the Rev. Mike Kern.
Communion and baptism are the two sacraments of the Lutheran Church. For worshippers at Hosanna!, their communion wine usually comes from grapes grown on the church property—although there were two years that the grapes were taken by someone in the middle of the night.
This year the congregation was able to harvest 600 lbs. of grapes. In about six months Hosanna! worshippers will be able to partake of communion wine made from their own grapes.
Hosanna! Marks its 25th Year
Hosanna! Lutheran celebrated its 25th anniversary in September. “We were actually the first congregation in the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) in the new millennium,” said Pastor Mike. He likes the title pastor—meaning shepherd—which speaks of his relationship with the people he serves.
Their first official worship service was held in Grand River Chapel at William Jewell College in 1998. In 2002, ground was broken for a building at 2800 N. Church Road, along A Highway, near the present-day Liberty North High School.
While the building was under construction, church members wrote their favorite Bible verses on the studs—”A wonderful blessing that continues today to surround the people of Hosanna as they worship God,” according to A History of Hosanna!
The Beginnings of the Lutheran Church
The Lutheran Church takes its name from Martin Luther who questioned church practices in the 1500s with his “95 Theses.”
“His goal was never to break away from the Catholic Church but to reform what he saw was injustice and really kind of politics over people and the end result was the Protestant movement, which was not his end goal,” said Pastor Mike.
“In our theology, one of the places where we always start is grace. That things are initiated by God, like in I John, it says, ‘We love because God first loved us.’ And so that’s why in our tradition, baptism is not a believer’s baptism. We baptize infants, because we see acceptance into the church and the family of God as something God does. God adopts us rather than us choosing to join God or follow God. And we have a process called confirmation that happens throughout middle school, where folks will affirm their baptism.”
A Warm and Inclusive Congregation
Hosanna! is a warm, friendly and inclusive congregation. They openly welcome guests, include children in their worship services, and value neurodivergent people—those who may think or function differently—such as those with autism, ADHD, anxiety or OCD.
“We try to be very intentional about creating a safe space for people who actually have a hard time fitting in other places,” said Pastor Mike. “We recognize a lot of those families just can’t go to church because their kids are perceived as disruptive or they’re labeled as the naughty kids. But it’s really not their fault. It’s that there’s something biological happening. And so we create a culture both of acceptance, but also helping folks not get to the point of crashing out.
“And so, our goal as a church is to make it so that people can come here and not apologize for who they are,” said Kern. “We seek to help connect them with God and bring out the best of God’s gifts in them.”
Hosanna’s Worship Service
At the beginning of each worship service, a child serving as the crucifer carries a brass cross to the front of the sanctuary. Another child, the acolyte, follows with a long candle lighter to light the altar candles. It reminds the congregation that God is at the center of their worship.
The pastor welcomes the congregation with: “We are gathered together in the presence of God—the One who made us beloved, the One who is love incarnate, and the One who is love living in and through us. Amen.”
The service includes a short confession, congregational singing and prayers, scripture reading, a children’s message, a sermon, praying for individuals by name, the Lord’s Prayer shared by all, passing of the offering plate, and Holy Communion.
At the close of the service, the children in the congregation are invited to the front to share God’s blessing and love with the congregation.
Then, as the congregation sings the sending hymn, the pastor, crucifer, and acolyte retrace their steps, carrying the cross out and extinguishing the candles to signify the conclusion of worship.
Stopping at the end of the sanctuary, Pastor Mike kneels down and holds his microphone for the two children to speak.
“Go in peace. Serve the Lord,” says one, and the congregation responds, “Thanks be to God!”
“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord,” says the other child, and the congregation replies, “Hosanna!”
NOTE: This month, on Sunday, November 23, at 7 pm, Hosanna! Lutheran will be hosting the Liberty-area Ministerial Alliance-sponsored Interfaith Thanksgiving Worship Service & Pie Social–please come get to know these good people for yourselves!
