OCC 2024 Hosanna Mission Trip
June 23-29, 2024
Ozaukee Congregational Church is partnering again this year with Hosanna Industries to support their work and ministry in Pennsylvania. A team from Ozaukee Congregational Church and a team from First Congregational Church in Wauwatosa will join together to provide labor and resources for Hosanna projects during the week of June 23-29th.
Where?
Hosanna Industries is located in Rochester, Pennsylvania—about a half-hour northwest of Pittsburgh. Our work projects in previous years have been in Cranberry (Pittsburgh area) or Johnstown (about two hours east of Pittsburgh.) We will stay at a hotel reasonably close to our work site.
What is Hosanna Industries?
Hosanna Industries was founded in 1990 as a faith rooted non-profit whose mission involves a variety of charitable initiatives. Currently, Hosanna serves in Southwestern Pennsylvania and has also offered assistance in locations outside of Pennsylvania in response to disaster relief.
Hosanna Industries provides needed services to the community at no cost to homeowners Hosanna believes everyone should have a safe and secure place to live and are committed to making that a reality for as many people as possible. They have a field staff that leads teams of volunteers, who make critical home repairs and new home construction for people in need. They also organize community outreach programs and events to engage the local community, and to raise funds to support their continued efforts. Learn more at hosannaindustries.org
Who is going on the trip?
Able-bodied adults, college and high school students can participate in this trip, which will be led by OCC’s Rob Fredrickson and First Congregational Wauwatosa’s Tanya Wallner. 6-10 people from OCC and 6-10 people from FCC Tosa will make up the team.
What will the team do?
Hosanna will determine the specific project, but last year projects included:
• siding a three-story, multi-family house
• Removing 27 old windows from a duplex
• Installing 27 new windows in that duplex
• Installing new kitchen flooring in that duplex
• Installing new cabinets and countertop in the duplex
• Exterior painting at two houses
When is the trip?
The team will leave on Sunday morning, June 23rd, traveling in personal or rented vans and arriving in PA that evening. Work will begin the next morning and happen throughout the week. The team will leave PA for home on Saturday, June 29th, and will arrive back in the Milwaukee area that evening.
Why did OCC choose this particular mission project?
For OCC, this will be our eighth year of Hosanna mission trips. (We started in 2014, with Covid-related cancellations in 2020 and 2021.) Each experience has been unique and wonderful! We consider Hosanna’s staffers to be good and trusted friends. Hosanna is affiliated with the National Association of Congregational Christian Churches (NACCC), of which OCC is a part.
What is the cost?
The cost is $500, which covers transportation, lodging, breakfast & lunch, and supplies some resources to Hosanna for the work we will do. Each person will also be responsible for their own dinners, which we’ll do cheaply – Qdoba, Chick Fil-a, etc.
$250/person is due by Feb. 1, at which point we’ll begin to book hotel rooms and figure out other logistical details. The remaining $250/person will be due on April 1st. (Payment can be made through the OCC website, under the GIVE tab, or by check to OCC.)
We will have a "team meeting" for participants and parents sometime in May — just a 45-min or so time to talk through final details about travel schedule, hotel rooms, packing list, spending money, etc. There will also be a one-page waiver that parents will need to sign.
OCC’s Mission Mindset
1. We go to serve—to serve God, and others.
2. We go as ambassadors—of OCC, of Congregationalism, of Wisconsin, of Christ.
3. We go as guests—of Hosanna Industries, of Pennsylvania, of the people we serve.
4. We go to make friends—with our teammates, the Hosanna staff, and others.
5. Flexibility will be key for all of us.
Thanks for your interest in participating with us! We hope and pray the trip both meets good needs in Pennsylvania and also is a positive experience for those who attend.
Please feel free to contact Rob Fredrickson at 414-688-8991 (rcf474@gmail.com) or Jeff Larson at 469-236-4222 (jeff@occhurch.org) with questions or to sign up.