Join us at the church on Sunday, July 27th, as Koloa Union Church welcomes the Rev. Dr. Alan Akana as our new pastor! The Installation Service will begin at 4:00 in the afternoon and followed by a picnic dinner on the grounds of the parsonage. (At our 10:30 a.m. worship service this week, we will honor our high school graduates, choir and Sunday school teachers.)
Rev. Dr. Alan Akana
Join us at the church on Sunday, July 27th, as Koloa Union Church welcomes the Rev. Dr. Alan Akana as our new pastor! The Installation Service will begin at 4:00 in the afternoon and followed by a picnic dinner on the grounds of the parsonage. (At our 10:30 a.m. worship service this week, we will honor our high school graduates, choir and Sunday school teachers.)
Rev. Dr. Alan Akana
On Sunday, I shared with the congregation about a workshop I helped with in Honolulu back in May with Rev. Caroline Miura. It was called “Contemplative Listening” and the point was to teach the participants how to carefully listen–without judgment, attachment, giving advice or suggestions. In each session of the workshop a volunteer shared something that was important to him or her, typically something that was weighing heavy on the heart. The rest of the participants were asked to listen and then, when the volunteer speaker was done, to ask questions or make comments in order to make sure that the speaker’s message was heard correctly.
In every session, several timeouts were called because participants kept making judgments, giving advice and suggestions, etc. They found it hard to just listen and make sure they heard correctly. However, by the end of each session, something transformational happened. Listeners said things like: “I never realized how difficult it was to just sit and listen.” Speakers said: “I had no idea how good it felt just to be heard.”
In Jesus’ Parable of the Sower, I counted 19 times in 23 verses the words “listen,” “hear,” and “understand.” It became very clear to me as I was preparing for Sunday’s message that listening was a very important thing to Jesus. Although we can never make others become better listeners, we can do that for ourselves. I encourage you to take some time this week to slow down and listen to God…to others…and to yourself. Just pay attention without judgment, attachment, giving advice or suggestions. Just listen carefully…and see what happens!
Have a great week! I hope to see you on Sunday!
Kahu Alan Akana
On Sunday, I shared with the congregation about the huge differences in spirituality between two prominent figures in the Gospels: John the Baptist and Jesus. On the one hand, John was a hermit who seemed to thrive spiritually by spending most of his life alone in the dessert, eating locusts and wild honey. His enemies claimed he had a demon that kept him alive because he ate so little and gave almost no concern to his physical needs. On the other hand, Jesus’ enemies called him a glutton and a drunkard because he greatly enjoyed eating and drinking with all kinds of people–even those who lived on the margins of society.
John found God in the solitude of the dessert; Jesus found God in the midst of huge crowds and the many people considered “lost” by the establishment. Of course, the Gospels tell us that John spent some time with people and Jesus spent some time alone; but it is clear that they had very different styles in how they experienced God and nurtured their spirits.
I am impressed with not only their different styles of spirituality, but also their focused commitment to a common vision: to love God, others and themselves, to show kindness, compassion and fairness…and to do so without judging others who do it differently, even those who have completely different styles of encountering God, hearing God’s voice, and serving God.
I think the world can learn a lot from John the Baptist and Jesus. I think we all can!
I hope you have a great week encountering God however God shows up and speaks to you…and I hope to see you on Sunday!
–Kahu Akana
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