by admin | Nov 8, 2017 | Message from Kahu
“Doing Justice”
“Do justice…love kindness…walk humbly….
(Micah 6:8)
On Sunday we celebrated the justice work of the United Church of Christ by contributing to the annual “Neighbors in Need” special mission offering and considering the ways we can work toward a more just world where everyone is valued and cared for and our earth is treated justly as well!
In my sermon, I talked about a lecture that some of us attended last week. The guest speaker was Bishop Yvette Flunder of Affirming Ministries and Pastor of City of Refuge in Oakland, CA. In her talk, Bishop Flunder spoke about her move from believing in the “Either/Or God” of her childhood to the “Both/And God” which she has experienced in her life. The former tells us, “You either believe the things I believe and do things the way I do them or you are wrong—and opposed to the ways of God.” She talked about her understanding of Christian baptism and how the only “correct way” was total immersion; every other form of baptism didn’t count in God’s eyes because it was wrong. The “Both/And God,” however, recognizes and celebrates variety and diversity. There are many ways to baptize, just as there are many ways to understand God, the Scriptures, and how our experiences, faith and lives interact.
As I thought about what it might be like if all people believed in this “Both/And God,” I imagined a world in which God was truly pleased with us all. As the prophet Micah considered the question of what is good and what God really wants from people, he made it really clear in his answer: to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God. When we worship a God who blesses all people and not just the ones we agree with or happen to like, we are ready to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
P.S. Please see “Weekly News of the Church” to learn more about Neighbors in Need and also to make a gift to Pacific School of Religion where I serve on the Board of Trustees.
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Videos of Kahu’s Sunday’s sermon are uploaded onto YouTube whenever available. Please share these videos with friends. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them. You may also subscribe to the page on YouTube; that way you can receive a notification when a new sermon is posted.
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana” is provided most weeks by the Kahu (Pastor) of Koloa Union Church, a congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
by admin | Nov 8, 2017 | News
FALL `AHA MOKUPUNI
Sunday, November 12, 3-7 p.m.
At Koloa Union Church
Koloa Union Church will host the annual fall gathering of the Kaua`i Association of the United Church of Christ. This year’s theme is “Changing Lives, Transforming the World—Together.” Young people will meet in Moore Hall and adults in the sanctuary at 3 o’clock, followed by an intergenerational worship service in the sanctuary, followed by dinner. (Note: the Kaua`i Council of the Hawaiian Council of Congregational Churches will be meeting in the sanctuary at 2 p.m.)
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NEIGHBORS IN NEED
Special Mission Offering
The Neighbors in Need is a special mission offering of the United Church of Christ churches that supports ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States. Grants are awarded to churches or organizations doing justice work in their communities for the Council for American Indian Ministry and for the Justice & Witness Ministries to support a variety of justice initiatives, advocacy efforts and direct service projects. Please write checks to “Koloa Union Church” with “NIN” in the note section. We will accept donations through the month of November. Please give with a generous spirit as we make the world a better place together!
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Wishing Kahu Akana a Happy Birthday
By Making a Gift in His Honor!
In honor of Kahu Akana’s birthday on November 3, you are invited to give a gift in his name to the general fund of Pacific School of Religion where he serves on the Board of Trustees. Kahu is also the Chair of PSR’s Advancement Committee, which oversees the fundraising success of the school. Kahu says, “I am passionate about supporting Pacific School of Religion because it provides a theological grounding with a strong emphasis on social justice for people like me who want to serve the Church and make the world a better place.”
Please consider a gift of any size during the month of November by writing a check to Koloa Union Church with “PSR-Akana” in the note section. You may also give online at the PSR website; be sure to click under “Tribute Gift” the box “This gift is in honor, memory or support of someone,” and write “Rev. Dr. Alan Akana” in the box.
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THANKSGIVING OUTREACH
We will be putting together ten Thanksgiving dinner boxes for ten less fortunate families in the Koloa area. There is a detailed sign-up sheet if you can donate any of the listed items. If you would like to donate financially, please write “Hunger Outreach” on your check. Any money not used will be rolled over into our Christmas Outreach. The boxes will have a turkey along with all the trimmings for a complete Thanksgiving meal. If you know any families we can help, have questions, wish to volunteer, please contact the church office.
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THE BRIDGE: KAUAI TO COLLEGE
“Gala Bossa Nova Brazil”
Join Us for Our Annual Fundraiser!
The Bridge: Kauai to College is just over a year old, has become a stand-alone non-profit, has 11 mentoring pairs, and is hosting their annual fabulous fundraiser: a Brazilian gala on December 3 at Koloa Landing. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Music by Rumba de Fuego, dancing, authentic Brazilian buffet, no-host bar, silent and live auctions! For tickets: brazilgalatickets@gmail.com. You may also click
HERE to see the gala website. We are shooting for 3 full tables as a goal for our church!
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CHILDREN/YOUTH CHRISTMAS PROGRAM
The children and teenagers practice during Sunday school for the Christmas Program, which they will perform in church on Sunday, December 17. Please RSVP to Tiffany Marrotte if your children are planning to participate and which practices they will attend. If your child(ren) would like to play the ukulele for the songs, ukulele practice will start on Sunday, November 12 at 9:00 a.m.
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COCONUT WIRELESS
The Council of the Hawaii Conference of the United Church of Christ shares news on the Coconut Wireless, the regular newsletter of the HCUCC. If you would like to keep abreast on news, opportunities and events, please click HERE for this past week’s news. If you like what you see, you may subscribe and get every issue of the Coconut Wireless automatically.
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PRAYERS & SQUARES
Contact Angela Dressel if you would like to get involved in praying for people in crisis or helping to make quilt squares for those in crisis.
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“Weekly News of the Church” is provided by Koloa Union Church, a congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference. Join us at 3289 Poipu Road in Koloa!
by admin | Nov 1, 2017 | Message from Kahu
500th Anniversary of the Reformation
“Always Reforming”
On Sunday we celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. I shared a couple of family stories about some rather hostile words and actions between some of my relatives. Catholics and Protestants sometimes spoke very unkind words to each other, and sometimes they didn’t speak to each other at all. My mother’s paternal grandmother would have nothing to do with her grandchildren, for example, because they were not raised by two Catholic parents. On my father’s side of the family, there were Catholics who converted to Pentecostals and then told the Catholics they were going to hell.
The 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation is today, as it began on October 31, 1517, when Martin Luther, the German priest and professor of moral theology at the University of Wittenberg, wrote a letter to the Archbishop in an attempt to stand up to the unjust teachings and practices of the Church. Because of the hostility between Catholics and Protestants over the ages, including in my own family, I “celebrated” the Reformation with some sadness.
I also shared an encounter I had with a Catholic priest by the name of Father Richard Hopkins, a distant cousin on my mother’s paternal side of the family—the side where my great-grandmother would have nothing to do with my mother and her two brothers. Father Richard reached out to me in the 1990’s and brought healing to my family. He died this past August at the age of 98. I was reminded this past week as I read his obituary of the Church’s need to always be reforming, for the Church always has more to learn in terms of loving others with God’s unconditional and eternal love. Father Richard was a wonderful example of that for me.
I am wondering how I might be better at loving others. I hope you are wondering the same!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
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Videos of Kahu’s Sunday’s sermon are uploaded onto YouTube whenever available. Please share these videos with friends. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them. You may also subscribe to the page on YouTube; that way you can receive a notification when a new sermon is posted.
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana” is provided most weeks by the Kahu (Pastor) of Koloa Union Church, a congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
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