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Church News: Dec 14th, 2022

by admin | Dec 14, 2022 | News

You Event Koloa Union Church Poipu Youth Group

C.A.P.S Guidelines

FACE MASKS ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED OUTDOORS.

Face masks are now optional any time you are outdoors at church. This

includes the patio area where you may choose to sit during a worship service.

THEY ARE STILL REQUIRED INDOORS MOST OF THE TIME.

You are asked to wear a face mask before entering the sanctuary and Moore Hall for worship services. Kahu or a Deacon will let you know when you may remove your face mask.

Students, teachers and volunteers are asked to wear face masks in the Sunday school room until instructed otherwise.

If you are visiting staff or volunteers indoors, please check before entering if they would like for you to wear a face mask.

You do not need to wear a face mask indoors when gathering with a small group who are all part of your family or social bubble.

PLEASE BRING A FACE MASK WITH YOU.

It is best to have a face mask handy in case you need one even if you don’t plan to use it. We will do our best to always have a supply on hand in case you forget yours.

PLEASE DO YOUR BEST TO STAY HEALTHY.

The best way to keep from spreading coronavirus and other contagious diseases is to stay healthy yourself, so let’s keep washing our hands, using hand sanitizer, and wearing a face mask in the presence of strangers and those who might be sick.

PLEASE CONSIDER THE COMFORT LEVEL OF OTHERS.

Please be sensitive to the concerns, beliefs and practice of others. Rather than assuming another person has the same comfort level as you, it is better to ask such questions as:

Would you prefer that I wear a face mask?
May I shake your hand?
Can I give you a hug?

Thank you for doing your part to keep everyone safe and healthy over the holidays!

Centennial Events & Fundraiser

100 Years of Aloha 1923-2023 Centennial Events & Fundraiser

The Centennial Committee has been meeting for nearly 3 years in order to plan the very best celebration in 2023!

The two big events are:

Saturday, July 29: Koloa Plantation Days Parade
Sunday, July 30: Centennial Celebration and Luncheon

Be sure to save these dates on your calendar! There will be lots of music, food, gifts, and a beautiful memory book of the past century. We also plan to remodel our church kitchen during the year as part of our celebration.

In order to help pay for the costs, the Centennial Committee will be selling two items on Sunday mornings until they are sold out:

Christmas Tree Ornaments: These are round, shiny, durable, solid metal ornaments with our centennial logo printed on both sides. Each ornament comes with a bright red ribbon to make it easy to hang on your tree for years to come!
Centennial T-shirts: These are 100% cotton white t-shirts with our centennial logo printed on the chest. You can show off our centennial all year, wear the shirt in the parade or when representing Koloa Union Church at an island-wide gathering of the Kauai Association of the United Church of Christ!

The cost for an ornament or t-shirt is $20 apiece.

Just think of all the people for whom you might want to get one more Christmas gift! Additional gifts to help cover the costs of the centennial, including the kitchen remodel, may be directed to the “Centennial Fund.” (Drawings of the kitchen will be available in early 2023.)

United Church of Christ Christmas Fund

To Be Collected on December 18, 24 & 25

Thank You for Supporting The Christmas Fund!

This special offering, administered by the United Church of Christ Pension Boards, provides direct financial assistance to retired and active UCC authorized ministers and lay employees and their surviving spouses, including pension and health premium supplementation, emergency assistance, and Christmas “thank you” checks. Each year, UCC congregations throughout the country collect this offering to assist faithful servants of God who are facing financial difficulties. We not only share hope, peace, joy and love with them; but they, in turn, pass these things along to others in their communities and in the world.

We will collect the Christmas Fund offering on December 18, 24 and 25. Offering envelopes will be provided.

Please write checks to “Koloa Union Church” and write “Christmas Fund” on the note section of your check. If you would like to make a donation online, please write “Christmas Fund” in the note section.

Congratulations!

Alan Akana Gallery

Fourth Sunday of Advent

December 18th, 10:30 a.m.

Join Us for Worship When We Light The “Candle of Love” As We Prepare Our Hearts for Christmas

Christmas Eve Service

December 24th, 7:30 p.m. Music & Readings

Join Us for a very special Christmas Eve service with lots of special music and the reading of the Christmas story.

Pandemic Guidelines for Christmas Eve:

Please wear face masks indoors during the entire service.
Face masks will be optional anywhere outdoors, including on the patio.
We will not observe social distancing requirements: attendees may sit in any of the seats.

Doors will open at 7 p.m. Because this is our first in person Christmas Eve service since 2019, we anticipate a decent crowd. Those wishing to sit together should come early.

Christmas Day Service

Christmas Day Service
Holy Communion

Sunday, December 25 10:30 a.m.

Join Us for a very special Christmas Day service with lots of special music, reflections on the Christmas story, and Holy Communion. Our regular Sunday morning guidelines will be in effect on Christmas Morning.

Please wear face masks until the service begins.
Please sit 6 feet from others.
Masks are no longer required outdoors.

Watch Our Most Recent Worship Service

Watch Our Most Recent Worship Service

You can click the button below to watch a video of a recent worship service:

Watch the most recent worship service

Watch ALL of Our Worship Services

Please Share!

Our online worship services are a great way to introduce people to Koloa Union Church…and provide inspiration and hope to friends and family!

Feel free to forward this email or send the YouTube link to anyone whom you think would enjoy watching our online worship service.

Share our worship service with even more people! You can also put the link of any video of our worship services directly onto your Facebook page and thereby introducing every one of your Facebook friends to our worship services and our church!

Mahalo to Worship Participants

Lectionary Readings

Weekly Readings from the Bible

Each week, Christians throughout the world read biblical passages from the Revised Common Lectionary, including the Old Testament, Psalms, New Testament, and Gospels. After three years, a good portion of the Bible is included and the cycle begins again. RCL passages are often read in church worship services, and Kahu Akana usually includes at least one reading each Sunday.

Readings for December 11: Isaiah 35:1-10; Psalm 145:5-10; Luke 1:46-55; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11.
Readings for December 18: Isaiah 7:10-16; Psalm 80:1-19; Romans 1:1-7; Matthew 1:8-25.
Readings for Christmas Eve: Isaiah 9:2-7; Psalm 96; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-20.
Readings for December 25: Isaiah 52:7-10; Psalm 98; Hebrew 1:1-12; John 1:1-14.
Readings for New Year’s Eve: Ecclesiastes 3:1-13; Psalm 8; Revelation 21:1-7; Matthew 25:31-46.
Readings for January 1: Isaiah 63:7-9; Psalm 148; Hebrew 2:10-18; Matthew 3:12-17.
Readings for Epiphany: Isaiah 60:1-6; Psalm 72:1-14; Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12.
Readings for January 8: Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17.

Prayers and Squares

Youth Christmas Party

Everyone had a wonderful time at the parsonage! Lots of laughs, games, music and gift exchange!

Delicious food, thanks to Aunty Chel!!

More Fun Pictures Since Our Last Weekly News

A Message From Kahu: Dec 14th, 2022

by admin | Dec 14, 2022 | Message from Kahu

image of Smithsonian museum of African American History & Culture

A Message From Our Kahu

“Are You Ready for Christmas?”

People often ask, “Are you ready for Christmas?” That’s kind of a tricky question to answer during this rather busy time of the year! We rarely feel ready when we measure “readiness” in terms of all of the extra tasks we take on during this time of the year—as fun as they may be.

For me, being ready for Christmas primarily means being able to see however God shows up in my life and all around me—even when God appears in disguise. When Jesus was born, most people would never have guessed that God would come to the world in the form of a poor, helpless baby to parents who didn’t have a bed for themselves or a crib for their newborn child.

Today, God continues to show up incognito—as a person who challenges our perceptions and tests our patience…as an opportunity to love someone in brand new way…as an invitation to try something new and life-giving…as a “disappointment” that helps us to focus on something we never even noticed before.

When “readiness” is defined in these terms, I think I am ready, yet I continue to learn to be more ready with each passing year. I pray that you too will be ready for Christmas…and continue to learn to be even more ready!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana

Church News: Dec 1st, 2022

by admin | Dec 1, 2022 | News

Holiday Survey

Holiday Worship Survey

Thank you for those who completed our survey!

Here are some important things we learned from the survey:

Most people are quite happy with our worship services.
Kahu’s messages and musical offerings were marked “especially liked” more than other parts of the worship service.
Most respondents look forward to getting things back to pre-pandemic “normal,” including: sitting together, no more face masks, congregational singing, unison readings, etc.
Most would plan to attend an in-person Christmas Eve service in the 7-7:30 timeframe.
Although there are some who would not attend a Christmas Eve service if we lifted all pandemic requirements for the evening, others prefer lifting all requirements and an equal number prefer sitting anywhere as long as people are masked.
Only one person indicated that they are not concerned at all about Covid-19 in a crowded space. Others still have some concerns regarding their health. Nearly forty percent marked that they are not concerned “as long as there are reasonable pandemic requirements.”

The Deacons greatly appreciate those who took the time to take the survey. The results gave them some helpful data on which they considered in their decisions in moving forward during the holiday season.

Prayers and Squares

Tuesday, December 6, 10:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M.

Prayers and Squares is a ministry promoting prayer by creating beautiful hand-tied quilts and offering them to people in crisis or those whom we wish to offer a special aloha. A prayer is said with each knot that is tied in the quilt. When recipients put the quilts it over themselves, they are covering themselves with our prayers. Our motto: “It’s not about the quilt; it’s all about the prayers.”

To request a quilt for church members or friends in crisis, call Debbie Gunning at 808-652-7899.

No experience in quilting or sewing is necessary. There are jobs for everyone to help in the making of the quilts…and everyone is invited to pray!

Mahalo nui loa!

Youth Christmas Party

YOUTH CHRISTMAS PARTY Calling all middle and high schoolers! Join us for a Christmas Party! Smith Memorial Parsonage 3281 Waikomo Road December 11 4:45-7:00 p.m. Christmas Feast Fun & Games Good Conversation $5 Gift Exchange RSVP to Tiffany (808) 651-1397

Outreach

We will be collecting and creating Thanksgiving meal boxes for 10 local families who are struggling to make ends meet.

If you signed up to bring food items, please bring them to the church by this coming Sunday, November 20.

Boxes will be packaged and delivered to the families by the Koloa Union Church Outreach Committee and Youth Group.

Christmas Stockings

We will stuff Christmas stockings with special items and gift cards for 10 local families who are struggling financially this year. We collect change, cash and checks throughout the year in our spare change jar. If you have some extra funds in your bank account or wallet, please consider an extra gift to make Christmas even merrier for a local family. If you know of any families who could use some extra help this holiday season, contact Amber Strong or the church office.

The deadline for donations for this year’s stockings is December 4.

Note: We primarily pay for this outreach through the change jar, to which people contribute throughout the year, and from personal donations. So be sure to look for spare change lying around at home or in your car.

You can contribute financially to this ministry by writing “Holiday Outreach” on the note section of your check made out to “Koloa Union Church” or on the “Comment” box when you give online. Contact Amber Strong or the church office.

Lectio Divina

Lectio Divina December 14th, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Join Kahu and Karen Johnson at the Smith Memorial Parsonage for a time to hear and respond to the Scriptures in a quiet, reflective and meaningful way. Lectio Divina is a traditional monastic practice of scriptural reading, meditation and prayer intended to promote communion with God and to increase the knowledge of God’s word. Please RSVP by December 11 if you plan to attend.