“Peace Be with You”
On Sunday, I shared with the congregation about the kind of peace which Jesus offered the world—and still offers the world. It is a peace that is for everyone, and it can be identified in a willingness to share it with others.
I have come to understand my art as a way in which I can share peace with others. I told the congregation about Darlene, the person who is my Spiritual Director, who meets with me monthly on the phone to help me discover how God is showing up in my life. As I shared with her several months ago about my desire to share peace through my art, she was very encouraging; she also emailed me these words later that week:
The divine calls us to bring our art,
whether it’s sacred listening or painting flora,
to the world.…
We are called to bring Peace,
to wage Peace with our art.
Darlene also sent me the painting above by Irene Hardwicke Olivieri. It’s a picture of a woman dressed as a warrior, and she (as an artist) is loaded down with weapons: her weapons are all the things she needs to paint. There are paintbrushes of all sizes and many tubes of watercolors; there are pencils and scissors; and there is canvas and paper. There are also a necklace and bracelets with little charms depicting the paintings she was working on at the time. Just like a soldier would have badges representing past triumphs and victories, the charms represent her accomplishments in pieces of art. Irene called the piece “Better Is the Ready.” However, when Darlene sent it to me, she called it “Peace Warrior,” to remind me that my art not only brings peace to me, but it is a way I bring peace to the world.
I begin most days watercoloring for about an hour, trusting that my art will bring a bit more peace to the world. And, as I paint, I am reminded that we are all creative artists in one way or another, and we can use our art to share peace. I hope you will take a moment just now and give thanks for the art forms you use to share peace with others.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
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Our Kahu (Pastor) offers a weekly message in church most Sundays during the year. Click HERE to see a video of his sermon from this past Sunday. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see many of his past messages and subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. 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.
“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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