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A Message From Kahu: July 21th, 2022

by admin | Jul 21, 2022 | Message from Kahu

image of Smithsonian museum of African American History & Culture

A Message from Our Kahu

“Christ in You”

“The riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you” (Colossians 1:27)

On Sunday, I invited the congregation to consider the great mysteries of the universe. It seemed especially pertinent since so many of us had just viewed some of the new and amazing images of the universe from the James Webb Telescope which were released to the public during the previous week. It was mind-boggling to see so many galaxies in a small photograph and also to know that the photographs represented just a pinprick of the sky. With trillions of galaxies out there in space, each with billions of stars, there is no question that mystery is here to stay. There will always be more that we don’t know than all that we do—and that goes for God as well as the universe!

According to the Letter to the Colossians, the most important mystery is that the fulness of God is in Christ—and Christ is in you! And because Christ is omnipresent, the fulness of God is in every other human; and not only in every other human, but in all creation. Imagine that: the fulness of God is everywhere in the trillions of galaxies of the universe! I invite you to ponder this for awhile. Consider how you might live differently knowing that the fulness of God is in you and everywhere in the universe. Remember that God is love. Remember that God deeply desires peace and reconciliation between people…and between families…and between communities…and between nations. Let’s live knowing that this is what God wants…and we have the fulness of God within us to do something about it.

Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana

Church News: July 21st, 2022

by admin | Jul 21, 2022 | News

Church Breakfast is Back!

Kiawe Roots
2-3687 Kaumualii Highway Lawai, HI 96765
(Next to 7-Eleven in Lawai) Tuesday, July 26 8 – 9:30 a.m.

We have reserved 20 seats, which are available on a first-come, first-served basis. For reservations, contact the church office by phone (808-742-6622) or email (see the link below), or else sign up on the church bulletin board.

View Menu

Plantation Days Parade

You Event Koloa Union Church Poipu Youth Group

Saturday, July 30, 2022 Meet in the church parking lot between 7:30 & 8 a.m.

“Gather Together Again” Good News: We have secured two 4-person golf carts for those who want to join us but are unable to walk the parade route. We plan to decorate the two carts, followed by a walking unit, along with music.

The parade starts at 10 a.m., but we plan meet earlier to decorate and get organized.

We need to be in the lineup at Koloa School by 8:30 a.m. Don’t forget your walking shoes, sunscreen, water and hats. Please write your name on the signup sheet on the church bulletin board if you plan to participate! If you want to ride one of the vehicles in the parade, write “cart” next to your name on the sign-up sheet. First come, first serve for riders. We need tropical flowers, greenery and volunteers to decorate two golf carts and a trailer. Please let the church office know if you can help.

Prayers & Squares

Tuesday, August 2 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

All are welcome to join us! There are things to do for experienced quilters, as well as those who have no experience quilting or sewing! The team meets on the first Tuesday of every month. Prayers & Squares is a ministry promoting prayer using hand-tied quilts. Our motto: It’s not about the quilt, it’s about the prayers.

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

Youth

Back to School Party!

Friday, August 12 6 – 8 p.m.

For All Middle & High School Students Save the Date! More details are on the way!

Hookipa Wellness Class

A Free Exercise/Stretching Class for Seniors

Led by RoseTatiana Warken Ceballos Sundays 11:45 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. (Usually not the 3rd Sunday of the month) Please register with RoseTatiana before attending: call or text (808)-652-8985 or email at kupunawellness@gmail.com Mahalo nui loa to RoseTatiana for your ongoing commitment to the health of our kupuna!!!

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 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

Doug Duvauchelle for the inspiring music for our worship service!

Michael Horning for welcoming everyone to Sunday service by blowing the pu!

Skylar for being our youth lay reader this month!

Chuck and Joey Rebb for the beautiful tropical flowers!

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 July 17: Amos 8:1-12; Psalm 52; Genesis 18:1-11; Psalm 138; Colossians 1:15-28; Luke 10:38-42.

Readings for July 24: Hosea1:2-10; Psalm 85; Genesis 18:20-32; Psalm 138; Colossians 2:6-19; Luke 11:1-13.

Readings for July 31: Hosea 11:1-11; Psalm 107;1-43; Ecclesiastes 1:2-14; Psalm 49:1-12; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21.

Reading for August 7: Isaiah 1:1-20; Psalm 50:1-23; Genesis 15:1-6; Psalm 33:12-22; Hebrew 11:1-16; Luke 12:32-40.

Fun Pictures Since Our Last Weekly News

Photos from Our Nature Hike Mahaulepu/Makauwahi

On Sunday, July 17, at sunset, Kahu led a group of 15 to see the maiapilo—the night-blooming endemic flower of Hawaii, which grows on the ocean cliffs of Kauai.

More Fun Pictures

This is a photo of Cathy Evans from Padum, in the northern Himalayas, at 15,700 feet altitude!!! She continues her volunteer work with HOG (Hands on Global). Mahalo nui to everyone who has supported her through your prayers, financial contributions and donations to our Ukrainian quilt!

Sydney and Caleb both “placed” in the 2022 Drive Chip & Putt sub-regionals!!!

A Message From Kahu: July 13th, 2022

by admin | Jul 13, 2022 | Message from Kahu

“Gratitude, Faith, Love, Hope”

On Sunday, I told the congregation that this past 4th of July was hard for me to get into the spirit of the holiday. Early in the day, I heard the news about the tragic mass shooting at the Independence Day parade in Highland Park, Illinois. I had spent close to a year there consulting a church with their capital campaign. The former mayor of the town was part of the campaign leadership team, as were other community members. Although it has been nearly 20 years since I was there, I knew that some of those people with whom I worked rather closely would have been at the parade last week. I wondered if any of them were shot. I wondered if any of their family members were killed or injured. I wondered how many funerals they would be attending in the days to come.

To be completely transparent, most of the news these days has been very difficult to hear. I almost dread turning on the radio to NPR every morning. So much of what our country promotes regarding independence and freedom these days seems the opposite of what our founding fathers would have wanted and certainly different from what Jesus and his early followers taught about freedom.

We began this week diving into the Letter to the Colossians and we find in the opening chapter 4 themes that help us both to figure out what freedom meant to Jesus and also how to cope with national politics when so many of our leaders who claim to be followers of Jesus seem to not be following him at all.

Gratitude
Faith
Love
Hope

I encourage you to spend some time reflecting on these four themes—in terms of how they help you to define true freedom and also how they might help you determine a role you might play in helping our society to overcome and end inequality, racism and injustice. May these themes guide us and may they sustain us and help us to thrive as individuals, families, communities and as a nation.

Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana

Church News: July 13th, 2022

by admin | Jul 13, 2022 | News

Our New Youth Director!

Congratulations to

Our New Youth Director

Tiffany Marrotte

Tiffany began her role as our new youth director on July 1! During the summer months, Tiffany will be planning a comprehensive youth program for middle and high school students, checking in with the youth and their families in terms of availability and interests, meeting with Kahu weekly in order to communicate and present plans, and also creating a survey for church members which will be attached to a future edition of the Weekly News by the fall.

Here are some ways you can begin helping now:

Invite youth from your family, neighborhood, or social circles to a youth gathering or activity.
Provide a meal or dessert for a youth gathering.
Volunteer an area of expertise that you can present to the youth.

All of our youth are invited to walk with us
in the Koloa Plantation Days Parade
Saturday morning, July 30th.

The next youth group gathering will be
Friday, August 12, at 6 p.m.

Nature Hike

Nature Hike
Mahaulepu/Makauwahi
Sunday, July 17
5:00-7:30 p.m.

See the night-blooming maiapilo—the endemic flower of Hawaii in the photos above and below, which grows on the ocean cliffs— as well as many other indigenous flowers!

Meet at the church parking lot at 5:00 p.m.
We will carpool to a place near the CJM Stables.
We will drive on a dirt road but it is kept up nicely.

Wear closed-toe shoes. The terrain is rocky and uneven! Dress for the wet & windy cliffs, including ocean spray!
Be sure to bring a camera on this hike. Capture the beauty of the flowers and the stunning coast at sunset!
Bring a bottle of water and a flashlight—just to be safe.We plan to be back at the vehicles just before dark.
Bring a face mask for the car ride if you carpool and when we are gathered close together. Friends and family members are welcome!

Kahu will lead this hike and point out some of the beautiful flowers he paints in his watercolors: ilima, maiapilo, naio, naupaka, and more! The entire hike, lasting about two hours, is considered easy and we will go at a slow pace and stop often.

Please see Elizabeth Mares or Kahu if you have any questions regarding this fun activity!

Opening & Affirming

Our church Council approved sending a gift of $250 to the Open & Affirming (ONA) Coalition in order to support the LGBTQ+ community in our congregations and denominational organizations. The Coalition provides ongoing support to ONA congregations like ours and also to those that are considering becoming ONA.

In response to our gift, we received a lovely thank you note from the ONA Coalition:

June 30, 2022

Dear friends,

Thank you for your generous donation of $250.00 on June 30, 2022 to the Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ.

Thank you for putting your hope into action by donating to the Coalition.

You, our donors, are invaluable to us and our work.

It’s because of your faithful giving that we are able to continue advocating and teaching throughout the entire United Church of Christ. Already this year, we’ve certified ONA church #1,750 and the number continues to grow. Every month, new congregations join our movement. Our ambitious program of webinars, workshops and coaching is bringing churches together and opening up new possibilities for ministry with and for LGBTQ+ neighbors. The results: an unprecedented growth in the number of Open and Affirming congregations in the United Church of Christ, and a revival of existing ONA churches who through the Coalition’s ministry are discovering radical and effective ways to work in their communities for justice, freedom and dignity.

By giving to the Coalition, and by taking action in your church and community, you are growing our movement in numbers and spirit. The staff and Leadership Team of the Open and Affirming Coalition thank you and ask you to hold us in your hearts and in your prayers. The work is sometimes difficult, but knowing we have the support of a movement of more than 350,000 faithful people in more than 1,750 congregations gives us the confidence we need to face the future with hope.

Wishing you every blessing and the deepest joy,

The Rev. Andrew G. Lang
Executive Director

Kauai Pride Parade & Festival

Thank You Note from Kauai Pride

Koloa Union Church also received a very appreciative thank you note from the Kauai Pride Parade Committee for our participation and on-going support. Thanks to all who participated last month by walking in the parade, working at the Koloa Union Church table during the festival, praying that our presence would encourage people who need encouragement.

Mark Your Calendars for NEXT YEAR:
Kauai Pride Parade and Festival
Saturday, June 3, 2023

Koloa Plantation Days Parade

Saturday, July 30, 2022
“Gather Together Again”

Koloa Union Church is joining the parade as it returns after a 2-year hiatus! We plan to decorate a vehicle pulling a trailer, followed by a walking unit, along with music, and most likely a vehicle for those unable to walk the entire parade route. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please speak with Kahu, Michael Horning or Penny Osuga.

The parade starts at 10 a.m., but we plan meet earlier to decorate and get organized. We need to be in the line up at Koloa School by 8:30 a.m.

Don’t forget your walking shoes, sunscreen, water and hats.

Please write your name on the signup

sheet on the church bulletin board
if you plan to participate!