A Message from Kahu Alan Akana

by admin | Mar 1, 2016 | Message from Kahu

NEW KOA PULPIT AT KOLOA UNION CHURCH

GROUNDED IN OUR ROOTS

On Sunday, we read from the Gospel of John, chapter 8, where Jesus addressed some of the Jewish leaders who claimed their exclusive hold on the truth and their right to hurt and kill others based upon their ancestry and position as children of Abraham and of God. Jesus told them: “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing what Abraham did, but now you are trying to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God.” Jesus also told them: “If God were your Father, you would love me.” His point: You cannot use your relationship with God or your ancestral heritage to hurt others or claim to have an exclusive hold on the truth. Instead, we will love others—even those with whom we disagree. We will treat everyone with compassionate openness. Just knowing who our ancestors are is not enough: we must learn from them!

I shared with the congregation a bit about my maternal grandmother, Alice M. Gagner, and what I learned from her. She grew up in a small log cabin with 5 siblings on a farm in rural Montana. Ever since she was a young girl, she wanted to attend college and study agriculture. Since there was no high school for miles around, she moved in with a family in another town and worked for her board and room in order to graduate from high school. When she applied for college, people told her that she was not likely to get admitted because agriculture was “a man’s job.” Four years later, she was the first woman to receive a degree in agriculture from Montana State College (now University) in Bozeman. She also received a degree in home economics and, because of  her two degrees, doors opened up for her all over the world, including the 10 years she lived on Kauai. She was the University of Hawaii home extension agent and coordinator of girl’s 4H for Kauai from 1949-1959.

My grandmother taught me to follow my dreams, to not allow others to determine their outcome because they doubted their possibilities, and to persevere at whatever I set out to do. She did so with grace and kindness to others.

On Sunday, I announced to the congregation that I decided to pay for our new koa pulpit, custom-designed for our sanctuary by Frank Pullano of Kalaheo, and have it named in memory of my grandmother. There will be a plaque installed on the inside which will have the following words:

In Loving Memory of Alice M. Gagner (1900-1992)

Resident of Kauai (1949-1959)

Grandmother of the Rev. Dr. Alan Akana

I invited those in attendance on Sunday to consider someone who was influential in their lives and consider ways that they might honor them. It might be a gift to the church or a meaningful not-for-profit organization; perhaps planting a tree or a garden; maybe just deciding to live with compassionate openness. I invite you to do the same.

Aloha nui!

Kahu Alan Akana

A Message from Kahu Alan Akana

by admin | Feb 22, 2016 | Message from Kahu

GROUNDED IN THE SKY

On Sunday, I shared with the congregation about some of my experiences when I looked to the sky and said, “Wow!” One of those moments was with my son Palani on a very cold summer night at the top of Mauna Kea (at nearly 14,000 feet) on Hawai’i Island. After the sun set below us, we huddled under a heavy quilt and stared at the sky. There were so many stars that I didn’t even recognize that they were stars. I said to Palani, “It’s too bad there are those clouds (to which I pointed directly above us); otherwise we could see even more.” He responded, “Dad, that’s the Milky Way!” Imagine: seeing so many stars I actually thought it was a large cloud that covered a good portion of the sky! I didn’t know the Milky Way could actually look that “thick.”

As I stared at the sky, I felt a sense of awe and wonder. Just thinking about how many stars there must be up there and how far apart they are also made me feel very small. I thought of God creating it all and knowing every detail of every star and planet; and yet, I was reminded that God cares for me.

When we read our Gospel lesson from John, chapter 3, we heard these words: “For God so loved the cosmos….” The Greek word “cosmos” is directly translated into English as “cosmos” as well as “world”; but I chose to have it read with the former word because I wanted to remind us that God loves the entire universe—not just our planet, not just people, not just Christians. John tells us that Jesus said, “For God so loved the cosmos!”

I invite you to consider God’s love for the cosmos and how we might take much better care of it. I also invite you to consider God’s love for you and how you might share that love with others this week.

I invite you to join us for our Lenten Soup Supper on Wednesday evening for a time of reflection and discussion on this week’s theme of “Grounded in the Sky.” By the way, if you would like to see the video of the Stations of the Cosmos, which I mentioned in my sermon on Sunday, click HERE.

Aloha nui!

Kahu Alan Akana

“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. Join us at 3289 Poipu Road in Koloa!