Church News: Nov 17th, 2022

Happy Thanksgiving!

You Event Koloa Union Church Poipu Youth Group

Thanksgiving Sunday, November 20th 

Join us in our worship service as we give thanks for the many blessings in our lives and in our church!

You are invited to consider a special blessing and write it on a “Joys & Concerns” card before the worship service this coming Sunday morning.

The church office will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.

May our hearts be filled with gratitude!

Holiday Worship Survey

Can we have just a few minutes of your time today?

Will you be around over the holidays? If so, would you consider taking a few minutes right now to fill our a brief survey in order to help Kahu and our Deacons plan a special holiday season according to your needs?

Your input is especially needed if you plan to attend Christmas Eve or Christmas Day services.

Prayers and Squares

You Event Koloa Union Church Poipu Youth Group

Comfort Prayer Quilts for Wilcox Hospital

Prayers and Squares is expanding its ministry: We are creating “Comfort Prayer Quilts” to be distributed at Wilcox Hospital by its chaplain, Rev. Deborah Ball. These quilts will be for patients who don’t have visitors and need to know that someone cares.

We could use your help! If you can sew a straight line and have a sewing machine quietly sitting in a closet, we will have packets available to take home and sew together. Each packet has precut 6 ½ inch squares. Instructions will be inside the bag. Basically you’ll sew 6 squares together to make a row. When you’ve make 8 rows, you sew these together to make a rectangle. Done! (The Prayers & Squares team will add borders and backing.)

Packets are available on the table in front of the office on Sundays. This is an ongoing project and your continued help is greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions, call Sheila at (717) 514-9020.

Mahalo nui loa!

Annual Holiday Outreach

Poipu Church Sunday Service

Thanksgiving Meal Boxes

Poipu Church Sunday Service

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

Poipu Church Sunday Service

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 S

Youth Group Activity

Stop Covid Sign

Miniature Golf

Stop Covid Sign

Alan Akana Gallery

Holiday Open House

Friday, 25th: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Please contact the gallery if you wish to visit after November 27.

All Plumeria Originals & Prints 50% Off or More

Everything Else 20% Off or More:

2023 Wall Calendars
Museum-Quality Prints
(Framed & Unframed)
New Greeting Cards
Coffee Mugs . . .
Proceeds fund the maintenance and repairs of the parsonage

Pandemic Guidelines

Please be vaccinated for Covid-19 or wear a face mask. We request that you sanitize your hands before entering. (Hand sanitizer provided) 6 Guest Maximum in the Gallery at a Time.

RSVP Suggested: Email alanakanagallery@gmail.com

Alan Akana Gallery is Located In The Smith Memorial Parsonage 3281 Waikomo Rd. in Koloa (Parking available on the street and on the property.) 808-855-8806

Online discount of 20% during the holidays: Type discount code “20Percent” at checkout. www.alanakanagallery.com

First Sunday of Advent

November 27th

Join Us for Worship When We Light The “Candle of Hope” As We Anticipate the Coming of Christ.

Salvation Army Lunch

Stop Covid Sign

Watch Our Most Recent Worship Service

Stop Covid Sign

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

Baptism and New Members

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 November 13: Isaiah 65:17-25; Isaiah 12; Malachi 4:1-3; Psalm 98; 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13; Luke 21:5-19.

Readings for November 20: Jeremiah 23:1-6; Luke 1:68-79; Psalm 46; Colossians 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43.

Reading for Thanksgiving Day: Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Psalm 100; Philippians 4:4-9; John 6:25-35.

Readings for November 27: Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44.

More Fun Pictures Since Our Last Weekly News

A Message From Kahu: Nov 17th, 2022

image of Smithsonian museum of African American History & Culture

A Message From Our Kahu

“Dreaming of a Brand New World”

“The greatest among you must become like the youngest
and the leader like one who serves.”
—Luke 22:26—

Throughout the Bible, we find God’s people proclaiming God’s dreams for the world. Here is a part of the dream which we heard on Sunday find in Isaiah 65:

No more shall the sound of weeping be heard in it or the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days or an old person who does not live out a lifetime. Like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain or bear children for calamity. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, but the serpent—its food shall be dust! They shall not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain, says the Lord.

As unrealistic and unattainable as this dream may be, Isaiah nevertheless invites people to commit to it. I believe he does so because he knows that deep down inside, this dream has to do with what we all want: less weeping, less infant mortality, more of our loved ones living to old age, more of us reaping the rich rewards of our labor, less of us being attacked by wild animals and bitten by snakes. Yet, Isaiah is inviting his hearers to think beyond their fences, walls and borders. He is inviting us all to want these things for everyone, rather than just ourselves and those we love. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus shares God’s dream of leaders to think of leadership as humble servanthood. Again, as unrealistic and unattainable as this might be in today’s world, Jesus invites his followers to become such leaders and to choose such leaders. I invite you to commit yourselves to these dreams of God. After all, some dreams really do come true—even the unrealistic and unattainable ones!

Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana

Church News: Oct 27th, 2022

100 Years of Aloha

You Event Koloa Union Church Poipu Youth Group

Koloa Union Church’s 99th
Anniversary Was on October 22!

Commitment Sunday
Was October 23.

On Sunday, we blessed the 2023 commitment cards of all those who brought them (or turned them in earlier). During the month of November, the budget committee will begin creating a budget for next year based on the overall financial commitments we have for the year. Your commitment card is so very helpful in this process! 

Thank you so much to all those who made financial commitments for 2023! If you missed getting your commitment in by Sunday and would still like to let us know your giving plans for next year, we ask that you turn in a commitment card by November 3.

Thank you for your ongoing support of the ministry of Koloa Union Church, especially as we begin our next 100 years!

Stewardship Talks

Thanks to those who gave stewardship talks over the past 2 weeks: telling us about the importance of Koloa Union Church in their families and in their lives and also reminding us about the importance of supporting our church as we begin our next century!

All Saints Day (Observed) Sunday, October 30

You Event Koloa Union Church Poipu Youth Group

Join us in church on Sunday, October 30, as we give thanks for all the saints in our lives—those who are no longer with us and those who are still alive. You are invited to submit a prayer card giving thanks for a particular saint or group of saints for whom you are especially grateful.

Simply write the following: Name of person or group A quality of their life/lives for which you are grateful Kahu will read your card during the sharing of joys and concerns and give thanks for the saint in your life.

Membership Gathering

You Event Koloa Union Church Poipu Youth Group

Date: Sunday, October 30

Time: 11:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Join Kahu Akana and our Deacons for a couple of hours right after church as they share about the United Church of Christ, our church’s history, the benefits and responsibilities of church membership, and what is involved in joining as a member of Koloa Union Church! Those who attend this gathering may then choose to join the membership of the church.

Bring a drink in your own drink container.

The Deacons will provide snacks.

Please RSVP by signing up on the church bulletin board or contacting the church office.

Prayers and Squares

You Event Koloa Union Church Poipu Youth Group

Tuesday, November 1

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.”

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!

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

Annual Holiday Outreach

Poipu Church Sunday Service

Thanksgiving Meal Boxes

Poipu Church Sunday Service

We will be collecting and creating Thanksgiving meal boxes for 10 local families who are struggling to make ends meet. The signup sheet is on the Outreach Information Board just outside the main doors to the church.

Please sign up for food items and bring them to the church by November 20. Boxes will be packaged and delivered to the families by the Koloa Union Church Outreach Committee and Youth Group.

Christmas Stockings

Poipu Church Sunday Service

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 is November 27.

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.

Watch Our Most Recent Worship Service

Stop Covid Sign

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.

Reading for October 23:  Joel 2:23-32; Psalm 65; Jeremiah 14:7-10; Psalm 84:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:6-18; Luke 18:9-14.

Reading for October 30: Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4; Psalm 119:137-144; Isaiah 1:10-18; Psalm 32:1-7; 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12; Luke 19:1-10.

November 6: Haggai 1:15-2:9; Psalm 145:1-21; Psalm 98; Job19:23-28; Psalm 17:1-9; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17; Luke 20:27-38.

Welcome Our New Member

Reverend Deborah Ball has been a resident of Hawaii since 1995. Prior to coming to Hawaii, Deborah served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger, West Africa. She obtained her Master of Cultural Anthropology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and her Master of Divinity at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Under the UCC Board of Global Ministries, Deborah was a missionary for one year in Dumeguette in The Philippines, working with girls and women. Deborah has been a member of Church of the Crossroads on Oahu since 1995. She has served as an associate minister for children and youth at Church of the Crossroads and as Central Union Church’s Associate Minister for Community Outreach. Rev. Ball has served for decades as a chaplain in hospice, hospitals, long-term care, and palliative care settings. She moved to Kauai in March when she began a new ministry as Chaplain at Wilcox Medical Center. Deborah enjoys hiking, gardening, horseback riding and surfing.

More Fun Pictures Since Our Last Weekly News

A Message From Kahu: Oct 27th, 2022

image of Smithsonian museum of African American History & Culture

A Message From Our Kahu

“Blessings For All”

 “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them,
for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” —Luke 18:16—

Throughout the Gospel of Luke, it is clear that God blessed all kinds of people: rich and poor, men and women, young and old, those who looked blessed and those who didn’t seem very blessed at all.

In Sunday’s reading, Luke tells us that “people were bringing even infants to Jesus”—in order that Jesus might bless them. This really bothered the disciples and didn’t make sense to the people standing around. After all, in their minds at least, people get blessed when they did something in order to deserve a blessing. However, throughout his entire ministry, Jesus taught that God blesses all of us—whether we think we do anything to deserve those blessings or not!

Our jobs is to gratefully receive those blessings and let them flow through us to others. Spiritual growth is stunted when those blessings get jammed up—in our thinking, our politics, our assumptions regarding economics, even our religious interpretations and understandings. Let us examine ourselves to see where blessings might get jammed up, remove whatever it is that keeps us from receiving or from sharing…and let the blessings flow!

 

Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana

Church News: Oct 12th, 2022

Youth Halloween Party

Sunday, October 16

4:45 – 7:00p.m.

BOO!!!!

Don’t forget to RSVP by Wednesday, October 12!

100 Years of Aloha

You Event Koloa Union Church Poipu Youth Group

October 23 is Commitment Sunday!

This year’s stewardship theme is “100 Years of Aloha!” On Sunday, the Rev. Dr. David Popham, Conference Minister of the Hawaii Conference of the United Church of Christ thanked the congregation for our commitment as faithful stewards in making the world a better place! He highlighted each of the 5 offerings which Koloa Union Church contributes to every year:

  • Our Church’s Wider Mission, which we give directly from our general fund to support the mission of the Hawaii Conference and the United Church of Christ national office.
  • Christmas Fund, which assists working and retired clergy and church workers who face financial difficulties.
  • One Great Hour of Sharing, which is currently helping people and communities facing disasters, in such locations as Florida.
  • Strengthen the Church, which provides grants to strengthen new and innovative ministries in congregations and Associations all across the country.
  • Neighbors in Need: which we just collected last week in order to assist ministries of justice and compassion, including Native American ministries.

It was nice to hear from Rev. Popham just what a difference our congregation has made throughout the world!

A portion of your gifts to the church’s general fund goes to Our Church’s Wider Mission (the first bullet point) which, in turn, supports all UCC congregations, including us! The general fund also allows us to have a kahu, youth director, administrative assistant; support all of the ministry that we do throughout the year; and pay our utility bills.

Later this week, we will be mailing a letter to everyone on our stewardship mailing list. (If you are not already on our stewardship mailing list, please let us know and we will add you right away!) The letter will include a Percentage Giving Chart. We encourage you to consider what percentage of your income you currently give to Koloa Union Church and then ask yourself what percentage you would like to give. There is no “right” answer. We simply hope that your gifts to the church represents the gratitude that you have for all that the church means to you and so many others. There will also be a commitment card enclosed. We ask that you prayerfully consider an amount, write it on your card, and then bring it to church with you on Sunday, October 23, for the blessing of our commitments. (If you can’t make it to church on the 23rd, feel free to bring your commitment card early or send it to the church office.)

During the month on November, the budget committee will create a budget for 2023 based upon the overall financial commitments we have for the year. The Church Council will review the budget in December, make recommendations and adjustments, then pass on the budget for approval by the Congregation at our annual meeting in January.

Your commitment card is so very helpful in this process! Thank you in advance for your participation and for your ongoing support of the ministry of Koloa Union Church, especially as we as we begin our next 100 years!

Our Stewardship Prayer

O God, just as your faithful servants

have so freely given to our church

over the past century, may I carry

on their tradition of generosity

as I prayerfully consider my

commitment to this

church in 2023.

May my gifts to Kōloa Union Church

truly express the gratitude I have

for this congregation and all

you have done for me.

Amen.

Planned Giving Luncheon

You Event Koloa Union Church Poipu Youth Group

Building a Strong Foundation for the Next Century

Date & Time: Sunday, October 23 11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Location: Smith Memorial Parsonage 3281 Waikomo Road, Koloa

Every church has its ups and downs when it comes to income versus necessary expenditures, including Koloa Union Church. One of the reasons we have made it through the difficult times as a congregation over the past 100 years is because of the legacy gifts that people have left us in their estate plans.

As we plan for the future, we are asking our members and friends to consider a planned gift to the church. You can leave the entirety of your estate to the church or decide upon a specific amount or a percentage to the church, thereby leaving an appropriate amount to your heirs and others as well. Many people are not aware of tax advantages and high bank fees that sometimes eat up a significant portion of an estate gift before it ever gets to the recipient.

If you are interested in learning more, please attend this free planned giving luncheon. After a delicious meal, Norma Doctor Sparks will lead a brief workshop on how to leave the church in your estate plans so that the church will benefit from the maximum amount that you intend to give.

RSVP by contacting the church office by October 16.

Church Breakfast

You Event Koloa Union Church Poipu Youth Group

Date: Tuesday, October 25

Time: 8:00-9:30 a.m.

Kiawe Roots
2-3687 Kaumualii Highway in Lawai
(Next door to 7-Eleven)

Join us on the 4th Tuesday of each Month for delicious food and a fun time getting to know others from Koloa Union Church!

Please RSVP by signing up on the church bulletin board or contacting the church office.

Space is limited.

Membership Gathering

You Event Koloa Union Church Poipu Youth Group

Date: Sunday, October 30

Time: 11:45 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Join Kahu Akana and our Deacons for a couple of hours right after church as they share about the United Church of Christ, our church’s history, the benefits and responsibilities of church membership, and what is involved in joining as a member of Koloa Union Church! Those who attend this gathering may then choose to join the membership of the church.

Bring a drink in your own drink container.

The Deacons will provide snacks.

Please RSVP by signing up on the church bulletin board or contacting the church office.

Watch Our Most Recent Worship Service

Stop Covid Sign

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.

Reading for October 9: Jeremiah 29:1-7; Psalm 66:1-12; 2 Kings 5:1-16; Psalm 111; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19.
Reading for October 16: Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 121; 2 Timothy 3:14-45; Luke 18:1-8.
Reading for October 23:  Joel 2:23-32; Psalm 65; Jeremiah 14:7-10; Psalm 84:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:6-18; Luke 18:9-14.

Prayers and Squares

You Event Koloa Union Church Poipu Youth Group
You Event Koloa Union Church Poipu Youth Group

Fun Pictures Since Our Last Weekly News