by admin | Aug 1, 2018 | Message from Kahu
“Make a Joyful Noise”
O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come into God’s presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to God with songs of praise!
(Psalm 95)
On Sunday morning, I told the congregation about a special song that comes from a special place. “Mokuhulu” is a song about four beautiful villages along the Puna Coast on Hawai`i Island—the home of my ancestors and a place I have visited many times. When I first read the English translation of the song, I felt like I was there, for I could not only see the place in my mind; I could also smell the seaweed…and taste the coconut…and feel the rain and the water on my skin…and hear the music! Here is an English translation of the song:
Mokuhulu in the shade of the breadfruit
And coconut trees / This verdant home
Of rain-rustled lehua–of the lehua flower
Kaimu in the fragrance of delicious seaweed
In the sweet song of the sea–
This ocean home on the hilled-up sand
Kalapana, the coconut trees
Bent low for Queen Emma
This place well-known to visitors
Kapa`ahu, this pool for swimming
This tingling-cold water
So thrilling to the touch
To sing the summary refrain from Puna
Comes the fragrance
That is carried here to me
I have visited all of the places that are mentioned in the song as a child and a young adult. Except for just a small part of Kaimu, all of the rest of these villages are buried under lava. Yet, all of those places remain in my memory and they remain in the song; and because of memory and song, all of those places still remain for me.
Music has always played an important part in Hawaiian culture; it has also played a huge part in the Judeo-Christian heritage, mentioned in both testaments. It is music that keeps us close to God, one another and the rest of the world. May we open our hearts and our very lives to the music all around us.
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 message 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.
by admin | Jul 28, 2018 | Newsletter
July 2018 newsletter PDF
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by admin | Jul 26, 2018 | News
KŌLOA PLANTATION DAYS PARADE
Saturday, July 28
Kōloa Union Church will once again walk in the parade! This year’s theme is “Landmarks in Time” and we will feature the parsonage as our church’s special landmark. On our banner will be a photo of the parsonage and the words “Kōloa Union Church Celebrates Its Special Landmark/Smith Memorial Parsonage/Located on the Former Orchard of the Smith Family since 1842.”
Church members and friends are invited to walk with us. Please wear colorful aloha attire or your Kōloa Union Church t-shirt. Also bring some fruit or flowers to carry—anything that might grow on a tree in an orchard—if you are able. Be sure to wear a hat and/or sunscreen, as we will be in the sun for awhile. Please get your red lei from Penny when you arrive so that all walkers will wear one during the parade.
Meet at the church at 8:30 a.m., as the roads will be closed at 9 a.m.
MORE NEWS…
SUMMER BOOK GROUP This summer’s choice for our book group is Becoming Wise: An Inquiry into the Mystery and Art of Living, by Krista Tippet. The author is one of the preeminent voices in religion in the 21st century, having interviewed many of the great religious thinkers and leaders of our time. The group meets on Wednesday evenings through August 1 at 6 o’clock for dinner followed by a discussion led by Kahu Alan Akana. Please sign up so that Kahu knows how much food to prepare for dinner. The group will discuss chapter 4 on July 25.
PICK-A-PARTY “FUN”-RAISER Kōloa Union Church members and friends are hosting a variety of parties during the next few months. Hosts choose the party theme, food selections and number of guests. Hosts also provide the meals and pay for all expenses, and also sell tickets for a chosen amount. All of the tickets sales income will be donated to the church’s general fund. Look for the Pick-a-Party folder for available parties. If you have any questions, please contact Bonnie Kakinami. Click
HERE to email Bonnie or call her at 639-7765.
THE LATEST COCONUT WIRELESS The Council of the Hawaii Conference of the United Church of Christ shares news on the Coconut Wireless, the regular newsletter of the HCUCC. If you would like to keep abreast on news, opportunities and events, please click
HERE for this past week’s news. If you like what you see, you may
subscribe and get every issue of the Coconut Wireless automatically and get the very latest news hot off the press.
LECTIONARY READINGS (Old & New Testament Readings for the Week)
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 of them on the following Sunday. This week’s readings are 2 Samuel 11:1-15; Psalm 14; Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6:1-21.
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“Weekly News of the Church” is provided by 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!
by admin | Jul 26, 2018 | Message from Kahu
“A Leader Is Like a Shepherd”
Nelson Mandela
“I Am The Good Shepherd”
(John 10:11)
On Sunday morning, I quoted Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa, who was born 100 years ago:
“A leader…is like a shepherd.
He stays behind the flock,
letting the most nimble go out ahead,
whereupon the others follow,
not realizing that all along they are
being directed from behind.”
What a humble, yet profound and enlightening way to understand leadership: allowing the most talented people who have special gifts and abilities to lead the way. I shared about Mandela’s life, teachings and legacy, including his commitment to make life better for all people in South Africa—a commitment that was so firm that he was willing to die for it.
In this morning’s Gospel reading, Jesus called himself, “the Good Shepherd,” and his way of understanding shepherding seems to resonate with the life and words of Nelson Mandela.
- First of all, Jesus said that he, as the Good Shepherd, came to bring abundant life to all of the sheep. And we know from the Gospels that he meant all of the sheep, not just a handful of them, or just the best looking ones, or the ones who looked most like him.
- Secondly, Jesus said that the Good Shepherd has such great care and concern for his sheep that he lays down his life for them. Jesus was willing to lay down his life and die for the good of humanity—and he did exactly that.
- Finally, Jesus not only saw himself as the Shepherd, but also the gate. Switching metaphors as quickly as anything else, Jesus didn’t need to be the key figure that was always in the spotlight. He was just as happy being the gate!
May we all appreciate the leadership of Jesus in his time in our own time, and may we seek to model our own forms of leadership after his.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
__________________________________________
Our Kahu (Pastor) offers a weekly message in church most Sundays during the year. Click HERE to see a video of his message 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.
by admin | Jul 18, 2018 | Message from Kahu
“A Dancing Savior”
By Cosmo Sarson
“We played the flute for you and you didn’t dance.”
(Matthew 11:17)
On Sunday morning, I talked about dance as an important part of spirituality for many cultures and religious traditions—including Christianity. I read a poem called “Lord of the Dance,” by Jennifer Lynn Woodruff.* Here is the poem she wrote, speaking of Jesus:
He was the Word, a wild and dancing Word,
before the world began; he danced in flame,
and galaxies were born, and songs became
the sinew of our bones, and he was Lord.
He danced in bread and wine, and in the bright
blue fountains of the Water of our birth,
and all the bells rang, and along the earth
the incense of a prayer rose, fresh and light.
He danced in speech, in names that had a power,
in dreams with symbols vibrant and unknown,
and all that was and is and is to come
was whole in grace and worship in that hour.
But we have fenced him in and tied him down;
we think he comes as words and not as Word,
as only what we prove, what we have heard—
not seen, not tasted, and therefore not found.
We preach a thousand sermons, and we lift
a thousand prayers in motions memorized,
and stumble home and have not realized:
the dance is mind and heart—the dance is gift.
He seeks us in the bread we fear to break,
the banners that we lift with trembling hand,
the images we fail to understand,
the steps in God’s strange dance we fear to take.
He is the Word, a wild and dancing Word;
he sings; his joy is fierce, his longing deep.
He calls us from ourselves and bids us weep
and dance and worship him, for he is Lord.
The photo above is actually a giant mural painted on the side of a building in Bristol, England. It seems that people all over the world imagine Jesus as a dancing Savior. There are many stories of people finding healing, wholeness, abundant life, and a closer relationship to God through dancing not only for Jesus but with him. Perhaps there is a dance for you to participate in right now.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
*In my sermon, I incorrectly gave credit to Laurie Beth Jones for this poem. She did write about dance and the importance of recognizing that Jesus dances with everyone—even the people in the shadows…the ones nobody else wishes to dance with. My apologies for the mistake.—AA
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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 message 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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