by admin | Jun 13, 2017 | Message from Kahu
“A Gift Rising from the Chaos”
On Sunday, I shared several stories about the chaos that we sometimes encounter in our lives. We’ve all been there, and probably not for the last time. We look within us and all around us, and things that once made sense no longer do; these times are often accompanied by darkness, confusion, uncertainty about how to move forward; and we might even wonder, “What good can come out of this?” And yet, there are often amazing gifts that rise from chaos. This is a theme throughout the entire Bible, beginning with the very first chapter where God created the gift of the universe out of chaos.
One of the stories I shared was about a very special gift given to a girl named Anne on her 13th birthday, exactly 75 years ago (June 12, 1942). It was a diary, in which she began writing almost immediately. For the next two years, her family hid from the Nazis in a secret annex above her father’s place of business in Amsterdam. Those two years were extremely difficult, but nothing compared to what happened to Anne, her family and the others who were hiding in the annex: they were all taken to concentration camps. Anne, her sister and mother all died in the camps. Miraculously, her father survived and later came across her diary. That book, The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank, has become one of the most beloved pieces of literature of all time. What a gift it was to the world, not only to see inside a young girl’s heart, but to see the effects of human cruelty and to learn from them.
Another story I shared was about one of Elie Wiesel’s final nights in a Nazi concentration camp. The war was coming to an end as Russian troops were gaining ground and Nazi guards began piling Jewish bodies, dead and alive, on top of each other. Elie was on top of his young friend Juliek. Somehow, Juliek slipped out from underneath Elie and began playing a moving piece by Beethoven on his violin. When Elie awoke in the morning, he saw that Juliek had been killed and his violin crushed to pieces. However, many years later, he wrote of the special gift of that song on a very dark and scary night.
Although the chaos we experience might seem mild or even insignificant compared to the chaos of Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel, the very important lesson I learn from these stories is that there is always the possibility that an amazing gift can rise out of even the deepest and darkest chaos of our human experiences. I encourage you to look for the gift when you are in the midst of chaos…and to be the gift-bearer and even the gift for others in their times of chaos.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
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Videos of Kahu’s sermons are uploaded onto YouTube most weeks. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to our church. You can also subscribe on YouTube ; that way you can receive a notification when a new sermon is posted.
“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 | Jun 13, 2017 | News
SUMMER BOOK GROUP Kahu Akana will lead our summer book group at the parsonage, 3281 Waikomo Road in Koloa, on Wednesday evenings, beginning June 14. The group will gather at the parsonage at 6 p.m. for dinner and then discuss the book Convictions: How I Learned What Matters Most, by Marcus Borg. In this book, Borg reflects on his life and how he developed his most bedrock convictions–and why they matter. Please pick up your book at church or at book group for $10, and sign up on the bulletin board so that Kahu knows how much food to prepare. Kahu suggests that you read the first two chapters for June 14.
FATHER’S DAY LUNCH Please join us for our Father’s Day lunch after Sunday service, June 18.
CHURCH COUNCIL The Council will meet in Kahu’s office on Sunday after Aloha Hour.
JULY NEWSLETTER Deadline for articles for our July newsletter is Monday, June 19.
ROCK & BOWL Friday, June 30, 6:30-9 p.m. $14. Please sign up so we can reserve lanes.
PRAYERS & SQUARES Contact Angela Dressel if you would like to get involved in praying for people in crisis or helping to make quilt squares for those in crisis.
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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 | Jun 8, 2017 | Message from Kahu
“A Generous Invitation”
We had a wonderful celebration on Sunday as we gave thanks for all that we have accomplished during the last two years of our capital campaign, “Maika`i Hana Hou!” (“Creating Goodness & Beauty Once Again!”). It was an honor to have the Rev. Dr. Charles Buck assisting in our worship service, as well as the Rev. Caroline and Tad Miura and Caroline’s mother in attendance for this special day! It was also a pleasure to have Lori Dill dance hula to “Aloha Aina” for us. Lori is a descendant of the Rev. Dr. James and Melicent Smith, who arrived in Koloa in 1842 to serve as the missionary doctor for Kaua`i and Ni`ihau.
Our text for the morning was the second chapter of Acts, in which the disciples of Jesus spoke in the tongues of all the people who gathered in Jerusalem to present their offering to God. Rather than speaking in Hebrew or Greek, which most of the visitors knew, the disciples spoke in all of the common languages of the vicinities from which the people came. This was an act of radical hospitality and inclusion, which has always been the nature of God and of the Christian Church.
As the people of Kōloa Union Church have spent two years offering gifts, prayers and service to the capital campaign, I know that we understand radical hospitality and inclusion. After all, the reason we decided to have a capital campaign in the first place was to be more welcoming and inviting to all people.
The Holy Spirit invites us into a community of radical welcome and inclusion; and then we invite others. It is a very generous invitation!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
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Click HERE to watch a video of a recent sermon. Videos of Kahu’s sermons are available most weeks. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to our church. You can also subscribe on YouTube anytime you watch a sermon; that way you can easily watch any past sermon and even receive a notification when a new sermon is posted.
“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 | Jun 7, 2017 | News
OFFICE CLOSED Monday, June 12, for King Kamehameha Day.
SUMMER BOOK GROUP Kahu Akana will lead our summer book group at the parsonage on Wednesday evenings, beginning on June 14. The group will gather at the parsonage at 6 p.m. for dinner and then discuss the book Convictions: How I Learned What Matters Most, by Marcus Borg. In this book, Borg reflects on his life and how he developed his most bedrock convictions–and why they matter. Here is an excerpt from the book: “Imagine that Christianity is about loving God. Imagine that it’s not about the self and its concerns, about ‘what’s in it for me,’ whether that be a blessed afterlife or prosperity in this life. Imagine that loving God is about being attentive to the one in whom we live and move and have our being. Imagine that it is about becoming more and more deeply centered in God. Imagine that it is about loving what God loves.” Please pick up your book at church for $10, and sign up on the bulletin board so that Kahu knows how much food to prepare. Kahu suggests that you read the first two chapters for June 14.
CAN YOU ASSIST A UCC MINISTER? Kahu’s friend, the Rev. Sarah Rentzel Jones moved from Lana`i to Kaua`i last week to begin her new position as chaplain at Wilcox Hospital, and her family (including kids) will be joining her in a couple of weeks. For the past few years, Sarah has been an Associate Conference Minister in the Hawai`i Conference and Pastor of the UCC Church on Lana`i. She is in need of bedroom furniture for the house they will be renting in Lihu`e. If anyone has any furniture that is no longer needed or can sell it to Sarah for a reasonable price, please contact
Kahu Akana. Mahalo!
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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 | May 30, 2017 | News
SALVATION ARMY LUNCH Our church will be serving lunch at Salvation Army in Hanapepe on Wednesday, May 31. A couple more volunteers are needed. Please contact the church office if you can help serve.
TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION! Join us on Pentecost Sunday, June 4, to celebrate the second anniversary of our capital campaign “Maika`i Hana Hou” (Creating Goodness & Beauty Once Again). We will celebrate our accomplishments during our MORING WORSHIP SERVICE at 10:30 and then move out to the lawn for an OLD-FASHIONED CHURCH PICNIC and POP-UP TALENT SHOW! Bakers are encouraged to bring a pie and people who would like to share their talent can sign up on June 4th. We will also have special guests joining us for the celebration, including our Conference Minister, the Rev. Dr. Charles Buck. Come and celebrate all we have accomplished in the last two years! You are also invited to join us in our church tradition of wearing the color RED, which is the liturgical color of Pentecost.
STRENGTHEN THE CHURCH OFFERING On June 4 we will collect the special mission offering called “Strengthen the Church.” This is a special mission offering to reimagine and build the future of the United Church of Christ. Shared at the conference and national levels, STC largely supports youth ministries and full-time leaders for new churches in parts of the country where the UCC voice has not been heard. As God calls our congregations to be the church in new ways, your generosity will plant new churches, awaken new ideas in existing churches and develop the spiritual life in our youth and young adults.
CAN YOU ASSIST A UCC MINISTER? Kahu’s friend, the Rev. Sarah Rentzel Jones will be moving from Lana`i to Kaua`i this week to begin her new position as chaplain at Wilcox Hospital on June 1, and her family (including kids) will be joining her in a couple of weeks. For the past few years, Sarah has been an Associate Conference Minister in the Hawai`i Conference and Pastor of the UCC Church on Lana`i. She is in need of furniture for the house they will be renting in Lihu`e and also a car for the first few weeks until the rest of the family arrives. If anyone has any furniture that is no longer needed or can sell it to Sarah for a reasonable price, please contact
Kahu Akana. The same goes for anyone who has a car that Sarah can borrow for a few weeks at most. Mahalo!
PRAYERS & SQUARES Contact Angela Dressel if you would like to get involved in praying for people in crisis or helping to make quilt squares for those in crisis.
_______________________
“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!
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