by admin | Apr 28, 2017 | Message from Kahu
The Earth Our Home
Psalm 104
How many are your works, O Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures!
On Sunday, I shared with the congregation that Martin Luther, often called “The Father of the Protestant Reformation,” was once asked what he would do if he knew Jesus were coming back tomorrow. He responded that he would plant a tree! You might ask, “Why plant a tree if Jesus is returning and the world as we know it might come to an end?” I believe the most appropriate response is: ” That’s what we are here for.”
In the creation story found in the book of Genesis, chapter 2, God created an earthling (Hebrew: adam) from the ground (adamah) and breathed life into it. Then the earthling, later called Adam, was placed in a garden called Eden; and the Scriptures tell us that the reason Adam was there was twofold:
- First and foremost, Adam was to care for the garden.
- Secondly, Adam was to eat from the garden.
In our Judeo-Christian tradition, Adam has become the symbol for humanity and Eden the symbol for the Earth; and we humans have been placed on the Earth for the same reason Adam was placed in the garden:
- To care for the Earth.
- To eat from the Earth.
We have done a pretty good job at eating from the Earth but not so good at caring for it. As we celebrated Earth Day this past weekend, I challenged us all to consider the words of Martin Luther: Let’s plant trees… today… tomorrow… and each and every day until Jesus returns… and do whatever else we can to care for this beautiful Earth that feeds us and gives us such joy and pleasure. After all, that’s what we are here for!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
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Click HERE to watch a video of Sunday’s sermon. Videos of Kahu’s sermons are available most weeks. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to 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 | Apr 19, 2017 | Message from Kahu
By the Grace of God, I Am What I Am
1 Corinthians 15:10
Easter Sunday was a very special day in the life of Koloa Union Church! During our worship service, we baptized five children and two adults, and we welcomed 6 new members! The service was filled with hopeful and beautiful music.
My message focused on the Apostle Paul’s message to the Corinthians: how the risen Christ appeared to so many people at different times and in different ways. Paul says that Christ even appeared to him—not that he deserved it. And then Paul says, “But by the grace of God, I am what I am.” I shared that this is the idea is the point of our baptisms: I am what I am, you are what you are, we are what we are, by the grace of God. As you read Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, it is apparent that God’s love flows into our lives and fills us up, so much so that this love spills over into the lives of others; for we are all God’s beloved children.
I shared the story of Louie Zamperini, the American Olympian who survived 47 days in an inflatable raft on the open ocean and then two years in a POW camp during World War II. He left for the war as a national hero, but came home feeling broken and ashamed. His depression, PTSD and inability to sleep drove hime to drinking, and his life was quickly spiraling downward. Yet, he remembered a promise he made to God while he was floating at sea: “If you save me, I will serve you forever.” He found his old Bible and started attending church services, and he too encountered the risen Christ. He no longer saw himself as a national hero or a broken person who barely made it home from the war alive. Rather, he was a beloved child of God; and God’s love for him was so immense he found himself sharing it with others. He too came to realize what the Apostle Paul realized: “By the grace of God, I am what I am.”
May you also realize that those same words are for your life as well. I invite you to say them over and over—and then just see what God might do with your life.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
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Click HERE to see a video of Sunday’s sermon. Videos of Kahu’s sermons are available most weeks. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to 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 | Apr 19, 2017 | News
ANNUAL RUMMAGE & BAKE SALE at the church this Saturday, April 22, 8 – noon. We offer old, new, ordinary and unique items for sale. Proceeds to be used for our church youth. We are asking for volunteers all week to help carry, sort and organize our donations, and then to help out on the day of the sale. Contact Judyth Foley for more information: 818-726-1344.
KAHU’S NIECE TO DANCE Ana Akana, Kahu’s niece (and Palani’s cousin) will dance hula as part of our worship service this Sunday, April 23. She grew up dancing in a halau in the San Francisco Bay Area. She will be visiting from Detroit where she now lives and does mission work.
CONGREGATIONAL MEETING Sunday, April 23, immediately following the worship service. The Church Council has called a meeting to discuss the possibility of allowing Alan Akana Gallery to remain in the Smith Memorial Parsonage after June 2017.
ALAN AKANA GALLERY OPEN HOUSE The gallery will host an open house fundraiser for National Tropical Botanical Gardens on Sunday, April 23, from 3-5 p.m. Join Kahu and Palani for a fun gathering of live music, hula and art giveaways! The watercolors of the beautiful flowers of Hawaii which are painted by our Kahu are on display at Alan Akana Gallery, located in the Smith Memorial Parsonage at 3281 Waikomo Road in Koloa. The gallery is open on Sundays through Thursday 1 p.m..-5 p.m. (closed Fridays and Saturdays). A majority of the net profits from the gallery goes directly to the ministry of Koloa Union Church! For more information about the gallery, click HERE.
AND COMING UP….
TREE TRIMMING The monkey pod trees in the church parking lot will be trimmed on Monday and Tuesday, April 24 & 25. There will be no parking available those two days.
SPRING AHA MOKUPUNI Hanapepe United Church of Christ, April 28-29, 2017 (“Justice Depends on Just-Us.”) `Aha Mele will be on Friday evening, beginning with dinner at 5:30, followed by music from all of our UCC Churches on Kauai. Those wishing to carpool should meet in the church parking lot and be prepared to leave at 5:00 sharp. Saturday morning will begin at 9:30 a.m. and include workshops on “justice,” including teen suicide, incarcerated women, and Marshallese Health. There will also be a workshop on the recent assessment of the Hawaii Conference of the United Church of Christ.
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.
by admin | Apr 11, 2017 | News
ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING This special offering of the United Church of Christ supports disaster relief, refugee support, and development throughout the world. We will collect the OGHS offering this week on Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday. Please use the special offering envelopes or write OGHS on your check. Mahalo nui for your generosity!
MAUNDY THURSDAY On Thursday, April 13, at 7 p.m., we will commemorate Jesus’ last supper with his disciples. We will sing hymns, read Scriptures, reflect upon their meaning and celebrate Holy Communion. Join us in the sanctuary for this special service.
EASTER EGG DECORATING & LUNCH On Friday, April 14, at 11 a.m., the children of the church will gather in Moore Hall for our annual Easter egg decorating and lunch. The eggs will be used in the Easter egg hunt at the parsonage on Easter.
EASTER SUNDAY
6:00 Easter Sunrise Service at Kukuiolono Park in Kalaheo
10:30 Easter Worship Service at the church (NOTE: there will be NO breakfast served this year.)
11:45 Potluck Picnic and Easter Egg Hunt at the Smith Memorial Parsonage.
PARKING ON EASTER For those who are able, you are requested to park on Poipu Road and Waikomo Road on Easter morning, as well as at the Ramos’ residence (3303 Waikomo Road; next door to the parsonage), as well as the side and back of Moore Hall. We want to save parking spots at the church and in the parsonage driveway for those who have difficulty walking.
AND COMING UP….
ANNUAL RUMMAGE & BAKE SALE At the church on Saturday, April 22, 8 – noon. We offer old, new, ordinary and unique items for sale. Proceeds to be used for our church youth. We are asking for volunteers all week to help carry, sort and organize our donations, and then to help out on the day of the sale. Contact Judyth Foley for more information: 818-726-1344.
CONGREGATIONAL MEETING Sunday, April 23, immediately following the worship service. The Church Council has called a meeting to discuss the possibility of allowing Alan Akana Gallery to remain in the Smith Memorial Parsonage after June 2017.
ALAN AKANA GALLERY OPEN HOUSE The gallery will host an open house fundraiser for National Tropical Botanical Gardens on Sunday, April 23, from 3-5 p.m. Join Kahu and Palani for a fun gathering of
live music, hula and art giveaways! The watercolors of the beautiful flowers of Hawaii which are painted by our Kahu are on display at Alan Akana Gallery, located in the Smith Memorial Parsonage at 3281 Waikomo Road in Koloa. The gallery is open on Sundays through Thursday 1 p.m..-5 p.m. (closed Fridays and Saturdays). A majority of the net profits from the gallery goes directly to the ministry of Koloa Union Church! For more information about the gallery, click
HERE.
SPRING AHA MOKUPUNI Hanapepe United Church of Christ, April 28-29, 2017 (“Justice Depends on Just-Us.”) `Aha Mele will be on Friday evening, beginning with dinner at 5:30, followed by music from all of our UCC Churches on Kauai. Saturday morning will begin at 9:30 a.m. and include workshops on “justice,” including teen suicide, incarcerated women, Marshallese Health and “Open and Affirming Congregations” (churches throughout the UCC that officially welcome LGBTQ people). Please let us know by Easter Sunday if you are planning to attend the Aha Mele and stay for a delicious dinner on Friday and/or have breakfast and lunch on Saturday. We need to make meal reservations.
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 | Apr 11, 2017 | Message from Kahu
BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS
FOR THEY WILL BE CALLED CHILDREN OF GOD
MATTHEW 5:9
During our worship service on Sunday, the children of the church performed their Easter play for us called, “It wouldn’t be Easter without….” They talked about all of the things that children like about Easter: the Easter bunny, Easter baskets, candy, eggs and, of course, peeps! Yet the children reminded us that it wouldn’t be Easter without Jesus, and it wouldn’t be the same without everyone! It was a beautiful and meaningful play, as the children mentioned Palm Sunday, Easter, resurrection, Jesus and the importance of everyone feeling welcome.
I then shared briefly about Jesus’ message of peace as he entered Jerusalem on a donkey and as the crowd spread their branches on the ground before him and shouted “Hosanna!” His peace was very different from Pax Romana—the peace of the Roman Empire. The Romans used exploitation, oppression and intimidation to get what they wanted, and they called it “peace.”
Jesus taught an altogether different way of understanding peace. To him, peace meant life, love, and service to one another. As followers of Jesus, we too understand peace in this way. I invited everyone to look around and discover the places where peace is missing—and bring peace to those places: life, love and service to one another.
I invite you now to look around this week and do just that; I also invite you to join us on Maundy Thursday as we commemorate Jesus’ last supper with his disciples…to our Easter sunrise service at Kukuiolono Park… and our Easter worship service at the church. May this Holy Week and Easter be filled with hope as we remember that life and peace are always possible—even when it seems like it’s the last thing that can happen.
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.
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