December Newsletter
The Newsletter is provided monthly 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!
Weekly News of the Church
THE SEASON OF ADVENT This year during Advent, some of the artists among us are sharing their art in order to help us fully enter into the spirit of the season. Christ is always present and yet coming to us in new ways all the time. We invite you to come, open your hearts to the art and the artists among us, and see how Christ might come to you in a brand new way during this special season.
AN ADVENT MINI-RETREAT Resource for Christian Spirituality is hosting a mini-retreat called “They Who Wait” on Saturday, December 10th, from 9 a.m to 3 p.m. Click HERE to see the details.
PRAYERS & SQUARES Pray without ceasing! (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Koloa Union Church is on the threshold of creating a new prayer ministry— Prayers & Squares: the Prayer Quilt Ministry (http://www.prayerquilt.org). Some first steps have been taken: the Council has approved the ministry; we have joined the organization and will be Chapter 1228; and we have a Prayer Coordinator (Karen Johnson) and an initial Chapter Coordinator (Angela Dressel). A meeting for those interested in learning more (and for those ready to join) is scheduled for January 6, 2017 from 3-5 p.m. The meeting location is to be determined. You do not need to know how to sew or quilt to join us; you just need to be willing to pray and help with the effort in any way you are able. Fabric of Faith: A Guide to the Prayer Quilt Ministry, by Kimberly Winston, is a lovely book introducing the ministry. Look for more information in the weekly E-News or contact Angela, abdressel@gmail.com or 808-332-7371. Our most important need is for you to pray for the establishment and organization of this ministry.
CHRISTMAS PARTY AT THE PARSONAGE Our annual Christmas party at Kahu’s home will be Friday, December 9, beginning at 6:00 pm. We will gather at the Smith Memorial Parsonage (3281 Waikomo Road). Please bring a dish to share for our potluck dinner and your singing voices, as we plan to sing Christmas carols!
POINSETTIAS You are invited to bring a poinsettia to decorate the sanctuary during the Christmas season. Just place it on the floor in front of the communion table. We will keep it watered during the holiday season.
CHRISTMAS OUTREACH “Spare Change to Help Needy Families” We plan to give gift cards to families in our community before Christmas so that they can have food and gifts for their children. Just place your change before December 11 in the Spare Change Jar as you enter or leave the church. We will add up our change and purchase gift cards for local stores. If you know any families we can help, have any questions, or wish to volunteer, please contact Judyth Foley at 818-726-1344.
CHRISTMAS CAROLING Once again we will be joining the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign as they sing Christmas carols in front of Sueoka Store on Friday evenings, December 16 & 23, 6-7:30 p.m. Please join us for singing a song or two or stay for the entire time. Bring musical instruments and your singing voice for this fun and casual evening as we raise money to feed hungry people on the island.
THE CHRISTMAS FUND Each year at Christmastime, congregations of the United Church of Christ across the country take up a collection to provide pension and health premium supplementation to lower-income retired church workers, and emergency assistance to clergy and lay church employees in need, as well as “Thank You” gift checks to hundreds of faithful retired church workers. The fund is administered by the UCC Pension Boards. We will collect the Christmas Fund offering on December 18, 24 & 25.Please give generously to help faithful church workers who are experiencing difficult times.
ANNUAL SPRING RUMMAGE SALE Saturday, April 22, 2017, 8: a.m. – noon. We are accepting your rummage sale donations at the church. Call the church (742-6622) or Judyth (818-726-1344) for drop-offs. We welcome all smaller items, larger items later (storage space is an issue). Our goal is to have both storage sheds full of your donations. Profits will be used for our youth.
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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!
A Message from Kahu Alan Akana
On Sunday, Karen Johnson helped us kick off the Season of Advent by reading her beautiful poem, Make Room, in which she encouraged us all to make room for Christ during this time of the year. The poem gave me hope as Karen lit the Candle of Hope—hope that we can always make room for Christ and for God in our lives.
Later in the service, I shared about my maternal grandmother’s life and how she was a model of hope for me. As a young girl, Alice wanted to study agriculture but when she shared this dream with others they either laughed at her or else told her she could not do it because agriculture was “man’s work” and not suited for women. Nevertheless, she ended up as the first female to graduate with a B.S. degree in agriculture from Montana State College (now University) in Bozeman, Montana. After graduation, she wanted to raise her children—my mom and her two brothers. After an abusive marriage and an horrific car accident, in which she suffered a broken neck and burns all over her body, she was told that she would never walk again and could certainly never raise her children. Nevertheless, she went back to college to earn another bachelor’s degree—this one in home economics—and was able to keep her family together until each of her kids graduated from high school. Then she wanted to see more of the world, so she lived on Hawai`i and Kaua`i Islands and also in India. She also traveled extensively in her 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and even well into her 80’s. To this day, whenever I face challenges, just remembering my grandmother gives me hope!
On Sunday, I also talked about our Old Testament reading from Isaiah, chapter 11, which is a vision of hope:
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
These words were written during a time in Israel’s history that seemed pretty hopeless. The armies of Babylon had attacked, burned villages and cities, killed many, and took most of the people back to Babylon in order to serve as slaves to the Babylonians. And yet, the writer of Isaiah had a vision of hope that new life would grow out of what was chopped down, that the future would be even better than the past.
May you find hope in your life whenever you face challenges. May you dream big dreams and commit yourself to those dreams, always remembering that the loving God is always present.
I hope you will join us in church this Sunday as we move from hope to peace. Dr. Douglas Duvauchelle will share with us how the art of music brings him peace. We will also celebrate Holy Communion.
Have a great week as you make room for Christ in your life, and experience great hope and peace!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
Click HERE to see a video of last Sunday’s sermon.
Videos of Kahu’s sermons will be available every week through Christmas Day. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church.
“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.
A Message from Kahu Alan Akana
On Sunday, we celebrated and gave thanks for the many blessings in our lives. We read the passage from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, chapter 4:
- Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I shared with the congregation about my experience of returning to joy and gratitude as often as possible. There have certainly been times in my life when joy and gratitude seemed far away—and I’m pretty sure that has been the case for you as well! But I have discovered that when we return to joy and gratitude as quickly and as often as possible, we find deep and lasting peace.
Two special things happened early in the week that brought me great joy and gratitude. First of all, I was at the church on Tuesday when the volunteers returned from delivering boxes of food to families on the south shore who are struggling financially. I got to hear firsthand how much joy our congregation brought to some families that would likely have little to eat on Thursday. Secondly, I was in my office on Tuesday morning, meeting with Dan Giovanni regarding our capital campaign projects, and a visitor on vacation from Idaho walked up and told us what a beautiful church we had. She was so moved by the beauty of the outside of our building and our new landscaping that she wanted to see the inside of the building. Afterwards, she commented that we have such a beautiful and special place and said that she will join us for worship on Sunday morning when she returns to the island. As she walked away, I turned to Dan and said, “Well that just made my day!” All of our generosity and efforts to create a welcoming and inviting space are certainly paying off!
This coming Sunday, we begin the Season of Advent, in which we celebrate the coming of Christ. Even though Christ is always with us and never leaves us, Christ also seems to come in new and surprising ways. This is the season to be open to those surprises. I hope you will join me in our Sunday morning worship services during the next four weeks as we discover how Christ comes to us and surprises us with hope, peace, joy and love. This year during Advent, I have invited some of the artists among us to light the Advent candles and share with us how Christ comes through our art.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
Click HERE to see a video of last Sunday’s sermon.
Weekly News of the Church
ADVENT BEGINS ON SUNDAY! This year during Advent, some of the artists among us are sharing their art in order to help us fully enter into the spirit of the season. This Sunday, Karen Johnson will share with us her poetry. Advent means “coming.” Christ is always present and yet coming to us in new ways all the time. We invite you to come, open your hearts to the art and the artists among us, and see how Christ might come to you in a brand new way during this special season.
THE BRIDGE: FROM KAUA`I TO COLLEGE You are invited to the First Annual Gala Fundraiser for “The Bridge: Kaua’i to College!” The event will take place at Gaylord’s at Kilohana on Sunday, December 4, beginning at 4 pm. There will be a silent auction, a delicious three-course buffet dinner prepared by the talented kitchen staff at Gaylord’s and performances by Halau Ka Lei Mokihana O Leina`ala! Tickets are $75 for open table seating—or buy a reserved table of six for $600 and introduce your friends to The Bridge! Bonnie Kakinami and Kahu have tickets for sale. Please contact Susan Davis at 650-464-1654 or susandavisphd@gmail.com if you have questions or would like to donate an item to the silent auction. Join us for a wonderful evening to support Kaua`i’s high school students who want to go to college!
- NOTE: Kahu invites you to join him in reserving THREE tables as “Koloa Union Church.” That’s $100 per person ($25 more than an individual ticket) in order to show our congregation’s over-the-top support for the young people on Kaua`i. You will sit at a better table and receive a gift for your special generosity.
PRAYERS & SQUARES On Sunday, our Church Council gave its blessing to a group of church members to begin a new prayer ministry. The group will create beautiful quilts for people in crisis and invite members of the congregation to tie knots in each quilt as they pray for the person in need. The recipient of the quilt will be “covered” in prayer! Angela and Bill Dressel have donated the membership dues to the Prayers and Squares organization, and Angela has agreed to be the initial coordinator for the project. Many hands and hearts will be needed to make this program a success. The first and most important thing we ask for are your prayers. Let’s watch how God leads us in the weeks, months, and years ahead to serve our church family and larger community. Stay tuned for information regarding future meetings and plans.
CHRISTMAS OUTREACH (“Spare Change to Help Needy Families”) We plan to give gift cards to families in our community before Christmas so that they can have food and gifts for their children. Just place your change before December 11 in the Spare Change Jar as you enter or leave the church. We will add up our change and purchase gift cards for local stores. If you know any families we can help, have any questions, or wish to volunteer, please contact Judyth Foley at 818-726-1344.
CHRISTMAS PARTY AT THE PARSONAGE Friday, December 9, 2016, 6:00 pm. Join us at our annual Christmas party at Kahu’s home—the Smith Memorial Parsonage (3281 Waikomo Road). Bring a dish to share and your singing voices, as we plan to sing Christmas carols!
THE CHRISTMAS FUND Each year at Christmastime, congregations of the United Church of Christ across the country take up a collection to provide pension and health premium supplementation to lower-income retired church workers, and emergency assistance to clergy and lay church employees in need, as well as “Thank You” gift checks to hundreds of faithful retired church workers. The fund is administered by the UCC Pension Boards. We will collect the Christmas Fund offering on December 18, 24 & 25. Please give generously to help faithful church workers who are experiencing difficult times.
ANNUAL SPRING RUMMAGE SALE Saturday, April 22, 2017, 8: a.m. – noon. We are accepting your rummage sale donations at the church. Call the church (742-6622) or Judyth (818-726-1344) for drop-offs. We welcome all smaller items, larger items later (storage space is an issue). Our goal is to have both storage sheds full of your donations. Profits will be used for our youth.
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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!
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