by admin | Jul 6, 2016 | News
Successful Church Work Day, Saturday July 2
At one point, there were 40 of us cutting sod pieces, digging holes, planting grass, digging trenches! More than 6 hours later, the entire front yard was planted, lawn edging was in and lunch was served! Thank you to all who helped! We could not have accomplished so much without everyone’s help.
Mark your Calendars…
Summer Youth Camp, July 23-25, 2016, Anahola’s Kumu Camp. The theme: “Self Respect and Acceptance.” Our middle school and high school youth and their friends are invited to attend Koloa Union Church’s Summer Youth Camp. Contact Tiffany Marrotte or Sheri Fu for details.
Koloa Plantation Days Open House at the Smith Memorial Parsonage on July 25, 4 – 6 p.m. part of the week-long festivities! Kahu Akana will talk about our church and parsonage, the Smith-Waterhouse legacy & cemetery and the neighborhood. There will be tours of the the parsonage and sales of Kahu’s watercolors as a fundraiser for parsonage improvements and repairs.
Koloa Plantation Days Parade, July 30. We will again participate in the parade. We will have a large decorated golf cart for our kupuna and those unable to walk the distance. Meet at the church at 8:30 a.m. for instructions. Kahu will drive the riders and have them in a shaded area while waiting for start of the parade. (The parade begins at 10 a.m. at Koloa School and ends at the Anne Knudsen Ballpark). Colorful attire is suggested this year as the theme is “Planting the Seeds that Nourish the Soul.”
Music Director
We are looking for a new Music Director. The position description and application for employment are found on the “News” page of our church website. Please pass along this information to anyone you know who has experience leading musical groups.
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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 6, 2016 | Message from Kahu
The Little Things
On Sunday, I read the story of Naaman, the commander of the army of Aram, Israel’s next door neighbor to the east. Naaman was a great military leader who was used to doing big things in order to get results. He had one serious problem: he had leprosy. Fortunately for him, his wife’s servant was an Israelite and knew about a prophet in Israel by the name of Elisha who could cure Naaman of his disease. When Naaman arrived at Elisha’s home, Elisha sent a messenger out to greet Naaman and tell him to dip into the Jordan River seven times, and he would be cured. Naaman was furious. He wanted something big… something spectacular. He at least wanted to see Elisha for himself and watch the great prophet do something in his presence. If he was going to bathe in a river, he could have stayed home and done that in any number of rivers in Aram! However, one of Naaman’s servants convinced him to try Elisha’s suggestion. After all, it couldn’t hurt, and they were passing by the Jordan on their way home anyway. So Naaman dipped in the Jordan River seven times and was healed of his leprosy. In fact, we read that his skin became like that of a young boy!
The moral of the story for me is that we often resist small things, including little solutions to big problems. If a challenge is big, we think, then it should require a big solution… and so, we ignore all of the little things that may work just as well, or even better!
What might be some of the little things that you might be ignoring? Is there a simple thing you can do that might help you or someone else in a big way? I encourage you to be open to the little things and just see what big differences that just might make!
I look forward to seeing everyone on Sunday!
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.
Join us at 10:30 on Sunday mornings at 3289 Poipu Road in Koloa to hear a full sermon by Kahu Akana.
by admin | Jun 28, 2016 | Message from Kahu
THE GREATEST JOY
On Sunday, I shared with the congregation about the time I was sitting in church on Easter Sunday 1999. The minister said something like this: “Happy Easter! This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. If you are not joyful today—on Easter Sunday—you are most certainly not a Christian.” At that point, I did my best to restrain myself from standing up and walking out. And the worship service went downhill from there. At least, it did for me.
It bothered me that the minister would choose to assign either intention or a sense of moral judgment on the particular feelings I was having at the moment. What he had no way of knowing was that I had recently been in a bad car accident and was suffering from tremendous physical pain unlike anything I had ever known. I was also on a road trip from the California coast, where I had just been to my father’s memorial service, to Park City, UT, which was home at the time. I wasn’t able to spend time with my dad during his final weeks because of the injuries I had sustained from the accident. So, I was feeling anything but joyful that Easter Sunday morning, but decided I would go to church and hope for resurrection and some new light for my life.
I knew after sitting in church that morning that I would never intentionally say anything to make another person feel bad for his or her emotions. I would instead welcome people to church as they are and with whatever emotions they may bring with them.
Since then, I have learned that there is a lot that a person can do in order to allow joy to unfold and blossom in his or her life. A Spiritual Director once asked me, “Alan, what would bring you the greatest joy in your life right now?” By simply answering the question, I opened myself up to allowing more joy to enter in. When I met with her the next month, I told her that being a pastor full-time, watercoloring every day, and living in Hawaii were three of the things that would bring me the greatest joy. That was about 4 years ago…and here I am being a pastor at Koloa Union Church, watercoloring nearly every day and living in Hawaii…and living with more joy than I ever imagined.
Sometimes, just answering the question opens us up to joy. I invite you to give it a try. Go ahead and ask…and answer…and see how God might bring you more joy than you ever imagined!
Aloha nui to all,
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.
Join us at 10:30 on Sunday mornings at 3289 Poipu Road in Koloa to hear a full sermon by Kahu Akana.
by admin | Jun 28, 2016 | News
Church Workday Saturday, July 2, 8:00 a.m. to noon.
Our new entryway onto the church property from Poipu Road and our brand new, level and resurfaced parking lot are complete! It is now time to plant our lawn, as well as new flowers, plants and trees. There will be work for people of all abilities. Please come for an hour or all morning and help us transform the front of our church property into a stunning, colorful and welcoming garden! Bring your gloves and a shovel; bring a wheelbarrow if you have one. Lunch will be provided for those who are here at noon.
Sunday, July 3, 2016
- 9:00 a.m. Deacons monthly meeting
- 10:30 a.m. Communion will be served during our worship service.
- 11:30 a.m. Capital Campaign Informational Meeting: Everyone is invited to attend a brief time of information regarding our capital campaign. We would also like to hear your thoughts regarding a few items in which we have yet decided to move forward. Please attend and let us know your thoughts.
Dinner & Book Group
This summer’s book is: Something Rich and Strange: Discovering Your Path to Wholeness and will be led by the book’s author Susan Davis, Ph.D. Dinner is at 6:00 pm and discussion 6:45-8:00pm. Books are available on Wednesday evenings and at church for $20. The book group will continue meeting on Wednesdays through July 27. Please contact Kahu if you would like to bring something for dinner. The group meets at the Smith Memorial Parsonage (3281 Waikomo Road).
Office Closed Monday, July 4, 2016
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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 27, 2016 | Newsletter
Click July 2016 to see the JULY 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!
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