A Message From Our Kahu

A Nation of Immigrants

I remember the first time I saw the Statue of Liberty. I was sitting in a window seat on an airplane flying from Los Angeles to New York on a cold November day nearly 40 years ago. I was on my way to a retreat center just north of the city to participate in a gathering of racial-ethnic seminarians from all across the country. I was surprised when a denominational leader who worked at my seminary asked me if I was interested in attending. I had not thought of myself as a “racial-ethnic seminarian” before that. I just thought I was a “seminarian.” However, it was an expense-paid trip to New York (my first) and an opportunity to talk to other “racial-ethnic seminarians” about their experiences, fears, and anxieties, as they anticipated working as clergy in a predominantly White denomination. Except for the Native American participant, our people had all come from other places. It was on that trip that the idea that we are a nation of immigrants really sunk in.

I have seen the Statue of Liberty many times since that trip. (Having a son living in New York City has made that possible!) In 2017 I did a boat tour of the Hudson and East Rivers: the highlight was getting right up close to Lady Liberty as our guide told us her story. It was a story of welcome to people from all over Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia. It was a story of the celebration of diversity, of the goodness of inclusion, and of sharing opportunities with others.

For the most part we have seen ourselves as a nation that welcomes immigrants from all over the world. However, that welcome has always been met with some resistance and/or outright oppression. Even from before our nation’s independence from England, every new ethnic group that has arrived in our country, regardless of the circumstances of their migration, has felt it: Africans, Jews, Italians, Irish, Chinese, Mexicans…and the list goes on! However, the animosity towards immigrants has reached new heights in recent days. Politicians and preachers alike have been warning the rest of us of the dangers inherent in the undocumented immigrants in our midst.

When it comes right down to it, people have always been migrating and people will always continue to move from one place to the next in order to seek out a better life for themselves, their children and grandchildren. Frankly, many have not sought just a better life, but life itself—just hoping to stay alive. As I read through the Bible, it is apparent that it is a collection of one migration story after another. Just think of all the people, including our biblical heroes, who moved from one place to another: Abraham and Sarah, Jacob and his family, Moses and all of the Hebrew people, Mary and Joseph, Jesus, Paul. Most of our best spiritual teachers have moved from region to region, country to country. It is no wonder that there is a long tradition in our Judeo-Christian heritage of actually loving the foreign-born people in our midst. The writer of Leviticus reminds us that this is the case because we come from people who know what it is like to be in their shoes.

The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the native-born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:34)

I think most of us would agree that there needs to be reasonable immigration policies and that there need to be consequences for immigrants who commit serious crimes (just as there should be for citizens). However, there is no place in the Christian faith for hurting people, separating children from their parents, placing innocent people in cages and sending them to prisons in other countries over which we have no control—simply because they are among us “without permission.” I hope we will return to the way of loving the immigrants in our midst.

I will leave you with the words from the sonnet of Emma Lazarus engraved on the bronze plaque of the Statue of Liberty:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Aloha Nui Loa!
Kahu

A Message From Our Kahu

Pacific School of Religion Congregational Renewal Cohort

Are you interested in deepening your faith and understanding of theology in our rapidly changing world? Are you interested in exploring new models of ministry?
Are you committed to the long-term growth of Koloa Union Church?
Are you willing to work on a project to strengthen our congregation?
Are you willing to commit at most 3-4 hours a week (on average) for 10 months?

If you answered “yes” to these questions, the Congregational Renewal Cohort program has been designed just for you! Koloa Union Church is looking for 3-5 people who will participate in the program together beginning in September. (We already have 3 people who are seriously thinking about it!) PSR will partner with congregations to strengthen their ministries, deepen relationships with their communities, and contribute meaningfully to the world around them.

PSR’s Congregational Renewal Cohort is a community-based learning journey specifically for lay leaders, and will be taught on PSR’s new digital platform facilitated by leading theological experts from the PSR faculty. Those who complete the program will receive a certificate of completion and credits toward future degrees at PSR for those who would like to continue their theological education.

Scholarships are available from PSR, Hawaii Conference UCC, Kauai Association UCC, and Koloa Union Church. Estimated cost after scholarships is $500. However, please talk to me or Tiffany if the cost is an issue. If you want to participate, I want to make sure you do!

I would like to have our cohort in place by the end of July, so please prayerfully consider joining the cohort if you feel God’s Spirit leading you in that direction (and for all of the rest of you, please pray for the success of the cohort!).

Aloha Nui Loa!
Kahu

A Message From Our Kahu

“Encountering Those Who Are Different”

I returned last week from a wonderful trip to Guatemala with my son Palani. We spent some time with my cousin Nancy and her husband Alvaro, who live in Guatemala City. We also enjoyed the old capital city of Antigua and beautiful Lake Atitlan where we visited colorful villages along the lakeshore.

My favorite part of the trip were the cultural sites, especially the pyramids and ancient ruins of Tikal and Yaxha. Some of the pyramids in the area are around 3,000 years old, reminding me of the sophistication and well-organized communities of the Mayan people who ruled that part of the world so long ago. Some of the museums we visited contained beautiful masks, containers and implements from those areas.

As I look forward to celebrating Pentecost on Sunday, I wonder what God’s Spirit might be telling us about appreciating people from other cultures who are quite different from us, who see the world through other lenses, and who find ways of connecting with nature and one another which we might find altogether strange. I hope we can have a spirit of openness and appreciation. I hope we can give and receive God’s unconditional love with everyone!

Aloha Nui Loa!
Kahu

A Message From Our Kahu

Feeling Grateful

As I write my monthly message to the members and friends of Koloa Union Church, I am feeling especially grateful. I’m sitting in my studio/office at the Smith Memorial Parsonage and thankful to have a roof over my head—and not just any old roof, but a brand new roof that was recently installed by a local roofing company.

On Sunday I was walking onto the property and saw all of the yard work, as well as outdoor repairs and painting, that volunteers did over the past couple of weeks. I walked under our brand new arbor with a welcoming sign hanging overhead and our newly painted church bell just waiting to be rung, and then made my way into the freshly painted Moore Hall. I poked my head into our brand new kitchen and saw people already getting ready for Aloha Hour.

 Yesterday Michael Horning took down the television and hung all of the art pieces in Moore Hall. I have never seen the place look so nice!

Tomorrow Koloa Union Church will host the Spring Aha Mokupuni, and I am so proud to have people from the UCC Churches all over the island gather for meals, Aha Mele (a musical celebration), the annual meeting of the Kauai Association of the United Church of Christ, and a worship service. I am also looking forward to planning art receptions at the parsonage again this summer!

 We have beautiful church buildings (including the parsonage!) and grounds, in which we can all take great pride. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for countless volunteer hours as well as financial support to make all of this possible. Your generosity and care make a world of difference! Beautiful spaces make for a welcoming environment and provide a place for us all to do meaningful ministry.

Aloha Nui Loa!

Kahu

A Message From Our Kahu

“I will make a way in the wilderness.” Isaiah 43:19

On Sunday we focused on the passage from Isaiah where God promises to make a way in the wilderness for the Jewish people. It was not always easy for them to see the way. There were times when it was difficult to even believe that a way was possible. Imagine looking at the deep waters of the sea in front of them and the heavily-armed Egyptian army in pursuit just behind them!

Sometimes it is difficult for me to see a way for our nation or even believe that a way exists. It seems that people on the right and those on the left can barely even talk to each other—much less share their dreams and desires for their lives and for future generations—much less work together to solve the great contemporary issues of inflation, homelessness, lack of affordable healthcare, deteriorating international relations, unjust immigration policies, and the destruction of the earth.

The greatest challenge of faith is for us to believe that God will make a way for us even when we don’t see how a way is even possible. The second greatest challenge is for us to walk in that way. It is the way of compassion. It is the way of peace. It is the way of justice. It is the way of truth.

Just like it was possible for the Jewish people to find their way to the Promised Land, it is possible for us to find our way as well. May we be committed to God’s ways, knowing that those ways are always possible.

Aloha Nui Loa!
Kahu

A Message From Our Kahu

“A Perspective on Perception”

On March 2nd we gathered for a meal and then a discussion led by Dan Giovanni, a member of our Church Council and Chair of our Building & Grounds Committee. The purposed of the discussion was to consider how we see ourselves as a church, how others in the community see us, and how we want to be perceived by others. It was a lively and good discussion with lots of ideas and suggestions.

In terms of how we see ourselves, that lines up fairly well with our mission statement, which our congregation approved in 2015:

Our mission is to worship and serve God, whom we understand as Creator, Christ and Spirit; embrace our Hawaiian identity, language, and culture; invite and welcome others into our faith community; nurture all with God’s unconditional love; and reach out into the broader community by sharing aloha with everyone.

We also talked about the important step in becoming an official “Open & Affirming” (ONA) Congregation of the United Church of Christ. That involved voting on an ONA Covenant, which our congregation did in 2019, and then submitting it to the United Church of Christ. It was an important step in taking a stand in affirming that we are a church which affirms, welcomes and invites people of every gender identity, sexual orientation, relationship and familial status, immigration status, political party and cause, socio-economic status, religious background and faith tradition, physical and mental ability, ethnicity, age and culture.

Although, members and individuals who attend our church may focus on various aspects of our mission statement and ONA Covenant, as well as some other perceptions, the general feeling I got from listening is that most of us who participated think we can do a better job in getting our concepts of identity and mission out into the community. There are some people who see us very differently than who we are and what we are all about. There are also people who don’t know we are even here. My strong belief is that people would find our church very attractive if they had a clearer understanding of what we actually look like. The most effective way is to invite people to church and let them see this for themselves.

Our Church Council will also be considering ways we can let people on Kauai know who we are and what we stand for. This will likely involve better use of social media, signage, public service announcements, symbols, and logos. We welcome further discussion and will keep the congregation informed as we move forward.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the initial discussion and also for your further thoughts and ideas!

Aloha Nui Loa!

Kahu