I am amazed at how much we all still seem to do and accomplish among all the changes over the past month and a half, especially while adhering to social distancing guidelines! At Koloa Union Church, our Deacons meet online almost every Sunday in order to check in with each other, talk about those in our congregation who have needs and how we might assist them, review the online worship service for the day, and discuss anything that has to do with worship, including preparations for reopening the church when the time comes. On Mondays or Tuesdays, I typically meet with our Administrative Assistant Penny Osuga on the phone to talk about everything that needs to happen during the week and also begin preparing my message and the worship plans for the following Sunday. On Wednesday afternoon, just about the time I have finished everything for recording the worship service the next morning, I participate in a weekly meeting with our Conference Minister, David Popham, along with other pastors and church leaders in Hawaii, for support and guidance during the days of COVID-19. On Thursdays, I meet with Chris Sweitzer at the church to video-record the worship service for the following Sunday. On Fridays, I review the entire worship service, and sometimes make suggestions for changes to Chris in order to have it all done and ready to send to you on Saturdays. Once it is all done, I double-check the order of worship; then Penny proofreads the bulletin and attached information by the end of the day on Saturday so that you can have it before Sunday morning. A good portion of most afternoons I spend checking in with church members and committee chairs, answering emails and returning phone calls.
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Taking Care of Myself
What I found during these very full weeks since we have moved to online worship services is that Friday and Saturday no longer work for my days off, at least not for most weeks. So I have begun taking Mondays off whenever possible and then doing my best to take “a full-days worth” of downtime over the weekend, which typically is a half-day on Saturday and a half-day on Sunday but with flexibility depending on the needs of the church. One of the early messages we pastors and other church leaders in the Hawaii Conference of the United Church of Christ heard from David Popham is: “Please do not burn out during this time. If you don’t pace yourself and therefore experience a major burnout, you won’t be of any use to your congregation at all by the end of the pandemic.” I have been adhering to his advice by having weekly downtime, exercising regularly, watercoloring most days and spending time with my son Palani and his girlfriend Isobel, who have been living with me for the past month and a half.
I was planning on being in Berkeley this past weekend for the spring meeting of the Board of Trustees at Pacific School of Religion. Needless to say, I did not attend in person, but participated in a day-long online meeting on Monday, May 11. That day happens to be Palani’s birthday, so we spent some time after my meeting celebrating his special day!
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Reopening Plans
Another area where I am beginning to spend a significant amount of time is on our plans to reopen our church facility. The Hawaii Conference strongly urges congregations to put a team together for this purpose. Michael Horning, Penny Osuga, Penny Jessup, and I are the team that will be putting together the plan by addressing certain questions, which will include the following:
Church Office: What needs to happen before the office is open to the public and what will the guidelines be for staff and those visiting?
Outside Groups: What needs to happen before we allow other groups to use our facilities and what will their guidelines be?
Worship Service: What needs to happen before we can worship again in our sanctuary and what will the guidelines be for all who attend? When and how can we safely celebrate Holy Communion again?
Kitchen and Dining: What needs to happen before we can safely prepare food and eat together again in Moore Hall and what will the guidelines be for all who attend?
Communication: How will we let people know the reopening dates and the guidelines? How will we post these guidelines on the premises?
Although we have not picked a date yet to reopen, it will likely be the end of May or early June at the earliest. Our primary concern is the overall wellbeing of everyone who visits the church, including their safety and health. We will be paying close attention to recommendations from our Governor, Mayor and Conference Minister. The committee will report to both the Deacons and the Church Council, and we will let you know right away as important decisions are made.
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No Newsletter for May
Penny Osuga and I talked around the middle of April and decided to not mail a newsletter for May. There simply was so little additional news to share this month that it didn’t make sense to put in the time and spend money on production and mailing. However, we wanted everyone to know we are still thinking of you, so we sent out a postcard last week to everyone on our mailing list to remind you that we are still sharing aloha with everyone even during these strange days of social distancing and worshiping online. We will also printed off major portions of the Weekly E-news and mailed them to our members who do not have computers or are unable to get our news electronically or watch our online services.
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Good-bye to Kathleen and Chris
Last, but not least, Kathleen Dahill submitted her letter of resignation as Music Director, effective June 1. Also, her talented husband, Chris Sweitzer, will be leaving us at that time as our videographer and sound technician as well. They desire to pursue new directions in their lives and also be available for family needs on the mainland. Fortunately, they will both be available to assist us if we are still worshiping online after June 1. They requested that we not have a public expression of gratitude for their service. However, our Deacons agree that we want to offer a token of thanks and have chosen a meaningful gift which I will present to them at the end of the month. We will miss their over-the-top talent, joyful presence, and contagious smiles, and wish them well in their new endeavors. We have truly been blessed by their ministry among us!
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In Closing…
So, now you know what’s been going on in the day-to-day life of the church and some of the changes that have taken place in recent weeks. No doubt, you too have been experiencing changes in your life. May you deeply feel God’s loving presence, the grace of Jesus and joy of the Holy Spirit as you live through those changes. In the meantime, please don’t hesitate to call me if you want to talk, or text or email me if you want to send me a note or information about something that is important to you.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of a recent message by Kahu Akana, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see many of his past messages and subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To see our Sunday morning schedule, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
In my message on Sunday, I talked about a phrase I recently heard for the first time: “a strange intimacy.” Dr. Susan Abraham, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean at Pacific School of Religion, used those words to describe what was happening among faculty and students. During these days of sheltering in place and online classes, there is a strange intimacy happening at the school. It is also happening in my life and, I’m guessing, all over the world. People are feeling especially close to others but in a strange new way. I am sure some of this is because many of us long for the presence of others—something we have taken for granted our entire lives; and now that we are unable to have that which we desire, we value it all the more.
Jesus’ disciples were also experiencing a strange intimacy in the early days after the resurrection. In fact, before any of them had encountered the risen Jesus, they were still gathering together and talking about him. Gathering together in community in his name was very different than it was before the crucifixion, but it was still happening. Yet, when Jesus showed up, the disciples had a hard time recognizing him. Jesus showed up in their midst unexpected and unrecognizable!
I wonder how Jesus is showing up among us in unexpected and unrecognizable ways—perhaps even in shocking ways. He shows up as a refugee, an immigrant, an addict, and a great-grandmother who is especially vulnerable to COVID-19. He shows up over and over again and we fail to recognize him.
I trust when we look back on this time that we will remember the strange intimacy that has taken place; and we will remember not only the loved ones we realized we had taken for granted but we will also remember the strangers in our midst and in the world as well, along with a new and strange intimacy that was enlarged during these strange days filled with wonders as well as challenges.
I look forward to our next online worship service on Sunday!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of a recent message by Kahu Akana, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see many of his past messages and subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To see our Sunday morning schedule, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
In my message on Sunday, I referred to Malcolm Gladwell’s most recent book, Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don’t Know. Gladwell states that human beings naturally default to truth. In other words, most of the time we trust what people are saying unless we have a reason to believe otherwise. People tell us things every day and almost all of those things are true. “We default to truth…because we have no choice. Society cannot function otherwise,” writes Gladwell. Can you imagine what life would be like if we had serious doubts about every statement you heard every day? Imagine how much time and energy it would take to verify every single thing you hear. We simply cannot function like that.
On the other hand, there are people who lie on a regular basis. Gladwell tells his readers that we should listen to people who point out these lies. We should also pay attention to the signs that someone may not be telling the truth. For example, if you know that someone has lied to you, then you may want to check out the validity of their next statement. Furthermore, if there is someone who is normally trustworthy but their claim just sounds too unbelievable to be true, then you ought to check it out.
Thomas, Jesus’ disciple who did just that, has been criticized for 2,000 for doubting that Jesus rose from the dead. Yet, a closer look at the Gospels shines a much kinder light on Thomas. He was one of Jesus’ most devoted followers and would have laid down his life for him. However, when the other disciples told him that Jesus rose from the dead, well that just sounded to preposterous to believe without checking it out for himself. He basically told the others, “I will believe it when I see it with my own eyes”—and that’s exactly what happened. When the resurrected Jesus appeared to him, he exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!”
I pointed out that the noun “belief” shows up only once in the entire Bible (Revised Standard Version) but the verb “believe” (including “believes” and “believed”) shows up in 257 verses in the New Testament alone; and the book with most of the verses with that word is the Gospel of John. According to John, believing was extremely important to Jesus; and apparently, the quality of believing was way more important than the individual beliefs—otherwise, I think Jesus would have said the word “belief” at least once. I wonder what our world would be like today if Christians everywhere followed the example of John by emphasizing the quality of believing, in other words, believing with integrity, authenticity and compassion, believing in ways that enrich our lives, our relationships, and our communities.
For Jesus, the key was believing that, whoever you are, you matter to God; and whoever else is in the world, others matter to God. Let’s embrace these two beliefs and consider that possibly all other beliefs fall into place when we do.
I look forward to our next online worship service on Sunday!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
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“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of a recent message by Kahu Akana, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see many of his past messages and subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To see our Sunday morning schedule, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road,
and others cut branches from the trees
and spread them on the road.
The crowds that went ahead of him and
that followed were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
(Matthew 21:8-9)
In my message on Palm Sunday, I talked about what was going on as Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey while people shouted “hosanna.” That word comes from the Hebrew word which means “save us now,” or “save us, we pray.” As Jesus moved toward the temple, the symbolism would not have been lost on Matthew’s first readers. The temple held the power in the land—not just religious power, but political and economic power as well. Those who were leaders in the temple were servants of Rome. This is significant, as Warren Carter explains in his book Matthew and Empire, because Matthew’s Gospel presents Jesus as the courageous and clearly-focused man who squarely looks at the authority of the Roman Empire and cries out a resounding “no” to all that it stands for—including its underlying values and privileges, its politics and its economic structures—and then presents an alternative vision for the world. According to Rome, there were certain people who mattered and others who were expendable. Throughout Matthew’s Gospel, we see Jesus proclaiming that everyone matters.
Matthew is suggesting that Jesus was there to save people from the empire, including its values, structures, and the false assumption that some people matter and others do not. Furthermore, as Jesus enters the temple (according to Matthew, the first thing Jesus does when he dismounts the donkey), he overturns tables and casts out those participating in an unjust economy. He does this to make room for those for whom the temple was built: those who wish to pray, those who want to see, those desiring to be healed and made whole.
The story of Palm Sunday is a radical political challenge to empires who act as if some people do not matter. It is also a challenge to religious institutions who go along with such empires. The story is a call to act as if everyone matters. May we challenge all such empires and their assumption that some people matter and others do not, and that some people are more important than others.
During these strange days of isolation and sheltering in place, please know that you matter to God. I invite you to let someone know today that they matter too. You can do this with your words and your actions.
I invite you to view the video of Sunday’s worship service to learn more.
I look forward to our next online worship service on Easter Sunday!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
__________________________________________
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of a recent message by Kahu Akana, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see many of his past messages and subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings!To see our Sunday morning schedule, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
It was on this week 200 years ago that the first Christian missionaries landed in Hawaii. By the end of the year, there were mission stations in Kailua-Kona, Honolulu, and Waimea (Kauai). They arrived during a time of novel viruses and horrific epidemics. In the short span of just over 40 years before their arrival on March 30, 1820, the population of Hawaiian people had decreased by more than a half. By the end of the century, the population of Hawaiians was only 5-10 percent what it had been when Captain James Cook arrived in 1778.
In my online message this past week, I talked about the book I wrote, The Volcano Is Our Home: Nine Generations of a Hawaiian Family on Kilauea Volcano, which tells the story of the Hawaii from 1756 to modern day through the eyes of my Hawaiian ancestors and family. Throughout my research for the book, I tried to constantly imagine what it would be like to have so many people die in these islands. In my writing, I tried to put myself in the shoes of my ancestors who survived dreadful decades of epidemics—one after another for over 100 years.
The example of many of the missionaries of the time gave me hope—especially the doctors. In my research for my book and in the reading I have done since moving back to Hawaii in 2014, I have been greatly inspired by the physicians and their wives who left comfortable lives and promising careers in the United States to sail to a small group of islands half way around the world. While often living in uncomfortable conditions, they served the Hawaiian people and never gave up hope in saving them from extinction.
I’ve been reading the book, 9 Doctors and God. It tells the story of the nine missionary doctors who arrived in Hawaii between 1820 and 1849. Some of those physicians went above and beyond the call of duty in order to bring sick people to health and keep epidemics at bay. They also excelled in other areas. In my message I mentioned three in particular: Dr. Thomas Holman, Rev. Dr. Thomas Lafon, and Dr. James Smith. The last two served the church right here in Kōloa! I found that we could all learn so much from them, including how to live with purpose and hope during an epidemic.
We can have compassion for the whole person and address spiritual and physical needs—and social and emotional too!
We can take epidemics seriously and we can be smart about them. We who follow Jesus listen to the experts. We pay attention to those who know what they are talking about—and we follow their advice.
We can pay attention to the social issues of our day and speak out against injustice.
We can hold onto hope—even in the midst of fear, anxiety, emotional pain, and horrible epidemics.
I invite you to view the video of Sunday’s worship service to learn more.
I look forward to our next online worship service on Palm Sunday!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
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“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of a recent message by Kahu Akana, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see many of his past messages and subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings!To see our Sunday morning schedule, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
In my online message this past week, I talked about the importance of community and how we are still a strong community of faith even when we are not physically together. All of the key ingredients of community still apply today, although they look quite different because we have to do them differently. I offered these thoughts about community during these days of isolation and social distancing:
Community is about showing up as we are and knowing there is a place where we are loved and accepted as we are. We can still show up as we are—as we watch the online worship service and as we call to check in on church members.
Community is about sharing a common purpose. We still share the same purpose of sharing the love of God with one another and the world as the body of Jesus Christ.
Community is about sharing our stories and our beliefs and perceptions with one another in honest and nonjudgmental ways. We will continue sharing our stories, beliefs and perceptions with one another—just not in person.
Community is about asking for help when we need it. I urge you to ask for help from me, our Deacons, our Council members, and anyone else in the church who can help you.
Community is about being honest and transparent. We need each other to be honest and transparent with one another—now more than ever.
I also talked about the importance of sanctuary. In his book, On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old, Parker Palmer writes about about the importance of sanctuary. Although we church folks often refer to “sanctuary” as the room where we worship, Palmer reminds us the broader meaning of the word. I found these words some of the most helpful in his book:
“Sanctuary” is as vital as breathing to me. Sometimes I find it in churches, monasteries, and other sites formally designated “sacred.” But more often I find it in places sacred to my soul: in the natural world, in the company of a faithful friend, in solitary or shared silence, in the ambience of a good poem or good music.
Sanctuary is wherever I find safe space to regain my bearings, reclaim my soul, heal my wounds, and return to the world as a wounded healer. It’s not merely about finding shelter from the storm—it’s about spiritual survival and the capacity to carry on.
I invite you to find your sanctuary ever week and every day: a safe space to regain your bearings, a place to reclaim your soul, a place to heal your wounds, a place to breathe. You may have to be a bit more creative now to find that space, but I trust that you will make it a priority to do so—not only for your own spiritual survival but also for you to share God’s light with others.
I look forward to continuing the conversation online on Sunday!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
__________________________________________
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of a recent message by Kahu Akana, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see many of his past messages and subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings!To see our Sunday morning schedule, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
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