A Message from Kahu Alan Akana

by admin | Mar 13, 2018 | Message from Kahu

Time on Hawai`i Island

I began last week by flying to Kona on Monday morning to the annual Hawai`i Conference (United Church of Christ) Clergy Retreat. Whenever I attend this event, I find something inspirational and something new to learn. I was especially encouraged to gather with colleagues and Cynthia Scherr, the consultant whom the Conference hired to lead us in creating a strategic plan for us all. The strategic planning committee is considering a new mission statement and vision, as well as areas of focus so that our efforts and budget of our Conference might clearly reflect our values as the people of the Hawai`i Conference– for we are the Conference! On Tuesday, March 13, Cynthia will be joining us at Koloa Union Church to hear our thoughts and the thoughts of people on Kaua`i regarding vision, mission and priorities.

After three days at the clergy retreat, I headed up to Volcano for some hiking, visiting friends, reading, and searching for new flowers. I intend to paint the `ohi`a lehua blossom sometime this year, so I walked around Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park for some inspiration. I love how its striking bright red blossoms stand out against the black lava of Halema`uma`u Crater (the photo above). I also saw a species of the rare hau kuahiwi flower, which I had never seen before.

One of my great surprises to come across an `io–the rare Hawaiian hawk, which used to inhabit all of the islands (including Kaua`i), but now is only found on Hawai`i Island. The majestic bird I saw was covered with mostly light-colored feathers and stood nearly a foot and a half tall, as it perched in the branches of an `ohi`a tree for about ten minutes before flying off. It is a royal symbol in Hawaiian lore and is sometimes called `iolani, meaning “exalted hawk” or “heavenly hawk.” I was so grateful to see this bird for the first time!

I had a wonderful week retreating, hiking and resting. Now, it is good to be back. I enjoyed visiting with the men this morning at our weekly men’s breakfast. I look forward to seeing everyone at tonight’s strategic planning gathering, tomorrow’s soup supper and Lenten reflection, and (of course!) Sunday morning worship!

____________________________________

Our Kahu (Pastor) offers a weekly message in church most Sundays during the year. 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.

“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

by admin | Mar 7, 2018 | Message from Kahu

Melicent and James Smith

“A Blessing at the Threshold”

It takes only a couple of seconds for a life to change irreversibly.

Suddenly you stand on completely strange ground

and a new course of life has to be embraced.

Especially at such times we desperately need blessing and protection.

An excerpt from To Bless the Space between Us

—John O’Donohue

[This past Sunday, we continued our Lenten theme of “Blessings,” based upon the late John O’Donohue’s book To Bless the Space between Us: A Book of Blessings. The topic was “Thresholds.”]

When James and Melicent Smith stepped onto the 96-foot brig Sarah Abigail in Boston in May of 1842, they had crossed a threshold. They had left the life which they had known in New England and they would never go back to it. They moved to Koloa where they spent the rest of their lives. James was the only Western-trained physician on Kaua`i and he served the entire island, as well as Ni`ihau. He came here and he saved many lives—mostly Native Hawaiians.

The Old Testament text was the well known passage of the Ten Commandments from Exodus 20. The Hebrew people had just crossed their own threshold when they left Egypt where they were slaves and crossed over onto a journey where they were headed to the promised land of freedom.

Both the Smiths and the Hebrew people had left the life they knew behind and entered an entire new way of being, of seeing, and of relating to the world. I pointed out that the Ten Commandments did not start out as just a big set of rules. They started out ontological.Ontology is the study of being, of identity, of understanding the essence of a person or community. “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” These are the opening words of the Ten Commandments! It starts out with who God is, who the people were and are, and (by implication) who they are becoming. Only after the ontological words come the practical words. “You shall have no other gods before me….”

It is important whenever we cross our own thresholds in life that we remember first who we are, what our identity is, how we relate to God, the earth, and other people; only then is it important to consider our actions. In our Gospel reading (Matthew 5), Jesus made it clear that if our focus is on the rules, we have missed the entire point. What is way more important is what is in our hearts. After all, we can still follow the rules (for awhile) and hate people in our hearts. Jesus and his followers know that our actions are best motivated by love, by grace and compassion.

As you cross over any thresholds in your life, I invite you to begin by asking who you are and how you relate to God, the earth and others. I invite you to allow love to motivate your actions.

Aloha nui!

Kahu Alan Akana

A Message from Kahu Alan Akana

by admin | Feb 27, 2018 | Message from Kahu

“The Blessing of Our Desires”

This past Sunday, we continued our Lenten theme of “Blessings,” based upon the late John O’Donohue’s book To Bless the Space between Us: A Book of Blessings. I included in my message on Sunday the story of how I came to Koloa Union Church. It began between five and six years ago when a Spiritual Director, with whom I had been meeting, and I had a conversation about some anticipated changes in my life. Darlene asked me, “What would bring you the greatest joy?” As I paid attention to how God was showing up in my desires and how joy was calling to me, it became clear that watercoloring Hawaii’s flowers and pastoring a church were the two things in my life that truly brought me the greatest joy. As I created a vision for my life around these two things, I found great clarity around what I was committed to for my future…and eventually found myself as the Kahu of Koloa Union Church and living in the parsonage where I paint and show my art!

It was four years ago when I moved to Koloa and began my ministry at the church. It was also just one year ago when I opened Alan Akana Gallery at the Smith Memorial Parsonage as a fundraiser to care for the parsonage. As we celebrated these special occasions on Sunday, it was truly one of the most joyful days of my life! On Sunday morning, I was presented with a beautiful lei from Rose Tatiana, who then danced while Doug sang. As I thought back to my vision that I had created over five years ago, part of that vision was “to serve a church where the people appreciated Hawaiian culture.” As I listened to Doug play and sing, and as I watched Rose dance, I was deeply moved by the awareness that God has given me the desires of my heart! At the Open House at the gallery on Sunday afternoon, this awareness became even more real as so many people came to offer their blessings, express their appreciation of my art, enjoy delicious food, music and dance! By the end of the day, I was wearing a number of beautiful lei—symbols of everlasting aloha—which were presented to me by dear friends…and I felt deeply blessed with love and joy!

I trust that everyone who heard my message on Sunday morning was motivated to bring their desires before God and ask how God might show up in those desires…with love and joy! If you didn’t get a chance to hear the message on Sunday, you can click on the link just below and watch the video. Also, be sure to drop by on Wednesday evening for soup and to talk and reflect upon the topic of the week!

Aloha nui!

Kahu Alan Akana

A Message from Kahu Alan Akana

by admin | Feb 24, 2018 | Message from Kahu

A Blessing for Beginners

This past Sunday, we began our Lenten theme of “Blessings,” based upon the late John O’Donohue’s book To Bless the Space between Us: A Book of Blessings. In the book, he begins each chapter by sharing about a different way or time that we may bless each other, and then he offers several blessings as examples. I am excited to journey with the congregation during the season of Lent by sharing each Sunday morning in my message about a particular kind of blessing for the week, and then reflecting further on it during our time together at the following Wednesday evening Lenten soup supper.

I included in my message on Sunday a story about a recent walk to Maha`ulepu right after a recent rainstorm on the island. When I arrived at the place where I looked down on the beach, there was a beautiful rainbow that stretched from the ocean to the Gillin House, with the majestic Mount Ha`upu in the background! It reminded me of God’s covenant with Noah just as the latter was about to exit the ark with his family on all of the animals. In the story, God placed the rainbow in the sky as a reminder of the covenant between God, people and all of creation—the Earth and every living thing. The rainbow was a sign of a new beginning: a world in which God, people and all creation would live together in harmony.

As with many beginnings, we have not held our end of the covenant very well. We have not always honored God and all that is sacred. We have polluted the land, skies and waters. We have not always treated each other with dignity and respect. As I reflected over the past few weeks about the false alarm that many of us received on our phones last month about an incoming ballistic missile, I thought of all the damage such an event could do—to all that is sacred, to the Earth, to people—and I wanted to do something to keep that from happening.

I Googled for awhile and came across the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, whose sole purpose is to rid the world of nuclear weapons. The organization is supported by Pope Francis, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, and many other world leaders whom I respect. As I thought about what I might do to personally begin working for a world free of nuclear weapons, I made a donation to the NAPF in honor of my sister for her birthday earlier this month. I also read the organization’s newsletter and committed to reading future editions. I also wrote on my weekly “Opportunities” list (which I used to call “Things To Do”), I wrote, “Do something today to end nuclear weapons.” It seemed like a daunting task (and still does at times!), but at least I started doing something and making a commitment to honor the covenant that God made to the world and the human race.

I invite you to start something new today. Begin making a difference in a brand new way. Think of all the things you might do…and then get started! Know that God is with you in all of your beginnings and blessing your efforts when they are made with love and compassion. By the way, you can click Here to learn more about the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. Perhaps you too will want to help make our community and the world safe from nuclear weapons.

Aloha nui!

Kahu Alan Akana

P.S. Please join me at the parsonage on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. for an Open House celebrating the One-Year Anniversary of Alan Akana Gallery. All sales are 20% off at the open house and the net profits will go to the Smith Memorial Parsonage Fund for upkeep, repairs and maintenance of the building and grounds.

Our Kahu (Pastor) offers a weekly message in church most Sundays during the year. Click HERE to see a video of this week’s message. You may also 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.

A Message from Kahu Alan Akana

by admin | Feb 6, 2018 | Message from Kahu

The Source of Our Energy

Creator of the Universe

Isaiah 40:21-31

A Note from Kahu Alan Akana

On Sunday, I shared some of my experiences being outdoors on Kaua`i with my son Palani when he was visiting in early January. We went out on a boat and saw whales, dolphins, sea turtles, flying fish, as well as spectacular scenery all along the southern shores of our beautiful island between Port Allen and Lihu`e. We also went on some wonderful hikes, including an all-day hike into the crater of Wai`ale`ale, which is known as one of the wettest places on earth. Fortunately, we hiked on one of the rare days when there were blue skies and no rain, yet waterfalls were abundant! It occurred to me that there are times when I should be too tired to keep my eyes open and, yet, I have tons of energy. It is often when I am surrounded by natural beauty when this occurs.

After reading from Isaiah, chapter 40, which is one of my favorite parts of the Bible, I realized that Isaiah must have known this very same thing. Listen to the words of Isaiah as he declares the majesty of creation:

It is the Holy One who sits above the circle of the earth…who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in…

Regarding the stars and the planets, Isaiah proclaims:

Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? The One who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.

And regarding everything on the earth, Isaiah asks the rhetorical question and then immediately answers it:

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

Isaiah seemed to know this natural energy that came from being open to awe and wonder, for he then said:

The everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth…gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

May you be filled with energy this week. If you find yourself lagging, I encourage you to take a walk outside…look around…observe God’s creative energy in action…breathe it in…and give thanks for all the beauty…and energy!

Aloha nui loa,

Kahu Alan Akana

Our Kahu (Pastor) offers a weekly message in church most Sundays during the year. Click HERE to see a video of this week’s message. You may also 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.

A Message from Kahu Alan Akana

by admin | Feb 3, 2018 | Message from Kahu

On Sunday, I shared the story of Kalaupapa, the peninsula on the north shore of Moloka`i. I have known of the place since I was in 5th grade at Catholic School in California. My teacher told the story of Father Damien (now Saint Damien) who arrived there in 1873. As she told it, uneducated Hawaiian people with leprosy had been living there with no sense of community, nor church, nor respect for one another; then Father Damien arrived with the Gospel and nearly everyone became Christian, learned to read and write, developed a strong Christian community and had tremendous love and respect for each other. That’s the story I believed growing up until moving back to Hawai`i the second time.

I recently read Holy Man by Gavan Daws and also did some research on my own; and I learned that the story I was told was not actually the story that everyone remembered from Kalaupapa. The Hawaiian government sent the first 12 people with leprosy (later to be known as Hansen’s Disease) to Kalaupapa in January of 1866. They were eight men, three women and a small boy. Some of the earliest settlers, including the small boy, were the first kokua, which means “helper” in Hawaiian. They were the people without leprosy who voluntarily went to Kalaupapa to take care of beloved family members. Na kokua (the helpers) were people of incredible courage and love. In June that first year, there were 35 Protestants (23 men and 12 women) who were members of Congregational Churches throughout Hawai`i, and they decided to write letters to their home churches, asking to be released from membership so that they could start their own church at Kalawao on Kalaupapa’s eastern shore. They became charter members of Siloama Church, the first church to be established there.

Of the 35 people who were charter members of Siloama and the hundreds of people who later attended worship services there, many proved to be wise and courageous leaders of their church and community during times of great hardship and diversity. They told stories of their deep faith in God and of the strength they found in their community of faith. The reason we know their stories is because they kept minutes of all their church meetings—all of the important things they did as a church and their ministry in the community. In 1938, someone found the church minutes from 1866 to 1928 in a vault below the church. They were written in Hawaiian and many (all?) in their church were literate in both Hawaiian and English. Those minutes told a completely different story about Kalaupapa than the one I was told as a young boy.

As I learned about Kalaupapa I felt that their story just had to be told. It was too good to keep it to myself! So I shared the story with the congregation on Sunday. We also read the story in Mark’s Gospel of Jesus healing a man with leprosy and asking him to not tell anyone about it. Yet, this man could not keep quiet. He walked around telling everyone what Jesus had done for him. It too was a story that was too good to keep to oneself. I am guessing that we all have stories that are just too good to not share with others. I encourage you to tell your stories that are too good not to share! Tell people of your blessings! Tell people about our church! Tell people what we are doing in the community! May your stories bless others in ways you cannot even imagine!

I hope to see you in church on Sunday as we celebrate Holy Communion and continue to share our stories of life and faith!

Aloha nui loa,

Our Kahu (Pastor) offers a weekly message in church most Sundays during the year. Click HERE to see a video of this week’s message. You may also 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.