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.

A Message from Kahu Alan Akana

by admin | Dec 27, 2017 | Message from Kahu

Happy New Year 2018

Join us on Sunday morning

as we give thanks for our blessings in 2017

and as we welcome 2018

and ask for God’s blessings

in the year ahead!

I have really enjoyed the seasons of Advent and Christmas with the people of Koloa Union Church. I was inspired by the lighting of the Advent candles by some of the artists among us and their sharing of their art as it pertains to the themes of Advent: hope, peace, joy and love. I also immensely enjoyed our Christmas Eve service, including the wonderful music and the reading of the Christmas stories, as well as our Christmas Day communion service. Click HERE if you would like to watch on video any the messages from the past week.

We have been truly blessed this past year and have much for which to give thanks! Most importantly, I am grateful for God’s loving presence among through the ups and downs, joys and griefs, rhythms and patterns of the year. On Sunday, we will give thanks and ask for God’s blessings in the New Year. We will also take a look at a couple of stories in the Gospel of Luke, in which a couple of elderly holy people meet the infant Jesus and share their joy with the world.

I look forward to seeing many of you on Sunday and wish you all a very Happy New Year!

Aloha nui!

Kahu Alan Akana

A Message from Kahu Alan Akana

by admin | Dec 20, 2017 | Message from Kahu

“For unto us a child is born”

(Isaiah 9:6)

This is such a special time of year as we celebrate the birth of our Savior. As I think about our world and people I know who are struggling in life, it is more important than ever to remember that God sent Jesus into the world to show us how to hold onto love and hope. In the midst of troubling news in the media, personal crises we encounter, and poverty and hunger on our island, we are reminded at Christmas that there is always a place for love and hope. Just as Jesus arrived during a troubling time and showed everyone new possibilities and new ways of being in the world, we too are able to do the same!

As we gather on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, may we all feel God’s love and hope for the world; and may we commit ourselves to being part of God’s dream for us all! I invite you to join us for our worship services on Sunday morning, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as we celebrate God’s loving presence which came to us as an infant in Bethlehem…and which continues to come to us in unexpected and surprising ways!

Aloha nui!

Kahu Alan Akana

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

by admin | Dec 13, 2017 | Message from Kahu

“Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.”

(The Angel Gabriel, Luke 1:28)

On Sunday I shared a story about Benjamin Zander, the conductor for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and a professor of music. One year he decided to begin class by telling all of the students that they would receive an “A.” All they had to do was write a letter to him explaining why they deserved such a high grade. They had to date the letter the following May and write about what happened during the year, including goals, benchmarks, successes and celebrations. They also had to focus on who they had become. It was an amazing year for Zander and his class. His students let go of their fears and anxieties over making mistakes, not measuring up, and not being as good as others; and they all acted like “A” students! Furthermore, they made music with more life and passion than ever before!

Benjamin Zander offered grace to his class that year. Grace is something good that is offered simply out of kindness. It is not earned or deserved, offered as payment or reward. It is simply given because the giver is kind and compassionate. This is how God treats us! We all get an “A” even before we do anything to deserve any grade at all! In God’s eyes we are already perfect. If we would only believe that God’s grace is already ours, I think we would act like Benjamin Zander’s students: we would live and act together with more life and passion than ever before…and we would be at peace with everyone; for there would be no reason to compete! Why compete with someone when you are already guaranteed an “A”?

As we contemplate the meaning of Christmas, I hope we can hear the words of God, spoken through the angel Gabriel: “Greetings favored one! The Lord is with you.” For these words were not just for Mary. They were intended for each of us. We all receive God’s favor, whether we deserve it or not (grace!), and God is always with us. For me, this is the real meaning of Christmas. May we allow God’s grace to come to us and may we share it with others during this Advent season as we prepare our hearts for Christ to enter in surprising and unexpected ways!

Aloha nui!

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” 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.