by admin | Dec 1, 2016 | Message from Kahu
On Sunday, Karen Johnson helped us kick off the Season of Advent by reading her beautiful poem, Make Room, in which she encouraged us all to make room for Christ during this time of the year. The poem gave me hope as Karen lit the Candle of Hope—hope that we can always make room for Christ and for God in our lives.
Later in the service, I shared about my maternal grandmother’s life and how she was a model of hope for me. As a young girl, Alice wanted to study agriculture but when she shared this dream with others they either laughed at her or else told her she could not do it because agriculture was “man’s work” and not suited for women. Nevertheless, she ended up as the first female to graduate with a B.S. degree in agriculture from Montana State College (now University) in Bozeman, Montana. After graduation, she wanted to raise her children—my mom and her two brothers. After an abusive marriage and an horrific car accident, in which she suffered a broken neck and burns all over her body, she was told that she would never walk again and could certainly never raise her children. Nevertheless, she went back to college to earn another bachelor’s degree—this one in home economics—and was able to keep her family together until each of her kids graduated from high school. Then she wanted to see more of the world, so she lived on Hawai`i and Kaua`i Islands and also in India. She also traveled extensively in her 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and even well into her 80’s. To this day, whenever I face challenges, just remembering my grandmother gives me hope!
On Sunday, I also talked about our Old Testament reading from Isaiah, chapter 11, which is a vision of hope:
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
These words were written during a time in Israel’s history that seemed pretty hopeless. The armies of Babylon had attacked, burned villages and cities, killed many, and took most of the people back to Babylon in order to serve as slaves to the Babylonians. And yet, the writer of Isaiah had a vision of hope that new life would grow out of what was chopped down, that the future would be even better than the past.
May you find hope in your life whenever you face challenges. May you dream big dreams and commit yourself to those dreams, always remembering that the loving God is always present.
I hope you will join us in church this Sunday as we move from hope to peace. Dr. Douglas Duvauchelle will share with us how the art of music brings him peace. We will also celebrate Holy Communion.
Have a great week as you make room for Christ in your life, and experience great hope and peace!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
Click HERE to see a video of last Sunday’s sermon.
Videos of Kahu’s sermons will be available every week through Christmas Day. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church.
“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.
by admin | Nov 23, 2016 | Message from Kahu
On Sunday, we celebrated and gave thanks for the many blessings in our lives. We read the passage from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, chapter 4:
- Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
I shared with the congregation about my experience of returning to joy and gratitude as often as possible. There have certainly been times in my life when joy and gratitude seemed far away—and I’m pretty sure that has been the case for you as well! But I have discovered that when we return to joy and gratitude as quickly and as often as possible, we find deep and lasting peace.
Two special things happened early in the week that brought me great joy and gratitude. First of all, I was at the church on Tuesday when the volunteers returned from delivering boxes of food to families on the south shore who are struggling financially. I got to hear firsthand how much joy our congregation brought to some families that would likely have little to eat on Thursday. Secondly, I was in my office on Tuesday morning, meeting with Dan Giovanni regarding our capital campaign projects, and a visitor on vacation from Idaho walked up and told us what a beautiful church we had. She was so moved by the beauty of the outside of our building and our new landscaping that she wanted to see the inside of the building. Afterwards, she commented that we have such a beautiful and special place and said that she will join us for worship on Sunday morning when she returns to the island. As she walked away, I turned to Dan and said, “Well that just made my day!” All of our generosity and efforts to create a welcoming and inviting space are certainly paying off!
This coming Sunday, we begin the Season of Advent, in which we celebrate the coming of Christ. Even though Christ is always with us and never leaves us, Christ also seems to come in new and surprising ways. This is the season to be open to those surprises. I hope you will join me in our Sunday morning worship services during the next four weeks as we discover how Christ comes to us and surprises us with hope, peace, joy and love. This year during Advent, I have invited some of the artists among us to light the Advent candles and share with us how Christ comes through our art.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
Click HERE to see a video of last Sunday’s sermon.
by admin | Nov 16, 2016 | Message from Kahu
On Sunday, I began my sermon with an honest assessment of what has been happening in our country this past week. I also pointed out that I am both a citizen with a vote and a voice, as well as Kahu (Pastor) of Koloa Union Church. I then made four commitments to the congregation:
- First of all, when it comes to publicly speaking about politics, I will never speak as your Pastor, but rather as a citizen. For I believe that each of you is entitled to speak your own mind; and just as I don’t want you to speak on my behalf politically, I can’t imagine that you would want me to speak on yours.
- My second commitment is that I will never tell you who to vote for or what to vote for…for that is entirely up to you.
- Thirdly, I will encourage all of us to be who we are and believe what we believe in a safe and supportive environment…and love each other deeply, even when our political opinions may be very different.
- And finally, I will encourage us, beginning today, to dream together—dreams of a better nation and a better world—and to share our dreams with one another….
I then shared a few dreams—dreams that most of us have heard before. I shared the dream of Isaiah from chapter 65, a seemingly impossible dream where there is no more pain or tears, and everyone lives a long and full life. I then shared a portion of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, another seemingly impossible dream in which all racism and prejudice comes to an end. Finally, I shared my dream for our country and world, which also seems rather impossible. I hope I remembered to mention in my sermon that I am so glad that we dream our impossible dreams, for they give us hope, focus, vision and invite us to live our lives according to our highest values. At the end of our worship service, I invited the congregation to share their dreams with me. For those who would like to participate, please send me your dreams, and let me know if I have your permission to share your dream (in whole or in part) with others. I think it is important that we share our dreams with others in a safe and supportive environment. Feel free to mail, drop off or email your dream to me at the church.
If you would like to see a video of Sunday’s sermon, please click HERE.
Finally, I hope you will join us this coming Sunday for a special time of gratitude. We will worship with gratitude and then feast together as a congregation on a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I think it is especially important to focus on gratitude during these challenging times in the life of our nation. Come and be thankful! Come and give thanks!
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.
by admin | Nov 13, 2016 | Message from Kahu
What a week this has been! I never imagined that an election in the United States would elicit so much emotion, drama, pain, anger, and even violence. I believe it is essential that we come together as a congregation and pray for peace, justice and unity, express our fears and concerns, and maybe even be a sanctuary where people in our community can come to meditate and pray. Please join us on Sunday as we reflect on what is happening around us and how God might be calling us to respond.
Regardless of what happens in the country, let us remain committed to being agents of peace, remembering that we are to love our enemies, while at the same time take a stand for justice. Let us remain committed to loving our neighbors and always widening the fences and opening the gates until they all come down. Let us remain committed asking the question (as we have done for the last 4 weeks) “And who is my neighbor?”
That question has been our theme this fall. Thank you to everyone who has made a financial commitment to our mission in 2017, as we continue to support ministry that reaches out to neighbors as Jesus did. Thank you also to all who continue to commit your time, energy and your love to this wonderful community of faith which I have come to deeply appreciate and love as “Koloa Union Church.”
Aloha nui!!!
Kahu Alan Akana
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“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.
by admin | Nov 5, 2016 | Message from Kahu
On Sunday, we continued our series on “Pay It Forward: And Who Is My Neighbor?” Our focus was Sharing Aloha with the Rich and the Poor. We read the story of Zacchaeus, a very rich man who gave half his money to the poor. This act of generosity is an example for us and came after three commitments he made:
- First of all, he was committed to looking at Jesus. When the crowd got so big that he couldn’t see Jesus, he climbed up in a tree. He wasn’t going to let anything or anyone get in the way of him clearly looking at Jesus. I encourage you to consider the things that might keep you from seeing Jesus; and then consider how you might make your way through those obstacles.
- Secondly, Zacchaeus was committed to hanging out with Jesus. He invited Jesus to his home and enjoyed his company. I encourage you to spend time with Jesus, through prayer, reading of Scripture, attending church, and simply being aware of his ongoing presence in the world.
- Finally, Zacchaeus was committed to taking a look at his life and asking himself what he might change. Is there anything you might change in your life to see Jesus better or be a better follower of Jesus? What might that be? What would it take for you to make that change?
Through these three commitments, Zacchaeus got clarity as to how he would love his neighbors. As you think about these things, I invite you to be part of our vision at Koloa Union Church. Most of our members and regular attendees have received a paper heart in the mail by now (and anyone can pick up a heart at church or just make your own from a piece of card stock); I invite you to write on your heart the kinds of people with particular kinds of needs that you think God might be calling us to pay attention to in the coming year. Please bring your heart to church on Sunday, November 6, so that we can put all of the paper hearts on a banner and ask God to give us compassion and wisdom for all of the people listed. Please also bring your commitment card for 2017 on November 6 so that yours will be counted in our “Blessing of Commitments” during the worship service when we bless our financial commitments for the following year.
In the meantime, I invite you to continue praying the following prayer with me, as you consider your commitment to our church’s future outreach and mission:
O God, as we seek to reach out into our community
by sharing aloha with everyone in the coming year,
open my heart so that love will freely flow in and out of it.
May the commitment I make truly represent
the gratitude I have to you for
all that Koloa Union Church means to me.
Amen!
I look forward to seeing you in church on Sunday for Holy Communion, creating our banner of hearts and the blessing of our commitments.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
To see a video of Kahu’s sermon on Sunday, click HERE.
“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.
by admin | Oct 28, 2016 | Message from Kahu
On Sunday, we continued our series on “Pay It Forward: And Who Is My Neighbor?” Our focus was Sharing Aloha with Children and Youth. It was an honor to have four high school students from Kamehameha Schools join us to help lead our worship service with music and inspiring message. Each of the four shared about ways they have reached out into their various communities and also talked about their hopes for how churches will reach out to young people.
As I think about ways that we might reach out to the children and youth of our community, I invite you to be part of our vision. Most of our members and regular attendees have received a paper heart in the mail by now (and anyone can pick up a heart at church or make your own out of card stock); I invite you to write on your heart the kinds of people with particular kinds of needs that you think God might be calling us to pay attention to in the coming year. Please bring it to church on or before Sunday, November 6, so that we can put all of the paper hearts on a banner and ask God to give us compassion and wisdom for all of the people listed. Please also bring your commitment card for 2017 on November 6 so that we can include it in our “Blessing of Commitments” during our worship service on that day.
In the meantime, I invite you to continue praying the following prayer with me, as you consider your commitment to our church’s future outreach and mission:
O God, as we seek to reach out into our community by sharing aloha with everyone in the coming year, open my heart so that love will freely flow in and out of it.
May the commitment I make truly represent the gratitude I have to you for all that Koloa Union Church means to me.
Amen!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
To see a video of Kahu’s sermon on Sunday, click HERE.
“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.
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