by admin | Sep 14, 2016 | Message from Kahu
JESUS AND THE SEA
I enjoyed our worship service at the beach on Sunday! Our theme was “Jesus and the Sea.” We took a look at how people in biblical times felt about large bodies of water, and it was not all positive. We also considered the two passages in Mark’s Gospel where Jesus calmed the sea, and I encouraged us all to consider what we might learn from those passages, even though our feelings toward the sea might be significantly different from the feelings that the original hearers of these stories may have had. The bottom line: God is with us during the times of chaos and fear, and because of God’s presence, we can stand firm with the confidence that God’s love is always with us. My prayer for all is that we will stand firm in the times of chaos and fear in our lives because of our faith in God’s loving presence.
I look forward to seeing you on a Sunday morning again soon!
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 | Sep 7, 2016 | Message from Kahu
Poipu Beach Pavilion
CHURCH AT THE BEACH ON SEPTEMBER 11th
I am grateful for your prayers this past week after a minor outpatient procedure. I am back at work and feeling great!
I am looking forward to seeing everyone AT THE BEACH on Sunday morning. Please bring something to share for the potluck and be sure to bring a beach chair if you want something comfortable to sit on. We have reserved the main pavilion from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. THE WORSHIP SERVICE WILL BEGIN AT 11:00 A.M., but feel free to come early and stay afterwards.
See you on Sunday!
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 | Sep 1, 2016 | Message from Kahu
A BLESSING THAT KEEPS ON BLESSING!
My message on Sunday focused on how we are very blessed in this life, and how those blessings come to us even more when we bless others without expecting anything in return. I shared a story of two friends of the church, Mike and his wife Judy, who recently died. Mike and Judy invited me to dinner at their home in Poipu before they returned to their other home in Washington State; and I shared on Sunday about the blessings I have seen from that one simple act to bless me, two of their other friends and Mike’s niece. It was a magical evening on their lanai…next to the lawn…next to the ocean…(much like to picture above)…with wonderful conversation and an over-the-top catered dinner created by Chef Tom Ryan of Custom Catering Hawaii. Sadly, Judy died on the evening of April 30. I remember sharing the news of her unexpected passing in church the next morning.
During the following week, I began planning a way to honor Judy. One of the last things she said to me as I was leaving their home on the night they treated me to dinner was, “I just LOVE Hawaiian flowers!” (I had just given Mike and her a set of greeting cards from the Hawaiian flowers I had painted.) So I asked Chef Tom if he would be interested in helping me to create a special gift to the National Tropical Botanical Gardens in Judy’s memory. Since their annual fundraising event was coming up in August, I asked Tom if he would consider donating a meal that would be combined with one of my paintings (below). Tom told me that he would be honored to donate a meal in Judy’s memory. The gift grew, with the help of others, and the blessings continued. Rather than writing down the rest of the details, I am attaching a video of Sunday’s sermon HERE, so that you can hear all about it.
As you watch the video, I invite you to consider how you might be a blessing to others, knowing that you will be blessed in return. I also invite you to pay attention to the ways you are blessed…and give thanks.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
P.S. In my sermon, I mistakenly referred to Mike’s “daughter”; I meant to say “niece.” I also referred to seeing the island of “Lanai”; I meant to say “Niihau” (although that would be really cool to see Lanai from the south shore of Kauai!).
‘ILIAHI © Alan Akana 2016
To see a video of Kahu’s sermon on Sunday, click HERE.
You are invited to join us for worship at 10:30 on Sunday mornings at 3289 Poipu Road in Koloa!
“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 | Aug 25, 2016 | Message from Kahu
LIKE A WATERED GARDEN!
On Sunday, we read from Isaiah 58, where the prophet tells the people of God that they are like a watered garden when they worship well; and he makes it very clear what kind of worship he is talking about! It is not just going through the motions of worship, but showing compassion to others. It is relieving the pain and suffering that people are enduring and also removing the causes of that pain and suffering. If we are like a watered garden when we do these things, I hope that we will remind ourselves of this every time we take notice of the beauty all around us on this magnificent Garden Island on which we live! If you would like to see the sermon on video, click HERE.
As our landscaping project is unfolding before our eyes, as the result of our successful capital campaign, it appears that our church grounds are becoming a beautiful and well-watered garden! What a wonderful symbol for us to have as we approach our sanctuary on Sunday morning: we walk through a well-watered garden on our way to become one! (Actually, I think we already are that garden, but we come to church for more watering, fertilizing, and maybe even some pruning.)
I hope you will join us on Sunday as we learn to become a well-watered garden!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
You are invited to join us for worship at 10:30 on Sunday mornings at 3289 Poipu Road in Koloa!
“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 | Aug 17, 2016 | Message from Kahu
OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN?
On Sunday, we considered how the world around us has changed in the last century. Just think of the events that caused a major shift in the way we see: World War I and the major social changes that followed; World War II with the Holocaust and atom bomb; the Cold War, anti-war demonstrations, the pill, the Civil Rights movement, the LGBT Rights movement (just to name a small handful!).
With all these changes also came changes in how we see God and the universe all around us. Diana Butler Bass, in her book Grounded, Finding God in the World, writes: “During the last century, the three-tiered universe and its orderly certainty crumbled.” She is referring to the way people formerly saw the universe: God up in heaven, people on earth, and the underworld where no one wanted to go. In this universe, people needed the Church to help get them to heaven where God is and avoid going to hell where God is not.
People now tend to think of God as being omnipresent—filling all space everywhere at all times. So, if God is always everywhere at all times and forever, what is the point of the Church these days? I shared with the congregation that I need the Church (I need them!) to remind me that God is everywhere, because it’s easy for me to forget this when I listen to the news and hear about cruelty, hate crimes, religion-inspired killing, refugees who are turned away from safe places, and so much more. I do believe that God is always with me…always with each of us…but the Church helps remind me of this when it is hard to see God amid the experiences of our world.
I hope Koloa Union Church will always be a place that will help us see God! I invite you to come and see God for yourself!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
To see a video of Kahu Akana’s sermon from past Sundays, scroll down to earlier entries of “A Message from Kahu Alan Akana.” There is no video this week due to the electricity not working at the church on Sunday morning.
You are invited to join us for worship at 10:30 on Sunday mornings at 3289 Poipu Road in Koloa!
“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 | Aug 11, 2016 | Message from Kahu
ACCEPTABLE WORSHIP
On Sunday, I shared with the congregation about my difficulty reading through the Old Testament because of the violent and brutal actions people believed God wanted them to do. Over and over again, the people of God believed that God gave them not only permission, but instruction, to kill others with God’s blessing and guidance. This theme begins in Genesis. The book of Joshua (chapter 12) actually lists 31 kingdoms that were defeated in battle by Joshua alone. The first verse of the next chapter states: “and very much of the land still remains to be possessed.” In other words, in terms of slaughtering people of different kingdoms, ethnicities, cultures and religions, the Israelites were just getting started!
The people of ancient Israel were not all that different from others, who believed that their gods rewarded them for appropriate sacrifices, prayers and worship by giving them success in battle over their enemies. The main difference was that the Israelites believed in one God (who also rewarded for the same things in the same way). Throughout history, the Christian Church has also continued this pattern of belief and action. I am opposed to killing others in general; I am also opposed to killing others because “our country, culture and religion” are believed to be superior to others and more dear to God.
I am encouraged that there is another perspective in the Scriptures regarding why we worship and what makes God really happy with our worship. In the opening pages of Isaiah, we read that God is not pleased with sacrifices, offerings, festivals and prayers if they are not accompanied by justice and compassion. When our worship leads to the opening of our eyes and hearts to people in the world who need justice and compassion, then God is truly pleased!
May we open our eyes and hearts this week to people all around us and show them justice and compassion—regardless of their citizenship, ethnicity, culture or religion…or anything else that might make them different from us!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
To see a video of Kahu Akana’s sermon from this past Sunday, click HERE.
You are invited to join us for worship at 10:30 on Sunday mornings at 3289 Poipu Road in Koloa!
“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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