A Message from Kahu Akana

by admin | Jun 3, 2016 | Message from Kahu

Our Capital Campaign One-Year Anniversary

A Message from Kahu Akana

by admin | May 26, 2016 | Message from Kahu

TRINITY SUNDAY

On Sunday, I shared part of the letter that Mark Zuckerberg wrote to his newborn daughter Max in December. I found it generous and inspiring. It is rather lengthy (click here to see the letter in its entirety), but here are a few of the words toward the end:

As you begin the next generation of the Chan Zuckerberg family, we also begin the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to join people across the world to advance human potential and promote equality for all children in the next generation. Our initial areas of focus will be personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities.

We will give 99% of our Facebook shares — currently about $45 billion — during our lives to advance this mission. We know this is a small contribution compared to all the resources and talents of those already working on these issues. But we want to do what we can, working alongside many others….

Max, we love you and feel a great responsibility to leave the world a better place for you and all children. We wish you a life filled with the same love, hope and joy you give us. We can’t wait to see what you bring to this world.

I was inspired by the openness and generosity of the letter. It called my attention to the nature of the Holy Trinity, which the theologian Miroslav Volf writes about in his book, After Our Likeness: The Church as the Image of the Trinity. In the book, he describes the Trinity as:

A community of mutual giving and receiving

Through his exploration of the Scriptures, Volf comes to the conclusion that the Holy Trinity is a community of 3 Entities, and the essence of their relationships is a complete openness in which they freely give and receive everything to each other.

Volf then goes onto say that this is the Church’s model for what we should strive for. Therefore, I invite you to consider how you might be more open today in order to more freely give and receive. And, when you do so, you are not only reflecting the nature of God but truly being who you are as a human being. After all, we are all created in God’s image!

Aloha nui loa!

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. Join us at 3289 Poipu Road in Koloa!

A Message from Kahu Akana

by admin | May 16, 2016 | Message from Kahu

PENTECOST SUNDAY

And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. (Acts 2:6)

Sunday was Pentecost: the day the Christian Church celebrates the Holy Spirit in our midst. It is called Pentecost (the Greek word “fiftieth”) because it happens 50 days after Easter (as well as 50 days after the Jewish Passover).

I began my message on Sunday telling the story of an airplane that was circling above Melbourne, Australia, unable to land; and nobody knew what to do about it. The problem had never come up before. A large 14-year-old boy with Down Syndrome lay on the floor in the middle of the aisle next to his seat; and he refused to move. He was very scared…and physically ill from fear. He didn’t want to talk to anyone and he was too afraid to get up and sit in his seat. And because he was not in his seat, the pilot could not land the plane according to aviation regulations. The boy’s parents tried everything to get him back to his seat. The flight attendants tried everything. There was even a doctor on board; and he had no idea what to do. If the boy was small, they could have just picked him up; but he was a large teenager, and way to heavy to just pick up and set in his seat.

Eventually, the plane was going to run out of fuel and the crew had run out of options. Then one of the flight attendants came up with a rather novel idea: she asked if there was a teacher on board. Sophie Murphy answered the call and the flight attendant explained the situation. So Sophie went to the boy, assessed the situation…and then laid down in the aisle next to him—her head right next to his—and the conversation went something like this:

“Hi, I’m Sophie and I’m a teacher. What’s your name”

At first there was a pause, and then the boy told Sophie his name.

“It’s really nice to meet you. What’s your favorite book?”

Another pause. “Winnie the Pooh.”

“That’s MY favorite book too!”

She asked about his favorite characters in Winnie the Pooh, and they talked about their favorite characters for a minute…and the wonderful story of Winnie the Pooh.

“Well, I’m going to go back to my seat now. Would you like to come sit next to me.”

“Sure.”

So they went back to her seat and the one next to hers. (The person next to Sophie was asked to change seats and willingly agreed.) Sophie and the boy continued their conversation about Winnie the Pooh, and within minutes the plane began to descend and landed safely in Melbourne.

Sophie Murphy became a hero on that flight and her story was told all over Australia and now all over the world. When the plane landed and she was congratulated for saving the day, she said something like this: “Oh, I just did what any teacher would do. This is what we do every day in our jobs: we meet kids where they are at; we talk to them in their language; we connect with them as they are.”

When I heard this story, it occurred to me that it is what happened on the Day of Pentecost! The Apostles meet people where they were at; talked to them in their language; and connected with them as they were.” Upon this foundation the Christian Church was built, and at Koloa Union Church it is the foundation on which we thrive.

I hope you have a great week spreading the Spirit of Pentecost to everyone you encounter!

Aloha nui loa!

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. Join us at 3289 Poipu Road in Koloa!

A Message from Kahu Akana

by admin | May 3, 2016 | Message from Kahu

WEEKLY NEWS & NEWSLETTER!

The first edition of “Koloa Union Church Weekly News” will be sent this week to everyone on our email list and those who have asked to receive weekly news from us! It will come from the email address [email protected]. It has been a few months since we have been considering how to best keep in touch with people on a weekly basis; and we have decided to go with the online marketing company Constant Contact. If you do not receive your copy in your email this week, please contact Penny Osuga at [email protected] and she will add your email address to our list.

I am really happy for this new way by which we will be able to keep in touch with people and get out the latest news and information as quickly as possible!

I also want everyone to know that our monthly newsletters are posted on this website as well. Just click on “News” at the top of this page and then click “Newsletter.”

Have a great week!

Aloha nui loa!

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. Join us at 3289 Poipu Road in Koloa!

A Message from Kahu Akana

by admin | Apr 26, 2016 | Message from Kahu

‘AHA MELE AND ‘AHA MOKUPUNI

“Ko Kakou Ho’oilina” (Our Legacy)

I invite everyone to join us this weekend for our annual Spring ‘Aha Mokupuni—our island-wide gathering of the congregations of the Kaua’i Association of the United Church of Christ! We will honor our legacy and look to the future for our congregations and mutual ministry.

This year’s ‘Aha will take place at Kapa’a First Hawaiian Church (4-1325 Kuhio Highway in Kapa’a). Parking is available to Kapa’a United Church of Christ, located right across the street.

FRIDAY, APRIL 29 (5:30-9:00 PM)

5:30 PM: We will begin the weekend with a delicious dinner provided by Kapa’a First Hawaiian.

6:30 PM: ‘Aha Mele! This is our annual songfest. Our own chancel choir from Koloa Union Church will participate! There will also be announcements from churches and other groups, and a brief introduction for the following day’s workshop.

If you want to carpool with others, meet at the church at 4:30 on Friday.

SATURDAY, APRIL 30 (8:00 AM – 3:00 PM)

8:00 AM: Breakfast provided by Kapa’a First Hawaiian

9:30 AM: Kaua’i Association Annual Meeting

11:45 AM: Worship Service

12:45 Lunch provided by Kapa’a First Hawaiian

1:30 PM A workshop (“Sharpen Our Vision”) led by Rev. Dr. Alan Akana!

I hope to see you this weekend!

Aloha nui loa!

Kahu Alan Akana

A Message from Kahu Akana

by admin | Apr 11, 2016 | Message from Kahu

What are you focusing on? What are you missing?

SEEING THINGS FOR THE FIRST TIME

On Sunday, I told the story of a training meeting I went to in my professional fundraising days. There were probably close to 75 of us in the room, and we saw a 30-second video of six people passing 2 basketballs to each other in a rather small space. Three of the players were wearing white shirts and three were wearing black shirts, and they were all standing really close to each other. We were simply asked to keep track of how many times the people wearing white shirts passed the basketball. For 30 seconds we watched attentively, focusing our entire attention upon the people wearing white. After the video was over, we were asked how many times the people in white passed the basketball—and most of us got it wrong! It was more difficult than it looked!

However, the next question and answer shocked nearly every one of us. The presenter simply asked, “Did you see anything else on the basketball court besides the six players and the two balls?” The room was silent. “Really? You didn’t see anything else? Nothing at all?”

Then the newest person in our group slowly raised his hand and asked, “You mean, the gorilla?”

When the presenter asked if anyone else had seen a gorilla in the video, not a single person admitted to seeing one; so he told us that he would show the exact same video again and he wanted us to look really hard to see if anyone else saw a gorilla anywhere on the basketball court. About 15 seconds into the video, a person in a gorilla suit walked right in front of the camera, and a few seconds later stood right in the middle of the group of people passing the 2 basketballs and stood there beating his chest…and then walked off the court.

The question we all asked was: “How did we all miss it?”

The presenter went on to say something like this. “The point is that sometimes when you are so focused on certain things, you miss other things that are really big. Sometimes those things are very important and you never even see them. It is important not only to open your eyes, but also to consider what you are looking at and what you are looking for.”

I began thinking of all of the things in my life that I may have missed seeing all together… the important things… the really important things… all because I was looking at the less important things… and looking for the less important things.

I am convinced that when we learn to see the world through the eyes of God, we will see things we have never seen before. We will notice God’s love in places we have never noticed before. We will look for opportunities to share God’s love and we will see new things for the very first time.

May we open our eyes! May we look at God! May we look for God! May we see God everywhere! And may our lives be transformed by our vision and the things we focus upon!

Aloha nui loa!

Kahu Alan Akana