by admin | Jan 26, 2016 | Message from Kahu
WE ARE ALL CONNECTED!
On Sunday, I shared with the congregation about the traditional Hawaiian sense of connection that the people of these islands have felt for nearly 2,000 years:
- Connection to the land
- Connection to all that is on the land: trees, plants and rocks
- Connection to others: ‘ohana (family) and everyone else
Our connection to one another is strong, in part, because Hawaiians traditionally believed that we are all descendants of the kalo (taro) plant. We take great care of the kalo because it is our cousin; it also reminds us that we are connected to one another: when one finds joy, we all share in that joy; when one hurts, we all feel that pain together.
It is this strong connection that has motivated the people to take great care of their land and to treat others with hospitality and respect. When we look around us and allow ourselves to see all of the connections that we have, we treat land, water, all creatures and every human being with dignity and respect. And so, I encourage us all to look for those connections and pay attention to them so that every part of our world will enjoy compassion and peace.
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Jan 23, 2016 | Message from Kahu
AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM DR. KING
On Sunday, I shared with the congregation some words from an essay published shortly after the death of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in which he wrote:
We have inherited a large house, a great “world house” in which we have to live together—black and white, Easterner and Westerner, Gentile and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Moslem and Hindu—a family unduly separated in ideas, culture an interest, who, because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace.
In 1967, MLK wrote that we now live in a “worldwide neighborhood.” He claimed that this phenomenon was the result of technology: radio, television, space travel had remade the world and demanded a new and better future of equality, freedom and justice for all.
Think back and consider all that has changed with technology since 1967. The Internet, cell phones, social media… Think about how much more we are connected today and how technology has “remade the world and demanded a new and better future.”
We have a choice as human beings:
- We can choose that “new and better future,” and live together with respect and compassion for each other, including those who are very different from us.
OR
- We can choose to live apart from each other in what Dr. King called “closed tribes,” where we build walls around ourselves and create distance between “us” vs. “them” because we see differences as “evil.” By the way, Dr. King wrote of the dangers of closed tribes as the “great new problem of mankind.”
I am convinced that we must choose the former if we want to survive as human beings, because we now have the ability to destroy each other a thousand times over. We must make sure we never do that…and the only way I know of doing that is to live together with respect and compassion for each other, including those who seem to be very different from us. May God give us the grace and wisdom to do so.
It was wonderful to hear this message affirmed on Monday by the Right Rev. William E. Swing, the founder and President of the United Religions Initiative. A dozen of us from Koloa Union Church attended a gathering in honor of Dr. King, hosted by the Interfaith Roundtable of Kauai, where Rev. Swing spoke about the need to be with people of other faiths and not be afraid of those with differing beliefs. It has been a great week of celebrating similarities and differences among fellow human beings!
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Jan 12, 2016 | Message from Kahu
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN PROGRESS!
I want to take a moment and share my gratitude for our capital campaign progress here at Koloa Union Church. First of all, thank you for the many generous contributions to our capital campaign “Maika’i Hana Hou” (Creating Goodness and Beauty Once Again). A special thank you to Dan Giovanni, our capital campaign chair, who spends countless hours every week behind the scenes—and digging in the dirt!—to keep our progress moving forward.
Because of the generosity of our members and friends, renovations are now being made here almost daily. The most recent and visible so far is the new arbor, which makes an attractive entryway to our church buildings. There are already two very tall red bougainvillea plants growing on both sides of the arbor, and soon the entire arbor will be draped in red blossoms, creating a warm and welcoming entrance to our buildings! We are just beginning our landscaping, and you can expect many more changes in the near future. You will also be seeing some major changes inside our sanctuary and hearing the results from the upgrades in our sound system in the next couple of weeks. And this is just the beginning!
I am very proud of what we have done as a church this past year in terms of choosing some major projects which will make us much more inviting and welcoming to all! I look forward to seeing the many results in the coming year. Again, thank you to everyone who has generously given to the success of “Maika’i Hana Hou”!
Mahalo nui loa!!!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Jan 5, 2016 | Message from Kahu
My New Year’s Wish for Everyone….
On Sunday, we took a look at Joseph’s dreams in Matthew’s Gospel: a dream to hang in there with Mary and to name her baby “Jesus”; a dream to flee to Egypt when Herod’s anger and jealousy made it dangerous for Jesus to remain there; a dream that it was safe to return to Israel; and a final dream to NOT go home to Bethlehem where it was still not safe for Jesus, but rather to live in Nazareth where it was safe.
I shared with the congregation four key themes in the Gospel reading (Matthew, chapter 2) that develop throughout Matthew’s Gospel:
- Matthew wanted his readers to know that God wanted Jesus alive because there was a special mission for Jesus: then Matthew develops that mission in the rest of the Gospel, namely, to bring compassion, justice and inclusion to all people.
- Matthew wanted his readers to feel the tension between the Empire of Rome and all of the ways that it manifested itself (including King Herod and then his son Archelaus) on the one hand, and an alternative new realm that Jesus was to usher in on the other hand.
- Matthew wanted his readers to know that the way of Jesus is not always easy…or painless…or the most direct route from Point A to Point B.
- Finally, Matthew wanted his readers to know that they are never alone, just as Joseph was never alone, and just as Jesus was never alone.
These four themes actually point to God’s dream for the entire world: especially that compassion, justice and inclusion are for everyone…and that God never leaves us alone…none of us…ever!
MY NEW YEAR’S WISH FOR ALL: I hope you will be part of God’s dream for the world this year, and that you will share it with others all year long!
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Dec 30, 2015 | Message from Kahu
On Sunday, I talked about the many homes where I’ve lived and how often I moved. I also shared some thoughts from Diana Butler Bass’ chapter “Home” from her book Grounded. (She has moved a lot too!) The two most important things to me are:
- Home is where we belong…and feel that we belong.
- Home is a place where God meets us.
Fortunately, I am able to see both of these things in all of the homes where I have lived. I also see and feel both of these things at Koloa Union Church, our spiritual home. It is a place where all are welcome to meet God and have a place where we belong. I am grateful for the people at church who make me feel that I belong here. I see God in our common life: our worship, fellowship, outreach and the fun we have.
This is our home! And I hope to see you here again soon!
Hau’oli Makahiki Hou Me Aloha Nui Loa!!!
Kahu
by admin | Dec 21, 2015 | Message from Kahu
THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION
During the week of Christmas, I cannot think of a more important message than that of having compassion. On Sunday, I shared how the Gospel writer Luke set the stage for the drama of Jesus’ life with compassion. The word “mercy” showed up four times in the first chapter of Luke, which is the word for used when compassion, grace or love is demonstrated to others; and then Luke spends the rest of the Gospel showing how Jesus broke down the walls that stand between people and the compassion we have for them, making all people our neighbors and friends.
At the Parliament of the World’s Religions, which I attended in Salt Lake City in October, Karen Armstrong spoke of compassion and the Charter for Compassion, which she was instrumental in writing. It is an important document, which calls for people of all faiths to commit to living with compassion for others. I recently signed the charter and invite you to do the same.
The charter is written below in full. If you would like to see and hear it read by a group of diverse and articulate people in a powerful way, please click: CHARTER FOR COMPASSION. On that page, you can also sign the charter and commit to living with compassion.
During this season in which we celebrate God’s love, my prayer is that we will live in a world where compassion is evident everywhere.
I hope to see you on Christmas Eve for our service of candles and carols and on Christmas Day for Holy Communion.
Mele Kalikimaka me Aloha Nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
__________________________
THE CHARTER FOR COMPASSION:
The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.
It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.
We therefore call upon all men and women to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion ~ to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies.
We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarized world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.
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