by admin | Sep 28, 2015 | Message from Kahu
Sea Glass
SEA GLASS AND DREAMS
On Sunday, I brought a bowl of sea glass to church and shared with the congregation that sea glass has become for me an important image of our lives. Pieces of sea glass are basically broken pieces of bottles, glasses, windows and other glass objects of all colors, shapes and sizes, that have been tossed by the waves and rubbed against the sand until they become smooth and beautiful objects. They change through the tossing and turning of the waves, and they become more desirable. In much the same way, our lives change as we are tossed and turned by the experiences in our lives over which we sometimes seem to have very little control. Yet, we can welcome those experiences and find God in the midst of them; and when we do, we too have our rough edges smoothed out and we become more beautiful.
I talked a bit about the Prophet Jeremiah and the people to whom he ministered. They had their fair share of tossing and turning! Life was pretty difficult after being hauled off by the Babylonian army to serve as virtual slaves to the Babylonians. They wondered if they would ever return to their homeland, if they would ever have their lives back again. Jeremiah reminded them that God was still with them, just like God had always been with them, just like God would always be with them…and he helped them dream of a brighter future. And that was all the reason they needed to have joy and hope for their lives:
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
I will build you up again,
Again you will take up your timbrels
and go out to dance with the joyful….
I will turn their mourning into gladness;
I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
When times are rough and it seems like you are being tossed about like a broken piece of glass in the waves, remember that God is with you, loving you, giving you reason for joy and hope, and turning you into something even more beautiful than you already are! So dream of better days, dream of joy, dream of hope, for your life…for your family…for your church.
I hope to see you on Sunday when we will continue to focus on the beauty of sea glass…and I invite you to come and share your dreams.
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Sep 15, 2015 | Message from Kahu
A SEASON OF HOPE
Our theme for September and the first Sunday of October is “Hope”. This week I shared with the congregation a poem called “Lost Generation” by Jonathan Reed that I read in Diana Butler Bass’ book, Christianity after Religion. It is a poem of despair and hope…and here it is:
I am part of a lost generation
and I refuse to believe that
I can change the world
I realize this may be a shock but
“Happiness comes from within.”
is a lie, and
“Money will make me happy.”
So in 30 years I will tell my children
they are not the most important thing in my life
My employer will know that
I have my priorities straight because
work
is more important than
family
I tell you this
Once upon a time
Families stayed together
but this will not be true in my era
This is a quick fix society
Experts tell me
30 years from now, I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce
I do not concede that
I will live in a country of my own making
In the future
Environmental destruction will be the norm
No longer can it be said that
My peers and I care about this earth
It will be evident that
My generation is apathetic and lethargic
It is foolish to presume that
There is hope.
You might be wondering why I said this is a poem of despair and hope, when it sounds like only despair at this point; but now read the final line of the poem and then read the poem in reverse, line by line:
And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it.
We read the same words forwards and backwards—just in a different order—and how we choose to see these words can fill us with either despair or hope. The good news is: We get to choose! Every single day, we get to choose to live with either despair or hope; and how we choose to see the world will determine the outcome of the world. I choose hope for my life and for Koloa Union Church. I invite you to join me in choosing hope and being committed to bringing love, joy and hope to this world!
You may also want to hear the poem read by a a young woman on YouTube by clicking HERE.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Sep 10, 2015 | Message from Kahu
FAITH AND HOPE
On Sunday, I shared with the congregation about an inspiring story I heard on NPR regarding the thousands of refugees from the Middle East and North Africa pouring into Hungary. Initially, the Hungarian government allowed the refugees to purchase train tickets to countries to the north, namely Austria and Germany, where they would be welcomed to begin a new life. After many of the refugees arrived in Hungary, the government decided to no longer allow them to board trains for the north; so the refugees decided to walk hundreds of miles to their final destinations.
The part of the story that really touched me was hearing how the Hungarian people responded: they gathered together food, blankets, shoes and clothing and brought them to the refugees. One Hungarian woman gave some of her personal belongings to a woman and looked down to see that she was wearing flip-flops. She immediately took off her shoes and gave them to the woman because she needed them for the long journey ahead.
I mentioned on Sunday that this inspiring story was one of “faith in action,” of people “rich in faith.” It also occurred to me that this is story full of hope: hope in humanity, hope for the Church, and hope for our world. During the next four Sundays, our theme in our worship services will be “A FUTURE WITH HOPE.” On October 4th, we will celebrate our hope as a church by giving members and friends the opportunity to make a financial commitment to our church’s general fund for 2016 during the worship service…and then enjoy a great time of food and fellowship at our Oktoberfest Celebration right after church.
I hope you will join us during the next four Sundays as we prepare for “A FUTURE WITH HOPE.”
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Sep 6, 2015 | Message from Kahu
DRAWING NEAR TO GOD
On Sunday, we took a look at the traditions of the church and what makes them valuable (or…perhaps not so valuable!). I shared about a previous church where I served in which a beautiful chapel was no longer used because the people couldn’t let go of anything that had been donated to the church. The chapel was filled with broken and unused items which hadn’t been touched in decades. Since the chapel was the only place where there was any room left to store these items, we could no longer use the chapel for prayer, meditation, small memorial services or weddings.
As I reflected on this predicament, it became clear to me that we often allow traditions to get in the way of moving forward. Even worse, we can allow those traditions to keep us from drawing near to God and enabling others to do the same.
In Mark 7, Jesus had some harsh words for the religious leaders of his day for doing that very thing. They kept all of their traditions and insisted that others do the same. Yet, they kept people from drawing closer to God, and therefore missed the whole point of their religion!
Whatever traditions and practices we decide to keep (or start), let’s make sure that they truly draw us closer to God and one another…and encourage others to do the same! This good to consider for our church, as well as for our personal lives and our families.
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Aug 28, 2015 | Message from Kahu
Leadership Retreat at Waineke Cabin in Koke’e
LEADERSHIP RETREAT
On Saturday, August 22nd, 18 of our church leaders gathered in Koke’e to focus on our new 3-year vision that the congregation adopted in January. I am pleased that we had great participation! The group spent the entire day brainstorming, reflecting, praying, prioritizing and planning. We also ate really well (thanks to Uncle Diki!) and had a lot of fun! The group chose 4 areas to concentrate on for the coming year:
- Youth Ministry
- Christian Education & Formation for All Ages
- Music & Arts
- Mission & Outreach
We hope that each member and friend of the church will consider at least one of these 4 areas in which to provide support. You can read some of the details in our September newsletter, and we will be sharing a lot more as the plans unfold in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I invite you to pray for our church’s vision…and consider what area in which YOU might choose to participate!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Aug 18, 2015 | Message from Kahu
Cave of Swimmers
On Sunday, I shared with the congregation about one of my favorite movies, “The English Patient.” It is a fictionalized story of the Hungarian explorer Laszlo de Almasy (who spoke English, and therefore was mistaken as English in the movie). I talked about the real Almasy, who discovered the now-famous Cave of Swimmers in the desert of southern Egypt. It was a large cave with ancient paintings of people swimming. Experts believe they were painted some 10,000 years ago, during the most recent Ice Age, making them perhaps the oldest paintings ever found.
Laszlo suggested that many years ago the Sahara Desert must have once been a very green place with lots of water. Finding a cave with paintings of lots of swimmers was a big clue! However, no one seemed to take this new theory seriously. They couldn’t imagine the Sahara Desert as a beautiful, green paradise with lots of water. However, his theory was eventually proven true and believed by every legitimate earth scientist who knows the region. In fact, an Egyptian scientist in 2007 discovered a huge underground lake measuring over 30,000 square kilometers buried under the sand not far from the Cave of Swimmer!
Just as the earth can become very thirsty, we too find ourselves at times incredibly thirsty. As we consider the Samaritan woman in John 4, her thirst seemed all-encompassing: physical, social, spiritual and emotional. She thirsted for companionship and a sense of belonging, as well as water. Jesus told her that if she would drink from the water he offered, she would never be thirsty again. At first she disbelieved, but then she took him at his word and felt his love and acceptance—even though he knew all her secrets. It sounds to me like her thirst disappeared.
How might you be thirsty? How might you believe that God can take away your thirst? What might be getting in the way? May all your thirst be quenched and all your needs be met!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
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