by admin | Nov 10, 2015 | Message from Kahu
CARING FOR THE EARTH
Since returning from Parliament of the World’s Religions in Salt Lake City in October, I’ve been sharing with the congregation about my observations and experiences there. I shared on Sunday about a concern that I heard from many of the religions represented there: We MUST take better care of the Earth! An indigenous woman from Canada began her presentation with these words: “What is sin? We don’t have a word for “sin” in our language.” She then went on to say something like this: “If we have to talk about sin, then the worst sin is abusing Mother Earth.”
There are a lot of ways to understand the meaning of sin in the Bible, and many ways the Christian Church has taught about sin over the past 2,000 years. Since the Greek word most commonly used in the New Testament is hamartia, I think that’s a good starting point. It is a term borrowed from archery, and it means “missing the mark.” Every archer aims for the bullseye in practice, the middle and smallest concentric circle on the “mark.” If he misses all of the circles and scores no points, he is said to have “sinned.” The word later came to be used in a moral sense, meaning “missing the mark.”
After hearing many speakers in Utah talk about the state of our planet, I am convinced that we have missed the mark when it comes to caring for this home on which we live and which is the source of all life. Our Scriptures are filled with examples of how God created the world and has abundantly blessed us with all that the Earth offers us. May we be committed to caring for our precious home so that future generations will be able to experience those same blessings. As you commit to caring for the Earth, I invite you to answer this question: What will you do this week to care for and nurture the Earth? I hope you will tell me what you came up with…and what you did!
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Nov 2, 2015 | Message from Kahu
A BEAUTIFUL FAMILY OF FAITH
I was pleased to see The Garden Island (our local newspaper) on Sunday morning and read about our church! The article is entitled, “A Beautiful Family of Faith,” and tells of my bowl of sea glass which has been sitting on our communion table for the past month. It represents brokenness and rough experiences (just think what the sea glass endured to get to its present state!), as well as beauty—especially when all of the sea glass is together in a bowl. I shared in early October that the bowl of sea glass is a symbol of our church, for we all have experienced brokenness and rough experiences, and yet we are “A Beautiful Family of Faith” as we come together for worship and fellowship. When I returned from the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Salt Lake City nearly two weeks ago, it occurred to me that the bowl of sea glass also represents all of humanity for me, for people of all religions, cultures, colors, shapes and sizes have experienced brokenness, and yet we are all beautiful in God’s eyes—especially when we come together. I invite you to join us on Sunday and experience the beauty for yourself!
Click HERE to read the entire article.
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Oct 29, 2015 | Message from Kahu
ALL SAINTS DAY
Last Sunday, I shared with the congregation about some of my experiences at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Salt Lake City just a couple weeks ago. One of my observations (and sermon title) was “We All Want To See.” People of all religions and faith traditions want to see better; we especially want to see the sacred more clearly in our lives and in the world around us; we also want to see others for who they are, just as we want to be seen and acknowledged for who we are; finally, we all want to see that we are connected to one another, to God and the the world around us.
This Sunday, we plan to celebrate All Saints Day as we have Holy Communion, remember the saints in our lives, and look at another of my observations at the Parliament of the World’s Religions (and sermon title): “We All Want More Love.” I hope you’ll join us as we celebrate God’s love for the world and how it has been manifested in so many ways!
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
by admin | Oct 24, 2015 | Message from Kahu
PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS
I returned Wednesday evening from a week in Salt Lake City at the Parliament of the World’s Religions. On the first day of the conference, I immediately recognized Tibetan Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Hare Krishna’s, indigenous people of the American Continents, and a myriad of other persons of faith for whom I did not yet have names. I spent five full days attending plenary sessions, workshops, movies, and discussion groups, as well as visiting booths and exhibits. I also had meals with old and new friends. By the end of the conference, I felt that my eyes were opened to the fact that all of the religious faiths and traditions which I encountered seem to have a lot more in common than I ever realized. We all want to operate from a place of compassion. We all want to protect the Earth so that she will be around for many generations to enjoy. We all want people to live with dignity, security and hope, and without hunger, oppression and injustice.
For the next few weeks, I will share on Sunday mornings some of the details of my experiences at the parliament. This Sunday, I will share about the message from Jane Goodall—my favorite speaker of the week! She has spent her entire life opening her eyes and watching, and by the simple act of observing, she has been filled with compassion for animals (including humans!) and the entire planet. We know her primarily from her work observing chimpanzees as a trained primatologist, but there is a lot more to her life than that! Her message cuts across religious lines and gets to the heart of some of the most important issues of our day.
I invite you to join me during the next month as I share the highlights of the Parliament of the World’s Religions!
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
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
Recent Comments