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
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
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