Immediately after Christmas, I enjoyed a “staycation.” On a Sunday morning in the new year during my personal time of prayer and reading, I imagined what God might say to me if God would actually speak words out loud. I imagined what God would want me to know. I imagined what God would most want to say to me in the moment. I then wrote down the words that I imagined God speaking to me. This is a spiritual practice I began several years ago.
Here is a selection of what I wrote:
I will see to it that you experience incredible joy.
You are missing absolutely nothing in order to know
deep contentment, joy and wonder.
If you will only trust me in this, anything is possible.”
As I begin a new year and consider our church’s vision, as well as what God might have in store for me personally. I felt God calling me to be completely open to the possibilities that lay before us. About an hour later, I picked up a friend and we drove to the very end of the road in Kokee. We parked the car and began walking on the Pihea Trail. As is my custom on that trail, I walked immediately to the edge of the cliff to see how far I could see. Sometimes I see the ocean and the majestic cliffs of Kalalua.
This trip, however, began with a magnificent Brocken Spectre! The phenomenon, which consists of concentric circles of rainbows, is named after a mountain in Germany where the occurrence has been seen by many. In order for it to occur, the observer must be positioned so that the sun is directly behind while standing on the edge of a cliff, and clouds, fog or mist must be in abundance and within a certain range of distance. All of these criteria just happened to be in place on Sunday morning when I arrived on the trail!
Until Sunday, I didn’t even know that this phenomenon was possible. It was a reminder that indeed anything is possible! May this be a year of amazing possibilities for us all!
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
“A Message from Our Kahu”is provided by Rev. Dr. Alan Akana of Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference. Rev. Dr. Akana is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and has been the kahu (pastor) of Koloa Union Church since 2014. Click HERE to learn more about him.
To see a video of this week’s worship service, including the message, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see previous worship services and many of Kahu’s past messages. You can subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To learn about our Sunday morning worship service, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
On Sunday, we lit the candle of joy in the Advent wreath, reminding ourselves of the joy that we feel as we anticipate the birth of Jesus. During my message, I reminded the congregation that joy does not wait until all is right with the world. It is easy to forget that Jesus was born during a time of horrible oppression and injustice. Life was really hard for Mary and her relative Elizabeth. Life was filled with fear and anxiety for the Jewish people living under both Caesar Augustus and King Herod. Nevertheless, we read in Luke, chapter 1, that Elizabeth and all who knew her experienced joy. Mary was so filled with joy that she burst out in song and claimed, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!”
In the same way, we too can experience joy without having to wait until all oppression and injustice disappear from the face of the earth. In Mary’s song, she identified the reason for this: it is because God loves the oppressed and those who are considered to have very little value in the eyes of society. God looks upon them with favor, has mercy upon them, blesses them. It is important to recognize God’s immense love for all of us—even those who feel like their lives are the least valuable of all. It is in this acknowledgement that the greatest joy can be found.
May you feel deep and lasting joy this week!
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
“I am a beloved child of God,
who loves me unconditionally,
cherishes and adores me.”
“A Message from Our Kahu”is provided by Rev. Dr. Alan Akana of Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference. Rev. Dr. Akana is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and has been the kahu (pastor) of Koloa Union Church since 2014. Click HERE to learn more about him.
To see a video of this week’s worship service, including the message, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see previous worship services and many of Kahu’s past messages. You can subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To learn about our Sunday morning worship service, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
“Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.”
(Psalm 33:22)
First of all, I want to offer my heartfelt and deep gratitude to Doug Duvauchelle for providing an inspirational message on the theme of “hope” this past Sunday morning! In his message, Doug pointed out that hope is something we choose. We can choose it with confidence and trust, not because we are so clever that things always work out the way we want, but because God is so faithful and always present, even in the darkest hours of our lives.
I encourage you to choose hope and live with hope! I also invite you to look around this week and see if you might offer some hope to someone who might not be feeling much hope these days.
May we all be open to they ways that hope shows up during this season leading up to Christmas Day!
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of this week’s worship service, including the message, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see previous worship services and many of Kahu’s past messages. You can subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To learn about our Sunday morning worship service, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
We often encounter God in beautiful places. Last week, I hiked to Waipoo Falls in Waimea Canyon—and God certainly seemed to be in that place. In fact, every time I drive up into the Canyon towards Kokee, I feel Gods’ presence. When the waterfall is full and a rainbow appears, I feel God’s presence all the more! However, I know that God is just as present in our church sanctuary, in my living room, and in my office and art studio. Wherever I may go, God is present there in love, for the Scriptures teach us that God is in Jesus, and Jesus is in God, and they are in us. We carry God with us—and therefore, we carry God’s love wherever we go!
Since we celebrated All Saints Day on Sunday, I reminded the congregation that God is in all places and all people. I also reminded us all that the saints who have gone before us are also with us all, for we carry them with us in spirit and in memory. The key to a deep and vital spiritual life is to be aware of these things.
I also reminded us that we are the saints of today, and how we live our lives makes a difference in the lives of our loved ones and of future generations—for our spirits and our memories will live on in the lives of those younger than us and those yet to be born.
During this week in which we celebrate the saints, let us give thanks that our connection to them all—past, present and future—remains.
Aloha nui loa! Kahu Alan Akana
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of this week’s worship service, including the message, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see previous worship services and many of Kahu’s past messages. You can subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To learn about our Sunday morning worship service, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
“The Flowers Cover the Earth: The Time of Singing Has Come!”
(Song of Solomon 2:12)
On Sunday, August 29, our theme was “flowers” and what we learn from them. Flowers appear throughout the Bible, which refers to roses, lilies, buds, blossoms, and more! They are often signs of hope. In many parts of the world, flowers appear in the spring and disappear before a long, cold winter sets in—leaving people for months without their color, sweet fragrances and beauty. In the long love poem, Song of Solomon, the king and the woman he loves long for each other as people waiting for flowers in springtime. When the two lovers finally come together, they describe it as a long-awaited and joyful spring:
The flowers cover the earth:
the time of singing has come!
We have all experienced times of longing and darkness in our lives. The flowers remind us that beauty, joy, and pleasure will return—perhaps differently than before. It occurred to me last week that the flowers are not only signs that bring us hope, but they are actually our teachers as well. In The Book of Awakening, the poet, Mark Nepo, writes these helpful words:
Despite all our limitations,
the most crucial challenge of
being human is to show up
like a rose.
How might we bloom wherever we are planted? How might we simply open up in our own time? How might we bring beauty, pleasure, wonder and hope to the people around us?
A couple of weeks ago, I walked around the church property and took pictures of all the different flowers that are blooming there. I invite you to wander around and notice all that is in bloom. Give thanks for every flower, and ask yourself how you too might bloom wherever you may be and open up in your own time—and thereby be a blessing to others!
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of this week’s worship service, including the message, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see previous worship services and many of Kahu’s past messages. You can subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To learn about our Sunday morning worship service, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
On Sunday, we heard a thought-provoking message by seminarian Alan Potter. He challenged the congregation to consider the difference between how we often think of justice in our society today and how God thinks of justice. A familiar image is that of Lady Justice holding the scales of justice in one hand and a sword in another. The idea is that justice is primarily punitive—that a person who causes suffering should endure the same suffering as he/she caused. On the other hand, God’s idea of justice is that all that is life-giving should be offered to everyone.
The image of Lady Justice and Scripture verse from Amos above ought to bring some discomfort, as the idea of justice in the Bible is primarily about life and not death. It is about grace and not punishment. This idea is not limited to the Christian faith. Gandhi is thought to have said, “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” The Bible is not primarily about making sure that everyone is properly punished for their sins. It is primarily a book about grace and forgiveness for imperfect people, reconciliation and community among broken relationships, and abundant resources to sustain life for everyone and for all life on our planet.
May our hearts be open to the justice of God as we allow justice to roll like water and righteousness like an everflowing stream.
Aloha nui loa!
Kahu Alan Akana
“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana”is provided most weeks by Koloa Union Church, an Open & Affirming (ONA) congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.
To see a video of this week’s worship service, including the message, click HERE. You may see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see previous worship services and many of Kahu’s past messages. You can subscribe in order be notified when a new message is posted. Please share these videos with friends and invite them to church. Please feel free to “Like” any of the videos you see and share them on social media, such as Facebook, so that others will notice them.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To learn about our Sunday morning worship service, click HERE.
Kahu Akana is also an accomplished artist! He specializes in creating vibrant watercolors of the flowers of Hawaii and hosts a Sunday afternoon reception in a gallery at his home, the Smith Memorial Parsonage. He also meets visitors by appointment. Most of the profit from the sales go for the maintenance and upkeep of the parsonage. To see a video about his art and gallery, click HERE. To see the gallery website, click HERE.
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