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A Blessing for Beginners

This past Sunday, we began our Lenten theme of “Blessings,” based upon the late John O’Donohue’s book To Bless the Space between Us: A Book of Blessings. In the book, he begins each chapter by sharing about a different way or time that we may bless each other, and then he offers several blessings as examples. I am excited to journey with the congregation during the season of Lent by sharing each Sunday morning in my message about a particular kind of blessing for the week, and then reflecting further on it during our time together at the following Wednesday evening Lenten soup supper.

I included in my message on Sunday a story about a recent walk to Maha`ulepu right after a recent rainstorm on the island. When I arrived at the place where I looked down on the beach, there was a beautiful rainbow that stretched from the ocean to the Gillin House, with the majestic Mount Ha`upu in the background! It reminded me of God’s covenant with Noah just as the latter was about to exit the ark with his family on all of the animals. In the story, God placed the rainbow in the sky as a reminder of the covenant between God, people and all of creation—the Earth and every living thing. The rainbow was a sign of a new beginning: a world in which God, people and all creation would live together in harmony.

As with many beginnings, we have not held our end of the covenant very well. We have not always honored God and all that is sacred. We have polluted the land, skies and waters. We have not always treated each other with dignity and respect. As I reflected over the past few weeks about the false alarm that many of us received on our phones last month about an incoming ballistic missile, I thought of all the damage such an event could do—to all that is sacred, to the Earth, to people—and I wanted to do something to keep that from happening.

I Googled for awhile and came across the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, whose sole purpose is to rid the world of nuclear weapons. The organization is supported by Pope Francis, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, and many other world leaders whom I respect. As I thought about what I might do to personally begin working for a world free of nuclear weapons, I made a donation to the NAPF in honor of my sister for her birthday earlier this month. I also read the organization’s newsletter and committed to reading future editions. I also wrote on my weekly “Opportunities” list (which I used to call “Things To Do”), I wrote, “Do something today to end nuclear weapons.” It seemed like a daunting task (and still does at times!), but at least I started doing something and making a commitment to honor the covenant that God made to the world and the human race.

I invite you to start something new today. Begin making a difference in a brand new way. Think of all the things you might do…and then get started! Know that God is with you in all of your beginnings and blessing your efforts when they are made with love and compassion. By the way, you can click Here to learn more about the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. Perhaps you too will want to help make our community and the world safe from nuclear weapons.

Aloha nui!

Kahu Alan Akana

P.S. Please join me at the parsonage on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. for an Open House celebrating the One-Year Anniversary of Alan Akana Gallery. All sales are 20% off at the open house and the net profits will go to the Smith Memorial Parsonage Fund for upkeep, repairs and maintenance of the building and grounds.

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Our Kahu (Pastor) offers a weekly message in church most Sundays during the year. Click HERE to see a video of this week’s message. You may also see the Koloa Union Church YouTube channel to see many of his past messages and 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.

“A Message from Kahu Alan Akana” is provided most weeks by the Kahu (Pastor) of Koloa Union Church, a congregation of the United Church of Christ (UCC), a member of the Kauai Association and Hawaii Conference.