“Grace, Gravity & Getting Old”
This week we celebrate the first Sunday in Lent, the six-week period before Easter when we spend time in intentional reflection. As our guide I have chosen Parker Palmer’s recent book, On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity and Getting Old. It is a delightful book for all ages as we consider how we live during the span of our lives. The book will guide us into living more fully in our own devotional lives and with others.
On Ash Wednesday as I shared with the congregation a story from Chapter 1 about a 16-month-old toddler by the name of Maya, whose mother had this to say about her: “My daughter is on the brink of everything.” She said that Maya approaches life with only one expectation: “Delight me.” As he approached his 80th birthday, Parker Palmer wrote that he wants to be like little Maya. He wants to have only one expectation: delight. But rather than saying to the world, “Delight me,” Palmer places the request on himself: to have delight in the gift of life and to be grateful. Ash Wednesday is a reminder that none of us knows how many days we have left on this Earth. And yet, every single day that we do have, we can delight in the gift of life and be grateful!
This Sunday, I will focus on Chapter 2, “The Dance of the Generations.” We will give thanks to God for young and old alike—and all who are in between! We will look at some new metaphors in how old and young might live better together and relate with more grace. And we will celebrate God’s grace as we partake in Holy Communion. I invite you to join us on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. for our worship services and on Wednesday nights at the Smith Memorial Parsonage at 6:00 p.m. as we reflect upon our theme for the week.
I look forward to seeing you on Sunday!
Aloha nui!
Kahu Alan Akana
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“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 a recent message by Kahu Akana, click HERE. You may 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.
You are welcome to join us on Sunday mornings! To see our Sunday morning schedule, 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.
To learn more about Kahu Akana (and the rest of the staff at Koloa Union Church), click HERE.
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