Holy Nativity Church Update  December 2, 2015
The Episcopal Church
of the Holy Nativity

Dec 4 Cooking for IHS 1-3 pm in gym kitchen, new volunteers welcome!

Dec 7   Advent Book Study 6:30 pm

Dec 12 Altar Guild Tea 9 am on the church lanai

Dec 13  Lessons and Carols service at 5 pm followed by potluck (no morning services due to Honolulu Marathon)

Dec 14 Advent Book Study 6:30 pm

Dec 21 Advent Book Study 6:30 pm

Dec 21 Longest Night Service 8 pm

Dec 24 Family Christmas Eve Service and Children's Pageant 5 pm

Dec 24 Carols and Hymns 9 pm followed by Candlelight Choral Service 9:30 pm

Dec 25 Christmas Day Service 9:30 am

Jan 19 Third Quarter Huddle 11:30 am location TBA

Jan 24 Holy Nativity Church Annual Meeting and vestry elections at 8:30 am combined meeting

 

Worship Schedule:

  Wednesday 10 am

  Sunday 7:30 and 9:30 am

  Sunday School 9:30 am

 

Rector

Rev. Debra Vanover

revdeb.hi@gmail.com

 

The Vestry

Sr. Warden: Barb Poole-Street

Jr. Warden: Eva Eglinton

Treasurer: Greg Kwan

Adrienne Fung, Kimberly Garner, Lila Johnson, Kip Jones, Mike LeHouck, Tusi Mayer, Sharon Souza, Bonnie Stevens, Gretchen Yamaguchi

 

Office Hours

Closed Mondays

Tues-Fri 9 am - 2 pm

(808) 373-2131

holynativity@gmail.com

www.holynativityhawaii.org

 

Parish Administrator

Annabeth Stem (part time)

astem@holynativityschool.org

 

Parish Bookkeeper

Didi Wong (part time)

dwong@holynativityschool.org

 

 
 
Serving December 6
Second Sunday of Advent

7:30 am service
Advent Candles - Lorraine Mau
Lector - Lorraine Mau
Prayers/EM - Kim Garner
Ushers - Mike LeHouck, Chris Souza
Refreshments - TBD

9:30 am service
Advent Candles - Domecki Family
Lectors - Wyn Aubrey-Child, Justin Donahue
Prayers - Jeanne Nelson
EMs - Lila Johnson, Sosamma Abraham
Ushers - Sumner Howard, Ethan Street, Steve Street
Refreshments - Lori Bloom

Altar Guild - Delia Moore's team

Serving December 13
Lessons and Carols Service at 5 pm (potluck following)
 
Advent Candles - Ennor/Shepherd Family
Readers -   Adrienne Fung, Greg Kwan, Lorraine Mau, Mark Slovak
Ushers - David Buck, Kanani Souza

Altar Guild - Lorraine Mau's team 


Readings

Sunday, December 6
First Reading: Baruch 5:1-9
Canticle 16: The Song of Zechariah (Luke 1:68-79)
Second Reading: Philippians 1:3-11
Gospel: Luke 3:1-6


Coffee Hour Refreshment Schedule

Dec 6
7:30 - Mike and Taide LeHouck
9:30 - Lori Bloom

Dec 13
(No morning services)
Potluck following 5 pm Lessons and Carols service

Dec 20
7:30 - Vivian Tom
9:30 - Lisa Tamura

Dec 24
5 pm - Donahue Family
           OPEN

Dec 27
7:30 - OPEN
9:30 - OPEN

 

Last Sunday's Attendance
7:30 am service - 21
9:30 am service - 76

Average Attendance Year to Date
7:30 am service - 28
9:30 am service - 77

 
Prayer List
 
Chris Stingle, Jane L.,  Barb P., Laurie Orwick, Kimi Uto, Mark Boesser, Al T., Sylvia Cockett, Murray Grune, Betty Jo (Bea) Torres, Luella Windisch and her brother, Sherry, Noah, Barbara


Holy Nativity Thrift Shop
Caroline Bond Davis, Manager
(808) 373-3744

Wednesdays and Fridays 
9 am - 3 pm

Saturdays 
9 am - 12 noon

Click here to visit the Thrift Shop website.


Holy Nativity School
Tim Spurrier,  Head of School
(808) 373-3232

Holy Nativity School is dedicated to excellence in education within a small and personalized environment. Built upon the qualities of respect and inclusion, as exemplified in the Episcopal tradition, Holy Nativity School values each child's individuality as it develops principled citizens who recognize their role in a global community.

Click here to visit the School website.


Lessons and Carols
Featuring the Holy Nativity Choir
Sunday, December 13 at 5 pm
Potluck to follow (no morning services)
 
The Longest Night Service
Featuring special music by Kathy Otani, 
Alika Souza, and Kelly Stern
Monday, December 21 at 8 pm
 
Christmas Eve
Thursday, December 24
5 pm Children's Pageant and Holy Eucharist
9 pm Carols and Hymns
9:30 pm Candlelight Choral Holy Eucharist  
 
Christmas Day
Friday, December 25
9:30 am Christmas Eucharist with Hymns

We hope you will join us!
Christmas Poinsettia Dedications

This year we will again decorate our Sanctuary with lovely poinsettias for Christmas week. 

You can celebrate with us by donating a poinsettia plant in honor or memory of a loved one or in celebration of an event or blessing. Dedications will be printed in the bulletins for the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.

To dedicate a poinsettia, please compete a dedication card and drop it in the collection plate along with a check or bring/send it to the church office.  Please make your check payable to Holy Nativity Church and put "poinsettia" in the notes section. Each plant dedication is $15.00.
Church, Parent Group to Resolve School Governance Dispute by Arbitration

Aloha Parishioners,

Requests have been made of Holy Nativity Church's vestry to provide its insight regarding the ongoing  dispute with a group of five parents over the governance of Holy Nativity School. First, our apologies for  any dismay and uncertainty this situation may have caused you and your family. 

However, please understand that, until Nov. 23, we were under a gag order by the First Circuit Court to  remain silent on this subject and had to respect that directive. 

Now that we are able to speak openly, we have news to share that is cause for optimism. The Court has  granted the Church's request for binding legal arbitration to resolve a key sticking point in this dispute and  the parent group has agreed to this arrangement. 

Transferring this case to arbitration also has the blessing of Bishop Robert Fitzpatrick.

A major advantage of going to arbitration is that a decision will be rendered at far less cost and more  expeditiously than taking this case through to a full jury trial. In addition, the Church will soon be  dismissing its lawsuit against the parent group clearing the path for the arbitration to proceed. 

On Nov. 24, the Church's attorneys participated in a conference call with attorney David L. Fairbanks,  who is serving as the arbitrator. He has scheduled our case to be heard on Feb. 2, 2016, at 10 am.

Mr. Fairbanks, an experienced arbitrator, is an excellent choice being an attorney who has devoted much  of his time to serving on commissions to appoint judges and advance the quality of law in Hawai'i. He has  practiced law in Hawai'i since 1968 and is also familiar with the benefits of a private school education,  being a Punahou School alumnus and having served on Punahou's Board of Trustees for many years. 

We had hoped this disagreement could have been resolved through mediation, but unfortunately that was  not to be the case. We felt our final offer was fair and respectful of the parent group's wishes to be more  involved with the School's governance, but it was rejected.

The School is a mission the Church has proudly supported on its grounds for 66 years. The School's impact in shaping the futures of families throughout Hawai'i and benefiting the quality of life in East Honolulu has been immeasurable. It is the Church's position that the future of the School and how its students can continue to receive an extraordinary education in exceptional facilities should be the focal point for all concerned.

In this time of giving thanks for all that we cherish about our family and community, we must all come back together, put aside our differences and collaborate to resolve a dispute that has obscured what's most important to our families and community - the future of Holy Nativity School. 

The schedule for arbitration is set and a legal resolution to a major obstacle is now imminent. We fervently request your prayers and ask for your continued support of our judgment in doing what is best for our Church, School and community. 

We will keep you informed of important new developments as this process continues forward to its conclusion. For those parishioners seeking more information, please know that the members of the vestry are willing to address any concerns and questions you may have.

Mahalo nui loa,
Dr. Barbara Poole-Street
Senior Warden

Please join us for the annual
Lessons and Carols Service 
featuring the Holy Nativity Choir
Sunday, December 13 at 5 pm

(No morning services due to Honolulu Marathon)

Potluck to follow; please bring soup, salad, or dessert; sign-up sheet on back table on Sundays or call the church office


Help decorate the church for Christmas!
Sunday, December 20
after the 9:30 am service
Baptism Service
December 27

Rev. Vanover has planned a baptism service for Sunday, December 27, 2015.

Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ's Body the Church. It is a public statement of one's intentional decision to follow the way of Jesus. In the case of infant baptism, it is the parents' declaration of their intent to raise a child in the way of Jesus. 

The bond which God establishes in Baptism is indissoluble, so baptism is only administered once. When you choose to be baptized yourself or to have your child baptized in the Episcopal Church, it means you are choosing to live out the  Baptismal Covenant  in the context of an Episcopal church community, taking your part in the worship, mission and ministries of the local parish. For more information about baptism in the Episcopal Church, please click here.

If you feel called to be baptized, or to have your child baptized, at the December 27 service, please speak with Rev. Vanover as soon as possible.
Soup Supper with the Bishop
Bishop Fitzpatrick made his annual non-Sunday visit to Holy Nativity on November 18 for a soup and bread supper with parishioners.







MERCIFUL GOD, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.