Volume 3, Issue 43
November 30, 2018
THIS SUNDAY: December 2, 2016
First Sunday in Advent (Year B)
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:1-9 
1Thessalonians 3:9-13
Luke 21:25-36

8:00AM
Cami Pascua (EM)
Jeoff Shields (U)
Lorna Nishi (AG)

9:30AM
David Murray (EM)
Mary Margaret Smith, Chris Wataya (R)
Mary Margaret Smith, Mario Antonio (U)
Janis Wright (AG)
Daileen, Paxton (A)
Nelson & Vicki Secretario (PR)
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday, Dec. 1 | 7PM
KISS Christmas Concert
Church

Sunday, Dec. 2 | 5:30-7:30PM
Candlelight Vigil
Deysha's Butterflies
Church Sanctuary

Wednesday, Dec. 5 | 5:00-8:30PM
Laundry Love - Team B
Kapaa Laundromat

Saturday, Dec. 8 | 9AM - 2PM
Holiday Craft Fair
All Saints' Gym & Lawn

Sunday, Dec. 9 | 8AM and 9:30AM
In-gathering of Pledges
Church

Sunday, Dec. 9 | 11:00AM-Noon
Youth Group Meeting
Gym Youth Room
RECURRING EVENTS
Every Sunday | 9:00-9:30AM
Adult Bible Study on Weekly Gospel
Under the big tree

Every Sunday | 9:30-10:15AM
Sunday School / Memorial Hall

Every Sunday | 10:45AM - 12PM
Aloha Hour / Under the big tree

Every Monday | 8:00AM
Monday Crew / Church Office
1 st & 3 rd Wednesday | 5:30PM
Laundry Love / Kapa'a Laundromat

Every Wednesday | 6:00PM
McMaster Slack Key Guitar 
and Ukulele Concert / Church

Every Thursday | 6:00PM
Choir Practice / Choir Room

2 nd & 4 th Thursday | 7:00-8:00PM
Daughters of the King / Memorial Hall
ADVENT
What Is Special About This Season?
The first season of the church year, beginning with the fourth Sunday before Christmas and continuing through the day before Christmas is, called Advent . The name is derived from a Latin word for "coming." The season is a time of preparation and expectation for the coming celebration of our Lord's nativity, and for the final coming of Christ "in power and glory."
This glossary is intended to be a handy, quick, general reference for Episcopalians. It will appear occasionally in The Epistle and will include material specific to the Episcopal Church and its history and polity, liturgy and theology, as well as subjects relevant to the whole church. If you have a question, please send it to your  Epistle Staff .
FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT
Saying “Yes” to the Journey
As Advent begins this week, we invite you to orient yourself to the coming of the Jesus at Christmas through the practices of Journeying the Way of Love. This journey begins by saying “yes” to God’s call to birth new life into the world—a call that is both powerful and gentle, a call that will, if fully embraced, grow beyond our imaginations, spilling out of ourselves and into our family, friends, community, and the whole world. Over the course of this holy season, we invite you to respond to that call using these daily practices, and encourage you to offer them to your friends, family, and neighbors.
Sunday, December 2
WORSHIP
Pay attention during worship today. What part of the service fills your heart?

Monday, December 3
GO
Take time to listen closely to someone you may not ordinarily take seriously, or who has a different perspective than you.

Tuesday, December 4
LEARN
Read Luke 1:26-38. What is God calling you to say “yes” to?
Wednesday, December 5
PRAY
Set a timer for five minutes. Silently repeat this prayer: “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Thursday, December 6
BLESS
In the spirit of St. Nicholas, practice a random act of kindness today.

Friday, December 7
TURN
Reflect: Where have I fallen short this week? How can I make amends?

Saturday, December 8
REST
Do something today that replenishes your spirit.
For more Advent resources related to the Way of Love, visit episcopalchurch.org/wayoflove . There, you’ll find links to the full Advent curriculum Journeying the Way of Love, as well as a nine-session curriculum for use anytime, a printable Advent calendar, video, and much more.
CHRISTMAS FLOWERS
Donations Due By December 19 th
This Sunday, December 2 nd , there will be an insert in the Service Bullet for you to sign up for Christmas Flower Donations. The deadline for names (in memoriam or thanksgiving to be in the Christmas bulletin) is Monday, December 19 th at 12PM. People can mail donations to the Church Office as well.

Mahalo
Chris Wataya
  • We thrive in community.

  • We thrive in God’s love and the Good News of Jesus Christ.
  • We thrive in caring for others.

  • We thrive in being Christ’s Disciples in the world.
When the topic of stewardship comes up, most people think of only one area: money. But from a biblical point of view, stewardship is all-inclusive. It touches every area of life, including our time and talent as well as our treasure. Stewardship is faithfully using whatever God gives us (opportunities, interests, skills, employment, family, talents, spiritual gifts, land, money, etc.) for His glory.
All churches rely on volunteers who offer their time and talent in support of their church, their church ‘ohana and the wider community. Without those volunteers, without you, there is no church.

None of us have exactly the same talents. God has entrusted us with aptitudes and abilities, and as good stewards, we must use them for His glory and not our own. This is true not only of musical, artistic, athletic, academic, business, and persuasive talents, but also of the spiritual gifts we have received. 

" And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly" (Rom. 12:6) .

Please think carefully - and prayerfully - as you determine the level of your commitment of time and talent for this coming year. There are many, many ways you can volunteer and support All Saints’ Church, your church ‘ohana and the wider community.

We need YOUR continued support to ensure that All Saints’ Church continues to Thrive ! We – all of us together – are the church. Without us, without you , there is no church.

So we ask you to please consider giving generously of your Time, Talent and Treasure for 2019.
Recently you received a letter from the Stewardship Committee with details of our 2019 Stewardship campaign. With the letter you also received a pledge card that we hope you will either return by mail or, better yet, offer in person at the “ In-gathering of Pledges ” on Sunday, December 9 th .

We know we were made for so much more than ordinary lives.
It’s time for us to more than just survive.
We were made to Thrive !

Mahalo nui loa! And may God continue to bless All Saints’ Church and our All Saints’ ‘Ohana.

David Murray, Sr. Warden
Mary Margaret Smith, Jr. Warden
Nelson Secretario, Stewardship Chair
PRESIDING BISHOP'S DELEGATION TO ATTEND 24 th UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE
Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs
Posted Nov 28, 2018
An eight-member delegation representing the  Episcopal Church ’s Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will attend the 24 th   United Nations Climate Change Conference  in Katowice, Poland, December 2-14. This is the fourth Episcopal delegation to attend this climate change meeting.

Known as COP24, the United Nations Climate Change Conference is an annual intergovernmental meeting to focus on global dialogue and action around the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. This conference produced the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and the 2015 Paris Agreement, which serves as the current basis for global standards on climate action and lowering carbon emissions.

Called by Presiding Bishop Curry and led by Bishop Marc Andrus of the Diocese of California, the COP24 delegation will advocate for the environmental priorities named at the Episcopal Church’s 79 th  General Convention and promote the Church’s ministries and activities to address ecojustice in both United Nations and public events.

“What I have found in participating in the United Nations climate summits from Paris onwards is that the thousands of national representatives from virtually every country on Earth are also local climate activists. These remarkable COP representatives are updating the adage from the 1970s, ‘think globally and act locally’ to be ‘think and act globally and locally’,” said Andrus. “Thinking and acting, globally and locally is what we in The Episcopal Church are about. At General Convention 79 in Austin we passed 19 pieces of environmentally-related resolutions, and we also heard compelling stories of local action. Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams once said, ‘It takes a global body to confront global problems.’ The Episcopal Church is a global body doing climate and environmental work at the world and the local levels.”

The delegation will bring the voice and perspective from Episcopalians around the globe to the diplomatic community gathering in Katowice. It will also coordinate with Anglican Communion, interfaith and civil society partners in their presence at the conference.

DO YOU HAVE A TALENT FOR…
Grant Writing or Crowd-Source Fundraising?
All Saints’ has many projects and ministries that depend on funding sources beyond the collection plate or annual church budget. To date we have had successful campaigns to raise money for Laundry Love, refurbishing the organ, youth mission trips, Sanctuary improvements, etc. In an effort to expand on these successes, the Vestry has identified two platforms we should use to raise funds for community outreach and All Saints’ development projects: Grant writing and crowd-source fundraising. We are looking for individuals with experience in these areas to help support our projects as the need arises. If you would like to help, or know someone with expertise in these areas, please contact any member of the Vestry. We would greatly appreciate the donation of your time and talent to help All Saints’ Thrive !
SUNDAY SCHOOL THIS WEEK
The Trouble With Job
Job is a good and righteous man. He is also rich, having sons and daughters, thousands of camels, sheep, oxen, donkeys and many servants. In heaven, Satan comes to God to complain that Job is good and loves God only because he is so rich. “But stretch out your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 

God allows Satan to bring misfortune to Job, to test his faithfulness to God. So one day, Job loses everything. Raiders, fire and hurricane destroy his houses, kill his children and servants and kill or carry away his animals. In response, Job worships God, saying, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” 

Later, in chapter 2, because Job stubbornly refuses to curse God, Satan gives him a terrible illness to test his faithfulness to the Lord. Job’s three friends come to visit him, and the four of them talk about Job’s disasters and why they happened. In the other passage from Job for today’s lesson, Job proclaims his faith and trust in God, even through his doubts and despair: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that at the last he will stand upon the earth...” 

At the end of this fable, God comes to Job and assures him of God’s power, final wisdom and sovereignty. Then God gives back to Job twice as much as he had before.
Prayer for the Search Committee
Almighty and ever living God, the Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, send forth your Holy Spirit to guide the Search Committee, Vestry and parish family of All Saints' Episcopal Church and Preschool to be of one heart and mind in our search for a rector who will be your faithful servant and who will minister to your flock. We also beseech the same Holy Spirit to lead us to all truth and maturity through Jesus Christ our Lord.

AMEN
SING ALONG WITH HARPS CONCERTS
Fourth Annual Christmas Event
Saturday, December 1, 7:00 pm
Church of the Pacific, Princeville
Sunday, December 2, 4:00 pm
St. Michael and All Angels Church in Lihue
Join us for our fun and joyful concerts of Advent carols and Christmas music.

Come sing along with harps!

Tickets $15 at the door.
DIOCESE OF HAWAI`I
2018-2019 50 th Anniversary Shirts Final Order
Hurry! Deadline to order is Monday, December 10, 2018, or when material runs out!
& place your order!
IN BRIEF . . .
These news briefs were featured in previous issues of "The Epistle"
Please submit your story ideas to the Epistle Staff at epistle@allsaintskauai.org.