Volume 5, Issue 47
November 27, 2020
THIS SUNDAY: November 29, 2020
First Sunday of Advent

ON-SITE CHURCH SERVICES
with COMMUNION

8:00AM
Chris Neumann (EM)*
Bob Terao (U)
Dee Grigsby (AG)
Muriel Jackson (DM)

9:30AM
Mary Margaret Smith (EM)
Linda Crocker (U)
Muriel Jackson (LR)
David Crocker (AG)
Mabel Antonio, Vikki Secretario (HP)
Jan Hashizume, Ron Morinishi (DM)

Live Stream
9:30AM on our home page, YouTube, or Facebook accounts
@allsaintskauai

* EM - Eucharistic Minister; U - Usher; LR - Lay Reader; AG - Altar Guild; HP - Healing Prayers; DM - Digital Ministry
UPCOMING EVENTS
ON-SITE CHURCH SERVICES WITH COMMUNION
8:00AM and 9:30AM
Memorial Hall

Aloha Hour
Every Sunday
10:45AM - 12:00PM
Tent

Monday Crew
Every Monday
8:00AM
Church Office

Sunday School
Every Sunday
9:30 - 10:00AM
Deck under the false kamani tree

ADULT FORMATION SERIES:
"The Women in Jesus' Family Tree in Matthew 1"
"Tamar (Genesis 38)"
Tuesday, December 1st
5:00 - 6:15PM
Zoom meeting
Those who are interested in the Adult Formation Series may contact Cami at Cami@allsaintskauai.org for login information.

Ke Akua Youth Group Meeting
Wednesday, December 2nd
5:00 - 6:00PM
Zoom meeting
Those who are interested in the Youth Group Meetings may contact Cami at Cami@allsaintskauai.org for login information.

Compline Service
Thursday, December 3rd
8:00 - 9:00PM
Facebook Live

Ministry Council Meeting
Saturday, December 5th
9:00 - 10:00AM
Zoom Meeting
Those who are interested in the Ministry Council Meeting may contact Linda Crocker at lmc1va@aol.com or Jan Hashizume at janhco@hotmail.com for login information.
For the aged and infirm, for the widowed and orphans, and for the sick and the suffering, especially Glen, Jody, Milfred, Linda, Larry, Bill, Nancy, Maka, Nathan, Kellen, the Lauretta 'Ohana, the Telles 'Ohana, and those we name silently or aloud, let us pray to the Lord. ​Lord, have mercy. 

For all who have died, especially Alfred, Kalani, those affected by the COVID-19 virus, and those we name silently or aloud, in the hope of the resurrection, and for all the departed, let us pray to the Lord. ​Lord, have mercy. Amen.
Reflections from Kahu Kawika
Holy Sovereigns, Holy Lives
Matthew 25:31-46
Christ the King & Holy Sovereigns
22 November 2020
All Saints’ Church, Kapaa

We just started watching season 4 of “The Crown,” a dramatized retelling of the Windsor royal family. When all the seasons get filmed, the series will cover the past 80 years in the life of British line of kings and queens. In the first season, we observed King George VI, coronated soon after his brother, Edward VIII, had abdicated the throne after less than a year as king to marry the American socialite Wallis Simpson in 1936. George, being the second son, expected to be the “spare” rather than the “heir,” and was thus not prepared to become king – at least not so suddenly. In addition, George had a debilitating stutter, for which he needed special coaching to work through in order to be able to give speeches and pronouncements. Therefore, King George was very insecure about his abilities to fulfill his obligations to the throne.

A few years later, in the middle of World War II, Nazi planes were on a bombing blitz of London and other parts of England. King George’s advisors warned him to get the royal family (including his daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth II) out of Britain. George, though, stayed behind to be with the people in their hour of need. After a particularly bad bombing raid of downtown London, he walked through the ruined streets. People were surprised to see their Sovereign walking amidst the ruins, checking in on how the common people were doing. What George lacked in poise and polish, he more than made up with a personal touch that endeared him and his family to the people.

There have been thousands of world leaders down the ages and around the world. The memorable ones tend either to be the extremes of notorious or virtuous. What makes them different from one another is a question of where they fall on the spectrum of “authoritarianism vs. authority.” The notorious ones are characterized by a grasping after domination through a motivation of fear – fear out of their own insecurities as well as fear that they imposed on others – whereas the virtuous ones seem more centered on a sense of hope that derives from their ability to sacrifice some personal power for the sake of having the authority to improve the lot of their citizens or subjects.

Most noteworthy for our own cultural context are the lives of our Hawaiian Holy Sovereigns, King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma. The King, who at the young age of 29 in 1863, and the Queen, who at age 27 subsequently set aside her royal privileges upon the deaths of their only child and that of the King, were known among the Hawaiian people for their altruism and unassuming humility. During their joint eight-year reign, they exemplified the Christian faith expressed through their embrace of Anglicanism (aka The Episcopal Church), intentionally modeling their authority upon the servant-leadership of Jesus Christ.

In our Epistle lesson from the letter to the Ephesians, Paul expressed a deep love and appreciation for his church, whose leadership also showed similar modes of self-sacrificial authority characterized by King Kamehameha IV, Queen Emma, and the more virtuous world leaders we know and love. Paul writes that since he had heard of the high caliber of the Ephesians’ faith in Christ and love for all God’s people, he won’t “stop giving thanks to God for you when I remember you in my prayers” (Ephesians 1:15-16). Even after all this time and across language divides, you can feel Paul’s over-the-top excitement about these people who really gave of themselves for God’s glory and for the blessing of others.

In verse 18, Paul gives three reasons from his thanksgiving prayer that energize the Ephesians’ authority based on the example of Christ’s pattern of kingship, rooted in their future, past, and present. I’m going to tie each one into the lives of Kamehameha and Emma, and in this way honor the model of our Holy Sovereigns:

A Vision for the Future – the Hope of God’s Call: Because the Ephesian leaders know their calling is from God, they live in a state of hope in the future. They know they have a purpose in the will of God and share in the wondrous enterprise of spreading God’s own kingdom in this world. Similarly, energized by their own walk with Christ, Kamehameha and Emma exercised their own hope in the midst of hopelessness – a raging epidemic of smallpox among Indigenous Hawaiians. They refused to get mired in the despair of the present moment. In hope, they both went about soliciting funds from all kinds of people to build a hospital, which we now know as the Queen’s Hospital, named for Emma and the largest civilian hospital in the islands.

A Gift from the Past – the Richness of God’s Glorious Inheritance among the Saints: Earlier, the Ephesian church had a difficult time bringing together Jews and Gentiles as one body of believers. But by the time of Paul’s writing, they learn how to benefit from the inheritance of their Jewish tradition that then informs their lives as one church. They learned how to value each other’s differences and draw on each other’s strengths – their shared Jewish tradition gave them focus on the one true God, and their Gentile Greek culture gave new-found drive to reach out to transform lives beyond themselves. In a similar vein, as a boy Prince Kamehameha had paid a visit to England and remarked at the stately beauty of Anglican liturgy, which seemed in tune with the gentle beauty of the Hawaiian spirit. He and Emma together wove together the inheritance of Anglican worship with the welcoming beauty of Hawaiian spirituality. As the Episcopal Church on these islands, this is our own joint heritage of which we can be proud and upon which we should build. When we draw on each other’s strengths, we grow larger than the sum of our parts.

The Energy of the Present – the Overwhelming Greatness of God’s Power Working among Believers: Paul’s excitement about the Ephesian leaders also comes from their recognition of their daily need for God’s power. They can’t just wish for a future hope nor coast on the heritage of the past – they also put both to work in the present, allowing them to do more through the power of God than they would otherwise. Queen Emma, upon the deaths of her four-year-old son and of her husband Kamehameha within a year of each other, divested herself of the privileges of royalty. However, that freed her up to give of herself to live a life committed to good works, setting up schools, churches, and efforts on behalf of the poor and sick. She traveled a great deal to England and impressed both Queen Victoria and the Archbishop of Canterbury. She started work on the Cathedral in Honolulu – it was completed after she died, and was named St. Andrew’s in honor of the saint’s day on whose day Kamehameha had died. Emma, in that twenty-year period, drew on both her hope in God for the future of the Hawaiian Islands, as well as on her Hawaiian and Anglican heritage, to energize her great works in the present. Similarly, whenever we look forward in hope and look back in thanks, we draw much-needed energy in the present.

I close with our Gospel reading from Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus’ Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, in which Jesus predicts who will be known as his true followers at the end of time. Now, we have often heard that our salvation from God is unconditional, that is, that we cannot do anything to earn God’s favor and love – and that is true. However, according to Jesus’ story here, it is conditional in the sense that there is one condition we have to fulfill to be considered Jesus’ sheep. Notice that the test of who’s a “sheep,” or a true saint, is not which they theology they knew, the doctrines to which they adhered, what nationality or ethnicity they happened to be, nor even to which religion they belonged – but simply if they had served “the least, the last, and the lost” around them as serving Christ himself, for Christ identifies with the lowly. Even though both the sheep and the goats call him “Lord,” it is what they do as service to Jesus that counts, not what they say. And that service is rooted in how we treat those considered of no account in our world.

The fact of the matter is that all of us at one time or another can identify with being part of the “lowly,” whether financially strapped, suffering sickness, or feeling alienation from others. However, Jesus’ good news for us is that we have a calling to be “sheep” to one another and to those beyond our circles. And we get the energy to do so by hoping in God’s future, remembering God’s heritage, and living for God’s glory in the present. Let’s look to the worthy examples of Kamehameha, Emma, and Christ himself, for living the most virtuous lives we can. Amen.
New Adult Formation Opportunity
The Women in Jesus' Family Tree in Matthew 1
In the very first chapter of the New Testament, Matthew 1, there is a list of family tree of Jesus descended from the royal line of David. There are 42 generations shown, all fathers and sons -- with the notable exception of four remarkable and unusual women worthy of special mention scattered in Jesus' lineage. We will take a look at each matriarch in turn, to see why Matthew would include these particular four women in Jesus' royal line. All dates are the four Tuesdays in the Advent Season, 5pm-6:15pm via Zoom - Kahu will send out the Zoom link, or you may call the church office at 808.822.4267 to get the link:

Tuesday Dec. 1: Tamar (Genesis 38)
Tuesday Dec. 8: Rahab (Joshua 2)
Tuesday Dec. 15: Ruth (Ruth 1-4)
Tuesday Dec. 22: Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11)

Join us for what promises to be a fun, informative, and inspiring time!

Kahu Kawika+
We Need Your Help!
Please Donate a Meal for the Organ Crew
The Organ Crews are flying to Kauai`i from Los Angeles to install the new organ. They will be working long hours, 6 days a week to complete the installation and voicing of the organ within the next few months. Our congregation will be donating meals for the crew while they’re here. You can sign up to donate lunches or dinners by clicking here: Feed the Crew and filling out the meal donation form to select the meal and your preferred date.

Meal Instructions:
  • Meals may be dropped off at the Church and placed on the table outside the sanctuary.
  • Meals may be dropped off at the Church earlier than the time slot indicated but packaged so they can be refrigerated and eaten later.

Crew #1: 11/30/20 - 12/19/20
  • Please prepare and drop off 3 meals per time slot

Crew #2: 1/4/20 - 1/16/21
  • Please prepare and drop off 2 meals per time slot
It's Never Too Late to Pledge
Bring In Your Pledges of Time, Talent, and Treasure to the Honor and Glory of God
You may still bring in your pledge cards on Sundays to place in the offertory calabash, bring them to the church office, or mail them in. Prayerfully consider what you would like to give back from the wonderful gifts given to you by a loving God.

Sunday School Restarts this Sunday!!
Come Join in the Fun!
Aloha Everyone,

Kahu Kawika and Cami plan on restarting Sunday School on November 29, 2020. Plans are to hold classes on the deck under the false kamani tree until they can return to Memorial Hall. In case of rain, class will be moved to the Youth Room or the gym. Cami will lead the first class.

This year the curriculum will be reading stories from the “Spark Story Bible” that correspond to the lectionary readings for that Sunday. Kahu and Cami have planned out the first few months which will be posted to the All Saints’ website soon. Sunday School teachers can use http://textweek.com/ to incorporate podcasts, videos, reflections and discussion questions, and prayers into your lessons. They can also research their own activities online. 

Please let Cami know if you are interested in returning as a Sunday School teacher or would like to join the ministry. Returning teachers should feel free to reach out to their original partner to see if you can return as a team. All are welcome to join the first class to help watch the keiki and see how the curriculum is offered.

If you are interested in this ministry, please contact Cami with any questions: church@allsaintskauai.org, 808-822-4267

-Cami Baldovino
 Church administrator and Youth Minister
Coming Soon!!
New Church Directory
November 30th Deadline: Get Your Information in Now
We are working on updating the Parish Directory with a projected deadline of December 1st 
In a time of social distancing, please check in with your 'ohana to make sure they are receiving all our emails so they remain up to date. 
 
As a reminder, this information is only for our church family. Please treat this as confidential. 
 
If you have any questions please let her know. 
 
Mahalo! 
 
Dominique Cami Baldovino
Church Administrator 
808-822-4267
Prophetic Voices: Preaching & Teaching
Across our church and our society, we are having profound dialogues about race, truth, justice, and healing. Coming this Advent, Prophetic Voices: Preaching and Teaching Beloved Community explores where that dialogue intersects with our faith. Join us and our invited guests as we share prophetic voices and explore the readings for each week of Advent and Christmas Day through the lens of social justice.

You’ll hear ancient texts interpreted in new ways, find fodder for preaching and teaching, and make present day connections to the prophetic voices of the Bible. This podcast will help us rethink how we hear, see, and interact with the lectionary readings, refocusing from the rush of the Christmas season to the voice crying out in the wilderness. Click HERE for more info.
Upcoming Holiday Events
Mark Your Calendars and Join Us
December 24th
  • 3:30PM Keiki Service led by the Ke Akua Youth Group
  • 5:50PM Festive Eucharist
  • 10:30PM Carole Prelude and Festive Eucharist

December 25th
  • 9:30AM Eucharist
#AdventWord
A Resource for Advent
For the seventh year, #AdventWord will gather prayers via a global, online Advent calendar. Virginia Theological Seminary is offering 27 daily meditations and images during this holy season, beginning Sunday, November 29. During a year of disparate worship and communities of prayer, AdventWord offers a way to reflect and pause for the Advent season and await the birth of Christ.

Gathering a worldwide community, #AdventWord provides a daily meditation, visual image, and invites your personal reflections via social media to share your own Advent journey. Thousands have participated each year, responding to the words with photos, written responses, crafts, drawings, poems, found art, and Holy Spirit-filled posts.

“It is amazing to witness the prayers from around the world appearing on social media when Advent begins,” says AdventWord program director, Sarah Stonesifer Boylan. “I am really pleased to see that VTS has been able to continue to provide this offering consistently for four years, each time building on its success.”

Also new this year to #AdventWord offerings include a podcast for each day, voiced by Virginia Theological Seminary community members. The short daily podcasts provide another access point to absorb the lectionary-inspired writings by 27 different authors. Find it by searching AdventWord on your preferred podcast platform.

The prompts for 2020 #AdventWord are:
November 29 - Tender
November 30 - Deliver
December 1 - Strengthen
December 2 - Earth
December 3 - Rebuild
December 4 - Fellowship
December 5 - Glory
December 6 - Speak
December 7 - Comfort
December 8 - Patient
December 9 - Mercy
December 10 - Baptize
December 11 - Word
December 12 - Honey
December 13 - Go
December 14 - Rest
December 15 - Worship
December 16 - Pray
December 17 - Learn
December 18 - Bless
December 19 - Turn
December 20 - Rejoice
December 21 - Mystery
December 22 - Wisdom
December 23 - Holy
December 24 - Proclaim
The #AdventWord Images and meditations can be experienced through AdventWord.org, direct daily emails, as well as on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and ASL videos via YouTube. Meditations will also be available in English, Spanish and Haitian Creole via email and on www.adventword.org. Listen and subscribe to the AdventWord daily podcast on most major podcast hosting sites.

Published by the Office of Formation of The Episcopal Church, 815 Second Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017
© 2020 The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. All rights reserved.
Episcopal Service Corps Online Open House
December 1, 3 PM HST
Know someone discerning a Service Year through Episcopal Service Corps?
 
Invite them to our virtual Open House on Tuesday, December 1 at 3 PM HST
 
During this one-hour event, young adults considering a Service Year will have an opportunity to meet ESC program directors and other prospective Corps members, hear from current Corps members about their Service Year experiences, and ask questions about ESC and the application process.
 
Online registration is required to receive Zoom link.
 
Click here to register.
 
Questions? Email us, esc@episcopalchurch.org.
How are you called to serve?

“This is a remarkable ministry and a remarkable opportunity,” Presiding Bishop Michael Curry encouraging young adults 21-32 to apply for a 2021-2022 #ServiceYear.
 
Click the video below to watch the full reflection.
Episcopal Service Corps is coordinated by the Department of Faith Formation of The Episcopal Church. Wendy Johnson, Officer for Programs and Events, serves as the ESC Coordinator. 

Contact us: esc@episcopalchurch.org.

The Episcopal Church | 815 Second Avenue, New York, NY 1001
Hale Ho`omalu Accepts Donations
All Saints' Restarts Donation Collection
COVID-19 changed our ability to collect donations since on-site church services were canceled. Now that we are open for on-site worship, our Hale Ho`omalu donations will be collected again for delivery to this worthy program. We are grateful to our wonderful Monday Crew that takes the donations to Hale Ho`omalu each week.

There is an on-going need for travel sized toiletries and canned goods so these items will be accepted every week. As always, monetary donations are gratefully accepted.
canned goods
All Saints’ has had a long relationship with Hale Ho`omalu, a Child and Family Service program that provides families with the tools and resources they need to create meaningful and lasting change in their lives. Over the years, our `Ohana has collected donations specific to requests provided by Hale Ho`omalu.

FROM THE EPISCOPAL CAFÉ
You Are Here

November 24, 2020

Kimberly Knowle-Zeller
A Prayer for the Table

Dear God, 

This day, this week, this year, have all looked different than we imagined. 
But you are here. 
 
Our plans, our dreams, our hopes have shifted, transformed, or disappeared. 
But you are here. 
 
Our families, friends, and neighbors are distanced, lonely, and isolated.  
But you are here. 
 
When all else feels out of control
when we miss family and friends
when we long for a hug and a handshake
when we dream of meals gathered around the table
when we can’t help but worry
when our fingers scroll mindlessly
help us to remember
You are here. 
 
Keep our eyes and hearts fixed on you –
your faithfulness
your hope
your joy
your grace
your forgiveness
your love. 
 
You are here
with an overflowing love that knows no bounds
and welcomes all to a place at the table. 
 
You are here
to feed us with mercy and compassion
to comfort us with tenderness
to welcome us in rest and peace. 
 
You are here. 

Amen. 
Kimberly Knowle-Zeller is an ordained ELCA pastor, mother of two, and spouse of an ELCA pastor. She lives with her family in Cole Camp, MO. You can read more at her website, follow her work on Facebookor sign up for her monthly newsletter
IN BRIEF . . .

These news briefs were featured in previous issues of "The Epistle"

Please submit your story ideas to the Epistle Staff at news@allsaintskauai.org.
KUPUNA SHOPPING ASSISTANCE MINISTRY
Any of our All Saints' kupuna who need assistance with grocery shopping can contact Carolyn Morinishi at church@allsaintskauai.org to set up a delivery.

ALL SAINTS' VIRTUAL SWAP MEET
If any ministry has an unmet need, reach out to put it in the All Saints' Virtual Swap Meet and it will be published in the Epistle. Contact Bill Caldwell at news@allsaintskauai.org.

PASTORAL CARE CONTACT INFORMATION
Whenever you have a need for support, please call (650) 691-8104 and leave a voice mail. The system will immediately forward the information to the Pastoral Care Committee who will respond to each request. If you prefer, you may send an electronic pastoral care request via email to pastoralcare@allsaintskauai.org.

PRAYER CHAIN MINISTRY
Individuals who want to participate in the Prayer Chain Ministry must re-enroll to continue receiving the email communications. To re-enroll, please visit the newly established Pastoral Care web page or contact the Church Office at (808) 822-4267.

SUBMITTING A PRAYER REQUEST
Prayer requests will now be submitted online or by contacting the Church Office at (808) 822-4267.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Names can be added to the Prayers of the People petitions by using the Prayer Chain Request form or by contacting the Church Office at (808) 822-4267. Names will remain in the Prayers of the People for a maximum of four Sundays before a name must be resubmitted.