WEEKLY NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
September 19, 2021
Sunday Worshipï»ż
Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

*ONLINE SERVICE ONLY*
(in-person worship cancelled until further notice)

Service of Holy Eucharist
9:30 am on Zoom only until further notice


Here is the link to join us on Zoom:
CHRIST MEMORIAL MEDITATIONS
This Week's Pastor in
Residence Reflection:

It might seem strange at first to talk about death and dying in the context of healing. After all, death is the final shutdown of an organism after which we witness decay and decomposition. What could any of that have to do with health?

Life is much more like a spectrum than it is like a point. A point is an isolated instance or event, while a spectrum is a range of instances or events. Life seems to be hard-wired or programmed to favor integration over separation, connection over disengagement and ongoing process over once and for all events. Life then is much more like a rainbow than it is like a rain drop. However, as we know, it takes many raindrops together to make a rainbow.

So, death is a part of life. It is not separate from birth, but rather intimately related to it. As a pastor who has accompanied many over the years in dying, I can say that dying seems more like birthing than any other single part of life. The labor of dying is analogous in so many ways to the labor of giving birth. So, if you will grant me this, I will then say to you that when and where and how we die is intimately wrapped up in when and where and how we live, or, put another way, we tend to die as we lived.

The Bible is largely silent on what exactly happens after we die, and what the “life hereafter” looks and sounds like. We do well when we honor that silence and avoid trying to fill in what we do not know with what we wish might happen. That said, it has been discovered through many religious traditions including our own, that preparing for our death with intention and reverence is likely to result in a more gracious and generous form of dying than would be the case if we did not prepare. So, in this way, preparing for our own death can be seen to be part of our overall faith and posture in life. Such preparation can be said to be a spiritual discipline.

I will have more to say about this next week. How might we prepare more intentionally for the inevitability of our own death, and how might the Church support us in this spiritual discipline? How might the many times we have been healed in our lifetime become more and more the raw material for a faithful and gracious death? And how might the logistics of death, how it transpires, who is involved, and how are we buried, contribute to the overall sacrament of life as we know it, bestowing upon our ending the beauty and grace of our beginning?

Our conversations on healing continue this week, on Thursday, September 16, Yom Kippur, the Day of Judgement in the tradition of our spiritual grandparents the Jews, at 8 a.m. on Zoom.

Onward (together),

Jon

Jonathan B. Coffey
P. O. Box 293
Kilauea, HI 96754
904-535-2987

“Clouds are not spheres, mountains are not cones, coastlines are not circles and bark is not smooth, nor does lightning travel in a straight line.” (Benoit Mandelbrot)
CONTACT THE REV. JONATHAN COFFEY
The Rev. Jonathan Coffey (our current visiting Pastor in Residence) would like to connect with you! Please feel free to reach out via email, phone or mail.


Jonathan B. Coffey
P. O. Box 293
Kilauea, HI 96754ï»ż
Jon: 904-535-2987

Send Jonathan an email here.

TEACHING SERIES ON HEALING SPACES
Join us for our continued exploration of healing spaces. This online seminar will be led by The Rev. Jonathan Coffey. Read more about Jonathan here.

Join us for a journey into the topic of how a place works towards facilitating healing...

Background on the Book: 'Healing Spaces'

In the 1990’s Dr. Esther Sternberg began testing an intuition most of us share: that beauty facilitates healing of mind, body and spirit. Out of her research came the book “Healing Spaces: The Role of Place and Wellbeing”. Dr. Sternberg has since then joined the faculty at the School for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona in Tucson where she directs research and chairs the Center for Place, Wellbeing and Performance.

We will read and reflect upon her book and the growth in appreciation for the ideal habitats for healing each Thursday mornings at 8:00 a.m. Join us!
THRIFT STORE CLOSED UNTIL
FURTHER NOTICE
Due to a cluster of COVID cases in the Kilauea community, Shared Blessings Thrift Shop will be closed indefinitely to shoppers but will be open for donations during the following hours:


​​Monday 2:00 - 5:00 pm
Wednesday 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Saturday  12:00 pm – 3:00 pm

Please wear a mask.

If you know of individuals, families or organizations that have particular needs during our closure that can be met by Shared Blessings, please contact us via email at kilaueachristmemorial@gmail.com, and we will help as we can on a one-to-one basis.
A UNIFIED LETTER FOR THE
PROTECTION OF CREATION
Below please read the historical Joint Statement by The Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew, The Bishop of Rome, Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin. These leaders of much of the Christian community worldwide have stepped up to declare the critical importance of sacrifice and self-restraint in slowing the progress of global warming.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby is the head of the worldwide Anglican Communion of which The Episcopal Church of North America is a part.
JOINT MESSAGE FOR THE
ï»żPROTECTION OF CREATION
For more than a year, we have all experienced the devastating effects of a global pandemic—all of us, whether poor or wealthy, weak or strong. Some were more protected or vulnerable than others, but the rapidly spreading infection meant that we have depended on each other in our efforts to stay safe. We realized that, in facing this worldwide calamity, no one is safe until everyone is safe, that our actions really do affect one another, and that what we do today affects what happens tomorrow.

These are not new lessons, but we have had to face them anew. May we not waste this moment. We must decide what kind of world we want to leave to future generations. God mandates: ‘Choose life so that you and your children might live’ (Dt 30:19). We must choose to live differently; we must choose life.

September is celebrated by many Christians as the Season of Creation, an opportunity to pray and care for God’s creation. As world leaders prepare to meet in November at Glasgow to deliberate on the future of our planet, we pray for them and consider the choices we must all make. Accordingly, as leaders of our Churches, we call on everyone, whatever their belief or worldview, to endeavor to listen to the cry of the earth and of people who are poor, examining their behavior and pledging meaningful sacrifices for the sake of the earth which God has given us.

The Importance of Sustainability

In our common Christian tradition, the Scriptures and the Saints provide illuminating perspectives for comprehending both the realities of the present and the promise of something larger than what we see in the moment. The concept of stewardship—of individual and collective responsibility for our God-given endowment—presents a vital starting point for social, economic, and environmental sustainability. In the New Testament, we read of the rich and foolish man who stores a great wealth of grain while forgetting about his finite end (Lk 12.13–21). We learn of the prodigal son who takes his inheritance early, only to squander it and end up hungry (Lk 15.11–32). We are cautioned against adopting short-term and seemingly inexpensive options of building on sand, instead of building on rock for our common home to withstand storms (Mt 7.24–27). These stories invite us to adopt a broader outlook and recognize our place in the extended story of humanity.

But we have taken the opposite direction. We have maximized our own interest at the expense of future generations. By concentrating on our wealth, we find that long-term assets, including the bounty of nature, are depleted for short-term advantage. Technology has unfolded new possibilities for progress but also for accumulating unrestrained wealth, and many of us behave in ways that demonstrate little concern for other people or the limits of the planet. Nature is resilient, yet delicate. We are already witnessing the consequences of our refusal to protect and preserve it (Gn 2.15). Now, in this moment, we have an opportunity to repent, to turn around in resolve, to head in the opposite direction. We must pursue generosity and fairness in the ways that we live, work and use money, instead of selfish gain.

The Impact on People Living with Poverty

The current climate crisis speaks volumes about who we are and how we view and treat God’s creation. We stand before a harsh justice: biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, and climate change are the inevitable consequences of our actions since we have greedily consumed more of the earth’s resources than the planet can endure. But we also face a profound injustice: the people bearing the most catastrophic consequences of these abuses are the poorest on the planet and have been the least responsible for causing them. We serve a God of justice, who delights in creation and creates every person in God’s image, but also hears the cry of people who are poor. Accordingly, there is an innate call within us to respond with anguish when we see such devastating injustice.
Today, we are paying the price. The extreme weather and natural disasters of recent months reveal afresh to us with great force and at great human cost that climate change is not only a future challenge but an immediate and urgent matter of survival. Widespread floods, fires, and droughts threaten entire continents. Sea levels rise, forcing whole communities to relocate; cyclones devastate entire regions, ruining lives and livelihoods. Water has become scarce and food supplies insecure, causing conflict and displacement for millions of people. We have already seen this in places where people rely on small-scale agricultural holdings. Today we see it in more industrialized countries where even sophisticated infrastructure cannot completely prevent extraordinary destruction.

Tomorrow could be worse. Today’s children and teenagers will face catastrophic consequences unless we take responsibility now, as ‘fellow workers with God’ (Gn 2.4–7), to sustain our world. We frequently hear from young people who understand that their futures are under threat. For their sake, we must choose to eat, travel, spend, invest and live differently, thinking not only of immediate interest and gains but also of future benefits. We repent of our generation’s sins. We stand alongside our younger sisters and brothers throughout the world in committed prayer and dedicated action for a future that corresponds ever more to the promises of God.

The Imperative of Cooperation

Over the course of the pandemic, we have learned how vulnerable we are. Our social systems frayed, and we found that we cannot control everything. We must acknowledge that the ways we use money and organize our societies have not benefited everyone. We find ourselves weak and anxious, submerged in a series of crises; health, environmental, food, economic and social, which are all deeply interconnected.
These crises present us with a choice. We are in a unique position either to address them with shortsightedness and profiteering or seize this as an opportunity for conversion and transformation. If we think of humanity as a family and work together towards a future based on the common good, we could find ourselves living in a very different world. Together we can share a vision for life where everyone flourishes. Together we can choose to act with love, justice, and mercy. Together we can walk towards a fairer and fulfilling society with those who are most vulnerable at the center.

But this involves making changes. Each of us, individually, must take responsibility for the ways we use our resources. This path requires an ever-closer collaboration among all churches in their commitment to care for creation. Together, as communities, churches, cities, and nations, we must change route and discover new ways of working together to break down the traditional barriers between peoples, to stop competing for resources, and start collaborating.

To those with more far-reaching responsibilities—heading administrations, running companies, employing people, or investing funds—we say: choose people-centered profits; make short-term sacrifices to safeguard all our futures; become leaders in the transition to just and sustainable economies. ‘To whom much is given, much is required.’ (Lk 12:48)

This is the first time that the three of us feel compelled to address together the urgency of environmental sustainability, its impact on persistent poverty, and the importance of global cooperation. Together, on behalf of our communities, we appeal to the heart and mind of every Christian, every believer, and every person of goodwill. We pray for our leaders who will gather in Glasgow to decide the future of our planet and its people. Again, we recall Scripture: ‘choose life, so that you and your children may live’ (Dt 30:19). Choosing life means making sacrifices and exercising self-restraint.

All of us—whoever and wherever we are—can play a part in changing our collective response to the unprecedented threat of climate change and environmental degradation.

Caring for God’s creation is a spiritual commission requiring a response of commitment. This is a critical moment. Our children’s future and the future of our common home depend on it.

1st September 2021
OUR ANNUAL PLEDGE CAMPAIGN BEGINS
“Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above
” James 1:17, NRSV

September 17, 2021

Dear Church Family,

Every pledge campaign begins with Gratitude, and that is how I want to begin my message to you this year. I am inspired by your generosity – by the grand acts that you have accomplished this year, by the single acts of love and kindness, and by the unseen work you have done in the service of God and our church community. Thank you, I cannot say it enough.

Our pledge campaign this year focuses on our gifts; not just on the things we wrap with paper and bows, and not the things we put in envelopes or give from our bank accounts, but all of the gifts that we give throughout the year. We frequently talk about the three-legged stool of Time, Talent, and Treasure when we discuss our gifts, without really focusing on the power of each of those elements. I am grateful and aware of the ways in which you have given all three, and today I want to focus on your time.

Time, they say, is the greatest gift, because it is a gift that we can’t replace. When we give of our treasure or our talent, they come from renewable streams, to some extent. But time, once given, can’t be taken back, reclaimed. This is why I am inspired by the ways that you give of your time to this community.
Whether these gifts of time are measured in hours spent running a ministry, participating in our services, or volunteering in the community, or in minutes spent on the phone or in person reaching out to each other, taking care of each other, this community is generous with its time!
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In this season where we uphold our gifts, I hold you up in light, love, and leadership. Over the coming weeks you will be hearing more about our gifts from our leadership, in our liturgy, and in our common life together. You are a gift, each of you, and you are gifts to each other and to a world in need of our love; certainly blessed with every perfect gift that comes from God above.

Blessings,

Rebecca Hullum
Bishop's Warden
STEWARDSHIP REFLECTIONS
It wasn’t the stereotypical relationship between a daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. When we met, I was 17.  Today she is 100. “She is far more precious than jewels,” although she wouldn’t say so.
 
She not only taught Sunday School, she created a girls club to develop relationships when their peers were  competing. She sewed outfits for them, “working with willing hands,” and created musical programs to present to  the congregation to develop their self-confidence. 

I can’t count how many nieces, nephews, family friends and unknown others she housed. Not just housed but  mothered during their time of isolation. Talk about “opening her hand to the poor and reaching out to the needy.” 

She was a gymnast at the famous Venice Beach in Southern California where  she “girded herself with strength and made her arms strong.” Her husband  was a state legislator, “known in the city gates,” and had “a seat among the  elders” in their church. 

Ironically, she was ultimately abandoned by the very people who saw her  righteousness “up close and personal.” Her children did not “rise up and call her  happy,” and her husband did not “praise her.”  

Sadly, not all righteous women are as revered as the woman of Proverbs 31.  
“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be  praised. Give her a share in the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her  in the city gates.” 

My former mother-in-law, who I believe will ultimately be among the first,  in life was the servant of all. Are we striving to be the greatest, or are we content, as Jesus told his disciples in Mark 9, ‘to be first by being last of all and  servant of all’?
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Helen Mitsui Shared Blessings Thrift Shop in Kilauea is seeking Volunteers for 2021.

Each volunteer shift is a 2-4 hour commitment for a minimum of one day per week. Experience in Retail, Customer Service, and/or Retail a plus, but not required.

Volunteers are invaluable to serving our community. Our goal is to reuse, repurpose and recycle goods — keeping as much as possible out of landfill — while providing our community with access to reasonably priced, quality merchandise.

Here are ways you can help:
* Greeters welcome shoppers and monitor our COVID guidelines.
* Customer Care helps shoppers to ensure a pleasant shopping experience.
* Merchandisers organize departments, restock the floor and display retail goods.
* Philanthropy distributes merchandise to organizations in need.
* Donation Intakers receive, sort and process donations.

Work-from-Home volunteers help prepare merchandise for sale. We are especially looking for help in these areas:
* Games: checking games to ensure all components are intact
* Stationery: packaging up cards and envelopes
* Holidays: preparing merchandise for Christmas, Halloween, Easter, Valentines, 4th of July, and more
* School, Office, Art Craft Supplies: organizing and packaging materials for reuse
* Toys: sorting, cleaning, and packaging toys
* Hardware: sorting and packaging tools, materials, electronics and appliances

Requirements?
*Team players with a genuine interest in serving the community and contributing to the reuse movement.
* Willingness to support COVID-19 safety measures set by Shared Blessings
* Physically able to lift 50 pounds (Merchandisers and Donation Intakers only)

Benefits?
Serving the community and our environment is rewarding work. We have a lot of fun! New merchandise is donated daily, so the element of surprise and wonder is constant. Get a first peek and more!

Interested?
ï»żClick on the reply button here! Let us know 1) your interests, 2) your availability to volunteer and 3) your contact information. Mahalo!
PRAYER REQUESTS THIS WEEK
Healing of body, mind and spirit for:

Let us pray for our own needs and those of others. We remember especially those on our prayer list. Healing of body, mind and spirit for: Janice, Marilyn, Tony, Webb, David, Shane, Linda, David, Scott, Kauai Christian Academy, and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
ONGOING ACTIVITIES
Our Thrift Shop is
Temporarily Closed

Donations Accepted:

Monday 2:00 - 5:00 pm
Wednesday 9:30 am – 12:30 pm
Saturday  12:00 pm – 3:00 pm

-Please Wear A Mask-
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)

Meets in the Parish Hall:
Monday 6:15 - 7:15 pm & 7:30 - 8:30 pm
Tuesday 10:00-11:00 am & 7:30 - 8:30 pm
Wednesday 7:30 - 8:30 pm

Go to www.kauaiaa.org for more info.
THIS IS MY OFFERING
A Prayer:

Magnificent Holy Father. 
I stand before you at this altar. So many have given you more.
I may not have much I can offer. Yet what I have is truly yours. 
ï»żThis is my offering, dear Lord. 
This is my offering to You, God.


Your offering enables us to maintain worship, prayer and study during this time. Help us continue to provide a beautiful, flourishing, and safe "Sanctuary for the Spirit" at our historic and faithful church on Kaua'i.
​
Change to Automated Giving: Thank you to those of you who automate your giving and have a plan to support your church. Your consistent, planned generosity makes it possible for us to budget and dream responsibly. Want to change to automated giving? It makes life easy, especially if you travel.

Live off island? If you have a prayer intention or would like to pray for those on our prayer list, email our office. To be part of the church collective means we all share in the cost of being a church. We want our church to have inspiring worship; pastoral care for those in need; beautiful church grounds; programs to learn and grow; and tools to reach out to those who are seeking a closer relationship with God. See the different ways you can share your gifts, on our Giving page HERE.
 
If you like to give by check, please send to:
Christ Memorial Episcopal Church,
ï»żP.O. Box 293, Kilauea, HI 96754

Or consider changing to Automated Giving. It makes life easy. Just click on the button below to make a one-time or recurring donation. 

Thank you for your love and care for our Christ Memorial community!
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STAY INFORMED
Keep up-to-date with messages from the Bishop. Click on the buttons below to view the Bishop's weekly Monday & Wednesday messages, and find links to online worship in the Diocese.
QUICKLINKS
Christ Memorial Episcopal Church
ï»ż2509 Kolo Road, Kilauea, HI 96754
(808) 482-4824