an online publication of the
Church of the Holy Nativity, Aina Haina
April 16, 2020
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HOLY WEEK
at Holy Nativity:

(A copy of the services and the usual information about how to join us in worship online will come to you in a special 
Banyan Tree edition tomorrow)

April 19, 2020
The Second Sunday
after Easter
Morning Prayer -- 9am
ONLINE


April 26, 2020
T he Third Sunday after  Easter
Morning Prayer -- 9am
ONLINE

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Thursday Centering Prayer
(Thursday afternoons, 4-5pm)
Join us online using "Zoom." Go to www.zoom.us and click on the phrase,"Join a Meeting."  When prompted, type in the Meeting ID, which is 330990103.


(Please note that our Wednesday 10am Eucharist
postponed until further notice; please pray for one another during this time!) 


Serving this Sunday 
(April 19)  
The Second Sunday 
of Easter

9am Morning Prayer
Officiant:   The Rev. Libby Berman
Deacon:   The Rev. Robert Steele
Student in Formation: Frank Condello
Lectors: Lila Johnson & Kathy Otani
Prayers of the People: Jean Steele

Serving next Sunday 
(April 26)   
The Third Sunday 
of Easter

9am Morning Prayer 
Officiant:  The Rev. Libby Berman
Deacon:   The Rev. Robert Steele
Student in Formation: Frank Condello
Lectors: Kim Garner & 
   Rebecca  Verghese
Prayers of the People: 
   Julia  Yamaguchi
The Sunday Readings


 
Rector
The Rev. Libby Berman
hncrector@gmail.com

The Vestry
Sr. Warden: Austin Nakoa
Jr. Warden: Joe Kindrich
Treasurer: Jean Steele
Clerk: Nancy Thomas
Members at Large: Justin Donahue, Rich Miller, Lila Johnson, Jeff Taylor, Ed Moore, Wyn Aubrey-Child, Nina Livingston, Tusi Mayer, Gretchen Yamaguchi

Office Hours-Staff may be working from home; please call ahead to make sure someone is in the office; thank you!
Monday-Thursday, 9am-1pm
(808) 373-2131
hncparish@gmail.com
www.holynativityhawaii.org
 
Parish Bookkeeper
Kathy Kia
hncoperationsmanager@gmail.com
 
Parish Administrator
Punahele Coldwell
hncparish@gmail.com
 
Prayer List

In our parish, we pray for Lora V.,  Frank, Dorie, Rita, Wayne, Victoria, Sandee, Ronny, Donna, Sylvia, Blake, Bruce, Helen, Wes, Terri, Kendall, Bob, Yoko, Lola, Robert Y., Bobby Y., Lois C., The King Family, June A., Diane M., Pamela F., Heather, Richard P., Guthrie, Teri, and for those who have contracted the Corona virus. 

 

We are posting a day by day meditation from Forward Movement.  This is a great way to start your day with prayer.  Please consider clicking on the website above. 
Interim Head of School 
Jeanne Wilks

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


Holy Nativity Thrift Shop
(808) 373-3744

Our Thrift Store currently is closed until at least April 30, given the COVID-19 outbreak.  Please check here or on the website for more information.  Take care; we hope to see you soon!

Click here to visit the Thrift Shop webpage.



An Easter message from HNC's Student in Formation for Ordination
--Frank Condello II

Aloha and blessings during this Easter season.  I am pleased at how well the Holy Week services and Easter Sunday service went, being that they are online with many members of the congregation participating.  Although we cannot be together at this time, we are together in spirit.

This causes me to think back to the time of Christ's ministry and his loyal disciples.  Over the years of Jesus' ministry, the disciples followed him everywhere, listening and learning from him.  They did not always understand his parables and teachings, but they were faithful that he was the true Messiah.  They got used to being around him, going from town to town and assisting him in his ministry work. In a way, they got complacent with how things were and did not fully comprehend why Jesus was sent and what he was required to do.  His crucifixion was a shock to them to say the least. When Jesus was crucified, the disciples likely felt lost and alone. Their great teacher and Messiah was suddenly gone. Some likely questioned their own faith during this difficult time.  Could they have been wrong? Was Jesus the Messiah? What would their future be like? Why did Jesus allow himself to be crucified if he was the true Messiah? They likely forgot that Jesus foretold of his resurrection on the third day in his teachings and parables.  Imagine how sad Mary Magdalene and the other women must have been when they went to the tomb, and then suddenly seeing the tomb was open and empty. Imagine their disbelief and then great joy that Jesus had truly been raised from the dead!  

We as Christians sometimes get complacent as well.  We live our lives, work our jobs, take care of our families, and attend church on Sunday.  Each week seems to be about the same as the last, with little change. But that is no longer the case.  Our world has literally been thrown into chaos. Our complacent and comfortable lives are no longer that.  Many have lost their jobs or businesses and are struggling to make ends meet and to find any kind of happiness in their lives that are so uncertain.  Many are afraid of contracting the Corona Virus and how that would affect their immediate family members. How will our society return to normal and get back on track?  

These are daunting questions and we may not be able to completely return to the way things were. But one thing hasn't changed in these difficult times. The love that Jesus Christ has for us is unrelenting and strong.  We must never forget this. Bad things happen to good people, but that does not mean that God is angry with us and punishing us. It is hard for us humans to understand why tragedy occurs in our lives. Why do we have to suffer so much?  If life was an easy ride with no challenges, we would be complacent and have no need to help our fellow humans or do good in the community to help others. When we are challenged, we become stronger. As a society and community of faithful people we can overcome this pandemic.  We have adapted already and have overcome how to meet remotely and still stay in contact and support each other. We will continue to adapt and overcome in the coming weeks and months.  

Much of this will be because we know that Christ would want us to do the right thing for each other.  His greatest commandment to us was that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind. He then continued saying that we should love our neighbor as ourself. If we follow this great commandment, the Holy Spirit will guide our actions and help all of us to overcome and be stronger in the end.  As we go about our lives in these difficult times, let us pray for one another and not be ashamed to love our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind. And in doing so we also love our neighbors as ourselves. This can truly make a difference in ways we can only imagine. Aloha and God bless.  
 
FROM THE OUTREACH COMMITTEE

ALOHA EVERYONE,

Please spend a few minutes to fill out this short survey to help us best serve you, keep in touch and keep our spirits up and faith strong during this challenging time.  How wonderful it is to be able to spend more time at home with our loved ones, and in our captivity, get all the things done around the house that we have been meaning to do for the longest time!!   
 
THIS SURVEY IS SO THE CHURCH FAMILY CAN BE RESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS OF EVERYONE IN OUR COMMUNITY.

(Thanks to those who have been in touch with responses to this survey.  We have begun a ministry of calling everyone in the parish to check in and say hello.  Please let us know if you'd like to volunteer to reach out to our parishioners.)

PLEASE circle YES OR NO, so that when you call or e-mail, you will remember your answers!

QUESTION 1
BIBLE STUDY WITH ZOOM (INTERNET)        
YES.          NO.        (LEADER TO BE DECIDED)

QUESTION 2
APPOINTMENT CHATS WITH REV. LIBBY.        YES.        NO.

QUESTION 3
BOOK STUDY (WITH CHRISTIAN FOCUS) ON ZOOM. (INTERNET)       
YES.     NO.     (LEADER TO BE DECIDED.)

THANK YOU EVERYONE.  PLEASE EITHER E-MAIL ME WITH YOUR ANSWERS,   wynaubrey@gmail.com  or feel free to call with your answers at: 808-366-1386.

MAHALO,  WYN.
P.S.  If anyone has any other ideas or suggestions of how to  keep in touch, feel free to let me or any member of the Vestry know.
 

ALLELUIA!
Pictured here are parishioners Tusi Mayer and Chandi Hinrichs.  We thank them for creating this beautiful cross at the church on Easter Eve!  Tusi and Chandi also teach our children in Sunday School.  They invited and encouraged the kids to create the visual art that we have been seeing online during our Sunday services and that is pictured at the top of this issue of the "Banyan Tree."

CHANGES IN THE DIRECTORY
As the directory has gone out virtually last week, please note the changes from our Parishoners:

Jeff Taylor 
Address: 4890 Kilauea Ave., #3, Honolulu, HI 96816.
Phone number for Kristi: 808-785-1058.
   
Mr Thomas / Mrs Judy Ching:
Address: 327 Anapalau St. , Honolulu, HI 96825-2241
   
Ann Tonokawa
 
Rev. Helen Bressler
Name change: Rev. Helen P. Hudson
Applications Now Open for the Holy Nativity School Board
I f interested, please be in touch with Rich Miller for more information and the timetable.


Compline online at SSJE.org

The brothers of Saint John the Evangelist (from whom our Lenten Study series came) are offering Evening Services of Compline at ssje.org. They welcome folks to join them.  The text is provided.

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For ongoing encouragement from our bishop and diocesan staff, go to