an online publication of the
Church of the Holy Nativity, Aina Haina
April 29, 2020
In this Issue of the Banyan Tree:

"Creating Sacred Space" 
(Rev. Libby)

Clothing Donations needed for Prisoner Release Ministry

Pastoral Care and Parish Communications Team "says hello" to all HNC

New HNC Banner along 
Kalaniana'ole Highway

HNC Prayer List to be "Refreshed"
on May 17

Greetings from Stanley and 
Rose Mary in Atlanta

...and photos from the church, for those who haven't seen these familiar scenes lately!

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Do you receive the Banyan Tree and find the content is missing?  Do you close this email, open it again, and still find no content?  
Here is what you do: open the email, scroll to the bottom of it and click on "View Entire Message." What a relief! It works!

Upcoming Services
at Holy Nativity
(Go to the front page of our website, "www.holynativityhawaii.com" 
and click "Sunday Banyan")

May 3, 2020
The Fourth Sunday
after Easter
Morning Prayer with Music-- 9am
ONLINE


May 10, 2020
T he Fifth Sunday after  Easter
Morning Prayer with Music -- 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 
(May 3)  
The Fourth Sunday 
of Easter

9am Morning Prayer
Officiant:  The Rev. Libby Berman
Deacon:  The Rev. Bob Steele
Student in Formation: Frank Condello
Lectors: Ed Moore & Barbara Abe
Prayers of the People: 
   Wyn Aubrey-Child


Serving next Sunday 
(May 10)   
The Fifth Sunday 
of Easter

9am Morning Prayer 
Officiant:  The Rev. Libby Berman
Deacon:  The Rev. Bob Steele
Lectors: Julia Yamaguchi & Rebecca 
   Verghese
Prayers of the People: 
   Frank Condello, Student in Formation for Ordination
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, 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, Chris J., 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 May 15, 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.

  ONLINE for a little while longer...

  Join us for worship every Sunday at 9am!  On the front page of our website, holynativityhawaii.org, click " Sunday Banyan" to find a copy of the service and information about how to join us online OR look for your copy of our Thursday "Banyan Tree," which has the same information.  ( Bishop Fitzpatrick has extended his direction to our churches to continue our worship online until at least May 15.)




CREATING SACRED SPACE
--Rev. Libby

We continue to REJOICE in this season of great celebration in the Church.  Our worship leaders and participants continue to create meaningful online worship together on Sundays.  The Vestry and other committees meet virtually to make decisions and carry on their ministries; you will read about some of them in the articles below.  We have experienced patience, fortitude--and very good humor!--in the various communications among us in community, for which many of us are incredibly grateful.  We may be under quarantine, but WE REJOICE!

During this time, one of the spiritual practices I have not mentioned very often is how to make space for your spiritual life "at home."  Our many efforts to work through this time have been focused on "getting together"; like many of you, I have spent lots of time learning new skills to help me connect and I have enjoyed it!  Still, I believe that, during these days, we should not neglect our individual times of devotion.  Being at home right now offers a new and unique opportunity for us to connect to God.

Martin Smith teaches readers how to start a contemplative prayer practice in his book, The Word is Very Near You .  He begins, though, by simply encouraging his readers to set up a sacred space.  Just about any space will do!  Our church has a very large and beautiful space that is set aside for us to honor God when we all gather together.  When we are spending time with God, alone, though, setting aside a small table in the corner of a room with a Bible or a candle is enough.  You could put a cloth on a table or find a cross or icon to place there.  But you don't have to!  Putting a small rock from the beach on the corner of your dressing table is enough.  Printing out a "prayer for morning" that you can pick up from the same place every day is enough. It's enough to honor God by setting aside even a very small space, keeping that place dedicated to God, and then remembering, now and then, to stop there and ...listen!  

So many of us are eager to find our way back to in-person community.  We miss lunches with friends, Sunday dinner with extended family, baseball games, and travel.  We miss Sunday Eucharist.  We'll get there.  But let's use some of this next piece of time in the "meanwhile" to connect with God, by creating sacred space at home and inviting God to dwell there.
donation_palm.jpg

DONATIONS NEEDED

Our Episcopal Prison Ministry has let us know that the Halawa Prison and the Ministry itself are running out of clothes to give the prisoners being released, some of them early because of the pandemic.  Peggy Budlong, our Thrift Store manager, has given us two boxes stuffed with men's clothing to donate.  

If you have used some of your at-home time to clean out closets, please bag some men's t-shirts, shirts, pants or shorts and bring your offering to the parish parking lot on Saturday morning, May 2, between 9 and 10:30.   Or you can take clothing donations to our St. Andrew's Cathedral 11:30-12 on Thursday.  What about women's clothing?  That is being planned for now and so you can bring women's clothes along, too.  Mahalo!
 
PASTORAL CARE AND PARISH COMMUNICATIONS MINISTRY REPORT
(Wyn Aubrey-Child, for the team)

This group has been meeting via zoom, we been working on the following projects :- )

1.   Calling people in the Parish Directory to update their addresses, telephone numbers and e-mails, in order for everyone in the parish to receive the Banyan Tree for ongoing news of activities in our church.  Also, to inform them of the availability of our online zoom services until we can all be together physically in our church, and resume normal life again, in whatever form that will take.

2.  Contacting people for whom we only have phone numbers, to see if they have e-mail or the ability to join us for online service--and to say hello.

3.  Taking one or two letters of the alphabet in the Parish Directory, and giving calls and/or sending email to ask how folks are doing, and to see if they need pastoral care, groceries, or any other kind of assistance.  (Please note: we need more volunteers to take other letters of the alphabet that have not been covered, or just people who will volunteer to make some phone calls to help keep in touch with the church family during this time.     

Mahalo to all who are working hard to keep in touch with other members of our parish family at this time!
 
E KOMO MAI!

There is a new banner hanging between two of our trees along Kalanianaole Hi-way.  It gives our neighbors the information about our Zoom services at 9 every Sunday.  We have Eva Eglinton to thank for the banner.  She designed it, with comments collected from others as well, and had it printed and hung.  What a great idea and what swift implementation!  Mahalo to Eva!
REFRESHING THE HNC PRAYER LIST

We update our prayer list from time to time.  If you wish to offer one or more names for our newest list, please let our parish administrator, Punahele Coldwell, know by email (hncparish@gmail.com) or phone (808-373-2131).  We will begin using the refreshed list on Sunday, May 17.

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GREETINGS FROM DEAR HNC FRIENDS STANLEY AND ROSE MARY
(now in Atlanta)

Hi Rev. Libby and our many friends at Holy Nativity,
Happy Eastertide!

We are nesting in our new home in Atlanta. With the stay-at-home directives, Rose Mary has not ventured beyond the walls of our apartment for the past five weeks. I have been out for the purposes of "hunting & gathering" as well as walking exercise, weather permitting. Our home is very comfortable even as certain of our furniture deliveries have been delayed. The shipment from Honolulu of our books, art, personal effects, etc. finally arrived this week.

FaceTime, Messenger and Zoom have been wonderful means to communicate regularly with our family. We are.eagerly looking forward to the day when we can once again reach out and connect with the people around us.

We miss our Holy Nativity family. At the same time we feel fortunate and blessed to have made this move when we did.

Please stay in touch. Our address and phone are below.   Aloha,
Stanley and Rose Mary
3460 Kingsboro Rd NE #349,  Atlanta, GA 30326
(808) 388-6659
PRAYER FOR A PANDEMIC
(author unknown)

May we who are merely inconvenienced
remember those whose lives are at stake.

May we who have no risk factors
remember those who are most vulnerable.

May we who have the luxury of working from home respect & support those who must choose between preserving their health or paying their rent.

May we who have flexibility to care for our children when their schools close  
remember those who have no options.

May we who have to cancel our trips
remember those who have no place to go.

May we who are losing our investments
remember those who have no money to invest.

May we who settle in for a quarantine at home
remember those who have no home.

During this time, when we cannot wrap our arms around each other, let us each find ways to be the loving embrace of humanity to our neighbors.

Be aware. Be accepting. Be supportive. Be kind.

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