Volume 4, Issue 47
November 22, 2019
THIS SUNDAY: November 24, 2019
Last Sunday after Pentecost: Christ the King Sunday

8:00AM
Joe Adorno (EM)
Jeff Albao (U)
Marge Akana (AG)

9:30AM
David Crocker (EM)
Daileen Barton, Nelson Secretario (R)
Linda Crocker, Mary Margaret Smith (U)
Janis Wright (AG)
Daileen, Harper (A)
Mabel Antonio, Vikki Secretario (HP)
UPCOMING EVENTS
A Romp Through The Bible
Bible Study
Led by Father David Englund
Tuesday, November 19 th
7:00 - 8:30PM
Rectory

Vestry Meeting
Saturday, November 23 rd
1:00 - 3:00PM
Rector's Office

Habitat for Humanity
DHHL Anahola Jobsite
Saturday, November 23 rd
Carpool - All Saint's Parking Lot
7:30AM
Jobsite - Anahola
7:45AM

Youth Group Bible Study
Sunday, November 24 th
11:00AM - 12:00PM
Youth Room

KIA Thanksgiving Service
Thursday, November 28 th
10:00 - 11:00AM
Church

KIA Thanksgiving Luncheon
Thursday, November 28 th
11:00AM - 1:00PM
Gym

Youth Group Sleepover
Friday, November 29 th - 30 th
6PM - 7AM
Gym

Holiday Craft Fair
Saturday, November 30 th
9:00AM - 2PM
All Saints' Campus
RECURRING EVENTS
Adult Bible Study on Weekly Gospel
Every Sunday, 9:00 - 9:30AM
Under the big tree

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

Aloha Hour
Every Sunday, 10:45AM - 12:00PM
Under the big tree

Monday Crew
Every Monday, 8:00AM
Church Office
Laundry Love
1 st & 3 rd Wednesday, 5:00PM
Kapa`a Laundromat

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

Daughters of the King
2 nd & 4 th Thursday, 7:00 - 8:00PM
Memorial Hall

Choir Practice
Every Thursday, 6:00PM
Choir Room
THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION
Thursday, November 28 th

The annual Kapa`a Interfaith Association's (KIA) Thanksgiving Luncheon is Thursday, November 28 th , 11:00AM - 1:00PM. The day begins with an Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at 10:00AM in the Church.

A big Mahalo to all of you that signed up to help with the Thanksgiving Luncheon. It is a wonderful gift to the community and for the community. Please check the sign up sheets in front of the church for volunteer opportunities.

Please start talking to neighbors and friends that have trees full of fruit and flower gardens. We need them for decorating the gym for the luncheon. It takes all of us to make this happen and we thank you so much for your willingness to be a part.

Please feel free to call Mary Margaret Smith at 821-2878 or Sarah Rogers at 822-3473 with any questions or answers! 
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Work Day Scheduled for Saturday, November 23 rd at 8:00AM

We have a work day scheduled for Saturday, November 23 rd in preparation for hosting the Interfaith Thanksgiving service and luncheon.

Come any time after 8:00AM and we hope to be pau by noon.

The main focus of attention will be on the gym, the gym kitchen, and the church as we get ready to host the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Lunch once again on Thanksgiving Day.

As we make preparations to host this event we need help to:

  • clean and tidy the gym;
  • clean and tidy the gym kitchen (a major job on its own!);
  • clear litter and other debris from the church grounds
  • clean the church in preparation for the Interfaith Thanksgiving Service.

So, lots of work for any and all levels of experience and expertise.

Mahalo in advance for your help.

Me ke aloha,

-for Buildings and Grounds
David Murray

UPDATING THE CHURCH DIRECTORY
Photo Opportunities Available This Sunday

Please remember to check the binders at the front of the church and update your directory information, and note if you need a new picture. Marge Akana will be at church this Sunday to take new pictures at the 8:00AM service and as people arrive for the 9:30AM service. You can also bring or send a new photo, or request a new photo at another time.
Updated information and photos will be a tremendous help for our new priest. Please participate in this effort.
FROM THE ALL SAINTS' VESTRY
Thoughts on Stewardship
STEWARDSHIP

"The careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care."
Dear All Saints Ohana,

This is the time of year in which the Church generally speaks of Stewardship. But this isn’t just a once a year activity. Stewardship is a lifetime commitment to take care of God’s creation.

In Genesis the Bible tells us how God created everything; that it was good, and that he gave it to us. Everything he created he entrusted to our care. We as God’s people are called to use our Time , Talent and Treasure to manage the gifts that God has given to us. 

As we enter into a new church year, this is the time we look at how best to use our Time , Talent and Treasure . Just like you, the members of the vestry, as individuals and families, are praying and deciding how to use their resources as God’s Stewards. 

We would like to share with you some of our own thoughts on Stewardship and pray that it may inspire you to gratefully give of your Time , Talent and Treasure to God.

May God bless you and keep you.

All Saints Church and Preschool Vestry
Byron Barth, Vestry Clerk

There are many faces of stewardship. One way I've been committed in giving back to God is through tithing and offering special monetary gifts whenever possible. In addition, I've been a church volunteer in some capacity for the last 35 years on the mainland and Kauai. Stewardship enriches one's life and continually offers me the ability to make positive differences in countless ways. 
Joe Adorno

As I reflect on all of my blessings, I am reminded that we are called to share our blessings with our brothers and sisters. All that we are given comes to us from the bounty that God has entrusted into our care. As stewards of that bounty, we must actively seek to preserve and increase it so that we may share His bounty with the rest of His children!
Jan Hashizume, Church Treasurer

I give because God has given me so much more. Giving is an expression of joy and gratitude for God’s blessings. “Let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
William H. Brown and David Murray, Sr. Warden

When Bill’s family moved from Baltimore to Washington, DC in the 1960’s, his parents wasted no time finding just the right church to attend—the local Presbyterian Church. Soon Bill joined other 13-year old’s in a confirmation class. It wasn’t long after being confirmed that Bill received in the mail his first box of donation envelopes. No one prepared him for this--he was just a kid! This began what was to become a lifelong journey of stewardship--of understanding responsibility, learning what is expected, and embracing the fact that our actions should be designed to benefit those around us and those yet to come. This is especially true when we look at the property where we currently reside. We do not consider ourselves the owners, but the current stewards. After years of effort, this land became bountiful and thriving. Truly, we are blessed to be here and it is a blessing to share this bounty with friends and strangers. It is important to know that we will be able to pass it on to other stewards when we are gone. As for that Presbyterian Church in Washington DC, Bill attends service every time he visits his family. The names of people and families he knew 50 years ago stand out on plaques, memorials, and stained-glass works of art. Those people were stewards of that church and it is thriving.
Shane Morris Wise

Psalm 24:1 "The earth and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants, belong to the LORD.” 

When we realize that everything we have comes from God, it is easy to reconcile ourselves with the idea of giving. If everything is of God and God’s, we are only stewards and what we give to our church and ‘Ohana, never really belonged to us; it was always God's. The Holy trinity of giving is TIME, TALENT, TREASURE. Surely, each of us has one of these or a combination of these in abundance from which to give. If you have been sitting on the sidelines, perhaps now is the time to say, what TIME, what TALENT, what TREASURE, is God calling me to give. What can be guaranteed is that he is calling. Are you listening? 

I realized a long time ago that no matter how much money we make, nor how many things we buy…we are not owners, but renters. The earth that we live on is rented to us by God. The air that we breathe, the water we drink and the food that we eat are all provided by Him. Even our very lives are really just on loan, and can be recalled at any time. God owns everything, and we just borrow and use his stuff. But God has entrusted us to take care of his stuff and to live our lives to honor and thank Him. So part of our responsibility then, is to support our place of worship - to give to the church your time, hard work, talents and money. How thankful are you for what God has given you?
Ron Morinishi

I realized a long time ago that no matter how much money we make, nor how many things we buy…we are not owners, but renters. The earth that we live on is rented to us by God. The air that we breathe, the water we drink and the food that we eat are all provided by Him. Even our very lives are really just on loan, and can be recalled at any time. God owns everything, and we just borrow and use his stuff. But God has entrusted us to take care of his stuff and to live our lives to honor and thank Him. So part of our responsibility then, is to support our place of worship- to give to the church your time, hard work, talents and money. How thankful are you for what God has given you?

"The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
Nelson Secretario

My Stewardship is a loving God I trust in my everyday life. Vikki and I tithe, pray daily, have a bible study once per week for over 20 years and wholly trust our Lord for everything. And HE has Blessed us Abundantly! Here's my daily prayer:

Oh, that You would bless me indeed, 
please expand my opportunities and 
my impact in such a way that I touch more lives for 
your glory. Let me do more for You
and enlarge my business,
that Your hand would keep me from evil,
that I may not cause pain!
  2 Corth 9:7

"Each one should give, then, as he has decided, not with regret or out of a sense of duty, for God loves a cheerful giver."
Luke 6:38

"Give and it will be given to you"
Mary Margaret Smith, Jr. Warden

To be whole we have to take care of our body, mind, and spirit. Our bodies are unique, each part influences the others and all parts must be working together to be totally healthy. The church is the Body of Christ. If one person fails to use their unique gifts it affects the entire Body. If we all work together using our individual time, talent and treasure, the Church is healthy and whole, as Jesus intended. We’ll fit together perfectly as Jesus’ healthy Body on earth, his healthy church, growing in love .
ALL SAINTS' IN TRANSITION
Prayer for Guidance
Gracious God, we give thanks for the great work and wisdom of the Search Committee for developing a vision for our future [Rector] that represents our hopes and dreams. May these dreams be carried out into the world to those discerning their call to [our shared ministry]. Grant them clarity and courage as they open their hearts to God’s call. Continue to guide those who are leading us through this process with wisdom and open hearts. We pray this in the name of your Son, Our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen

Adapted from the Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming

ANNOUNCING ALL SAINTS' 2019
HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR
Mark Your Calendars
The All Saints' Annual Holiday Craft Fair takes place on Saturday, November 30, 2019, from 9:00AM - 2:00PM. It will feature over 70 booth spaces in the gym and on the lawn, with a wide range of wonderful crafts and products. Come be a part of one of Kauai`s largest and most anticipated craft fairs!

BUSY TIME APPROACHING FOR ALL SAINTS' YOUTH

Want To Lend A Hand?
Aloha Everyone! 

Thanksgiving and the Holiday Craft Fair are both coming up super fast! Of course, the kids wanted to do a fun day on the Friday between those dates, so as I mentioned before, we plan to have a very busy weekend.

Special Notes:

  • I invited our sister churches around the island to join us that weekend! So, we will be meeting up with other youth. Feel free to invite your friends. The more the merrier! 
  • That said, I will need chaperones to help watch all these kids. If you have any young adults/adults willing to run around with me during any portion of this weekend, please let me know (this includes sister churches).
  • Next is carpooling. I will have an Escalade that can hold about 7 kids with me, but if any youth are able to drive yourselves to these locations, please do so. Chaperones, if you can also help carpool, that would be great.
  • All Saints’ Church is covering the cost for bowling and meals.

Please be sure to check out the attachment for a tentative schedule and items to bring to the event. Click here to read the attachment.

If you have any questions, are able to volunteer, or have any awesome ideas on how to help me pull this off, that would be great.

Reminder: 
Youth Group meeting is this Sunday, 11/24/19 at 11:00AM in the Youth Room.

Thanks! 

-Dominique Cami Pascua
Youth ministry director
We will be accepting paper requests (available at the table outside church on Sundays) and also online:


HOLY NATIVITY ANNOUNCES NEW RECTOR
Welcome the Rev. Elizabeth Berman
Holy Nativity Episcopal Church in Aina Haina announced their new Rector, the Rev. Elizabeth "Libby" Berman, who will be joining them in early January.

On their Facebook page, Holy Nativity shares the following:

Originally from Huron, South Dakota, Rev. Libby Berman has served as a Curate, Interim, and Rector of several Churches in Massachusetts and also as a consultant for the Episcopal Church Foundation in New York. From 2011 to 2018 she was the Canon for Congregational Development for the Diocese of Massachusetts. She brings dynamic energy to Holy Nativity and we are truly blessed to have a passionate beacon of light on board to vitalize our church.

Rev. Libby graduated in 1986 with a BA, cum laude, in History and Science from Harvard University. She has a Masters in Educational Administration from Harvard University along with a Masters in Divinity, Biblical Studies from the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge Massachusetts. She was ordained in the priesthood in 2002 . She and her husband Mark have two grown daughters, Samantha and Emily. 
Isleta Pueblo Chief Judge Verna Teller Makes History 
Becomes First Native American to Deliver the Opening Prayer in the U.S. House
November 13, 2019 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Today, Isleta Pueblo Chief Judge Verna Teller made history when she became the first Native American to deliver the opening prayer in the U.S. House of Representatives. Teller, a guest of Congresswoman Deb Haaland, delivered the invocation as Congresswoman Deb Haaland (NM-01) celebrates her first Native American History Month as a Member of Congress.

Teller’s prayer highlighted the Native American connection to the Earth as a call to respect natural resources and the life they provide. Haaland invited Teller to deliver the historic prayer as part of her work to bring the indigenous voices to Congress and inspire young girls to reach for leadership positions. To hear the prayer please click on the video link below.
Teller’s full prayer as prepared for delivery is below:

Oh Creator and Great Mother.
Having asked and received your permission to invoke your blessings today to all directions: East, North, West, South and the Center. 
We thank you for the life you give to all your children: the two legged ones, the four legged, those who live in the waters, and those who watch over us from the skies above.  
Sacred Pollen, sacred Earth Mother, sacred Water that manifest your desires, oh Creator and Great Mother, we thank them for the nourishment they give us equally with no regard to race color or creed.
Creator and Great Mother bless those standing before you, who carry a sacred trust to all of us who inhabit Turtle Island, our homeland, and I pray today that you will give them the wisdom and the courage to carry out their sacred trust with the same equality that we receive from the Sun and Rain.

-from the website of Congresswoman Deb Haaland, 1st District of New Mexico
CHRIST THE KING SUNDAY
November 24, 2019
Christ the King Sunday is a feast celebrated in the Roman Catholic Church and the Lutheran Church on the last Sunday of the liturgical year. It celebrates Christ's messianic kingship and sovereign rule over all creation. The feast is unofficially celebrated in some Episcopal parishes, but it is not mentioned in the Episcopal calendar of the church year. Marion Hatchett notes that the Prayer Book collect for Proper 29, the last Sunday of the church year, is a "somewhat free" translation of the collect of the Feast of Christ the King in the Roman Missal. This collect prays that God, "whose will it is to restore all things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of lords," will "Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his most gracious rule" (BCP, p. 236). The feast was originally instituted by Pope Pius XI in 1925 and celebrated on the last Sunday in Oct. It has been observed on the last Sunday before Advent since 1970.

Christ the King Sunday celebrates the full authority of Christ as King and Lord of the universe. Officially called "The Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King," it is celebrated on the final Sunday of Ordinary Time, the Sunday before Advent. In 2019, the feast falls on November 24th. Prayers: Christ the King Prayers

Pope Pius XI instituted The Feast of Christ the King in 1925, to be celebrated throughout the universal church, in his encyclical Quas Primas . He connected the increasing denial of Christ as king to the rise of secularism throughout much of Europe. At the time of Quas Primas , many Christians (including Catholics) began to doubt Christ's authority and existence, as well as the Church's power to continue Christ's authority.
Pius XI, and the rest of the Christian world, witnessed the rise of non-Christian (or nominally Christian) dictatorships throughout Europe, and saw Catholics being persuaded by these earthly leaders. These dictators also often attempted to assert authority over the Church. Just as the Feast of Corpus Christi was instituted when devotion to the Eucharist was at a low point, the Feast of Christ the King was instituted during a time when respect for Christ and the Church was waning, when the feast was needed most.

Pius hoped the institution of the feast would have various effects. They were:

1. That nations would see that the Church has the right to freedom, and immunity from the state ( Quas Primas , 31).
2. That leaders and nations would see that they are bound to give respect to Christ ( Quas Primas , 32).
3. That the faithful would gain strength and courage from the celebration of the feast, as we are reminded that Christ must reign in our hearts, minds, wills, and bodies ( Quas Primas , 33).

Today, the same distrust of authority exists, although the problem has gotten worse. Individualism has been embraced to such an extreme, that for many, the only authority is the individual self. The idea of Christ as ruler is rejected in such a strongly individualistic system. Also, many balk at the idea of kings and queens, believing them to be antiquated and possibly oppressive. Some even reject the titles of "lord" and "king" for Christ because they believe that such titles are borrowed from oppressive systems of government. However true these statements might be (some kings have been oppressive), these individuals miss the point: Christ's kingship is one of humility and service . Jesus said:

You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to become great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:42-45, NAB).

Pilate said to Jesus, "Are you the King of the Jews?"... Jesus answered, "My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here." So Pilate said to him, "Then you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth (John 18:33b, 36-37).

Thus, Jesus knew the oppressive nature of secular kings, and in contrast to them, he connected his role as king to humble service, and commanded his followers to be servants as well. In other passages of Scripture, his kingdom is tied to his suffering and death. While Christ is coming to judge the nations, his teachings spell out a kingdom of justice and judgment balanced with radical love, mercy, peace, and forgiveness. When we celebrate Christ as King, we are not celebrating an oppressive ruler, but one willing to die for humanity and whose "loving-kindness endures forever." Christ is the king that gives us true freedom, freedom in Him. Thus we must never forget that Christ radically redefined and transformed the concept of kingship .

Christ the King Sunday used to be celebrated on the last Sunday of October, but since the calendar reforms of 1969, the feast falls on the last Sunday of Ordinary Time, which is the Sunday before Advent. It is fitting that the feast celebrating Christ's kingship is observed right before Advent, when we liturgically wait for the promised Messiah (King).
CHURCH OF IRELAND CELEBRATES 150 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE FROM THE STATE

Posted on: November 14, 2019 11:23 AM
St. Patrick's, Kenmare
Above: Church of the Transfiguation, Sneem.
Left: St. Michael and All Angels, Waterville
[ACNS, by Rachel Farmer] The Church of Ireland is celebrating 150 years since it was disestablished from the Church of England and has set out an innovative programme to mark the milestone.

A special service of celebration this month in St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, when the Archbishop of Canterbury will preach, launches the #D150 programme and will look back on achievements over the past century and a half.

The Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, Richard Clarke, wrote about the landmark year saying: “Today we may reasonably celebrate 150 years of disestablishment, but only if we are now ready to show the same faith, courage and generosity our forebears epitomised in 1869 as we seek to shape our future course.”

'Free to shape our future' is the theme for the #D150 celebrations, taken from a phrase used by one of the architects of the disestablished church. After 1869 the Church was no longer the State church and bound by the rules of the State and parliament, it could put its own shape on the Anglican church in Ireland. Members of General Synod did, and still do, change and shape the Church of Ireland by the passing of Bills to alter the constitution each year. 

The Irish Church Act of 1869 disestablished the Anglican church in Ireland from the State as part of Prime Minister Gladstone’s policy to win support of Irish nationalists for the Union with Great Britain and address the resentment of other churches over the privileged position enjoyed by an established church representing less than 12 per cent of the population.

This independence became more important through the revolutionary period of 1916 to 1923 after which Ireland gained independence and then went through a civil war. Many believe that if disestablishment had not happened when it did, the Church of Ireland might not have survived intact; Gladstone’s Irish Church Act had generously allowed the church to keep its buildings and resources.

Looking back on the history of disestablishment, the Archbishop of Armagh said 150 years ago there had been widespread uncertainty about whether the church could survive financially and also that it might fragment into different doctrinal and ecclesiastical factions.

However, according to the Archbishop, the Church of Ireland has always sought to find a consensus and to “stick together” amidst the diverging cultures and socio-political realities of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Some of its achievements include being at the forefront of Anglican liturgical development and providing legislation to permit the marriage of divorced people in a church setting. In terms of ecumenical relations, the church has provided a middle road and been heavily engaged in international ecumenical commissions over many decades. It was the first of the Anglican churches in Europe to ordain women to the priesthood and to the episcopate.

As part of the Church’s D150 initiative a series of essays called ‘Irish Anglicanism, 1969 –2019’, have been published, telling the story of major aspects of the life of the church in the past half-century. The subjects range from role of women in church ministry; the Anglican Communion; dialogue with other churches and faiths; the covenant relationship with the Methodist Church; architecture and art; pastoral care; theological training; the church and education in Northern Ireland and in Ireland; liturgy and worship; music in the life of the church; canonical and legal change; the Irish language; archives and publishing; and the church and media.

The Archbishop of Dublin & Glendalough, Michael Jackson, spoke at a recent diocesan synod and said that members of the Church of Ireland had a unique opportunity to take a positive spirit forward in the commemorations for the 150th anniversary.

He said the Anglican Communion’s Five Marks of Mission were a common language to take into their relationships with neighbours inside and outside churches in Ireland and with neighbours of other World Faiths or of no faith.

He said: “The Five Marks of Mission are a language of informed engagement for everyone, not exclusively for clergy. Everyone can do this and many have done so already. Such a democratization of opportunity is a blessing with no disguise, and I would suggest the right place for a confident Disestablishment to be in its 151st year: Proclaiming God’s Kingdom; Teaching, baptizing and nurturing; Responding to human need; Transforming unjust structures; Safeguarding creation.”

He continued, “I am particularly proud of the people and clergy of this diocese as we show we are ready to shape our future without need for fear in the 150th year of Disestablishment and beyond.”

FROM THE DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY
#ADVENTWORD

November 17, 2019
For the sixth year in a row, #AdventWord will gather prayers via its global, online Advent Calendar. Virginia Theological Seminary is offering 24 meditations and images during this holy season beginning Sunday, December 1. Images and meditations can be experienced via www.AdventWord.org , through direct daily emails, and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Join an international, ecumenical community in prayer to explore the mystery and wonder of Advent. You’re invited to help create this global, online Advent Calendar by participating in any of the following ways:


The words for 2019 are listed below. Please share them with friends and family who would enjoy participating – #AdventWord is an ecumenical project! We welcome posts that resonate with #AdventWord from all persons. You can find the words in various formats as well as other resources to share at www.AdventWord.org .
1 December - #Unexpected 
2 December - #Visit
3 December - #Time
4 December - #Humble
5 December - #Raise
6 December - #House
7 December - #Unity
8 December - #Worthy
9 December - #Root
10 December - #Grace
11 December - #Confess
12 December - #Harmony
13 December - #Water
14 December - #Gather
15 December - #Turn
16 December - #Learn
17 December - #Pray
18 December - #Worship
19 December - #Bless
20 December - #Go
21 December - #Rest
22 December - #Restore 
23 December - #Message 
24 December - #Beloved
This Advent, participants will deepen their understanding of the coming of Jesus into the world through practices of meditation and prayer. Come pray with us!

Published by the Office of Communication of The Episcopal Church, 815 Second Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017

© 2019 The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

THE EPISCOPAL NEWS SERVICE
HARRY POTTER DAY AT SAN FRANCISCO CATHEDRAL COMBINES FUN, MAGIC, AND THEOLOGY
By Egan Millard

Posted Nov 19, 2019
About 80 children participated in Harry Potter Day at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, California, on Nov. 16, 2019. Photo: Matthew Woodward
[Episcopal News Service] Based on the number of excited children who showed up to Harry Potter Day at San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral on Nov. 16, you might find it hard to believe that the last book in the series was published 12 years ago. About 80 children – far more than the cathedral staff initially expected – from around the Bay Area came to make wands, play Quidditch and learn how prayer can fend off scary feelings.

And given the day’s focus on the overlap between J.K. Rowling’s books and the Christian worldview, you also might find it hard to believe that in their heyday, the books faced fierce opposition from some fundamentalist Christians who claimed they were satanic. In 2006, the American Library Association named the Harry Potter books the most challenged of the 21st century up to that point because so many parents had tried to remove them from libraries on the grounds that they were anti-Christian and dangerous to children.

Caren Miles, the Diocese of California’s associate for faith formation, never saw it that way.

“I just remember reading the first book before I even heard that folks were getting upset about it; the baptism analogy hit me so hard over the head that I didn’t think anyone would have a problem with it. [The Christian imagery] seems so blatant to me!” said Miles, who organized this first-ever Harry Potter Day for the cathedral, which is the seat of the Diocese of California.

Rowling, a member of the Scottish Episcopal Church, has said that the parallels between her books and the Gospels are intentional, although she rarely delves into more details. The only explicit connection to Christianity is the appearance of Biblical passages on two gravestones in the final book, but readers have long observed allegorical elements in the stories.

“To me [the religious parallels have] always been obvious,” Rowling told an interviewer in 2007. “But I never wanted to talk too openly about it because I thought it might show people who just wanted the story where we were going.”
Some of Rowling’s own faith journey is hidden in the books, Miles said.

“I love to tell kids the trivia that most of them don’t know – even the ones who know every little bit of trivia – which is that Harry receives his Hogwarts [acceptance] letter on his 11th birthday because that’s the day that J.K. Rowling was baptized,” Miles told Episcopal News Service.
The flags of the four houses of Hogwarts (Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor) hang in the nave of Grace Cathedral for Harry Potter Day. Photo: Mike Scrutton

“There are so many examples of – not only faith, but that idea of life and resurrection coming through death, especially in the seventh book,” Miles said, citing a particular scene that has been commonly interpreted as a vision of the afterlife in which Harry talks face to face with a dead character.

“There are so many great role models in the books. Even Draco Malfoy ends up making a turn. Snape obviously makes a huge turn,” Miles went on, referring to two characters who are initially portrayed as villains but prove to be more complex. “So it’s this [sense of] redemption.”
Miles first organized a Harry Potter Day almost 20 years ago, when she was working for the Diocese of Dallas, and said it’s a great way to attract the young families that churches are so eager to reach.

“It was that idea of trying to have something for families mainly in the diocese, but also something they can invite friends to as an easy entry into The Episcopal Church,” Miles told ENS. It shows parents who might be unfamiliar with the church that “we are fun, we are silly, your kids can run around and be themselves and be kids!”

Harry Potter Day was a mix of fun and more serious topics, of religion and Potter lore. It started with morning prayer, followed by “Defense Against the Dark Arts,” which in the series is a Hogwarts class in repelling curses and creatures like the boggart, a manifestation of one’s worst fear. In the books, this is done with a Patronus – a sort of spiritual guardian in the form of an animal. On Nov. 16, the children learned that prayer can be its own kind of Patronus when fear becomes overwhelming.

Then it was time for Quidditch, the sport described in detail in the series that is played for real by enthusiasts.
The Bay Area Breakers teach kids how to play Quidditch. Photo: Mike Scrutton

“We had a college Quidditch team come and teach them Quidditch in the plaza,” Miles said. “ The Bay Area Breakers came, brought all the equipment, and were willing and young enough to run around with small kids all day.”

That was followed by a wand-making class, in which the kids could choose the materials for the wand based on parts of their personalities.

“It’s kind of fun to be able to talk about spiritual gifts in that way, to talk about what are the things that you have that we can amplify as good,” Miles said.
Different materials for making wands are available at Harry Potter Day. Photo: Mike Scrutton

And since Hogwarts students take Potions classes, the children then learned about another kind of supernatural transformation: the Eucharist. The Rev. Kyle Oliver, who has developed a set of cards that break down elements of the liturgy to explain them more fully, “walked the kids through the entire Eucharistic prayer, explaining all of the little magic pieces,” Miles said.
“And then we had a closing Eucharist and a group photo. Everybody went home happy!”

In her sermon at the Eucharist, the Rev. Lindy Bunch, priest in charge at Trinity St. Peter’s in San Francisco, focused on Dobby, a lowly enslaved elf who ends up making the ultimate sacrifice to save Harry and his friends. She connected his story to Romans 8 , which talks about how Christ frees all from bondage and ends with the famous passage: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God.”

“We’re not teaching them that there are bad things in the world. They already know that,” Miles said. “But we’re giving them tools and emotional help to stick together, to fight, [to] hope. We’re giving them hope.”


– Egan Millard is an assistant editor and reporter for the Episcopal News Service. He can be reached at emillard@episcopalchurch.org .

FROM THE EPISCOPAL CAFÉ
ON GOOD SHEPHERDS

By Cory Driver
Posted November 20, 2019
It is easy, in the run up to Christmas, to skip over important dates and even whole seasons like Advent, in our focus on celebrating the birth of the Christ Child. But as we look forward to this coming Sunday, in which we celebrate Christ as King, it is worth reflecting on just what sort of King Jesus is. 

Hundreds of years before the Incarnation of Jesus, the people of God were being harassed and persecuted, both by foreign enemies, and by abusive rulers who looked out for themselves, rather than for the good of their people. God, through the prophet Jeremiah, pronounced woe on the evil leaders who hurt and scattered God’s beloved, vulnerable people. In addition to cursing wicked leaders, God promised to raise up good shepherds to protect the people and care for them (Jeremiah 23:1-4). 

One such good leader was Saint Edmund, King of East Anglia, whose feast we celebrate today. When his kingdom was under threat by the Viking army, headed by Ivar, son of Ragnar, King Edmund was advised by his bishop to either abandon the people and save himself, or submit to the rule of Ivar, which would include banning Christianity among his subjects. Saint Edmund decided that he could neither abandon his people to be persecuted by the Danes, nor could he force his people to turn their backs on their God. He embraced the path of martyrdom, rather than mislead his people. According to Abbo of Fleury’s Life of St. Edmund, the sainted king informed the Vikings, “Almighty God knows that I will not ever turn from worship of Him, nor from love of His truth. If I die, I live.” Rather than taking up arms in defense of his country, “King Edmund, against whom Ivar advanced, stood inside his hall, and mindful of the Savior, threw out his weapons. He wanted to match the example of Christ… [who chose peace in the face of violent empires].” Saint Edmund was tortured and executed on a tree, saving his people from certain defeat if they had chosen to fight against the far superior Viking forces. 

Saint Edmund truly followed the example of Jesus, who chose to undermine the evil and seductive power of empire not by taking up the sword, but by dying on a tree – and then overcoming death. Jesus is the ultimate good shepherd as he shows us the path toward peace, toward neighbor love, and toward worship of God. As we mark Christ the King Sunday later this week, we celebrate Jesus who did not use military might to overthrow Rome or the Herodians, but who used some of his dying breaths to welcome a humble convicted criminal into his kingdom (Luke 23:39-43). 

As we look around the world, and read the news, where do we see good shepherds today? I believe there are leaders in the church, in classrooms, in the halls of political power, and in our homes, who emulate Jesus (and Saint Edmund) and sacrifice on behalf of their people. They choose the path of peace instead of the path of violence, and in so doing reject and undermine the promise of empire that might makes right. Who might those people be in our own lives, and how can we celebrate them and life up their influence? As we think about Christlike good shepherding, the Psalmist reminds us:

Come now and look upon the works of the Lord,
what awesome things he has done on earth.
It is he who makes war to cease in all the world;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear,
and burns the shields with fire. (Psalm 46:9-10)

Let us look upon the works of the Lord, through the centuries. Where the power of violence is undermined, where empire is shunned, and where people are treated with compassion instead of contempt, the reign of Christ the King has already begun. As we celebrate Saint Edmund and look forward to this Sunday, let us be grateful for all the good shepherds in our lives.  
Dr. Cory Driver is an ordained Deacon in the ELCA and earned his Ph.D. in Jewish Religious Cultures from Emory University. He is the Director of the Transformational Leadership Academy in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA. His weekly Lectionary blog is hosted at LivingLutheran.com 

HALE HO`OMALU NOVEMBER COLLECTION
Place your donations in the red wagon by the door to the sanctuary on Sundays. Hale Ho`omalu also needs and appreciates monetary donations as well as gift-in-kind items.
Please note, we do not accept food items that are not mentioned on the monthly list and we do not accept clothing, toys or similar items unless a specific plea for such items is published in the Epistle . Your Epistle Staff will inform you of any special requests for donations.
NO SUNDAY SCHOOL THIS WEEK


HABITAT FOR HUMANITY WORK DAY
DHHL Anahola Jobsite
One ‘Ohana team, 
We were thinking of cancelling Habitat this month because All Saint’s has a schedule conflict with its Thanksgiving Luncheon preparation on Saturday morning. However, is anyone interested in working Habitat on Saturday, November 23 rd ? If so, we could organize a small crew. Please let me know if you would like to work Habitat this Saturday, 
Ron Morinishi
ronald.y.morinishi@gmail.com
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 .
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