Church Newsletter for the week of April 3: ❤️ Teaching Series, Good Friday Service, Online discussion of Martin Luther King Jr. and Thich Nhat Hanh, Poetic Reflections and more...

Class Introduction: The religious impulse begins with experience. We experience something mysterious and wonderful. Something greater. The numinous, the beautiful, the awe-inspiring. Something intuitively true. We find ourselves elevated and humbled simultaneously.

Then we seek ways to remember. Liturgy, prayer, theology, memory.

In this series, we will first seek to remember and honor our own experience of the divine. Then we will explore practices that can help renew and ground us.

JOIN THE TEACHING SERIES

THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH WELCOMES YOU

We Episcopalians believe in a loving, liberating, and life-giving God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

As constituent members of the Anglican Communion in the United States, we are descendants of and partners with the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church, and are part of the third largest group of Christians in the world.

We believe in following the teachings of Jesus Christ, whose life, death, and resurrection saved the world. We have a legacy of inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God’s love for every human being; women and men serve as bishops, priests, and deacons in our church.

Laypeople and clergy cooperate as leaders at all levels of our church. Leadership is a gift from God, and can be expressed by all people in our church, regardless of sexual identity or orientation.

We believe that God loves you – no exceptions.

WATCH NOW

NEWS FROM THE DIOCESE

On April 6: Join Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, and church leaders for online discussion of Martin Luther King Jr. and Thich Nhat Hanh

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will join other church leaders April 6 for an online discussion of the friendship between the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh. Hosted by Washington National Cathedral, “Brothers in the Beloved Community” will start at 7 p.m. EST on Zoom. The discussion will explore the relationship between the two men and their efforts to resist harmful forces still at work today. In addition to Curry and Andrus, speakers include Bishop Mariann Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., and the Rev. Paul Smith, a civil rights veteran, minister, educator, and author. Cathedral Dean Randy Hollerith will moderate... READ MORE

Registrants will be sent information with a Zoom link on April 6. Registration is free for this online event, with an option to pay what you wish.

UPCOMING GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE

POETIC REFLECTIONS

AT THE FEET OF LOVE

March 31, 2022

Leslie Scoopmire

At the Feet of Love – John 12:1-8

Feet are a conduit of love. Of all the possible things. Feet. For me, this makes sense, because feet make me think of my dad.

My father was born just after World War I. He grew to adulthood during the Great Depression, and served in World War II. It should not surprise anyone, then, that he wasn’t exactly big on expressing his tenderer feelings, at least not during my growing-up years. . When he was feeling really content, he would sit on the floor watching football with me and he would reach out and just hold one of my feet. If he though I wasn’t listening, he would whisper, “I love you,” and wiggle my foot a bit as he said it. It was weird, and quirky, and it’s one of the things I miss most about my dad.

It used to be that one seldom saw bare feet in public. But if you do look at the bare feet of an adult, they can tell you a lot about that person. They can be pale or have tan lines. They can be soft, or they can be misshapen and calloused. They can be grimy or clean, pedicured or showing signs of neglect. Structurally, they hold our weight as we balance on a latticework of tiny, delicate bones. They anchor us to this good earth and keep us grounded, and on a warm summer’s morning we can feel the pulse and hum of the earth vibrate through our feet as we stand in the cool, sweet grass.

Feet also can make us self-conscious. Maybe this is why the incidents of foot washing in the Bible are so memorable to us. You have to really love someone to want to wash their feet, much less caress those feet and pour expensive perfume all over them.

So the scene of Mary breaking open her precious alabaster jar and pouring nard all over Jesus’s feet is obviously a scene of great intimacy and love—extravagant, prodigal love. The poet Mary Skevington emphasizes the sumptuous sensual overload from Mary’s action in her poem, “Mary, of Bethany, at your feet a third time:”

Fragrance fills the room, the house, the night,

as more people pour from Jerusalem to you,

to you, who comes to us in our weeping,

who shares our bread with us,

and brings us to such joy as this.

And there are not one, but TWO extravagant gifts we have to contemplate as we look at Mary’s washing of Jesus’s feet with expensive perfume and hair: Mary’s excessive display of devotion and worship, yes—but also Jesus’s example of his obedience to God’s will. His determination to follow the dictates of love to overcome evil become clear in this episode. Those same feet being anointed will carry him from Bethany—which means “the house of the poor”—to Jerusalem and then on to Calvary. Mary takes her place at the feet of love, and reminds us that we are called there too.

Too often, we lose sight that the core of Jesus’s message is love. Too many people—both within and outside of Christianity– think the core of Jesus’s message is about rigid rules of behavior, hellfire and damnation, and sober, self-righteous judgmentalism directed toward others. Sadly that is the public face of Christianity in too much of the society in which we live. Too often we forget the extravagant acts of love that defined Jesus’s interactions with his friends and disciples, and even strangers.

So yes, those feet will be anointed and kissed and wiped with Mary’s beautiful veil of hair. Those same feet are going to carry Jesus to the outskirts of Jerusalem and on to his passion. Isaiah 52 reminds us, “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation….”

At this moment, Jesus’ feet straddle the line between earth and heaven, between his ministry and his death upon a cross, and Mary is making those feet ready. Before he is betrayed and handed over to the authorities, Jesus himself is going to show his love for his disciples by washing all of their feet, as a sign that great love also demands great humility and a sense of servanthood.

Jesus comes to bring us a message of love of God and love of neighbor—and that message puts him at odds with the powers of oppression and empire. Jesus’s feet carry God’s good news even today to all of us. With those feet, Jesus leads us from death to life. Sittting at the feet of love is where we, too are anointed to bear the good news of extravagant grace to the world.

Leslie Scoopmire is a writer, musician, and a priest in the Diocese of Missouri. She is rector of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Ellisville, MO. She posts prayers, meditations, and sermons at her blog Abiding In Hope, and collects spiritual writings and images at Poems, Psalms, and Prayers.

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.

This 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.

DONATE TO CHRIST MEMORIAL

If you like to give by check, please send to:

Christ Memorial Episcopal Church,

P.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!

PASSING THE PLATE

PAYPAL

http://www.christmemorialkauai.org/radicalgiving.html

SUNDAY SCHOOL

Sunday school will be held at 8:00 a.m. in the Parish Hall across from Christ Memorial with beloved teachers Leona and Keana.

Masks are required.

Aloha ke akua.

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?

Click 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

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: Bill, Janice, Marilyn, Webb, David, Linda, David, Satya, Penny, Scott, Gordon, Suzanne, KB, Kim Edge, Helen, Noah, Hal, Huy and the Nguyen family, the Oliveria family, and the Hanchett family.We pray for the people of Ukraine. We pray that you will bring people together in worship. Enliven your church and bless Michael our musician, our clergy and lay leadership. We pray for our sibling Episcopal congregations on Kauai: St John and St Paul, West Kauai, St Michael & All Angels, Lihue and All Saints, Kapaa; and for all churches on the North Shore. We pray for our own congregation of Christ Memorial, Kilauea for those present, online and absent - that all of us together may be united in your ministry.

ONGOING ACTIVITIES

Thrift Store Hours :

Monday 2:00 pm -5:00 pm

Tuesday 2:00 pm -5:00 pm

Wednesday 9:30 am -12:30 pm

Thursday 2:00 pm -5:00 pm

Friday 2:00 pm -5:00 pm

Saturday 9:30 am -3:00 pm

Donations Accepted:

Monday 2:00 - 5:00 pm

Wednesday 9:30 am – 12:30 pm

Saturday 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm

For a safe shopping experience, we can only allow 8 shoppers in the store at any time.

All must wear masks and use hand sanitizer.

VISIT THE THRIFT STORE WEBSITE

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.

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.