Are you serving this Sunday? Would you be interested in reading at either service (zoom or in person)? You can view what positions are

available here

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.

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Join our teaching series Thursdays at 9:00 am with The Rev. Lowell E. Grisham. The book of conversation and study will be “The Road to Character” by David Brooks.

Note: If you ever lose connection with Zoom, just go back to the Christ Memorial home page and click "Connect to Sunday Worship."

More about the book 'The Road to Character'

What are the great virtues that exist at the core of our being? -- kindness, bravery, honesty, faithfulness. With a journalist's eye, David Brooks tells stories of great champions of character. 

The Road to Character was a 2015 NY Times #1 Bestseller

Friend in Christ, 

A devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck southeast Turkey and northern Syria Monday. The reported death toll is over 11,000 and climbing after thousands of buildings crumbled, burying civilians beneath the rubble. At least 78 massive aftershocks have already been reported, and more are expected in the coming days. As we help affected communities, we are urgently asking for your support. 

Your gift today will help us act quickly to support established relief programs in areas hardest hit, as we have extensive experience preparing for and responding to disasters.

Right now, communities are still in the rescue phase. Teams are assessing the damage — and while it will surely be weeks until we know the full extent of the crisis, our plans to work with networks of relief partners through the ACT Alliance in Syria are well underway. Having provided relief for those displaced during the Syrian conflict, our trusted partners are ready and equipped to join our ground response as swiftly as possible. And after assessments take place in Turkey, we are well poised to provide immediate relief as soon as we know what is most needed. 

I hope you feel called to make an urgent donation today. Your gift will help provide immediate assistance — bringing relief and comfort to those impacted by the earthquake. 

Thank you in advance for your compassion, and for praying for those affected.

Yours faithfully,

Robert W. Radtke 

President & CEO 

Episcopal Relief & Development

For the second year in a row, the Diocese of Hawai'i will be holding a Prayer Hike concurrently on three islands. This year, family members are invited to join in, so get ready for a great day of hiking, prayer, fun and fellowship! Hikes take place on Saturday, March 25, beginning at 9:00 AM. Hikes should be completed by 1:00 PM. ​​

• O'ahu: Aiea Loop Trail (Leader - Lynea Mitchell)
• Kaua'i: Sleeping Giant (Leader - Rachel Secretario)
• Hawai'i Island: Volcano National Park (Leader - Lindy Marzo)

For more information, visit the Diocesan Youth webpage HERE, or download the flyer including the Prayer Hike Guide HERE, then register HERE. Be sure to complete the Waiver/Release form HERE and bring it with you.

With the recent rebuilding of their pipe organ, All Saints' in Kapa'a has begun hosting the Makana Mele Concert series featuring renowned organists from around the world.

Upcoming Makana Mele events:

March 16th, 2023 at 6PM, All Saints’ Church in conjunction with the AGO, Hawaii Chapter, presents organist Caroline Robinson. Find more about this incredible performer here. 

April 15th, 2023 at 6PM, local musician Daniel Welch presents a benefit concert for the Wilcox/Sloggett 'Ohana Organ. Daniel has been studying organ with Oahu organist Kathy Crosier. Come support our pipe organ and see how we are reaching young musicians with the gift of pipe organ music. 

CHOOSING LIFE BY GRACE

by: Leslie Scoopmire

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

For the first fourteen years of my teaching career, I taught 7th graders in middle school. I honestly loved most of it—even the dreaded “advisement” or “homeroom” class. One year, a teacher cohort designed some modules that taught logic and ethics, and those modules generated some of the best discussions I ever had outside of a reading class with that age of students. 

I still remember this discussion once when one of the kids asked whether, if you were forced to choose only one, would you rather be especially kind or especially intelligent. It was a great discussion—one that lasted most of the week. 

I was surprised that—by a wide margin– most of my students chose being kind over having “high intelligence.” The consensus eventually was that you can overcome having high academic aptitude by hard work, but there was no shortcut to kindness. 

One of my students put it something like this: If one life is all we get, then we should live it in a way that our consciences are clean, and we have the comfort of knowing we are trying to be good people who don’t try to hurt anyone. Even if “jerks” seem to get away with murder, the fact is that there is usually hurt behind their meanness, and that’s the real waste of a life. Without knowing it, she was describing the embodiment of grace.

This assessment came from a twelve-year-old. And to think, some people believe middle schoolers are incapable of anything but emotional neediness. So wrong.

In our reading from Deuteronomy this Sunday, Moses is making plain the importance of choices and understanding the consequences of our decisions to this Israelites. Here, Moses reminds the Israelites that they have entered a covenantal relationship with God, and that entails blessings for obedience, but curses for faithlessness.

The choice before all of us, as Deuteronomy dramatically puts it, is that between death and life. This can be interpreted in a variety of ways. In the hands of preachers of my youth, this was part of what was known as “retribution theology,” where sin led inevitably to hell after death. Our relationship with God was based on a simple sort of justice: do good- receive heaven; do bad-receive hell. Then there would inevitably lead to a long list of “don’ts”—don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t swear, don’t wear slacks (for the ladies), don’t read Catcher in the Rye, don’t watch The Life of Brian—all would lead to damnation. Punishment awaited the slightest misstep. Yet misstep we did. The problem is that this system is simple, and God is not simple. This system has no place for grace. None of us are perfect. Yet, through grace, God loves us anyway.

As mature persons of faith, we are invited into the reality that being a faithful person is worthwhile even if hard times befall you, because being a faithful person who lives a compassionate, open-hearted life is not just a reward but a life-giving gift. Choosing life means this: love God, walk in God’s ways, observe God’s commandments. And always, always be kind.

Check out the latest news from the Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i here

Helen Mitsui Shared Blessings Thrift Shop in Kilauea is seeking Volunteers for 2023.

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!

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: Rosie, Sherry, Webb, David, Linda, David, Helen, Mary, Sandy, Bev, Jeanne, Chris, Carole, Elizabeth, Robert, Justin, Mike, Tony, Anthony, Carla and her family, the Duncan family, and for the leadership and 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 Pauls, St Michael & All Angels, and All Saints, 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. 

THRIFT SHOP MISSION STATEMENT:

Our goal is to provide our community with reasonably priced, quality merchandise. We will reuse, repurpose and recycle goods and keep as much as possible out of the landfill in an effort to help Kauai and our planet toward Zero Waste. Above all we will show compassion, kindness and tolerance to each other and our community.