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.

  _______________________________________________

Join us Christmas eve at 9:00 pm or Christmas Day at 9:30 am

for worship! Our Christmas Day service will also

be available via zoom.

In preparation for our next teaching series starting on Thursday January 12 at 9:00 am with The Rev. Lowell E. Grisham, we wanted to let those of you interested ahead of time that the book of conversation and study will be “The Road to Character” by David Brooks.

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. 

For the first discussion, the Intro to p. 47. will be covered.

Dear Friends of Christ Memorial,  

2022 is almost over and a new church year will begin with Advent, a much anticipated and beautiful church season. While we are still contending with Covid in its many forms we have continued to pursue our hopes, dreams and goals for our church this past year.  

BUILDING A NEW VICARAGE continues to be one of our major projects. It is critical that we provide a stable living environment for clergy as it is very difficult to find a place to live on Kauai. Those who own property are offering it for short term/vacation rentals and long term housing is simply not available. Our 2 bedroom, 2 bath vicarage will be on our church property next to the sanctuary. The septic system has been installed and we are still on schedule to have a completed vicarage during the summer of 2023.  

OUR CLERGY IN RESIDENCE PROGRAM continues to be successful. During 2022 we have had wonderful clergy leading us. They have provided beautiful worship services, and a weekly book/bible study series which has been a blessing and spiritual growth opportunity for us all.  

OUR PROCESS TO FIND A FULL TIME PRIEST is well under way. While we have loved our Clergy in Residence program we have decided to hire a permanent priest for CMEC. Under the guidance of the diocese we have a Search Committee leading this process. They have just completed a beautiful brochure profiling our church which will be used in our job posting. Our goal is to have a permanent priest by summer of 2023.  

CMEC OUTREACH is alive and well. Our Helen Mitsui Shared Blessings Thrift Shop provides significant opportunities to help our community, the entire north shore of Kauai and our church. Our much loved Helen Mitsui decided (after 35 plus years and at age 96) to retire from the day to day operation of the thrift shop but she is our emeritus director and still gives us advice and counsel from her home. We continue to offer essential goods at a very low price and pass items we can’t sell in our shop to Habitat for Humanity, Salvation Army, YWCA, local schools and other nonprofits on Kauai. Most nonprofits on Kauai have a mission to keep useable items out of the landfill. Our donation site is the largest on the north shore after the transfer station. Our landfill is predicted to be full in 7 years so supporting our environment in this way is critical for us on Kauai.  

OUR ZOOM CHURCH FAMILY is still with us. Approximately 12 to 15 people attend our worship service thru zoom each week. We have gotten to know and love some amazing people thru this unexpected worship opportunity. A great example of something negative (COVID) turning into something wonderful (OUR ZOOM CHURCH FAMILY). Seasonal members as well as vacationers join us regularly. All are welcome to join by going to our website christmemorialkauai.org, 

scrolling down to Connect to Sunday Worship and clicking on. Our Zoom service is at 9:30 am. You may also access the bulletin from the website.  

Mahalo to all who support Christ Memorial by giving their time, talent and treasure. We are a small congregation but we have a big heart for helping our community. We are looking forward to 2023 and ask that you pray for us as we build our vicarage and seek God’s will for a new spiritual leader for our church. 

Some of the things for which we need funding are ongoing maintenance of our grounds and buildings, furnishings and appliances for our new vicarage and continual expenses to keep the thrift shop in business. Your donation to Christ Memorial will help us continue and expand our mission to represent Christ here on the north shore of Kauai. Any support you can give will be sincerely appreciated by all your Christ Memorial Family. 

Wishing you a joyful Christmas as we celebrate Jesus’ birth.  

Blessings, 

Rebecca Hullum 

Bishop’s Warden 

on behalf of the Bishop’s Committee of CMEC 

Engaging the Word: Approaching the Bible with skepticism and devotion  

November 3 to December 22 

Join us on Thursday mornings at 9 AM on zoom as we explore the Book that is at the heart of our Judeo-Christian heritage and the center of our Anglican tripod of “Scripture, Tradition, and Reason.” Why do we read the Bible? What has been and is the role of interpretation? Do different translations lead to different understandings? Does the Bible have anything to do with my actions, ethics, and politics in the world today?  

We will consider these and other questions in three sessions, then take a break on Thanksgiving Day, and return to look at the Gospel of Mark, the oldest (and shortest) of the four canonical gospels to see how this early Christian writer influences our understanding of how God works in our lives right now. 

To access this class please go to our CMEC website at christmemorialkauai.org, scroll down to “connect to Sunday Worship" and click. 

Christ Memorial Episcopal Church in Kilauea is now receiving names for a full-time Vicar, through December 31, 2022. We are currently building a vicarage on campus that should be completed by summer 2023. For more information and to view the church profile, visit the Diocesan website HERE.

October 16, 2022

An Update from The Search Committee

We have exciting news! The Christ Memorial Episcopal Church Profile and Office of Transition Ministry questionnaire were completed and accepted by the Bishops Committee and the Diocese October 7! This paves the way for the posting of our Vicar position in the Diocesan Website, Province 8 and National Transition Minister Groups, and Episcopal News Service . It is estimated that 100,000 clergy

and lay ministers, administrators and other active and involved Christians will become aware of our Vicar position opening!

Applicants will be accepted until December 31, 2022 and then the Search Committee and Bishops Committee will begin the review and evaluation process.

I wish to acknowledge the help and support of the Search Committee members who have contributed to this progress through their prayers and support: Judy Wakumoto, Carolyn Lauro and especially Branch

and Melody Lotspeich.

Chair, Dale Sands

A prayer for transition:

Almighty God, look graciously on the people of Christ Memorial Episcopal Church. Be with us and lead us as we seek a priest for our church. We ask your direction and guidance for those who shall recommend and choose our new spiritual leader, that we may receive a faithful pastor who will care for your people and equip us for our ministries. Grant us perception, faithfulness, patience and joy, so that we may hear your voice in all our deliberations. Grant us also the desire and the ability to truly hear each other and those who have entrusted us with this process. Give us courage to respond and act as you lead us. We pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Christmas gifts, decorations and cheer, can all be found at The Helen Mitsui Shared Blessings Thrift Shop! We have an entire room dedicated to the Christmas season so be sure to stop by and find some treasures or essentials to suit your gift-giving and decor needs. Mahalo nui loa to all of the amazing volunteers that make the Thrift Shop what it is.

The Season of Advent offically started on Sunday, November 27. The Episcopal Church offers a variety of Advent resources that can be found HERE, including a daily video collect. Quick links to some are shown below, and further below are additional resources:

• Journeying the Way of Love Advent Curriculum
• Prophetic Voices: Teaching and Preaching Beloved Community
• Episcopal Migration Ministries:Las Posadas
• Digital Invitation Kit

Godly Play: Advent Reflection



As we enter our journey to the Mystery of Christmas, we are preparing for the child who is coming. But who is this child? This Advent reflection, The Child Who is Coming, invites us to center our Advent journey in smallness. Click on the image or HERE to view the video reflection.

Advent Sermons from the Monks of Saint John the Evangelist



The Brothers of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist (SSJE) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, are providing a series of recorded sermons for congregations this Advent season. The free sermon resource can be used in a service where a preacher may not be available. The videos can also be used as an adult forum resource. To register to receive the sermons and reflection questions, click HERE. For more information, click HERE.

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

TIPS FROM LOT'S LIST - "Traveling by Air? Travel less, Zoom or Face Time more. Pack lightly. Don’t pack in anticipation of emergencies."

THE PRAYER OF DAVID

by Peter Levenstrong

Then King David went in and sat before the Lord, and said, “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord God; you have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come. May this be instruction for the people, O Lord God! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord God! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have wrought all this greatness, so that your servant may know it. Therefore you are great, O Lord God; for there is no one like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

God has just established David’s dynasty as an everlasting monarchy over the people of Israel, God’s people, and David has a lot to say about it. If I were to find myself in the midst of just such a moment, I imagine I would be speechless. David, the “traditional” author of many psalms, is not mute. Instead, he launches into prayer, praising and extolling God for how glorious God is, and for the great things God has done for him. Reading David’s prayer, I notice how it sounds a bit evangelical … 

“Lord, I just… I just want to thank you… for being so good to me, Lord. Lord, you are so good, and I just… I just want to make your name known, I just want to praise you, I just…” And so on and so forth. 

For myself as someone who is more comfortable in Episcopal or other mainline Protestant circles, this passionate and extemporaneous style of prayer feels a bit strained, showy, or even off-putting. For many Christians, though, it is a typical pattern – so much so, that, as I just did, it is easy to poke fun at it. 

Even if all of the above is true, there remains an important aspect of this type of prayer that is worth considering: it cuts to the heart, and reaches the emotions in ways that we Episcopalians find both unfamiliar and uncomfortable.  

Yes, the poetic verse of the Book of Common Prayer is beautiful and to be treasured; but there’s nothing to compare with the spontaneous praise and showering of gratitude that we experience in David’s prayer, and the prayer of our Christian siblings in less bookish liturgical cultures. I say this as a priest who’s also (I’m shy to admit) deathly afraid of extemporaneous public speaking (which probably played some role in my decision to become Episcopalian!). I admire and are even envious of those to whom the Spirit comes quickly and guides their tongue!

The good news is that, in order for our prayers to connect our hearts’ longing with that of God, all we have to do is be authentic. God doesn’t care about how charismatic you are; that is a skill that is useful for communicating with other humans, but not God. All God cares about is that we open our hearts truly, authentically, and without fear. 

Sometimes, written prayers are helpful when you don’t have the words for what you’re going through. But when you do have the words… go ahead and say them.

Peter Levenstrong is Associate Rector at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco. Having grown up non-religious, he enjoys bringing “a fresh pair of eyes” to explore the Christian tradition, and is particularly interested in the intersection of faith and justice. You can find more of his sermons at https://peterlevenstrong.wordpress.com/

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: Webb, David, Linda, David, Helen, Mary, Sandy, Bev, Jeanne, Chris, Carole, Elizabeth, Justin, Mike, Diane, Tony, Margaret, Anthony, Paula, 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.