Volume 6, Issue 1
January 1, 2021
THIS SUNDAY: January 3, 2021
Second Sunday after Christmas

Scripture Readings
ON-SITE CHURCH SERVICES
WITH COMMUNION

8:00AM
Muriel Jackson (EM)*
John Hanaoka (U)
Diane Sato (AG)
Mark Cain (DM)

9:30AM
Mary Margaret Smith (EM)
CeCe Caldwell (U)
Rachel Secretario (LR)
Faith Shiramizu (AG)
Mabel Antonio, Nelson Secretario (HP)
Jan Hashizume, Carolyn Morinishi (DM)

Live Stream
9:30AM on our home page, YouTube, or Facebook accounts
@allsaintskauai

* EM - Eucharistic Minister; U - Usher; LR - Lay Reader; AG - Altar Guild; HP - Healing Prayers; DM - Digital Ministry
UPCOMING EVENTS
ON-SITE CHURCH SERVICES WITH COMMUNION
8:00AM and 9:30AM

Aloha Hour
Every Sunday
10:45AM - 12:00PM
Tent

Monday Crew
Every Monday
8:00AM
Church Office

Ke Akua Youth Group Meeting
Wednesday, January 6th
5:00 - 6:00PM
Zoom meeting
Those who are interested in the Ke Akua Youth Group Meeting may contact Cami at Cami@allsaintskauai.org for login information.

Facebook Live Compline Service
Thursday, January 7th
8:00 - 9:00PM
Episcopal Youth of Hawai`i Facebook Page


For the aged and infirm, for the widowed and orphans, and for the sick and the suffering, especially Renee, Donavan, Kul, Uncle Nathan, Ken, and those we name silently or aloud, let us pray to the Lord. ​Lord, have mercy. 

For all who have died, especially those affected by the COVID-19 virus, and those we name silently or aloud, in the hope of the resurrection, and for all the departed, let us pray to the Lord. ​Lord, have mercy. Amen.
GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST HEAVEN
A Savior is Born
The Next Organ Crew Arrives January 4th
Please Donate a Meal for the Organ Crew
Please remember not to enter the sanctuary when delivering meals. 
Leave them on the table provided outside the front door. The crew is working in a COVID restriction bubble which we should not enter. We will have to wait until they are out of quarantine to see the progress they've made and talk story with them. 

The Organ Crew will arrive January 4th to voice (fine tune) the new organ. They will be working long hours, 6 days a week to complete the voicing of the organ. Our congregation will be donating meals for the crew while they’re here. You can sign up to donate lunches or dinners by clicking here: Feed the Crew and filling out the meal donation form to select the meal and your preferred date.

Meal Instructions:
  • Meals may be dropped off at the Church and placed on the table outside the sanctuary.
  • Meals may be dropped off at the Church earlier than the time slot indicated but packaged so they can be refrigerated and eaten later.
  • PLEASE DO NOT ENTER THE SANCTUARY.

Crew #2: 1/4/20 - 1/16/21
  • Please prepare and drop off 2 meals per time slot
Reflections from Kahu Kawika
Oh, There’s No Place Like ‘Home’ for the Holidays
Christmas Eve & Day 2020 Year B
Luke 2:1-20
Isaiah 9:2-7
24-25 December 2020
All Saints’ Kapaa


There’s been one radio station here on the island that has had Christmas music playing from even before November 15th, and one of the songs that keeps coming up is Perry Como’s, “Oh, There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays.” This song evokes images of falling snow, rustic roads, and roaring fireplaces with Christmas stockings hanging nearby.

Of course, all these wintry images might be a bit jarring in their juxtaposition with living on a tropical island in the middle of the Pacific. Depends on our definition of “home,” which doesn’t depend on wintry conditions but rather on how we spend our time with God and with each other to honor the birth of the Christ Child.

Home, in fact, is more of a resting place. It kind of reminds me of the childhood game of “Tag,” the object of which is to avoid getting tagged by whomever is “It” and instead to run to the safe harbor of “home”: a tree, a fixture on the ground, or whatever. Home represents the shelter from the storms of life.

In our Gospel reading from Luke, we find this desire to “get home” at the heart of one of the stories we associate with the Christmas season (only Luke and Matthew have stories to do with Jesus’ birth; Mark and John do not). In a style of writing reminiscent of “Once upon a time, …”, Luke the writer cleverly narrows down the focus from the powerful rulers governing the Holy Land at the time like Augustus Caesar and Quirinius the Governor of the region of Syria, to Joseph, Mary, the baby Jesus, and shepherds who would leave their watch of flocks in order to pay homage to the new boy King. At a time when these powerful rulers held sway, the story instead focuses on a young family who would seem rather insignificant to the powers that be. But with hindsight we know that God works through what seems negligent in the world’s eyes, to do mighty and wonderful things.

Luke’s focus is on this young family who had to uproot from their northern hometown of Nazareth in order to travel about 100 miles on foot and on donkey to get to Joseph’s ancestral town or origin, his ancestor King David’s hometown of Bethlehem in the south of the Holy Land and just six miles to the south of Jerusalem. They are searching for a new “home” to welcome the birth of God’s Messiah, come to save the whole world and whose light would come to dispel the world’s darkness. But they come in what I would imagine to be a rather harried state: Again, they have to make a long trip away from their hometown and relatives just to fulfill the whims of a Caesar back in Rome – probably to make tax assessments of families as well as to get an idea of how many Roman troops to deploy in different areas. 

Mary herself has a hard-to-explain pregnancy (“God is the Daddy!”) that no doubt resulted in some social shunning of her and of Joseph. And soon, they would end up as foreign refugees fleeing to Egypt from King Herod, who feels threatened by an infant boy king and thus wants to kill him – and is more than willing to threaten other boys of a similar age as well, just to make sure. 

The overwhelming sense I get from Luke’s Christmas story is that the Holy Family wants to come “home,” safe from the potential dangers around them. The Christmas message for us, in our own time, place, and circumstances, is that God is calling us “home” as well – home from the health and financial worries around the pandemic, home from the myriad of things that pull for our attention, home from the restlessness of the world to the rest we can only find in Jesus and in his love for us. If this holiday season we are also feeling a bit at sea, tossed about by waves of uncertainty and perplexity, then we are in good company.

At the end of our story from Luke, we come across something striking: “Mary treasured all these words, and pondered them in her heart.” It suggests both that Mary has reached a place of complete peace and trust in a God who has big plans for her baby, as well as maybe the realization that with those big plans will come big challenges and responsibilities – literally the weight of the whole world on his shoulders as he eventually offers his own life out of his love for God and for us.

As many things in our world want to tag us as “It,” we have the assurance that God is bringing us home – both to a space of peace in our lives now as well as ultimately to the unspeakable joys of Heaven in the next Life. Just as God rewarded Jesus for his faithfulness and self-sacrifice, God will do the same for us who walk in Christ’s footsteps. God’s word to us this Christmas night: “Welcome Home!” Amen.
2021 Pledge Envelopes Now Available
The boxes of pledge envelopes for 2021 will be available before and after services on the table outside the sanctuary. If you want to pick up your envelopes at the church office during the work week, please call Cami at 808-822-4267 ext 3204 and she will hold them in the office for you. If you need to have the envelopes mailed to you, please contact Cami.
All Saints' Ministries Keep Us Connected
Alter Guild and Digital Ministries Work Behind the Scenes to Bring Worship to All
The coronavirus pandemic has altered our lives in many ways. Worship attendance has been a difficult change for many of us. Many of our kūpuna, front line workers, and families with keiki are trying to minimize their potential exposure to the virus and are spending Sunday mornings at home. We are grateful to many people for making our worship safer in the sanctuary and making service attendance possible for those at home. 

In the sanctuary: The altar guild has become our disinfectant team making sure surfaces are germ free before each service, as well as doing their normal duties involving maintaining the altar. In lieu of paper service programs, we have video monitors in the sanctuary on which the programs are displayed. David Crocker installed the monitors. Our own Kahu Kawika creates both the service slides and the downloadable service document available on the All Saints’ website.

Livestream of services: Before the pandemic few of us were familiar with Zoom meetings and live-streaming events. We are fortunate to have people in our congregation familiar with the technology that now has such a prominent place in our lives. Junior Warden Ron Morinishi spearheaded the effort to give access to services to our parishioners at home as well as run the PowerPoint slide presentation in the sanctuary. Ron now has a dedicated crew who run the camera for the livestream of the service and who run the PowerPoint slide presentation during the service. This group includes Carolyn Morinishi, Ron Morinishi, Jan Hashizume, David and Linda Crocker, Muriel Jackson, Cami Baldovino, Curtis Shiramizu, and 
Mark Cain.

Please join us in thanking all of the dedicated All Saints’ O`hana who make our ability to worship a possibility. The All Saints’ O`hana reaches far beyond Kauai’s shores. We are all staying connected through the efforts of this stellar group. Mahalo nui loa for all of your hard work.
Sign Up for 2021 Altar Flower Donations Now
Donation Forms Available Online or at Church 
Ever wonder where all our beautiful altar flowers come from each Sunday? 

Our flowers are lovingly arranged by Mrs.Tanaka or by JC Flowers. These flowers were all donated by members of the congregation. To participate with a donation in 2021 and for more information, click here: Altar flowers, or sign up on the form outside Memorial Hall before or after services.


Sunday School Update
In-Person Classes Postponed
There has been a change in plans for Sunday School beginning in January, 2021. Many of our families and teacher volunteers are opting for livestreaming services from home. Rather than in-person Sunday School, we will return to providing worksheets for keiki who attend services in the sanctuary. They will be on the Welcome Table outside the sanctuary each Sunday. We will continue to post any Sunday School updates in The Epistle.
From the Bishop: The Reverend Naim Stifan Ateek
December 27, 2020
The Reverend Naim Stifan Ateek will be instituted as an Honorary Canon of the Cathedral of St. Andrew, Honolulu, Episcopal Diocese of Hawaiʻi, on the Second Sunday of Christmas, January 3, 2021, during the Cathedral’s 10:00 AM liturgy. He will be joining the liturgy virtually from Texas. He is a priest of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the founder of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem. He has been an active leader in the shaping of the Palestinian liberation theology. Canon Ateek was to have been with us to speak and to be instituted as an Honorary Canon earlier in 2020. This was forestalled by the pandemic. This is our opportunity to honor his witness to the non-violent struggle for justice and reconciliation in Palestine/Israel.

You are welcome to join the service online at facebook.com/thecathedralofstandrew/videos. A Facebook account is not needed to access a service live and to view videos of previously recorded Cathedral services.

In preparation for the institution of our new Honorary Canon, I urge all Episcopalians in the Diocese to review the websites of the Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) and the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (AFEDJ). I also hope you will consider joining or making donations to FOSNA and AFEDJ.

Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA) is a nonprofit, tax-exempt Christian ecumenical organization seeking justice and peace in the Holy Land through nonviolent advocacy and education. Sabeel is an international peace movement initiated by Palestinian Christians, who seek a just peace as defined by international law and existing United Nations resolutions.

American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (AFEDJ) is a nonpolitical, nonsectarian 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to raising financial support for schools, hospitals, centers for children with disabilities and other humanitarian institutions owned and operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem in Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon. These institutions serve everyone, irrespective of their religion, ethnicity or ability to pay. They build hope for all in the Holy Land. The Christian values of equity, justice, and respect for the dignity of all are at the heart of our efforts.

I also encourage you to read Canon Ateek’s most recent book: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation: The Bible, Justice, and the Palestine-Israel Conflict (Orbis Books, 2017).
With my prayers for peace and justice this Christmas season, I am yours faithfully,

+Bob

The Right Reverend Robert L. Fitzpatrick,
Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawai`i
Ongoing Phishing Scams
December 26, 2020
It appears that email phishing scams have been more prevalent during the holidays, and we want to remind everyone to be wary of any emails that ask for money, gift cards, personal information, etc. Another email circulating under the Bishop's name uses a gmail account (bishopfitzpatrickrobert@gmail.com), but there are others. Whenever in doubt, always contact the sender directly for confirmation and do not click on any links within the questionable email.

If you believe you have received one of these fake emails, report it to Google here: https://support.google.com/mail/answer/8253?hl=en
May God fill your life with love, joy and peace this Holiday Season and throughout the New Year.
SUMMER CAMP DATES ANNOUNCED

Camp is happy to announce that we have our dates for our 2021 Summer Camp! In addition to the day camps offered on Oahu, we will also be offering day camps on 3 of our neighboring islands, as well as our first summer Family Camp experience.

June 6-11
Elementary #1
Middle School #1
Senior High #1

June 14-18
Day Camp #1 St. Andrews Cathedral (Oahu)
Day Camp #2 Church of the Holy Apostles (Big Island) 

June 21-25
Day Camp #3 Epiphany Episcopal Church (Oahu) 
Day Camp #4 All Saints' Episcopal Church (Kaua`i)

July 5-9
Day Camp #5 TBD (Oahu)
Day Camp #6 Good Shepherd Episcopal Church (Maui)

July 11-13
Mini-Camp #1
Elementary #2 

July 15-18
Family Camp #1

July 18-23
Elementary #3
Middle School #2

SUMMER CAMP REGISTRATION WILL OPEN ON JANUARY 18, 2021!

Click HERE to learn more about Camp Mokule`ia.
Pittsburgh Parish Marks its Role in Radio History

Posted Dec 30, 2020
[Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh] It was the first Sunday in 1921. While Pittsburgh’s Calvary Episcopal Church started its day in typical fashion with Holy Communion and Morning Prayer, it would later hold an evening service unlike anything that had ever taken place before.
A section of the January 2, 1921, bulletin of Calvary Episcopal Church, Pittsburgh. The service was the first-ever to be broadcast on the brand new medium of radio.
“An interesting arrangement has been made for tonight’s service,” Calvary’s then rector, the Rev. Edwin Jan van Etten, wrote in the parish bulletin. He noted that the International Radio Company (part of Westinghouse Electric) had installed wireless equipment in the church, and that the hymns and sermon to be preached by his associate, the Rev. Lewis Bliss Whittemore, would be “flashed for a radius of more than a thousand miles through space!”

Thus, Calvary came to host and officiate the first religious service ever broadcast to the world.

Westinghouse’s KDKA radio station had just become the first in the country to begin broadcasting a mere two months earlier. And it had never originated a program outside of its own studios until that night at Calvary.

Calvary’s weekly presence on KDKA would last for more than 40 years. The station’s “clear-channel” license allowed it to broadcast at 50,000 watts on a frequency that was not shared with any other station. That meant its programs could be heard in much of the eastern and central United States, and if atmospheric conditions were right, well beyond.

Calvary’s national prominence grew, as did the profiles of its clergy. Whittemore would later become Bishop of Western Michigan. Van Etten headed to Boston to serve as dean of the cathedral. He was succeeded by the Rev. Arthur Kinsolving, himself a former dean and future bishop. Calvary would attract rectors from the likes of the Rev. Sam Shoemaker, who helped established Alcoholics Anonymous, and in more recent times, the Rev. Dr. Harold T. Lewis. The current rector, the Rev. Jonathon W. Jensen, was the dean of Trinity Cathedral in Little Rock.

Notable guests would also grace Calvary’s pulpit over the years. The church has hosted several presiding bishops, former Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, and the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu of South Africa.

On Sunday, Jan. 3, 2021 – exactly one hundred years plus one day after that groundbreaking Evening Prayer – Calvary will commemorate its role in broadcast history. The 11 a.m. Eucharist will feature the music played during its 1921 inaugural broadcast and Jensen will preach about the anniversary.

Just as it did a century ago, Calvary’s service will go out to the entire world, although this time using the modern technology of live streaming over the Internet. Calvary has been streaming its services and parish life regularly since the onset of the Covid pandemic, and the church is now permanently equipped with five video cameras that are fully integrated with the audio system.

The Jan. 3 commemoration can be accessed through the parish website at www.calvarypgh.org/live or on its Facebook page www.facebook.com/CalvaryEpiscopalChurch.

Additional material, including the full Jan. 2, 1921 service leaflet, appears in the December edition of Calvary’s newsletter, Agape.

FROM THE EPISCOPAL CAFÉ
The Light was Coming into the World

December 27, 2020

Laurie Gudim
Once when I was in my 20s I got lost cross country skiing alone in the Wyoming back country. When night fell and I could no longer see, I burrowed down into the snow, and wrapped myself up in a poncho, to sleep. It was inky dark — no moon — and the stars were bright. I was very frightened. I worried that I would freeze there in the night in the snow and would not even know I was dying. But what else could I do?

The next morning I awoke at dawn. I wiggled my fingers and toes, and relief surged through me as I realized I could still feel everything. Then I just lay in my cocoon and watched as orange light cracked the horizon to the east, and the sky paled. After a while the sun crowned in the blackness between the mountain peaks. A golden light crept across the slope on which I lay, sparking snow crystals into rainbow colors. And I could see. I got up then, fumbled some trail mix from my frozen pack and ate it, wiped the snow from the bottoms of my skis and put them on. It took several long hours, but it was simple after that to find my way home.
The moment when the sun first appeared on that icebox morning in the deep heart of winter has ever since been the image that I hold in my heart when I read the prologue to the Gospel according to John. That light was illumination, beauty and warmth. It was hope after cold and darkness and the fear of death. It was a new beginning.

We’ve placed the birthday of Jesus at midwinter so we can feel viscerally what it means when God squeezes into a human infant and is born into space and time. “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world,” says John. He is speaking of the light of new consciousness, Christ consciousness, a transformative understanding. When we recognize that light it is exactly like morning after a night that we thought would never end.
The beauty of the light that is life is like rainbow snow crystals, and it sets our hearts soaring with joy. “Glory,” says John, and “grace upon grace.” The Word made flesh is not something we can name or explain. Rather it is a relationship that grows throughout our entire lives. It is beauty and hope, and it gives us the warmth and the illumination in which we find our way home.

Once again Christ is born into our world and into our hearts. One more time we reach to feel the understanding that makes our hearts shout for joy. ”No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known,” says John. Amen. Alleluia.

Learn more about Laurie Gugim HERE.
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.
HALE HO`OMALU ACCEPTING DONATIONS
There is an on-going need for travel sized toiletries and canned goods so these items will be accepted every week. As always, monetary donations are gratefully accepted. Leave them in the red wagon outside the sanctuary.

ZONTA OF KAUAI FOUNDATION CHRISTMAS FUND is accepting donations for Christmas 2020. To donate, click here: Zonta Christmas Donation.

KUPUNA SHOPPING ASSISTANCE MINISTRY
Any of our All Saints' kupuna who need assistance with grocery shopping can contact Carolyn Morinishi at church@allsaintskauai.org to set up a delivery.

ALL SAINTS' VIRTUAL SWAP MEET
If any ministry has an unmet need, reach out to put it in the All Saints' Virtual Swap Meet and it will be published in the Epistle. Contact Bill Caldwell at news@allsaintskauai.org.

PASTORAL CARE CONTACT INFORMATION
Whenever you have a need for support, please call (650) 691-8104 and leave a voice mail. The system will immediately forward the information to the Pastoral Care Committee who will respond to each request. If you prefer, you may send an electronic pastoral care request via email to pastoralcare@allsaintskauai.org.

PRAYER CHAIN MINISTRY
Individuals who want to participate in the Prayer Chain Ministry must re-enroll to continue receiving the email communications. To re-enroll, please visit the newly established Pastoral Care web page or contact the Church Office at (808) 822-4267.

SUBMITTING A PRAYER REQUEST
Prayer requests will now be submitted online or by contacting the Church Office at (808) 822-4267.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
Names can be added to the Prayers of the People petitions by using the Prayer Chain Request form or by contacting the Church Office at (808) 822-4267. Names will remain in the Prayers of the People for a maximum of four Sundays before a name must be resubmitted.