Church Newsletter for the week of March 27: ❤️ Teaching Series, House of Bishops Meeting, Random Acts of Kindness, Community Food Resources, Reflections on the Fig Tree 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

CAUGHT! RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

Following the service of their loved one, Daniel "Danny" Oliveira (pictured left), a group of teenagers were seen placing flower arrangements at the gravestones on the Christ Memorial grounds.

How nice to catch teens in acts of kindness! Thank you for this sweet gesture.

AT SPRING MEETING, HOUSE OF BISHOPS SPEAKS ON UKRAINE, ANTI-TRANS BILLS

March 22, 2022

Office of Public Affairs

In its first in-person assembly since September of 2019, The Episcopal Church House of Bishops gathered March 15-21 at Camp Allen in Navasota, Texas, for its traditional spring retreat. In addition to their primary activities of fellowship, study, prayer, and Sabbath, the 133 bishops and bishops-elect present held a business meeting the morning of March 19 that included the passage of pastoral statements/resolutions on the war in Ukraine and anti-trans legislation in various states.

The Rt. Rev. Marc Andrus, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California, introduced the statement on Ukraine on behalf of the Rt. Rev. Mark Edington, bishop in charge of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, whose arrival at the gathering was delayed due to supporting churches in the region serving an influx of Ukrainian refugees.

The Statement follow an Executive Council resolution from January 2022 expressing grave concern about escalating tensions between Ukraine and Russia and speaks to the current moment, identifying “a direct link between our baptismal covenant to respect the dignity of all people in Christ and the demand to respect the will of nations to determine their own destiny—the rule of jus cogens, in international law—when expressed freely in the ballot box.”

The bishops denounced Russian attacks on civilians, including “civilian residences, medical facilities, even agreed corridors for the humanitarian withdrawal of civilians in areas of combat,” and described these actions as a flagrant breach of international norms.

Turning to other recent events, the bishops acknowledged, in a pastoral statement/resolution, the context of meeting in Texas three weeks after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called upon citizens to report parents pursuing gender-affirming medical care for their transgender children. The Rt. Rev. Kai Ryan, bishop suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, introduced the statement, and the bishops debated at some length whether to name specific states proposing anti-trans legislation or to cast broadly in anticipation of likely future bills. The Rt. Rev. Andrew Doyle, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, urged the group to consider the importance of naming specific instances of bigotry and mentioned the support he personally felt in recent weeks knowing The Episcopal Church stands up for the protection and inclusion of transgender people.

The bishops unanimously affirmed this perspective in their resolution, which further states: “[We] voice love and continued support for all persons who identify as transgender or non-binary and their families. We decry legislative initiatives and governmental actions targeting trans children and their families. We urge all in our church to create safe spaces and shield all people from harassment based on gender identity.”

Several bishops spoke as parents and grandparents of trans and non-binary children in affirming their support for the statement.

Heading into The Episcopal Church’s 80th General Convention in July 2022, the House of Bishops will include 39 new voting members since the 79th General Convention in 2018, and the bishops were introduced to a legislation-tracking spreadsheet tool to assist in their committee processes. The Rt. Rev. John Taylor, bishop of Los Angeles, introduced a pastoral letter in response to B003—a 2018 resolution on Jerusalem—that focuses on the hope of the holy city as well as possible new coalitions and partnerships in the region with whom the church may continue to work for peace and reconciliation.

The House of Bishops Committee on Resignations also presented and passed a proposal to re-admit the Rt. Rev. Whayne Hougland, former bishop of the dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan, as a non-voting member of the house. The Rt. Rev. Todd Ousley, bishop for pastoral development, praised this moment of reconciliation as an example of “living into the highest ideals of our Title IV process.”

On Sunday, March 20, the House of Bishops changed gears from originally planned programming when guest speaker Pádraig Ó Tuama was unable to attend due to a personal emergency. Five bishops from the dioceses of Olympia, Maryland, Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York, Colombia, and South Carolina offered a variety of stories from their dioceses of the difficult, painful—but essential—work of truth and reconciliation.

Lambeth Conference, a once-a-decade gathering of bishops from across the Anglican Communion, will be held July 26 to Aug. 8 in Canterbury, and the Episcopal bishops discussed their anticipated involvement Monday, March 21, with particular attention to logistics and some discussion of objectives.

READ MORE ABOUT THE HOUSE OF BISHOPS

COMMUNITY RESOURCES: FREE PRODUCE BAG FOR THOSE THAT TAKE THE SURVEY

LEARN MORE

TOMORROW! YOUTH PRAYER HIKE: SLEEPING GIANT

Diocesan Youth Ministry - Hawaii

TOMORROW! March 26, 2022

9:00am-2:00pm

All Youth (grades 6-12) are invited to participate in one of our Diocesan Youth Ministry-sponsored Prayer Hikes scheduled to be held on March 26, 2022. These hikes will be our first events to host since the COVID pandemic began 2 years ago!

We are so excited for our Youth to be able

to gather together safely for an outdoor event!

Prayer Hikes will be offered on three of

our islands (O‘ahu, Kauai, and Hawaii Island).

All three hikes will begin at 9:00 am and end at 2:00 pm.

Cost: Free

Things to bring:

Hiking/Sturdy Closed-Toe Shoes (no slippers)

Cell Phone

Small Backpack

Water Bottle

Sunscreen

Lunch/Snacks

Kauai Hike

Sleeping Giant (West Trailhead)

5711 Lokelani Rd, Kapa‘a, HI

Hike Leaders:

Rachel Secretario

rachelsecretario@gmail.com

Rev. David Jackson

rector@allsaintskauai.org

REFLECTIONS ON THE FIG TREE FROM

SUZANNE KOBAYASHI

In the first part of our gospel reading this morning, Jesus brings up two local recent events that were known to him and to the people he was talking to. One was caused by a well known ruthless political leader, Pilate (whom we will hear more about soon) and the other perhaps an accident of nature, a tremor shaking the foundation of one of the towers in the walls of Jerusalem. These events are lost to us in history from other sources since they were small local events in the scheme of history, but they were fresh well-known events to Jesus and the crowd. Since Jesus was from Galilei, the slaughtering of these Galileans meant Jesus and his listeners likely knew some of the folks involved.

In both cases, Jesus tells us that these folks were not to blame for their fates. "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way, they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; … Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them--do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you;…”

This is a very different thought than that presented in the Old Testament reading and the epistle referring to an Old Testament event. The thought in Jesus’s time was that people were struck down as punishment for their sins. Jesus clearly says no, this is not the case. But he is giving recent examples of people being killed unexpectedly. Life is precarious and fragile. It’s just a fact. Jesus is not interested in whose fault these tragedies are. Then, as today, in the Ukraine innocent people are losing their lives without warning, the recent pandemic took hundreds of thousands of lives. These folks are not any worse sinners than you and I. We would have a hard time believing all these people died by the rath of God. These things may be deemed out of our control, some are and some aren’t but no amount of debate helps us to get on with things we can influence.

But the immediacy of the recent events should shake people, wake people up with a sense of urgency, but the urgency to do what?

In each case, Jesus continues by saying “but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did." Repent! It is such a good Lent word! Turns out Luke, who is thought to have been a physician and is the evangelist who champions women and features social justice causes more the other gospels, uses the word “repent” twice as often as the other gospels combined. So what does repent actually mean? When I looked it up online, it said “feel or express sincere regret or remorse about one's wrongdoing or sin.” This definition pretty much sums up the big “Repent” sign held by a guy on the corner of a busy downtown intersection, the message of John the Baptist and matches what I was taught as a kid and maybe you were taught that too. Some folks have sinned so deliberately and egregiously they really have sincere remorse for the harm they have caused. Most folks though - have sinned more by not doing, than doing. Wherever we are on that scale, admitting we’ve done wrong, and being truly sorry is a beginning, but just the beginning. The Greek word metanoeo, and Hebrew word teshuvah, are translated as “repent” in the New Testament have a different shade of meaning than simply acknowledging and being sorry for our wrongs. The emphasis is more on changing course towards good rather than simply turning away from a less desirable course. It means changing our trajectory toward God which enables us through grace to change our actions. This definition really flows with Luke who emphasizes our call to care for our brethren. Jesus, however, does not get into semantics or definitions to explain repentance or perishing. He uses a parable.

The fig tree is in the garden to bear fruit. This tree has been growing for three years, so it is thriving. It may look good, but it has borne no fruit. The owner has no use for this tree since the intended purpose was fruit, so he tells the gardener to cut it down. It has lived, but if it is cut down today, it was a wasted life if judged by the fruit it gave. It will perish without ever accomplishing its purpose. Could we be the fig tree? We follow the laws, we don’t set out to hurt anyone. We grow to conform to our society. We’re nice people, we appear good, we might even go to church, and make donations if it is easy, but where is our fruit? What is our fruit? Since the ax can fall any time, the pity is not that we die, for we surely all will die: but to perish, for to perish is to have wasted our life.

Now, enter the gardener who stays the owner’s hand. Who is this gardener who has hope for us, who is willing to nourish and tend us? Who makes his life’s work our hope, sparing us from perishing? Who is willing to give us what we need to produce fruit should we choose to feed on his food to not just thrive, but to produce fruit? My guess is Jesus himself may be this gardener, his life, teachings and the scriptures the fertilizer. Talk about Miracle Grow! When we feed on Jesus’s teachings, we blossom in love. When we blossom in love, we produce the fruit of love. What is this fruit of love? We actually give of ourselves to feed another. We put our time, our energy and life force into giving of ourselves to feed the hungry, heal the sick, house the homeless. We become the gardener to other trees that they might blossom and grow. We raise our branches with our leaves and fruit shimmering in the wind to praise our God, celebrating our gift of life.

With repentance, we don’t simply accept the fertilizer, we reach for it when the ground is broken around us. When we are disturbed by life’s events, even when we feel vulnerable, with God as our focus, the water of life, love, can nourish our soul. We then can send down roots into the broken patches of our life so that we search out spiritual food and draw it into ourselves. Bearing fruit takes time, our energy and trust. We allow the trimming of dead branches that sap our strength and time. The pruning comes after the cold and before the replenishing rain, before the gardener breaks up the ground and fertilizes. For us, this time is Lent. Are we expending energy on things that sap our strength and time? If we prune that non-producing branch, our energy will flow into our fruit bearing branches.

Repent, change course. Let us turn our focus from merely thriving like the fig tree in the parable. Let us turn to God, and gladly bear the fruit of love, hope, and faith in the shape of caring for our ourselves and each other. Let us be sustained by God’s spiritual food for us. Let us check the shape of our tree to see if we are growing as God desires us to grow. Let us prune and bear fruit.

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.

THRIFT STORE IS OPEN

Shopping 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

Please wear a mask

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: Jo Anne Bell, 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

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.