Volume 5, Issue 27
July 10, 2020
THIS SUNDAY: July 12, 2020
Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

ON-SITE CHURCH SERVICES WITH COMMUNION RESUME

8:00AM
Chris Neumann (EM*)
Judy Saronitman (U)
Diane Sato (AG)

9:30AM
Mario Antonio (EM)
Linda Crocker (LR)
Linda Crocker (U)
David Crocker (AG)
Nelson Secretario, Vikki Secretario (HP)

* EM - Eucharisitic Minister; U - Usher; LR - Lay Reader; AG - Altar Guild; HP - Healing Prayers
UPCOMING EVENTS
REOPENINGS

ON-SITE CHURCH SERVICES WITH COMMUNION
8:00AM and 9:30AM
Sanctuary and Side Lanai






RECURRING EVENTS
ALL RECURRING EVENTS SUSPENDED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Sunday School
Every Sunday, 9:30 - 10:15AM
Memorial Hall

Aloha Hour
Every Sunday, 10:45AM - 12:00PM
Under the big tree

Monday Crew
Every Monday, 8:00AM
Church Office

Laundry Love
1 st & 3 rd Wednesday, 5:00PM
Kapa`a Laundromat
McMaster Slack Key Guitar and Ukulele Concert
Every Wednesday, 6:00PM
Church

Choir Practice
Every Thursday, 6:00PM
Choir Room
All Saints' Launches New Website!
Check Out the Homepage
We are pleased to announce the release of All Saints' new and improved website.
Thanks to the work of Cami Baldovino and a host of volunteers, the All Saints' website has been upgraded significantly. Many improvements are obvious on the homepage ( www.allsaintskauai.org ). Please visit the site by clicking on the image above to enjoy the new look and feel.

Thanks to Cami for managing the web content and Ron Morinishi for the design and implementation of All Saints' WiFi/LAN network.
All Saints' Defining the New Normal
Adapting Worship to Ensure Health and Safety
We have had a wonderful month of June worshiping together. It has been so nice to be back with our church `Ohana. Face masks don’t hide the smiling eyes and air hugs we’ve been able to share. Kahu Kawika’s choice to wear a face shield has let us see his smiling compassionate face as he shares the word of God and his own wisdom. This has all been wonderful way to come together while complying with restrictions necessary to keep our community safe and healthy.

On Sunday, July 5 th , we regained an invaluable part of our worship: COMMUNION !

Supplies have been received which will enable us to have communion within the safety restrictions imposed in response to COVID-19. At the beginning of each service Kahu will give us detailed instructions on how to receive communion in a safety conscious fashion.

Thanks be to God that we are able to once again celebrate this fundamental part of our Sunday worship.
E-Programs Available for Download
Since we returned to on-site church services in lieu of paper service programs we have been able to follow the service via slides on a big screen monitor. When the congregation is standing, the monitor is not visible to congregants sitting in the back pews. Cami Baldovino is making the programs available to all on the All Saints’ website on the home page. Finding the program is simple and you can download it to your smart device - phone, tablet, or even your computer.

Here’s how:

- Go to the allsaintskauai.org website
- Scroll down to and click on the “Download E-Programs” button

The E-Program will download onto your device. You can download the program at home or when you get to church. Our new improved WiFi network makes the download quick while in the sanctuary (Netwo rk name: Sanctuary Guest . Password: thepeace). Kahu will give a reminder of how to access the E-Program at the beginning of the service.
If You Can't Join Us in Person
Live Stream and Recordings Available
Our diligent IT gurus are working to make the July 5 th , 9:30AM service available on the All Saints’ website through live streaming. Join us by going to the live stream link on the All Saints’ website ( allsaintskauai.org ) at 9:15AM HST to enjoy Hank Curtis' prelude before the service begins.

A recording of the service will also be available on the All Saints’ website early in the week. 
Kahu Kawika to Publish Sermons in Your Epistle
Mahalo Kahu for Sharing Your Thoughts on a Weekly Basis
Beginning this week, Kahu Kawika will be publishing his sermon from the previous week in your Epistle. We are delighted to support this effort and invite you to send your feedback to us at news@allsaintskaui.org.
Weekly Sermon from Kahu Kawika
Two Citizenships, A Shared Obligation
Proper 9A: “Two Citizenships”
All Saints’ Kapaa, 5 July 2020

Something Muriel and I have in common is that we are both naturalized US citizens (we were both adoptees born in the UK). We both got naturalized when we were each six years old, albeit in different ceremonies and in different places. Mine was in St. Louis, MO – my parents took me out of school and brought me to the federal courthouse. I had to go before a judge, who asked me some rather “softball” questions, due to my age, such as who the current President of the US was (not as easy to answer for a six year old as you would think – a Presidential election had just occurred two weeks before), and if I could recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Then the judge went over what I was agreeing to do – the rights and responsibilities of being a US citizen. Then he swore me in! After that, there was a big cake in the lobby for those of us who had been made U.S. citizens that day and our families.

Part of the deal with being a citizen of any country is not only do you have rights as a citizen, but you also have an obligation to be connected to your fellow citizens, to look out for their good as well as for your own. This echoes the Hawaiian value of “kākou,” a word we often say here on the Islands for “we” or “our.” However, the full meaning of the word goes beyond being a mere pronoun – it implies a sense of caring togetherness, that what is in your best interest is in my best interest, that we look out for one another. In fact, all of us are at least Dual Citizens – that of the country of our birth or adoption and that of the Realm of Heaven. The trick is how to be both at the same time.

In our first lesson from Zechariah 9:9-12, we get a glimpse of this value as part of what it means to be in the Kingdom of God. The book of Zechariah is one of the twelve so-called “Minor Prophets” – not minor in the sense of being unimportant compared to the “Major Prophets” of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, but only called “minor” because their books are smaller than those of the big four Major prophets. Written around 515 BCE and just after the exiled Jewish people were allowed to return to their land of Judah by King Cyrus the Great of the Persian Empire, the book of Zechariah urges his people both to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem as well as to get back to wholehearted worship of God out of a sense of thanks for their recent release.

Zechariah urges his people to live into the value of what we call kākou, and does so by emphasizing three characteristics of the kingdom of the coming Messiah. The first is HUMILITY. The prophet says that you will know when the Messiah shows up when he arrives in Jerusalem “humble, riding on a donkey …” (Zechariah 9:9b). With hindsight, we remember that the Gospels in the New Testament record Jesus entering Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday, riding on a donkey through the eastern Golden Gate. The point here is that this is a picture of a ruler whose number one trait is that of humility. As Americans, could you imagine George Washington fighting the British for American independence riding on a donkey rather than on a strong horse? The mind boggles! Yet that’s exactly what Jesus did, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah of the coming of the true Messiah. As an outgrowth of our concept of kākou, we show we are citizens of heaven when we care for those around us – yes, as citizens we can and should assert our rights, but we also recognize our responsibility to be there for each other and to think of ourselves as part of the whole. To do this, it requires us to exercise the heavenly trait of humility that our Lord displayed as the true Messiah.

The second characteristic of kākou that Zechariah points to about the coming Messiah is that of PEACEFULNESS. He says that the true Messiah “will banish chariots from Ephraim (i.e., Northern Israel) and horses from Jerusalem; the bow will be banished. The ruler will proclaim "peace for the nations” (Zechariah 9:10). Notice that the Messiah’s proclamation of peace extends beyond the borders of Israel – that it is also meant for all the nations as well. As citizens of Heaven, we are also meant to be ones who call for and work for peace locally, nationally, and in our world. In a society that likes to have opposing camps and regard those of a different opinion as “the enemy,” God wants us to rise above that way of relating.

The third trait of kākou in God’s kingdom is that of RESTORATION. Zechariah declares that God’s realm will “return your prisoners from their waterless pit” and that they will become instead “prisoners of hope” with their losses restored twofold (Zechariah 9:11b-12). As citizens of Heaven, we should also care for those who have suffered loss, especially through no fault of their own. As another great American document, the U.S. Constitution puts it, “to promote the general welfare” and “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” This once again brings us back to the deeper meaning of kākou: to care for each other, especially for the Least, the Last, and the Lost in our society.

So in living out kākou, let’s live into our heavenly citizenship by being people of humility, peacefulness, and restoration. The words of Benjamin Franklin are as true now as they were in his time: “We must hang together, or surely we will hang separately.” AMEN.
For the aged and infirm, for the widowed and orphans, and for the sick and the suffering, especially Bill, Nora, Keith, Gwen, Chadd, Patty 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.
This a short summary of the Vestry meeting held on June 23 rd . If you have any questions, please feel free to contact your Vestry members or Kahu Kawika.
1. Giving in May was up $1000 compared to giving in May 2019.

2. Despite COVID-19 precautions, it appears the Preschool will be at our modified full enrollment for August and should achieve a balanced budget for 2020-21.

3. Projects:

  • Driveway and Rectory Path Graveling: In progress.
  • Driveway Drainage: Dry well installed and seems to be working.
  • WW2 Memorial Plaque: We will get a specialist to clean and polish it, then install it near the inside wall of the Sanctuary entrance.
  • Labyrinth Plaques: Nearly all plaques have been sold, raising over $11,000 (project had cost $5,000 and was defrayed through a significant donation and through Sloggett Funds).
  • Restaining of Pews: The Richardsons completed them.
  • Queen's Chapel Window: Tinted by David Crocker.
  • Lectern Plexiglass Insallation: Mahalo again to David Crocker.

4. Holy Communion returns to in-person worship on Sunday, July 5 th . Services are being recorded by the Morinishi's, as well as livestreaming onto our website. People can also bring their own mobile devices to view the service bulletin from the link on our website (see above).
Hale Ho`omalu Donations Accepts Donations
All Saints' Restarts Donation Collection
All Saints’ has had a long relationship with Hale Ho`omalu, a Child and Family Service program that provides families with the tools and resources they need to create meaningful and lasting change in their lives. Over the years, our `Ohana has collected donations specific to monthly-need requests provided by Hale Ho`omalu.

COVID-19 changed our ability to collect donations since on-site church services were canceled. Now that we are open for on-site worship, our Hale Ho`omalu donations will be collected again for delivery to this worthy program. We are grateful to our wonderful Monday Crew that takes the donations to Hale Ho`omalu each week.

For the month of July Hale Ho`omalu is requesting donations of school supplies. 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.
Sunday School Holiday
A Prayer Moment with Your Child
Sunday School is in recess for the summer but spiritual growth happens every day. It doesn't take a summer break. This is the perfect time for you to nurture your child's spiritual development through daily prayer. Your Epistle is committed to helping you nurture your children's spiritual development this summer through prayer and scriptural guidance.
I believe in God above,
I believe in Jesus' love.
I believe God's Spirit too,
comes to tell me what to do.
I believe that I can be
kind and good,
dear Lord like thee.
Amen
From: Common Prayer for Children and Families, Jenifer Gamber Timothy J. S. Seamans , Church Publishing, Inc., 2020.
BISHOP'S MONDAY MESSAGE:
Bishop Bob's Wednesday Bible Study Reflection on The Letter of James

FROM THE EPISCOPAL CAFÉ
But Because You Say So

July 09, 2020

 
It is a fitting time to hear the parable of the sower this Sunday in our gospel reading from Matthew 13. Down here in Oklahoma, the wind that comes sweeping down the plains helps to blow off the day’s heat and marauding mosquitos, and early morning or late evening are prime times to sit outdoors and enjoy the lingering warmth, the air carrying a tang of tomato plants, basil, mint, and roses from my mother’s garden containers scattered around the driveway and yard. It is the time of sweet corn, green tomatoes, and farmers’ markets. It is the time of Porter peaches, a local delicacy of which people outside of Oklahoma may not have heard—simply because the locals often eat up the entire harvest before they can be sent out of state.
 
When I was a kid, this was the time of year my mom would load us up along with some of the neighborhood kids in a rattling old station wagon and we would head south to the neighboring town of Bixby, where a place called Conrad Farms allowed us to go out into the fields to pick our own fruits and vegetables—green beans, zucchini, strawberries, watermelons, and especially their locally-famous corn. Even though we were suburban kids, we gained an appreciation for the work and resources that went into the food you could find in the supermarket. Walking out into the fields, we knelt down in the loamy soil and knew we were literally reaping the benefits of someone else’s sowing, weeding, watering, and tending throughout the previous months—and the flavor that burst from these fruits and vegetables when we would eat them was like biting into the accumulated sunshine of spring and summer. It starts with fertile soil, though. 
 
Not all of us find it easy at times to be fertile soil to receive the gospel that Jesus is sowing. We go awry if we seek God only for our own benefit, however. Just as the abundance of the fields comes about only through a partnership with soil, climate, sower, and reaper, the beauty of the gospel of Christ becomes visible in our world through our own discipleship and willingness to align our lives with the beauty of Christ and his gospel. If we practice self-reflection and cultivate self-awareness, we can work on the places in our hearts where the soil is hard or rocky. We can do this vital work of growing in discipleship, knowing that we are not alone in our endeavors, but that God is always by our sides as we seek to grow deeper and more fertile in faith, in hope, in love—things our world right now is starving for. When we invite love into our lives, we invite God to plant the seeds of mercy and grace within our own hearts, so that we ourselves become abundant fields of grace and mercy in the lives of those around us. We just need to soften our hearts to be the good soil to nurture and share the seeds of God’s love, mercy, and grace.
 
You call us to wakefulness, O God,
our Ground and Stronghold:
may we follow your ways,
rejoicing in your mercy.

May we open the eyes of our hearts
to see that we dwell in the presence of the sacred,
for the living Earth sings your praise!
Sow within our hearts, Lord Christ,
the seeds of tranquility and holy action,
grounded in justice and loving-kindness.
Turn the desert places in our hearts
to springs of clear, cool water, O Holy One,
that your mercy may flourish within us.

Let us seek understanding among us;
may our companionship be steadfast and true,
guided by God’s grace and love.
Grant, O Lord, your aid to those who call upon You,
and bless those for whom we pray.

Amen.
The Rev. Leslie Scoopmire is a writer, musician, and a priest in the Diocese of Missouri. She is priest-in-charge of  St. Martin’s Episcopal Church  in Ellisville, MO. She posts daily prayers at her blog  Abiding In Hope , and collects spiritual writings and images at  Poems, Psalms, and Prayers .
The Feast of Nathan Söderblom
July 12, 2020
Swedish bishop Nathan Söderblom was the first member of the clergy to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Born Lars Olof Jonathan Söderblom, on January 15, he graduated from Uppsala University in 1883 and was ordained a priest in the Church of Sweden (Lutheran) in 1893. He earned his doctorate in theology at the Sorbonne and taught theology at the University of Uppsala until his appointment as Archbishop of Uppsala in 1914.

During the First World War, Archbishop Söderblom called on Christian leaders to work for peace and justice. He believed that all Christian church communities were called to fight unhealthy nationalism, racism, militarism and the oppression of minorities. At the same time, he proposed that Jesus' message of love disseminated from pulpits, in newspapers, and in schools to create a powerful body of Christian opinion across national borders in favor of peace.

He famously wrote in his work,  The Content of Christian Faith :

“For me everything is absorbed by the one big question – the question of reconciliation and healing [restoration.] Do we see God’s way in the terrible chaos of this world; the way which for the human reason is a source of offense, but remains the only possible way? This way does not avoid the tragedy of human life but goes through the very middle of it.”

Archbishop Söderblom took great interest in the early liturgical renewal movement among Roman Catholics, Anglicans and Lutherans. He saw a profound connection between liturgical worship, personal prayer, and social justice. In 1925 he invited Anglican, Reformed, Lutheran, and Orthodox leaders to Stockholm and together they formed the Universal Christian Council on Life and Work. His ecumenical work led eventually to the formation of the World Council of Churches in 1948.

Söderblom’s advocacy for Church unity as a means toward to accomplishing world peace earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1930. After his death in Uppsala, Sweden, in 1931 his body was interred in Uppsala Cathedral. He is commemorated in the liturgical calendar of The Episcopal Church on July 12.

Collect for the Feast of Nathan Söderblom

Almighty God, we bless your Name for the life and work of Nathan Söderblom, Archbishop of Uppsala, who helped to inspire the modern liturgical revival and worked tirelessly for cooperation among Christians. Inspire us by his example, that we may ever strive for the renewal of your Church in life and worship, for the glory of your Name; who with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Published by the Office of Formation of The Episcopal Church, 815 Second Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017
© 2020 The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. All rights reserved.
Episcopal leaders hail judge’s order to drain Dakota Access Pipeline of oil during environmental review

By David Paulsen
Posted Jul 6, 2020
Protesters against the Dakota Access pipeline in early 2017. On Monday, a court ruled the pipeline project must be shut down pending an environmental review.Credit...
Michael Nigro/Pacific Press, via LightRocket, via Getty Images
[Episcopal News Service] A federal judge on July 6 ordered the Dakota Access Pipeline to be emptied of oil while the government conducts a more extensive environmental review, handing a temporary but significant victory to the Standing Rock Sioux, who for years have been supported in their advocacy against the pipeline by The Episcopal Church.

“Today is a historic day for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the many people who have supported us in the fight against the pipeline,” tribal Chairman Mike Faith said in a  statement quoted by Bloomberg Law . “This pipeline should have never been built here.”

The Sioux Tribe’s arguments against the pipeline included concern that it is a threat to tribal drinking water. Opposition grew into large demonstrations in 2016 as crews attempted to complete a segment crossing under Lake Oahe in North Dakota, a site on the Missouri River just upstream from the Standing Rock reservation. Episcopalians were  among the participants and supporters of those demonstrations  and Presiding Bishop Michael Curry  visited them in September 2016 .

“The Episcopal Church has long supported the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in their efforts to oppose the Dakota Access Pipeline that threatens their source of clean drinking water and infringes upon sacred tribal burial grounds,” Rebecca Blachly, director of the church’s Washington-based Office of Government Relations, said in an email to ENS. “Given the importance of protecting clean water and ensuring tribal treaty obligations are met, we are pleased with the court ruling to immediately halt oil flow through the pipeline while further environmental review is conducted.”

Since 2016, Episcopalians sent hundreds of messages to Congress and federal departments responding to the issue through the Episcopal Public Policy Network, according to Blachly.

The Episcopal Church’s Executive Council also took up the issue, through its  Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility . Working with the committee’s ecumenical partners, church leaders in 2017 signed letters to banks financing the pipeline, asking them to respond to environmental concerns about the project.

The church should rightly celebrate this week’s court victory, said the Rev. Melanie Mullen, the church’s director of reconciliation, justice and creation care.

Rallying behind the Standing Rock Sioux “really taught The Episcopal Church a lot about what it means to affirm the voices of black and brown community and be in solidarity with indigenous people,” Mullen said, and that work won’t end with a court decision. “This is a long-term commitment.”

The tribe and other pipeline opponents sued the Army Corps of Engineers, saying the federal agency had not fully assessed the project’s environmental impact. Those legal efforts failed to derail the pipeline, which was completed and  began pumping oil in June 2017 from North Dakota to Illinois .

Judge James Boasberg of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., however, found flaws in the Corps’ environmental review of the project, and in March 2020, he  ordered a new review . After initially allowing the pipeline to continue pumping oil, Boasberg said in his July 6 ruling that the company, Energy Transfer Partners, must empty the pipeline by Aug. 5 while the Corps completes its review, expected by mid-2021.

– David Paulsen is an editor and reporter for Episcopal News Service. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org .
Female church leaders of color urge more anti-racism action in open letter

By Egan Millard
Posted Jul 6, 2020
[Episcopal News Service] As the United States celebrated Independence Day under the clouds of illness and injustice, three influential leaders in The Episcopal Church published an open letter to the church questioning exactly whose freedom the country and the church were celebrating, and pushing for extensive internal and external anti-racist action.

That action, the letter says, should “free ourselves institutionally and individually of that which stands between us and the dream of God: Whiteness itself.”

The letter, titled “Speaking of Freedom,”  was written by the Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas, dean of Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary; the Rev. Stephanie Spellers, canon to the presiding bishop for evangelism, reconciliation and stewardship of creation; and the Rev. Winnie Varghese, a priest at Trinity Church Wall Street in New York.

The three priests, all women of color, used the church’s celebration of  Independence Day as a feast day  – including a collect that offers thanksgiving for the founders who “won liberty for themselves and for us, and lit the torch of freedom for nations then unborn” – as the basis for a discussion of how the church should respond when freedom is not granted to all. The letter also references Frederick Douglass’ speech “What to a Slave is the Fourth of July?” in which the former slave criticized America’s – and American Christians’ – celebration of liberties that were withheld from Black people.

“We must ask what is the meaning of freedom in such a time as this, when the COVID-19 pandemic  disproportionately ravages  Black, Brown and First Nations communities suffering the preexisting conditions of injustice and inequality?” the letter asks. “What is the meaning of freedom, when Black bodies continue to be brutalized by policing that has its roots in slave patrols? What is freedom when our Breonnas are not safe in their homes, our  Ahmauds  are not safe jogging, and our Erics, Elijahs and  Georges  cry out, ‘I can’t breathe’?”

The letter lays out a vision for a different kind of freedom for the church to embrace – one that is “more than a song we sing or a flag we wave.” The church, the letter asserts, must claim freedom “from America’s original sin: White supremacy.” That freedom requires truth-telling, transformative letting-go, being born from above and living into baptism, the priests wrote. That vision, Spellers said, aligns with the  Becoming Beloved Community initiative , which has expressed the church’s long-term commitment to racial justice since 2017 and calls for truth-telling by churches, anti-racism formation, and advocacy to “repair the breach.” The writers felt an urgent need to focus on such commitments at this pivotal moment in history.

The U.S. faces intertwined crises that have commanded the world’s attention: More than 130,000 Americans  have died of COVID-19 , with Black and Latino Americans  being affected at higher rates  than white Americans. At the same time, the Black Lives Matter movement has shone a spotlight on systemic racism, as seen in everything from racial disparities in health care to the killing of George Floyd, with  protests continuing around the world .

In an interview with Episcopal News Service, Douglas called it a “ kairos moment ” – a “moment of disruption and chaos, but a moment that is pregnant with possibilities and pregnant with the movement of God.

“And you can miss the moment or you can seize it,” Douglas said.

The letter also presents Episcopalians with a stark choice: “Steeped as it is in White supremacy, our denomination must model transformative letting-go and decide whether it is going to be White (that is, allied with oppression) or be church.” Whiteness, the writers say, is “not a benign construct” but the insidious driving force behind white supremacy.

The three priests, who have regular conversations about the problems facing the church and society, said they felt compelled to speak up and offer their perspective as women of color in a mostly white church. Although many Episcopalians feel overwhelmed and powerless to act against racial injustice, there is also a current of change running through the church now that feels different, they said.

“The combination of COVID and the uprisings that are happening kind of illustrate what systemic racism is in a way that I don’t know has been illustrated in my life, in a way that the public can understand,” Varghese told ENS. “And I see movement all over the church.”

“I have felt a stirring to say a word – any word – to name the grief, to name the hope, and also to speak strategically about, ‘What can we do as church? What must we do?’” Spellers said.

The answer to that, the priests wrote, requires more forceful anti-racist actions by Episcopalians and more widespread participation in the work of anti-racism. To that end, Spellers said her office is conducting a survey of what each diocese is doing to dismantle racism and how dioceses might be able to help each other.

“We haven’t just kind of sat by and received the benefits of oppression,” Spellers told ENS. “We have actively participated, blessed those systems, built the systems, maintained and protected the systems. The only way The Episcopal Church – and Episcopalians – has any credibility is if we do the external work on justice, and policing in particular, and our internal work on telling the truth about our church’s story and healing our own identification with white supremacy.”

The leaders closed their letter with a nod to Pauli Murray, an early civil rights activist, fiery feminist and the first African American woman ordained a priest in The Episcopal Church.

“We believe that we can become the nation and church that our first Black sister priest Pauli Murray called us to be, a “true community that is based upon equality, mutuality and reciprocity … that affirms the richness of individual diversity, as well as the common human ties that bind us together.”

“As Jesus urged, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself’ (Luke 10:27). It is then that we will be free.”


– Egan Millard is an assistant editor and reporter for Episcopal News Service. He can be reached at emillard@episcopalchurch.org.
COVID-19 and mental well-being: caring for ourselves and others

7 July 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to contain its spread are causing prolonged disruption and hardship to people’s lives in every part of the world, impacting not only people’s physical health and well-being, but also their mental health.

From our regional and global calls, we are aware that concern about mental health is rising up the agenda across the Communion. In some regions, the Church has started working on this, including in Latin America where an Anglican Commission for Mental Health has been formed. The commission is working hard throughout the region, gathering professionals and people in pastoral ministries to equip churches to deal with mental health-related issues.

We have today launched a new section on our COVID-19 resource hub on  COVID-19 and mental health: looking after ourselves and others . The pages contain some top tips to help people care for themselves, the people they are with and others in the wider community during these challenging times. We also provide links to resources that we have found especially helpful, which can be adapted to different contexts.

We have also created a reflection, “Calm our fears in this time of great distress”. This short reflection is offered as a place of retreat, to provide a breathing space and the chance to spend a few moments immersed in the glory of God’s creation and in the love and peace of God. We hope this ‘visual retreat’ will provide a small measure of solace and joy in these difficult times.
Church of England awards major grants to spread Christian faith in towns and cities

Posted Jul 8, 2020
[Church of England] A funding package worth £24 million (US$29.7 million) has been announced by the Church of England to help spread the Christian message in urban and deprived areas.

Awards have been made by the Archbishops’ Council to fund mission and evangelism in towns and cities alongside social action projects, from support for new parents to community cafes and food banks.

In the North East, £4 million (US$4.94 million) has been awarded for mission and evangelism in South Tyneside, Sunderland, Hartlepool, Easington and Stockton-on-Tees areas with plans to lease empty high street shops in some towns.

The shops will host ‘Communities of Hope’, centers where people can explore the Christian faith. The centers will include social projects from food banks to community cafes, budget cookery classes and help with job hunting including CV writing and literacy and numeracy support.
Ascension Church in Hulme

In Manchester and Rochdale, £5 million (US$6.18 million) has been awarded for projects to develop new church communities, including a revamp of the Ascension Church in Hulme to include a venue for music and arts activities such as gospel choirs.

The Rochdale and Manchester projects are located in some of the most deprived communities in the country and will provide a range of social action including support for parents and children and volunteer programs working in areas such as dependency on drugs and alcohol, and street outreach for homeless people.

In Birmingham, a grant is to be shared for mission and evangelism work by St. Mary’s Church Pype Hayes in the Aston and Sutton Coldfield areas and a planned new church in Shirley. Services such as a food bank and a youth drop-in would be provided at St Mary’s and a community café and support for first time parents in Shirley.

In Liverpool Diocese, £4.61 million (US$5.7 million) has been awarded to develop mission to 11-29 year olds in Liverpool and Wigan.

In Newham, east London, £3 million (US$3.71 million) has been awarded to expand mission work in West Ham and other areas of the borough for new congregations and centers of evangelism. The funding would include work on projects to tackle issues such as homelessness, hunger and drug abuse.

A £1.37 million (US$1.69 million) grant will be used to help support the development of more than 140 lay people to act as community evangelists in Middlesbrough, Hull, Scarborough, Redcar & Cleveland and Bridlington.

There will also be funding to invest in mission and evangelism in Milton Keynes, High Wycombe, Reading, Slough, Southampton and Bournemouth.

The Strategic Development Funding (SDF) grants have been awarded as part of the Church of England’s program of Renewal and Reform, aimed at ensuring that the Church of England once more becomes a growing church for all people in all areas of the country.

The awards have been announced as many areas of the country – particularly the most deprived communities – cope with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Debbie Clinton, Director of Renewal and Reform for the Church of England, said: “The range of work outlined in these projects is a measure of the Church of England’s commitment to all areas of the country – including some of the most deprived urban communities. Our churches are sharing the love of Jesus Christ and bringing the good news of the gospel through spiritual and pastoral support to people as well as practical action.”

Full story available  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 .
KUPUNA SHOPPING ASSISTANCE MINISTRY
Any of our All Saints' kupuna who need assistance with grocery shopping can contact Carolyn Morinishi (808-651-2061) 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.