Volume 5, Issue 42
October 23, 2020
THIS SUNDAY: October 25, 2020
Twenty First Sunday after Pentecost

ON-SITE CHURCH SERVICES
with COMMUNION

8:00AM
Chris Neumann (EM)*
Jeff Albao (U)
Nora Takenouchi (AG)
Muriel Jackson (DM)

9:30AM
Dileep Bal (EM)
Linda Crocker (U)
Joan Roughgarden (LR)
David Crocker (AG)
Mabel Antonio, Nelson Secretario (HP)
Carolyn Morinishi, Jan Hashizume (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
Sanctuary and Side Lanai

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

Monday Crew
Every Monday
8:00AM
Church Office

Ke Akua Youth Group Meeting
Wednesday, November 4th
5:00 - 6:00PM
Zoom meeting
Those who are interested in the Youth Group Meetings may contact Cami at Cami@allsaintskauai.org for login information.

Good Shepherd Compline Service
Wednesday, November 4th
7:00 - 8:00 PM
Zoom meeting
Those who are interested in the Compline Servid may contact Cami at Cami@allsaintskauai.org for login information.

Facebook Live Compline Service
Thursday, November 5th
8:00 - 9:00PM
Zoom meeting
Those who are interested in the Compline Service may contact Cami at Cami@allsaintskauai.org for login information.

Online Communication Workshop
Saturday, November 14th
8:30AM - 12:30PM
Church


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

Laundry Love
1st & 3rd 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
For the aged and infirm, for the widowed and orphans, and for the sick and the suffering, especially Brad, Ruth, Ron, Kalani, those in the path of Hurricane Delta, Glen, 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.
Bishop Bob Invites You to Hear His 2020 Diocesan Convention Sermon
As Delivered Sunday, October 18th, 2020
Click on the link above to hear the sermon.
All Saints' Rosales Opus 41 Pipe Organ Update
The Organ is on Its Way
organ console
Arriving with our new organ parts is this beautiful organ console. In this view you can see the stop tabs, Swell (upper) and Great (lower) keyboards. Behind the console the pipes are visible.
train whistle



Our congregant Morris Wise, organ builder and Ko Bakery co-owner, found pipes from our 1925 organ stored under the gym. Morris gathered up the pieces, repaired, glued, and restored them. He made this outstanding train whistle with the old organ pipes and a chest he built from Sapele wood.

Morris's work with Manuel Rosales when he lived in Los Angeles gave All Saints' the connection to the Rosales Workshop. Morris and Manuel worked together to design the new pipe organ for All Saints'. We are blessed to have these talented gentlemen working together to create a wonderful instrument to enrich our worship.

If you would like to donate to bringing the only pipe organ to Kauai, click here: Kauai Pipe Organ.
Upcoming Holiday Events
Mark Your Calendars and Join Us
Interfaith Service: Thursday, November 26th, 10:30AM, All Saints' under the false kamani tree by the gym.

*Due to COVID restrictions, the luncheon will be available as box lunches for drive through pickup only at All Saints' from 11:00AM - 1:00PM.
December 24th 3:30PM Keiki Service led by the Ke Akua Youth Group
5:50PM Festive Eucharist
10:30PM Carole Prelude and Festive Eucharist
December 25th 9:30AM Eucharist
 October 25, 2020
Freely giving our all to God

“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’….
And … ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”

Matthew 22:36-39
By Rob Townes 

  There’s a saying that the chicken who lays an egg makes a contribution, but the chicken who makes a sandwich offers a sacrifice. One could say that Jesus was alluding to the latter when he responded to the question as to which was the greatest commandment, “You shall love the Lord your God with all of who you are.” He was asking for more than a contribution; he was asking for the sacrifice of our all.

As the Latin root of the word suggests, a sacrifice — a sacrum facere — makes one holy. Giving generously of that of which you are a steward — your heart, soul, mind and all your possessions — is life giving. And it is countercultural. As the bumper sticker declares, “S/He who dies with the most toys wins.” That’s a powerfully seductive statement. Only with God’s help can we avoid being allured into thinking that it is in acquiring possessions that our life gains meaning. May we grow in the wisdom that a rich life results in trusting that it is in God we live and move and have our being.
This reflection is written while visiting Green Bough House of Prayer in Scott, Georgia. Here the three residents, with the company of 77 associates, have dedicated their lives, their all, to God and have taken on a Rule of Life to embrace silence, prayer, simplicity and living in the present moment, and accept all as coming from God. Do all for God. Offer all to God. This to me is a beautiful example of Faith-Filled Generosity.

Very few members of the Church dedicate themselves to full-time contemplative living, but all of us are invited to learn to live Jesus’ greatest commandment, trusting that in so doing, Faith-Filled Generosity will flourish in our lives. 

As we move back into our church buildings, remembering only too well the COVID-19-caused absence of normalcy, may we re-enter with a renewed commitment to freely giving our all to God and faithfully loving our neighbors as ourselves. 

Rob Townes received his Master of Divinity degree from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology and has spent his professional career as a nonprofit and church fundraising consultant.
Stewardship
Stewardship is our personal response to God's generosity in the way we share our resources of time, talent, and money. Stewardship reflects our commitment to making God's love known through the realities of human life and our use of all that God has given us. It is also our service to God's world and our care of creation. Parish members are encouraged to make an annual stewardship pledge. This pledge represents their specific Christian commitment to "work, pray, and give for the spread of the kingdom of God" (BCP, p. 856)

An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, https://episcopalchurch.org/library/glossary/stewardship
Registration Open
Invite Welcome Connect Free Webinar
Mary Parmer, the founder of Invite Welcome Connect (IWC), returns "virtually" to the Diocese of Hawai'i, leading a FREE webinar on Saturday, November 14, 2020, on Zoom. The webinar will run from 10:00 AM-12:00 Noon.

Parmer led workshops on Kaua'i and O'ahu last August on practices of of evangelism, hospitality, and belonging. But how do we implement these practices during a pandemic? Parmer will discuss launching IWC during a pandemic and address your questions and concerns. For more information and to register, click HERE.
United Nations Day
October 25, 2020 – Pentecost 21
The United Nations celebrates its seventy-fifth anniversary on October 24, 2020. On this date in 1945, the UN was born when the United Nations Charter came into force. 75 years later, the UN remains the world’s most broadly representative forum for peacemaking and dialogue on many global issues. It gathers 193 nations and many specialized agencies focused on international peace and security, human rights, international law,
humanitarian assistance and sustainable development.

Why should Episcopalians care about United Nations Day?
First, it is a day to remember and celebrate the ways in which Episcopalians have been involved with the UN since its founding. For example, Episcopalian Eleanor Roosevelt was part of the first United States delegation to the United Nations, the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, and helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We continue this legacy by taking our rightful places in dreaming and building a better and more peaceful world with the UN.

Second, it is a day to recall that UN action is one way by which Episcopalians uphold our Baptismal Covenant promises to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves,” and “strive for justice and peace among all people.” Engaging with the UN helps equip Episcopalians in responding to Jesus, who calls us to care for our world, heal the sick, welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, serve the poor, and proclaim good news to the captives and the oppressed.

Episcopalians have expertise to offer, stories to tell, voices to amplify and resources and services to share. Episcopalians in local parishes and dioceses inform, educate, raise awareness and develop local programs, and commemorate UN international observances. They work in peace building, justice and reconciliation, eradicating poverty, and supporting human development through the Sustainable Development Goals, adapting to climate change and protecting the environment, ensuring food security, protecting human rights, empowering women and girls, supporting the rights and dignity of indigenous peoples – and more.

Finally, on United Nations Day we can join in praying for the UN and all countries of the world, using the Prayer for Peace Among the Nations in our Book of Common Prayer.

For more information and to learn how you can get involved, visit The Episcopal Church and the United Nations at episcopalchurch.org/episcopal-church-and-united-nations or follow @EpiscopalUN social media on Facebook, Twitter and via #EpiscopalUN. For more information about the United Nations, visit un.org.

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.
General Convention Task Force invites Episcopalians to participate in survey “Social Justice and the Episcopal Church: A Call for Stories”

Responses requested by November 5, 2020
The Task Force on Theology of Social Justice Advocacy invites Episcopalians to participate in a survey, “Social Justice and the Episcopal Church: A Call for Stories”. In the work of contemplating the theology of social justice advocacy in The Episcopal Church, the Task Force recognizes that different people have vastly different perspectives and experiences.

The members of the Task Force would like to gather stories and deeper perspectives to support their work on behalf of the Church and invite Episcopalians to consider sharing their experience by completing the survey, “Social Justice and the Episcopal Church: A Call for Stories”. READ FULL ARTICLE
2019 parochial reports show continued decline and a ‘dire’ future for The Episcopal Church

Giving increases, but membership and attendance trends are unsustainable
By Egan Millard

Posted Oct 16, 2020
[Episcopal News Service] With every release of parochial report data – the statistics on attendance, membership and finances that every parish in The Episcopal Church must submit yearly – a picture of the denomination’s future comes gradually into focus. It’s not a holistic depiction of the church’s health or success, and it comes with many caveats – it’s difficult to infer much from one set of data, and some statistics conflict with each other. But the release of the 2019 data makes the picture clearer than ever: Even before COVID-19, The Episcopal Church’s days were numbered.

“The overall picture is dire – not one of decline as much as demise within the next generation unless trends change significantly,” said the Rev. Dwight Zscheile, an expert in denominational decline and renewal. An Episcopal priest, Zscheile is vice president of innovation and associate professor of congregational mission and leadership at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

“At this rate, there will be no one in worship by around 2050 in the entire denomination,” Zscheile told Episcopal News Service.

The decline is, of course, nothing new. The Episcopal Church has seen declining membership, to varying degrees, since the 1960s, when it counted 3.4 million members. As of 2019, it had about 1.8 million. Membership is down 17.4% over the last 10 years.

After some fluctuation – including a period of stagnation and minor growth in the early 2000s – the statistics seem to have settled into a trajectory of steady, gradual decline.

“The trends are continuing,” said the Rev. Tom Ferguson, rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Sandwich, Massachusetts, who has blogged extensively about the church’s decline. “It does seem, at least from this data, to maybe have slowed down a bit, but we have no idea whether that’s a blip or whether that’s a trend.”

Across the church, the declines in average Sunday worship attendance have slowed slightly over the past few years, but a decline is still a decline, Zscheile says.

“This most recent report shows a slight moderation of the trend of decline in the past year, but overall the trajectory is clear,” he told ENS. “The Episcopal Church has lost a quarter of its worship attendees over the past decade.”

Across the church, year over year, the decline in active members was essentially unchanged at 2.29%. However, Sunday attendance did show some signs of slight improvement. Sunday attendance fell 2.55% from 2018 to 2019, compared to 4.5% from 2017 to 2018. And the percentage of churches that saw an increase in Sunday attendance year over year shot up from 24% to 32%, while the share of churches that had a decrease fell from 53% to 49%.

However, there are also signs of a trend toward disparity in the church when it comes to attendance, with more churches at either end of the spectrum and fewer in the middle. In 2018, 14% of churches saw at least 10% growth in Sunday attendance over the preceding five years, while 59% had lost at least 10%. For 2019, that gap widened to 15% versus 61%.

“It would be my hunch that the healthier churches are getting healthier and the unhealthier churches are getting unhealthier,” Ferguson said.

Declines continue to be strongest in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Province I, which covers New England, saw the worst year-over-year attendance decline at 4.4%; in the Diocese of New Hampshire, it fell 15.6%, the worst of any diocese. The worst declines in active baptized members came from Wisconsin, where the small dioceses of Eau Claire and Fond du Lac lost 27% and 18.4% of their members, respectively.

Ferguson said those could be symptoms of larger demographic and social trends in the U.S.

“I think in the Northeast, it’s largely secularization, whereas I think in the Upper Midwest, it’s part of that population flight,” he said. “It’s really hard. The Upper Midwest is having a rough time demographically.”

Declines tend to be slower in the South and West, mirroring population trends, and some dioceses there saw minor growth. Dioceses outside the U.S. vary dramatically. Colombia, for example, showed the strongest growth in attendance (36.1%) and membership (14.4%) of any diocese by far, while Honduras is declining sharply.

The one bright spot in the data is the continued increase in pledge income. Despite declining membership and attendance, average pledges and total pledge and plate income were up; after a small drop from 2017 to 2018, total pledge and plate income increased 1.7% from 2018 to 2019, though that was slightly less than the rate of inflation.

However, even that presents a problem going forward, according to Zscheile.

“The fact that fewer people are giving more money is not a sustainable trend over the long term,” he said.

2019 will now be the last year of this particular iteration of the parochial report, the oldest continuous gathering of data by The Episcopal Church. With some adjustments in methodology and definitions, the report has measured membership since 1880 and Sunday attendance since 1991. Even before COVID-19, efforts were underway to redesign the parochial report, and the onset of the pandemic made that even more urgent. For 2020, parochial reports will only measure Sunday attendance from Jan. 1 to March 1 and include new narrative questions to help track “opportunities, innovations and challenges.” After 2020, the new permanent parochial report format may include additions or changes.

Church leaders have said that including narrative sections allows parishes to describe the less quantifiable ways in which they are serving God and their communities, and that membership and attendance numbers alone don’t paint a complete picture of the church.

“Churches are doing amazing stuff and facing some really incredible challenges,” the Rev. Chris Rankin-Williams, chair of the House of Deputies committee that has been working on revisions to the parochial report, told Executive Council on Oct. 10. “As a rector, my concern is not primarily with a report that tells me what happened but is something that the leaders of my church can use to make decisions for the future.”

Ferguson says that although numbers like Sunday attendance don’t tell us everything, they are important for assessing the reality of the church’s situation. He hopes that future reports don’t brush that aside.

“My real fear is, I don’t want a tool that just normalizes decline – which, frankly, I just see everywhere, this normalization of decline,” he told ENS.

“If you have tons of folks coming to your free laundry, that’s great. … But if you’re still losing 25% of your congregation, well, then in a few years, you’re just going to be a laundromat.”

– Egan Millard is an assistant editor and reporter for Episcopal News Service. He can be reached at emillard@episcopalchurch.org.
Holding on to Hope: A National Service for Healing and Wholeness

Online Worship Service
 
Nov. 1 @ 4 p.m. ET
Presiding Bishop and National Cathedral Host Live-streamed Prayers on Nov. 1

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will lead a live-streamed prayer service from Washington National Cathedral, Holding on to Hope: A National Service for Healing and Wholeness, on All Saints Sunday, November 1, at 4:00-5:30 p.m. EST. In the midst of pandemic, racial reckoning, and a historic election, the live-streamed service will gather Americans for prayer, song, lament, hope, and a call to love God and neighbor.

The service will feature an ecumenical and multifaith array of voices, musical offerings, and prayers. Using a combination of live and visually stunning pre-recorded elements gathered from across the nation, the service will be live streamed in English and Spanish.

“The Washington National Cathedral has gathered Americans for prayer at the death of presidents, after terrible tragedies like 9/11, and in moments of joy and hope for our nation and our world,” says Bishop Curry, “As the people of the United States cast their votes for the office of president and many other offices throughout the land, we gather to pray to the God who is the Creator of us all. We pray that we might learn to stand and hold each other’s hands as the children of God.”

In addition to Bishop Curry’s sermon, the service will include reflections from Father James Martin, a noted Roman Catholic commentator on American life and values, and Valarie Kaur, an inspiring Sikh author, filmmaker and civil rights attorney. The gathering will be officiated by Washington’s Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, Cathedral Dean Randy Hollerith, and Reverend Stephanie Spellers, Canon to the Presiding Bishop.

Prayers for the nation will come from leaders like Eboo Patel, founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core (IFY); Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Rabbi Shoshana Conover of Temple Sholom, Chicago; and Shane Claiborne, speaker, activist, and best-selling author. Music from The Coro de la Cathedral of Christ Church Cathedral-Indianapolis and Washington National Cathedral will help to lift and open hearts.

A live prayer hotline in English and Spanish will be open during the service, staffed by Episcopal clergy and chaplains, in partnership with Virginia Theological Seminary and General Theological Seminary. The hotline will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST from November 1 to November 5.

Watch the service here.

A live stream embed code is provided on the web page and available to any congregation that would like to add the stream to their own website or Facebook page. Congregations are invited to host watch-parties as part of their All Saints’ Day observance and Election Day preparations.

To receive a reminder about this service, text HOLDING to 51555 (standard messaging and data rates apply).

FROM THE EPISCOPAL CAFÉ

Naming Our Blessings

October 20, 2020

Kimberly Knowle-Zeller
“A bluebird with iridescent wings perches like a blessing on a tree nearby.”
Rosanne Keller, Pilgrim in Time

I love this image of a bluebird perching like a blessing. When I read those words, I started thinking of all the seemingly ordinary things that surround me like a blessing. Perhaps if I looked closer, I’d see my days dripping with beauty and hope. 

That spiritual discipline seems as good as any right now. There’s much uncertainty about how the coming months and year will unfold. The pandemic is still a reality. Many people are sick. Schools and work are different. People are tired of virtual meetings. Friends and family long to be together. Yet, our days do have blessings scattered throughout. If only we have eyes to see. 

Here are a few of the blessings perched near me: 

A candle’s light
The warmth of a fire
The way the leaves fall from the tree
Church bells ringing
The warmth of bodies reading books together
A pen and paper
A handwritten note
Picnics
Walks in the park
Children’s laughter
Leaves to jump in
Encouragement from friends
A woodpecker searching for food
Deer foraging in the woods
The sound of waves against the shore
A chair and a good book
What blessings are perched near you today? 

Take a moment and look. Close your eyes and listen. See the hope that surrounds you. And repeat as needed. Amen. 
Kimberly Knowle-Zeller is an ordained ELCA pastor, mother of two, and spouse of an ELCA pastor. She lives with her family in Cole Camp, MO. You can read more at her website, follow her work on Facebook, or sign up for her monthly newsletter.
Hale Ho`omalu Accepts Donations
All Saints' Restarts Donation Collection
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.

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.
canned goods
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 requests provided by Hale Ho`omalu.
Feast of Saints Simon and Jude
October 28
Saints Simon and Jude’s Story

Jude is so named by Luke and Acts. Matthew and Mark call him Thaddeus. He is not mentioned elsewhere in the Gospels, except of course where all the apostles are mentioned. Scholars hold that he is not the author of the Letter of Jude. Actually, Jude had the same name as Judas Iscariot. Evidently because of the disgrace of that name, it was shortened to “Jude” in English.

Simon is mentioned on all four lists of the apostles. On two of them he is called “the Zealot.” The Zealots were a Jewish sect that represented an extreme of Jewish nationalism. For them, the messianic promise of the Old Testament meant that the Jews were to be a free and independent nation. God alone was their king, and any payment of taxes to the Romans—the very domination of the Romans—was a blasphemy against God. No doubt some of the Zealots were the spiritual heirs of the Maccabees, carrying on their ideals of religion and independence. But many were the counterparts of modern terrorists. They raided and killed, attacking both foreigners and “collaborating” Jews. They were chiefly responsible for the rebellion against Rome which ended in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

Reflection

As in the case of all the apostles except for Peter, James and John, we are faced with men who are really unknown, and we are struck by the fact that their holiness is simply taken to be a gift of Christ. He chose some unlikely people: a former Zealot, a former (crooked) tax collector, an impetuous fisherman, two “sons of thunder,” and a man named Judas Iscariot.

It is a reminder that we cannot receive too often. Holiness does not depend on human merit, culture, personality, effort, or achievement. It is entirely God’s creation and gift. God needs no Zealots to bring about the kingdom by force. Jude, like all the saints, is the saint of the impossible: Only God can create his divine life in human beings. And God wills to do so, for all of us.

From https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saints-simon-and-jude
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 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.