Kia ora!

(Maori greeting, also, be well, healthy)

Members of the Committee on Native Hawaiian Ministry get ready to board their flight. Traveling were Naomi Holokai, Kala Holden,  May Holokai, Keane Akao, Piilani and Edward Hanohano, Louise Aloy, and Kalani Holokai. __________________________________________________________________________________

We started each day with a morning Eucharist led by a delegation and some of the service in their native language. Our meals were very English and very Maori, with beautiful service and authentic delicacies. Tea was served twice daily, which allowed us time away from the discussions and a time to get to know others more closely.

We also went into the city to see the site of the Anglican Cathedral that was heavily damaged in the earthquake. We were told this earthquake didn't just move from side to side, but also up and down which is what they think caused the spire and tower to be totally destroyed. The famous rose window of this cathedral was later destroyed in another earthquake in December of 2011. Until an agreement could be made about restoring or rebuilding, a transitional cathedral was built mostly out of cardboard! It is an amazing feat and very beautiful. The ceiling and pillars are all cardboard tubing and each seat is made out of cardboard, as well as the pulpit, the choir lofts and even most of the organ. Truly amazing!  We enjoyed some retail therapy as well as sightseeing the coastal towns of Lyttleton and Akaroa where the adventure is getting there through the very green hillsides with lots of sheep!  

On the last day at the closing Eucharist, Edward Hanohano (from Epiphany) was commissioned along with four others to sit on the steering committee of AIN, known as the Executive Committee. We all laid our hands on him and prayed with grateful hearts for his commitment and dedication to this ministry. Bishop Gray also baptized four children, ordained two deacons (both wahine) and one priest! The priest was the grandfather of the baptized, and one of the deacons was the 82 year old great-granddaughter of one of Aotearoa's first ordained Maori bishops. READ MORE

I recently attended a Diocesan workshop on Planned Giving by Jim Murphy, from the Episcopal Church Foundation. He talked about the types of giving (Bequests, Life Income Gifts, Special Assets Gifts and Charitable Lead Trusts) and used lots technical terms such as "CRATs and CRUTS", but what stood out for me is what Planned Giving truly means.

Planned Giving is not about leaving money to the church when we die. Rather, it's about raising the church to the status of family and ensuring that our church family, like our regular family, is able to continue beyond our death. It's about acknowledging all the good that our church is currently doing and ensuring that it has the capability to continue that good work into the future. It's about ensuring that the rituals that bind us together now will continue to keep future generations bound together. In a nutshell... no matter how rich or how poor you are, it's about leaving a legacy. And not just any legacy, mind you, but one that focuses on God's love and His word. Now, how cool is that!

Regardless of whether you're young or old, if you have not yet made a legal will, or if it is time to make amendments to your will, please think about leaving a legacy for the future by considering your church now. We know this will bring up lots of considerations such as: what to give or how much to give; how to balance your giving between your regular family and your church family; how to structure your giving so that your intent is clear; and lots more. If you're not sure where to begin, you can start by having a conversation with your clergy, or scheduling a consultation with our Diocesan Treasurer, Mr. Peter Pereira at (808) 538-7194. You can also visit the Episcopal Church Foundation's website for basic information. We would also like to invite you to join  The Hōʻike Ulu Society , a legacy society currently consisting of over 100 people who have included an Episcopal church or institution in Hawai'i in their wills or estate plans. We can't wait to welcome you to the family!

 

Andrew Arakawa, Dixie Kaetsu, and I spent two weeks in Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee, and the West Bank, studying the life of Jesus in the places where biblical and historical events took place including the Nativity in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-7), Jesus' baptism in the River Jordan (Matthew 3:1-17), Jesus' teaching and healing in Capernaum (Mark 2:1-12 & Mark 1:21), Jesus' Passion in the city of Jerusalem, and Jesus' revealing himself to his disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24).  But rather than give you a blow-by-blow of the two weeks, I think I'd rather share highlights of the experience with you.

I am not one to shed tears easily, but I must tell you that when I knelt and touched my lips to the place where Jesus was born in Bethlehem, I got choked up. The site is in a grotto beneath the altar of an Armenian church and you have to climb down a very steep set of stairs to get to it. Descending the staircase reminded me very much of going into the waters of baptism and when I came up the set of stairs on the other side and back into the nave itself I felt like I was reemerging to new life from those waters. Words could not express my gratitude for the Nativity the way tears could.

I also got very emotional at the Sea of Galilee, especially at Mensa Christi where the risen Lord appeared to his disciples and broke bread and ate fish with them at a charcoal fire on the shore (John 21:1-24).   The image of the charcoal fire brought to mind the flame that we see at the Easter Vigil---that wonderful image of Jesus' resurrection that made itself manifest on the shores of Lake Galilee when he appeared to his disciples in this story.

Another spiritually powerful place was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is said to be the place of the crucifixion, anointing, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  One has to fight considerable crowds to navigate the different areas in the church, and I was surprised to see that the crucifixion site, the anointing site, the tomb, and the place where Jesus is said to have revealed himself to Mary Magdalene are all about 50 feet apart from one another. The sites are in such close proximity that Constantinian Christians were able to build an actual church around and above it. READ MORE 

Pictured at top is the Rev. Moki Hino with Dixie Kaetsu and Andrew Arakawa; above center picture, the Rev. Honey Becker met up with the trio at the River Jordan where they all renewed their baptismal vows. Pictures contributed by Moki Hino.

Participants honored the Rev. Terry Star, who died suddenly on march 4. Photo by Lynn A. Collins

Themed "Together, Advancing the Sacred Dream," the second such gathering of ethnic ministries throughout the church was intended to move participants deeper into collaborative mission, partnership and relationship, according to Sarah Eagle Heart, Episcopal Church missioner for indigenous ministries.

"It was really important to us that we continue what we started during the first New Community gathering [in 2012 in San Diego]," Eagle Heart said while welcoming participants. "The Ogala Lakota talk about dreams in terms of vision quest ... and we wanted to take all the dreams of our ancestors and of every ethnic group here and bring them together in one place."

Eagle Heart and others invoked the spirit of the Rev. Terry Star, 40, who was to participate in the gathering, but died suddenly March 4 at Nashotah House Theological Seminary where he was a seminarian. He was described as a spirit of compassion, love and inclusion.

Citing the Lakota concept of mitakuye oyasin, or "we are all related," during the opening Eucharist sermon, Isaiah Brokenleg called upon participants to "be good relatives to one another" and to relate to one another out of a mutual willingness to be vulnerable, honest and transparent.  READ MORE

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'Homeless Jesus' Finds a Home in North Carolina

[Episcopal News Service] Downtown Davidson, North Carolina, has all of the idyllic, small-town Southern charm a weekend visitor could want: old-fashioned brick sidewalks, quaint shops and lots of leafy trees. Residents of the town, known primarily for its prestigious liberal arts college, are proud of their postcard-ready community, but the recent installation of a sculpture outside of St. Alban's Episcopal Church has reminded locals that not all members of the affluent community can afford to live in the town's beautiful homes - or in permanent housing of any type. READ MORE