The E-Newspaper of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i

Reporting on the events & activities in our Diocese and beyond... 

First Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Ecumenical Service

St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church was the site of the first annual Martin Luther King, Jr. ecumenical service, on Monday, January 16, 2012.  St. Elizabeth's, working in partnership with several Christian denominational churches, hosted the service that honored the life and works of civil rights leader Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Lots of great refreshments and fellowship followed the service and many are already looking forward to next year's gathering.  (Photos taken by the Rev. David Blanchett.)

An Attitude of Gratitude

By Peter Carson

Peter Carson with his wife Lee

It's easy to be thankful in November because we set aside one day and call it Thanksgiving. But adopting an attitude of gratitude that will guide us throughout the year can be elusive. I have often asked myself why is it easy to be grateful at certain times of my life while at other times I just don't think about it. It's not that I am ungrateful for what I have in my life; it is just that sometimes I think everything I have is because I worked hard for it so I forget to be grateful. In hindsight I believe that the biggest stumbling block for me to have an attitude of gratitude is my sense of independence.

As a young man starting out I remember being very confident of my abilities to accomplish anything without any help. I put myself through college, found love and marriage with Lee and began a career. As my journey progressed with joys, disappointments and sadness, I began to sense that my life was on a path to effectively use my time, talent, and treasure. When the Richardson Law School opened I applied and was not accepted. I knew that with my abilities I would make an excellent lawyer but I was blocked because the University of Hawaii had created the law school to give opportunities to those in our community that were underserved. I was understandably upset and even angry at the time, but now I realize how different my life would have been if I had been given the opportunity to take that path.

Looking back I now realize that as one path was blocked I chose another path that was open for me. I believe now, in hindsight, that God provided me with opportunities that would productively use his gifts of time, talent, and treasure. This realization became my first step to experience authentic gratitude.  Authentic gratitude is very humbling. It brings me down to earth. It is an acknowledgment of dependence. I have received something from another which I could not, by my own power, achieve. As I think about it, this just about covers life itself, from birth to death and all that lies in between. It's all pure gift. I didn't do anything to deserve it. I just arrived, through no effort of my own, upon this spinning planet and it was all there for my adventure and enjoyment. This is not easy to accept or to know what to do with, so I throw up all kinds of defenses against a deep gratitude.

I am still working on my issues of dependence. I know conceptually that self-sufficiency recognizes no higher power to whom I am grateful but it is hard to think otherwise. Even today I struggle with what I am going to do today and forget that God has given me this day to not just enjoy but to do his work.

So the question is: How do you express your attitude of gratitude for what God has given you today?

I leave you with a poem I found whose author is anonymous.

The Gift 

I might give hesitantly,

even grudgingly, considering my options,

than giving from a sense of ought.

If I see the gift as God's

who allows me to use it for a time,

then the gift can flow more freely,

as I join with others

to be a channel

for God's love and mercy.

(Peter is the Stewardship Chair at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Kailua, O'ahu.)

The Newly Revitalized 'Iolani Guild

by Ann Hansen & Roth Puahala

After five months of intensive organizing, the 'Iolani Guild emerged in its newly revitalized state for its general membership meeting held in December.

Fr. Darrow and Roth Puahala

Leading off the meeting, Father Darrow Aiona presented reflections on Hawaiian composer and hymn writer, Moses W. Kaaneikawahaale Keale, more commonly known as Keale Ta Kaula (Keale, the prophet).  He was one of Ni`ihau's most famous and powerful Christian leaders.  Born in Kalalau, Kaua`i, around 1828, he was an excellent hunter, but not brought up in the new Christian religion.  One day, as he was hunting, he followed a white goat up a cliff and became stranded on a ledge.  A falling rock hit him, causing him to lose his balance and tumble into the river called Makani Kahoa. As he plummeted down the cliff, he called out, "If there really is a God, he will save me and I shall spend the rest of my life serving him". His fall was broken by a pandanus tree and he was pulled from the river by his dog.  The hymn titled, "Ua Mau - Hosana" speaks about, Praised be God, in the high heavens, his laying down, for our lives.  Singing together with Roth Puahala, they also sang a second song, "I'o", a song which originated from Aotearoa, translated in our native tongue, Hawaiian.  It speaks about the One True God.  

 
The Guild's Constitution and By-laws were reviewed with each article explained.  There was considerable discussion about whether the Guild's president had to be of Hawaiian ancestry, but after members shared their views, it was voted not to limit it.  The rest of the Constitution and By-laws were agreed upon easily. 

One article in the By-laws would double the dues for an annual membership and lifetime membership, to bring it into line with current prices.  Since the newly ratified By-laws would not go into effect until January, many took advantage of the older, modest membership rates with twelve people becoming lifetime members. 

'Iolani Guild members greet each other at their general membership meeting in December.  Seated from left are Pat Trask, Thelma Chun, Gladys Rodenhurst and Goldie Brangman.  Roth Puahala leans over to greet Gladys, and Fr. Darrow talks with Leimalama Lee Loy in the background.

Journey to the Holy Land

(From Fr. David Jackson's Journal Notes)

The Reverend David Jackson, Rector of The Church of the Epiphany on O'ahu, took part in a pilgrimage tour in Israel at the end of December 2011.  The following are excerpts from Rev. Jackson's journal notes that appeared in the February issue of The Church of Epiphany's newsletter. 

December 28, 2011:  The pilgrimage is going very well.  We have been here two days so far.  The group is getting together great!  Fr. Paul Lillie, our guide Canon lyad Qumri and I form a great leadership team.  Also, this has already been transformative for our 14 year old son Calen, and a deeply spiritual experience for Ariane, Caleb and me to share as a family.

We have stayed local in the Old City of Jerusalem so far, seeing ruins from the time of Christ onwards and visiting the Church of the Resurrection (the site which contains both the crucifixion spot on Mt. Calvary and Christ's resurrection tomb), as well as visiting our Anglican brothers and sisters at St. George's Cathedral and College. Today we walk to the Wailing Wall (last remnants of the Temple complex and holiest site in Judaism) and the nearby Dome of the Rock (a mosque built about 1200 years ago on top of the Temple site and is the third-holiest place in the world for Muslims). It is built over the top of Mount Moriah, the spot where Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac, as well as where the ancient Jewish Temple at the time Jesus used to be. We will take a coach to the Mount of Olives for a panorama view of the Old City. Tomorrow we visit Bethlehem and see the Shepherds' Fields and the Church of the Nativity. I'll send another update in a couple of days. Mahalo for your prayers and interest! My prayers are back at you as well. 

December 31, 2011: Salaam/Shalom from the Holy Land! As the days go on, we see and do more in ever-expanding circles. Thursday we went to the Western Wall (the holiest site in Judaism) and the Temple Mount nearby. We also heard a professor of Islam explain its tenets and significance for today. Happy New Year 12 hours earlier!

January 2, 2012: On Friday we went to Bethlehem to visit the Church of the Nativity, a Crusader church built over the grotto in which our Lord was born. On the way there, we walked along the 27-foot tall Security Wall completely surrounding Bethlehem (as a Palestinian town) and dividing up much of the Holy Land between Israel proper and the ever-dwindling Palestinian lands (Israeli settlements keep popping up in the traditionally Palestinian West Bank, especially over sources ofwater). We saw one house in Bethlehem surrounded on three sides by the wall! We also visited the Shepherd's Fields nearby.

Saturday we went further afield to Ramallah (capital of the Palestinian authority) to the Arab Evangelical Anglican School, a great project ofthe Anglican Church of Jerusalem. We then went to Taybeh, a village of 1200 where it is the only 100% Christian town (this was the biblical town of Ephraim). There is a microbrewery there that is a great economic boon for Palestinians.  Sunday we then went deep into the West Bank (Palestine) to Zababdeh for church at St. Matthew's Anglican Church. Loads of children at the service -- a really joyful and hope-filled time. Afterwards we went to Nablus, former Shechem and capital of the Samaria, to go to the church built over Jacob's Well, site of John 4:7 where Jesus met with the woman at the well. 

Finally, on Monday we walked down the serpentine route of the Mount of Olives, then on to St. Peter in Gallicantu, where Jesus was flogged and kept overnight before seeing Pontius Pilate and carrying his cross to Calvary. Today we travel up to the desert and Jericho, then onwards to the north to Nazareth in Galilee.

January 6, 2012: Greetings once again from Jerusalem on Epiphany Day (actually it is now January 7 in Jerusalem, but it is still Epiphany Day in Hawai'i). I hope your new year is blessed. The last time I wrote, I think we were about to travel from Jerusalem to go north to Galilee. En route, we stopped in the desert (not a stitch of vegetation!) along the ancient road that winds from Jerusalem to Jericho -- most likely at or near the road Jesus describes in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. We then continued into Jericho -- the oldest city in the world at 10,000 years, and the lowest city on earth at -1,200 feet below sea level. We took a cable car up to the Mount of Temptation, where there are several retreat cells hewn in the cliffs overlooking Jericho. After lunch we continued up to Nazareth along the Jordan River valley road. We saw where Mary would have gone for water at the main well in town, then walked to the Church of the Annunciation, a beautiful Roman Catholic church built over the grotto that housed Mary where she grew up with her family. Our lodging was at the Sisters of Nazareth Guest House, only a few hundred meters' walk and practically next door to Christ Church, an Anglican church. 

All of Wednesday we explored around the Sea of Galilee. We had a couple of especially very moving experiences: (1) The renewal of baptismal vows at the Jordan River where it empties into the northern part of the Sea of Galilee; (2) A eucharist on the Mount of Beatitudes with a stunning view of the Sea below; (3) A ride on the "Jesus boat," a replica of the ones that Jesus and the disciples would have used in their time. We also went to Tabgha (along the shore and a church is there to commemorate the Feeding of the 5,000), Capernaum (Peter's hometown with his home still there among the archaeological ruins), and the Church of Peter's Primacy (again along the lakeshore and commemorating Christ's reinstating of Peter and thus his leadership of the church). We then had a special treat -- that night back at our lodging, we were shown very extensive remains of the village of Nazareth from the 1st century that are directly under where we stayed. No doubt, Jesus as a boy would have been playing there with his friends -- what a thought! 

Thursday we made our way back down to Jerusalem via Mt. Tabor (site of the Transfiguration), the Jordan River valley, then to Qumran near the Dead Sea (site of the Dead Sea Scrolls). We then had a float on the Dead Sea with the obligatory mud treatment (felt good!). Then we had dinner at the home of our wonderful guide, Iyad Qumri -- a godly and knowledgeable man! His family are aces, too! 

Friday -- Epiphany Day -- was also Greek Orthodox Christmas. Appropriately, we spent that in Bethlehem in Manger Square -- there was a parade of bands of scouts (rather like Boy andGirl Scouts, but we were told they were more like ROTC in that several of them will go on to serve in the Palestinian forces and police). Today, Saturday 7 January, we have our final eucharist at one of the probable sites of Emmaus at Abu Ghosh, seven miles west of Jerusalem. Later tonight, we fly back for a day and a half to Hawai'i. 

Ernie Harris receives NAACP Lifetime Achievement Award

Harris, who at 83 is retired, still serves as a biological science collaborator for the U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center in Honolulu.  Harris received the NAACP Distinguished Sesrvice Award for Lifetime Achievement at a gala event in Waikiki.

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(The following appeared in the January newsletter of St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church.)

Thanks to the hard work of St. Elizabeth church member, Nora Kurosu and her crew, the annual Bizarre Bazaar was a rousing success.  The bazaar, which was held on Saturday, December 10, featured chili and dogs, spam musubi, shave ice, plants, and gently used and new items for sale.  They raised over $7,000 to benefit their Scholarship and Youth Funds.  (Photos by the Rev. David Blanchett.)

Rev. Hino Shares Aloha In Connecticut 

In October, the Rev. Moki Hino traveled to Connecticut for a meeting of the Standing Commission on Lifelong Christian Education and Formation.  While in Connecticut, he also attended a reception of The Society for the Increase of the Ministry (SIM) where he received an autumn leaf lei from SIM members and presented SIM with a check for $2000 from Church of the Holy Apostles to honor the diocese's mandate to contribute annually to theological education.  SIM provides scholarship assistance to seminarians in need and Father Hino was a recipient of SIM's Cunningham Scholarship during his time at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois.  Pictured is Rev. Hino with his autumn leaf lei and the check from Holy Apostle's being presented to SIM Treasurer, the Very Rev. David Lowry of the Diocese of Long Island.  Standing alongside Hino is Tom Moore, SIM's Executive Director. (Photo provided by Rev. Moki Hino.)

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Holy Apostles Members receive the Congressional Gold Medal

Two parishioners of the Church of the Holy Apostles in Hilo recently received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor given to civilians.  They received this medal for their service as Americans of Japanese Ancestry in the European Front during World War II.  Pictured in the left photo below is Morris Kihara, 91, who was a member of the 100th Battalion. Standing with him from left is Carole Ishimaru, whose father was in the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, Rev. Hino, and Kihara's daughter, Pat Simonson.  Pictured in the right photo is Wataru Kohashi, 89, with his wife, Kikuye.  He was also a member of the famed 442nd Regimental Combat Team. (Photo provided by Rev. Moki Hino)

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