Volume 2, Issue 24
September 3, 2017
In This Issue
Hurricane Harvey Relief
Episcopal Response
Bishop Chang Remembered
Clergy Retreat on Kaua'i
Sister BJ's Presentation
This Week in Sunday School
In Brief
THIS SUNDAY
Upcoming Dates
View the Online
Master Calendar


Every Wednesday
McMaster Slack Key Guitar and Ukulele Concert
6:00PM -  Church

Every Thursday
Choir Practice
6:00PM - Choir Room

Wednesday, September 6
Laundry Love (Team B)
5:30PM - 8:30PM
Kapa'a Laundromat

Sunday, September 10
Ke Akua Youth Group Meeting
11:00AM - 12:00PM
Youth Room

Thursday, September 14
Daughters of the King
7:00PM
Memorial Hall

Wednesday, September 20
Laundry Love (Team C)
5:30PM - 8:30PM
Kapa'a Laundromat

Sunday, September 24
Heavenly Hike
11:45AM - Departure
TBD

Sunday, September 24
--Revised Date--
'Ohana Beach BBQ
4:00PM - 6:30PM
Lydgate Beach Park

Tuesday, September 26
Vestry Meeting
6:00PM - Eucharist
6:30PM - Meeting
Rectory

Thursday, September 28
Daughters of the King
7:00PM
Memorial Hall

Friday, September 29
Movie Night on the Lawn
Sunset to 10:30PM
All Saints' Lawn

Sunday, October 1
Vestry Communication Workshop
12:00PM - 4:00PM
Memorial Hall

Wednesday, October 4
Laundry Love (Team A)
5:30PM - 8:30PM
Kapa'a Laundromat

Friday, October 6
Movie Night on the Lawn
Sunset to 10:30PM
All Saints' Lawn

Sunday, October 15
Holy Sovereigns Service
9:30AM
Church

Saturday, October 21
KISS Concert
6:00PM
Church

Sunday, November 5
All Saints' Day
Celebration and Special Aloha Hour Following
9:30AM
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SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Interstate highway 45 is submerged during widespread flooding Aug. 28 in Houston. Photo: REUTERS/Richard Carson

Sunday's Free-Will Offering to support ERD's Harvey Response

In an effort to support the people and communities impacted by Hurricane Harvey, Sunday's Free-Will Offering will be given to Episcopal Relief and Development.

Episcopal Relief and Development staff is coordinating with the dioceses of Texas, West Texas, and Western Louisiana on response efforts.

Please continue to pray for those impacted by storms and flooding, for first responders who are conducting search and rescue operations and for church communities who are reaching out to care for their 'ohanas and neighbors.
FROM THE PRESIDING BISHOP

Our brothers and sisters in Texas and Louisiana need our help

Long ago the prophet Malachi taught that we are all children of God by virtue of our creation by the same God. "Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us," he asked (2:10). Jesus taught the same thing when he told a story about a Good Samaritan. We are indeed all the children of God. And if we are all God's children, then we are all brothers and sisters.

In our recent days, we have watched and witnessed the devastation in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.  Our brothers and sisters in Texas and Louisiana need our help.

Episcopal Relief & Development reminds us not to send food, clothing or other items because affected dioceses have limited or no capacity to receive, store or distribute goods. It is more efficient and better for the local economy to make a donation.

Episcopal Relief & Development already has actions in place for first-line aid.
  • To donate to the Hurricane Harvey Response Fund to support impacted dioceses  as they meet the needs of their most vulnerable neighbors after this event, check here.
  • Sign up on the Ready to Serve page to register as a possible volunteer in the future. Episcopal Relief & Development staff share these lists with dioceses when they are ready to recruit external volunteers.
  • The latest Episcopal Relief & Development program updates are available on FacebookTwitter (@EpiscopalRelief) and on here on the website.
  • Check the Episcopal Church website for updates and important information.
As our fellow Episcopalians minister to those in need they need our help not just now or in the short term, but for the long haul. Our support of Episcopal Relief & Development is a tangible, practical, effective and reliable way to do that. Keep in your prayers the people in Texas and Louisiana whose lives have been forever changed by Hurricane Harvey.

Together we are the human family of God and our efforts in times like these these truly help bring God's love and ours to our sisters and brothers in great need.

The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church  
IN MEMORIAM
The Right Reverend Richard S.O. Chang

The Rt. Rev. Richard Sui On Chang, the fourth bishop of the  Diocese of Hawai'i , died Aug. 30 after a short illness.

Bishop Chang  served as Bishop of Hawai'i from 1997 to 2006. Prior to serving both at the Diocesan and National Church level, Richard Chang served as the Rector of All Saints' from 1970-1978. He was a beloved pastor and servant of God. He will be dearly missed!
 
Chang earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and a Master of Divinity degree from Church Divinity School of the Pacific, the Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, California. He also studied at the University of Hawai'i.

George Richard Millard, the suffragan bishop of the Diocese of California, ordained Chang to the diaconate in March 1966. Then-Bishop of Hawai'i Harry S. Kennedy ordained him to the priesthood six months later.

Chang served in several roles in Hawai'i before becoming the diocese's archdeacon from 1970 to 1974. After the first bishop of Hawai'i, the Rt. Rev. Edmond Browning, was installed as the Episcopal Church's 24th presiding bishop, Chang served as his assistant. He was the executive officer of the diocese when Browning was bishop in Hawai'i.  Chang served for a time as vice president of the House of Bishops.

He is survived by his wife, Dee Chang, and daughters Holly and Hannah. Service arrangements are pending.

Chang2012 The Chang family has requested that in lieu of flowers or monetary gifts, donations be made to The Chang Clergy Children's Scholarship Fund. Your donations can be made online through the Diocesan website , or by check made out to: "The Episcopal Church in Hawai'i" with a notation for the "Chang Fund" on the memo line, and mailed to the Office of the Bishop (see below). 

Notes of condolence may be sent to the Office of the Bishop, addressed to:
 
Mrs. Dee Chang
The Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii
229 Queen Emma Square
Honolulu, HI 96813

O God of grace and glory, we remember before You our brother in Christ Richard Chang. We thank You for giving him to us to know and to love as a companion on our earthly pilgrimage. In Your boundless compassion, grant consolation to his family and friends, especially Dee, Holly, and Hannah, and to our Church 'Ohana as we mourn. Give us faith to see in death the gate of eternal life, so that in quiet confidence we may continue our course on earth, until, by Your call, we are reunited with those who have gone before; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

DIOCESE NEWS
 
Kaua'i serves as the host for annual clergy retreat

In an effort to try something different, this year, the Annual Clergy Retreat of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i ventured from Oahu and Camp Mokule'ia to the Island of Kaua'i. All Saints' and Reverend Ryan helped to serve as the host of the retreat on Kaua'i.

On Sunday evening, the clergy gathered at the All Saints' Rectory for a pupu reception and dinner. Thanks to a group of volunteers from All Saints', the large tent was setup on the Rectory grounds and the house was prepped to host the event. Mary Tudela and Janis Wright prepared the pupus and the Newman's provided the beverages for the reception. Following the gathering in the Rectory, the clergy gathered in the All Saints' Gym for the Celebration of Holy Eucharist. Following the service, the clergy moved to Memorial Hall to hear a presentation by Sister BJ Brown.

On Monday afternoon, the clergy got an opportunity to explore Kaua'i. A group visited the Kaua'i Museum  and All Saints' own Chucky Boy Chock, the museum's director, provided a personal tour of the collection and also shared many stories of Kaua'i's history. Another group made the 1.25 mile trek up  Nounou Mountain Trail (Sleeping Giant) led by Reverend Ryan.  The clergy stayed at the Kaua'i Courtyard Marriott. The retreat concluded on Tuesday afternoon.

SPIRITUAL FORMATION AND EDUCATION
Sensing God
 
This past Tuesday, Sister BJ Brown offered a presentation at All Saints' entitled, "Developing Your Spiritual Senses." Over 30 people from the All Saints' Ohana and the greater community participated in the Spiritual Formation and Education event.

"It was a fabulous presentation," said Reverend Ryan Newman. "Sister BJ invited us to experience God and our spiritual journeys through the joy of all of our senses. People really appreciated her honest, thoughtful, and humorous style. She is not your typical nun--that is what she told us and showed us."
 
Sister BJ, an Episcopal Nun for over 30 years, is the founder of Anamchara Fellowship, a new monastic style of Religious Life that follows a Celtic model. She is also the Director of The Interfaith Resource Center, a theological lending library that serves all faith traditions in Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland.

Sister BJ also served as last Sunday's preacher at All Saints'.
THIS WEEK IN SUNDAY SCHOOL
Each week, The Epistle will highlight the upcoming Sunday School lesson from "Weaving God's Promises."
September 3rd: Isaac is Born, and God Test Abraham

Genesis 21:1-7; 22:1-19 The nature of God is revealed in the moment that God stops Abraham's hand from harming Isaac and prevents the sacrifice. Abraham is not blessed for correctness in discerning God's will; he is blessed because he thought he knew God's will and was willing to obey. The truth is that the dedication that God desires is not to death but to life.

At the time of Abraham and Sarah, sacrifice of children was not uncommon in other nearby lands. Our God, however, says something different. People in the lands around Abraham and Sarah offered up their children to show their faith and obedience to false gods. Should Abraham do as much? God does not ask him to. The love is probed, but the demand not made.

What is asked by God is something different: oneness between the heart of God and the heart of the person. As part of the family of God, we also strive toward that oneness. Hopefully, we may not have to face the same decision that Abraham faced, but we do face decisions in our everyday lives about how much we want to control our own lives and how much we are willing to let God lead us.

NEW: Download the weekly "Threads" take home sheet. Threads provides parents/guardians with a weekly recap of the Sunday School themes and lesson, as well as multiple suggestions for household activities and prayer. We encourage families to use Threads to continue each child's classroom experience at home throughout the week. 

This week's Sunday School Team is "A."
IN BRIEF . . .
These news briefs were featured in previous issues of "The Epistle."

Hale Ho'omalu Monthly
This month's special collection for Hale Ho'omalu, a family service center located 1/2 block away from All Saints', is baby products (Baby Lotion, Shampoo, Wash Cloths, Baby Wipes, Baby Wash) Hale Ho'omalu also needs and appreciates monetary donations as well as gifts-in-kind items. Every Sunday, all gift-in-kind donations can be left in the red wagon at the Church's entrance.

Announcements at 9:30AM Service
Both our observations and feedback say that the placement of announcements in the middle of our worship experience can be disruptive. Therefore, while we are worshipping in the Gym, we want to experiment with beginning our 9:30AM service with a brief announcement period. Almost all of the announcements are also printed in Sunday's Gold Sheet and The Epistle. We strongly encourage our 'Ohana to read and take home the Gold Sheet and sign-up to receive our e-news publication, The Epistle.


"The Epistle" is published weekly by Friday.
Submissions for consideration are due by Wednesday at noon and can be sent to ryan@allsaintskauai.org.