A Pastoral Letter from the Bishop

My dear Siblings in Christ,

I have just returned from Maui. I am at a loss for words to describe the loss, but, also, of the spirit of resilience and care.

On Tuesday evening, I was asked to share a short reflection on “Hope” at an ecumenical service hosted at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church, Wailuku. There, I suggested that hope is grounded in “mercy,” “confidence,” and “vision.”

Mercy is the gift of God’s love (1 Peter 2:10 – “Once you weren’t a people, but now you are God’s people. Once you hadn’t received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”).

As a faithful people, we have confidence in God’s love (Romans 8:38-39 – “I’m convinced that nothing can separate us from God’s love in Christ Jesus our Lord: not death or life, not angels or rulers, not present things or future things, not powers or height or depth, or any other thing that is created.”).

From that confidence, we have the vision of the God’s world as it is called to be, and we are called to help create (Revelation 21:6-7 – “All is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will freely give water from the life-giving spring. Those who emerge victorious will inherit these things. I will be their God, and they will be my sons and daughters.”)

Mercy is being shared throughout Maui. Many are giving much to those without anything with no expectation of return. Love abounds in the grief and in the care. The vision of lives restored and homes rebuilt will provide the impetus to continue in the days, weeks, months and years ahead. This will be a long recovery. We – the churches on Maui and the entire Diocese, Island of Maui and the State – need to be part of the recovery for a long time. Though emergency relief is needed now, the recovery for Maui will be long and difficult.

As I write today, over one hundred people are confirmed dead and one thousand are still missing. We must pray and mourn for these children of God:

Be with us, O God, as we grieve those who have died. Hold tight to the souls of those we have lost. Be with all those who loved and knew them; calm their minds, soothe their hearts, and strengthen them for the struggles ahead. We ask this in the name of Jesus, our model of selfless and life-giving love. Amen.

I have heard from members of Holy Innocents’ Church who have lost not only their physical church home (with the destruction of the sanctuary, vicarage and office), but their actual homes as well. As of now, I have no reports of parishioner deaths. Members of other Maui congregations have parishioners who have lost their homes and places of work. Many have lost friends and relatives. Many are housing friends and relatives.

As a Church, we are responding through A Cup of Cold Water as the vision for that ministry has expanded to care for houseless in new corners of the Island. Congregations and families on Maui are caring for first responders. Volunteers have come from Kaua'i to help. We are coordinating with Episcopal Relief and Development.

One thing that I was told repeatedly on Maui was that financial donations are most needed right now. The system has been inundated with “stuff.” Storage is at a premium, and the facilities and people for sorting are at a premium. So, right now, I urge churches to discontinue collecting items to send to Maui. Please make monetary collections. That may change as the recovery continues, but right now, send money.

As a Diocese, you can help in three ways using the Diocesan Donation Link: (This is a current corrected link! Do not use the link in communication dated before to August 15.):

• “A Cup of Cold Water” is the Diocesan ministry to the houseless that is coordinating with the Maui clergy and other agencies and groups to care for the immediate needs of the displaced.

• Through the “Bishop’s Pastoral Fund,” money will be collected to address recovery needs in the community and to help the congregation help others

• The “Ministry of Holy Innocents, Lahaina,” will help those from the impacted congregation and to help keep God’s people together. These funds will not be used for rebuilding (this is a consideration for the future), but only for ministry to people at this time.

Alternatively, checks can be made out to “The Episcopal Church in Hawaiʻi” with the designated fund noted in the memo, and mailed to The Episcopal Church in Hawaiʻi, 229 Queen Emma Square, Honolulu, HI 96813.

Any money collected will go to the direct support of people impacted or those agencies serving them, and not for administration of the Diocese or congregations.

This is going to be a long recovery. Things will never be the same. We will have to prepare for the future being adaptable, being willing to make and acknowledge mistakes, being generous and gracious, and being God’s servants in a hurting world.

My favorite hymn – I actually often set it as my morning alarm tune – is Hymn 665 in The Hymnal 1982. As I have heard the stories of God’s people – both those impacted and those responding – on Maui, the words of that hymn (especially the first three verses) kept rolling through my thoughts and prayers:

All my hope on God is founded;

he doth still my trust renew.

Me through change and chance he guideth,

only good and only true.

God unknown, he alone

calls my heart to be his own.

Human pride and earthly glory,

sword and crown betray his trust;

what with care and toil he buildeth,

tower and temple, fall to dust.

But God's power, hour by hour,

is my temple and my tower.

God's great goodness e’er endureth,

deep his wisdom, passing thought:

splendor, light, and life attend him,

beauty springeth out of naught.

Evermore from his store

new-born worlds rise and adore.

So, please keep praying. Prayers for those impacted by wild fires and those who care for them can be found at Episcopal Relief & Development: Prayers for Wild Fires. Please use those prayers in your private prayers and at worship.

Finally, please be kind to one another. We all will need to show a special spirit of aloha in the days, weeks, months, and years ahead as the earth and people heal.

Yours in the love of Christ Jesus,

+Bob

The Right Reverend Robert L. Fitzpatrick

 (Pronouns: he, him, his)

Bishop Diocesan 

The Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i

229 Queen Emma Square

Honolulu, HI 96813

(808) 536-7776

Email

• HAWAI'I RED CROSS
• FEMA (FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY)
• HIEMA (HAWAI'I EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

• STATE HAWAI'I FIRE RELIEF HOUSING PROGRAM
• HAWAI'I CARES 988
• ALOHA UNITED WAY 211 RESOURCE HELP LINE

LETTER OF SOLIDARITY FROM THE PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENT CHURCH - Read a letter from The Most Reverend Joel Porlares, Supreme Bishop of the Philippine Indendent Church, showing his support and solidarity to the Diocese. Click HERE to read.

MAUI DISASTER RELIEF - DEDICATED WEBPAGE NOW UP: The Diocese has set up a dedicated webpage on the main website that will contain all the latest information, photos and reports from the ground, resources, and updates on the Maui fires, as we receive them. Click HERE to go there now. You can also visit the Diocese's Facebook page HERE where photos and other info are widely shared.