Aloha our beloved parish ‘ohana,

In the Gospel this week we will hear the commandment of Jesus: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” This weekend we remember the Baptism and Confirmation of Queen Lili’uokalani, who lived out this commandment through her profound relationship with the Lord – the kind of link forged in the crucible of emotional trauma, bitter disappointment, anger as well as joy- through the instrument of private individual prayer. Nowhere is the relationship expressed more clearly than in some of the 160 songs she wrote over the course of her lifetime.

The Queens prayer,  Ke Aloha O Ka Haku,  which we will sing this weekend was written on March 22, 1895, just seven weeks after Lili’uokalani had been imprisoned for alleged knowledge of a plot to return her to the throne. This song asks the Lord‘s forgiveness of those who had wronged her. Today it is sung regularly during worship services Kawaiah’o Church, The Queen’s first church; at the Bishop Memorial Chapel at Kamehameha schools, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral and Episcopal churches all through the islands, including our own. It was St. Andrew’s that Lili’uokalani joined after her release at the personal invitation of the Rt. Rev. Alford Willis, Anglican Bishop of Honolulu.

As we have baptisms in the ocean this weekend at our 5 PM Saturday, Beach Mass, it is fitting that this is the day we celebrate the anniversary of the Queen’s baptism. What does it mean to love one another as Jesus loves us? Read the Queen’s prayer. The reasons for her writing this song makes real for us the Jesus’ command. 

With love and blessings,

Marnie+

Link to the readings for this Sunday:

CLICK HERE

Mahalo to everyone in our parish who participated in our United Thank Offering Spring  Ingathering by giving via a check or using the Little Blue Boxes to collect their pocket change through the season of Lent and beginning of Eastertide. We currently have collected $504.57.  

An extra special mahalo to Sandy Pang for the beautiful mite box cross for us to place our offerings. Over 125 years ago the United Thank Offering was founded. It is still going strong today offering grants that focus on meeting compelling human needs and to expand the mission and ministry of the church at home and throughout the world.   

Our parishioner and seminarian, Steve McPeek, is soon to be ordained as a transitional deacon. A priest is first ordained a deacon. A deacon is a ministry of servanthood. Six months to a year later, Steve will be ordained a priest. If you would like to make a monetary donation in honor and celebration for the ordination, please make the check payable to either  St. James’ Church or St. Columba’s church, place in the offering plate, or mail to the parish office. We will combine the gifts and present them to Steve on the day of his ordination, June 22nd.  

Please keep Steve in your prayers. He will soon graduate from the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest.  Following ordination, he and Vinny head to Europe. Bishop Bob has released him to serve as a curate assigned to the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe. He will be assigned to a parish in Germany. Steve served as a missionary with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) for twelve years and speaks fluent German. The details of his assignment are still being finalized. There are many items a newly ordained deacon/priest is in need of purchasing, ie. clergy attire, vestments, etc. Your donation will be a great blessing to him in being able to live into his calling.

With a deep heart for helping those in need, reports of parishioners out doing mission in the world!

Ken Reeves

Good morning my friends, 

Another successful day at the water park with the children of Ky Quang 2 Pagoda on April 22 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.  

We were able to bring 19 children this trip and each one was exhausted and literally some passed out by the end of the day before the bus ride back to the temple!

Hoping that you will join with the children at the Ky Quang 2 Pagoda someday - it is life changing!  

With Aloha, 

Kenneth Reeves 

Aimee Love and David Doi

52 beautiful towels donated by the Fairmont and several suitcase and duffle bag loads of keiki and youth clothes from our Thrift Store Ministry were taken by Aimee and David on their mission trip to Madagascar where David is donating his time as a dentist. Specifically, the organization they are ministering with is Akany Avoko Faravohitra, a ministry for vulnerable girls ages 5 to 18. Most of them right now are teenagers from troubled families and some are victims of abuse. Click here for more information about this ministry: www.avokofaravohitra.com .

Mahalo Jaisy Jardine and Nina Disbro for coordinating the donations.

Here are a few pictures of David donating his services to help those in need and a video of the girls offering their thanks in song:

Dear Siblings in Christ, 

We invite you to join us in celebrating the ministry of the Rev. Hollis Wright, who served your parish in the past. She and Chris Parsons are retiring, and we'd like to remember her 23+ years of ordained ministry in style. If you remember Rev. Wright, you're invited to send remembrances, cards and pictures (please do not expect them back, there are too many to keep track of them!) to us. Either via snail mail to the address (below) or electronically to our Jr. Warden for hospitality, Sue Emerson at [email protected]. We're also collecting a secret gift for Rev. Hollis and Chris, if you are moved to donate you may do so via check or on our website at stmatthewsgj.org so we might send them into retirement in class. 

Please get these to us by June 5th. If you can make it, you are, of course, invited to her party (we know the travel involved but want to be inclusive!) June 8th from 4-7 PM Mountain Standard Time in our Pavilion. 

Many Blessings from Colorado, 

The Rev. Laura Stephenson, Associate Pastor St. Matthew's Episcopal Church 

3888 271/2 Road, Grand Junction, CO 81506

Wednesday, May 15th, St. Columba's had Family Movie Night. The feature film was I Can Only Imagine and it was an excellent movie and very well received. We had a great turnout and treats were plentiful! Popcorn, brownies, cupcakes and cookies were the snacks for the evening. St. Columba's hopes to have Family Movie Night once a month starting in September. We will be showing Christian family movies, so stay tuned for the next showing!

I touch the sky when my knees are on the ground.

-- anonymous

 The next scheduled baptisms are set for this Saturday, May 18 at the 5 PM Saturday Beach Mass. Speak to any of the clergy about being baptized or having a child baptized.

KAWAIHAE HARBOR, SATURDAY, 5 PM

Do you know of someone else to whom we could reach out?

Please get their permission first, then contact the parish office to have them added to the list. email here or telephone at 808-885-4923

Birthdays:  Zekiah Silva, Debi Brun, Graham Ellis, Suzette Lee-Mills, Jacque Miller, Larry Olsen, Phyllis Fox, Charles Labrador, Sanford William, Jo Piltz, Dawn Lahnum, Moki Hino, James Moniz

Remembrances:  Joan Williams, Linda Robertson, Nathan Rasmussen, Mary Alfies, Florentina Talaro, John Ho`oipo Philips, Thomas Straughan, John Chute, Michael Arioli

What a busy week we have had at St. James’! Laura Williams told the Story of Ruth in Godly Play, and Maureen Mc Laughlin was her door person. Our one keiki in Godly Play really enjoyed the one on one time and worked with several stories. He even retold the Story of Ruth to Laura, Maureen, and Suzette. What a beautiful way to start the week.

 

After school tutoring has come to an end for the school year. We played games, and had a yummy spaghetti snack. We have had some of the best tutors help our keiki. Mahalo to John & Charlotte Crouch, Harriet Knox, Lorrie Dillon, John Barton, & MJ. And a huge mahalo to the keiki that participated. See you next school year.

 

Save the date-July 22-26, for Vacation Bible School. Our theme is “ROAR”. “Life is Wild, God is Good”. We are once again offering the Little Paws preschool for our keiki ages 3-5. Program hours are 2-5PM, with dinner offered nightly. Registration is limited, so please register early.

 

I will be off island from May 24 through June 9. I am leaving my work phone behind and will check voicemail and email when I get back. Anything urgent, please contact Sheri, Fr. David, Rev. Marn or Rev. Linda.

 

Blessings,

Susan Acacio

Youth Ministry Coordinator

After School Tutoring is over for the school year. We will resume in the fall when school starts!

Mahalo to all our great volunteers!

SUNDAY SCHOOL AT ST. COLUMBA'S

Susan Acacio will be at St. Columba’s for their 9:30 AM service the next several weeks. We are starting a Sunday School for their keiki and we are looking for St. Columba’s parishioners to commit to one Sunday a month to help with Sunday School. Their keiki really enjoy Sunday School and we will be doing a Journey through the Parables with them. The Parable program is very easy to follow along and has everything you need to do a meaningful Sunday School for the keiki. If you are interested, please let Rev. Linda or me know. There is nothing better than planting seeds of faith in our keiki.

'Ohana Ukulele

We will have a performance This Sunday May 19 at our 9 AM service. 

Our next scheduled series of lessons will be announced shortly. Please encourage your 'ohana to join us. No ukulele, no problem. We have ukuleles to loan during the sessions.

Western Week begins May 18th. Check out our display at the Thrift Store. Come in and get your cowboy (or girl) on!

BYOB - Bring your own BAGS, please! The Thrift Store will no long be accepting donations of reusable grocery bags or providing bags at the check out. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.

Nina Disbro, 

Thrift Store Ministry Coordinator

[email protected]



from Steve Kittell

SOLDIERS GALORE!

After a long day of working to improve our campus, the soldiers from PTA not only helped grill and prep our Community Meal but also jumped right in on the serving line...…..now THAT IS TRUE SERVICE! MAHALO NUI LOA to all of our troops for all their service!

Alter several record breaking weeks, we finally had a moment to catch out breath. 201 meals were served in the Pavilion (including 51 keiki) plus 105 deliveries for a grand total of 306 meals served...…...still a lot of meals! Our meal consisted of Chicken Long Rice with Shrimp; Grilled Hot Dogs; Rice, Pinto Beans & veggie Vegan Soup; Lomi Tomato Salad; Cucumber Namsu; Roasted Root veggie Salad; Quinoa/cucumber/mac nut cheese salad; mixed green salad with tomatoes &* cucumbers; and our delicious selection of baked desserts. 

Returning musician Andy McKay offered a quieter version of lovely Hawaiian and Contemporary Music...….boy does he have a beautiful voice. Mahalo Andy. 

Our sponsor for the meal was Lloyd's of the Pacific who not only paid for the meal but also brought staff and friends to serve the meal. MAHALO NUI LOA TO LLOYD'S OF THE PACIFIC. In addition to PTA soldiers on the line, we also had our enthusiastic Waimea Middle School students and others of our regular serving volunteers. As always, we are so grateful to all our great volunteers who shop, chop, prep, cook, deliver, set up, serve, break down and clean up...…..your are ALL THE BEST! A HUGE MAHALO TO YOU ALL. 

Mahalo also to our Prep Crew, Clean up Crew, Packers and Deliverers of meals and all those who work behind the scenes! Join us every Thursday, for we feed the body and soul! Contact Sue if you feel called to volunteer or otherwise support the Community Meal Ministry!



Building Community, One Meal at a Time! 

Smiles, Sue

Sue dela Cruz

Community Meal Ministry Coordinator

[email protected]

Mahalo to the soldiers from the Pohakaloa Training facility who spent all day working around the campus and then stayed to serve at the Community Meal!

Turns out that having volunteers in the church office has been absolutely invaluable during the last couple of months and we'd like to continue to have volunteers between 9 and 1 on weekdays. If you feel you can help out, please sign up HERE . The sign up is structured for two hour blocks 9-11 and 11-1. Duties are varied, including answering phones, greeting visitors, helping out with copying and folding materials for services and youth programs and with other projects (David has a growing list!) Please help if you are able.

Volunteer at our Thrift Store Ministry. We have a terrific group of regular volunteers. But are in great need of more volunteers to be able to open the store. If you do not already presently volunteer, please give a try. CLICK HERE to sign up for a few hours. This sign up is for folks who do not presently volunteer. You will be welcomed with open arms!

Volunteer at the Community Meal Ministry  (Thursdays 4:30 - 6 PM). Join in helping to provide a hot sit-down meal and warm welcome. Thursdays, 4 - 6 PM. Contact Tim Bostock or Sue Dela Cruz ( [email protected] ). Sponsor one of our weekly meals for $700. 10 AM - Chop and prep. 3:30 PM - Pack up meals to be delivered. 3:30 PM - Set up the Pavilion. 4:15 PM - Serve in the line. 4:30 PM - Come talk-story, giving guests the gift of friendship. 6 PM - clean up. 

Volunteer with our Youth Ministry . Our ministry to the youngest in our midst is growing by leaps and bounds. Become trained as a  Godly Play (Sunday School) teacher , volunteer at our Wednesday After School Tutoring, assist at one of our youth events. Contact our Youth Ministry Coordinator, Susan Acacio at 895-2086 or  [email protected] . 

Serve in Worship . Acolytes, readers, servers at the altar, ushers/greeters are needed. Speak to any of our clergy. 

Share your musical talents.  Join the St. James' Choir. Share your gift as a soloist, your ability to play an instrument or dance hula. At St. Columba's speak to Rev. Linda; at the Beach Mass speak to Garrett Webb; and at St. James' speak to Everett Knowles or Rona Lee. Don't know who they are? Contact the Parish Office and we'll connect you to them. 

Monthly Women's Bible Study

The Women’s Bible Study meets next on Friday, June 7, 2019 in the Church from 10-12. We are making an in depth study of Mary, the mother of Jesus. All women are welcome. Bring your friends!

NEW Monthly Men's Bible Study

Beginning on Friday May 17 , at 7:30 - 8:30 AM in the Church. All men welcome. Facilitated by Joe Bollinger and Eric Savage. Coffee will be on! Come join us.



Noon Weekly Bible Study on Wednesdays  

at St. James' Church. This study is a scholarly reflection on the upcoming assigned Scriptures for our weekend worship.  This Bible Study is on hiatus and will resume on May 15 .

Scripture Readings for this Weekend

CLICK HERE

Fifth Sunday of Easter

John 13:31–35

Notes on This Reading:

This passage is a short excerpt from Jesus’s long farewell address to his disciples, given on the night before he was arrested. It may seem strange to be eavesdropping on the Last Supper during the season of Easter, but Jesus is telling the disciples what he thought was important. As Jesus prepares the disciples for his departure, he gives them a way to keep going. He gives them a new commandment, which is all about love. Love will be the way that people recognize them as his disciples. It will be the way that the Church will grow; in keeping with the words of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry: “If it ain’t about love, it ain’t about God.”

Questions:

** Graphic and reflection/questions from the book, “Drawn to the Gospels” by friend of our parish ‘ohana, the Rev. Jay Sidebotham. Used with permission.

Meets weekly on Tuesdays at St. James' from 8:30 to 10:30 AM. Registration required. Please contact David+, John Sucke, or Beth McKeen for additional information.

"Courage does not always roar. Sometimes it is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying 'I will try again tomorrow.'"

Jesus always worked with groups. He spoke to groups, he fed groups, ate with groups, healed people in groups. When we read he encountered individuals, they were representatives of a group, or he sent these individuals back to groups. It’s not about me, individually, or you, individually; it’s about us.

-Br. Curtis Almquist,  SSJE

Read More and Comment >

Society of Saint John the Evangelist

An Episcopal Monastery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

   

"Sleep Blessing: Day is over and night has come. Today has gone, what's done is done. Embrace your dreams all through the night. Tomorrow comes a whole new light. Sweet Dreams."

 If you are already baptized, and desire to make this parish 'ohana  your  parish 'ohana, then do not hesitate to contact David+, our rector, or any of our clergy, if you have questions about becoming a member of our parish.

2019 Holy Days, Events, and Special Offerings

Memorial Day – Office Closed

May 27

Pentacost Weekend

June 8, 9

St. Columba’s Feast Day

June 9

Father’s Day and Trinity Sunday

June 16

Ordination of parishioner Steve McPeek

To the Transitional Deaconate at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Saturday, June 22, 10 AM. Your prayers and attendance are invited.

Vacation Bible School Week

July 22-26, 2 - 5:30 PM (Dinner included for keiki and family)

Celebration of St. Columba’s Patronal Feast Day

We transfer the feast day of St. Columba (June 9) to be celebrated at our worship services for the weekend of June 22 and June 23.

Fourth of July – Office Closed

Thursday, July 4

St. James the Greater’s Feast Day

July 25

St. James' Patronal Feast

We transfer the feast day of St. James' (July 25) to be celebrated at our worship services for the weekend of July 27th and July 28rd at the Beach Mass and 7:30 & 9 AM services. It is also St. James’ Homecoming Weekend.

Godly Play Planning Meeting for Storytellers/Door People

Spencer Building, St. James’ Sunday August 19 10:45 AM

Godly Play Orientation for Parents

Spencer Building, St. James’ Sunday August 26 10:45 AM

Labor Day - Office Closed

Monday, September 2

Feast of Gregorio Aglipay

We transfer the feast day of Gregorio Aglipay (September 5) to be celebrated at our worship services for the weekend of September 7 and 8

B ishop's Fitzpatrick's Visit with Confirmations

September 28 (Beach Mass) & 29 (7:30 & 9 AM St. James' Services)

Blessing of the Animals

Weekend of October 5-6 at Beach Mass on Saturday October 6 at 5 PM and 9 AM Service at St. James.  7:30 Mass at St. James will be ‘fur-free’.

Ironman Triathlon Saturday October 12 – Beach Mass will be a spoken service.  Note road closures.

Diocese Convention

Education day Friday October 25, Convention October 26

Thrift Store Christmas Store Opens

November 2

Veteran’s Day Celebrated – Office Closed

Monday, November 11

Parish Christmas Bazaar

Saturday, November 16

9 AM - 1 PM

Canoe Club Luau

Saturday, November 16  NO BEACH MASS

Thanksgiving Potluck Lunch

Thursday, November 28 St. James’ Noon to 2 PM

Advent Evensong & Study

Wednesday, December 4, 11, & 18

6 - 8 PM (Soup & Salad dinner)

Christmas Bazaar

Saturday, December 7, 9 AM - 2 PM

Greening of the Churches

December 21, both St. James’ and St. Columba’s

For Full Parish Calendar,  CLICK HERE

What's going on in the Neighborhood?

The Waimea Community Association maintains a comprehensive calendar of civic and social events in Waimea.  CLICK HERE  to check out what is happening, where and when in our area. 

Tutu's House offers many free or low cost activities. Their calendar is  HERE

What's on at the Kahilu? Check  HERE

 

The Waikoloa Village Association publishes a monthly newsletter covering events in Waikoloa.   CLICK HERE for the current issue of The Breeze. 

Waikoloa Beach Resort has a monthly calendar of free and for fee events.   CLICK HERE for the current issue. 

The Shops at Mauna Lani Resort’s Calendar of Events is HERE  

And Konaweb publishes an Islandwide calendar HERE

VOLUNTEER NEEDED

For Special Olympics. A unified partner for modified Bocce Ball. Athlete is a Kamuela resident and volunteers every Thursday at the Community Meal. Commitment would be June 2nd through Aug 10. Practices Sunday and Monday afternoons in Kamuela. Sat July 13 Area Games in Kona and Aug 10th & 11th in Honolulu. Special Olympics covers all costs. Experience not necessary Call Stephanie @ 960-6028 or see Paul Lee

Beach Mass - Raina Dale; St. Columba's - Linda Lundgren; St. James' Parish- Ken Reeves, Aimee Love; Community Meal -Jeannie Savage, Jaisy Jardine; Thrift Shop - Jaisy Jardine Youth Programs & Ukulele - Susan Acacio

Last Laughs

used with permission of Cuyler Black www.cuylerblack.com

Our Ministries Staff