Volume 3, Issue 21
June 15, 2018
THIS SUNDAY: June 17, 2018
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (B)
Ezekiel 17:22-24
Psalm 92:1-4,11-14
2 Corinthians 5:6-10,[11-13],14-17
Mark 4:26-34

8:00AM
Chris Neumann (EM)
John Hanaoka (U)
Lorna Nishi (AG)

9:30AM
David Murray (EM)
David Crocker & Bill Caldwell (R)
David & Linda Crocker (U)
Jan Hashizumi (AG)
Raiden (A)
UPCOMING DATES
Every Sunday | 9:00-9:30AM
Adult Bible Study on this Week's Gospel
(Under the tree )

Every Sunday after 9:30 Service
Aloha Hour Under the Tree

Sunday, June 17 | 9:30AM
Youth celebrate Father's Day

Monday, June 11 | 8:00AM
Monday Crew

Wednesday, June 20 | 5:15 PM
Laundry Love 3 rd Anniversary Celebration
( Team C , Kapa'a Laundromat)

1 st Thursday | 8:00AM
Eucharistic Healing Service

2 nd & 4 th Thursday | 7:00PM
Daughters of the King (Memorial Hall)

Every Thursday | 6:00PM
Choir Practice (Choir Room)

Every Wednesday | 6:00PM
McMaster Slack Key Guitar and Ukulele Concert (Church)
FOUR PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL STEWARDSHIP
Part Three
Hugh Whelchel
Vestry picture
For the next two weeks we will continue to explore Hugh Whelchel’s Principles of Biblical Stewardship. Each week we will focus on a different Principle. This week we look at The Principle of Accountability. I hope this series will stimulate thought, reflection, and prayer. If you would like to discuss further, please feel free to contact me.

Nelson Secretario
Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already. 
– C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
In a recent blog on  stewardship  we asked the question, “What does stewardship look like in our lives today?” Unfortunately many Christians today only associate the idea of stewardship with sermons they have heard about church budgets and building programs.

But for us at the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics , the idea of  biblical stewardship  is about something much more expansive. We believe it is where the concepts of faith, work and economics intersect.

Bill Peel at The High Calling recently wrote an excellent essay entitled Leadership Is Stewardship . His essay can help us build a framework to begin unpacking this biblical idea of stewardship.

Peel suggests that there are four important principles about biblical stewardship we must understand:

The principle of accountability
A steward is one who manages the possessions of another. We are all stewards of the resources, abilities and opportunities that God has entrusted to our care, and one day each one of us will be called to give an account for how we have managed what the Master has given us.
This is the maxim taught by the Parable of the Talents. God has entrusted authority over the creation to us and we are not allowed to rule over it as we see fit. We are called to exercise our dominion under the watchful eye of the Creator managing his creation in accord with the principles he has established.
Like the servants in the Parable of the Talents, we will be called to give an account of how we have administered everything we have been given, including our time, money, abilities, information, wisdom, relationships, and authority.

We will all give account to the rightful owner as to how well we managed the things he has entrusted to us.
Hugh Whelchel is Executive Director of the Institute for Faith, Work & Economics and author of How Then Should We Work? Rediscovering the Biblical Doctrine of Work . The full text of this article is available HERE .
EPISCOPAL CHURCH NEWS
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry Joins Other Faith Leaders in a Statement on Family Separation at Our Borders
Recently, the Administration announced that it will begin separating families and criminally prosecuting all people who enter the U.S. without previous authorization. As religious leaders representing diverse faith perspectives, united in our concern for the wellbeing of vulnerable migrants who cross our borders fleeing from danger and threats to their lives, we are deeply disappointed and pained to hear this news. 

We affirm the family as a foundational societal structure to support human community and understand the household as an estate blessed by God. The security of the family provides critical mental, physical and emotional support to the development and wellbeing of children. Our congregations and agencies serve many migrant families that have recently arrived in the United States. Leaving their communities is often the only option they have to provide safety for their children and protect them from harm. Tearing children away from parents who have made a dangerous journey to provide a safe and sufficient life for them is unnecessarily cruel and detrimental to the well-being of parents and children.  

As we continue to serve and love our neighbor, we pray for the children and families that will suffer due to this policy and urge the Administration to stop their policy of separating families.  READ MORE to view the list of supporting churches and their leaders.

To hear the latest developments on this story please check out the video below.
The Staff of your Epistle encourages you to join Bishop Curry in speaking up for the rights of families.

To make your voices heard, please contact:
NEWS FROM THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH ON KAUAI
Ti Leaf Lei-Making Workshop at St. Michael's
ReSource for Christian Spirituality invites the churches of Kaua'i to their annual ti leaf lei making workshop, where lei will be made in memory of the people of Kalaupapa, Moloka'i. Lei will be placed on every known gravesite in support of Lei Hali'a O Kalaupapa (Kalaupapa Independence Day) on Saturday, June 30, 2018.

The workshop will take place on Saturday, June 23, 2018, from 9:00AM-12:00PM at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Lihue. For more information download the flyer  HERE , or if you have any questions, contact Phyllis Meighen, at (808) 647-4346, or  e-mail her .
NEWS FROM BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS
Special Workday Last Saturday
Two of our manila palms in front of the church were dying and needed to be replaced. Thanks to the hard work of David Murray, Wayne Doliente, Bill Brown, David Crocker, and Mario Baldovino the new palms were planted last Saturday morning.

Mahahlo nui loa also to Lelan Nishak and Kaua'i Nursery and Landscaping (KNL) for their help with this project and to Marge Akana for coordinating with KNL on behalf of All Saints' Church.
PRAISE THE LORD AND PASS THE PAINT!
Saturday Workday To Stain Deck
It looks like we may have some nice weather this week (no rain!) so we may be able to finally get the deck stained. Hallelujah!

This long-awaited project gets underway at 9:00AM on Saturday, June 16 th and should be pau by noon or 1:00PM at the latest.  

We will have brushes and containers available for those who would like to come and help with this project. It should not take us long, especially if we have a good number of volunteers. So PLEASE come out and help.

Coffee, juice and breakfast goodies will be on hand!

Me ke aloha.

For the Buildings and Grounds Ministry
David Murray
LAUNDRY LOVE
Three Years of Clean Laundry, Compassion, and Fellowship!
Today, June 15 th , Laundry Love is three years old. All Saints' launched Hawai'i's first Laundry Love program in June 2015. Since then, on the first and third Wednesdays of each month, volunteers wash, dry, and fold patrons' laundry FOR FREE!

"Laundry Love's third anniversary is a tremendous achievement for All Saints' Church," said Geoffrey Shields, Leader of the Laundry Love Ministry. "Since the Ministry began we have done about 6000 loads of free laundry. We also have gotten to know our brothers and sisters in the community, many of whom are houseless and/or struggling to make ends meet. All Saints' has been able to take the Gospel beyond the walls of the Church by rolling up our sleeves and reaching out to those in need through a simple mission to provide clean, free laundry."

Please join us on June 20 th at Kapa'a Laundromat to celebrate this special milestone! All are welcome.

As always, if you are interested in donating you time, talent, or treasure to Laundry Love Kaua'i or would like more information, please go to  Laundry Love Kaua’i  or contact Geoff Shields at  gshields2334@gmail.com  or Bill Caldwell at  billcaldwell4@me.com .
THIS WEEK IN SUNDAY SCHOOL
WOMEN WHO STRUGGLED FOR FREEDOM
The women we study Sunday, Sojourner Truth and Harriet Ross Tubman, lived in the 1800s and courageously worked with prophetic vision for the liberation of all people. They worked to gain for the oppressed persons their rightful places as “children of God” as promised in the Bible.

“Sojourner Truth” was not her real name. She was born in New York state as Isabella, a slave, and she was known as “Belle.” With the help of some Quaker friends, Belle escaped from slavery. She ended up in a very poor part of New York City and saw how much people needed food, homes and warm clothing, so she set up a homeless shelter for women and worked there for a long time.

When she was 46, she heard God say to her, “Go east.” She went to Long Island and to Connecticut, finally ending up at a Quaker farm looking for work. “What is your name?” they asked her. She said, “My name is Sojourner.” (A sojourner is a person on a journey.) Then they asked, “What is your last name?” She had always used her slave master’s last name, but she now thought, “The only master I have now is God, and His name is Truth.” So that is what she gave as her last name: Truth.

Now called Sojourner Truth, she became a traveling preacher. She would go to religious revivals for white people and boldly ask if she could speak. Right away, people could tell that she was wise, witty and six feet tall. Not many people said no to her. When she spoke, she told a lot of stories from the Bible, and not many people knew that she could not read or write a single word. She just knew much of the Bible by heart. Then she would end her sermons by singing a hymn that she made up and talking about the evils of slavery. Her most famous speech is called “Ain’t I a Woman.” For she struggled not only for the freedom of African-American slaves but also for the liberation of women. She has been called “Miriam of the Later Exodus,” remembering Moses’ sister Miriam when the Hebrew slaves were freed from Egypt.

Harriet Ross Tubman was also born a slave. We know that she suffered beatings and a severe injury as a child, but she grew up to be strong and defiant. She refused to look “happy and smiling” to her slave owners. She loved to listen to Bible stories, especially the story of Moses and the Exodus. When she was 24, she escaped to Canada. But she had to leave her own family and the other slaves behind. She could never forget them. Working with Quakers, she made more than 19 trips back and forth from Maryland to Canada with escaping slaves, between 1851 and 1861. She led more than three hundred people to Canada and to freedom, as part of the “Underground Railroad.” She was so good at this that $40,000 was offered for anyone who could capture her. That was a huge amount of money in those days! Mostly for this brave work, she is known as “Moses of her People.” Her work to free the slaves was very dangerous, but Harriet said that God guided her struggle against slavery. God had given her omens, dreams and warnings whenever danger was near, to protect her. She also saw the coming of the Civil War in a vision.

But before the war began, she went to New York and opened her home to African-American orphans and to helpless elderly people who had nowhere else to go. She also set up some schools for African-American children, even though she could not read or write herself. When the war did come, Harriet joined the Northern Union Army as a cook and nurse. She cared for both Confederate and Union soldiers, helping anyone who was hurt, no matter what side they were on. She was also a spy and secret scout for the Army. One day, she led 300 black troops on a raid to free 700 slaves. This action made her the first American woman to lead troops into military action.
To learn more, please follow our Sunday School curriculum. Click on the link here and get the full story.  Our Keiki, Our Future!
THE 79 TH GENERAL CONVENTION OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
July 5 - 13, 2018
Austin, Texas

The 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church will be held Thursday, July 5 to Friday, July 13 at The Austin Convention Center, Austin, Texas.
TEConversations

A highlight of General Convention 2018 will be The Episcopal Church Conversations ( TEConversations ), three innovative, inspirational and informative sessions featuring brief talks, videos and engaging interludes . TEConversations  will be part of the three Joint Sessions of General Convention, each focused on one of the three priorities of General Convention – Racial Reconciliation, Evangelism and Care of Creation.

TEConversations  will be presented during Joint Sessions of the House of Bishops and House of Deputies which include visitors, volunteers and others in attendance at General Convention 2018. For those not attending, the  TEConversations  will be livestreamed and available for viewing on the Episcopal Church website ( www.episcopalchurch.org ) and the General Convention website ( www.generalconvention.org ). 

The  TEConversations  will include simultaneous Spanish interpretation.
“The team has shaped a truly interactive festival of ideas,” explained the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, Presiding Bishop’s Canon for Evangelism, Reconciliation and Creation Care. “Deputies, bishops and guests will experience compelling talks, along with music, poetry and robust social media that extend the learning and engagement from Austin out to the whole church and beyond.”

Each TEConversations session will be 90 minutes and will include three speakers, videos, music interludes and deeper small group engagement. The speakers represent international leaders, well-known Episcopalians, and rising voices in the church. The TEConversations will be facilitated by David Crabtree, News Anchor at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, NC and a deacon in the Diocese of North Carolina. The  TEConversations  topics, times and speakers are:

Racial Reconciliation
Friday, July 6 from 05:30 – 7:00AM Hawai'i Standard Time

Speakers:
  • Arno Michaelis, a former racist skinhead who examines aspects of his past in his books, including My Life After Hate;
  • Catherine Meeks, founder of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing in Atlanta, GA;
  • The Rev. Nancy Frausto, a “Dreamer” from the Diocese of Los Angeles who came to the United States from Mexico as a child.

Evangelism
Saturday, July 7 from 9:30AM – 11:00AM Hawai'i Standard Time

Speakers:
  • The Rev. Lauren Winner, an Episcopal priest and popular author who bridges faith and culture;
  • Bishop Alan Scarfe of the Diocese of Iowa, who led revivals in every diocesan congregation in 2017;
  • The Rev. Daniel Vélez-Rivera, a church planter from the Diocese of Virginia.

Care of Creation
Tuesday, July 10 from 05:30 – 7:00AM Hawai'i Standard Time

Speakers:
  • Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of the Anglican Province of South Africa and a leader in the Anglican Communion on climate change;
  • The Rev. Stephanie Johnson, co-chair of the Episcopal Church Stewardship of Creation Advisory Council;
  • Bernadette Demientieff, leader of the Gwich’in Steering Committee and defender of Alaska’s Arctic Refuge.

For more information on TEConversations contact Sarah Alphin at  salphin@episcopalchurch.org or 212-716-6012.

DEFINITION OF FAITH
Faith is not what some people think it is. Their human dream is a delusion. Because they observe that faith is not followed by good works or a better life, they fall into error, even though they speak and hear much about faith. “Faith is not enough,” they say, “You must do good works, you must be pious to be saved.” They think that, when you hear the gospel, you start working, creating by your own strength a thankful heart which says, “I believe.” That is what they think true faith is. But, because this is a human idea, a dream, the heart never learns anything from it, so it does nothing and reform doesn’t come from this `faith,’ either.

Instead, faith is God’s work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God. ( John 1:13 ). It kills the Old Adam and makes us completely different people. It changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts and all our powers. It brings the Holy Spirit with it. Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this faith. Faith cannot help doing good works constantly. It doesn’t stop to ask if good works ought to be done, but before anyone asks, it already has done them and continues to do them without ceasing. Anyone who does not do good works in this manner is an unbeliever. He stumbles around and looks for faith and good works, even though he does not know what faith or good works are. Yet he gossips and chatters about faith and good works with many words.

Faith is a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it. Such confidence and knowledge of God’s grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace. Thus, it is just as impossible to separate faith and works as it is to separate heat and light from fire! Therefore, watch out for your own false ideas and guard against good-for-nothing gossips, who think they’re smart enough to define faith and works, but really are the greatest of fools. Ask God to work faith in you, or you will remain forever without faith, no matter what you wish, say or can do.

An excerpt from “An Introduction to St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans,” Luther’s German Bible of 1522 by Martin Luther, 1483-1546

Translated by Rev. Robert E. Smith from DR. MARTIN LUTHER’S VERMISCHTE DEUTSCHE SCHRIFTEN. Johann K. Irmischer, ed. Vol. 63 Erlangen: Heyder and Zimmer, 1854), pp.124-125. [EA 63:124-125]
JUNE COLLECTION FOR HALE HO'OMALU
Dry Goods: Pastas, Hamburger Helper, Rice, Bread, Crackers

Please place your donations in the red wagon by the door to the sanctuary on Sundays. Hale Ho'omalu also needs and appreciates monetary donations as well as gift-in-kind items.

During Rev. Ryan's sabbatical Chris Neumann, CeCe Caldwell and Bill Caldwell will be publishing the Epistle . We encourage you to submit your ideas, announcements, photos, videos, articles, or stories for publication in the Epistle . We will work with you to craft your story. You give us the idea, we have a brief chat with you to outline the story, and you give us a quote if that is comfortable for you. It should only take five or ten minutes at your convenience. We take it from there! If you would like to have your item included, please email it to epistle@allsaintskauai.org or call Bill at (336) 414-7921.
MAHALO!