Today, Sunday, July 4, is Independence Day in the United States. If it were a weekday, there could even be a lesser commemoration in the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church. It is a commemoration that was only adopted into the Church’s calendar with the 1929 Book of Common Prayer. Frankly, it is not a liturgical observance with which I am comfortable. It certainly ought not replace the normal Sunday liturgy. Perhaps it is time to remove it from the Church’s calendar altogether.

Why? The holiday is too “patriotic” and even “nationalistic” to my mind for an observance in a Christian church during worship. We ought not confuse our faith and identity as disciples of Jesus Christ with our temporal citizenship. For the same reason, I do not think national (or denominational) flags belong in sanctuaries – especially near the altar. I do not believe Christians can or should identify temporal civil authority or any leader with God or “God’s will.” Even having “In God We Trust” as national motto (adopted by Congress only in 1959) is suspect to my mind. “E pluribus unum” ("Out of many, one") is much closer to our national ideal without confusing the nation for God.

Now, I like a good picnic and fireworks. I am a citizen of the United States. I am first, however, a disciple of Christ Jesus. So, I am a Christian first and a citizen second. I certainly do not believe God has “chosen” the United States or that the United States is a “Christian” nation, other than a majority of its citizen claim the Christian faith and its history is bound to Western Europe. This is not “the city on the hill.”

As Christians, we are called to measure our life as citizens with the Gospel. We must not expect such a federalist democratic republic to be bound by “Christianity.” History has shown us that theocracies (of whatever religion) become exclusivist and authoritarian. As Christian citizens of the United States, we are, therefore, called to consider our shared history. How have we lived into God’s mission of fellowship, righteousness, and love, and how have we failed? Where has the Church participated in exploitation, conquest, and oppression? What can we learn from the past as a corrective for future generations? READ FULL MESSAGE HERE

DID YOU KNOW that The Episcopal Church canonically recognizes 18 traditional orders and 14 Christian communities for men, women, or both? On The Episcopal Church website, a full section is devoted to these groups that offer a pathway for those seeking a deeper understanding, relationship, service or lifestyle change, in their spiritual journeys. Among those listed are familiar names such as the The Society of St. Francis and Society of St. John the Evangelist.

Here in Hawai'i, Michael Ida is an oblate in The Order of Julian of Norwich. A cradle Episcopalian "going back several generations," he attends his family church, St. Mark's in Kapahulu. "As a good Episcopalian" Michael graduated from 'Iolani School and is a math teacher at Kalani High School where he has been teaching for over 25 years. When asked why and how he became an oblate in the Order of Julian of Norwich (OJN), he shared the following... READ FULL STORY

The 53rd Annual Meeting of the Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i takes place October 22-23, 2021, at 'Iolani School in Honolulu. This year's theme is "Remembering those who have gone before." Both the Annual Meeting and Education Day (on Reconciliation) will be live-streamed. There is no fee to watch but online viewers must also register. For more information and to stay informed, visit the Convention webpage:

With over 150 active pages on the main Diocesan website, and a separate news website that grows with every Chronicle issue, the Diocese of Hawai'i has a lot of information available to the public on the internet. Informational pages are always being updated or created. The latest new webpage is our Evangelism resource page that can be found on the main website HERE. Remember to use the Search box feature on both websites to help find whatever you are looking for!

On the news website, Rae Costa recently uploaded Hawaiian Church Chronicle issues from 1913 to 2010! Sonny Liu painstakingly scanned the printed copies of the Hawaiian Church Chronicle from 1969-2010, and earlier electronic issues were downloaded from the UH Library. Rae then added these to the Past Issues webpage (HERE) where all issues of the Chronicle are now stored and available for viewing. Rae shared how she kept getting sidetracked by reading interesting articles of our Church's past. A special MAHALO to our volunteer Historiographer and Archivist, Stuart Ching, who managed to find these issues in the closet we call the Archives.

Over the past several months, the Diocese has been offering up live Zoom gatherings for folks to get their questions answered and information shared on a variety of topics. Church Administrators and Wardens are invited to participate in an hour-long Coffee Hour led by Diocesan Support Center staff. These sessions take place every other Thursday and discuss items such as reports to be filed, insurance, forms, policies, etc. Guest speakers are also invited, who talk about mental illness, the homeless, and other timely topics. Visit the Coffee Hour webpage HERE for more information and schedule. In their last session, Sarah from Christ Memorial shared information on the Venite app for Sunday bulletins. That great resource is now listed on the Communications TECH stuff webpage HERE.

Which brings us to the Diocese's Communication Design team who hosts a monthly CHATS session (Communicate, Help, Ask, Thank, Share) on the last Thursday of the month. Like Coffee Hour, CHATS is a forum but ALL are invited to join in the conversation on topics such as newsletters, websites, social media, livestreaming, graphic design. and anything else related to communications. The next session on July 29 will be on easy video editing programs. For more information on CHATS click HERE.

Cathedral of St. Andrew for Kalihi-Waena Elementary School - School supplies such as composition books, folder paper, markers and even slippers will be collected during July. At the end of the month, there will be a blessing and then we will deliver the supplies to the school at the beginning of August. For more information, contact the Cathedral office at (808) 524-2822.

St. Timothy's for 'Aiea Complex Schools - Disinfecting wipes, hand sanitizer, antibacterial soap, paper/cloth face masks, face shields, non-latex disposable gloves, paper towels/tissue paper. Monetary donation accepted. Drive-up/Drop-Off Event on Saturday, July 10, 8:00 AM-12:00 PM at St. Timothy's, 98-939 Moanalua Road.

The Cathedral of St. Andrew, Honolulu, HI, is seeking an experienced, enthusiastic, and versatile musician to serve as our part-time Music Director.

The Cathedral Music Director shares in the life of the ministry of St. Andrew’s through the leadership and implementation of the music program, under the authority and with the support of the clergy. The Music Director is responsible for all music for liturgy, education, and entertainment offered in and by the Cathedral, rooted in the foundation of our Anglican Episcopal / Hawaiian heritage.

CLICK HERE for full description and submission guidelines. Applications being accepted until position is filled.

The folks at St. Michael's and All Angels in Lihue have been looking at ways to acquire fresh produce for their Loaves and Fishes feeding ministry. They were just awarded two grants that will fund the purchase of fresh produce from local farmers beginning July of this year through June of 2022.

Pictured at left, their volunteers were able to hand out abundant bags of fresh produce, along with the usual bags of canned goods, pasta and bread acquired from the Hawaii Food Bank. They worked with Malama Kauai who delivered the produce directly to our distribution site at Vidinha.

So many families commented on how happy they were to receive fresh goods. We are so thrilled to be able to provide even better nutritional options to those in need. Thank you to the foundations for entrusting us with these funds. We are grateful for your help in feeding those in need in our community. (Photo and story from the St. Michael weekly e-news)

In April 2021, Project Vision Hawai`i (a 501(c)3 non-profit organization) shipped a mobile shower station to Kaua`i to provide free hot showers to houseless people. They also provide grab-and-go hygiene kits. All Saints' Church will help the Project Vision ministry by collecting items they currently need. For several Sundays (July 4 - August 15) there will be a blue plastic bin placed outside the church to collect donations.

Items needed included gently used towels (any size), boxes of gallon ziploc bags, packets of wipes, bandaids, toothpaste/toothbrushes, feminine hygiene supplies, floss pics, unopened travel-size soaps, shampoos and lotions, hand sanitizers and any other unopened individually wrapped travel-size toiletries. For more information, contact Carolyn Morinishi or the church office at (808) 822-4267.

Six youth campers joined Camp Mokule'ia staff at Church of the Holy Apostles in Hilo for water play in the afternoon and a variety of fun learning activities during the rest of the day. Led by James Williams from Camp Mokule'ia, every day was filled with learning, laughter and praising God.

Judging by how much the young campers ate, lunch time was a definite highlight of the day. The campers even celebrated a birthday party. Each camper blew out a single candle on their own cupcake.

Thanks to our parents who let their children spend a full week with our camp staff. To view more photos and fun video clip from the Holy Apostle Day Camp, visit the 2021 Summer Camp Program page on our news website HERE. (Story and photos by Lindy Marzo)

[July 7, 2021] Presiding Bishop Michael Curry issued a pastoral word to all Haitians and Episcopalians in the Diocese of Haiti following the July 7 early morning assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in his home. The president’s wife, Martine, was wounded and survived the attack, according to news reports. READ MORE

[July 7, 2021] Members of one of The Episcopal Church’s most isolated congregations – St. Nino’s Episcopal Mission in Tbilisi, Georgia – have found themselves on the front lines of the country’s violent conflict over LGBTQ+ rights, by virtue of the congregation’s status as one of only two LGBTQ+-affirming churches in the country. READ MORE

[June 29, 2021] The suspension of in-person worship services early in the pandemic made the traditional passing of the offertory plate impossible, forcing Episcopal congregations to experiment with alternative ways of receiving offerings and pledge payments from parishioners. READ MORE

COVID VACCINATION INFORMATION: Stay informed with the latest about COVID vaccination schedules. Visit the State COVID-19 webpage HERE for more info and to learn how to register for a vaccination.

2021 SUMMER CAMP PROGRAM - LIMITED SPACE STILL AVAILBLE! Click on the links below to learn more or visit their website HERE:

SCHOLARSHIPS - Camp Mokuleʻia is once again offering scholarship funds in 2021. All congregations are eligible to receive up to $1,000 to help their children and youth attend camp.

DIOCESE'S COFFEE HOUR MOVES TO THURSDAYS - The Diocese's Coffee Hour, an informational gathering of church administrators and wardens, has moved to Thursdays and will still be held at 9:00 AM. To take part in Coffee Hours with the Diocesan Support Team, contact Rae Costa HERE. For more information about Coffee Hours, visit the Diocesan website HERE.

CHATS: MONTHLY COMMUNICATIONS MEETINGS - The Diocese's Communications Design Team hosts monthly online gatherings that are open to all in the Diocese. If you are interested in learning or sharing about anything related to communications and media, please register HERE to get on the list to receive Zoom instructions and upcoming announcements.

YOUTH WEEKLY COMPLINE SERVICE: Fr. Jar Pasalo, the Diocese's Youth and Young Adult Missioner, has launched a weekly LIVE Compline on the Episcopal Youth of Hawai'i Facebook Group page. All are invited to join in every Thursday at 8:00 PM. All sessions are available for viewing on the page if you miss it. If you are interested in assisting/leading Compline, contact Fr. Jar HERE.