Up Coming Events
OCTOBER PICNIC
Were you able to join us for the virtual October picnic? We were able share all things autumnal with our mainland ʻohana (even though it still seems to be summer here in Hawaii).
All are welcome to join in the fellowship and talk story time.
Watch this space for information for the November Virtual picnic
Hokuloa strives To Be Like Jesus on the Big Island. Your faithful stewardship helps Hokuloa carry out its mission and meet financial obligations. Your time, talents, and treasure allow us to Be the Church.
Servant Leadership
Earlier this year the Church Council and Kahu Nani led a congregational exercise to identify important ministry tasks at Hokuloa UCC. The tasks were then grouped with the idea of creating a church organizational structure where each committee is responsible for reasonable number of related tasks.
The Council is now creating some new committees based on that exercise. Wider involvement of lay leaders is needed to sustain Hokuloa's ministries as we prepare to welcome a new pastor. Are you seeking a way to share your talents and to give back to Hokuloa? The church is seeking people interested in serving on the following new committees:
-
Outreach/Marketing/Advertising - with a need to update the church brochure/rack card and to consider a letter to Puako Homeowners
-
Congregational Care/Faith Formation - with a need to begin an Adult Study/Bible Study
-
Stewardship - with a need to write Thank You notes (4 or 5 per month) and prepare for the Fall Pledge Drive
For more information, please talk to Yvonne Leiser, Moderator or send an email to the church.
FAITH IN ACTION
"Those who believe that politics and religion do not mix, understand neither." ~ Albert Einstein
The political campaign season is becoming more active with last night's first presidential debate and the national conventions scheduled for next month. People of faith have an important role in applying moral principles to political and social policies. Sojourners magazine's recent article Faith and the Authoritarian Playbook takes a deep dive into the intersection of faith and politics.
The Dangers of Christian Nationalism
From the foundation of the United States, Christian nationalism has traditionally employed images that advocate an idealized view of the nation’s identity and mission, while deliberately ignoring those persons who have been excluded, exploited, and persecuted, such as Native Americans, enslaved African Americans and their descendants, and a cascading procession of others, including, e.g., the Irish in the 1840s-50s, Chinese in the 1880s, Italians in the early 1900s, Jews in the 1930s, and Muslims in the 2000s and following. From its beginnings, the Christian nationalist movement has endorsed American exceptionalism, the idea that the U.S. is more righteous and upright than other nations, but during the last sixty years a significant number of Christian nationalists have become increasingly partisan, divisive, ideological, and militant. Christian symbols have been misappropriated, emptied of their profound meaning, and invoked to support idolatrous loyalty to the nation. For some Americans, the familiarity of the themes that Christian nationalism celebrates can obscure its true character and intentions. Nevertheless, because of the danger that it poses to our country today, identifying and consciously abjuring its malignant outlook is vitally important.
Christian nationalism is characterized by the following religious affirmations:
-
that the United States was founded as a Christian nation;
-
that America is exceptional. That is, God has given the United States particular blessings and privileges not available to people in other countries, and the nation must remain Christian in order for those blessings to continue;
-
that only Christians are the proper custodians of this nation’s heritage;
-
that Christianity (or a particular form of Christianity) should have privileged status in the United States, particularly in matters of law and political policy;
-
that, even when their presence is tolerated, people who practice other religions or none cannot be fully American — they are not welcomed, their voices are discounted, and they are not to be trusted with political and cultural leadership;
-
that Christians in general and some Christians in particular should enjoy a level of legal protection not granted to those who practice other religions; and,
-
that Christians have been made to suffer unjustly, leaving them no alternative but to respond with revolutionary zeal to preserve the United States as a great Christian nation.
Read more about the Dangers of Christian Nationalism in a policy statement from the National Council of Churches. The Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer, former general minister and president of the United Church of Christ, discusses the Threat of Christian Nationalism to both Democracy and Christianity in a (long) video of a presentation at Elmhurst University in 2023.
.jpg)
EXPLORE HOKOLUA UCC CHURCH!
OPEN Thursdays from 10am to 2pm. Drop by this historic Hawaiian church, enjoy the view, talk story with the volunteers, offer silent prayers. Bring your picnic lunch and enjoy the lawn and the view.
Show Us Your Smiling Face
As Hokuloa Church prepares to welcome a new pastor, there will be the inevitable round of introductions between pastor and parishioners. The process of matching names to faces will be much easier for the new pastor if our directory (AKA our Breeze Church Management Software) contains recent photos of the members of the Hokuloa ʻohana. Unfortunately, the great majority of the people in our directory look like the person in the middle photo below.
If you are a Breeze user, you can add or update your own photo. If you want to learn how to do it yourself, join the Breeze training mentioned in the ʻHappeningsʻ section above. Even easier, just snap a selfie with your phone, tablet, or computer camera and email it the the church office and we will add it to the directory. Landscape pictures (wider than tall) work best, but we will use whatever you send.
Hokuloa is seeking both a Bridge Pastor and a Designated Term Pastor.
A Bridge Pastor would serve from four to six months while the church continues to seek a Designated Term Pastor.
A Designated Term Pastor would serve from two to four years.
NEW SIGNS
Replacing the old, deteriorating sign in front of the church was identified as a priority project at council and congregational meetings in early 2023. The feeling was that a new sign was needed to show that Hokuloa Church was an active congregation in the post-pandemic period. By summer 2023, a proposal to install two signs was approved. A lava rock wall with the church name and date of establishment would emphasize the historic nature of the church. Another informational sign would highlight worship time and special events at the church.
Both signs have now been installed. A celebration and dedication event will be held immediately following worship on Sunday, June 30th. The blessing ceremony will recognize those who have contributed to the project. The new informational sign and two new portable sandwich signs provide a convenient and low-cost way to promote events such as community concerts and historical talk story programs at Hokuloa Church.
Do you enjoy flowers? Consider signing up to bring flowers on your selected Sunday.
Do you enjoy chatting? Then consider being the Sunday Zoom Host - greet those who worship via Zoom and facilitate the post-worship talk story session among Zoom participants.
Do you enjoy hosting? Consider signing up to provide treats following the worship service.
Do you enjoy meeting visitors? Consider being a Thursday docent and talk about the church, its history and its current activities with drop in visitors.
Contact us to express your interest in volunteering.