​On this Pentecost Sunday we will celebrate the Spirit that enlivens the church and enables disciples. The Scripture readings from Acts and the Gospel of John make it clear that the Spirit comes from God, and that by it disciples are able to do things they would never otherwise have done.

During the service we will affirm the call of lay leaders who serve our congregation. The Hawaii Island Association will also formally install the Rev. Dr. Gwendolyn Kehaunani Hill as our designated term pastor and teacher. Kahu Nani, Hokuloa Church, and the Hawaii Island Association will covenant to work together in mutual ministry.

Kahu Nani’s Mana`o
The descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples at Pentecost has traditionally been understood as the birth of the Christian church.  It marked a turning point in the history of the revelation of Jesus as the Christ – as the Anointed one promised in the Scriptures of the Jews.  The event, as recorded by the author of Luke-Acts, occurred on the “day of Pentecost,” one of the three, annual agriculture festivals in the Jewish liturgical year (the others being the Festival of Unleavened Bread and the Festival of Ingathering).  Pentecost, meaning “fifty” fell 50 days after Passover and was also known as the Festival of Weeks.  The disciples were “all together in one place,” repeating an emphasis found in Acts on the unity of the early church. A sound “like the rush of a violent wind” and “divided tongues, as of fire” were the physical manifestations of the Spiritʻs presence. With this announcement of its presence, the Holy Spirit filled everyone in the house who began to speak in other languages, “as the Spirit gave them ability.” The outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost signals Godʻs intention “to recover the world from its sin” by making the Spirit accessible to all people around the world through faith in Jesus Christ.