Ka Elele Aloha - Christ Church Uniting Disciples and Presbyterians

August 2013
“The Messenger of Love”
Vol. 7, Issue 7
~flowers by Jan Stiles~
Ka Elele Aloha
Christ Church Uniting
1300 Kailua Rd., Kailua, HI 96734-4356
Rev. Kerry Grogan, Pastor
ccu@hawaii.rr.com
Jane Muench, Editor
from Pastor Kerry . . .
There’s a great old story about a
farmer who had water pump attached to his
windmill so that he could use the windmill to
draw water. One windy evening the farmer
went out to adjust the windmill so that it
would run, catching the wind and bringing
water out of the well. All night long the
farmer listened to the wind and could hear
the windmill turning and turning. In the
morning the farmer went out expecting to
find a tank full of water, but the tank was
empty. The farmer didn’t realize that
although the windmill was turning, the rod
connecting the pump to the windmill had
come loose.
How often are we like that? We feel
like we’re working hard, catching the wind,
busily spinning, but even though the wheel is
in gear, something is disconnected and while
Worship—Sun.10 am
Phone: (808) 262-6911
Pastor’s Cell Ph: (808) 354-3427
the wheel may appear to be working, the
tank is empty.
Whether it’s in our own spiritual lives
individually or in the work of the church, we
can be so busy doing and working that we
forget the importance of staying connected.
Prayer, silence, reflection, reading scripture,
contemplating creation, these are some ways
of staying connected to the source and purpose of our work as people of faith. Without the connection to the Spirit, we are just
like that windmill—spinning and turning but
ultimately drawing no water, disconnected,
spinning pointlessly. I hope you take some
time for staying connected to God, our
source, strength and the One who sustains us
in our faith.
Peace,
Pastor Kerry
*Pastor Kerry on vacation ’til August 6th.
This little mermaid
came to the
6/9 worship hour,
when the featured
Disney film was
“The Little Mermaid.”
Pastor Kerry’s
June sermons
(the Gospel in Disney)
were a treat for all !!!
Congregational Life News …
Getting to know the Kriegers . . .
When asked what brought them to CCU, Kyle
said,
We started off looking for churches affiliated with PC (USA). CCU is just like the
churches we grew up in & it feels like home.
They are both Officers with the rank of Lieutenant
Junior Grade. Nicki is the Tsunami Program Manager at the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. Kyle
is the Chemical & Radiological Officer on the USS
Buffalo (SSN 715).
Kyle & Nicki Krieger were welcomed into
CCU active membership Sunday, June 16th.
They bought a house in Kailua & consider Oahu
home for now. Kyle is originally from Hershey,
PA, & Nicki from Seattle; they met while going
through the U S Naval Academy.
Congregational Life …
2013
August CCU Event Schedule
Up
Page 2
Beauty &
the Beast
Key:
K = Kitchen
L = Lanai
O=Ohana Rm
PS = Pastor’s Study S = Sanctuary B3=upstairs classroom
Sundays
9 am
10am
Adult Study
Worship & Aloha Fellowship
8/3 8am
8am
Men’s Breakfast @ Honey’s
@ Koolau Golf Club
8/5, 10 am
Rev. Brian McCreanor preaching
8/4
8:45-11:30am
HI-5 container
pick-up @ CCU
parking lot
Match the below listed June sermon themes to the Disney movie?
We are all children of God.
God brings unlikely people together.
8/6
Pastor Kerry
returns from vacation
God can change a heart.
8/10
10:30am
Women’s Aloha Fellowship
Brunch @ Zippy’s (Kailua)
What’s so great about being human?
8/11-16
Office Administrator on
vacation
God has given us all “special powers.”
The Little Mermaid
August Adult Study
9 am on Sundays, Ohana Rm.
“Holy Land Revealed”
~Jodi Magness, lecturer~
~facilitated by Paul Haring~
By popular demand,
the above series continues.
Next Congregational Life
Commission Meeting
Sat., 9/7, 9:30 a.m.
Next Mission & Outreach
Commission Meeting
Sat., 9/21, 9 a.m.
6/16: Jamie Allen was also welcomed into
CCU active membership, having requested
re-activation of his years-ago membership.
So glad to have you back, Jamie!
Congregational Life … Continued
“Children Worship and Wonder”
Training Event at CCU . . . Sept. 13-15
Some characteristics of Children Worship & Wonder:
1.
CCU has been exploring Children Worship and Wonder for almost
two years. The PSW Region has stepped forward with funds to
help us bring a trainer to Hawaii. The training will be offered to
our sister Disciple churches and any other ecumenical partners
who are interested in this exciting opportunity for ministry with
children. We will also be working in partnership with the United
Church of Christ here on Oahu.
The training is open to everyone, not just those interested in
leading the children’s church program. The training offers: a
demonstration of the stories, songs and other components of the
program, how to acquire the necessary materials, gaining congregational support for Children Worship and Wonder, setting
up worship centers and recruiting and training greeters and other volunteers.
2.
3.
Children Worship & Wonder offers an exciting way to approach faith formation with children. The approach recognizes
children as spiritual beings who already have a relationship with
4.
God.
Through Children Worship & Wonder, children learn about
God as they experience God. They hear Bible stories in a way
that allows them to enter into the stories and form responses out
of their own life experiences. Children Worship & Wonder can
be used with children ranging in age from 3 to 13 and a wide
age range can be grouped together in one class. It is a Montessori-based model and often works wonders with children who
have attention deficit problems.
Page 3
5.
Respect of Children. This program recognizes children as
spiritual beings, who already have a relationship with God.
In Children’s Worship & Wonder, children are not seen as
empty vessels for us (adults) to fill with our understanding of
God. Adults are guides who offer space, tools, and language which help children deepen their already existing
relationship with God. In Children's Worship & Wonder, we
trust that given the opportunity, children will bring their own
life experiences to the stories of God and will receive what
they need.
Encouragement of Imagination. There is not enough time and
space in today’s world for children to use their wonderful
imaginations. Television, videos, or computer games, rarely
encourage children to call upon their own creative possibilities. There are too few places for children to learn about
the gifts of quiet and solitude. Churches are uniquely
equipped to offer these gifts.
Developmentally Appropriate. Children's Worship & Wonder allows children to use all of their senses and motor skills.
It includes lots of repetition and lots of ritual which children
love.
Children Learn about God while Being in God’s Presence.
Children's Worship & Wonder is worship. It is a chance for
adults and children to worship together in a way that is
meaningful for both.
Numbers do not Matter. This program can be done with one
child or twenty children.
If you are interested you can go to http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=T12bP4LvEpQ to learn more. Or go to https://
www.discipleshomemissions.org/dhm/dhm-ministries/family-andchildrens-ministries/children-worship-wonder/ to learn more.
Vacation Bible School K—5th Grade June 24-28
in session @ Christ Church Uniting
MAHALO to VBS Director Chris Teesdale and all his helpers—
the kids & adults from University Christian Church of San Diego, Teri Teesdale,
Pastor Kerry, Annie Grogan, all the supply providers—
for making this year’s VBS wonderful!
15 kids had an opportunity to learn about Jesus, build community
& grow as they became stewards of God’s creation.
7/21, Lauren Medeiros preaches . . .
a Sermon in Song
~The Good Samaritan~
Congregants ready themselves
to act out the song message . . .
music & words by Lauren, composed
while in her first year of seminary.
Fun for all!
Position as of 12/31/12 and a Consolidated Income
Statement and Statement of Cash Flows for the year
then ended, which pretty much agree with the “inhouse” statements presented in our 2012 Annual Report.
Clerk’s Corner
from Clerk of Council
Bill Muench . . .


Elder Marian Heidel has been selected by Council to be
the Elder Chair of 2013 Nominating Committee.

Commission meetings will resume in early September ...

Congregational Life on 9/7 @ 9:30 am & Mission &
Outreach on 9/21 @ 9 am . . . both in the Ohana
Room.

Doug Rozendal (retired Presbytery of the Pacific financial officer) has completed his CCU financial review for
2012, presenting a Consolidated Statement of Financial
Council decided that CCU will conduct its own reviews
in the foreseeable future and will be again looking to
nominate an audit committee at the next congregational meeting.
On July 10, 2013, Jane Muench notified the CCU
Church Council (Atten. Pastor Kerry Grogan & Elder
Jon Davidann, personnel committee chair) that she
plans to bring her employment as CCU office administrator to a close the end of August 2013. She is open
to helping in the transition in any way CCU would want
or direct.
Page 5
FAST FACTS:
Some
 Livestock consume 5x as much grain as the entire popuReally
lation of the U.S.
 Americans eat 4x more meat than people in developInconvenient Truths
ing countries.
about Meat
 80% of Amazon deforestation is linked to cattle.
 Animals on factory farms generate hundreds of millions
(& Dairy)
of tons of manure per year.
by Charlene Hosenfeld
 A factory farm generates as much sewage as a small
city.

Slaughterhouses dump millions of lbs. of toxic pollutants
Often overlooked as contributors to global warming are
into waterways.
meat and dairy. Though aspects of the environmental im 8 slaughterhouses are consistently among the top 20
pact of food production, processing, distributing and conindustrial polluters in the U.S.
sumption are sometimes considered (such as organically grown
 A United Nations” Food & Agricultural Organization
food vs food grown with pesticides, the miles food travels, packaging,
report in 2006 (Livestock’s Long Shadow) estimated that
one-time vs reusable shopping bags), the environmental toll of
eating animal-based foods causes 18% of global
meat and dairy often is not.
warming; 2 other UN agencies put the number at 51%.
Meat production requires vast amounts of water, pesticides,  Only 1% of children and 4% of adults eat the recomfertilizers, fuel, and feed, and results in huge amounts of
mended daily intake of fruits & vegetables.
greenhouse gases (GHG), manure, air pollution, ground
water pollution and underground water depletion. Methane In addition to the toll on Mother Earth, meat and dairy
is a GHG generated by factory farm livestock production; contributes to:
it is 25 more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping
heat. Growing livestock feed is estimated to use 167 million 1. Health problems - cardiovascular disease, cancer,
lbs. of pesticides and 17 billion lbs. of nitrogen fertilizer
obesity.
per year; the nitrous oxide generated is a GHG 300 times
more potent than CO2.
2. Hunger - plants are being cycled through animals before
they become ‘food’ while millions of poor people die of
A comprehensive assessment of meat, dairy and vegeta- hunger and hunger-related diseases each year.
bles found these dramatic differences in GHG emissions:
Continued to Page 6
Page 6
Mission & Outreach Commission
News . . .
Family Promise of Hawaii
Inaugural 5K Family Fun Run
Continued from Page 5
3. Antibiotic resistant bacteria - these “superbugs”,
created by the indiscriminate and routine use of
antibiotics on factory farms, have been found on
81% of raw supermarket turkey, 69% of pork
chops, 55% of ground beef, and 39% of chicken.
Sat., 8/17, 7 am
at Kailua District Park
4. Animal cruelty - watch Paul McCartney’s video “If
Slaughterhouses Had Glass Walls Everyone Would
Be Vegetarian” on YouTube.
$25 adult registration
$10 keiki registration
The negative effects of eating meat and dairy reverberate throughout the all aspects of our lives. (Yes, a
very inconvenient truth.)
Register at active.com
www.familypromisehawaii.org
Choosing plants over animal foods goes a long way in
reducing destructive environmental impacts as well as
addressing the other 4 problems listed above.
Every action matters:
A special LIVE performance of the
Eat less (or no) meat and cheese.
Eat more fruits and veggies.
For God’s blue and green Earth….
“Prison Monologues” featuring women
from Women’s Community Correctional Center
Saturday, August 24, 2013
5:30 pm
St. John Lutheran Church
1004 Kailua Rd., Kailua
St. John Lutheran will be providing a light meal
following the performance, so please
RSVP at 261-5787 or sjohnhi@hawaii.rr.com
with the number of people who will be attending.
If you will need child care, call 261-5787
to reserve a child care spot.
Next Mission & Outreach
Commission Meeting
Sat., Sept 21, 9 a.m.
CCU Ohana Room
CCU HOSTS
FAMILY PROMISE GUESTS
SEPTEMBER 22—OCTOBER 6
Your Giving to
Mission and Outreach
by Marian Heidel, Mission & Outreach Commission Elder
I recently received my copy of the Presbyterian Mission Agency's Mission Crossroads. On p. 8 of this
Spring 2013 issue is an article titled "Thankful to
God For Your Joyful Giving." I quote from it:
"At one time the Presbyterian Mission
Agency was able to rely on our system of
'unified giving' where funding for all the
mission of the church was shared by congregations in general . . . . Today we are
faced with the reality that the landscape
for mission funding in our church has
changed . . . . In the past, most Americans
and specifically most Presbyterians gave to
Christian ministries exclusively through their
congregations, but now this is not the
case. Many para-church ministries (i.e. Mercy Corp, World Vision, Care, etc. [my italics]) have arrived on the scene and are
asking for gifts to fund their important ministries, while giving through and to the
church for mission continues to decline. In
1970, para-church organizations received
a total of $20 billion from members of U.S.
Christian churches. By mid-2005, parachurch organizations received $210 billion
in mission benevolence dollars.
Continued to Page 7
About Presbyterians
Page 7
Continued from Page 6
by Rosemary Allen
Presbyterians Today is a very well written and
interesting monthly magazine. I enjoy quoting
from it every so often. Jane keeps a copy available in the
CCU office also. If you are still reading PRINT materials,
you would enjoy it!
A recent story told of a young missionary couple working in the South Sudan. The Smith-Mathers’ first baby was
born 7 weeks premature and had to be rushed to a hospital
in Kenya via a rutted dirt airstrip & evacuation plane to
Kenya. The parents reported that the South Sudanese gathered to pray for them daily. Baby Jordan did survive & the
family returned some weeks later to their mission in Sudan.
Another set of articles emphasized the use of arts of
various kinds to teach in the churches & church schools—
including dance, quilting arts & other fabrics, watercolor,
bluegrass music from Appalachia plus other innovative ways
of using music.
A new editor of Presbyterian Today was introduced—
Jeffrey Lawrence. He succeeds Eva Stinson who was editor
since 1997. She was a fine journalist & under her leadership PT was several times named the best denominational
magazine in North America.
"Today we are faced with the reality
that the landscape for mission funding in
our church has changed. This means that
we cannot keep mission workers in service
unless Presbyterians support us with gifts
over and above their usual congregational
giving . . . because of our reliance on gifts
from the offering plate, we at the Presbyterian Mission Agency were not as diligent
as the para-church organizations about
telling the stories of transformation
. . . . Things are changing, however . . . .
We have made a renewed commitment to
share these transformational stories with
you . . . so that you can experience firsthand what God is doing in the world because of your prayerful and financial partnership. Our global partners continue to
urgently request us to send additional mission personnel. They continue to let us know
that the mission co-worker partnership is
integral to meeting the needs of the churches where they serve. Presbyterian World
Mission will send as many mission workers
as the church will directly support."
An example of what most of our denominational
headquarters (in all the main-line denominations) are
having to do is ask their mission workers to do more
speaking engagements across the USA, creating
more Mission Partnership Teams—churches who
pledge to directly support specific mission workers
and their work. In a sense, we here
at CCU are in the Noyes Mission
Partnership Team, since we have
been giving a sum every year
Provided by Paul Snipes
to Ed and Miriam Noyes in the
Democratic Republic of Congo,
and I get news of and requests
for prayer for their work from
Hopefully they will cause you to consider something that might be new to your
the Noyes MPT, and I try to
approach to life or, maybe, will give you a fresh way to think about a topic.
share that with you. (The
Noyes are actually sent out by
the American Baptist Interna“It doesn’t come with a ribbon tied around it,
tional Ministries; we send the
but each day is a gift from God.” Anonymous
money to the IM board who
apply it to the Noyes' work . . .
so we are being very ecumeni“Death is not extinguishing the light,
cal!)
2 POINTS to PONDER ...
it is only putting out the lamp
because the dawn has come.”
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941), an Indian poet and philosopher,
who was the first non-European to win the Nobel Peace Prize in Literature, in 1913.
Copies of the Mission Crossroads magazine can be found
on the table in the sanctuary or
in the office, should you care to
read the full article or some of
the other worthwhile articles
therein.
Mission Funds Sent . . .
Page 8
from Marian Heidel, Mission & Outreach Comm. Elder
Thanks to faithful giving in the 2nd quarter of this year, we
have been able to contribute $3,500 to our two denominations and to local organizations:
Christian Church (DOC), $750
Presbyterian Church (USA), $750
FACE, $500
Interfaith Power and Light, $125
Kahumana's program for homeless in Waianae, $300
Hawaii Coalition Against Legalized Gambling, $250
Windward Coalition of Churches, $200
Lanakila Meals on Wheels, $375
Ahahui Malama (Chuck Burrows' care of Kawanui
Marsh and Heiaus), $250
We also helped send our Pastor Kerry to the Disciples'
General Assembly in Florida.
The Mission & Outreach Commission has chosen for donations local organizations that help fulfill the goals of service to the community.
We still have a portion of our budget which has not
been designated, so if you wish to have a say in how these
monies are used, join us for then September 21st Commission meeting, 9 a.m. in the Ohana Room.
Mahalo to
Heather Barnhill
for providing
altar flowers—
beautiful hydrangea
for Father’s Day
June 16th and
lovely pink ginger &
orange heliconia
July 14th
in celebration of her
girls’—Hannah & Ella—
July birthdays.
Memories
By Rosemary Allen
As I usually make my Sunday seat on the yard side of the CCU sanctuary, I am looking across at the folks & fixtures on the street side.
Last week I realized I had not recently written about the memorials
in the bell cabinet over against that wall.
Often on a Sunday my eyes move up to the beautiful white
birds in flight upon the baptistery, behind CCU’s pulpit. That sculpture is in memory of Pat Snipes and her long life of service (mostly in
teaching) from service in Africa, across the USA, & many years here
in Hawaii. After Pat’s death a few years ago, Paul brought those
lovely birds to continue their joyous flight in our sanctuary.
Somehow those birds seem often to be flying toward those
bells in that memorial cabinet. The bells were cast in Pennsylvania
& shipped to us to keep in memory of CCU family members:
young Gregory Tchou, who died of leukemia, in 1965
Carolyn Rex, a young mother, in 1978
Christine Smith, grandmother to the Gilbert family, in 1979
Camille Almy, CCU’s longtime director of music, in 1996
Bill Little, active in CCU projects, especially musical ones,
in 1998
Jim Allen, original member, elder, group leader (Diakonia)
in 1999
Margie Shimer, active in senior groups, in 2003
CCU has other memorial gifts in the sanctuary & other parts of
the church—and given through the years. They are recorded in a
Gift Registry book in the church office. But we can see, sometimes
use, & enjoy and appreciate them anytime we’re there.
Page 9
Facilities & Finance Commission News . . .
In September, give to CCU through Foodland’s Give Aloha program!!!!!!
Husbands & wives can both participate, using their individual Maika`i cards.
CCU
to participate in
September 1-30 . . .
How It Works
From Sept. 1—30, customers are invited to make donations of up to a cumulative total of $249 per person, per
organization to participating Hawaii
non-profit organizations at checkout.
Foodland & Western Union will match
a portion of each donation.
Foodland & Western Union will match
up to a total of $350,000 for all organizations combined. If total customer donations exceed $350,000, the
matching gift will be divided proportionately among all participating organizations.*
CCU to host
December 7th
Vendor
Craft Fair
How To Donate To CCU
At checkout, present your Maika`i Card and inform the cashier that you would like to make
a donation to Christ Church
Uniting. If you do not have a
Maika`i Card, you may request
one. Our five digit registration
code is 78419. Your donation
will be added to your grocery
purchase total. You may singly
give up to $249 (donations exceeding $249 will not be
matched). The amount you
have donated to Foodland and
the name of Christ Church Uniting will appear on your receipt.
Any donation must be made
payable to Foodland or Sack N
Save.
Donor names will not be released to Christ Church Uniting, so if you would like us to
know of your gift, please inform the church office directly
so that your gift may be
properly recorded on your
monetary giving record.
Please say if your gift should
be applied towards payment
of your 2013 CCU pledge.
on CCU grounds …
just in time for Christmas!
Fair Chair: Jan Stiles, 235-0786
Are These Contributions
Tax Deductible?
These contributions are tax deductible
to the full extent of the law. Please
save your store receipt for tax purposes since it may be the only record you
will have of your donation. If you
inform the church of your donation, it
will be included as a receipt on your
personal monetary giving record.
*How Matching Gifts Will
Be Calculated
Matching Gifts will be calculated after
the end of the program. Christ Church
Uniting will receive 100% of all customer donations given to CCU, plus its
% of Foodland’s $325,000 matching
gift. The portion of the matching gift
that Christ Church Uniting will receive
will be based on the total dollar
amount of customer donations designated to Christ Church Uniting as a %
of all customer donations received for
all organizations.
Needed:
Vendors
$45 per booth
Applications available at
www.ccukailua.org or
in the church office
&
Volunteers
for set-up & take-down /
to work bake sale & kitchen sales
Lay & Elder Worship Assignments
for August
If you are not able to fill your assignment, please try trading with someone
and/or notify the church office.
* T Prayer = Prayer of Thanksgiving
Date
Name
Duty
8/4
Richard Smith & Elayne Cho
Jane Muench
Richard Smith
Bill Muench
Ushers/Greeters
Morning Prayer
Scripture Reader
T Prayer/Serve Comm./Bldg Lock-up
8/11
Paul & Dottie Brennan
Paul Snipes
Kathleen Freeman
Jon Davidann
Ushers/Greeters
Morning Prayer
Scripture Reader
T Prayer/.Serve Comm./Bldg Lock-up
8/18
Kyle & Nicki Krieger
Paul Belanger
Steve Haley
Melissa Belanger
Ushers/Greeters
Morning Prayer
Scripture Reader
T Prayer/Serve Comm./Bldg Lock-up
Charlene Hosenfeld &
Rollo Scheurenbrand
Clancy Lyman
Wanda Nichols
Jon Davidann
Ushers/Greeters
Morning Prayer
Scripture Reader
T Prayer/Serve Comm./Bldg Lock-up
8/25
Page 10
August
Birthdays
Paul Dzakowic ....................... 6
Charlene Hosenfeld.............. 7
Gail Winter......................... 13
Virginia Bail ........................ 15
Andrew Torres .................... 17
Kerry Grogan ..................... 19
Ruth O'Connell .................... 20
Lily Faith Emmanuel ........... 23
Rosemary Allen .................. 27
Paul Haring ......................... 30
Alex Tom .............................. 31
August
Anniversaries
Beth & Jon Davidann ........... 9
Jean & Tom Tsuji ................ 12
Jane & Bill Muench ............ 17
Lauren & Mike Medeiros.. 22
Lu & Jim Burgoyne ............. 27
August Communion Preparation:
8/4 , 11 & 18—Susan Wilson
8/25—Mary Ann Wyman
August Tellers:
Jon Davidann & Paul Haring
August
Flower Calendar
Aug. 4
Miles
Aug. 11
Open
Aug. 18
Muench
Aug. 25
Gilbert
Flowers
compliments of
Maria Mosher