STAY
FAITHFUL, STAY CONNECTED, STAY COMMUNITY!
PASTOR’S ALOHA
Aloha CCH Ohana!
June has been a beautiful
month of worship and fellowship! We felt the warmth of the Holy Spirit wrap
around us even 7,000 miles apart. As the weeks wear on we find more and more
ways to worship and fellowship in these new uncharted waters of ministry. As we continue to proceed with caution and
put the safety of our Ohana first - let’s reminisce over the way it could have
been for the disciples immediately after their commission.
It’s important to remember
that they were starting a completely new thing in a completely new time of
ministry in a way similar to what we are doing now. And as you read through the
book of Acts and peruse the epistles (letters) to the various churches that
were planted, the urgency was around reaching people to tell them the good news
of God’s love. That same message hasn’t
changed, nor should that sense of urgency.
And if you think about it, we have so many more ways to do that than
they did. It wasn’t for thousands of
years after that that things like widespread printed Information was available,
not to mention this crazy new world in which we are navigating that we call
cyberspace. But, I have to say, with all the tools at our disposal to share
what God is doing in our lives, the tried and true method, I believe, is still the
best - storytelling! Or bearing witness, or sharing your journey, or whatever
best describes how you actually tell someone about God. That’s what the
disciples did and that is still our ultimate commission, to tell the story.
Join me as we continue to explore
our commission in this new world of ministry!
Mahalo Nui Loa,
Pastor
Holly
The Reverend Doctor
Holly Norwick
cell:
(808) 371-4701
ANNOUNCEMENT
DRIVE-BY RETIREMENT CELEBRATION FOR
JUDGE PAUL MURAKAMI
WHO HAS RETIRED FROM FULL-TIME SERVICE
SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2020
12:00pm TO 1:00pm
CCH TURNAROUND
Judge Paul Murakami has retired as a full-time judge but will continue in a part-time capacity. Please see the article about his judiciary career in last week's Stay Community! Newsletter. The CCH Ohana will celebrate this milestone THIS Sunday between
12:00 and 1:00 p.m. at the parking turnaround. Please remain in
your cars! You will be able to give our
best wishes to Paul; people will be there to accept anything that you might
want to give Paul (but, please, gifts or lei are not requested—we just
want to see each other, even without the hugs!).
The smokers of CCH, under the expert direction
of Pit Master Ryan Urabe, will supply take out lunches to every guest, which
will be brought out to your car.
Remember—please remain in your cars.
Participation is simple. Any time between noon and 1:00 pm, THIS
Sunday, drive to church and go through the turnaround. Stop to give your best wishes to Paul;
receive an incredible plate lunch; drive away honking your horn!
CCH IPT WEDNESDAY (INTENTIONAL PRAYER TIME)
by
Kathy Young
Our Almighty and All-loving God, we
pray:
- that you protect your
Community Church of Honolulu (CCH) 'ohana and their loved ones, keeping
each one healthy and safe. Grant special protection for our
precious elderly, oh Lord!
- for our island
community as restrictions are relaxed, some are less careful, and COVID-19
clusters are discovered.
- to support our
Council members, when they meet via Zoom on Saturday morning.
Spirit--guide them in their discussions and decision making. Reveal
Your plans for CCH's future.
- that our expressions
of love and Aloha are deeply felt by Ty, Dawn, Phoebe, & Jared
Hayashi, as they leave Hawaii and CCH to live in Virginia. Our
prayers go with them.
- special blessings
upon Pastor Holly as she bids farewell to her church in Swansea,
Massachusetts this week.
- prayers of
thanksgiving and support for Pastor Holly, Pastor Frances, Pastor Dean,
Ardis, Glenn, Nate, Hari, and those members who diligently work for Your
body of Christ at CCH.
- to thank the many
"front line" people who provide services and goods for us during
this unprecedented time.
- sending heartfelt
condolences to those who have lost loved ones.
- for those who are
sick, injured, recovering from surgery, facing uncertain futures, or
feeling afraid, isolated, & depressed. Remind us to pray without
ceasing, for You are always with us.
- about all we feel deeply in our hearts.
Gwen Murakami is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: CCH Council Meeting
Time: Jun 27, 2020 09:00 AM Hawaii
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88938295219?pwd=eTlLUWNsVklMM0ZGVWFQZkFSNWJiUT09
Meeting ID: 889 3829 5219
Password: 182919
One tap mobile
+16699009128,88938295219#,,,,0#,,182919# US (San Jose)
+12532158782,,88938295219#,,,,0#,,182919# US (Tacoma)
Dial by your location
+1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Germantown)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 889 3829 5219
Password: 182919
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbhspGlL4S
BOOKS FROM THE PASTOR’S OFFICE
A NOTICE FROM PASTOR FRANCES
The bookcases in the Pastor’s office contained books from at least three pastorates. Because of mold, all of the books have been boxed and placed in a covered corner of the lanai outside of the kitchen and the Leigh Hooley room.
If you think that this collection may include books that you or your family have donated to a minister and would like to retrieve the donation, please follow these guidelines.
The books will be available for review until the end of this month. After that, a decision will be made about disposing them. Please make an appointment with Ardis by calling the church office. Only one person at a time will be allowed to look through the boxes. If you think you might need help moving the boxes around, please tell Ardis and she will check to see if Ron Yamauchi is available to help you. However, it would be best if someone from your own family (your own “shelter-in-place” household) could provide the help so we can adhere to Covid guidelines as much as possible.
You must wear a mask the entire time you are on campus.
You must take the chosen books with you. All books not taken must be replaced in the boxes. Please make a list for Ardis (just slip it under the office door) of what you have taken (title and author) or take pictures of each book (cover and the title page) and email them to Ardis by the following day. We need to keep track in case of disputes.
Please note that, once you take a book, we will not accept them back.
Let me repeat -- these books have varying degrees of mold. You will be responsible to deal with that at your discretion. CCH cannot be responsible for your handling of the books or physical reactions by anyone who comes in contact with the mold or mold transfer to your belongings.
Thank you so much for your understanding and your cooperation.
CCH CAMPUS ON LOCKDOWN AND
SPRUCED UP!!
A TON of gratitude to Glenn
Bolosan, Ron Yamauchi, and Vernon Chock for doing so much of the heavy
lifting. And, for a different kind of
heavy lifting, another TON of gratitude to Lori Wong and Mike Lum for
strategizing, organizing, planning.
There are plans afoot to have
mini campus clean ups from July 13th - 30th, from 9:00am - 1:00pm
including weekends. Church programs who
use certain areas of the church have been asked to organize small groups to
clean up and de-clutter “their” areas.
The groups must be kept small due to the safety guidelines required for
the pandemic. For example, Christian
Education (CE) will take care of the Youth Group’s “HQ”, the two classrooms,
and the Nursery. CE will set up a
schedule to allow families (that is, “sheltering-in-place” households) to work
together in a specific room/area.
Be ready to say “yes” when
you’re asked to join a small group!
Here are some current
pictures of the campus—I know this will make you all MISS each other and the
church even more!
New brighter lights in the gym.
 |
| New Paint in the Gym |
 |
| Providing Oversight |
 |
| Those new little (very bright) lights replaced these! |
 |
| Hmm, what should be our next project? |
 |
| That contraption hooked up to the light is a motion sensor. We don't have to use our phones to find our cars at night anymore! |
This is a puakenikeni tree planted by Auntie Pat and the Youth Group and nurtured by Glenn. It is BLOOMING and it smells wonderful! This plant was given to Kathy Young, chair of CCH's 'Aha committee, as a gift from the Hawaii Conference, thanking CCH for hosting the 2018 'Aha Pae'aina. Pastor Ron was present throughout the 'Aha, beaming with pride because CCH had done a great job sprucing up the campus, because we were such great hosts, and because the Holy Spirit kept swirling around and through the church united.
WHY CHRISTIANS MUST KEEP OUR LONG TERM FOCUS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE
A participant in our
Wednesday “How to Read the Bible” Zoom class is a member of Nuuanu
Congregational Church. Donna recently
asked me what I thought about the endurance of the Poor People’s Campaign, with
the backdrop of the growing “Black Lives Matter” sensitivity. I thought I’d share my thoughts with you.
We are followers and
practitioners of the path of Jesus. We
know that Jesus gave us the Great Commission, to evangelize to the world, and
the Great Commandment, to love our fellow human beings. Throughout his earthly ministry, Jesus kept
hammering us about our responsibility to care for each other and especially
those most vulnerable. In our time, this
means that, while our actions will focus on one or more different concerns (for example,
climate change, providing food for River of Life, poverty, hunger, supporting the homeless through Family Promise, rooting out our racism, protecting our transgender
sisters and brothers, and other justice needs), we also have a responsibility to
understand that all of these issues are related. We're members of the same body but with different functions. With that awareness, we will be better equipped
to stand in solidarity with each other. ~Pastor Frances
FOOD FOR OUR JOURNEY
Quotes from Archbishop Oscar
Romero of El Salvador (assassinated 1980).
“God is not satisfied with
appearance. God wants the garment of justice. God wants his Christians dressed
in love.”
"When the church hears
the cry of the oppressed it cannot but denounce the social structures that give
rise to and perpetuate the misery from which the cry arises."
“We cannot do everything, and
there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do
something, and to do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning,
a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the
rest.”
“We are workers, not master
builders, ministers, not messiahs. We are prophets of a future not our own.”
“We know that every effort to
better society, especially when injustice and sin are so ingrained, is an
effort that God blesses, that God wants, that God demands of us.”
PATRIOTISM
How can a practicing,
critical thinking Christian fully embrace patriotism? By holding ourselves and our nation to a high
standard of love and moral behavior. By remembering to be grateful for our freedoms and comforts. By giving back to the world. This is a wonderful song of hope for America.
Brian Stokes Mitchell singing
The Flag Song from Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration
Editor’s note on watching
videos: Click once on the arrow in the middle of the screen. Click that arrow. Click on the broken square on the bottom
right side of the screen for a larger picture.
Get rid of pop up ads by carefully clicking on the “x” on the upper
right side of the ad.
CELEBRATING JUNETEENTH
LEARNING MORE ABOUT
JUNETEENTH
FROM GOOGLE DOODLE
Illustrated by Los
Angeles-based guest artist Loveis Wise and narrated by actor and activist LeVar
Burton, this Google Doodle honors the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth. Short for “June
Nineteenth,” Juneteenth marks the true end of chattel slavery across the United
States— which didn’t actually occur until 1865, two and a half years after the
Emancipation Proclamation. Specifically, it marks the day when enslaved Black
people in Galveston, Texas (one of the westernmost points in the Confederate
South) finally received news of their liberation. Lift Every Voice and Sing was written as a poem by James
Weldon Johnson (a lawyer, by the way!) with music later added by his brother, John
Rosamond Johnson. The poem was first recited by 500 school children in celebration
of President Lincoln's Birthday on February 12, 1900 in Jacksonville, Florida. This is one of the most cherished songs of
the African American Civil Rights Movement and is often referred to as the
Black National Anthem. A video of the song was included in last week's Stay Community! Newsletter, which you can get to by scrolling this page up to and clicking on the newsletter in the Table of Contents.
RHIANNON GIDDENS FEATURING
YO-YO MA - BUILD A HOUSE
From Rhiannon: "This
song came knocking about a week ago and I had to open the door and let it
in. What can I say about what’s been
happening, what has happened, and what is continuing to happen, in this
country, in the world? There’s too many words and none, all at once. So I let the music speak, as usual. What a thing to mark this 155th anniversary
of Juneteenth with that beautiful soul Yo-Yo Ma. Honored to have it out in the
world." Premiered on 7/19/2020.
EXPANDING OUR MINDS
Wynton Marsalis participating in #OnlineProtest,
a 7-day nonviolent livestream with Bernice A. King at The King Center. Mr. Marsalis is not just an extraordinary musician;
he is a particularly learned one. And, he
has been actively involved in civil rights during his entire
career. I learn so much from him whenever he speaks! June 8, 2020, NYC.
~~Pastor Frances
EXPANDING OUR HEARTS
A special episode of
"Black-ish" on ABC confronted the issue of police brutality and race
in America. February 26, 2016.
CLOSING PRAYER
Dream God’s Dream, Words and music Bryan Sirchio
I'm dreaming of a world where
the color of one's skin
will mean less than what's
within the person's heart.
A world where water's clean
and where air is safe to breathe.
And ev-’ry child born has
enough to eat.
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