STAY
FAITHFUL,
STAY
CONNECTED,
STAY
COMMUNITY!
The greatness of a
community is
most accurately measured by
the compassionate actions
of its members,
a heart of grace, and a
soul generated by love.
Coretta Scott King
TRAVELLING
MERCIES—A MESSAGE FROM THE HAYASHIS
Hi
All:
The
Hayashis have arrived safely in Charlottesville. Experienced our first lightning/thunderstorm
- it was beautiful but am very glad that we were indoors.
All
is well.
Love
and Aloha,
The
Hayashis
TWO MESSAGES FROM PASTOR
HOLLY
AN INVITATION TO JOIN THE CCH TECH TEAM
Aloha CCH Ohana!
For the last several months,
we have had virtual worship and fellowship because of the COVID pandemic. We have made a conscious and faithful choice
to refrain from in-person gatherings so that we can best protect our Ohana. It
is also clear that we are not ready to resume in-person gatherings in the
foreseeable future. As such, it is essential to the vitality and over all
health of our congregation to attend Sunday worship and Aloha Fellowship. Although we may be physically distant, each
and every person is an important part of the church and we must strive to stay
“together” during this time. The virtual
worship and Aloha Hour offer us the opportunity to day while staying safe in
our own homes.
However, for some of us,
connecting for worship and for fellowship has been quite a challenge; whether
it is because we do not have the equipment, or maybe we do not have the
internet services, or maybe we are just a little overwhelmed by virtual
church. It is important that we work
together to make sure that each of us here at CCH be given the tools they need
to connect.
In response to continued
technological need, we are assembling a Technology Team here at CCH to try and
come alongside anyone who is having difficulty participating in the worship and
in Aloha Hour. We are looking for folks
who would be willing to be on the Technology Team. Members of this team would be willing to take
some time with other CCH family members and walk them through the process of
tuning in to the worship service and helping them join the Aloha Hour zoom
gathering. If you are willing to be a
part of this important team, please let Pastor Holly know. We are looking for team members of ALL
ages. We already know how savvy younger
folks are to technology - so please don’t let age be a distraction. Everyone who is willing to help is an asset
to this team.
The Bible teaches us to live
our faith by modeling Christ’s behavior every day. This is an opportunity for
each of us. We don’t have to look beyond
our church to find those in need in our call to service. Many members have not been able to come to
church by going online each Sunday. As
followers in Christ let us encourage each other to continue to be part of the
church community. And if they need
someone to walk them through the log-on process, just call one of the following
members listed below. As Stan Lum sang in the July 12, 2020 Worship Service,
“You’ve Got A Friend.”
If you are feeling God’s call
to help your community of faith stay connected, please consider joining the
team. Email me your name, how you would
like to be contacted, and any specialities that you may have
technologically. We hope to assemble the
team by next week so that we can usher the invitation to the community to reach
out for help.
Remember, the church has
never closed - we have simply had to worship and fellowship in a different way
to protect one another. Venturing into
cyber space has afforded us brand new opportunities for community. Help us merge our CCH Ohana and our new
community of faith online. God has so
much in store for us - online and eventually in person. So, Here I Am, Lord. Send
me!
Mahalo,
Pastor
Holly
NEW!! VIRTUAL PASTOR’S
OFFICE HOURS
Aloha CCH Ohana! For the last couple of months, we have had a
standing zoom check in on Wednesdays during lunchtime. Beginning in July, I am trying something
new. I would love the opportunity to get
to know all of you a little bit better even though we cannot be together in
person right now. So, I will be holding
Virtual Pastor’s Office Hours throughout the week each week. My hope is that you will consider signing up
for a timeslot and having a conversation with me. We can either have a telephone call or a zoom
call, whichever you prefer. I look
forward to learning more about each of you and sharing my life and my stories
with you also. The following are the virtual
office hours for July 26th – Aug 1st. Please email me or call me using the
contact information below and claim your spot!
Sunday, July 26th 12:00pm, 12:30pm, 1:00pm,
1:30pm, 2:00pm, 2:30pm
Wednesday, July 29th 12:00pm, 12:30pm, 1:00pm, 1:30pm,
2:00pm, 2:30pm
Thursday, July 30th 12:00pm, 12:30pm, 1:00pm, 1:30pm,
2:00pm, 2:30pm
Friday, July 31st 12:00pm, 12:30pm, 1:00pm,
1:30pm, 2:00pm, 2:30pm
Saturday, Aug 1st 8:00am, 8:30am, 9:00am,
9:30am, 10:00am, 10:30am
If you have any questions about the worship or
fellowship, please reach to:
Call or Text: 808-371-4701 -OR-
Email: hollynorwick@gmail.com
CCH IPT WEDNESDAY
(INTENTIONAL PRAYER TIME)
by
Kathy Young
After
this weekend, we KNOW that our loving God answers our prayers!! Our ever-present, all-powerful Lord
"nudged" Hurricane Douglas, saving our beautiful islands from
destructive winds, pouring rain, and pounding surf. Prayers of Thanksgiving have been in our
hearts and on our lips ever since!!
However,
the world and Hawaii are still paralyzed by the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Positive cases spiking throughout the US and
spreading all over Oahu mean that this deadly, highly infectious disease will
continue to plague us.
We
seek silence, focus our minds and hearts, and pray:- lifting up praise and adoration, oh Lord! We love and worship you, and we joyfully proclaim that you are our Savior and Redeemer!
- heartfelt and fervent thanks for your protective embrace, keeping us, our loved ones, and our communities safe from the destructive forces of Hurricane Douglas.
- with grateful hearts for the tireless work done by Pastor Holly, Pastor Frances, Ardis, Glenn, Nate, and Hari.
- prayers of thanksgiving for our Executive Committee: Paul, Ryan, David, Rosita, Gwen, and Arnold. Also for Lori, Vernon, Ron, and the hard-working members who work to clean many areas of your church.
- to thank the CCH angels who contact and embrace others with your love, even while sheltered in place.
- humbly requesting your forgiveness and grace for our imperfections and sins.
- for those who are ill, injured, in pain, anxious or afraid, enduring medical procedures, facing economic hardships, or mourning the loss of loved ones. Grant them healing and comfort. Have them call us for assistance.
- that your Spirit be with every member of your CCH body of Christ, keeping each one safe, well, and at peace.
- for our first responders, community leaders, and all those who help keep Hawaii's utilities, services, and provisions available for our benefit, health, and welfare.
- requesting wisdom and strength for our school administrators & decision makers, teachers, staff, and families with children as they decide what is best for our students and community during these unprecedented, frightening, and unpredictable times.
- for whomever or
whatever is in our hearts.
Sandy sandy_nish@yahoo.com
Marti tarwarshawaii@hotmail.com
Bobbi lumbbi@gmail.com
Gwen joyfulnoise28@gmail.com
Annie and Martha 808hermanas@gmail.com
ANOTHER CAMPUS CLEAN UP
SATURDAY!
(Lori Wong is RELENTLESS!)
 |
| Lori the Luna |
 |
| Glenn and Yoshi Having Way Too Much Fun |
 |
| Robbie, Sharon, and Clara in the Choir Room |
 |
| Carol REALLY Does Not Want Her Picture Taken (Family Promise) |
Editor’s note: Double click on a photo to enlarge it. You can also download any of my photos for
your own use. But, please do not
download any other image without permission.
~~Pastor Frances
REFLECTIONS
ON THESE TIMES
FROM THE WORKER BEES
These reflections were dictated to and then transcribed and edited by Pastor Frances on 7/25/2020.
CAROL
GUNN
 |
| Ha! Got Carol in a Picture! |
I'm
hopeful this will be over so that life can somewhat come back to normal. I am sad because I can't help all those
people needing help. I can't deliver
meals to people who need meals. We can't
help on a volunteer basis for River of Life and Family Promise. I
worry about all the people affected by this.
All our church members miss being together. It will be awful until this is under control
and we can socialize again with friends and family we love and just doing stuff
together. I keep in touch with family,
friends, and some church members. One
thing that keeps my spirits up is walking two miles every day with my walking
buddy. That's a good thing and my positive
activity for the day.
ROBBIE
BERKSTRESSER
Well,
these are interesting times we're living in. We're having to get used to a whole altered
lifestyle. What's difficult is the
trying to distantly socialize and so we're cut off from our normal support
resources of family and friends and hugging and kissing. You realize every morning of all the things I
have to do differently; differently from what I’ve been used to my whole life. It’s been a learning process and it's
interesting. I must say that with all
the time that I spend alone or just with my husband, I have to make efforts to
find things that are uplifting. Clara
mentioned the positive effects of music.
I've been spending a lot of time on YouTube searching for music and
sources of humor. I really have to find
things that make me laugh and that helps me feel that I can do this. We all have to find our own sources of encouragement. We have to actively look for sources because,
before, it just kind of came right on our doorstep! I do find myself keeping in contact with many different ways like email, text, phone calls, Facetime, and learning to Zoom. I’ve had to learn the last two for my job,
too. I’ve become more mindful and
appreciative of keeping in touch.
CLARA
RICHARDS
Can
I use the word “sucks”? [Pastor Frances,
who eschews anything that approaches off-color speech, reluctantly approved—but
just this once!] Well, this pandemic SUCKS [please note that Pastor Frances did NOT give Clara permission to say it with such gusto]. At the beginning, it was kind of exciting with
everything happening but, now, it's just getting old and depressing. You don't know if any of your normal random symptoms might
be coronavirus symptoms, like coughing, body aches, or a sore throat. Everyone knows all the symptoms that have
been reported [this also happens all the time to Pastor Frances, who is a hypochondriac and like the Empath in Star Trek, original series] and I'm wondering whether I should stay home from work today or am I
just experiencing something ordinary.
You have to think about all this now because you have to think about
other people that you might be exposing to this terrible virus. What has helped me to get through these times
is—MUSIC, MUSIC, MUSIC. Recently, I’ve
enjoyed Climb Every Mountain and You’ll Never Walk Alone. Whether I’m singing or listening to something,
it gives me hope.
Marcus
Mumford - You'll Never Walk Alone
(singing begins at .27--PARENTAL Advisory: there's a swear word in the introduction before the singing)
(singing begins at .27--PARENTAL Advisory: there's a swear word in the introduction before the singing)
Guy
Sebastian - Climb Every Mountain
(Guy Sebastian is an Australian singer who is
ethnically Malaysian)
(Guy Sebastian is an Australian singer who is
ethnically Malaysian)
Editor’s note on watching
videos: Click once on the arrow in the middle of the screen. If another arrow pops up, 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.
ANY HISTORIANS IN THE
HOUSE?
Tucked away in the Christian
Education office are gems of CCH history.
In the next several newsletters, these gems will be highlighted and then
placed in the library in the church office.
If you have an interest in preserving these more adequately, please get
in touch with Pastor Frances by leaving a message with Ardis. Even if you aren’t interested in this as a project,
do come in and look through them when the office is open again.
 |
| FIRST BOOK |
 |
| SECOND BOOK |
 |
| Find these two albums in the church office (when it opens again). |
LOVE AND RESPONSE
by Pastor Frances
Take a look at this video (click on the white arrow in the middle and click again when it reappears) that talks about the word "love" or “ahavah” in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. Ahavah is both a noun and a verb. Strong's Exhaustive Dictionary labels this
word as “an act of doing.”
This video comes from the
Bible Project, an online resource that my Bible study classmates and I have
found very illuminating and accessible.
For a deeper dive into this word, click on this sentence to get to https://bibleproject.com/church-at-home/week18-love/.
Love is an act of doing. It is not “just” a feeling. Jesus, our model, supremely models love as an
act. While we cannot be the healer that
is Jesus, or the prophet, or the teacher, we can heal, prophesy, teach, fear, walk, love, serve, keep the commandments as
ourselves, in this--our time, as beloved children of God.
So now, O Israel, what does
the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your
God, to walk in all God's ways, to love God,
to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of
the Lord your God and God's decrees that I am commanding you
today, for your own well-being.
Deuteronomy 10:12-13
Explore the following examples of ways
to be and to enact love.
R.I.P. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JOHN
LEWIS
The following are excerpts
from the U.C.C.’s tribute to Rep. John Lewis:
Lewis,
who died at 80 of pancreatic cancer, became a key figure in the civil rights
movement, involved in some of the most pivotal moments for racial equality in
U.S. history. He fought injustice through “good trouble, necessary trouble,”
organizing nonviolent sit-ins and protests as he came of age in the Jim Crow
South. He continued to fight for the marginalized and the oppressed during more
than three decades in Washington, D.C.
"John
Lewis was one of our country's most skilled political operatives and a leader
who never compromised on his ethics,” said the Rev. John Dorhauer, UCC general
minister and president. “He served as an inspiration for me. For years, he was
this nation's moral compass. A fierce advocate for civil rights, he sacrificed
much for the good of others.”
Participating
in a movement led by [Dr. Martin Luther] King, Lewis got involved in lunch counter
sit-ins, joined the Freedom Riders in challenging segregated buses and stood as
a keynote speaker at the historic 1963 March on Washington, at 23 years old.
At
25, Lewis helped lead a march for voting rights on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in
Selma, Ala., where he and other marchers were met by heavily armed police who
beat them with clubs and fractured Lewis' skull. That “Bloody Sunday” helped
spur national support for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
"Congressman
John Lewis is a man of deep faith. Faith deep enough to build bridges across
social, political and theological divides. Faith deep enough to fill the
trenches hatred has forged. Faith enough to risk his life for our right to
vote," said the Rev. Traci Blackmon, associate general minister of Justice
and Local Church Ministries.
As a
lawmaker, Lewis focused on fighting poverty and improving education and health
care. He also co-wrote a series of graphic novels about the civil rights
movement, for which he won a National Book Award.
In
2011, he was awarded the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential
Medal of Freedom, by President Barack Obama.
"We
owe Congressman Lewis a great debt,” Blackmon said, “and the best way to repay
him is to keep showing up in the voting booth, keep showing up in the halls of
injustice, keep showing up in the political process, keep stirring up good trouble,
wherever we can.”
(accessed 7/22/2020)
March March
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwBjF_VVFvE
The Chicks - March March
“If your voice held no power,
they wouldn’t try to silence you.” - unknown
PARENTAL ADVISORY: The refrain contains
one mild cuss word.
Strength, Courage and Wisdom
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV4ml6kodOY
Strength, Courage and
Wisdom -- India Arie
Editor’s note on watching
videos: Click once on the arrow in the middle of the screen. If another arrow pops up, 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.
KEEP SINGING ALONG
As Clara and Robbie noted,
music can lift our spirits. Here are
three songs for you to sing along with.
You will be most familiar with the last one but give the first two a try
also.
I WORSHIP YOU -- MARY MARY
The duo, Mary Mary, are two
sisters, Erica Campbell and Tina Atkins, who write contemporary gospel music
and are very popular with younger Christians. About this song, I Worship You, Campbell explained: "Tina and I know where we come from.
Even though we're singing gospel music, we don't try to be perfect. We know
that we've made some pretty bad mistakes and we've done some pretty ugly things
in our lives. I think that's why we're so confident when we talk about the
ability to transform your life from inside out. When we think about all that we
are—all the negative things that have taken place in our lives—and who we are
now, we feel so grateful. I just have to thank God. Changing the way you think
is the biggest transformation. You're not negative, not fearful and you're not
terrified of life and taking chances. You don't look at a problem as a sign
that you're not doing something right. A problem is just a problem, and you're
going to make it through and be stronger because of it. 'I Worship You' is
about that. It's a really emotional song for my sister and I, because we can't
help but look back."
(accessed 7/25/2020)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM7M7RHHs0s
Mary Mary - I Worship You
I Worship You
Writers: Erica
Atkins-Campbell, Trecina Atkins-Campbell, Warryn Campbell
I was lost
But you came and found me
You left your throne
Thinking about me
You bled and died
To show me mercy
You gave your all
Because you saw my need
I was empty
But you came and filled me
I was blinded
But you helped me to see
I was broken
but you made me whole again
I felt like nothing
But you gave me confidence
And I'm filled with so much
gratitude
That words are not enough
To explain the magnitude the
passion of my love
[Chorus:]
You took everything I was and
made me what I am
And with all I am I worship
you [x2]
You were life
When I was dying
You were strength
When I was crying
You were right
and I was so wrong
A melody
When I had no song
And I'm filled so much with
gratitude
That words are not enough
To explain the magnitude the
passion of my love
[Chorus x2]
[Musical interlude]
[Chorus x2]
Key change [solo ad lib]
[Chorus]
Key change [solo ad lib]
[Chorus]
Key change [solo ad lib]
[Chorus]
Key change ([duet:] (You took
the worst of me, and made the best of me, and gave your best to me)
[Chorus x2]
I worship you [repeat:]
HIS EYE IS ON THE
SPARROW -- ETHEL WATERS
Matthew 6:26
Look at the birds of the air;
they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father
feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Matthew 10:29-31
Are not two sparrows sold for
a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And
even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of
more value than many sparrows.
John 14:1-2
Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are
many dwelling places.
This song was written by Civilla
Martin in 1905. It is a widely recorded gospel
song. During the Civil Rights Movement,
this song provided solace to the African American community. Ms. Martin wrote this song after her husband asked
their good friends, the wife bedridden and the husband wheelchair bound but
both living fully, how they kept their hopefulness. Ms. Martin wrote: “Mrs. Doolittle’s response
was simple: ‘His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.’ The beauty
of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the
imagination of Dr. Martin [Civilla’s husband] and me. The hymn ‘His Eye Is on
the Sparrow’ was the outcome of that experience.” The next day, she mailed the poem to Charles
Gabriel, a famous composer of gospel songs, who wrote a tune for it.
(accessed 7/25/2020)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fk-BxHwsj2A
His Eye Is on the Sparrow -- Ethel Waters
1. Why should I feel discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart be lonely
and long for heaven and home,
when Jesus is my portion?
My constant friend is he:
his eye is on the sparrow,
and I know he watches me;
his eye is on the sparrow,
and I know he watches me.
Refrain:
I sing because I’m happy,
(I’m happy)
I sing because I’m free, (I’m
free)
for his eye is on the
sparrow,
and I know he watches me.
2. “Let not your heart be troubled,”
his tender word I hear,
and resting on his goodness,
I lose my doubts and fears;
though by the path he leadeth
but one step I may see:
his eye is on the sparrow,
and I know he watches me;
his eye is on the sparrow,
and I know he watches me.
[Refrain]
3. Whenever I am tempted,
whenever clouds arise,
when song gives place to
sighing,
when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to him;
from care he sets me free:
his eye is on the sparrow,
and I know he watches me;
his eye is on the sparrow,
and I know he watches me.
[Refrain]
HOW GREAT THOU ART WITH ELVIS OR LAUREN DAIGLE
This hymn is based on a
Swedish traditional melody and a poem written by Carl Boberg in Mönsterås,
Sweden, in 1885.
Boberg wrote the poem after
being caught in a wild storm that was followed by a fresh calm day after he
reached home. It was translated into
German in the early 1900s and then into Russian. The first English translation in 1925 was
very different from the hymn that we know. Later, in the early 1930s, Stuart K.
Hine, an English missionary in the Ukraine, heard the Russian version of “O
Store Gud” ("O Mighty God") and translated it into the version that we sing. Hine’s translation was very loose and he also
changed the title to “How Great Thou Art.” Hine included the Russian version
and his English translation in a magazine that he published, which was regularly circulated to missionaries
in over 15 countries.
The song’s wild
popularity resulted from a winding route from Sweden, Germany, Russia, India, and onward to America. While in Assam, India, a British-American
missionary, J. Edwin Orr, heard the English version and brought the song to
America to have it performed at a college conference he was scheduled to speak at. Tim Spencer, a singing cowboy with the Sons of
the Pioneers, was also an influential publisher of Christian music. Spencer attended that conference with his college student son and immediately
bought the rights to the song.
Eventually, the song came to Billy Graham’s attention through his
soloist. It became the Crusade’s signature
song. The soloist, George Beverly Shea, sang
the song on radio, in stadiums, and TV events.
One such event, the 1957 Madison Square Garden Crusade ran for 16 weeks
and was viewed by an estimated 96 million people.
Many popular artists have
recorded this song, including, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Loretta Lynn and Carrie
Underwood. Elvis won two Grammys with
this song in 1972 and 1974.
https://americansongwriter.com/behind-the-song-carl-boberg-how-great-thou-art/
(accessed 7/25/2020)
CHOOSE YOUR VERSION TO SING ALONG!
Elvis -- How Great Thou Art 1972
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-hvI1nbS80
How Great Thou Art (feat.
Lauren Daigle) - Hillsong United
O Lord, my God, when I in
awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy
Hands have made
I see the stars, I hear the
rolling thunder
Thy power throughout the
universe displayed
Refrain
Then sings my soul, my Savior
God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great
Thou art
Then sings my soul, my Savior
God, to Thee
How great Thou art, how great
Thou art
And when I think of God, His
Son not sparing
Sent Him to die, I scarce can
take it in
That on the Cross, my burden
gladly bearing
He bled and died to take away
my sin
Refrain
When Christ shall come with
shout of acclamation
And lead me home, what joy
shall fill my heart
Then I shall bow with humble
adoration
And then proclaim, my God,
how great Thou art
Refrain
CONGRESSMAN, GODSPEED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QchDC9FaiI
Congressman John Lewis Dancing to Pharrell
Williams' "Happy": "Nothing Can Bring Me Down"
Editor’s
note: How about if we only vote for people who can dance and sing!! 😉
Anchor the eternity of love
in your own soul and
embed this planet with its
goodness.
JOHN LEWIS
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