KANI KANI PELE

The Monthly Newsletter of Kailua United Methodist Church Volume XVIII, No. 36 June, 2015

1110 Kailua Road, Kailua , HI 96734 “Making Disciples of Christ from All Generations”

Summer Vacaon and the

Gi� of Rest

My two sons aend Kaelepulu

Elementary School in Enchanted

Lake. Today was their big May

Day celebra�on with lots of

singing and dancing. When I

picked them up this a#ernoon,

the first thing they said to me

was, “Dad, we have eight more

days of school.” Wow, ready or not, here comes

summer.

During the summer, some of our ministries take a

break. One of the reasons we do that is because

summer is a good �me for vaca�ons and rest.

I think everyone would agree that rest is a good

thing. What surprises me is that God commands us

to rest. This command is so important it makes into

God’s Top 10 List (a.k.a. the 10 Commandments). In

Exodus 20 God says, “Remember the Sabbath day

by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all

your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the

Lord your God.”

Built into God’s rhythm of life is a cycle of work and

rest. God takes work and rest seriously and calls us

to do the same.

Eugene Peterson writes, “The most striking thing

about keeping the Sabbath is that it begins by not

doing anything. The Hebrew word Shabbat simply

means quit… stop… take a break.” Peterson adds, “If

there is no Sabbath, no regular and commanded not

-working, we soon become totally absorbed in what

we are doing and God’s work is either forgoen or

marginalized.”

Choosing into Sabbath rest is how we train

ourselves to take God seriously. In Sabbath rest we

turn to work and say, “You are not my master. God

is. I’m not trus�ng in you for my future. I’m trus�ng

in God.”

Ul�mately rest is a secondary issue. The primary

issue is trust. Sabbath rest is about trus�ng God.

Constant work and hurry is a sign that God can’t be

trusted. Sabbath rest is a sign that God can be.

Sabbath rest is a maer of trust. That’s why in

Exodus 34 God says, “Even in plowing �me and

harvest �me you shall rest.” Even in crunch �me at

work, you shall rest. Even when finals roll around at

school, you shall rest.

God calls us to rest so that we can learn to trust God

with our �me, just as God calls us to �the, so that

we can learn to trust God with our money.

Here is God’s summer work-out plan for us: “Set

aside �me for Sabbath rest, even when you’re at

your busiest, and see what happens. See if I can be

trusted. Un�l you try it, you will never know.”

For those who take God seriously, life isn’t a market

to be controlled but a gi# to be received.

Enjoy your summer and get some rest,

Pastor Tim

The Kani Kani Pele (The “Ringing Bell” in Hawaiian) page 2

DID YOU KNOW? YOUR KUMC FOUNDATION

All KUMC Founda�on trusts

support large goals such as the

general day-to-day upkeep of

church buildings and grounds,

scholarships to higher educa�on

for KUMC members and their

families or outreach needs in the

KUMC community, among

several others.

KUMC trusts can also address specific gi#s. Monies

earned by interest growth from conserva�ve

investments always preserve the original trust value.

This supports regular gi#ing. These gi# checks are

both small, or quite substan�al. For example, small

checks are wrien annually to purchase flowers for

our altar to commemorate certain birthdates and

occasions. Large, annual gi#s are wrien suppor�ng

community organiza�ons in elder care.

It’s easy to fund an exis�ng trust or start a new

trust. If you have ques�ons about adding to or

star�ng a new trust, please contact either John Kojima

at johnkojima@gmail.com or Ann McBirnie at

amcbirnie@hawaiiantel.net.

ALOHA CELEBRATION FOR PASTOR TOM CHOI

The Hawaii District

will be celebra�ng the

Rev. Dr. Thomas Choi’s

5 years of service as our

Hawaii District

Superintendent on

Saturday, June 13, 2015

at Parker UMC

Sanctuary. Address is 45-211 Waikalua Road,

Kaneohe, HI. The service will begin promptly at 10:00

a.m.

It will be a wonderful opportunity to bid ALOHA to

his family as well.

Please join us for a potluck ethnic lunch and

program to follow in the Goto Hall including music and

entertainment.

RECYCLING FUNDRAISER

The youth group is con�nuing its recycling

fundraiser through the month of June. Bruce, Jenni

and the youth will be collec�ng

Sundays immediately a#er

church. Look for the white and

green sign outside the Sanctuary.

They are collec�ng HI-5

recyclables, preferably aluminum

cans, plas�c boles, and glass

boles. Please rinse and remove

all caps. All of the proceeds from the recycling will go

toward the youth group’s high school mission trip this

summer to Tsaile, Arizona. Ques�ons? Contact

youth@kailuaumc.org. Mahalo!

RELAY FOR LIFE

Save the date…..July 11 & 12 at Kailua High School.

This is American Cancer Society’s signature

fundraising event. The

fun starts at 6:00 p.m.

Friday night. Sign up to

be a part of the KUMC

team. More details to

follow. If you have

ques�ons, contact

Deborah Tom at

728-9993.

WELCOME TO OUR NEW DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT

Bishop Minerva Carcaño will be

appoin�ng the Rev. Dr. Se Hee

Han as the 10th Hawaii District

Superintendent. Dr. Han is

currently the senior pastor of the

Culver-Palms UMC and has served

several churches in our annual

conference since the 1980’s. Her

strong administra�ve gi#s have led to service on the

Conference Council of Finance and Administra�on,

Conference Board of Ordained Ministry, the Execu�ve

Commiee of the Order of Elders, and is currently

Chair of the West District Commiee on Ordained

Ministry.

She is also a person of deep faith in Christ and has a

passion for mission. We welcome her and look

forward to her arrival!!

The Kani Kani Pele (The “Ringing Bell” in Hawaiian) page 3

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS DURING JUNE

The office will have

limited hours during the

month of June from the

10th through the 28th.

Shelley will be on

vaca�on from June 10th

and returning June 29th.

Pastor Tim will be at Annual Conference

and vaca�on from June 12th and returning

June 29th.

Please keep church emails to a minimum

during this �me as no one will be checking

them regularly.

Office volunteers will be covering the

office in the morning hours from 8:00 a.m.

to noon. Please call the office first at

261-6238 before you head over to make

sure someone is here. Thank you.

FOURTH OF JULY POTLUCK PICNIC

Sunday, July 5, 2015

On the lawn adjoining the

sanctuary a�er worship

All Church Celebraon

POTLUCK PICNIC— FOOD AND FUN

For the enre family!

Bring your lawn chairs and mats

Cold drinks will be provided

Last names ending in:

A-H Pupus

I-P Salads

Q-Z Main Dish

June Birthdays

If you are interested

in the June birthdays, please call

the church office at 261-6238.

The Kani Kani Pele (The “Ringing Bell” in Hawaiian) page 4

KAILUA UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 5th Annual Summerfest

Saturday, August 1, 2015 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

1110 Kailua Road, Kailua, Hi 96734 ph. 261-6238, www.kailuaumc.org

Please join us for our Fifth Annual Summerfest, a celebration of summer featuring local handmade crafts, jewelry, plants, produce, food, shave ice, thrift shop, specialty items. We are currently accepting vendor applications. If you would like to help or have any questions or would like a vendor application, please call the church office at 261-6238 or visit our website at www.kailuaumc.org. Hope to see you at Summerfest. Invite all your friends!

The Kani Kani Pele (The “Ringing Bell” in Hawaiian) page 5

Update from the Beacon of Hope House—

Our Recent Graduate: Sasha

Sasha is from Kauai; she is 25 years old and works for Uahi Grill in Kailua. She

entered the Beacon of Hope House on August 1, 2014 and transi�oned out on

April 5, 2015. We would like to celebrate her story:

Like many in our house from the outer islands, Sasha has no family and very few

friends here on Oahu to support her in her �me of transi�on from the Women’s

Correc�onal Community Center. I had the opportunity to interview Sasha with

Daphne and was very impressed with her determina�on, brilliance, and maturity.

Sasha’s beginning is all too familiar with women parolees. She shared how her father was sexually abusing

her from the ages of 9 to 14, which eventually landed him in jail for 10 years. He is a sex offender and drug

addict who would go in and out of jail. Sasha’s mother is a two �me cancer survivor and a strong Chris�an.

She struggled with cancer while being a single mother of three. At the age of 14 Sasha found herself

responsible for her mother and siblings. The adversi�es in her life eventually led her to drugs and WCCC.

Today Sasha is happy and in love and has hope for the future. A#er working two full �me jobs at Uahi Grill

and BLT in Waikiki, waking up early, and catching the bus, Uahi Grill have her a raise and promo�on.

Through determina�on and hard work she was able to save her money and find an apartment to lease on

her own in town. The power of love is her driving force. It con�nues to strengthen her. It encourages her to

be independent and disciplined. She is determined to make wise choices, to be and do good, to separate

herself from toxic people and appreciate the people who love her. I see her purity and humility are her

strengths. She has the humility to learn, to try and see for opportuni�es of hope. She has the humility to

look inward and make correc�ons and truly repent; to stop and turn towards righteousness and God. We

can be confident that she will con�nue to contribute to our society in a posi�ve way. She is truly a leader

and has so much poten�al to become an excellent ci�zen in our community.

Thank you all for prayers and con�nual support.

Kail

ua U

nit

ed

Meth

od

ist C

hu

rch

11

10

Ka

ilu

a R

oa

d

Ka

ilu

a H

I 9

67

34

(80

8)

26

1-6

23

8 (

vo

ice

), 2

62

-20

66

(F

AX

) E

-ma

il:

Ka

ilu

a.u

mc@

ha

wa

iia

nte

l.n

et

We

bsi

te:

ww

w.K

ail

ua

UM

C.o

rg

RE

TU

RN

SE

RV

ICE

RE

QU

ES

TE

D

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” ― John Lubbock, The Use Of Life