KANI KANI PELE The Monthly Newsletter of Kailua United Methodist Church Volume XVIV No. 7 July , 2016
1110 Kailua Road, Kailua , HI 96734 “Making Disciples of Christ from All Generations”
Crazy Love Years ago when I was in
South Africa, I visited a
squatter settlement of over a
million people called
Khayelitsha. This was a
sprawling slum of shacks as
far as the eye could see. My
host was a pastor named
Graham Cyster.
There was a group of Stanford students in South
Africa at the same time I was there, and these
students told Graham that they wanted to do
evangelism in Khayelitsha. Graham said, “Are you
sure?” They said, “Yes” and off they went. As they
walked along they came across a group of young
black men who said to them, “You’re Americans
aren’t you, what are you doing here?” The Stanford
students replied, “We’re here talking to people about
Jesus.” “Oh really, what about him?” the young men
asked. “That Jesus loves them,” one student said.
Hearing this one of the young men blurted out,
“Bull….! Bloody bull….! You’re telling me Jesus
loves me. I live right over there (pointing to a shack
with a tarp covering). Jesus doesn’t live in
Khayelitsha. And Jesus doesn’t love me or he
wouldn’t allow me to live here.” As Graham
watched this unfold, he thought, “Don’t say
anything.” But the students tried to defend their
position. Eventually, they gave up, went home and
cried.
Graham and Dorkus Cyster lived in the Broken Wall
Community, a multi-racial Christian community that
bordered this slum area. They decided to start a
church in Khayelitsha. When they did, the residents
were highly skeptical – “Give them two months, six
months, or a year, and they’ll be out of here.”
But Graham and Dorkus stuck around. They spent
time getting to know families in the area. They
became familiar faces. There was a high, corrupt
police presence in this area, and at times Graham
confronted the police, defending the residents he had
gotten to know. When needed, he would stay in their
home, or they would stay in his.
Unlike the Stanford students, Graham didn’t just
show up as an outsider. He became a member of this
community, and in doing so, he earned their trust. By
the time of my visit, the church they started had
grown to 60 members and was serving the
community in vital ways.
Graham didn’t relate to Khayelitsha from a safe
distance. He got dangerously close. That’s exactly
what God did in Jesus Christ. John puts it this way,
“God (the Word) became flesh and dwelled among
us.” God became a person and moved into the
neighborhood. That’s what we celebrate as
Christians.
There is something so beautiful, so powerful about
God becoming a person: God stubbing his toe; God
getting laughed at in school; God getting yelled at by
his parents; God wanting nothing more than a bite to
eat; God feeling lonely on a Friday night; God
getting so anxious that his sweat is bloody; God
facing the death penalty. God living in Khayelitsha.
God living in Kailua. God living in Waimanalo. God
reaching out to us by becoming one of us.
I can understand a person wanting to become God,
but God wanting to become a person. Why would
God do that?
Crazy love. Blessings, Pastor Tim
The Kani Kani Pele (The “Ringing Bell” in Hawaiian) page 2
6TH ANNUAL KUMC SUMMER FEST 2016
SATURDAY, AUGUST 13, 2016
Please join us for our Sixth Annual Summerfest, a celebration of summer featuring local handmade crafts, jewelry, plants, produce, food, shave ice, thrift shop, specialty items. We are still 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!
Volunteer opportunities. Questions? Please contact Deborah Tom at 808-728-9993. As part of our church goal of being a serving Ohana, Summer Fest proceeds will benefit Outreach programs; primarily Beacon of Hope House (www/beaconofhopekumc.org), Girls on the Run of Hawaii (www.girlsontherunhawaii.org), and India Missions.
The Kani Kani Pele (The “Ringing Bell” in Hawaiian) page 3
July Birthdays
If you are interested in the July birthdays,
please call the church office at 261-6238
PLANTS NEEDED FOR SUMMER FEST
Once again, Summer Fest will have a booth where
you can get unbelievable bargains in wonderful plants
for your yard.
We need all types of plants from your yard to
enhance the beauty of other KUMC member’s yards.
ALL proceeds go toward KUMC Outreach Projects.
For further informa0on, call Jane or Larry Marcum
at 261-8752. Mahalo!
DID YOU KNOW? YOUR KUMC FOUNDATION
Lee Mitchell was a nice guy. Friendly and quiet
on approach yet very keen about
KUMC’s care and upkeep. Lee’s
widow, Dee Mitchell and his
family set up the Lee Mitchell
Trust to con0nue the church
upkeep and repair and specifically
acknowledge the care of our
Medita0on Rock Garden.
It’s easy to fund an exis0ng
trust or start a new trust. To make a tax deduc0ble
dona0on please speak to or email Doug Borton at
[email protected] or Jerry Allen at
Our 2016 highschool graduates, Rashawn Scales and Aliya Petranik.
2016 KUMC Foundation Scholarship awardees are: Aliya Petranik and Griffin Lockette (pictured); and MeiLan Sim and Austin Tom (not pictured).
The Kani Kani Pele (The “Ringing Bell” in Hawaiian) page 4
It’s 0me to Relay! Relay for Life Windward Oahu is on Saturday July 9th from 2-10pm at Kailua High School.
Please join our church team and come out and support American Cancer Society’s signature fundraising event for
cancer research and educa0on but more importantly, to show support for survivors, caregivers and families. Call
Deborah if you have ques0ons, 808 728 9993. It’s free and it’s easy to join or donate, see below for details:
Copy and paste this into your search bar:
hEp://relay.acsevents.org/site/PageServer/?pagename=relay_ge0nvolved_events
Click on purple: “search for a team” Click on purple: “search for a team”
Type in: Kailua United Methodist Church OR Type in: Kailua United Methodist Church
Click: Join Click: Donate
Create an account
The Kani Kani Pele (The “Ringing Bell” in Hawaiian) page 5
Join us for a weekend of renewal as we connect to God through teaching, worship, prayer and fellowship. We will learn about the Holy Spirit and gain firsthand experience in “listening prayer.”
♦ Friday, Aug. 5 - 6:45 pm to 8:30 pm (an evening session of worship, teaching, and ministry) ♦ Saturday, Aug. 6 - 8:30 am to 2:30 pm (three sessions of worship, teaching and ministry -
breakfast refreshments and lunch included)
Our teaching and ministry times will be led by Rev. Larry Eddings, a retired United Methodist pastor from Seattle and founder of Wind of the Spirit Ministries, and by Jeremy and Joy Ellington, church planters in Kerala, India.
Kailua United Methodist Church 1110 Kailua Road, Kailua, HI 96734
Childcare will be provided. Questions? Call us at (808) 261-6238
KAILUA FOURTH OF JULY PARADE
Come down and join us at the Annual Kailua Fourth
of July Parade and support our Shave Ice tent! We
will be selling shave ice at our annual shave ice sale
located at the Allen’s house at 78
South Kainalu Drive across from
the Kailua Recrea0on Center from
9:00 a.m. 0ll the end of the
parade. All proceeds go to the
American Cancer Society Relay
for Life.
FAMILY BOWLING EVENT
Join us for our second
annual KUMC Family
Bowling event at K-Bay
Lanes on Marine Corps
Base-Hawaii on Sunday,
July 31 from 3:00 to 6:00
p.m. Two games and shoe
rental for only $8.00/
person. We’ll also have supper catered by Sam
Adams grill. Roll into the new school year with a
fun aKernoon of bowling with friends. Please sign
up today aKer worship at the bowling table (look
for the giant bowling pins), or let Kim Matyskiela
know at [email protected]. If you need base
access, be sure to see Kim as soon as possible.
Mahalo.
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THE LAST WORD “The world can make you think that love can be picked up at a garage sale or enveloped in a Hallmark card. But the kind of love that God created and demonstrated is a costly one because it involves sacrifice and presence.” ~ Bob Goff