Reclaiming Christianity from the Grasp of Franklin Graham

From Huffington (Hawaii)

One sign said "All are Abraham's children." Another said "The Aloha State Does Not Hate." And yet another invoked Leviticus 19:34 "You shall love the alien as yourself." Pastors of several churches on Oahu who were protesting Rev. Franklin Graham's rally on the grounds of the Hawaii State Capitol on Wednesday Feb 24, were joined by passers-by who were stopped in their tracks by the sights and sounds of the "Decision America" event.

Graham invoked his father, but it was hard to imagine Billy Graham endorsing the scare-mongering and demonizing of others that his son encourages in those who come to hear him. Franklin Graham looked out on the diverse crowd sitting on the lawn under blue skies in beautiful Hawaii and pronounced America "broken, spiritually, racially, economically." The "only hope for the United States is Almighty God. The most we can do is pray," he said. Under that apparently innocuous call to prayer, lies a record of very un-Christian exhortations.

(snip)

Rev. David Gierlach, Rector of St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church, who initiated the protest in concert with his fellow pastors, emphasized that the public rejection of Graham's version of Christianity was needed. "We cannot be silent when we hear Christian teaching being distorted and dispensed to good people who deserve to hear the Gospel message of love. Rev. Franklin Graham's stirring up of hate and discrimination towards Muslims, and his efforts to use religion as a political tool need to be publicly rejected. That is why we stood in protest."

More here-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dawn-morais/reclaiming-christianity-f_b_9313998.html

Churches extend helping hand to Hawaii's homeless

From Hawaii- (with video)

A month ago, St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church in Kalihi invited a pregnant woman and her boyfriend to move into a converted shipping container in the church's parking lot.

It's nothing fancy but better than the sidewalk Jerome Pannell and his girlfriend, Marie Kane, were used to sleeping on.

"It fits four bunk beds, a desk, and a small table," Pannell said.

St. Elizabeth's brought in the container in June, and the the couple are the second family to be housed in the converted shipping container.

"Our real push is for the intact families who are out there, who frankly don't need services," said Father David Gierlach, of St. Elizabeth's. "They just need a roof over their head. And there's lots of them."

More here-

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/30460138/churches-extend-helping-hand-to-hawaiis-homeless

Churches striving to answer city’s call

From Hawaii-

Mayor Kirk Caldwell grew visibly frustrated as he recalled standing in front of a room filled with Oahu religious leaders and asking them to house a homeless family, but not a single one stepped up.

The Rev. David Gierlach of St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church on North King Street was not invited to the July meeting, and said he believes Caldwell was “talking to the wrong group of churches.”

St. Elizabeth’s is surrounded by homeless people and lets them use the church’s showers and bathrooms at any time . In June, the church even took up valuable space in its parking lot to temporarily accommodate a converted 8-foot-by-20-foot shipping container that has since housed a homeless family of five and is now being used by a homeless woman named Marie Kane, who is pregnant with twins and is expected to deliver just after Christmas.
More here-

http://www.staradvertiser.com/homeless/20151011_churches_striving_to_answer_citys_call.html?id=331914811

Churches help the homeless through Laundry Aloha

From Hawaii (with video)-

That jingle in our pockets and weight in our wallets is enough for some to be life-changing. A handful of Hawaii churches are showing how a small roll of quarters can make a big difference. It's called Laundry Aloha.

Gathered in a small room behind the pews, a big-hearted operation to get little packets of kindness to families in need.

"We're talking about hundreds and hundreds of loads of laundry and hundreds and hundreds of families served hopefully," said Father David Gierlach of St. Elizabeth Episcopal Church.

St. Elizabeth Episcopal Church in Kalihi is one of nine parishes that won a $10,000 grant, then matched with another $10,000. Their chosen mission: coins and detergent to help the houseless get clean.

More here-

http://www.kitv.com/news/churches-help-the-homeless-through-laundry-aloha/34452668

Priest: Jesus ‘Would Have Turned Water Into Beer’ Today

From the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" Department- Texas Division-

An Episcopal priest in Hawaii and a bar owner in Texas, Father Bill Miller says that if Jesus was alive today he not only would have turned water into beer, it also would have been “his beverage of choice.”

Noting that Jesus’ first miracle was turning water into wine in the Bible’s New Testament, Father Miller tells Fox News that today – it would have been a different choice.

“If Jesus had lived in Texas, for example, rather than Palestine, I’m pretty sure he would have turned that water into beer,” Miller tells Fox News, noting that Jesus didn’t just make “any wine,” he made “really good wine” that was served as the best for last at the Biblical wedding at Cana.
“He had no problem with quality,” adds Miller.

More here-

http://houston.cbslocal.com/2014/05/23/priest-jesus-would-have-turned-water-into-beer-today/

Same-Sex Couples Set to Legally Marry in Hawaii

From Hawaii-

Some same-sex couples plan to get married as soon as they're able to do so legally in Hawaii on Monday.

A ceremony for six couples at the Sheraton Waikiki is one of several wedding events planned soon after 12:01 a.m., when a new law allows gay couples to marry in the state.

Couples who want to get married as early as possible Monday won't have to wait until Hawaii's Health Department opens its doors at 8 a.m. Same-sex couples can begin applying for marriage licenses at 12:01 a.m., department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said.

Okubo said the state's marriage license application site will add options for bride and bride, groom and groom, or spouse and spouse.

The licenses can then be approved by any state-certified license agent around the state, Okubo said. The agents operate around the islands, including in resorts on Maui, the Big Island and Lanai. Okubo said the agents make their own arrangements and can quickly approve licenses through the online system.

More here-

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/sex-couples-set-legally-marry-hawaii-21053952

Hawaii legislature gives final nod to legalizing gay marriage

From Hawaii-

The Hawaii Senate gave final legislative approval on Tuesday to a bill extending marriage rights to same-sex couples in a state popular as a wedding and honeymoon destination and regarded as a pioneer in advancing the cause of gay matrimony.

The measure cleared the Democratic-controlled state Senate on a 19-4 vote to cheers and applause from hundreds of supporters in flowered garland leis who filled the visitor galleries and the Capitol rotunda.

Hundreds more danced for joy on the sidewalks in front of the Capitol building.

Governor Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat who called a special session to consider the bill, is expected to sign it into law on Wednesday, an aide to the governor said. That would make Hawaii the 15th U.S. state to legalize gay marriage.

The measure, set to take effect on December 2, rolls back a 1994 statute defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman.

More here-

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/13/us-usa-gaymarriage-hawaii-idUSBRE9AB0MF20131113

Gay marriage goes to final Hawaii House vote

From Hawaii-

Hawaii House lawmakers were poised to take their final vote Friday on a bill to legalize gay marriage on the islands, with strong chances the measure will pass and move to the Senate for its second approval.

House members returned to the floor Friday morning for their final debate after a five-day public committee hearing and an 11-hour floor session earlier this week.

The debate — expected to go into the night — was playing out amid noisy crowds outside the chamber and maneuvering inside from lawmakers for and against the bill.

Lawmakers shot down four floor amendments by Republicans before lunch, rejecting calls for a task force to study gay marriage, opt-outs for people who object to gay marriage and for children learning about gay people in schools, and a carve-out for religious organizations in the state's public accommodations law.

More here-

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/765641361/Gay-marriage-goes-to-final-Hawaii-House-vote.html

Same-sex marriage debate goes to the pulpits

From Hawaii-

Two religious leaders in Hawaii are engaged in a debate over same-sex marriage, a debate that ensued after an Episcopal minister preached a sermon critical of Hawaii's Catholic bishop.

The Roman Catholic Church is one of the largest religious denominations in Hawaii, with more than 200,000 members in the islands. Bishop Larry Silva recently wrote what he called an "urgent letter to all Catholics regarding same-sex marriage."

In the letter, the bishop said the Catholic Church is clear that true marriage can only be between one man and one woman.

"Marriage is an institution, not a person," Silva told Hawaii News Now. "And when we're talking about an institution, we have to be discriminating between what is true marriage and what is not true marriage."

Being against same-sex marriage, according to Silva, is not unjust discrimination.

"When we're talking about gay people and straight people, we're all equal in dignity, no doubt about that," said Silva. "And there's no excuse for unjust discrimination against either."

In the letter, Silva wrote, "We discriminate quite justly between adults and minors, even though both have equal dignity. We justly discriminate between those who are married and those who are not, because marriage is a special societal bond that assures the continuation of the race in the context of raising children."
More here-

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/23314694/same-sex-marriage-debate-goes-to-the-pulpits

Return Of Maili Cross Called 'Blessing'

From Hawaii (with video)

A congregation in Maili is counting its blessings after its cross is returned, more than a year after it was stolen.

The cross was taken from the St. Philip's Episcopal Church on July 3, 2010.

About two weeks ago, a church member stopped in a small shop along Farrington Highway, called Mom and Pop's Garage Sale. May Holokai saw the cross and returned later with the church's senior warden, Honolulu Police Assistant Chief Debora Tandal to ask for it back.
The owners of the shop gave the cross back to the church with no charge. Sandra and Bernard Reyes said they bought the cross off the side of the road for $18.

Read more:

http://www.kitv.com/news/28770618/detail.html#ixzz1U9W7xCBa

Camp Mokuleia renovation pau, diocese reports

From Hawaii-

The Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii recently completed a $1 million renovation of Camp Mokuleia, formerly a favorite venue for retreats, family reunions and vacations.

A key part of the overhaul resulted from the hiring two years ago of David Turner, an ordained United Church of Christ minister and a chaplain at Punahou School, as an interim executive director, according to a news release from the diocese's board of directors. He was made the permanent director, a position vacant since 2001, in April.

"For the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ, this is one of their first joint ministerial calls in Hawaii in over 150 years and celebrates a spirit of collaboration," the release said.

Over the years, the camp became run-down and lost its popularity, but Turner turned the operation around financially and physically, and made the camp environmentally sustainable, the release said. The camp also offers its own programs, which include a Challenge Course, garden activities, nature-based activities and an emphasis on Hawaiian culture and wisdom, to schools and church and business groups.

more here-

http://www.staradvertiser.com/features/20110612_camp_mokuleia_renovation_pau_diocese_reports.html

Fund Helps Teacher Fight for Life

From The Living Church with video-

Three autoimmune diseases threaten the life of Cristy Kessler, and her fight to stay alive has taken her to Istanbul, Turkey, for an experimental treatment involving stem-cell and bone-marrow transplants.

The One of Our Own Fund has helped Kessler, a 39-year-old associate professor of education at the University of Hawaii, raise an initial payment of $22,000 for the pre-transplant therapy she will receive in Turkey. She arrived in Turkey Feb. 26 to begin preparing for the transplant procedure.

Organizers of the fund have also raised an additional $35,000 for debts accumulated in Kessler’s 7-year struggle with scleroderma, vasculitis and ankylosing spondylitis. They’re now trying to raise $55,000 to cover the transplant stage of treatment.

The Rev. Liz Zivanov, rector of St. Clement’s Church, Honolulu, is Kessler’s partner and a cofounder of the fund. She launched a weblog, From Here to Istanbul, to post reports about Kessler’s therapy at Anadolu Medical Center, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Zivanov says the fund has attracted support from as far away as Maryland, New Hampshire and American Samoa.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2011/3/3/fund-helps-teacher-fight-for-life

Presses stop rolling for local Episcopal newspaper

From Hawaii-

The Hawaiian Church Chronicle ends 128 years of keeping members of the Episcopal Church informed with the publication of its December issue.

The Chronicle's editor, the Rev. Canon Liz Beasley, said the church's Executive Council decided in October to cut funding for all print publications.

In a Chronicle article, she said budget cuts actually began about a year ago at the General Convention of the Episcopal Church, and that the Chronicle began printing only quarterly instead of 10 times a year, she said.
The Chronicle is printed as a "wrap" around the national Episcopal News Monthly, which also ceases publication in January, she said. Originating as the Anglican Church Chronicle in 1882, it became the Hawaiian Church Chronicle in 1908 and now has a circulation of 3,700, Beasley said.

The Chronicle will continue to be "published" through e-mail. It makes sense, she said, based on the feedback she has received "that fewer and fewer people actually read the Chronicle."

But she is concerned that there is a large segment of people in the diocese who do not use a computer. Beasley urged churches and clergy to print out the E-Chronicle and other E-News, and post printouts on bulletin boards or insert them in their newsletters.

Beasley told the Star-Advertiser she has been the editor for eight years, serving off and on since 1999. The biggest change she made was to include more local congregational events.

More here-

http://www.staradvertiser.com/features/religionstories/20101204_Presses_stop_rolling_for_local_Episcopal_newspaper.html

Tattoos, motorcycle distinguish new priest

From Hawaii-

St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Kapolei was looking for a new leader who was young, vibrant and a bit of "a rock star" to draw young people.

Enter Paul K. Klitzke, who at 30 is the youngest priest in the youngest church in the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii. He plays electric guitar in the church band. He sports an earring and tattoos. He zooms about Kapolei on a red motorcycle.

Someone he met here told him he looked more like a biker than a vicar.

(Indeed, he is planning a Blessing of the Bikes service later this year.)

Klitzke came from Wasilla, Alaska, where he served as priest of St. David's Episcopal Church and developed activities for youth the last five years. He arrived in March and will be ceremoniously installed tomorrow by Bishop Robert Fitzpatrick. Established in 2002, the congregation meets at Island Pacific Academy, 909 Haumea St.

"We were looking for ... someone said 'a rock-star priest,' somebody who would draw families, attract a lot of people ... exciting," said Cheryl Chee, a member of the St. Nicholas committee that interviewed Klitzke for the job. "He seemed to fit what we were looking for, his experience and appeal to young people."

More here-

http://www.staradvertiser.com/features/religionstories/20100710_tattoos_motorcycle_distinguish_new_priest.html

Episcopal Church tries to follow Jesus' model

Opinion from Hawaii-

As a rabbi, Jesus talked a lot. He did not merely parrot "the law and the prophets," but, in the finest rabbinical traditions, he would quote Holy Writ and comment upon, enlarge upon, rephrase and sometimes posit something new. "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath," and, "On these two hang all the law and the prophets" are examples of new thinking on Jesus' part.

In these early years of the 21st century, there are plenty of religious talkers. Some people hurl verbal scriptural bombs at many issues and, sadly, at various persons, groups and indeed whole faith communities. In my adopted Episcopal Church, there is a small group decreeing that the "church is apostate" and has departed the true ways of the Anglican tradition, though there is no agreement on just constitutes "Anglican tradition"!

Part of what lured me from fundamentalist evangelical upbringings toward the Episcopal Church is what seems to be the target of a small but noisy minority: the notion that thinking for oneself is more important than parroting dogma learned presumably at the time of confirmation. Some in the Episcopal Church insist that "The 39 Articles" (found in our Prayerbook 1979) are indeed binding statements of the "true faith and order of the Episcopal Church." Few have read these 39 articles, and most ignore them as being "historic documents of the church for another time and circumstance."

It is the notion that Jesus was a "walker" that has fascinated me. Instead of remaining in his mother's newly bought home in Capernaum, Jesus literally walked all over Roman Palestine and the neighboring political entities. His walking was not only to talk, which he did frequently, nor was it only for prayer and meditation, which he frequently was described as doing. Jesus healed the sick, welcomed the outcasts, debated the Pharisees, fed the hungry, healed the lepers, talked to women, visited Samaria (where people considered "half-Jews" lived and worshipped) and generally kicked the slats of rigid Pharisaic Jewish thinking.

More-

http://www.starbulletin.com/features/20090411_on_faith.html

Good Stuff in TEC: New York & Hawaii

"I wish I had a river I could skate away on"

NY churches offer ``Blue Christmas'' services

Not everyone is happy around Christmas time.

Two Westchester churches are offering "Blue Christmas" services this week for people who are grieving, upset, or just not in the holiday spirit.

The Rev. Gawain de Leeuw (Gah-WAIN' de LEE'-oh), rector of St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in White Plains, says "the holidays are tough on people."

The Katonah United Methodist service is Thursday evening. St. Bart's gets blue at 5 p.m. Sunday.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--bluechristmas1218dec18,0,2150233.story

A Christmas that’s blue? This service is for you

A special “Blue Christmas” service will be hosted by Lahaina’s Holy Innocents Episcopal Church on Christmas Day at noon.

“Christmas can be a painful time for some,” said Holy Innocents’ Priest-in-Charge, Father Bill Albinger.

“It may be their first Christmas without a loved one who has died. It may be the loss of a job, a family member serving in Iraq, or other causes of great anxiety and worry. Christmas may be a time that, for whatever reason, has always been difficult.”

We are constantly reminded of the happiness of the season in stores and malls, on television and radio, and that, according to Father Bill, may make people even sadder. It may remind them of their loss or their present economic concerns.

http://www.lahainanews.com/story.aspx?id=9797

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