Celebrating the Holy Sovereigns

Dear St. Augustine's 'ohana,
Please join us this Sunday for a Holy Eucharist in commemoration of the Holy Sovereigns, Queen Emma and King Kamehameha.

In his recent address to the annual meeting of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i, Bishop Bob opened his remarks with these words:

"I take this moment as your Bishop to honor and give thanks for the founding patrons of our Diocese, King Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku) and Queen Emma (Emma Kalanikaumakaʻamano Kaleleonālani Naʻea Rooke).

"I write from the land on which our Cathedral stands that was entrusted to the Church by the Holy Sovereigns. I acknowledge the trust they committed to our Church in 1862 to care for their people – Kānaka ʻŌiwi – and all of the children of these Islands, and for our responsibility to care for all of creation. As the Bishop of the Church invited to these islands, I deeply regret that we have not always fulfilled our responsibility through these many decades. We have often failed and turned a blind eye to those around us. For those things which we as the Church and as individual Episcopalians have done and the many things we have left undone that contributed to the harm inflicted on nā Kānaka ʻŌiwi and these islands, I offer our collective lamentation. I ask God’s forgiveness. I ask the prayers of our blessed ancestors and you, God’s people, that we, God’s Episcopal Church in Hawaiʻi, will have the will and courage to better fulfill our responsibility – kā mākou kuleana – to the people of these Islands and to God’s creation.

"On this my penultimate report to you as Bishop, I do so with the following in mind: Our Diocesan motto is “HE LANAKILA MA KE KEʻA” (Victory through the Cross). Our Diocesan ʻohana is united by faith in Jesus Christ and that is what we share with the world. We take seriously our commitment to incorporate “the Native Hawaiian Christian spiritual concepts of mana, malāma and pono into the overall life and work of the Church in all areas of ministry in the Diocese.” Ministry here must seek to care for others, creation and all that God has given us (malāma), to live righteously and in respect one for another (pono), and to find the holy (mana) that comes from God in all creation and all of God’s children."

I am grateful to Bishop Bob for articulating our ministry so clearly! I hear his words as clear instructions to us at St. Augustine's. Our commemoration this Sunday involves so much more than a simple head nod to Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV. It is more than a mere check box to complete once a year and then forget for the other 51 Sundays.

It's important to pause to reflect on why St. Augustine's is here, why we seek to serve our community, and how that's connected to the initial invitation from Queen Emma and King Kamehameha that allows us to be here now. This is an opportunity to acknowledge the past wrongs of the Church by recommitting to our sacred responsibilities to our Hawaiian founders today and actively working to uphold those responsibilities in the coming years.

As I think about the work we do together in North Kohala, I believe we are indeed committed to and actively working toward fulfilling these responsibilities! The ministries we carry out in our four missions (see below) show how we are directing our hearts and our daily work as a church. Let's continue this work, which benefits all people in our community, while also being mindful of how our efforts relate to our commitment to the Kānaka 'Ōiwi. We have much more to do and, at the same time, we can be grateful for the work of each person in this community of faith.
Please join us this Sunday for a Holy Eucharist in commemoration of the Holy Sovereigns, Queen Emma and King Kamehameha.

In his recent address to the annual meeting of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i, Bishop Bob opened his remarks with these words:

"I take this moment as your Bishop to honor and give thanks for the founding patrons of our Diocese, King Kamehameha IV (Alekanetero ʻIolani Kalanikualiholiho Maka o ʻIouli Kūnuiākea o Kūkāʻilimoku) and Queen Emma (Emma Kalanikaumakaʻamano Kaleleonālani Naʻea Rooke).

"I write from the land on which our Cathedral stands that was entrusted to the Church by the Holy Sovereigns. I acknowledge the trust they committed to our Church in 1862 to care for their people – Kānaka ʻŌiwi – and all of the children of these Islands, and for our responsibility to care for all of creation. As the Bishop of the Church invited to these islands, I deeply regret that we have not always fulfilled our responsibility through these many decades. We have often failed and turned a blind eye to those around us. For those things which we as the Church and as individual Episcopalians have done and the many things we have left undone that contributed to the harm inflicted on nā Kānaka ʻŌiwi and these islands, I offer our collective lamentation. I ask God’s forgiveness. I ask the prayers of our blessed ancestors and you, God’s people, that we, God’s Episcopal Church in Hawaiʻi, will have the will and courage to better fulfill our responsibility – kā mākou kuleana – to the people of these Islands and to God’s creation.

"On this my penultimate report to you as Bishop, I do so with the following in mind: Our Diocesan motto is “HE LANAKILA MA KE KEʻA” (Victory through the Cross). Our Diocesan ʻohana is united by faith in Jesus Christ and that is what we share with the world. We take seriously our commitment to incorporate “the Native Hawaiian Christian spiritual concepts of mana, malāma and pono into the overall life and work of the Church in all areas of ministry in the Diocese.” Ministry here must seek to care for others, creation and all that God has given us (malāma), to live righteously and in respect one for another (pono), and to find the holy (mana) that comes from God in all creation and all of God’s children."

I am grateful to Bishop Bob for articulating our ministry so clearly! I hear his words as clear instructions to us at St. Augustine's. Our commemoration this Sunday involves so much more than a simple head nod to Queen Emma and King Kamehameha IV. It is more than a mere check box to complete once a year and then forget for the other 51 Sundays.

It's important to pause to reflect on why St. Augustine's is here, why we seek to serve our community, and how that's connected to the initial invitation from Queen Emma and King Kamehameha that allows us to be here now. This is an opportunity to acknowledge the past wrongs of the Church by recommitting to our sacred responsibilities to our Hawaiian founders today and actively working to uphold those responsibilities in the coming years.

As I think about the work we do together in North Kohala, I believe we are indeed committed to and actively working toward fulfilling these responsibilities! The ministries we carry out in our four missions (see below) show how we are directing our hearts and our daily work as a church. Let's continue this work, which benefits all people in our community, while also being mindful of how our efforts relate to our commitment to the Kānaka 'Ōiwi. We have much more to do and, at the same time, we can be grateful for the work of each person in this community of faith.

Blessings,
​Vicar Jennifer

P.S., Mahalo for reading this message! I send my thoughts on the coming Sunday's scripture lessons in our weekly e-newsletter. If you'd like, you can sign up here to receive it. My e-message is usually a sneak peak of the coming Sunday's sermon, so if you're curious to hear more, head to our Facebook page for our livestream or go to our YouTube page to view past services. As always, I would love to see you in person on a Sunday! And please let me know if you'd like to talk about anything I've written here.

Please feel free to pass along this message or use what I've written. Please ensure proper attribution to the author, whether that's me or another writer. I often quote folks whose wisdom I admire! Blessings on your explorations in Spirit, and I look forward to walking with you on your journey!