WORSHIP & DEVOTIONALS
Opening Worship | Sunday, October 4, 2020
DEVOTIONAL • Monday, October 5, 2020
‘AHA PAE‘ĀINA 2021
WORKSHOPS
View and share recordings of all NINE workshops offered online for the 199th ‘Aha Pae‘āina!
PRESENTERS: Wendell Davis (AHEC Papa Makua), Ron Fujiyoshi, Pualani Muraki, Kalaniakea Wilson, and special guests Joyclynn Costa, David Popham, Ron Williams, Dr. Keanu Sai
RECOMMENDED READING & RESOURCES:
WORKSHOP 1
White Supremacy Disguised: 128 years of continued white supremacy and war crimes on the Hawaiian Kingdom Christian Nation
"White supremacist attitudes arrived with the early missionaries in 1820. Since then, Christianity, racism and white supremacy have continued through the ABCFM, HEA and the HCUCC attacking Hawaiians and obstructing justice to the present. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the long existing pandemic of white supremacy across America that is now at the forefront of a UCC call to action to eradicate racism and white supremacy. The AHEC resolution 128 years road to justice has recently revealed white supremacy that we would like to address to eradicate in alignment with the UCC. We will also breakdown the complexities of the AHEC resolution."
View AHEC's resolution to be proposed at the 33rd General Synod in July 2021:
Website of the Association of Hawaiian Evangelical Churches: ahecchurch.weebly.com
PRESENTER: SHARON JACOB, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, NEW TESTAMENT, PACIFIC SCHOOL OF RELIGION
Sharon earned her Master of Divinity from Lancaster Theological Seminary and Masters of Sacred Theology from Yale University. She earned her Ph.D from Drew University. Her research interests include gender and sexuality studies, feminist theory, race and whiteness theory, and postcolonial theory. Among her many publications, her more recent essays include, “Jezebel and Indo-Western Women: Nation, Nationalism, and the Ecologies of Sexual Violence in Revelation 2: 20-25” in Ecological Solidarities: Mobilizing Faith and Justice for an Entangled World (World Christianity) was published by Penn State University Press, 2019). Sharon is also a regular contributor to the Electronic Feminist Studies of Religion where she has written several blogs on various topics. In addition, she has also authored blogs on topics of Whiteness and White Supremacy, and Caste Supremacy in the Indian context.
WORKSHOP 2
Provoked Perseverance! When Change Matters: Reflections on Matthew 15:21-28 from a postcolonial, race, and gender perspective.
This workshop looks at the story of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28. Participants learn to read and analyze this text not only in its historical context but are also introduced to hermeneutical lenses, such as gender and race, that will allow for a nuanced interpretation of this passage.
Keeping in line with the theme of the ‘Aha Pae‘āina this year, this workshop addresses topics on perseverance, change, and the power to innovate, re-invent, and be flexible as we learn to create spaces for new voices, new imaginations, and new thoughts.
WORKSHOP 3
Report of the Conference Minister followed by Conference Minister Installation Service
The Rev. Dr. David Popham was called to serve as the Conference Minister of the Hawai‘i Conference United Church of Christ at the 197th ‘Aha Pae‘āina in 2019. Hear a report from our Conference Minister followed by his installation service.
WORKSHOP 4
Property-Liability Commercial Insurance Trends
The workshop will highlight trends in the insurance marketplace which are influencing premium costs. The workshop will focus on disturbing trends in property claims including climate/weather related incidents from hurricanes to wildfires as well as water damage losses. The presenter will also identify actions being taken to address these trends.
PRESENTER: TIMOTHY HARRIS, CPCU, PRESIDENT & CEO, INSURANCE BOARD
Prior to taking the reins at the Insurance Board in late 2013, Tim was Area Vice President with Arthur J. Gallagher & Company’s Cleveland office where he brokered property and casualty insurance for large commercial and public entity clientele. He has more than 30 years of insurance industry experience, including senior leadership positions at major property-casualty insurers and brokers over the course of his career. His professional and leadership experiences, which included working with large multi-state clients and risk pools, have equipped him with a solid understanding of the operations and strategies of insurance companies. Tim was honorably discharged from the United States Army Reserve in 1990, and is a graduate of The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics with a concentration in Risk Management and Insurance. He is also a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU).
Tim is married with three children, and is a member and current Moderator of the Avon Lake United Church of Christ in Avon Lake, Ohio. He is active in the community, serving as Chair of the Board of Directors of Save Our Children in Elyria, Ohio; board member of a University Hospitals supporting organization known as 5805 Euclid, Inc.; board member of University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center; and board member of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission. Tim is also past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of Lorain County.
WORKSHOP 5
Children's Sermons
Join Wahineaukai Mercado of the State Sunday School Association to learn about a Sunday School resource to use with children.
PRESENTER: WAHINEAUKAI MERCADO
PRESENTERS:
Roberta Jahrling, Kaumakapili Church
Dr. Lana Ka‘opua, Central Union Church Windward
Rev. Dr. Phyllis Meighen, ReSource for Christian Spirituality
WORKSHOP 6
Wisdom of Kalaupapa Premier
Module 1 - Personal Response to Crisis: From Fear to Faith
We look to the people diagnosed with Hansen’s Disease (leprosy) who were exiled to Kalaupapa Settlement between 1866 and 1969 as our wisdom teachers. Their stories of faith and resilience offer encouragement for how we can respond and grow through times of severe crisis, isolation, and injustice. The premier of Module 1 includes video footage of family stories shared by Kalaupapa descendants, and is the first of five workshop modules being made available to churches. The project is a collaboration of Hawai‘i Conference UCC Formation Team, ReSource for Christian Spirituality, and Episcopal churches on Kaua‘i.
WORKSHOP 7
Growing Faith and Social Justice Leaders of Hawai‘i
Young folks with different experiences in the Church share with the Hawai‘i Conference about a vision of a youth and young adult leadership program in Hawai‘i through this talk-story presentation. Speakers share their stories and why it matters, and ask for support and wisdom in developing a space that honors the gifts and stories of the next generation. The presenters seek inter-generational dialogue that can spark collaboration from all churches in Hawai‘i.
PRESENTERS:
Kevin Barbasa Faller: A popular educator rooted in the ahupua‘a of Ewa Beach and Kalihi. He is most passionate about liberation pedagogy and using fashion and textiles to tell counter-narrative stories that challenge the status-quo. He graduated with Bachelors in Business and Finance at UH Mānoa.
Jeffrey Tangonan Miguel Acido: A seminarian at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, he is interested in developing theological and spiritual leaders rooted in indigenous and ancestral wisdom. Jeff presented the workshop "Growing the Next Generation" at the 2020 Church Leaders Event.
Debieh Ramos Miguel Acido was born and rooted in Waialua, Hawai‘i. She is a Substance Use Recovery Counselor at Asian Counseling Referral Services under the Community Center Alternative Program. Debieh is called to be a social worker to address the health and wellbeing of underserved communities.
Cassie Chee (she/her) is a Community Organizer with Faith Action Hawai’i. She is passionate about co-creating and building power locally to imagine more loving and just worlds.
Kristen Young (she/her) has grown up in the Hawai‘i Conference United Church of Christ and works part-time for the Hawai‘i Conference office. She is interested in broadening the idea of church and working toward the kind of justice of which her faith speaks.
WORKSHOP 8
Hawai‘i Conference Foundation Updates
Executive Director Andy Bunn will share updates from the Foundation which is dedicated to promoting the interests and welfare of the Hawai‘i Conference of the United Church of Christ, its member churches and affiliates, continuing the first Christian work started in Hawai‘i in 1820.
WORKSHOP 9
HCUCC FYE2022 Budget
Join Hawai‘i Conference treasurer Roda Tabilas for a report on the finances and budget of the Conference.