Thanksgiving The first settlers in America landed in December of 1620, in Massachusetts, and within one month, 10 out of 17 fathers and husbands who were on that ship, the Mayflower, died. Within a couple of months, only four of the mothers and wives were alive out of the first 17 couples, and by Easter, almost half of the pilgrims had died. They landed in the middle of winter without provisions, without shelter, and that took a toll. It took a huge toll and yet in 1621 they celebrated, and they gave thanks to God. It was amazingly difficult those first years. On another continent, about 25 years later, there was a Lutheran pastor named Martin Rinkart. He lived in Eilenberg in Saxony, and it was during the siege of the Thirty Years War. Eilenberg was a walled city that was surrounded by Swedes, and there were 800 homes burned, and the people within suffered from the plague, from starvation, and it got to the point where the pastors themselves started to die, and Martin Rinchart was the only pastor left. He was conducting 50 funerals a day, can you imagine? Fifty funerals a day. He buried over 5,000 people that year, including his own wife. When the war ended a year later, he sat down, and listen to the words that he penned: “Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices, Who wondrous things has done, I whom this world rejoices; Who from our mothers’ arms has blessed us on our way With countless gifts of love, and still is ours today. This was a man who know horrors beyond all we can think and imagine, getting on his knees and leading people in praise and thanks to our God. Deb Kielsmeir, “Thanksgiving,” November 25, 2004, Christ

Published Monthly January 2017 Vol. 59 No. 1

In This Issue: New Year Message From Pastor Trina .................. 1 Miso Food Bank ........................ 2 Your Pledges At Work .............. 2 Coming Up in January: ........... 2 The Leadership Retreat .......... 2 Moderator’s Message ................ 3 New Year’s Reflections Poem .. 3 A New Year With The Lord...... 4 Make Someone Smile ............... 5 January 2017 Calendar .............. 6 January Lectionary & Worship . 7

Calendar Highlights January 2 New Year’s Day Observed Office Closed January 3 Preschool Begins January 3-6 After School Care Winter Break All Day Care January 6 Epiphany January 9 After School Care Begins January 14 Church Leadership Retreat and Members Orientation January 16 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Office Closed January 23 Monday Women to Kuakini

Rev. Trina Zelle

Interim Pastor

Our Vision

Radical Hospitality,

Outreach, & Missions

Intentional Faith Development

Manoa Valley Church (United Church of Christ) 2728 Huapala Street Honolulu, HI 96822 Tel: 808-988-3271

Happy New Year, Manoa Valley Church! Beloved in Christ, It’s a safe bet that right now – the week after Christmas - local fitness centers are full of new members exercising, Goodwill is experiencing an increase in donations as people declutter their houses, and daily diaries are still being written in daily. All of these activities are proof of our tendency to make New Year’s resolutions. On New Year’s Day or New Year’s Eve, a lot of us look at the blank slate of the coming year and think about those things we wish we had done this year but didn’t, and re-solve to do better from now on. There are several problems with this scenario. First, many of the things we resolve to do are things that we’ve tried and failed to accomplish in the past. Without a well-thought-out strategy and concrete goals, there’s no reason to believe that “this time it will be different.” Second, if what we resolve to do are things that we really don’t enjoy doing but think are good for us, we won’t have much staying power. After all, when has knowing that something is “good” for us ever changed our behavior for any length of time? Like its individual members at the beginning of the new year, Manoa Valley Church is in a similar situation as it prepares itself for new pastoral leadership. The future lies in front of us like a beach right after the tide has gone out and before anyone walks across it – blank, smooth, just waiting for new footprints to be made and sand castles to be built. Everything seems possible from that vantage point – and possibility is always a good thing to build on – even when our first reaction is, “that’s impossible.” But before starting to traipse across that empty beach to build our sand castles, we would be well-advised to stop and think about what we want to build next and why. Do our imaginations default to successful church programs from yesterday? Do we envision drawing in people who have never chosen to worship with us before? Are we operating from positions of “that worked in the past,” or “we should be offering this ministry?” If we do, we run the risk of joining all of those New Year’s resolution makers who never make it past February. That’s why Council will be hosting a church leadership retreat Saturday, January 14, from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. or until we’re done, whichever comes first. Together, we’re going to think about what MVC is called to do next. Among other things, we will be looking at our bylaws and what they tell us about ourselves, begin discernment of what is working and what is not for the life of this church, and most importantly, getting to know each other better. To that end, just like our small group conversations in October, Council wants to make sure that everyone who would like to, feels free to attend and participate. This extends beyond ministries and committee members to church members who aren’t currently involved in anything beyond worship – just let us know you’re coming so we can plan accordingly. (Continued on page 2)

2

The Trustees were very busy in 2016 addressing several major issues. Here is a summary of their activities: Energy efficient lighting – the 24 halogen gym lights

and all of the ceiling lights in the offices and class-rooms were replaced with LED fixtures which result-ed in a savings of over $270 in our November elec-tricity bill.

Silicone coating was applied to the roofs of the gym and preschool. Heritage Roofing coated the preschool roof for material cost only. The roofs are now warran-tied for 20 years.

New copper downspouts were installed on the pre-school side of the gym.

A new 55” HDTV monitor was purchased to replace the failing monitor in the sanctuary. Discussions continue with Hawaii Energy Connection for the installation of a PV system.

Plans are under way for a raised platform for the AV area in the sanctuary. This is an Eagle Scout project for a Boy Scout from Troop 33.

In addition to these projects, the Trustees continue to address numerous smaller maintenance needs. All these improvements to our facility were funded by your pledge dollars. Thank you for your support and stay tuned for more updates in this New Year.

Coming Up in January: The Leadership Retreat Here’s an important New Year's resolution for 2017. If you are a Council officer, committee chair/member, or someone who is interested in supporting the work of our Church, then please resolve to attend our Leadership Re-treat in January. We are looking for people with bold ideas who want to help MVC thrive and grow in the new year. The retreat will be held at the church on Saturday, January 14, from 9 am-2 pm with lunch included. We will be evaluating our Smart Goals for 2016, identifying our goals for the future, and developing strategies to carry out our plans. We will also conduct an orientation for committee chairs and members, discuss ways to improve our various ministries and begin the process of updating our Church Bylaws. If you are interested in attending, please talk with Pastor Trina, Alan Ito, or Bette Uyeda. We hope you can join us for a day of lively discussion, creative thinking, and building our bonds of fellowship.

Bette Uyeda

Pastor Trina’s Message For January 2017

(Continued from Page 1)

In the meantime, best wishes with those New Year’s reso-lutions. I hope to see you in the Multipurpose Room, Saturday, January 14 at 9:00 a.m. Blessings, Pastor Trina

Many years ago, a food bank was started as part of the MISO (Manoa Interchurch Service and Outreach) ministry. It is housed in the social hall at the St. Pius X Church on Lowrey Avenue. With the growth of the homeless population in Honolulu, this food bank fills a very important need. In order to service as many people as possible, each client is allowed to receive a bag of gro-ceries once a month. On Sunday mornings, a red shopping basket is placed near the sanctuary entrance to receive your non-perishable food items. Toiletry items are also welcome. For many years, members and friends have faithfully contributed to this food bank. We appreciate their generosity and encourage all to continue to support this vital community outreach program. As a reminder, the food bank does not accept expired food items. Please check the date on the packaging before placing them in the basket. Catherine Miyahira

3

New Year’s Reflections

Looking back on the months gone by, as a new year starts and an old one ends,

we contemplate what brought us joy, and we think of our loved ones and friends.

Recalling all the happy times,

remembering how they enriched our lives, we reflect upon who really counts,

as the fresh and bright new year arrives.

And when I/we ponder those who do, I/we immediately think of you.

Thanks for being one of the reasons I’ll/we’ll have A Happy New Year.

By Joanna Fuchs

(Poemsource.com)

By the time you read this we’ll be well into the New Year. And as I write this message on December 18, it’s hard to believe how quickly this holiday season has flown by. For me, the kick-off for the season is always our Harvest Fair. My favorite is the baked goods with the cookies and other goodies which I get with the intent of sharing with others but somehow end up consuming most, if not all, myself. This is followed by Thanksgiving, the annual Manoa Valley Christmas Parade, and then the many spe-cial activities that lead up to the birthday of our Lord and Savior, Jesus. In fact, at today’s service we were treated to the singing of our Journey to the Son children as well as our special “E-mail Choir.”

Both sets of performances were beautiful and uplifting at this special time of year.

In my message at this time last year, I mentioned that I expected we would continue to “morph” and change as we strived toward our Vision 2020. In hindsight, that was probably an understatement. 2016 saw us bidding a fond aloha to Pastor Anne and Rod as they relocated to North Carolina, welcoming Pastor Trina as our Interim Senior Pastor, changing and restructuring our Childcare Pro-grams, and changing moderators.

We’ll also get off to a running start in 2017. We’ll be having a church leadership meeting/retreat on Saturday, January 14, and all committee chairs and members, as well as anyone else who might be interested, are welcome to attend. Our annual congregational meeting is sched-uled for Sunday, February 26, after worship service. And we’ll be forming and kicking off the senior pastor search committee early in 2017, although the process has already started with the “conversation” held after worship service the other month before our Fall Congregational Meeting and the upcoming Leadership retreat.

Change can sometimes be challenging and uncomfortable. As I’ve shared before and as we go through this process we must always remember, have faith, and take comfort in the knowledge that this is God’s Church and we are mere stewards of His Church, and that all that we do is to glori-fy His Name. We may not always understand why certain things happen, but we must continue to be firm in our faith that God is in control and will guide us through, and to do what is best for His Church.

I’d like to close by expressing my thanks for all that you do to support Manoa Valley Church and the hope that you had a Wonderful and Joyous Christmas, and wishing you all the best for a Happy and Healthy 2017!

To God Alone Be the Glory.

Alan Ito

A New Year With The Lord

A new year is about to unfold

With new opportunities to explore Doors will open for new experiences,

New adventures with the Lord

Remember not the former things, The things of this past year,

The Lord will do new things in us Much more than we are aware

For He will make a way for us

As we put our trust in Him And He will guide our every step By His presence we have within

What God has placed within our hearts,

We find we’ll be able to do If we look for the opportunities, We’ll see the door to go through

We mustn’t let anything hold us back

But rise up and take our place And be all that God wants us to be

With a fresh touch of His grace

Copyright By M.S. Lowndes

(Http://www.heavensinspirations.com/new-year.html)

4

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul

and with all your strength and with all your mind.

This is the first commandment.

And the second is like it: ‘Love Your neighbor as yourself.’

Matthew 22:37-39

5

6

“ I have set the Lord always before me, Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 16:8 Lazy relaxed summer days are over, school has started, we are back to our busy schedule. We must remember to focus on God; He will give us peace and relaxation even when we are busy. During the month of August, all eyes were on Beijing, China for the Summer Olympics. Seeing all the nations interacting, having no lines or barri-ers, all to enjoy and compete in their talents. Gold silver, or bronze medals—to be there to represent our country was a great honor. Different cultures and languages, they are all children of God. We are all gifted with different talents. God would like us to use our talents—not to compete, but to interact with on another and see what we can do for the Church. Dot Endo Moderator

It’s never too late to invite a friend, neighbor or Relative to Journey to the Son Sunday School. Meet in the sanctuary at 8:30 am. “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

-Mark 10:14-15

CONFIRMATION CLASS

Easter Sunday will be extra special as we celebrate confirmation for three of our youth, Carrie Glenn, and Russell and Ryan Wong. These are tal-ented youth – and I hope you will not only welcome them in taking this step of discipleship, but will also keep them in mind for ministry in our congregation.

Intentional...

January 1, 2017-New Year’s Day

Ecclesiastes 3:1-13

Psalm 8 Revelation 21:1-6a Matthew 25:31-46 January 8, 2017-The Baptism of Christ Isaiah 42:1-9 Psalm 29 Acts 10:34-43 Matthew 3:13-17

January 15, 2017-Second Sunday After Epiphany Isaiah 49:1-7 Psalm 40:1-11 1 Corinthians 1:1-9

John 1:29-42 January 22, 2016-Third Sunday after Epiphany Isaiah 9:2-7 Psalm 27:1,4-9 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 Matthew 4:12-23 January 29, 2017-Fourth Sunday after Epiphany Micah 6:1-8 Psalm 15 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 Matthew 5:1-12

7

MANOA VALLEY CHURCH SUNDAY WEEKLY DETAILED SCHEDULE

Sunday Schedule for January 1-29: (Sunday, January 1st: Worship at 9:00 a.m.) 8:30 a.m. Sunday School 9:00 a.m. Praise Team Rehearsal 10:00 a.m. Worship 11:15 a.m. Fellowship Monthly Meetings: Worship Planning-1st Sunday Deacons-2nd Sunday Christian Education-2nd Sunday Trustees-2nd Thursday Council-3rd Tuesday (bi-monthly)

January 2017 Lectionary and Worship

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage

paid Honolulu, HI

Permit No. 890

Manoa Valley Church 2728 Huapala Street Honolulu, HI 96822 Return Service Requested

January 2017