November 2015 by Jo Y.
Kahului Union Church (KUC)- what a blessed family! While staying with my daughter in Maui for 3 1/2 months (helping the family out with a new baby), I was fortunate to take part in the activities of her church, KUC, that was started in 1906 and comes under the United Church of Christ, a Protestant Christian denomination. I was able to participate in the following activities: * Weekly Sunday service. Under the leadership of Pastors Ken Tanaka and Jayson Saito, I looked forward to the weekly teachings of the biblical scriptures; the pastors could clearly explain and teach in lay terms to make them understandable. * Weekly women's bible study small group. About a dozen of us met each Tues. evening to share our experiences in relation to the prior Sunday's sermon topic. We also spent a number of weeks watching and discussing a video, The Dream Releasers, which brings out the potential in each one of us. We cooked meals in the church's kitchen for the homeless and made craft table decorations for the church's Thanksgiving luncheon. A very encouraging group that became my "family." * Fellowship with pastors and church members. The pastors and church members were so friendly and welcoming that I felt very comfortable with them. I joined them for Sunday dinners, movies, and outings. They also had a fellowship hour in-between the two Sunday services where church members and the pastors could just "talk story." A good way to know more about each other. * Thanksgiving luncheon. The entire congregation got involved in this annual luncheon the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving. Part of the grassy church parking lot is normally dug up for a huge "imu," where donated turkeys by members are smoked; however, with the recent rains causing the grounds to be muddy with much moisture, they were unable to imu the turkeys. Instead, a local bakery roasted 20 of the 40 turkeys, with the remaining turkeys roasted by individual church members. Church members also donated dessert, as well as their time and efforts that weekend to not only roast the turkeys, but were in the church kitchen preparing the rice, salad, stuffing, and sides. No charge was assessed, and everyone was invited - family, friends, and non-church members. A genuine team effort by all for being grateful, exuding joy, and giving thanks during this Thanksgiving season! * Special events. I enjoyed a night of worship and encouragement with the talented Christian singing and piano playing of Randy and Gay Hongo. I learned the specifics re Medicare enrollment in classes conducted by a church member. Other events, while I did not take part, included square dancing and learning how to play the ukulele. In addition, KUC offers an array of services for all groups of people, and some of these services include: * Sunday school for children, teens, and adults. * Golf ministry. * Men's and women's fellowship seminars. * Family time. * Sanctuary clean up. * Care home ministry. * Good Samaritan ministry to help prepare food and feed the homeless. * Operation Christmas Child to send a filled box of necessities to children in another nation. * Mission trips to places like Ghana, India, Japan Tanzania, New Mexico. * Annual Christmas potluck party for all church members. * Benevolent ministry to assist individuals with dire community needs. * Licensed pre-school. * Chancel, men's, and family choirs. * Kitchen team and refreshment committee. The leadership and activities of the church are guided by the church's mission statement and core values. Its mission statement is: "We are here to love God and his people by making and multiplying passionate followers of Jesus." And its core values are: 1) passionate exaltation of the greatness of God, 2) gathering and supporting one another, 3) equipping and multiplying Christ-like disciples, 4) mobilizing and deploying with joyful services, and 5) spreading God's good news of Jesus among all peoples. There are two Sunday services: 8 am is the traditional service, and 10:30 am is th
