FIRST
CHRISTIAN CHURCH
HOA ALOHA
OCTOBER
2009
VOL. 115
NO. 10
“A Fish in
Hand”
There is a little story I remember from my early
scouting days in rural East Texas. The area was surrounded by lakes, so fishing
was a common activity. The story goes of a man who had been fishing all day to
no avail. As the sun began to set, he thought he’d cast one more time, and sure
enough, he pulled in a small, but not tiny, fish. The fish looked so poor, and
seemed to beg to be thrown back, as if he were promising to get bigger and
fatter for a later catch. However, the fisherman reasoned that better to use
what one has in hand, than to lose on a dream unfulfilled.
Too many times in our lives, we end up using many
of our resources on unfulfilling things, which we think may one day produce a
greater dividend, while squandering the blessings of the moment. This is
most evident in the popularity of
gambling, and the time and treasure drain of gaming. It is also seen in all of
our lives in subtle and familiar ways as well. It reminds us a church to use
the resources God has blessed us with and not trade them in for frivolous
ideas.
As we enter this October, I hope you will begin
now to understand the requests for donations, missions, and special offerings
that will be coming your way. This year has been financially challenging for
many in our family, and it may not be getting better for awhile. Therefore, I
encourage you now to prepare so that you will be able to not deny your
offerings to God and His people. We at First Christian Church have seen a decline in our offerings, which can be
expected. However, I feel it important to inform our church family that we in
ministry at First Christian pledge to use every offering to the glory of Christ
and the furtherance of His kingdom. We are in need of your continued support.
I am excited to announce that my son, Aaron;
daughter-in-law, Caroline; and my one year old grandson James Riley, will be
joining us for church on Sunday October 4, 2009. We will have the blessing of leading the church in a dedication
of his young life to God, on the occasion of his first birthday. I cannot tell
you how thrilling it is to be doing this and I am hoping everyone in the church
family will join us and help celebrate my beautiful grandson as well as meet
Aaron’s young family.
It will be a moment of joy for me,
and
evidence of God’s grace.
See ya Sunday!
Pastor Jimmy
(Master James Riley Hutcherson...umm am I just a little biased, or doesn’t
that
name have an authoritative sound to it?
Well it should, because he is going to
be in charge and running the show for the next five or so years!!)
Calendar of Events
October 3 – Family Council Meeting at 10:00 a.m.
at church.
October
11 – Sunday lunch bunch. Location to be
announced.
October 24 – Halloween Party. A showing of the movie “Monsters vs.
Aliens” is scheduled. The party begins
at 5:00 p.m. Please call the church
office if you would like to help by donating items for the party. Items needed are candy and toys. Monetary donations are also welcomed.
Swap Meet –Our next Swap Meet will be on Saturday,
November 14, 2009. Donations accepted
between the hours of 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on Monday-Friday.
FCC “AT LARGE ”
My Encounter with Jesus Christ, by Dawe Glover
During our PSI Basic seminar we did an exercise where we imagined a gate
leading through a giant wall that
surrounded what was essentially a huge garbage dump. As we went through
the gate we were told to first imagine
a large pile that represented all of the promises that have been made to us
throughout our lives that had been broken. Promises that were made and broken
by our parents, our friends, loved ones, and our business associates. Promises, large and
small, made and broken by nearly every single person we have encountered
throughout our lives. Then we were told to imagine another pile representing
all of the promises made and broken
by US to all of these same people.
Obviously it was a heart-breaking encounter. All of these promises made, all of
these promises broken. Then, all of a sudden, and quite unexpectedly,
(certainly not any part of the exercise!) there was Jesus Christ standing right
beside me! He placed His hand at the center of my back and said “Come with me”.
He then led me to the center of this “garbage” dump where a bright, intense
light was shining down from above. This light was shining down on a pile of
sheets of paper that were shimmering like gold. As we approached this pile
Jesus said to me “Here are the most important promises that will ever be made
to you during your lifetime because these are the only wants that truly count.”
“These represent the promises made to you by my Heavenly Father and I that have
already been kept and all of those that will surely be kept.”
“You see,” He said, “Even those who love you most will let you down from time
to time and will make you promises
that they will break”, “Your Heavenly Father and I are the only ones that have
kept every single promise that we’ve ever made to you and who always will keep
every promise that we make to you.” “We have already kept Our promise of
redemption and salvation.” “This was the promise we made on that cross at
Calvary.” “We will never let you down as long as you believe and have faith in
us.” This is what He told me and I know He was right because I know it’s all
true. I also know now that He stands beside me everyday in the same way. His
hand at the center of my back as He guides me through my life, showing me where
to go and pointing out one blessing after another to me along the way. It’s a
truly amazing and wonderful thing for which I will always be grateful.
But in looking back I realize that, as profound as
everything was that Christ told me about promises made to us by Him and God,
what may be the most important words He spoke to me that day were these three:
“Come with me!”
BOARD BUZZZZ
A message from
your Chairman of the Board of Directors of
First Christian Church of Honolulu,
Jeffrey Edward Terry Sousa
(Organ music begins to play in soap opera style as the
announcer says...)
“Who shall go to the regional meeting on October
17th?”
“What can we do to inspire and attract more visitors?”
“When shall we get repairs to the newly installed
floors?”
“Why...?”
“Um,...why.Why...is...the sky blue?
Organ music swells...
“These and other pertinent questions will be
answered October 3rd, 10:00 am, at our next board meeting. Please feel free to join us in the pavilion
this Saturday morning!!”
FAMILY NEWS
The men’s luncheon was a success with 17 men in attendance. They enjoyed a time of fellowship and food
at Dixie Grill in Aiea. Pastor Jimmy
challenged everyone to think about how they can be involved in the church.
Brian van Meerten is back with us
after a bout with the H1N1 virus.
Nick Kolivas is now officially
working in the Chaplaincy Program at the
Hawaii State Hospital.
The Sunday Lunch Bunch group went
to Waioli Tea Room on September 13. Ten
people were in attendance. The group
will get together on October 11. They are looking for a place to go to, so if
you have any suggestions, please let Pastor Jimmy know.
We got news from Jade’s nephew,
Branin. They are hard at work on the
Big Island, transforming a garage into a place where young people can go to and
‘hang out.’ Their next mission trip
will be to the Philippines in December.
Andy Bentley made it back to Ohio
safely. He went to Canada on a fishing
trip with his grandfather, father and brother recently.
It was FCC’s turn to host families
from Family Promise again. We had new
people participating in the preparation/cooking of meals. Praise God.
We are always looking for people to participate..if you feel led to do
so, please see/contact Alan Feliciano.
Terry Sousa will be the editor of
the newsletter again. It was my
pleasure to ‘pinch hit.’ Much Mahalo to
Winnie for her gentle reminders and for her proofreading skills. Lorna will be in charge of putting it on the
website.
**JUST IN**
Prayers go out to our brothers and sisters in Samoa, Indonesia and the
Philippines in the wakes of the earthquakes, tsunami and typhoon. Note:
Lorna has been in touch with Ine, who is in Los Angeles. She says her relatives are okay but there
are so many who have lost one or two or more family members. Mafi Galea’i said that her parents,
grandmother, and cousins are okay as well.
MEN’S LUNCHEON
It was a day like any other day, except it
wasn’t. I mean, how often do a bunch of
men get together for a meal where there isn’t a giant screen television blaring
the statistics of the athletic event of the season, and you can be sure that at
least two of those guys are taunting each other about the last mistake the
other guys team made. Well, this lunch
wasn’t like that at all!
The meeting took place at the Dixie Grill. Located
in Aiea, where “Pecos River Café” once did business. Those attending were Pastor Jimmy, Al Degrate, Tim Earhart, Alan
Feliciano, John Heller, Brice Jacosalem, Christopher Greenleaf, Nick Kolivas,
Tony Leonida, Alan Pollock, Steve Oliver, Miguel Sayers, Brian Van Meerten,
Anthony Mistich, David Mueller, .Jeffrey Terry Sousa and his guest. The meal was amazing! Snow Crab, BBQ
Chicken, Ribs, Corn on the Cob, Baked Beans, Onion rings, and just a whole lot
more!! After the meal Pastor Jimmy
asked us to look within ourselves to discover and choose the place each of us
has in our ever evolving church. All in
all it was a great lunch, a great time of fellowship and a good time indeed was
had by all!
|
DATE |
ELDER |
DEACONS |
WORSHIP
LEADER |
|
Oct 4 |
Tim Earhart |
Alan Feliciano—Joan
Hudson |
Lorna Soong |
|
Oct 11 |
Lorna Soong |
Al Degrate —Joan
Hudson |
Tim Earhart |
|
Oct 18 |
Tim Earhart |
Alan Feliciano—Joan
Hudson |
Lorna Soong |
|
Oct 25 |
Lorna Soong |
Al Degrate —Joan
Hudson |
Tim Earhart |
OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS
10 Willy Sink
14 Isinory Manuel
14 Jeffrey Terry Sousa
16 Emily Egoshi
25 Lorna Soong
27 Charles Brennan
29 Timothy Burns
PRAYER
REQUESTS
Roy Kim
Annie
Palamites
Steve
Oliver
Jared
Citron
Addison
Palanza
George
& Laura Kendall
Carrie
Mizuguchi
Russ
Yamada
Jo Ann
Russell
Mary
Wilson and family
John
Moon
Terry
Sousa
Charles
and Ruth Brenna
Pastor
Jon & Daughter Michele
Al
Gardner
Don
Shelton
Ben
Bohren
Linnea
Martin
Michele DeCosta
& family
Joan
Hudson
Fran
DeCosta
Toraki
and Taiko Fukushima, Mary & Mafi Galeai
Charles
Chapman
Ellen
Chapman
The
Glover family
Miguel
Sayers
Gayle
Silva
Beverly
McKeague
Isinory
Manuel and family
FIRST
CHRISTIAN CHURCH STAFF
Pastor Jimmy Hutcherson Secretary Lorna Soong Music Mia Moon Youth Activities Sabrina
Feliciano Facilities
Tamra von Blankenburg Web Site Lorna Soong Board Chairman ‘Terry’ Jeffrey E. Sousa Co-Chair Tamra von Blankenburg
FIRST
CHRISTIAN CHURCH STAFF
Pastor Jimmy Hutcherson Secretary Lorna Soong Music Mia Moon Youth Activities Sabrina
Feliciano Facilities
Tamra von Blankenburg Web Site Lorna Soong Board Chairman ‘Terry’ Jeffrey E. Sousa Co-Chair Tamra von Blankenburg
FIRST CHRISTIAN
CHURCH STAFF
Pastor Jimmy Hutcherson
Secretary Lorna Soong
Music Mea Moon
Youth Activities Sabrina Feliciano
Facilities
Tamra von Blankenburg
Web Site Lorna Soong
Board Chairman ‘Terry’ Jeffrey E. Sousa
Co-Chair Tamra von Blankenburg
First Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ)
1516 Kewalo St
Honolulu, HI 96822
Reaching out to you in Love!
Church Office Hours
Monday—Friday
9:00 am 12:30 pm
Church Office
Phone:
808-521-3500
Fax:
808-521-3600
Website: firstchristianchurchhonolulu.org
(
first christian church honolulu . org )
Newsletter and Calendar
available on our website .
Church Schedule
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
Sunday School 9:30 am
Youth Activities 10:00 am
Worship Service 10:45 am
Hawaii Christian Glory Church
1:00 pm