December 2016 Volume 10, Issue 12
"The Messenger of Love"
Christ Church, Uniting Disciples and Presbyterians 1300 Kailua Rd, Kailua, HI, 96734-4356 Phone: 808.262.6911
Worship - Sunday, 10AM Email - [email protected]
www.ccukailua.org
Pastor Liz Leavitt www.facebook.com/ChristChurchUniting
from Pastor Liz Leavitt . . .
Dear CCU Ohana,
The liturgical seasons can be gifts in so many different ways. Each one with
its distinct focus can offer us an opportunity for development of and reflection
on certain sets of Christian disciplines. In Lent, repentance, fasting, and
prayer. In Easter, feasting, proclamation and rejoicing. And in Advent, waiting,
patience and watching. Sometimes, when these seasons intersect with the
seasons of our own lives that require similar disciplines, they can be a great
opportunity to draw from the deep wells of our Christian tradition in ways that
help us to grow personally.
But there are also communal aspects to our church seasons. When we come
together to festoon the sanctuary in particular colors and join in familiar songs,
we are agreeing to dwell in those practices side-by-side: to fast together and
feast together, to wait together and rejoice together. In this way, these times
can offer us opportunity for growth as a community of faith as we learn to
travel and practice together in these ways.
As you can imagine, this year, as we consider the Advent themes of
preparation and anticipation, my mind in on not only our ecclesial
machinations but on my own personal journey of preparation. There are big
changes ahead for our family and of course I recognize in those significant
implications for our church family. Though I have no reason to suspect this
child will have any messianic characteristics, we are nonetheless on our own
journey as a church anticipating a child who will change things for us.
I am so grateful for the ways you as a church community have already shown
so much support for Jason and I as we look forward to this new chapter. Your
kind words and excitement have meant a lot. I know by the time you read this
you will also have showered us with a great celebration and for that I am
already so thankful. I also feel deeply grateful for the church council approving
12 weeks of leave for me after the birth of our son. I trust this gifted time will
allow me to adjust to the new responsibilities of parenthood and prepare to
return with restored energy and vision to the important work of our ministry.
Some of you have asked (and, quite reasonably shared your hesitations) about
what such a time will mean for our church community. I want to assure you the
church council has been working hard to formulate a leadership plan during
that time: arranging to have a few familiar faces guide us through worship in
that time and a few others available to provide care for our congregation and
guidance for our various ministries. We hope to present a full schedule to you
in January of what we anticipate will unfold so you will know what to expect. It
is our hope that this will actually be a fruitful time for our congregation,
exploring new avenues and allowing new leadership to emerge.
But there is no questioning it will take us all working together to make it that
way. It will take folks stepping up to take on new tasks large and small (more
on that in January) learning disciplines that have typically fallen to our pastor. It
will also take a commitment on all our parts to remain engaged, to take
responsibility for our shared ministry and to trust in the idea that in each
season there are both challenges and also gifts.
To that end, I will be on the lookout this month for a few folks who would like to
join me in shaping a few of the worship services that will happen while I'm
away. I'd like to work with 3-5 folks closely over the next two months to share
some of the techniques and practices which I use to guide our worship
experience each week. If you think you might be called to learn something new
in this season--how to lead a service, how to share your story as a message or
how to create a sacred atmosphere in our time and space-I hope you will let
me know. If not, I may come looking for you!
Also this is to say, we are walking together through several important seasons
at present. But it seems the proclamation for them all is the same: God is with
December 2016 Ka Elele Aloha Page 2 of 15
us! In unexpected times and places, God arrives. And as we draw around to
witness it, we are shaped in the ways of the one whose birth brought the
ultimate proclamation of those promises into this world and our lives. And it will
be cause for celebration.
Blessings to you in this Advent season and in the Christmas days upcoming.
With aloha,
Liz
December 2016CCU Event Schedule:
Sundays: 10 am, Worship &Aloha Fellowship
12/3, Sat: NO Fellowshipbreakfast this month. Resuming inJanuary.
12/4, Sun: 8:30-11:30 Hi5container day at CCU
12/9, Fri: 7pm Vespers on thelanai featuring Michael Tannebaum
12/10, Sat: 9am Family Promisesetup
12/11-12/18: CCU Hosts FamilyPromise
12/17, 2:30pm: G. F. Handel'sMessiah sing-a-long
12/18, Sun: Jan newslettercontributions due.
12/19, Mon: 5pm Stated CouncilMeeting
Monday, 12/26 thru Monday, 1/2: - Office CLOSED for holidays
December BirthdaysMelissa Belanger ...................... 2George Wyman ........................ 3Jill Bartow ................................. 7Beth Davidann .......................... 8Cheryl Renfroe ......................... 9Pat Gilbert ............................... 17Krissie Kellogg ........................ 22Carol Hanlin ............................ 26Laura Keirn-McCreanor .......... 31
Sunday, December 4th,8:30-11:30 am
HI-5 CONTAINER
PICK-UP DAY
at CCU.
No glass bottles, please.
Please put containers in
Heidels’ white pick-up truck,
which will be parked in the
December 2016 Ka Elele Aloha Page 3 of 15
KEEP SUPPORTINGCCU!
Amazon will donate 0.5% of
the price of your eligible
purchases (AmazonSmile) to
Christ Church Uniting
Disciples and Presbyterians
Start your Amazon online
shopping at
smile.amazon.com
On November 20 Paul Brennancreatively adorned the altar.
CCU is hosting Family Promise from
December 11 - 18. Setup for FP is
Saturday, Dec 10th @ 9am.
Contact Marian or Beth if you would
like to get involved.
CCU parking lot.
CCU has chosen to give all
recycling collections to the
Institute for Human Services.
~ an expression of compassion ~
~ a practice of eco-justice ~
Paul Brennan shared this exotic
arrangement on November 13th
On November 27th the P. M.Tchou family dedicated this
beautiful arrangement in lovingmemory of
Gregory K. H. Tchou.
December 2016 Ka Elele Aloha Page 4 of 15
Vespers on the Lanai
continues on Friday,
December 9, 7pm as
we welcome Michael
Tanenbaum, Celtic
Guitar! Invite friends
and neighbors, and
share our updates
through social media!!
Saturday, December 17th
A community Sing-a-Long. Open
at 2pm, singing begins at 2:30pm.
Singer and non-singers welcome!
Scores provided. FREE!
See you there!!
Christmas Eve service will be Saturday,
December 24 at 7pm: a service of singing and
storytelling. Join us and bring a friend. (And
yes, we will have a service on Sunday,
December 25: Christmas Morning! It will be a
brief, casual affair—you can wear your
pajamas if you want—where we'll share hot
drinks and treats and sing our favorite carols.)
December 2016 Ka Elele Aloha Page 5 of 15
Mahalo to Laurie, Heidi, Elayne, Fallon, Pat,
Beth, and others who packed an Operation
Christmas Child shoebox! CCU delivered 18
boxes to OCC. In a future newsletter we will
let you know where our boxes went.
2017 Flower sign up is available on the
bulletin board. Please sign up.
December is Poinsettia month!
The CCU Fellowship Breakfast is on break for
December. Join the gang on January 7th at the
Kaneohe Ruby Tuesday!
December 2016 Ka Elele Aloha Page 6 of 15
Gratitude Corner!
"Give thanks in all circumstances."
1 Thessalonians 5:18
This month, we give:
Thanks to Jamie Allen for his help arranging the Blessing of the Animals
service on Saturday, November 6 and for helping CCU to remember its
commitment to caring for all God's creatures.
Thanks to those who helped make this month's Vespers service another
success: to John Stiles for running our sound, Melody Heidel for helping with
set-up, Susie for staffing the kitchen, Rollo for introducing us to Harry
Koizumi...and all who attended and brought neighbors and friends.
Thanks to Susie Jannuzzi for helping to arrange our Stewardship Potluck
Lunch on November 13, to Dianne Brookins for running this year's stewardship
campaign and to those who made a financial pledge to the church for 2017!
Thanks to Kathy Summers who provides us fresh bread for communion each
week!
Thanks to Dick Walenta for undertaking some repair projects around the
church.
Thanks to all who turned out for the "Greening of the Sanctuary": John and Jan
Stiles, Dianne Brookins and Andrew Torres, Keith and Peggy Zeilinger and
Alyse, John and Marian Heidel, Jimzy Lui, Laurie Noda, Susie Jannuzzi,
Cynthia Tchou, Loren and Susan Wilson, Kathy Summers!
Thanks to the entire Walenta and McDonald families for working on the
wonderful drape behind our cross in the sanctuary.
A HUGE thanks to our outgoing church officers who have served the church
faithfully these past few years! They are: Susie Jannuzzi (having served a four
year term on council), Jane Muench (having served a three year term as a
deacon) and Cynthia Tchou (having served a three year term as a deacon).
December 2016 Ka Elele Aloha Page 7 of 15
Join us for a new series beginning January 8 on How to Be a Christian in a
Non-Christian World, led by John Heidel. We'll explore what it means to be
a Christian in a non-Christian world: discussing our core values and
welcoming outside speakers from other traditions to be in dialog with us as we
go along. Watch your inboxes and the Sunday bulletin for updates.
Facilities Updates (keeping you informed about
how our buildings and grounds are being
reformed!)
The leaking pipe under the kitchen sink has
been sealed by Dick Walenta.
The leaking water fountain outside the
restrooms has been shut off by Jason
Leavitt and Dick Walenta.
The shrieking smoke alarm in B3 has been
subdued by Keith Zeilinger and John
Stiles.
Dianne Brookins and Bill Muench are
continuing to work with Crown Castle on the
expansion of the cell tower at the back of
our property which is anticipated to begin
early in the new year.
December 2016 Ka Elele Aloha Page 8 of 15
An Interview with Sangeet Gellhorn, Advent Choral Director at CCU
By Marian Heidel
Spend a couple of hours with Sangeet Gellhorn and you will be entertained with a fascinating story of his family history and his own wide-ranging life journey. Born in London in
1945, he grew up surrounded by music. His father was Peter Gellhorn, a fine pianist (a child prodigy!) and opera conductor, who fled to England, a German-Jewish refugee from Hitler’s regime. (Did you know that the British had an internment camp on the Isle of Man, for “enemy aliens” from Germany, and Maestro Gellhorn was one of them? He was released only because Ralph Vaughn Williams, amongst others, wrote a letter to the government, vouching for him.) Sangeet’s English mother, Olive Layton, also had a family with a strong musical tradition. So any family gathering meant music making of some sort. Sangeet says his family would gather around the piano Sunday mornings to sing, rather than go to church, and at Christmas the whole extended family would gather to sing through the choruses of the Messiah or the Mass in B Minor, as well as traditional carols. Early on he learned to play both piano and flute. From his parents and their involvement in the music world, he had an early introduction to Mozart and 19th Century Opera, the whole classical and romantic piano repertoire, and later on a great deal of contemporary choral music. He attended Westminster School (‘A’ level in Math & Physics), and sang in the school choirs at Westminster Abbey, which was the school chapel. As a teenager he encountered the avant-garde and became involved with contemporary and electronic music. After a year in a music school in Berlin, he went on to graduate from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (the equivalent of an American BA) & won the School Piano Prize in London. He studied in Darmstadt and in 1972 he received his masters degree in Music Composition from York University, England. He has held teaching positions in music, music theory, composition, piano, flute and Electronic Music, at Goldsmith’s College, and City University, London, and Falmouth Art School in Cornwall, and York University, England. I can’t begin to cover all his performances in piano and flute, his compositions, nor detail his professional work (See me, if you want to read his resume!) or other activities. I asked Sangeet how he got his name (originally Martin Oliver). 1972 - 1985 was a time of spiritual exploration, which led him in 1974 to India, where, at the Shree Rajneesh Ashram in Poona, he learned meditation and the practice of music as a spiritual discipline. On arrival there he became a disciple of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (now known as Osho) who gave him the name Swami (Master) Anand (bliss) Sangeet (music). He returned to England in 1981, lived for a year in a commune there, then in 1982 moved to America and a commune in Oregon, where he utilized civil engineering and legal research skills! These experiences profoundly affected Sangeet and it shows in his gentleness, his spirituality, and integrating music and the spiritual experience. As you will see, he is able to move in the interfaith world with sincerity and appreciation, because he sees that music and the spiritual merge, and are common to all faiths and cultures.
December 2016 Ka Elele Aloha Page 9 of 15
Between 1985 and 1993 he spent time in Boulder, Colorado and San Diego, CA, using his musical talents in performance and teaching. He then moved to Hawaii and discovered it was for him! He has become an active part of the Honolulu music world, teaching flute, piano and voice, and his first position as a choir conductor was at the Unitarian Church (2001-2007). He has been active as director of Interfaith Choirs at the Nu’uanu Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Eve Services and those at the Calvary-by-the-Sea Lutheran Church. He is the director of High Holy Days choir at Temple Emanu-El, and was Chancel and Oratorio Choir director at Central Union Church from 2009-2014. He was pianist for the Honolulu Chorale from 2007- 2010, and active in planning the Oahu ACDA Sacred Music Festivals and was accompanist one year. He was pianist for the Honolulu Chorale from 2007- 2010, and active in planning the Oahu ACDA Sacred Music Festivals and was accompanist one year. He played flute for the Dances of Universal Peace for many years, Mevlevi Sufi zikrs, as well as Indian Classical, Turkish and Middle Eastern music at various local events, and has performed at classical chamber music concerts. We are fortunate to have such a talented and broadly experienced musician directing our Advent music. Mahalo, Sangeet.
December 2016 Ka Elele Aloha Page 10 of 15
CCU had a great turn-out for the first Pau Hana Church Choir Sing on
October 28th in the CCU Sanctuary. Directed by Susan McCreary-Dupree.
Blessing of the Pets!
Nov 5, 2016
December 2016 Ka Elele Aloha Page 11 of 15
What an awesome turnout at the recent Vespers on the Lanai with Harry
Koizumi on Nov 11! Don't miss the December Vespers with Michael
Tanenbaum on December 9th @ 7PM.
December 2016 Ka Elele Aloha Page 12 of 15
Ahahui Malama i ka Lokahi is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) Hawaiian conservation
organization whose mission is to practice and promote a modern Hawaiian
conservation ethic. They do this by working to ensure the preservation of our
native ecosystems and Hawaiian traditions alike through education, active
stewardship, and research.
They are co-curators along with the Kailua Hawaiian Civic Club of the Ulupo
Heiau State Historic Park and are the curators of Na Pohaku o Hauwahine
along Kapaa Quarry Road in Kailua, Oahu. Both sites are under the control of
the DLNR Division of State Parks.
They also have a Right of Entry Permit to do wetland habitat restoration work at
the base of Na Pohaku o Hauwahine, and at the base of Ulupo Heiau in
Kawainui Marsh. We work closely with the State Division of Forestry and
Wildlife (DOFAW) to malama Kawainui.
Their website is at www.ahahui.net
December 2016 Ka Elele Aloha Page 13 of 15
Date Name Duty
4-Dec Liz Leavitt Minister
Keith & Peggy Zeilinger Usher / Greeter
Susie Jannuzzi Liturgist
Marian Heidel Keiki Sermon
Annie Walenta T Prayer / Serve Comm. / Bldg Lockup
11-Dec Liz Leavitt Minister
Clancy Lyman & RichardSmith Usher / Greeter
John Heidel Liturgist
Kathy Summers Keiki Sermon
Dianne Brookins T Prayer / Serve Comm. / Bldg Lockup
18-Dec Liz Leavitt Minister
Jimzy Lui & George Wyman Usher / Greeter
Courtney Nichols Liturgist
Liz Leavitt Keiki Sermon
John Stiles T Prayer / Serve Comm. / Bldg Lockup
24-Dec Liz Leavitt Minister
John & Marian Heidel Usher / Greeter
Paul Brennan T Prayer / Serve Comm. / Bldg Lockup
25-Dec Liz Leavitt Minister
Rollo Scheurenbrand &Charlene Hosenfeld Usher / Greeter
Susie Jannuzzi Liturgist
Beth Davidann Keiki Sermon
John Heidel T Prayer / Serve Comm. / Bldg Lockup
December 2016 Ka Elele Aloha Page 14 of 15
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December 2016 Ka Elele Aloha Page 15 of 15