Volume 25, Issue 6 October 2009

2 Good Youth Ministry by Charles C. Buck3 UCC Chaplain Encourages Holistic Approach McCollough Workshops Planned4 Breakthrough Camp Brings Youth Together5 Installation, Dedication at Waipahu Western Regional Youth Event 20106 Prayers Offered as New Leader Takes Office United Church News Moves Online7 Highlights from the Website8 Legacy Story: Community Church of Honolulu

What's Inside

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Hawai‘i Conference Youth Partner in Outreach to Houseless

“My experience feeding the homeless in Wai‘anae was emotional, life-changing, shocking, and wonderful,” said

Christian Braceros. He is the Outreach Coordinator of the

Filipino United Church of Christ (Honolulu) youth group called Teens for Christ, Hawai‘i (TFC). The group has determined that it wants to show God’s love in many ways through service to the community. Phebe Amodo, former Christian Education Director at Kawaiaha‘o Church, now a TFC leader, knew about Kawaiaha‘o Church’s outreach program to houseless people at Kea‘au Beach in Wai‘anae. Through her efforts, the youth connected. Arminta Nishimura, coordinator for Hale‘ole (Houseless) program of the Kawaiaha‘o Outreach Ministry, was excited about bringing the two churches together.

TFC members were so enthusiastic about the service project, they held a food drive in their church and community. Adult leaders helped the youth gather donations of cakes, cookies, and bread from the community for goody packages to hand out when they went to the beach.“Since this is the first time for the youth group to participate in houseless outreach, they were a bit anxious as we neared the beach campgrounds,” explained Phebe. “I remember riding in the church van with some of the members of our youth group, and there was almost dead silence,” said Christian. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘What if they don’t like us?’ and ‘What happens if we run out, and they ask for more food?’”Adult leaders from both churches helped ease the youth’s concerns and also helped them forget the stereotypes they had been taught about houseless people.

15 Craigside Construction Begins

On September 28 construction began on 15 Craigside, the continuing care retirement community long envisioned

by the Hawai‘i Conference of the United Church of Christ and the Arcadia Family of Companies. The facility will be built at the former 1.5-acre site of the Hawai‘i Conference Office. The project is expected to be completed in 2010. Occupancy will begin in early 2011. The Department of Budget and Finance of the State of Hawai‘i approved special purpose senior living revenue bonds totaling just over $86 million to finance construction of the project. 15 Craigside in Nu‘uanu is the first Honolulu Continuing Care Retirement Center (CCRC) designed for moderate-income seniors. The new community will have 140 one-bedroom apartments and 30 studio apartments dedicated to independent and assisted living, and a 41-bed Health Care Center with four

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Picured above is an artist’s drawing of the proposed 15 Craigside complex.

www.hcucc.org 2

Good Youth Ministryby Charles C. Buck, Conference Minister

Youth ministry is about youth, of course. Without youth, there

would be no youth ministry.But youth ministry depends on adults, too. And good youth ministry requires good adults. What is a good adult? We get a clue by thinking about what makes for bad youth ministry. Over the years, I’ve found that less effective ministries group into one of two extremes.The first type is the ministry where everything, programming and planning, is done for the youth. Churches with this kind of ministry tend to be more authoritarian or hierarchical, where youth are treated like kids and a premium is placed on their proper teaching and training. I was once a youth minister in just such a church. I did not realize it at first, thinking that the church board’s regular review of the youth program was helpful accountability, and in many respects it was. But then we tried youth participation in worship. The first girl to read scripture was nervous, and even after coaching, she read much too fast in much too soft a voice. After the service, an elder informed me that the board had just met (an emergency meeting?) and decided that henceforth only adults would read scripture during worship. Kids were to sit, watch, and learn so that when they became adults, they would be good readers. Passivity, not practice, apparently, makes perfect. As you would expect, youth sat bored in the service.

Good youth ministry requires good adults.

The second type is ministry where youth are expected to do all the programming and planning. In this model of ministry, value is placed on youth making their own decisions like adults, so that they learn from their experience and claim ownership of their activities. For a time, the youth group I was in was like that. With a modicum of adult supervision, we were entrusted to come up with all our own activities and plans. At first, we sat around not sure what we wanted to do, and then we came up with the idea of a ski trip with another church. On paper, it sounded fun, but reality proved different. The two groups stayed apart the entire trip because no effort was made to introduce each other. The adult chaperones were

The Friend is published 8 times a year by the Hawai‘i Conference of the United Church of Christ, 1848 Nu‘uanu Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96817.Phone: (808) 537-9516 or (800) 734-7610 (Neighbor Island Toll Free)Fax: (808) 521-7196E-mail: dlester@hcucc.org (Dorothy Lester, Editor) dweible@hcucc.org (Diane Weible)

The FriendFrom the Conference Ministerrecruited because they enjoyed skiing, but they had never led a youth group before and did not interact with us. And not once did we pray; open the Bible; or even make mention of God, Jesus, or faith. It was exactly what we planned—but how I wish a good adult had stepped in and guided us, suggesting more meaningful things to do.

In doing youth ministry, good adults know how to strike appropriate balances.

Learning from these examples, I have come to understand that in doing youth ministry, good adults know how to strike appropriate balances: like knowing when to allow youth to play freely as kids and when to insist they practice the self-restraint of adults; or knowing when to lead, teach, and instruct, and when to give them encouragement and freedom to create, experiment, and discover without fear of shame or embarrassment.It is heartening to see this kind of good youth ministry happening around the Conference. For example, at the recent youth camp on O‘ahu, the adult leaders and counselors planned the camp with plenty of activities, but also left many opportunities for youth to find ways to be active and involved. Worship was one of those ways.One of the most moving sights was watching how, in every successive worship, more and more youth joined the adult counselors in front playing guitars, strumming ukulele, singing songs, and leading in praise. These were youth who had never played together before, did not even know each other before camp, and were highly self-conscious at the start. But the adult counselors created an atmosphere of non-judgmental acceptance, and youth invited and encouraged one another to participate. The result was many young people leading a joyous celebration of worship to, and genuine praise of, God. All this was spontaneous, but not a surprise. When adults provide the boundaries in which youth may enter hesitantly at first but grow in confidence as they move about, good things inevitably happen. That’s good youth ministry.

www.hcucc.org3

MinistryOctober 2009

UCC Chaplain Encourages Holistic Approach to Healing

A holistic approach to health and healing is the goal of pastors and health care professionals. More and more

it is understood that complete physical healing is not possible without spiritual health. The role of a pastor and chaplain in this healing has become crucial.One example is in the field of palliative care, which has opened new possibilities for hospital professionals to work together to bring complete healing to those facing chronic illness.

JP Sabbithi, a chaplain with Pacific Health Ministry and an ordained UCC minister, is part of the palliative care team at Kaiser Foundation Hospital on O‘ahu. The team works to bring together scientific and spiritual aspects of healing and wholeness. While hospice care has become well known for its focus on the last days of a person’s life and the effort to make those days as pain-free as possible, the field of palliative care focuses on an overall treatment plan for a person with a life-threatening illness regardless of the life expectancy of that patient.The word palliative literally means comfort. When a primary care physician determines that a patient is in need of palliative care, a nurse is assigned to meet with the patient and do an in-take history. Then the nurse sets up a time for the rest of the team to meet with the patient and the patient’s family. The team includes a doctor, chaplain, nurse, and social worker. “We go with no agenda,” said JP. “We go with an open mind to help with the plan of care that the patient and the family want. The meeting begins with the patient’s understanding of his or her physical condition and then explores spiritual, physical, emotional, even financial needs. The team helps the patient and the family to determine where the person wants to live. From the pastoral perspective, JP said that his role on the team often is to help patients deal with grief issues and help them

with spiritual connectedness. The chaplain uses community resources to help every patient find the spiritual support they need. He shares joys; helps patients with their fears, including those about life after death and leaving loved ones; and asks questions, such as where they want to spend their final days. One patient had children living in another country and wanted to spend her final days with the children. Although it was not in the best physical interest of the patient to leave the hospital, the team knew holistically it was in her best interest to go back to her home country. The team helped to make that happen. JP said because the team focuses together on the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs, the palliative care team has received a positive response from hospital staff.“They love it because we break so many communication barriers,” said JP. “We make their job easy.”JP, along with Dr. Rae Seitz, was part of a team that traveled to India to teach an End of Life course for nurses sponsored by the International Association of Hospice and Palliative Care. The train-the-trainer sessions were for nurses throughout India in which the nurses took what they learned from their courses

(continued on page 7)A chaplain in India listens to a patient. This photo was taken when JP Sabbithi traveled to India as part of a team that taught an End of Life course to nurses.

McCollough Workshops Planned

Several events and workshops

featuring UCC Minister and Artist Charles McCollough have been planned for November. The events will include multi-media presentations based on his book, The Art of Parables. McCollough engages his audience using visual and poetic tools for the interpretation, teaching, and preaching of Jesus’ parables. Workshops will be held at Iao Congregational Church on Maui on November 7, and at Church of the Crossroads on O‘ahu on November 14. Clergy events have also been planned for Maui on November 6 and O‘ahu on November 10. Visit www.hcucc.org for details about these events and information about registration.

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Faces around the Conference The Friend

Breakthrough Camp Brings Conference Youth Together

Pictured from left to right: Reunited youth are happy to sing together again; Afternoon swim time is an opportunity to cool off and have fun; A trust exercise can be scary; Smiles abound at the Breakthrough Camp; Youth lead the camp in grace before lunch; Balloon sculptures provide a creative opportunity; What would camp be without a tie-dyed shirt, or two?; Don’t let the water balloon fall!; Youth, along with Angie and Mike Warren, share their gifts in leading music; Youth look cool during a talent show act; Toss the object is a great way to use beach towels and experience team work; Youth take time for a picture before the talent show; 2009 Fall Breakthrough Youth Camp participants pose for a picture in front of the ocean at Camp Homelani on O‘ahu’s North Shore with Camp Director Darren Galindo on the right in a red shirt with lei.

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News and EventsOctober 2009

Installation, Dedication at Waipahu

The weekend of September 19-20 was a time of celebration for the members and friends of Filipino

UCC in Waipahu on O‘ahu. On Saturday, church members, Hawai‘i Conference church friends, and community leaders gathered for a special worship service to dedicate the new church building. Hawai‘i Conference Minister Charles Buck shared the message for the day. He reminded the congregation not to wake up tomorrow and say, “We have accomplished our job.” “There is a whole world that needs building, hearts that need healing, people who need feed-ing. We have work to do,” encouraged Charles.The church’s youth and adult choirs offered choral music and dance. Waipahu UCC member and State Senator Clarence Nishihara presented a plaque on behalf of the State of Hawai‘i to commemorate the special day. A luncheon followed the service.On Sunday, Filipino UCC church members gathered again. This time, representatives of the O‘ahu churches joined them to install their new Pastor and Teacher, Fortunato Zamora.Associate Conference Minister Diane Weible offered the message. Members of the church shared in hula and song, and the Zamora family sang during the offertory. A reception followed the service.Pictures from both events are posted at www.hcucc.org.

“Uncle Bob [Estrella] told us about an experience he had before,” said Christian. “He was talking to houseless people and really got to know them well, but then there was this one guy who told him ‘Can you please not call us homeless because Hawai‘i is our home, and it’s just that we don’t have a house.’”“After a while, they began to feel compassion instead of fear,” Phebe said. “They enjoyed hearing the stories of the campers also.”“You should have seen the smiles on their faces,” said Christian. “They were actually the kindest people I ever met in my life. The thing that made it so emotional was the thank yous.”

“The TFC youth were awesome,” said Arminta. “This youth group was so energized. God was forever present, and the youth were asking when they could come back and serve again.”On November 14, the youth groups from both churches intend to return to the beach to serve a Thanksgiving meal with youth from Ka Hana O Ke Akua UCC Church in Wai‘anae.“Partnering with other UCC churches allows us to distribute the workload of putting out a meal for a mass of people,” said Arminta. “Most of all, it allows us to fellowship within and outside of our church family.

In preparation for the service to the houseless, youth from Kawaiaha‘o Church invited youth from Filipino UCC for a night of fellowship and friendship to help the Filipino UCC youth get to know Kawaiaha‘o youth. Pictured above are the youth from both churches.

additional boarder room beds to provide skilled nursing and intermediate care. Like the Arcadia residence, 15 Craigside will provide services to active seniors as well as those who require greater levels of care as they age. Residents are guaranteed lifetime care under one roof. Apartments are still available for seniors 62 years of age and older. For more information, visit www.15craigside.org; contact the sales office at 1741 Nu‘uanu Avenue; or telephone 808-285-5178.

(15 Craigside Construction Begins, continued from page 1)

(Youth Partner in Outreach to Houseless, continued from page 1)

Fortunato Zamora celebrates with members and visitors following his installation as Pastor.

Put “Reach beyond the Big Sky” 2010 WRYE on Youth Calendars

The Western Regional Youth Event (WRYE) is open to United Church of Christ youth now in grades 6-12 from

Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai‘i, Nevada, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The Montana-Northern Wyoming Conference will host from July 6 to 10, 2010, at Montana State University—Billings. The event promises great music, workshops, speakers, and fun.Start planning now for ways to make this experience available to youth in your church. More details, including itinerary, total costs, and deposit deadlines will be posted on our website, www.hcucc.org.

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United Church of Christ The Friend

United Church News Moves Online

The last print issue of the United Church News was published in September 2009. News from the United

Church of Christ will always be available through the news portal at www.ucc.org. The United Church of Christ made this decision in early 2009 in an effort to reduce costs. Beginning with this issue, space in every issue of The Friend will be dedicated to news from the UCC so those without online access will still receive news of the wider church.Those with internet access can receive up-to-date news information at www.ucc.org/news.

New President Takes Helm at UCC’s United Theological Seminary

Mary E. McNamara has begun her term as the seventh president of UCC-

related United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, an ecumenical Protestant seminary in New Brighton, Minnesota. For the last decade, McNamara served as Executive Vice President of Union Theological Seminary in New York. She is an ordained Presbyterian minister.Mary brings a deep understanding of theological education and is known as something of an organizational genius,” said Sharon Ryan, Chair of United’s Board of Trustees. “She played a key role in a strategic planning process that brought Union back from the financial brink.”United Theological Seminary was founded in 1960 by the United Church of Christ, continuing the work of Mission House and Yankton seminaries. United is known nationally for providing fine theological education, fostering the role of arts in religion, its exceptional preparation of students for pastoral leadership, and its commitment to reconciliation and justice.

Prayers Offered as New UCC General Minister and President Takes Office

The Rev. Geoffrey A. Black, UCC General Minister and President,

was welcomed into his new office October 1 by church members from across the country.A noontime prayer service via teleconference offered prayers for Geoffrey (pictured right at General Synod in Grand Rapids this summer) and his new call to ministry. More than 180 phones participated in the 15-minute service, many of which were used by multiple persons gathered around a speaker or computer.Henry Simmons, Pastor of St. Albans Congregational UCC in New York City and chair of Geoffrey’s search committee, hosted the event. Prayer leaders included Peter Wiley, Pastor of First Congregational UCC in Hudson, Ohio; Riess Potterveld, President of Lancaster Theological Seminary, one of the seven seminaries of the United Church of Christ; and Sharon MacArthur, Pastor of Sycamore Congregational UCC in El Cerrito, California. “I’m grateful to God for the spiritual support of so many people as I begin this ministry,” Geoffrey told participants.

UCC Staff Give Back to ClevelandAdapted from an article by Gregg Brekke with J. Bennett Guess and Barb Powell

National staff of the United Church of Christ from Cleveland and other U.S. locations joined together Tuesday, October

6, for a day of service in and around the home city of the United Church of Christ’s national offices. Launching the beginning of a year-long celebration of two decades in Cleveland, the “20 Years in Cleveland All-Staff Community Service Day” was the second annual all-staff community day for service.Nearly 200 employees spread out over nine locations in the Cleveland metropolitan area to help with distributing food,

cleaning the Lake Erie waterfront, sorting medical supplies, and other community programs.Volunteers at St. Paul’s Community UCC in Ohio City helped with church maintenance and support for their ministries to houseless persons. The church offers a drop-in center four days a week that includes a clothing resource center; parish nurse with a specialized foot clinic; and a warm place to share coffee, a meal, and conversation.“This ministry is about building bridges,” said St. Paul’s Senior Pastor

Doug Horner. “We’re always involved in recruiting new people to our efforts—the UCC’s presence today adds to our work with homeless social services and socialization.”

Laura Ann Bucci paints a door frame at St. Paul’s UCC in Cleveland.

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Conference News and HighlightsOctober 2009

Thanks to our friends, The Friend is free of charge to anyone who requests it. We offer our sincere mahalo

to those who have generously given a monetary gift to help defray publication costs. A gift of $10 will pay for one person’s subscription for one year. Gifts may be sent to the Hawai‘i Conference UCC, 1848 Nu‘uanu Ave., Honolulu 96817.

Highlights from the WebsiteGo to www.hcucc.org to learn more about these and many more stories from around the Conference.

Alan Bond, who served as Interim Pastor at Wananalua Church in Hana in 2008, died on August 23, 2009, at his home in Rochester, Vermont. He was 72. Alan and his wife, Lois, were formerly members of Waiokeola Congregational Church on O‘ahu.

Special prayer services were held in October for victims and family members of the earthquake that hit American Samoa September 29 and the tsunami that followed. Donations for this earthquake and the recent flooding and devastation in the Philippines are being received by the UCC. Checks can be sent to the Hawai‘i Conference and marked “OGHS-South Pacific Tsunamis” or “OGHS-Typhoon Ketsana.” Stephen Sterner and Donaldson Hill came from the UCC national offices to visit churches and meet with groups on O‘ahu and Maui from September 25 to October 5. Steve is Executive Minister for UCC Local Church Ministries, and Don is Minister and Team Leader for UCC Financial Development Ministries. Steve and Don thanked churches and donors for their support of the mission of the United Church of Christ. They also offered tools and resources for planned giving ministry and interpretation of Our Church’s Wider Mission.

George Baybrook, Pastor of Kalahikiola Church on the Island of Hawai‘i, has announced that he will complete his ministry there on December 13.

Ka Hana O Ke Akua Church, on the Leeward Coast of O‘ahu, has called David Twigg as Pastor. He and his wife, Lealofi, reside in Wai‘anae.

back to remote areas of India to train others in the facilities where they work. Hospital chaplains in Hawai‘i also minister to the staff through personal counseling; grief work; and in-service training on issues such as spiritual care, Bible study, blessings, and self-care. Because of the presence of the hospital chaplain in so many areas of hospital life, the staff is very receptive to how spiritual health plays into the physical recovery of their patients. At Kaiser, chaplains gather every morning for prayer, and staff members often attend as well. “That is because of our approach,” JP said. “They know I’m not here to dump religion on them but to provide spiritual care according to the patient’s needs.”As a hospital chaplain, JP looks to other clergy and local church communities for patient support. With 300 patients in the hospital at any one time, JP is not able to visit everyone. He counts on local pastors to visit patients and let him know if a member is in the hospital and needs a visit from a chaplain.Church involvement in the healing ministry of the physically ill is crucial. The wider church also recognizes the importance of spiritual health and healing in physical recovery. In 2008, the United Church of Christ published “A New Voice Arising: A Pastoral Letter on Faith Engaging Science and Technology” that started a dialogue about finding intellectually honest, authentic spirituality in a scientific era. The work that is being done in palliative care by teams of staff, including chaplains, at Kaiser and other hospitals is a reminder of the role of spirituality in the lives of those who are physically ill.

(UCC Chaplain Encourages Healing, continued from page 3)

JP Sabbithi, Dr. Rae Seitz, and Dr. Lenny Mathew pose for a picture between sessions of the training course in India.

Joe Namon is the new Pastor of Honolulu Marshallese United Church of Christ. He, his wife, and two children arrived in Honolulu after having served a church in Springdale, Arkansas, and several churches in the Marshall Islands.

Sawej Sawej, his wife Morth, and two of their children arrived October 3 on Maui, where Sawej will serve as Pastor of the Maui Marshallese Ministry. Before coming to Hawai‘i, he served various churches in the Marshall Islands.

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Hawai'i Conference LegacyOctober 2009

This series features interviews with Hawai‘i Conference ‘ohana with ties to people who have made a difference in the Conference. Remembrances of early church life come from Julia Wong. Find the full article at www.hcucc.org.

Community Church of Honolulu (CCH), which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, was

started when the Young People’s Board of the Beretania Church, part of the early 1900s mission to Chinese immigrants, withdrew from the parent church. Thirty-one young people started a new church on Keeaumoku and Lunalilo Streets. The Hawaiian Evangelical Association welcomed the church in January 1936. Stephen Mark was called as the church’s first pastor. A few changes in location and years later, the congregation decided on the current name.Julia Wong, a member of CCH and the youngest of the three children of Stephen and Rose Mark, was too young to remember much about the beginnings of the church 75 years ago, but she remembers people. For Julia, the church is a place where you know you belong. “The people who are there knew me when I was very, very young so they know who I am,” she said. “My brothers played

the piano for the church while I was one of the ones that ran all over the place.”

Julia remembered a strong emphasis placed on classes to help the young members learn about Christ. Julia said her mother led a group of the women to “be able to do the things the women would normally do for the church, like preparing refreshments and making sure mothers had what they needed.”

The attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent blackouts caused church activities to be interrupted. Many of the young men in the congregation were called to serve in the armed forces or as civilian workers at Pearl Harbor Naval Base and Hickam Air Field.

By the fall of 1942, Sunday school returned with the devoted guidance of Florence C. Lum. Then the Rev. Mark began Bible study classes on Sundays, after which worship services were held. The young and growing congregation had survived a very difficult period.

As described in the 50th anniversary booklet: “The decision to start a new church signified courage and faith and foresight.”

Remembering the Beginnings of Community Church of Honolulu

Pastor Mark and Julia.