The Aloha Spirit

I've just returned from lunch and a drive with Larry Hand (pastor at Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity, Kona) and his lovely wife Janine. This is the second day I've spent the afternoon among fellow preachers and it's good to be back with my people.

I'm in paradise here, of course, but I'm terribly homesick for my husband and I'm not keeping as much of a sabbath pace as I'd envisioned for myself.

I flew into Honolulu Thursday night, got a car, drove to a small motel on Waikiki and settled in for the night. The next day I hiked the Diamond Head Crater, strolled along Waikiki, had lunch near Pearl Harbor, drove to Mililani for an afternoon with Pastor Dave Keiffer at Christ Lutheran Mililani. Then I drove back to the airport, dropped off the car, flew to Kona, drove to the hotel and then had dinner at 10 pm at a lovely seaside restaurant. No wonder I'm tired.

So Pastor Dave was the first of my sabbatical pastor visits. He welcomed me warmly and told me the story of his congregation's partnership with a local pre-school and how he saw God's hand in his call there in Mililani.

We talked a bit about faith stories (Pastor Dave did them as part of stewardship once) and then talked at length about the projector they have mounted on their ceiling and the computer "command station" that runs it. Central people take note: this is slick, easy and professional-looking. I think I'm in love (with the projector). Can we get this done this year? Please?

We also talked some about the culture of Hawaii v. Alaska. There are the similarities I expected (feeling cut-off from the rest of the states, friends becoming family) but also differences. Pastor Dave told me (this was later echoed by Larry) that Hawaii has a fairly religious climate. People go to church and there's a culture of acceptance about it. I'm interested in these differences, especially since I read once that if you're a church-goer who moves to the Pacific Northwest you are likely to go to church less; if you're a non-church-goer who moves to Georgia, you're likely to attend worship more. Place matters.

I think of this a lot in our secular and spiritual-non-religious context of Alaska. Apparently, Hawaii is a different situation. I'm not quite sure how this impacts ministry here but I'm curious.

So, today after a more relaxing morning (slept in, run along a paved trail overlooking the beach, farmers market shopping), I met Pastor Larry and Janine for lunch. They, too, were warm and inviting. I felt particularly grateful that they took so much time to talk with me, drive me around the area a bit and show me around the church. On our drive we saw several ancient Hawaiian religious sites as well as beautiful ocean vistas. We also saw the best places to surf, Larry's past time.

When I asked Larry about my sabbatical themes, faith in daily life, vocation, role of church in modern world, I appreciated how he took the conversation in the direction of discipleship. We talked about Kierkegaard's comment that many admire Christ but not so many wish to follow What does it mean to follow Christ? Leaders in churches must model this for others. This would be a good thing to discuss as a congregation.

Larry had spent 12 years doing interim ministry in one of the Pennsylvania synods. He said that when he went into a new parish, he spent time with them reviewing their history, their stories. They made time lines together that showed the significant events in the life of the congregation and then people added their own experiences with the church and other notable events in the community. By taking the long look, people were able to see how their story fit into the congregation's story, he said, and gave folks a way forward. I also appreciated his comments about how during Bible study we can see how our story fits into God's story. This takes practice!

I'm trying to wind down now, and will look for a place for dinner shortly. I was, in part, so grateful for Larry and Janine's presence today at lunch because I'm weary of eating alone. I've never liked it and I've done it much more on this sabbatical than since I was married.

Tomorrow I preach and lead adult education at the church here in Kona, then it's off to Hilo and the yoga retreat, where I expect the real relaxation to begin.