Aloha, Our Beloved Parish 'Ohana,

Have you ever wondered why Jesus calls himself the Good Shepherd?

Throughout the Old Testament, the metaphor of the shepherd and sheep is used to describe the relationship between the faithful and God.The force of these metaphors, then, is not so much in the character of the sheep, but in the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep. The shepherd knew each sheep by its name, and each sheep knew its shepherd’s voice and would follow no other. So the essence of the relationship of the shepherd is one of dependence, love, and trust.

On our farm in VT, we used to have horses, goats, cows, etc. One year we were given two sheep who had been raised since birth by the same farmer. He was retiring and needed to part with his livestock. When they came, these two sheep were a little skittish...they followed the goats wherever they went, but they would not even let me pat them. They knew that I fed them and they recognized my voice after a while, but they would not get too close.     

One day one of them was attacked by a stray dog and was badly injured. This would not have happened to a goat because goats will rear up and butt at the dog and fight him off...or at least try. Like all sheep, ours simply rolled over on his back and gave up…luckily I got out there when I did! Notice that once he was hurt and in trouble, the sheep was very happy to see me, letting me hold him, treat his wounds and love him. When the vet came, the sheep could not get close enough to me. Why did the sheep have to be in trouble or hurt before he would let me near him?  

Jesus says that he is the good shepherd, because we, human beings, are so much like sheep in spite of how independent we may think we are. We seem to have no problem following the dictates of the media, following the latest trends, The hidden danger for us, of course, is that in that in the “Me” oriented culture in which we live, we think we can do it on our own, and we forget or deny the Good Shepherd until hard times, illness, or tragedy strikes.

The danger in this approach is that without an on-going relationship with Jesus, the Good Shepherd, we run the risk of no longer being able to hear his voice. Sheep, who have a shepherd, hear the shepherd’s voice, and they respond by following him. Jesus is our Good Shepherd and he calls us to follow him. And the Good Shepherd continues to tend the needs of his flock, even those who ignore him, through the prayers of the faithful from around the world.  

Blessings, Peace, and love,

Marnie+

Worship & Fellowship

Saturday, 5 PM, BEACH MASS

5 PM at the Beach (Kawaihae), Bring a beach chair or towel AND A FRIEND!

An early heads up: June 1 there will be no beach mass. It is the annual Canoe Club steak fry. I will be there with the reserve sacrament and a good word for anyone that may show up for the service.

SUNDAY

St. James’ Church, Waimea: 7:30 (said) & *9:30 AM. *Nursery and Godly Play.

St. Columba’s Church, Pa'auilo: 9:30 AM with Sunday School.

Wednesday 

Noon Eucharist/Mass at St. James', Waimea. A brief, said midweek service.

Monday - Saturday

Morning Prayer Online via Facebook & LiveStream.

This Weekend's Bulletins & Offering:

Three ways to join in worshiping virturally

From Bobby Clement

Aloha St. Jamesʻ Parish Congregations!

There is change coming in where you will be able to view our Live and Recorded Services! As many of you may already know, we stream to YouTube, Facebook, and Livestream. We do this to have "redundancy" in case something goes wrong with one platform.

Livestream was bought by VIMEO a couple of years ago and we are now required to transfer our content to the new platform. Facebook and YouTube will not change. But for those of you that view us on Livestream, we are now going to be on VIMEO. This change is effective April 27th.

Here are the links to view our live and recorded services:

VIMEO: https://vimeo.com/stjamescongregations  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StJamesHawaii/   

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@st.jamesbigisland6209/streams  

If you have any questions, please reach out to me via phone or email.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

I also need volunteers to join our video/sound ministry team! I am so appreciative of Rick Baskin, Jan, Melissa and James Levitan, Joe Bollinger, the Rev. Linda Lundgren, Sharon Alfonso and Andrew Dupaya for all they do! But we greatly need more help for this vital ministry to the homebound and folks off-island. You donʻt have to be "tech savvy"! We will teach you how to run our sound and video for services. It is easier than many think. Please contact me via the parish office or speak to me at one of the services.

The Memorial Service for the Rev. Canon Kent McNair will be live-streamed and it also will be recorded, at the Faith Episcopal Church website.

CLICK HERE for the Faith Episcopal Website.

The service will be held at 4 PM on Saturday, California time. (1 PM Hawai'i time.) Our Rector David will be delivering the homily. 

In lieu of flowers, memorial offerings will go to ministry in Honduras through Kent’s longtime friend, Padre Francisco, and to Snowline Hospice. Gifts may be made by selecting “Memorial/Honorariums” from the fund menu below.

Make a Memorial Gift

Lighting Project

Sometime ago, we did a survey inviting people to provide their opinions and thoughts regarding possible styles of lighting for St James’. Parishioner Jerry Nelson bequeathed funds to pay for updating the lighting. This was a project that was dear to his heart.

A chandelier, seen below, has been hanging in St James for folks to look at and to comment on. Based on the comments received, Bess has approved the purchase of eight chandeliers that will replaced the white globes. in addition, we were able to find wall sconces that are a very close match to the ones that we have to fill in the spaces that are missing. The lights are being wired to be able to be dimmed as needed. A huge Mahalo to Marci Yardley for bringing this project home!

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Once again, parishioners are being contacted, ostensibly by members of our clergy, requesting the purchase of gift cards. THIS IS A SCAM. At NO TIME will any of our clergy contact you asking for gift cards, cash cards or anything of the type.

Do not respond, report the message to your email or phone provider and delete. Do not download any links associated with such requests, either.

If you have ANY questions, concerns, or doubts about a communication claiming to come from the Parish or any of the clergy, please contact the office before responding.

E Komo Mai!

Looking for a Church Home?

St. James’, St. Columba’s, and our Beach Mass are growing, joyful, and spirit-filled. God is doing amazing things in and through our parish and we are thankful. We want to share the blessings with which God has graced us. It is both our calling to do so and our humble privilege. If you are searching for a spiritual home, we hope you will come back and give our Parish ‘Ohana a try. Please know you are always welcome in our home.

Click here for a brief overview of becoming a member. Do not hesitate to talk with any one of our clergy.

CLICK HERE for the current approved minutes from the most recent Vestry meeting.CLICK HERE for the current approved Treasurer's Report.

The next Vestry meeting will be Wednesday April 24 at 1PM. in the church. If there is something which you wish to bring to the vestry's attention, please reach out to our wardens or vestry members. You can reach them via the Parish Office. A reminder that all vestry meetings are open to parishioners to attend.

What does it mean to love each other without conditions: without sex and romance, without stability and provision, without fellowship in exalted experience, or ultimately, without any expectation or transaction? Can we love each other ‘agape’ style?

Br. Jim Woodrum, SSJE

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Society of Saint John the Evangelist

An Episcopal Monastery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

"The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended, the darkness falls at thy behest, to thee our morning hymns ascended, thy praise shall sanctify our rest,"

Rev. Marnie Keator, Associate Rector

Rev. David Stout, Rector

Keiki,Youth, Nā 'Ohana Ministry

Susan Acacio

Colleen Norris, Bookkeeper

Dayna Wong,

Asst. Bookkeeper

STAY CONNECTED