June 18th  Minister’s Message

Aloha mai kākou,

“To Err is Human, to Forgive, Divine.” William S said it, but that’s how I feel about my invitation to you all to join me at my house this Saturday at 2 pm to watch the Rt. Rev. Marian Budde deliver our UUA annual Ware Lecture.

Carla Allison kindly warned me that I was breaking a rule! I had not realized that the Ware lecture is only to be seen by paying UUA General Assembly participants. I was surprised. I have not attended UUA GA in many years, and was not aware of the rules. I appreciated her heads-up and wrote to the GA organizers, noting that I am the minister of First Unitarian Church of Honolulu and would like to host members and friends who might like to watch Rev. Budde on my home screen. The UUA organizers wrote back immediately, thanking me for asking and noting that “no,” we cannot share the Ware lecture. I looked into it and found that Ware’s lectures are not available on YouTube (or anywhere I can find them), even years later. I could only find 2019 and 2015.

We are in such a fearsome and dangerous time that I feel inspiring examples of the kind of insight and courage we need should be shared with the widest possible audience. Carla and I have been watching the GA meetings and panels despite her high fever! And the messages and speakers are inspiring and informative, and they make me proud and hopeful about our denomination.

I do not want to be discouraged by this rule, but I do want to support our UUA. So…

You are invited to my house to watch some of Rt. Rev. Budde’s finest messages that model clarity, kindness, and bravery — and hear a recap of the Ware lecture.

“Sharing the Courage of Rt. Rev. Budde”
3 pm on Saturday, just AFTER the Ware lecture
46-173 Kalai Place, Kaneohe
Pupus (RSVP to minister@unitariansofhi.org, so I have enough pupus)
And of course, this Sunday is our Annual UUA General Assembly Sunday Service with an honoring of Juneteenth and a “Fathers” Story for all Ages. The service will be followed by our Annual Meeting. We hope to see you Sunday!

Philip Riley’s Gallery on the Pali show, promoted by Marshall Heaney’s online video, opened last Saturday and brought joy with its beauty, depth, and wonderful words for each landscape and portrait. Please visit the Gallery and do not miss reading Philip’s title cards! Above are some pix of Philip with Marshall, Waipahu VP Gary Chun, and Waipahu’s Art and Drama leader, Thelma Madriago. Philip has long been a Special Ed teacher at Waipahu HS, and Marshall and I talked with his friends about a possible Waipahu student show in our Gallery!

Our visiting author/journalist, Nico Lang, arrived Monday, dined with Marie and me, and met Oberon. Today they are off to Kauai, Hawai‘i, and Maui to speak and sign books. Next week, they will rejoin us for the 6/27 5 pm Saturday panel with Kim Coco Iwamoto and others, and for the 6/28 Sunday service. See Nico and Oberon here.

Mahalo for all you do!
Rev. Deborah