Aloha! Last Sunday was a big day in the life of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church. Following our service, we had our Annual Meeting in Sumida Hall with a wonderful turnout. Please see the report below. I hope you kept your Annual Meeting booklet—I encourage you to read it and offer any feedback or questions about the reports and the list of potential projects. If you don't have your copy any more, it's still available on our website at https://www.sttimothysaiea.org/annualmeeting.html. Congratulations to our newly elected Bishop’s Committee members and Annual Convention delegates—we are grateful for their willingness to serve our church! Last Sunday was also our Patronal Feast Day--the Church observed the Feast of Saints Timothy and Titus. We explored who this St. Timothy was, and what it means for us to be called St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church. His life is an example for us to stir up our gifts so that we can dream again about how we can serve our loving God (2 Timothy 1:1-8). This coming Sunday we observe the Feast of the Presentation. We’ll explore Luke 2:22-40, Luke’s account of the moment when Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus unexpectedly encounter Simeon and Anna, two people who have a word to share with them on this auspicious day. What does this mean for us—and for our encounters with strangers in our own world? This Sunday we also commemorate Queen Lili‘uokalani of Hawai‘i, whose feast day is in the process of being moved in The Episcopal Church to January 29; we are transferring her commemoration to this Sunday. We did observe her commemoration last November, when Rev. David Ota was here and shared some of her story in his sermon, but we are moving to the new date going forward. Please see more about Queen Lili‘uokalani below. Looking ahead, our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Robert Fitzpatrick, will make his official visitation to St. Timothy’s on Sunday, February 16. Please plan to be with us then. One more item: I’m very pleased to report that, as a tithe of our 2024 budget surplus, the Bishop’s Committee has voted to send $2,000 to support the ministry of St. John the Divine Episcopal Church in Guam and St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Saipan, both led by the Rev. Irene Egmalis Maliaman. We are a mission church supporting these sister churches, thanks to your generosity. Please keep Rev. Irene and her congregations in your prayers. Be watching The Epistle for more about the ministry of The Episcopal Church in Guam and Saipan and how St. Timothy’s is helping there. Dear sisters and brothers, you are in my prayers, and I ask for your prayers for St. Timothy’s Church, for our dedicated staff and our devoted lay leaders, and for your vicar. May God bless you and your loved ones. Aloha Ke Akua! Fr. Pete+ Please continue reading for more information about Queen Lili‘uokalani. (Reposted from Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2024) Lili‘uokalani was the first queen regnant and last sovereign monarch of the Kingdom of Hawai‘i, ruling from January 29, 1891, until the overthrow of the Kingdom on January 17, 1893. She was the composer of Aloha ‘Oe and numerous other works. Lili‘uokalani was born on September 2, 1838, in Honolulu, on the island of O‘ahu. She was married to American-born John Owen Dominis, who later became the Governor of O‘ahu. In 1877, after the death of her younger brother Leleiohoku II, she was proclaimed heir apparent to the throne. She ascended to the throne on January 29, 1891, nine days after her brother' death. Queen Lili‘uokalani (September 2, 1838 – November 11, 1917) was a persistent advocate for justice and nonviolence. She recognized the ‘Beloved Community’ in her own day and refused to sanction the use of force, or to encourage her people to respond violently, when faced by heavily armed forces from the United States Navy acting in support of a band of insurrectionists (largely from the United States and Europe) as her government was illegally overthrown on January 17, 1893. In doing so she prevented the undue bloodshed of her people against overwhelming force. Appealing to President Grover Cleveland, she surrendered her throne to the American government and pleaded with her subjects to respect her decision. As a result, she was forcefully removed from her throne and subsequently imprisoned for her witness in opposition to American imperialism. Her model of grace left a powerful symbol of God's love that continues to be at the center of the native Hawaiian community, and thus a gift to the entire church. Queen Lili‘uokalani was also a respected musician and composer. Among her most well-known compositions is the Queen's Prayer, Ke Aloha o Ka Haku, sung often in parishes in Hawai‘i. It is based upon her reading of the only two books allowed to her during her imprisonment, the Holy Bible and the Book of Common Prayer. As the neighbor to St. Andrew's Cathedral, she received refuge during the counterrevolution with the Anglican sisters at St. Andrew’s Priory School for Girls. Together with the Bishop, the Right Reverend Alfred Willis, they would minister to her during her imprisonment and these deeds of charity would influence Her Majesty to become a member of our Church. Queen Lili‘uokalani died on November 11, 1917 and is buried at the Mauna ‘Ala Royal
Mausoleum in Honolulu. The date of January 29, her new date of commemoration in The Episcopal Church, is the date of her coronation as queen of the Hawaiian Kingdom.
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