Coming Home to Worship and Fellowship

ALOHA! As the long days of summer begin to give way to the steady rhythms of the school and church year, we find ourselves returning to familiar patterns—alarm clocks set a little earlier, keiki packing their backpacks, and calendars filling with activities. At St. Timothy’s, this is also a season of coming home—home to worship, home to fellowship, home to the steady heartbeat of our faith community. If you’ve been away traveling, visiting family on the mainland, or simply enjoying the slower pace of summer, now is a wonderful time to reconnect here at the church we love.

In the weeks ahead, we’ll continue to gather to pray, sing, learn, and serve—finding strength in God’s presence and joy in one another. Life’s busyness can pull us in many directions, but here in this place, God centers us again. So let’s step into this new season with faith that God will guide our way, and with hope that our shared journey will deepen our love for Christ and for one another. I look forward to seeing you in worship and walking together into all that God has prepared for us!

Part of preparing ourselves for this new season was our very successful Church Clean-Up Day last Sunday! Mahalo nui loa to everyone who stayed after church to help us clean up all over the church buildings and campus. Everything looks spectacular! We are grateful for all the hard work—and we hope you enjoyed the ice cream and treats afterwards.

LAST SUNDAY in worship, we explored Isaiah 5:1-7 and Luke 12:49-56. In Isaiah we heard a heartbroken God who had prepared a beautiful and lush garden for the people, who ignored God and filled the garden with weeds and sour grapes. And we heard a fiery Jesus say he is bringing, not peace, but division! These are hard words of judgment, but they nevertheless encourage us to take heart, because God is still working in the Vineyard, and the shoot of Jesse is springing up bringing hope and redemption in Jesus Christ. Even when our lives are full of “sour grapes,” God’s love always shines through!

THIS SUNDAY, we’ll look at three powerful Scripture passages: Jeremiah 1:4-10, Psalm 71:1-6, and Luke 13:10-17, revealing three very different kinds of callings, but all echoing the same holy invitation: You are not too young, too bent, too stuck, or too small for the work of God’s love and justice. Just as Jesus did the bent-over woman, he can set you free! Come and find out what all this means for us here at St. Timothy’s!

This Sunday we’ll also continue our series of “Ministry Minutes” during the announcements time, to bring you up to date about the various ministries happening at St. Timothy’s. Last Sunday I shared about our plans for Adult Sunday School classes this fall. This Sunday our Bishop’s Warden Nancy Chun will talk about our vision for a “Welcoming Hearts” Team of welcome and pastoral care. Please keep all our ministries in your prayers. And pray about how you might be involved!

Speaking of Adult Sunday school, please join me in the Vicar’s Office after worship this Sunday for a special session called “Wai and Our Baptismal Covenant.” We’ll watch a short documentary about the natural water resources in our area and then talk together about how our baptismal vows call us to care for our creation.

So join us on Sunday morning at 9 in the Chapel, or worship with us on Facebook Live.
 
By the way, I was honored to be on Rick Hamada’s “The Higher Power Hour” radio program on Thursday morning on KHVH 830 AM. I was honored to join Rick on his morning program, and we had a fun conversation. As you may know, Rick is the father of our wonderful musician Zach Hamada. Thanks for having me on your show, Rick! If you'd like to listen to it, visit Rick's Podcast Page and click on the Higher Power Hour 8.21.2025 link: https://khvhradio.iheart.com/featured/rick-hamada/tab/podcasts/
 
Also, please note that I will be off island next Monday through Wednesday attending the annual Clergy Conference in Hilo. Our speaker is a good friend of mine, the Rev. Canon Chuck Robertson, who has served as a canon to the last three Presiding Bishops.

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 devoted lay leaders and ministers, and for your vicar. May God bless you and your loved ones always.  
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Aloha Ke Akua!
Fr. Pete+