Posted on: Saturday, December 13, 2003

'Aloha' spells out liturgy in San Jose

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer

Tomorrow, the third Sunday of Advent, Phyllis Green will read a passage from Isaiah, an organist will play "Glad Tidings (Nu 'Oli)" and Green's husband, Bob, will light three candles and intone: "Christ, light of the world, connects nature to God's aloha."

This all will take place not in Hawai'i but an ocean away — in Almaden Valley United Church of Christ in San Jose, Calif.

How did it happen that words like "akahai," "lokahi" and " 'olu'olu" are being heard some 2,500 miles from here just in time for Kalikimaka? Julianne Stokstad, the church's pastor, said she picked the liturgy, written by the Rev. Fe Nebres, associate conference minister of the Hawai'i Conference of the United Church of Christ, because the spirit of aloha was infectious.

"It really represents the spirit of our congregation, which recently came to light during our lu'au in October," she said. "It brought about this wonderful, tangible sense of aloha spirit. So when I saw this liturgy, I said: 'Yes, this is it!'"

Nebres, who is deployed to the Tri-Isle Association, serves as the program associate for educational ministries and leadership training. Her four-Sunday liturgy includes music, readings and a litany, a prayer with a series of petitions by a reader and then a fixed response by the congregation.

But it wasn't as if Nebres wrote the liturgy for herself, then shopped it nationally.

"I recruited her to do it," said the Rev. Dr. Sidney Fowler, minister for worship, liturgy and spiritual formation, who works for the national UCC office in Cleveland. He said it was the first seasonal Advent project that is strictly Hawaiian, with Hawaiian words, Hawaiian topics and even Hawaiian lyrics of Christmas songs.

Nebres' work was placed on the denomination's national Web site a few months before Advent, and Fowler heard that some Mainland ministers were interested in using it. But, for Fowler, it's a way of spreading more than aloha.

"(While) Hawaiian churches are central to our identity as a denomination," he said, "we have a deep level of commitment to broader multicultural perspective."

"This liturgy is a distinctive gift to the UCC from our congregations in Hawai'i," reads the UCC's official Web site. "It may also be used along with other candle-lighting liturgies."

In her liturgy, Nebres notes that Pilahi Paki, the late kupuna known for her wisdom, best interpreted aloha by using the letters of the word to represent Hawaiian values.

A: Akahai — gentleness, kindness, caring.

L: Lokahi — unity, harmony, oneness, being of one mind.

O: 'Olu'olu — expression of cheerfulness brought about by appreciating pleasantness, kindness, comfort and a positive attitude.

H: Ha'aha'a — expressing humility and meekness.

A: Ahonui — patience, endurance, perseverance.

"Aloha is best practiced within the context of community where people interact closely with one another," writes Nebres, who consulted first with Aletha Kaohi on Kaua'i.

"In the Hawaiian culture, the 'ohana, or family, is the arena where aloha can be initially experienced by the younger members of the family. The 'ohana is not only the typical nuclear family, but includes grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, spouses, sons and daughters as well as hanai or adopted children.

"The nurturing qualities of aloha are strong bonds that connect each member of the 'ohana to the other."

The connection to the Almaden Valley church is historical as well as spiritual. Two of the six founding members were from Hawai'i, explained Stokstad, who in 1997 took a course at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley to learn more about Protestant spirituality.

"I was very struck by the connection (between Native Hawaiians' spirituality and UCC spirituality) and thought it was very strong ... " she said. "I've always been very interested in Hawai'i because of that."

Mary Kaye Ritz covers religion and ethics. Reach her at 525-8035 or mritz@honoluluadvertiser.com.