holycrosshilo Worship Services

Worship for May 3, 2026

Thank you for joining us for this live stream (or recording, as the case may be) of Sunday worship. May it bless you! You may need to click “Play” to launch the stream, which will be live around 9:50 AM.

This service includes the celebration of Holy Communion. If you will be worshiping from home, please prepare and have ready some bread or other staple food and grape juice or another beverage for that portion of the service.

Welcome to the live stream of worship from Church of the Holy Cross for Sunday, May 3, 2026. You will find the service outline below, and you may download and print the PDF to follow more easily. 

Worship Bulletin for May 3 2026 (PDF)Download

Service of Worship May 3, 2026
Fifth Sunday of Easter

Rev. Eric S. Anderson, Pastor

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

Please note that audio and video of this service are being live streamed on the Internet and will be recorded. The right rear section of the sanctuary will not be captured by any cameras. Please be aware that in other sections you may be visible at times.

Prelude: Kum Ba Yah     Kayleen Yuda

Lighting of the Candles

Ringing of the Bell

Welcome:   Rev. Eric S. Anderson

*Call to Worship (based on 1 Peter 2:2-10)         Nalyn Ang

Leader:         Come to Christ, a living stone, rejected by mortals but precious in God’s sight.
People:        We come to be built into a spiritual house, a holy priesthood in Christ.

Leader:         Scripture tells us that God lays a cornerstone chosen and precious.
People:        Those who believe in God will not be put to shame.

Leader:         Come be a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people.

People:        Once we were not a people; now we are God’s people. Once we had not received mercy; now we have received mercy.

All:                 Let us worship God!

* Hymn #72: Sakai no Tomo (Here, O God, Your Servants Gather (v. 1 Jpn, v. 1 – 4 Eng)

* Invocation (based on Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16)      Nalyn Ang

We seek refuge in you, O God. Let your righteousness deliver us. For your name’s sake lead us and guide us. Lead us away from the nets spread for us, for you are our refuge. We commit our spirits into your hands, O God, for you have redeemed us in accordance with your faithfulness. Let your face shine upon your servants as we come to worship you. Amen.

Please be seated

WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD

Anthem: Christ Chok Ewe a Tufich   IYAA

Time with the Children                      Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Scripture:   Nalyn Ang

Acts 7:55-60

But filled with the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him. Then they dragged him out of the city and began to stone him, and the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he died.

John 14:1-14

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, but if you do not, then believe because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”

Sermon: Rough Road     Rev. Eric S. Anderson

WE RESPOND IN WORD AND DEED

Pastoral Prayer              Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer                     
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

Call to Offering                Nalyn Ang

Christian faith is rarely tested in ways that threaten life or well-being. It is regularly tested in gratitude and in generosity. Let us pass the test, and give toward the renewal of our souls. Whether you share your gift here in the church today, through a gift online, or via an envelope in the mail, let the offering now be received.

Offertory: Recitative for Flute            Kayleen Yuda

* Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost – Amen

*Offertory Prayer          Nalyn Ang

We give because you invite us to give, O God. We give because you challenge us to give of ourselves as you have in Jesus. We give because this is one way of living as Jesus lived. Amen.

* Hymn #331: Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life (v. 1-3)

Sacrament of Holy Communion

Invitation

Consecrating the Bread and Cup    

Prayer of Thanksgiving

* Hymn #347: Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ (v. 1 – 3)

Please be seated

Announcements             Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Benediction                      Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Postlude: Rejoice, the Lord is King   Kayleen Yuda

* Please stand if you are able.

Permissions

Kum Ba Yah
Public Domain
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Sekai no Tomo (Here, O God, Your Servants Gather)
Text by Tokuo Yamaguchi, 1958
Trans. by Everett M. Stowe, 1958
© 1958 united Methodist Publishing House/Abingdon Press
Tune TOKYO Japanese Gagaku mode
Arr. by Isao Kozumi, 1958
© 2016 Augsburg Fortress
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life
Text by George Herbert, 1633
Tune THE CALL by Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1911
Public Domain

Recitative for Flute
Contributors: David Paxton
Tune: © 1985 Lorenz Publishing Company,
a division of The Lorenz Corporation

Let Us Talents and Tongues Employ
Text by Fred Kaan, 1975
Tune LINSTEAD Jamaican folk song
Adapt. by Doreen Potter, 1975
Text and tune © 1975 Hope Publishing Company
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Christ Chok Ewe a Tufich
by Anonymous/Public Domain

Rejoice, the Lord is King
Copyright © 1990 Birnamwood Publications (ASCAP),
a division of Morning Star Music Publishers.
Contributors: S Drummond Wolf
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Important Dates and Announcements

Today, May 3 – Board of Trustees meeting after Worship service in the Lounge.

Sundays, 8:30 a.m. Hilo Cross Singers’ Rehearsal in the Lounge.

Mondays, 11:30 a.m. –Pickleball lessons; contact Connie 808-936-7534 or
Ruth (rnduponte07@gmail.com) to sign up.

Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m. – One Song from Church of the Holy Cross streamed live

Wednesdays, 5:00 p.m. Bible Study in person and via Zoom in the Pastor’s Study (see the Weekly Chime for Zoom meeting link).

Other Faith Groups that Meet at Church of the Holy Cross

The United Church of Christ, Pohnpei – Sanctuary, 12 noon
            Rev. Bensis Henry
Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa – Sanctuary, 2:00 p.m.
            Rev. Sitau Ofoia, Jr.
The Bedesta Church – Sanctuary, 4 p.m.   
Rev.  Edmes Edwin

Pastor          Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Moderator             Stefan Tanouye
Lay Reader           Nalyn Ang
Chapel Decoration      Sally and Froilan Queja
Organist      Kayleen Yuda        
Music Director-Accompanist Bob Grove
Hand Bell Choir Director        Anna Kennedy   
IYAA Music Director Stuart Mori
Projected Imagery        Sue Smith
Web Master          Ruth Niino-DuPonte  
Videographers    Eric Tanouye, Bob Smith,
            Mace Peng, Woody Kita, Cindy Debus
Streaming Sound Director Ben Yamaki
Sunday School Teacher          Gloria Kobayashi
Sunday School Aide      Johanna Narruhn
Office Manager Kahealani Mahone-Brooks

We welcome you to worship this day. Church of the Holy Cross seeks to help its members, friends, and visitors follow the guidance of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, encouraging all people to love one another according to the teachings of Jesus. We live and teach the faith, speak good news, minister to people near and far, and work with other households of faith and helping agencies to improve our community and our world. To support our ministries, please visit our Donate Page.

Rev. Eric Anderson Events

Big Island Singers Performing May 1 at 7:00 PM

Big Island Singers, the community choir directed by Doug Albertson, will perform at Church of the Holy Cross on Friday, May 1, at 7:00 pm. The program theme is “Poems, Prayers & Promises,” with music ranging from the European Renaissance to recent composers from the east and west sides of the Pacific.

Eric Whitacre’s setting of Margaret Wise Brown’s classic children’s story Goodnight Moon is on the program, as well as Rosephanye Powell’s rendition of Langston Hughes’ words “To Sit and Dream.” Local composer and accompanist Doug Howell will perform his own “House on the Ocean,” and, of course, John Denver’s classic “Poems, Prayers and Promises” will be sung.

In addition to Friday night at Church of the Holy Cross, Big Island Singers will perform:

  • Saturday, May 2, at 4:00 PM at First United Protestant Church UCC, 1350 Waianuenue Ave., Hilo, and
  • Sunday, May 3, at 4:00 PM at the Center for Spiritual Living, 15-1833 Paradise Dr., Kea’au.
Rev. Eric Anderson What I'm Thinking

What I’m Thinking: Unhappy Story

The death of Stephen in Acts 7 is hardly a happy story. Christianity is not always a straight and well-paved road.

Here’s a transcript:

I’m thinking about the seventh chapter of Acts of the Apostles (Acts 7:55-60), and it is not a happy story. Acts 7 describes the trial and then the execution of Stephen, one of the first deacons of the Christian Church.

While the deacons were selected and assigned to make sure that the members of that Jerusalem Church had enough to eat, it’s very clear that they rapidly had additional duties. Stephen, in particular, was noted for his preaching for declaring the story of Jesus around Jerusalem and saying what it meant for the people, for the faith, for the future.

That got him presented to the temple authorities, arrested, tried.

Most of Acts 7 consists of something we frequently call “The Sermon of Stephen, and it is not a speech designed to make the hearers happy. Stephen accused them and accused their ancestors of resisting the Holy Spirit of God by executing those who had spoken on God’s behalf. Not surprisingly, the judgment went against him. Stephen was dragged out of the city, and they threw rocks at him until he died.

As he lay there — and this is the part of the story that we will be reading on Sunday — as he lay there, he asked Jesus to receive his Spirit, and in a deliberate echo of what Jesus himself had said on the cross, he asked God’s forgiveness on those who were killing him.

The simple truth is that Christianity is not an easy road. It is not a level and graded path for us to follow. It is a winding road. It is a rutted road. It is one in which there are intersections that are not marked, and which way should we go?

Should Stephen have accused his judges in such inflammatory terms? Probably not.

But there was a truth to what he was saying. People in every age, including our own, resist the Holy Spirit of God. People in every age, including our own, set their own interests above those of the people around them. People in every age, including our own, act with cruelty, and with snap judgment, and with a disregard for the truths that they may hear.

Stephen died, yet he died with forgiveness on his lips. Stephen died, and he died with his faith in Jesus.

May we live with forgiveness on our lips. May we live with a sense of Jesus’ constant presence. And when the road does get severely rough, may we find Stephen’s courage and rejoice in Stephen’s faith.

That’s what I’m thinking. I’m curious to hear what you’re thinking. Leave me your thoughts in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.

Rev. Eric Anderson Sermons

Sermon: No Stranger

April 26, 2026

Acts 2:42-47
John 10:1-10

Chapters nine and ten do a lot of heavy lifting in the Gospel of John – that is, they are packed with event and import and tension and meaning. It’s not the most poetic writing in the Gospel – I think we have to say that “In the beginning was the Word” gets the poetry prize – but it is poetic. It’s got a lot of moving characters. John started with Jesus and his disciples and introduced a man who had been blind from birth, then brought in some of Jerusalem’s senior Pharisees and a gathering crowd. The healed man was questioned, his parents were questioned, Jesus was questioned.

As is usual in John’s Gospel, the story begins with a miraculous sign, continues through an extended discussion – which here is pretty much an argument – and leads to one of Jesus’ “I am” statements. Unusually for John’s Gospel, chapters nine and ten have one sign and at least two extended dialogues, but three “I am” statements.

Jesus said the first one before even performing the miraculous sign. “I am the light of the world,” he said, and then applied the healing mud to the man’s eyes. The second appears in the passage read just now: “I am the gate for the sheep.” That’s not so well known, though John Narruhn preached a great sermon about that a couple years ago and folks remembered it during Bible Study.

The third follows this passage right at the beginning of verse 11: “I am the good shepherd.”

That’s a lot of “I am” for one sign and a couple conversations. This passage is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Not everybody was up for it.

Jaime Clark-Soles writes at Working Preacher, “Here John showcases Jesus’ habit of conveying truth not propositionally, but poetically. Jesus carries on about sheepfolds, gates, thieves, sheep, and gatekeepers, strangers, and voices. After five verses he pauses and notes that they haven’t got any idea what he’s talking about (v. 6). So, what is an effective speaker to do at that point? Explain the figure of speech (paroimia)? Drop the use of metaphor? Apologize for using such elevated speech and dumb things down, put it all in simplistic terms? Maybe. But that’s certainly not what our Lord and Savior did. Rather, he again (v. 7, palin) throws out the same word-pictures. The whole Gospel of John is nothing if not a piling up of metaphors, figures of speech. How else are we to convey truth about God? What single image, what single word could suffice? Plain speech (parresia) is fine as far as it goes (see 16:26, 29) – but it can’t go far enough to ‘explain’ God.”

If you’re having trouble following, you’re in good company, because Jesus was trying to describe the indescribable, explain the unexplainable. I have a lot of sympathy. For the last couple weeks people have been saying to me, “You must be so proud about your daughter’s ordination.” I say yes, because I am.

“Proud,” however, is at one and the same time the right word and the wrong word. It’s too little a word to encompass all the love I have for Rebekah and her brother Brendan. It doesn’t quite include the satisfaction I have as a church leader to see a talented and capable person accepted into the ranks of leadership. It doesn’t begin to account for the fears I have for someone I love who will be disappointed many times by the likely failures of the church to fully appreciate her gifts, or that people will discount her for her gender, sexuality, her age, her disability, her ordination (yes, that counts against folks in some areas of life), or simply the fact that she’s blond. I’m her dad. I worry about those things.

There’s no word for all that. No one word. I just wrote 132 words and, you know what? Those didn’t do it, either.

So what can we tease out of all these words Jesus spoke in these ten verses of John?

The point of a sheepfold is to protect the lives of the sheep. Sheep can’t stay in an enclosure all the time – they’ll eat everything in sight pretty rapidly – but they’re safer from the overnight dangers in the sheepfold. It’s not perfect. Jesus warned of thieves and bandits, after all, some of whom trying to imitate a legitimate gatekeeper, and some of them climbing over the walls.

We’re familiar with that, aren’t we? We know the risks of burglars and of con artists, the ones who use threats of violence to extract things from us, and the ones who pretend to be someone trustworthy to tease our resources from us.

We know the suffering of people whose spouses or parents abuse them. We know the oppression of people whose governments decide that a group of people will not be protected, indeed will be abused, by the very ones who claim rightful authority. Christians have been an oppressed minority in some places at some times. The spectacle of Christians encouraging and participating in the abuse of people at the margins is a betrayal of everything Jesus taught and lived, and a moral injury to the Church.

Gatekeepers let sheep into the sheepfold, and out again to pasture. It’s a vital role. In the case of actual sheep, they don’t have the limbs to open a gate. Somebody has to do it for them. In the human world, plenty of people can function as gatekeepers, so the question really becomes: how do we know who to let in and let out? There’s an artist named David Hayward, a former pastor, whose work looks closely at this question, because let’s face it, the Church in many ages has been much better at closing the gates on people than opening them. In so much of Hayward’s art, the figure of Jesus embraces a sheep that has been rejected by the rest of the flock, who watch in confusion as Jesus comforts the one they discarded.

As Debie Thomas writes at JourneyWithJesus.net, “’I am the gate.’  Not, ‘I am the wall, the barrier, the enclosure, the dividing line.’  Not, ‘I am that which separates, isolates, segregates, and incarcerates.’  I am the gate.  The door.  The opening.  The passageway.  The place where freedom begins.”

“The sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Who will we trust to admit us to a safe sheepfold, and who will we trust to open the gate to a fruitful pasture? One whose voice we know, or whose form we recognize, or whose familiar touch wakes us from our sleep. Last week I spoke of recognizing Jesus as the one who feeds us. This week that’s still true – the gate swings open to the grasslands where the sheep graze.

We recognize Jesus also as the one who protects us: protects us from sin by teaching us good ways, by setting an example to follow, and most of all by forgiving us when we fail to follow lessons or example. Jesus protects us from death by opening a new gate to life. Jesus protects us from evil by giving us resources to keep it from taking over our hearts. I wish I could say that Jesus protects us from the evil acts of others, but Christian history abounds with martyrs who suffered, and so may we. When we maintain our sense of grace and refuse to let evil into our spirits, Jesus stands with us.

We recognize Jesus as one who welcomes more and more into the flock, into the sacred community. In verse 16 of this chapter, he said, “I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.” We know the voice of the shepherd and the gatekeeper because it keeps calling new people to join us. If we were to close the gate and bar it, if we were to stand upon the walls and defend them against any trying to join us, if we were to declare ourselves the be-all and end-all of Christianity, well. We would not be growing or thriving, would we?

Most of all, we would have replaced Jesus’ voice of welcome with our voice of rejection. At that point, can we call ourselves followers of Jesus at all?

Every gate on this campus makes a sound when it moves. There’s the ringing clang when it closes and shuts, and when it’s closed, small children have a more difficult time before running out into traffic, and that’s a good thing. There’s a bit of a squeal when it opens, and when it’s opened, we come in to worship, to enjoy a meal, to play a game, to comfort a grieving friend, to learn something new, or to make some decisions about the future.

That’s a voice of Jesus I recognize. As I recognize it in our words of welcome, and our efforts to protect or comfort our needy neighbors. There’s the voice of Jesus. No stranger to us at all.

Amen.

by Eric Anderson

Watch the Recorded Sermon

Pastor Eric writes his sermons in advance, but he makes changes while preaching. The prepared text does not match the sermon as preached.

The illustration is The Good Shepherd by Henry Ossawa Tanner, ca. 1918 – This file was donated to Wikimedia Commons as part of a project by the National Gallery of Art. Please see the Gallery’s Open Access Policy., CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81324376.

holycrosshilo Worship Services

Worship for April 26, 2026

Thank you for joining us for this live stream (or recording, as the case may be) of Sunday worship. May it bless you! You may need to click “Play” to launch the stream, which will be live around 9:50 AM.

Welcome to the live stream of worship from Church of the Holy Cross for Sunday, April 19, 2026. You will find the service outline below, and you may download and print the PDF to follow more easily. 

Worship Bulletin for April 26 2026 (PDF)Download
Story: Good Advice (PDF)Download
Sermon: No Stranger (PDF)Download
Pastoral Prayer (PDF)Download

Service of Worship April 26, 2026
Fourth Sunday of Easter

Rev. Eric S. Anderson, Pastor

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

Please note that audio and video of this service are being live streamed on the Internet and will be recorded. The right rear section of the sanctuary will not be captured by any cameras. Please be aware that in other sections you may be visible at times.

Prelude: All Creatures of God and King                  Kayleen Yuda

Lighting of the Candles

Ringing of the Bell

Welcome                            Rev. Eric S. Anderson

* Call to Worship (based on Psalm 23)                  John Narruhn

Leader:   The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
People:  God makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters.

Leader:   God restores my soul, leading me in the paths of righteousness.
People:  I may walk through the darkest valley but I fear no evil, for God is with me, comforting me.

Leader:   God invites me to a table, anoints my head with oil, and pours my cup to overflowing.

People:  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. This morning in God’s house we will rejoice and pray.

All:           Let us worship God!

* Hymn #70: God Is Here! As We Your People Meet (v. 1 – 4)

* Invocation (based on 1 Peter 2:19-25)               John Narruhn

Jesus committed no sin, yet he suffered, O God. He returned no abuse, made no threats. He trusted himself to you. May we display such trust and live for your righteousness. May we be gathered to you as a shepherd gathers the sheep, O Guardian of our souls. Amen.

Please be seated

WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD

Anthem: Here I Am, Lord            Teresa Mondoy, Joanne Pocsidio, Genie Phillips

Time with the Children                      Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Scripture: Acts 2:42-47 John Narruhn

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Awe came upon everyone because many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

John 10:1-10

“Very truly, I tell you, anyone who does not enter the sheepfold by the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a bandit. The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. They will not follow a stranger, but they will run from him because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.

So again Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and bandits, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters by me will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Sermon: No Stranger     Rev. Eric S. Anderson

WE RESPOND IN WORD AND DEED

Pastoral Prayer              Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer                     
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

* Hymn #479: God Is My Shepherd (v. 1-5)

Call to Offering                John Narruhn

For the most part, sheep know who they can trust: the one who cares for them, protects them, and feeds them. God has been trustworthy for us. Let us be trustworthy for others. Whether you share your gift here in the church today, through a gift online, or via an envelope in the mail, let the offering now be received.

Offertory: Larghetto      Kayleen Yuda

* Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost – Amen

* Offertory Prayer         John Narruhn

Accept these gifts, Good Shepherd, so that those who lack a safe place for body, mind, or soul may find one. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

* Hymn #506: What a Friend We Have in Jesus (v. 1 – 3)

Please be seated

Announcements             Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Benediction                      Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Postlude: Great God of Glory              Kayleen Yuda

* Please stand if you are able.

PERMISSIONS

All Creatures of Our God and King
Michael O Springer
Permission granted by composer

God Is Here! As We Your People Meet
Text by Fred Pratt Green, 1978
© 1979 Hope Publishing Company
Tune ABBOT’S LEIGH by Cyril V. Taylor, 1941
© 1942, renewed 1970 Hope Publishing Company
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Here I Am, Lord
Daniel L. Schutte
Arr. Lloyd Larson
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

God Is My Shepherd
Text from Scottish Psalter, 1650
Adapt. by Lavon Bayler, 1992
© 1992 the Pilgrim Press
Tune BROTHER JAMES’ AIR by James Leith Macbeth Bain
© Oxford University Press
Streamed by permission CCLI License #1595965

Larghetto
W. A. Mozart
Public Domain

What a Friend We Have in Jesus
Text by Joseph Scrivens, 1855
Tune ERIE by Charles C. Converse, 1868
Public Domain

Great God of Glory
David Paxton
Tune: © 1985 Lorenz Publishing Company,
a division of The Lorenz Corporation
(Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

IMPORTANT DATES

Friday, May 1, 7:00 p.m.  – Big Island Singers Concert, Sanctuary
Sundays, 8:30 a.m. – Holy Cross Singers Rehearsal in the Lounge
Mondays, 11:30 a.m. — Pickleball lessons; contact Connie 808-936-7534 or
                                                Ruth at rnduponte07@gmail.com to sign up
Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m. – One Song from Church of the Holy Cross streamed live
Wednesdays, 5:00 p.m. – Bible Study in person, in Pastor’s Study or via Zoom
Fridays, 10:00 a.m. – Bell Choir Rehearsal in the Building of Faith Meeting Room

Other Faith Groups that meet at Church of the Holy Cross
The United Church of Christ, Pohnpei – Sanctuary, 12 noon
            Rev. Bensis Henry
Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa – Sanctuary, 2:00 p.m.
            Rev. Sitau Ofoia, Jr.
The Bedesta Church – Sanctuary, 4 p.m.   
Rev.  Edmes Edwin

Pastor          Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Moderator             Lorraine Davis
Vice Moderator Elwood Kita
Lay Reader        John Narruhn
Chapel Decorations   Sally & Froilan Queja
Organist / Pianist     Kayleen Yuda   
Music Director-Accompanist Bob Grove
Guest Vocalists Teresa Mondoy, Joanne Pocsidio
Hula performed by Genie Phillips
Hand Bell Director        Anna Kennedy 
IYAA Choir Director Stuart Mori  
Projected Imagery        Sue Smith
Live Stream Director         Ruth Niino-DuPonte. Bob Smith 
Videographers    Eric Tanouye, Bob Smith, Woody Kita,
            Mace Peng, Cindy Debus
Sound Engineer Ben Yamaki
Sunday School Teacher          Gloria Kobayashi
Sunday School Aide      Johanna Narruhn

We welcome you to worship this day. Church of the Holy Cross seeks to help its members, friends, and visitors follow the guidance of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, encouraging all people to love one another according to the teachings of Jesus. We live and teach the faith, speak good news, minister to people near and far, and work with other households of faith and helping agencies to improve our community and our world. To support our ministries, please visit our Donate Page.

Rev. Eric Anderson What I'm Thinking

What I’m Thinking: Named and Loved

Jesus compared himself to a shepherd, one whose sheep recognized, and one who knew all the names of the ones he cared for.

Here’s a transcript:

I’m thinking about the tenth chapter of John’s Gospel (John 10:1-10). This opening section leads toward one of the better known “I am” statements in John’s book, when Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.”

Leading up to that, Jesus spoke about how sheep recognize their shepherd and how shepherds know the names of their sheep. “I am the good shepherd,” Jesus said.

Names were extraordinarily important in the ancient Middle Eastern world. Moses wanted to know God’s name. Adam gave names to the animals in the Garden of Eden. And Jesus was given a name which means salvation.

Names were important. Names still are important.

Someone who knows you is somebody who will remember your name. Somebody who values you will work to remember your name. Someone who loves you knows your name.

Jesus told those folks 2,000 years ago that he knew their names, that God knew their names. And through John, Jesus still speaks to us 2,000 years later to reassure us that God knows our names. God cares about us. God loves us.

That’s what I am thinking. I’m curious to hear what you’re thinking. Leave me your thoughts in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.

Rev. Eric Anderson Sermons

Sermon: The Moment of Recognition

April 19, 2026

Acts 2:14a, 36-41
Luke 24:17-35

We come to this story on the third Sunday of the Easter season. We’re in a “move on” kind of place. Jesus rose two weeks ago, after all. Last Sunday we heard about events a week later – that’s convenient timing, isn’t it? So we’re ready for the next part of the story.

And today, the dear editors of the Revised Common Lectionary have brought us right back to Easter morning when uncertainty, anxiety, and fear dominated the minds of Jesus’ disciples. The Rev. Barbara Messner captured it beautifully in her poem “You on the Road to Emmaus” on her BarbPoetPriest blog:

Sometimes all you can do is
walk away:
away from the crosses on a hill
and a tomb whether empty or not,
away from your failures as followers
and the loss of your hope and purpose,
away from overwhelming emotion,
that sink hole of anger, grief and fear.

Rev. Barbara Messner

It’s worth remembering that, on Easter morning, Jesus’ closest friends didn’t expect his resurrection. The Gospel writers all report that Jesus had told them, not once but repeatedly, and that they simply didn’t get it. Every Easter account emphasizes what a deeply surprising event it was.

As we join Cleopas and his unnamed companion, they had left Jerusalem with an initial destination of Emmaus. As Katherine Shaner writes at Working Preacher, “Cleopas and his companion were likely very scared about their future. They had seen the brutality of which the Romans were capable. They were not the most immediate targets of this Roman cruelty, but they were attuned to the stories of those who were. They were probably trying to figure out what to do next.”

Emmaus probably wasn’t their ultimate goal. They may not have had one in mind. Just – get out of the city, away from the priests, away from the Romans.

Cleopas and his friend had stayed in Jerusalem long enough that morning to hear that Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and some other women (Luke wasn’t clear about how many) had found the tomb open and empty. They’d heard that two figures in white (angels?) had told the women Jesus was alive. They’d even heard that Simon Peter had visited the tomb himself, finding no angels but also no body of Jesus.

Frankly, the likeliest possibility was that the Romans had decided not to let Jesus rest in peace. Desecration of corpses was one of the options for humiliating a defeated foe or condemned rebel – which was how they regarded Jesus. Most of Jesus’ male disciples disregarded the women’s account of angels. They called it an “idle tale,” according to Luke.

All in all, Cleopas and his friend were taking the smart road away from the city where an active campaign against Jesus was likely to start taking in his followers, too.

And then they met Jesus.

Christians reading Luke have spent the last nearly two thousand years trying to understand why Jesus’ two disciples didn’t recognize him. Greg Carey offers at Working Preacher, “I find it more compelling to believe it is the disciples’ expectations that prevents their recognition. This is not the context they expected for an encounter with Jesus.” Michal Beth Dinkler writes, “What if the disciples cannot recognize Jesus because their opinions are already fully formed? Like all humans, their assumptions shape what they talk about, and what they talk about shapes what they see.”

Honestly, I’m not sure it makes a difference. Biblical writers often mention that recognizing the risen Jesus is harder than you’d think. Luke himself, in the next portion of this chapter, wrote that Jesus’ appearance to his gathered disciples terrified them. They thought he was a ghost. Mary Magdalene imagined he was a gardener. The Apostle Paul, felled to the ground by a bright light, had to ask, “Who are you, Lord?”

I think that’s our experience as well. Recognizing the risen Jesus isn’t easy. The world is complicated and quick-moving. People raise up all sorts of things as good and condemn other things as evil. There are theologies that assert that God directly commands some wars, and there are theologies that claim that God condemns all wars. There are theologies that say that wealth and power are signs of virtue, and there are theologies that say that God prefers the poor. There are theologies that say only a few will be received into God’s realm, and there are theologies that say that everyone will be welcomed into heaven.

With such a range and so many possibilities in between, how do we recognize the risen Jesus?

For hundreds of years, Christians have celebrated a triumphant Jesus. Western art has often shown Jesus trampling demons beneath his feet. John Milton’s Paradise Lost opens with an account of a mysterious Christ figure defeating the legions of Satan. The Emperor Constantine, the first to be baptized a Christian (just a few days before he died, but he was), reportedly carried a shield marked with the Chi Rho, the first two letters of Christ, into the Battle of Milvian Bridge. Later on Christian rulers and even religious leaders would go into battle bearing Christian symbols. Bishops eventually encouraged the Crusades, which brought so much death and suffering to the Middle East and poisoned relations between Muslims and Christians to this very day.

Triumphant Jesus seems very curious to me, given that he went to his death without resistance. Triumphant Jesus seems very curious to me, given that the word “triumph” appears only three times in the New Testament, and never in reference to military success. James used it to write, “Mercy triumphs over judgement.”

I think there’s a better possibility in Christ the healer. For Mark the Gospel writer, Jesus’ power to heal and willingness to heal marked him as the Anointed One. It’s worth observing again that in Mark, Jesus instructed those who had been healed to praise God for it and not himself. The point was their wellness, not Jesus’ own reputation. Far more than triumph, I think you’re more likely to find the risen Christ when healing has taken place.

Then there’s Christ the teacher. “Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures,” Luke wrote. All four of the Gospel writers made sure to emphasize the power, the wisdom, and especially the truth of Jesus’ teachings. They worked to support them with Scripture, sometimes as Jesus had done, and sometimes because they’d found those Bible references themselves. As a child of a Galilean village, Jesus grew up in an environment in which proper religious practice was based on knowing the Scriptures, considering the different ways they might be interpreted, engaging in spirited discussion of different ways to act based upon them, and choosing what you do and how you live based on those learnings and conversations. Honestly, shouldn’t Cleopas and his friend have recognized him right there? That’s what they were used to. That’s what they’d been hearing Jesus do. They even wondered at how they’d missed it. “Were not our hearts burning within uswhile he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”

That’s not what did it, though, was it?

Eric Barreto writes at Working Preacher, “For Luke, however, Jesus is most Jesus at a quotidian table, at an ordinary meal infused with significance because of the people gathered around the food. Jesus is there at this table but so also all the sinners and tax collectors with whom Jesus shared meals… So, it’s instructive that it’s not his teaching that open their eyes. It’s not his presence. It’s his sharing of bread with his friends. It’s his blessing of food. In this sharing of bread at an ordinary table, we catch a glimpse of Jesus’ transformative kingdom.”

The moment of recognition came when they were fed.

Our moment of recognition comes when we are fed.

Others’ moment of recognition comes when they are fed.

As Mahatma Ghandi said, “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”

I think it’s about more than the deep hunger of extreme poverty. I think that the setting of a meal, of a table, is one in which relationships get formed and strengthened – also, I grant you, it can be a place where arguments and conflicts get formed and aggravated. When we feed one another, we at least begin in a space of caring, of compassion, of love and sharing.

When Jesus broke the bread for his two not-so-observant friends that day, he broke through to their hearts. They knew their minds had been expanded. They knew their bodies would be satisfied. Now they knew also that the one who had done that was the One in whom they had hoped, alive again beyond hope, alive again beyond despair.

“When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him.”

May we always recognize Jesus at the table, in the breaking of the bread.

Amen.

by Eric Anderson

Watch the Recorded Sermon

Pastor Eric makes changes while preaching, sometimes intentionally, and sometimes accidentally.

The image is The Supper at Emmaus by an Anonymous Genoese painter, active in the second half of the 17th-century – Acervo de Obras de Arte Europeia em Coleções Brasileiras (Plus Ultra): info; image, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30310751.

holycrosshilo Worship Services

Worship for April 19, 2026

Thank you for joining us for this live stream (or recording, as the case may be) of Sunday worship. May it bless you! You may need to click “Play” to launch the stream, which will be live around 9:50 AM.

Welcome to the live stream of worship from Church of the Holy Cross for Sunday, April 19, 2026. You will find the service outline below, and you may download and print the PDF to follow more easily. 

Worship Service for April 19, 2026 (PDF)Download
Story: Seeing Further (PDF)Download
Sermon: The Moment of Recognition (PDF)Download
Pastoral Prayer (PDF)Download

Service of Worship April 19, 2026
Third Sunday of Easter

Rev. Eric S. Anderson, Pastor

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

Please note that audio and video of this service are being live streamed on the Internet and will be recorded. The right rear section of the sanctuary will not be captured by any cameras. Please be aware that in other sections you may be visible at times.

Prelude: Berceuse-James Denton                                                                                                                           Kayleen Yuda

Lighting of the Candles

Ringing of the Bell

Welcome:                                                                                 Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Call to Worship (based on Psalm 116:12-19)                                    Anne Sadayasu

Leader:         What shall we return to the LORD for all we have received?
People:        Let us lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD!

Leader:         Let us pay our vows to the LORD in the presence of all people.
People:        Let us declare that the LORD holds us in life and in death.

Leader:         Let us offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving in the presence of all people!
People:        Here in God’s house we will gather, sing, and pray.

All:                 Let us worship God!

* Hymn #255: Jesus, Sovereign, Savior (v. 1 – 3)

* Invocation (based on 1 Peter 1:17-23)                                            Anne Sadayasu

We know the futility of much of what we do, O God. We, like those around us, pursue comforts and perishable things. Even silver and gold will eventually succumb to time. Strengthen our trust and confidence in you today, O God, for in the resurrection of Jesus we see that there is life greater than what we have experienced or imagined. Make us new again in this time of worship. Amen.

Please be seated

WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD

Anthem: O Dearest Lord, Thy Sacred Head; Were You There Len Miyazano
Bob Grove
Eric Anderson

Time with the Children                                                             Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Scripture: Acts 2:14a, 36-41                                                                 Anne Sadayasu

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them,

“Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.”

And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”

So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

Luke 24:13-35

Now on that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem,

and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.

While they were talking and discussing, Jesus himself came near and went with them,

but their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

And he said to them, “What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?” They stood still, looking sad.

Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?”

He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,

and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him.

But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place.

Moreover, some women of our group astounded us. They were at the tomb early this morning, and when they did not find his body there they came back and told us that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who said that he was alive.

Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see him.”

Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared!

Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?”

Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures.

As they came near the village to which they were going, he walked ahead as if he were going on.

But they urged him strongly, saying, “Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.” So he went in to stay with them.

When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.

Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him, and he vanished from their sight.

They said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road, while he was opening the scriptures to us?”

That same hour they got up and returned to Jerusalem, and they found the eleven and their companions gathered together.

They were saying, “The Lord has risen indeed, and he has appeared to Simon!”

Then they told what had happened on the road and how he had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

Sermon: The Moment of Recognition                                               Rev. Eric S. Anderson

WE RESPOND IN WORD AND DEED

Pastoral Prayer                                                                              Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Lord’s Prayer      
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

* Hymn #343: Jesus Took the Bread (v. 1-4)

Call to Offering                                                                                      Anne Sadayasu

We say that Jesus gave us his life, and he did. He gave us his life when he used it to teach and heal. He gave us his life when he died on the cross. He gave us his life when he rose and lived again. In response to such a gift, let us give as well. Whether you share your gift here in the church today, through a gift online, or via an envelope in the mail, let the offering now be received.

Offertory: Aria-Leonardo Vinci                                                               Kayleen Yuda

* Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost – Amen

* Offertory Prayer                                                                              Anne Sadayasu

We rejoice in the life of Jesus given for us, O God. We honor that life with these gifts of our own, for the further life of the world. Amen.

* Hymn #253: Yours Is the Glory, Resurrected One! (v. 1 – 3 Eng.)

Please be seated

Announcements                                                                        Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Benediction                                                                               Rev. Eric S. Anderson

Postlude: March from Two Oratorios                                                   Kayleen Yuda

* Please stand if you are able.

PERMISSIONS

Berceuse
James Denton
© 1985 Lorenz Publishing Company, a division of The Lorenz Corporation (Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Jesus, Sovereign, Savior
Text by Patrick M. Kirkland
Public Domain
Tune KING’S WESTON by Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1925
Public Domain

O Dearest Lord, Thy Sacred Head
Were You There
Arr. by David N. Johnson, 1975
© 1975 Augsburg Publishing House
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Jesus Took the Bread
Text by Ruth Duck, 1982
Tune NEW HOPE by Ruth Duck, 1982
Arr. by Randall Sensmeier, 1982
Copyright © 1992 G.I.A. Publications, Inc.
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Aria
Contributors: George Blake, Leonardo Vinci
© 1986 Lorenz Publishing Company, a division of The Lorenz Corporation (Admin. by Music Services)

Yours Is the Glory, Resurrected One!
Text by Edmond L. Budry, 1904
Trans. New Century Hymnal, 1993
© 1993 the Pilgrim Press
Tune JUDAS MACCABEUS by G. F. Handel, 1751
Public Domain
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

March from Occasional Oratorio
Instrumental|
Contributors: Janet Linker, G F Handel
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

IMPORTANT DATES


Today, April 19 – Board of Deacons Meeting after worship service

Sundays, 8:30 a.m. – Holy Cross Singers Rehearsal in the Lounge
Mondays, 11:30 a.m. — Pickleball lessons; contact Connie 808-936-7534 or
                                                Ruth at rnduponte07@gmail.com to sign up
Wednesdays, 11:00 a.m. – One Song from Church of the Holy Cross streamed live
Wednesdays, 5:00 p.m. – Bible Study in person, in Pastor’s Study or via Zoom
Fridays, 10:00 a.m. – Bell Choir Rehearsal in the Building of Faith Meeting Room

Other Faith Groups that meet at Church of the Holy Cross
The United Church of Christ, Pohnpei – Sanctuary, 12 noon
            Rev. Bensis Henry
Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa – Sanctuary, 2:00 p.m.
            Rev. Sitau Ofoia, Jr.
The Bedesta Church – Sanctuary, 4 p.m.   
Rev.  Edmes Edwin

Pastor          Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Moderator             Lorraine Davis
Vice Moderator Elwood Kita
Lay Reader        
Chapel Decorations  
Organist / Pianist     Kayleen Yuda   
Music Director-Accompanist Bob Grove
Hand Bell Director        Anna Kennedy 
IYAA Choir Director Stuart Mori  
Projected Imagery        Sue Smith
Live Stream Director         Ruth Niino-DuPonte. Bob Smith 
Videographers    Eric Tanouye, Bob Smith, Woody Kita,
            Mace Peng, Cindy Debus
Sound Engineer Ben Yamaki
Sunday School Teacher          Gloria Kobayashi
Sunday School Aide      Johanna Narruhn

We welcome you to worship this day. Church of the Holy Cross seeks to help its members, friends, and visitors follow the guidance of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, encouraging all people to love one another according to the teachings of Jesus. We live and teach the faith, speak good news, minister to people near and far, and work with other households of faith and helping agencies to improve our community and our world. To support our ministries, please visit our Donate Page.

Rev. Eric Anderson What I'm Thinking

What I’m Thinking: Fed by Jesus

One of the first encounters with Jesus after his resurrection took place on a road, where he fed their minds and spirits, and then at a table, where he fed their bodies. Feeding people is at the heart of Christian faith.

Here’s a transcript:

I’m thinking about a passage in the twenty-fourth chapter of Luke’s Gospel (Luke 24:13-35) that I think at least a little bit about every month in the life cycle of Church of the Holy Cross. It’s the story of Jesus’ encounter with two of his disciples on the day of his resurrection, on Easter.

He met them on a road as they were leaving Jerusalem. They walked with him. They talked with him. He explained things about his death and the reports of his resurrection that nobody at that point much understood. He sat at a table with them. He broke bread and that is when they knew who he was, that is when they recognized him.

I mention this story every time we move into celebration of the Lord’s Supper, as we come to the table of Holy Communion. Because to my mind this reality of knowing Jesus when he feeds us is central, not just to our understanding of the sacrament, but to our understanding of Christianity itself. Christianity is about seeing that people are fed, fed in body, fed in mind as he did along that road, fed in spirit, in ways that are unique to the exercise of religion in general, but also unique of course to the practice of the faith of the followers of Jesus.

We feed people and we are also fed.

Jesus fed them on a hillside miraculously with bread and fish. Jesus fed them by the lakeside with understanding and knowledge. Jesus fed them in the days after his resurrection with a Holy Spirit that has continued to guide us, inspire us, and empower us to this very day.

So come, let us be fed. Come, let us feed others on the spirit of Jesus Christ.

That’s what I’m thinking. I’m curious to hear what you’re thinking. Leave me your thoughts in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.

holycrosshilo Worship Services

Worship for April 12, 2026

Thank you for joining us for this live stream (or recording, as the case may be) of Sunday worship. May it bless you! You may need to click “Play” to launch the stream, which will be live around 9:50 AM.

Welcome to the live stream of worship from Church of the Holy Cross for Sunday, April 12, 2026. You will find the service outline below, and you may download and print the PDF to follow more easily. 

Worship Bulletin for April 12 2026 (PDF)Download

Service of Worship April 12, 2026
Second Sunday of Easter

Rev. Eric S. Anderson, Pastor
Rev. Dr. Jonathan Roach, Guest Pastor

WE GATHER TO WORSHIP GOD

Please note that audio and video of this service are being live streamed on the Internet and will be recorded. The right rear section of the sanctuary will not be captured by any cameras. Please be aware that in other sections you may be visible at times.

Prelude: Fanfare – Voluntary on “Darwall’s 148th”                                    Kayleen Yuda

Lighting of the Candles

Ringing of the Bell

Welcome:                                                                                                         Rev. Jonathan Roach

* Call to Worship (based on 1 Peter 1:3-9)                                                     Nina Buchanan

Leader:         Blessed be our God who has given us Jesus Christ!
People:        By God’s mercy, we have been born to a living hope in Christ’s resurrection.

Leader:         This is an unfading, imperishable inheritance kept in heaven for us,
People:        God’s protection through faith for a salvation beyond time.

Leader:         You have not seen Christ, yet you love him and believe in him.
People:        In this faith we raise our voices in indescribable, glorious joy!

All:     Let us worship God!

* Hymn #570: We Shall Overcome (v. 1 – 4)

* Please join me in the Invocation (based on Psalm an16)                                                                                                        Nina Buchanan

Protect us, O God, for we seek our refuge in you. Though we might seek help in other places, you alone are our chosen portion. You hold our souls. Therefore our hearts are glad and our bodies rejoice in your security. You show us the path of life, and we give thanks forevermore. Amen.

Please be seated

WE SHARE THE WORD OF GOD

Anthem: Concertino for Clarinette in B                            Mace Peng and Kayleen Yuda

Time with the Children                                                                                   Rev. Jonathan Roach

Scripture:                                                                                                         Nina Buchanan

John 20:24-29

But Thomas (who was called the Twin[a]), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Sermon: Deep Wounds                                                                                                         Rev. Jonathan Roach

WE RESPOND IN WORD AND DEED

Pastoral Prayer                                                                                                          Rev. Jonathan Roach

Please join me in the Lord’s Prayer         
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.

* Hymn #553: There Is a Balm in Gilead (v. 1-3)

Call to Offering                                                                                                        Nina Buchanan

Do not doubt, but believe, said Jesus. One of the ways we live our faith is with generosity toward our church, our neighbors, and the strangers on the far side of the world. Whether you share your gift here in the church today, through a gift online, or via an envelope in the mail, let the offering now be received.

Offertory: Andante                                                                                                 Kayleen Yuda

* Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost – Amen

* Offertory Prayer                                                                                                          Nina Buchanan

You have given us your Spirit, O God, before we even asked. You have also give us the freedom to question and even to doubt. Accept these gifts offered from our faith, and may our faith grow as these offerings do good in the world by your guidance and grace. Amen.

* Hymn #423: Great Is Your Faithfulness (v. 1 – 3)

Please be seated

Announcements                                                                                                         Rev. Jonathan Roach

Benediction                                                                                                         Rev. Jonathan Roach

Postlude: Elizabethan Postlude                                                                                                 Kayleen Yuda

                                                                           

* Please stand if you are able.

PERMISSIONS

Fanfare – Voluntary on “Darwall’s 148th”
Tune by John Darwall
Arr. By George Blake
© 2023 Lorenz Corporation (Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

There Is a Balm in Gilead
African-American spiritual
Public Domain
Tune BALM IN GILEAD, African-American spiritual
Public Domain

Concertino for Clarinette in B
By C.M. von Weber, 1811
Public Domain

We Shall Overcome
Text United States trad.
Tune WE SHALL OVERCOME United States trad.
Public Domain

Andante
By Ludwig van Beethoven
Public Domain

Great Is Your Faithfulness
Text by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923
Tune FAITHFULNESS by William M. Runyan, 1923
© 1923, renewed 1951 by Hope Publishing Company
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

Elizabethan Postlude
By Craig Penfield
© 2021 Lorenz Corporation (Admin. by Music Services)
Streamed by permission ONELICENSE A-735890

IMPORTANT DATES


Sundays, 8:30 AM – Holy Cross Singers Rehearsal in the Lounge

Mondays, 11:30 AM — Pickleball lessons; contact Connie 808-936-7534 or
Ruth at rnduponte07@gmail.com to sign up.

Wednesdays, 11:00 AM– One Song from Church of the Holy Cross streamed live

Wednesdays, 5 PM – Bible Study in Pastor’s Study and via Zoom (The meeting link and Bible references will be in the Weekly Chime)

Fridays, 10 AM – Hand Bell Choir Rehearsal in Building of Faith’s meeting room

Other Faith Groups that meet at Church of the Holy Cross
The United Church of Christ, Pohnpei – Sanctuary, 12 noon
            Rev. Bensis Henry
Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa – Sanctuary, 2:00 p.m.
            Rev. Sitau Ofoia, Jr.
The Bedesta Church – Sanctuary, 4 p.m.   
Rev.  Edmes Edwin

Pastor          Rev. Eric S. Anderson
Guest Pastor Rev. Dr. Jonathan Roach
Moderator             Lorraine Davis
Vice Moderator Elwood Kita
Lay Reader        Nina Buchanan
Chapel Decorations   Michi Koizumi
Organist / Pianist     Kayleen Yuda   
Music Director-Accompanist Bob Grove
Hand Bell Director        Anna Kennedy 
IYAA Choir Director Stuart Mori  
Projected Imagery        Sue Smith
Live Stream Director         Ruth Niino-DuPonte. Bob Smith 
Videographers    Eric Tanouye, Bob Smith, Woody Kita,
            Mace Peng, Cindy Debus
Sound Engineer Ben Yamaki
Sunday School Teacher          Gloria Kobayashi
Sunday School Aide      Johanna Narruhn

We welcome you to worship this day. Church of the Holy Cross seeks to help its members, friends, and visitors follow the guidance of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit, encouraging all people to love one another according to the teachings of Jesus. We live and teach the faith, speak good news, minister to people near and far, and work with other households of faith and helping agencies to improve our community and our world. To support our ministries, please visit our Donate Page.