Kailua United Methodist Church is committed to creation care, both in big and small ways, as a way of living out its faith. For example, the congregation regularly participates in community projects aimed at preserving sacred Hawaiian natural areas. Members also switched from disposable to washable cups and water bottles for Sunday morning coffee and church events. Kailua UMC hosts a monthly beach cleanup which offers a special time for fellowship.
(Kailua Beach, Oahu, Hawaii)
Danny Weathers, Kailua UMC: “The beach that we're on right now is consistently rated one of the best in the world. And like you can go anywhere on this beach anywhere at all take a regular colander and just scoop it up and when you're done you will have a handful of little pieces of plastic. And this plastic is not you know it's not just stuff that people have been littering while they're here on the beach this is coming from all over the world.”
Dara Grant, Kailua UMC: “It's amazing to me how in this just like this little area right here how much we're getting and you compare that with the whole giant Beach this beach is what seven miles long or something can you imagine?”
Hudson Belting, Kailua UMC: “We found plastic that could kill turtles and other sea life.”
Stephanie Reis, Kailua UMC: “One of the things I love about this church is that we enjoy doing things together that care for the environment.”
Rev. Brian Belting, Kailua UMC: “I didn't grow up Methodist and so when I was in Divinity School figuring out my call to Ministry there I picked up the social principles and I had never read it before and I was floored that we put a stance in alongside nuclear disarmament that we would care for all of creation and it was one of my inspiring reasons to become Methodist was to see our desire to engage not just in our faith belief but our faith in practice and so it has a core place in my Ministry is to lead our congregation to see caring for creation as a means of faithfulness.”
Dara Grant : “As a church, yes we worship together on Sunday but we're part of a community.”
Casey Brantuas, Kailua UMC: “Well, I just really love helping the Earth it makes me like happy it makes me feel like I've done something good today so it just sets the mood for my day.”
Stephanie Reis: “Some of the things I find interesting that we find are, I found a lot of them they actually are shaped like a cross I think it's just the luck and the draw of how how they break up in the ocean. They wash the shore but it's kind of nice to see every now and then just a random cross appears out of the sand so it's almost like being thanked for helping clean up our world.”
For More information, contact Kailua United Methodist Church.
This video was produced by United Methodist Communications in Nashville, TN. Contact is Joe Iovino.
This video was first posted on August 7, 2023.
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