ANNUAL CLERGY CONFERENCE 2023
By The Rev. Canon Sandy Graham

​[August 24, 2023] ​Our clergy met in Kapa‘a (Kaua‘i) for the Annual Clergy Conference on August 21-23, 2023, at the Kaua'i Coconut Beach Resort.  The conference began on a somber note with prayers for our Maui siblings. Maui clergy stayed home to be near their congregants, and the Bishop also did not attend so that he might visit with them and be a part of an ecumenical prayer vigil on Maui.

The guest speaker for the conference was Jay Wittmeyer from the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center.  The Center is chiefly known for their Mediation Skills Training Institute, the premier learning center for working with troubled (or even warring!) factions within our Church communities.

​The first day's gathering took place after lunch, and the heady title of “A Splintered Vine Bears No Fruit: The Fracturing of American Society and How the Church Can Promote Healing” was brought down to earth in our sessions. The central question revolved around the observance that the blow-ups and tensions felt within our congregations and in our communities are increasingly disproportionate to what these tensions are (seemingly) about. What are the reasons for this – what’s going on?

​Increasingly people are estranged, lonely, and isolated, an epidemic which is neither fully recognized nor appreciated, and which comes with significant physical and psychological health issues. “Deaths of Despair” (from behaviors leading to death to dying from suicide specifically) are on the rise. With the weight of so many of these things on people’s shoulders – often unnoticed by those around them, lashing out is almost inevitable.

We spoke of various ways to make a difference, one turning point described in the words of Richard Rohr: “If we do not transform our pain, we will most assuredly transmit it.”

​A sense of belonging is at the core of what we think we’re about as the Church, but we need to make sure we’re actually about it. Studies show that going to church (not just being spiritual, per se, but the act of physically being in a faith community) is one of the “Blue Zone” factors of people living 10-14 years longer. Communities combatting loneliness only do so with intentionality – who is it that we aren’t truly “seeing” or welcoming (e.g. 50% of adults are single – one statistic that was higher than most expected). What brokenness (e.g. the isolation and estrangement above) are we not currently recognizing – and therefore can’t bring healing attention to?

"It was great to be back on Kauai. I'm grateful for the hospitality the people of All Saints' extended to us. Spending time catching up with friends and colleagues and getting to know people new to me was delightful. Nevertheless, the sorrow and heartbreak of the fire on Maui was never far from my thoughts." - The Rev. Alison Dingley 

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When not in session, clergy gathered for meals, worship, and fellowship time. Tuesday afternoon allowed for quite a bit of free time, during which some hiked “Sleeping Giant”, others went to see waterfalls, and others took much-needed down time back at the hotel.  

​Mahalo to All Saints' Episcopal Church in Kapa'a, where we held an evening worship service on the first day, followed by dinner under a tent on their beautiful grounds.

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Photos: Sybil Nishioka, The Rev. Canon Sandy Graham, The Revs. Alison Dingley, Malcolm Keleawe Hee, and Kawika Jackson