Stories

  • Story: The Sorry I’iwi - June 7, 2026 Hosea 5:15-6:6Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 Last week an oma’o had to learn that he couldn’t judge an entire species of bird because of the bad behavior of some of them. Specifically, he had to abandon his idea that all i’iwi are evil. It’s a pity that this week’s story is about an i’iwi … Continue reading Story: The Sorry I’iwi
  • Story: Those Birds - May 31, 2026 Genesis 1:1-2:4a2 Corinthians 13:11-13 A lot of the honeycreepers in the mountain forests have brightly colored feathers. I think I’ve mentioned that before. The ‘apapane and the i’iwi are bright red and black. The ‘amakihi and the ‘akiapola’au are bright yellow. The ‘elepaio has these fascinating speckles in its feathers, even if … Continue reading Story: Those Birds
  • Story: Whatever It Was - May 24, 2026 Acts 2:1-21John 20:19-23 I don’t know what it was that he found in the tree. Maybe it was a collection of seeds. Maybe it was some burrowing insects. Maybe it was material for a nest. Whatever it was, he was the only house finch to know about it, and as far as … Continue reading Story: Whatever It Was
  • Story: Bully’s Progress - May 17, 2026 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11John 17:1-11 He was a year or so old, and he wore the red and black of an adult ‘apapane. He still thought of himself as young and growing and learning, and truly he was all of those things. He was also the target of a bully in his … Continue reading Story: Bully’s Progress
  • Story: One Might Know - May 10, 2026 Acts 17:22-31John 14:15-21 This story didn’t take place on our island, because although one of the birds in it lives on Hawai’i, the other doesn’t. I took this picture on Kauai, though both birds also live on O’ahu. The one on the left, swimming in the water, with its red beak and … Continue reading Story: One Might Know
  • Story: Courage - May 3, 2026 Acts 7:55-60John 14:1-14 The ala’e keokeo – also known as the Hawaiian Coot, and I guess it is pretty cute – lives along the shorelines, particularly enjoying the old fishponds built by the Hawaiians because the edges are rich in the water plants they like to eat. “Ala’e” means forehead, and “keokeo” … Continue reading Story: Courage
  • Story: Good Advice - April 26, 2026 Acts 2:42-47John 10:1-10 What do you need to know if you’re an ‘elepaio? It helps that most of the ‘elepaio are very curious, so they tend to ask themselves the questions and then find out the answers. Is it sunny on that side of the tree? Are there bugs to be had … Continue reading Story: Good Advice
  • Story: Seeing Further - April 19, 2026 Acts 2:14a, 36-41Luke 24:17-35 The ‘apapane was young. He didn’t have his red and black feathers yet. That was OK. He knew they’d come. He was content even with the somewhat odd look of red patches on his mostly white chest. He’d be wearing red and black soon. It was also OK … Continue reading Story: Seeing Further
  • Story: Surprise - April 5, 2026 Acts 10:34-43John 20:1-18 Sometimes a bird on the mountainsides just takes a liking for a particular ohi’a tree. I don’t know whether the nectar tastes better, or if you get a particularly crunchy kind of bug, or if there’s something else that gets a bird excited. This is about an i’iwi who … Continue reading Story: Surprise
  • Story: All the Things - April 5, 2026 Acts 10:34-43John 20:1-18 You’ve heard, I know, that there are some birds that winter with us here in Hawai’i, and that they fly to Alaska for the summer. Those birds might prefer to fly on a big jet, like you and I, but they use their own wings, even though some of … Continue reading Story: All the Things