Christ Episcopal Church in Garden City will celebrate the last day of Sunday School on June 14th at 10 a.m. with their annual Awards Sunday Mass (i.e., the Holy Eucharist).

The theme for this year's mass will be "aloha". Aloha in the Hawaiian language means affection, love, peace, compassion and mercy. Since the middle of the 19th century, it also has come to be used as an English greeting for hello and goodbye.

The Awards Sunday mass will use portions of the Hawaiian-language Holy Eucharist liturgy, "Ka 'Eukalilia Hemolele" (from the Commission of Hawaiian Ministry of the Episcopal Church in Hawai'i). The celebrant and preacher will be The Rev. Debra Low-Skinner. The concluding hymn for this special mass will be the famous song "Aloha 'Oe", written by Hawaii's beloved queen and last reigning monarch, Lili`uokalani (1838-1917).

The public is cordially invited to worship with us and even encouraged to come in Hawaiian shirts and flip flops. Afterwards, worshippers and Sunday School children will feast on hamburgers and hot dogs at the Awards Sunday Cookout held in the church parking lot. Please RSVP if you are coming, so we will know how much food to have on hand. Mahalo (thank you)!

Christ Episcopal Church is located on the corner of Chester and Jefferson in the western section of Garden City. Church Phone: 516-775-2626; e-mail: rectorchristchgc@ hotmail.com. The parish's Rector is The Rev. Debra Low-Skinner, a third-generation Chinese-American who has visited Hawaii three times and worshipped at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Andrew's in Honolulu.