Faith congregations were abuzz last weekend, following the Jan. 13 false missile alert and 38 minutes when many thought they might die.

Several pastors say they will speak Sunday about how to deal with the fear of a North Korean nuclear missile attack that’s still a possibility.

Kawaiaha‘o Church’s interim pastor, Kahu Kenneth Makuakane, said he will speak at 9 a.m. Sunday on the need for “faith in people we’ve elected in hopes of gathering together to create a society based on trust,” referring to the first chapter of Galatians in the Bible. “We are not in control,” but he said people should trust in the divine power of God that keeps them safe in times of crisis.

“We’ve had many talks about the fear of the unknown (including fear of dying), but we know this is our earthly suit, not our forever suit. Fear is a good thing, but our fear should be fear of God, not of man,” said Makuakane, who regularly talks about the new world that will exist with the second coming of Christ, found in the Book of Revelations.

At this Sunday’s 10:30 a.m. serv­ice at the United Church of Christ-Judd Street, the Rev. Darren Galindo will urge his congregation to write their congressmen and “speak up against government policies and laws” that denigrate immigrants, promote racism or inequality of any degree and “pray for people who have opposing ideals to reach common ground,” and protest against the inflammatory rhetoric coming from Washington, D.C., that seems to give people permission to say and do the hateful.

The Rev. David Gierlach of St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church has his 9 a.m. Sunday message prepared, summarized in his Jan. 17 letter to the editor in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser: “The recriminations against the poor sap who hit the wrong button on Saturday are completely misplaced. Actually, we owe him thanks. He made it crystal-clear that our anger ought not be directed against the false alarm, but against our current circumstances of nuclear overkill and irresponsible belligerence from our government against North Korea.”

“We need to become involved in the demilitarizing of this world,” Gierlach said. Christians have a responsibility to insist that the gospel message of unity and peace be followed, and “what’s coming out of Washington D.C. is the exact opposite of that,” he said.

At Mary’s of Moiliili Episcopal Church, the Rev. Gregory Johnson started preparing his congregation in September with a print-out of HI-EMA information in the church bulletin on what to do in case of a nuclear detonation. A former Air Force chaplain for seven years, Johnson said September was National Preparedness Month, and he devoted each week to talking about related themes, including “Get Involved! Be a Part of Something Larger.”

Pastor Liz Leavitt of Christ Church, Uniting Disciples and Presbyterians in Kailua won’t be speaking on the alarm this Sunday, but is holding a Faith Formation adult session at 8:30 a.m. to discuss disaster preparedness and to share experiences of Jan. 13.

Church of the Crossroads pastor David Turner said he is writing his sermon for 10:30 a.m. this Sunday and is still working out his personal feelings of being in New Zealand, 3,000 miles away from his adult children in Hawaii, during the false alarm. His message won’t focus on it, but he will talk about “the absolute need to work for peace and justice,” as the church has long been a pioneer of these causes. As a pastor he has to examine issues like “why we need to live in a reality in which there is a fear” of nuclear annihilation.

His members were out in force at the Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade Monday and at the Crossroads service for its annual Peacemaker Award in King’s honor. Turner said he expects many to attend the worldwide Women’s March today at the state Capitol to protest Trump administration policies.

The alert last weekend led to some unusual situations.

Patrick Downes, editor of the Hawaii Catholic Herald and diocese spokesman, wrote an account in the Jan. 17 edition about how Bishop Larry Silva gave an impromptu general absolution to about 45 people in the face of imminent attack, not bothering to change from a T-shirt to his official garments, and skipping the liturgy that accompanies the rite.

It was the first time he had ever performed the absolution of sins to a group of people at one time, allowed only in situations of great danger or imminent death, Downes wrote. The bishop was in his residence at St. Stephen Diocesan Center in Kaneohe when the alert sounded and immediately walked to the chapel, where the deacon formation group was assembled.

At the Newman Center, a Catholic church on the University of Hawaii campus, Father Jack Ryan said he will deal with the nuclear scare at Masses this Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. He was out of the state during the alarm, but his pastoral administrator Christopher Derige Malano led a group of confirmation retreat students through 38 minutes of the ordeal, which he wrote about in the church newsletter Sunday and republished in America Magazine.

“The first minutes left us paralyzed by the inundation of uncertainty and anxiety. … The students turned to the adults seeking answers which we could not offer them. We asked them to call their parents to inform them of the situation. With nowhere to go — the university buildings are locked on the weekend — and no time to waste, we turned to the only thing we were certain of — our faith.

“We quietly migrated in almost a processional pace toward the tabernacle where the Blessed Sacrament resides. … We prayed, we embraced, and we waited together,” he wrote. In an interview Malano said, “We spent a lot of time listening and reassuring them that the emotions were a natural response and that they were in a safe space to cry, pray, huddle with their friends or, if they feel comfortable, to talk about it.”