The HeartBeat

A Message from Pastor Jeff

Of Grace and hope and other strange animals

Years ago I attended a conference led by theologian and hymn writer Herb Brokering. I don’t remember a lot of the actual content of the conference or the particulars of what he said or did, but I do remember leaving the conference with a profound sense of hope and grace.

Perhaps I remember those feelings so profoundly because early in my ministry at the ELCA, the Christian church was rocked by accusations of misconduct in the Roman Catholic Church. All newly ordained clergy were required to attend a grueling series of workshops on “boundary setting” and “acceptable professional behavior.” These necessarily harsh trainings left many of us fearful, anxious, and more than a little paranoid about doing ministry in a world injured by members of the clergy while their church body ignored their abuses. So when Herb Brokering swept into the room and unapologetically called us to share Gods message of love, grace, forgiveness, and justice with vigor, courage, and recklessness, it felt as if could finally exhale. He read stories from scripture where Jesus called his disciples to serve as they were called. Herb shared how Jesus refused to bow to threats from authorities, religious conventions, or the opinions of his own family. Instead, Jesus resolutely lived love, grace, justice and shalom, and called those around him to do the same. Jesus marked the disciples with the spirit and sent them out to share the good news.

This missional leadership exhibited by Jesus and the early disciples inspired Stephen Bouman to call on today’s leaders to bring the gospel with the same zeal. At the Pacifica Synod Assembly this spring, Rev. Bouman called us to five marks of missional leadership. These marks are:

• Passionate curiosity
• Battle hardened confidence
• Team smarts
• A simple mind set
• Fearlessness

Not all of the disciples had each of these traits, but as one thinks about the disciples, one can imagine these qualities in the disciples as a group. One can begin to understand why the early church was lifted from its own fear, anxiety, and lethargy to exciting and missional ministry that took their communities by surprise. Do you see these qualities in the disciples and leaders of your congregation? Do you see them in yourself? Do others see them in you?

Herb Brokering and Steve Bouman understand that the spirit is working right here in God’s church, but as long as we are constantly waiting for others to hear God’s call or for others to do God’s work, we remain listless and hopeless.

But God is up to something powerful in the world and in our church. Despite a rough economy and a small exodus of churches out of the ELCA, we have seen more congregational mission starts in the last year than we have experienced in many years. In Arizona, a small group of faithful church members refused to follow their congregation’s exodus from the ELCA and formed a new congregation from the remnant that was left. They have no building, no property, and no office, but they have God, a willing spirit, and a fearless faith. But more than anything, they have a fearless hope in the God who created all things.

God is up to something very exciting with them and with us. May God continue to breath that same fresh spirit of love, fearless-ness, cooperation, and fearless curiosity into us, that we might be God’s hands in the world.

Aloha,
Pastor Jeff Lilley
pr.jeff@lchwelcome.org

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May Council Highlights

Council met Tuesday, May 17. Here are some of the highlights of the meeting:

• Parking Lot Taskforce update: moving forward with receiving contractor bids.
• Council approval of 2011–2012 Our Redeemer Lutheran Preschool lease agreement.
• Council motion to approve a Bank of Hawaii business credit card for Pastor Jeff Lilley.
• Since the PV installation, system has avoided 26,979.86 kg of CO₂, with a total yield of 38,542.65 kWh.
• Welcome to new Council member Michael Formby!
• Council approval of continued building use for Friday evening AA group, on a donation basis, until the end of the year.
• Council discussion to plan the agenda for Congregational Meeting scheduled for evening of May 21.

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In Stitches

New Day, New Time, New Place, Same Old Fun

Starting June 12 and throughout the summer, In Stitches will meet the second and the fourth Sunday of the month after church in the courtyard. Join us for crafty fun. Learn to make the ribbon lei, start a pillow for church, or bring your own project. Dates for the summer are June 12 and 26, July 10 and 24, and August 14.

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Process Thought Forum

The Process Though Forum— a discussion group featuring poetry, philosophy, and theology—will not be meeting during the summer. The next Process Forum will be scheduled for the second Saturday in September. Information concerning that session will be announced later.

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Summer Fellowship

This year’s summer worship schedule will start on June 5th, when there will be one service at 9:15 AM. Please join us for fellowship and light refreshments in the Hörmann Courtyard following the service.

Mark your calendars for this summer’s Pau Hana event on Friday, July 15th, at Ala Moana Beach Park.

We will end the one summer worship cycle on August 21. The day’s events are still in the planning stages, so stay tuned for further details via future HeartBeats and weekly Sunday announcements.

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Adult Forum Invites You Sunday Mornings

All are invited to attend and take part in interesting discussions—spiced with fun, films, and faith studies—in our weekly Adult Forum, following worship on Sunday mornings, beginning at 10:30 AM in the Boardroom.

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LCH Scholarship Applications

Our deadline is approaching for LCH scholarship applications for 2011–2012. Please call the LCH office to obtain your applications for the coming school year.

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New Ceramic Cups for Coffee and Tea

Now that we have the dishwasher in place, did you notice that we are only using the ceramic coffee cups for the weekly coffee table? After you’ve enjoyed your coffee, we ask that you please place your used cups in the grey bins that are on the wire carts in the courtyard. This enables us to gather and wash the cups in a timely manner.

Also, for the one service during the summer, we welcome any donated edible delights for the coffee table. Whether it is donuts, pastries, fruit or anything you’d like to share, please drop of your goodies on the coffee table before worship, and we can all enjoy them following the service.

Please visit the name tag table and sign-up to bring your tasty treats.

Fellowship Committee

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Summer Videos for Teens, Young Adults (and all who missed earlier showings)

This summer, beginning June 19, our teens and young adults are invited to view a series of interesting videos about the accomplishments of great Christians down through history. All members and friends who have not viewed these DVDs are invited to attend and lend their knowledge to the discussions. Stay tuned for more details.

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Mission Campaign approved at May 21 congregational meeting

The Lutheran Church of Honolulu voted to move into a Mission Campaign that will include:

• Resurfacing the parking lot behind the church
• Putting a covering over the Hörmann Courtyard
• Calling an associate pastor for a two-year term

More than 40 people gathered on May 21 to vote on these three critical items. The efforts, initially envisioned through the work of the Ministry Plan Task Force, will be packaged together for a two-year Mission Campaign with a fund raising goal of $250,000.

The meeting covered the historic context and planning efforts for each of the different initiatives.

• Jim Niermann and Olivia Castro presented a historical view of the Ministry Plan Task Force. This group started with the 2004–2006 Capital Campaign and has focused on the mission of the church moving forward.
• Jim Niermann presented a plan for the parking lot resurfacing. It is estimated that this will cost $70,000 to $90,000 for completion. To date, $16.959 has been raised for this effort.
• Michael Formby explained the congregational outreach and efforts that led them to recommend calling an Associate Pastor. According to Pacifica Synod guidelines, the cost for a two-year call would be $166,000.
• Mary Fastenau showed some of the possible design elements for covering the Hörmann Courtyard with a note that there has not been as much planning in this effort because of the desire to get more input from the congregation. There has been $12,250 raised for covering the courtyard. The estimate is for $30,000 to $35,000.

Each item was discussed individually with a vote taken for each initiative.

Votes for resurfacing the parking lot, covering the Hörmann Courtyard, and beginning the $250,000 Mission Campaign were taken by a show of hands. In each case, there were one or two negative votes, with the rest in favor. The vote to call the associate pastor for a two-year term was 33 in favor, five opposed, and three who abstained.

Discussion items for the Church Council to note are:

• The parking lot must fall within the financial parameters. The initial planning calls for concrete, but that plan may need to be changed if this is not affordable.
• The motion for the Hörmann Courtyard included a provision that the design and material would be presented at a congregational meeting and approved before construction began.
• The question of whether calling an associate pastor has been a success will be determined by the congregation. The initial three areas of focus for expanded mission as identified by the Church Council are:
  • University of Hawaii
  • The immediate LCH neighborhood, including Waikiki
  • Youth and family ministries

There are concerns from the congregation in the calling of the associate pastor. Among those that received the most discussion were:

• Sustainability following the two-year commitment. The salary and benefits will need to become part of our ongoing budget.
• The amount of change in a short time. Within a short time frame, LCH will have a new Director of Music and Liturgy and an Associate Pastor.
• The financial package suggested by the Ministry Planning Task Force will need to be reevaluated because of some accounting issues.

Based on the fact that each initiative passed, a motion was presented to form a Mission Campaign designed to raise $250,000, the amount anticipated to cover the three programs. Co-president Mary Fastenau said the Council has contacted a local fundraising consultant to help with the structure of the campaign and looking at private foundations. A congregational committee will be formed to lead the Mission Campaign. This motion also passed by a show of hands.

The last motion was to create a Call Committee for the purpose of calling an Associate Pastor. The following slate was presented and approved unanimously.

• Karyn Castro
• Peter Flaschbart
• Chuck Huxel
• Carolyn Koehler
• Crystal Landherr
• Bob Zimmer

The Church Council wants to thank all of the people who participated in the planning and the discussion.

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What’s New on the LCH Website?

Bill Potter, Webmaster

May was definitely a busy month at LCH, and there were several significant additions to the Congregational Life page as we continued to document the many events from Holy Week and Easter and the performances of the B-Minor Mass. Thanks to all who contributed pictures for the Holy Week and Easter 2011 Slideshow. Because I was busy rehearsing for the Mass, those events are not covered very extensively on the website, but there is plenty of information elsewhere. Please check out on Kathy Crosier’s blog for a wealth of detail (along pictures from rehearsals and both performance) and the LCH Facebook page for excellent photographs taken by Pastor Jeff at the Friday evening performance.

A new Director of Music and Liturgy Search page was added to the Music section for that reopened search process.

I have also replaced a couple of the photos on the Worship page with new pictures showing Easter vestments in place of the green vestments that have been posted. At the same time, I wrote a little snippet of program in PHP that will automatically insert photos with proper vestments to match the season. (However, I will need to get new pictures for Advent, Christmas, and Lent when those seasons roll around again.)

Finally, I have added notices on the Home and Worship pages reminding everyone that the summer worship schedule begins on June 5.

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Mahalo to Carl and Kathy!

The congregation and staff of LCH offer their sincere mahalo to Carl, Kathy, the choir, volunteers, and donors for their wonderful presentation of Bach’s B-Minor Mass over the weekend of May 13 and 14. The concert was a sold-out event both evenings, and an experience that was truly breathtaking and inspirational!

Carl Crosier directs the choir and orchestra in part of the Credo movement of Bach’s B-Minor Mass.

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Attendance and Offerings for Sunday, May 29, 2011, were not available at time of publication.

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Prayer Requests

Carl	Gene	Katy
Cindy	Judy	Maggie
Debbie	Karen	Susan

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June Birthdays

Date	Name
06/03	Kiyoko Nitz
06/03	Vincent Reid W.
06/04	LaVerne Rickard
06/04	Michael Sato
06/05	Jaime Crozier Garcia
06/06	Crescent C.
06/07	Austin B.
06/09	John Bickel
06/09	Kathryn Klingebiel
06/09	Tyler K.
06/10	Miriam Sato
06/11	Susan Burns
06/11	John Moyer
06/11	Diane Perushek
06/13	Don Blanchard
06/14	Robert Ahlstrom
06/14	Randy Christensen
06/16	Maxwell Porter W.
06/22	Joseph Pettit
06/26	Sean D’Evelyn
06/26	John Gibson
06/27	Sylvia Hormann-Alper
06/27	Noah O.-B.
06/29	Karen Barber

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Heart Beat Deadline

Next Heart Beat Deadline is Tuesday, June 21!

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Heavenly Humor

God’s kids say the funniest things

When my husband was a funeral director, he had to pick up some cremains at the airport. It was late on a Saturday night, so he brought Mr. Smith’s box of ashes home and placed it on the table with the intention of taking it to the funeral home after church the next morning.

“After herding our three little sons into the car for church, my husband said, ‘Oh dear, I forgot Mr. Smith.’ So he ran back into the house, got the box, placed it in the trunk, and drove off to church.

“During the service, the priest announced, ‘Let us pray for the soul of the deceased Mr. Smith.’

“Our four-year-old son blurted out loudly, ‘That’s the guy we have in our trunk!’ ”

—Susanne Matje, Eldridge, IA

In the newsletter of United Methodist Iowa Secretaries’ Organization:

A six-year-old boy told his father one day, “I’m going outdoors and play ball with God.”

“So how do you play ball with God?” the father asked.

“Oh, it’s not hard at all,” the boy replied. “I just throw the ball up, and God throws it back down to me.”

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