Lutheran Church of Honolulu, 1730 Punahou St., Honolulu, HI 96822; ELCA; 808-941-2566

LCH E-News—An occasional electronic newsletter for the LCH congregation

LCH E-News—May 15, 2008

From Pastor Jeff

NPR carried a touching and tragic story earlier this week. Melissa Block, usually heard as the host of “All Things Considered,” reported from the home of a young Chinese couple in the Szechuan district whose home had collapsed with their two-year old child and her parents inside. They watched as heavy machinery stripped away large pieces of their building and then clambered up the rubble pile calling for their child. For hours they waited for a rescue team to come and help. When the army arrived, they had no tools. The couple quickly purchased cotton work gloves, shovels, and picks and distributed them to the soldiers. As the rescuers chipped away at the rubble and shoveled broken pieces of their lives, the young couple alternated between weeping and hope. Finally, a worker delivered the awful news. Child, grandmother, and grandfather had been found dead in the collapsed home. As Ms. Block described the scene, the mother of the dead child called out his name again and again in grief, “Mommy is here!”

Stories like this one are being repeated thousands of times across China and Myanmar (Burma), where natural disasters have ravaged cities and small villages alike. Hundreds of thousands of people are without shelter and food. Some will never return home; for others, home will never seem the same. The international community is beginning to respond with offers of aid, direct assistance, and technical help, but both the Chinese and Myanmar governments are struggling to accept that help. Years of closed borders and secretive government are not easily permeable, even in the face of dying children and devastated cities. Stories like this are being repeated in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Namibia. The disasters are not natural, but couples weep for their children, people wail for lost lovers and crushed homes with the same bitterness as the couple Melissa Block describes in China with an aching, grieving voice.

I ask that you pray each day for those whose live are so deeply affected by disasters both natural and human-made. God’s word of grace and love may not be on the lips of world leaders, but they need to be in their ears. Those who weep need to know that we also are weeping, and that hope is not far away. We pray because in prayer we bridge the gap of miles and grief with the hopeful ways of a God who claims the world as God’s own, and proclaims the world good. We pray that governments everywhere might find justice and peace more alluring than power and war. We pray for a time when wisdom will prevail over self interest. We pray that God will equip us to be light in these dark times, and that we will be a willing luminescence in this crying world.

Pastor Jeff

Read/listen to Melissa Block’s Story: <http://www.npr.org/blogs/chengdu/2008/05/we_found_fu_guanyu_and.html&>

Bread for the World

Bread for the World logo Join us on Sunday morning to write a letter and make a difference in the global food crisis

Bread for the World is an advocacy group and a Christian voice that advocates for ending hunger at home and abroad. LCH has long been a covenant church, which means that we regularly give to this organization and support their causes, including the letter writing campaign.

This year Bread for the World's advocacy program is focused on:

A $5 billion increase for poverty-focused development assistance. This is a very small portion of the U.S. budget, but they are dollars that can make a huge difference in the hunger fight.
Passage of the Global Poverty Act (S. 2433), which requires a strategy to meet U.S. promises to reduce global hunger and poverty. This has passed the House and is awaiting passage in the Senate.

Robin Stephenson, the BFW western regional organizer who came to LCH on May 11, told us that it only takes four or five letters before a congressional staff will start to research a policy. Traditionally, we’ve sent 50 or more letters from the LCH letter writing campaign. She also said that the Hawaii efforts are particularly important this year because they are trying to get Sen. Daniel Inoyue to become a co-sponsor of the Global Poverty Act.

She also outlined the successful elements of a letter:

Motivation. What is it that is motivating you or will motivate the Senator to take action?
Ask. Be clear about what you want the legislator to do.
Fact. Reinforce your message with a supporting fact.

We will have pens, papers, addresses, and sample letters available on Sunday between services and after the 10:30 a.m. service. Please join us to make a difference. For more information on Bread for the World, please visit their website at <http://www.bread.org>.

Social Ministry Committee

Camp Wapo on Oahu Deadline Extended

Letters were sent a couple of weeks ago for Camp Wapo on Oahu. If your junior high or high school student would like to join us June 29th–July 4th at Camp Erdman, please contact Pastor Jeff as soon as possible. A $100 deposit will hold your place for the camp. Invite your friends to come along!

Pau Hana Party

Join Pastor Jeff and the Pau Hana crew Friday, May 30, at the Magic Island end of Ala Moana Beach. The Pau Hana crew will have dinner ready after 5 pm, but come any time after 3:30 to hang at the beach, play music, or have great fellowship. Show up after work, kick off those high heels and yucky leather business shoes, and remember that you live in Hawaii! Dinner, drinks, plates, and everything else will be provided.

B2B2B

Center for Evangelism in Ethiopia

Great things are happening. Lutheran Church of Honolulu Members have already contributed $2,969 for B2B2B. We need to collect $1,391 next Sunday to reach our congregational goal! Our Bishop is challenging every person in the Pacifica Synod to contribute to help build a Center for Evangelism training in Ethiopia, where Christianity is growing at an amazing rate with Lutherans leading the way. Lay evangelists are bringing God’s word of hope in this African nation, and we can help. We hope to raise 1 million dollars to pay off the Pacifica Synod Center for Mission and Learning and build the Center for Evangelism in Ethiopia. You can help by placing your donation in the offering plate this Sunday marked B2B2B in the memo line.

ELCA Draft Study on Sexuality

Our discussion on the ELCA draft study on Human Sexuality will continue this Sunday during the Education Hour (9:15–10:30 am). If at all possible, please read the document beforehand. We will discuss those parts of the study that are of the most interest to you! You may download the document at: <http://www.elca.org/What-We-Believe/Social-Issues/Social-Statements-in-Process/JTF-Human-Sexuality.aspx>.