HeartBeat—July 2020

From Pastor Jeff

Last week I attended an online prayer service memorializing the Emanuel Nine, who died at the hands of a white supremacist in Charleston, South Carolina. A young man came into the Bible study, where church members and clergy were studying the word of God together. This young man was welcomed into the sacred circle without hesitation and then opened fire on the participants of the Bible study. The Reverend Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Mrs. Cynthia Graham Hurd, Mrs. Susie J. Jackson, Mrs. Ethel Lee Lance, Reverend DePayne Middleton-Doctor, Reverend Clementa Pinckney, Tywanza Kibwe Diop Sanders, Reverend Daniel Lee Simmons, Sr., and Mrs. Myra Singleton Quarles Thompson were killed.

The young man, who we later learned grew up in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, had hoped his actions would set off a race war. He hoped that, by killing these black people in their own church, the black community would rise up in anger and revenge. He hoped that resulting violence would set white against black in a rage-filled melee that would further his sick agenda of white dominance and create space for even more hate. He failed.

Within hours of his arrest, some of those who survived the killing of their friends, relatives, and pastors declared their forgiveness for Dylan Roof, the young man who had violated their lives and God’s law. They forgave the unforgiveable because they believed that only God’s deep and abiding love could bring lasting change to the blight of racism. Only love can bring love.

As we prayed together in worship on June 17, 2020, I listened to pain and hope shared by our black brothers and sisters around the country. Again and again I heard those names, the Reverend Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, Mrs. Cynthia Graham Hurd, Mrs. Susie J. Jackson, Mrs. Ethel Lee Lance, Reverend DePayne Middleton-Doctor, Reverend Clementa Pinckney, Tywanza Kibwe Diop Sanders, Reverend Daniel Lee Simmons, Sr., and Mrs. Myra Singleton Quarles Thompson, like a litany. I just listened and wondered, “How many names will be added to the list this year?” I just listened: to voices, songs, prayers, pleas, dreams, anger, and hope. I just listened: to righteous demands for a just justice system, equal freedoms and opportunities, and an equitable economy. I just listened.

As we do the work of anti-racism, it may be that we must first listen, for voices telling a story we must hear. It is a painful, hellish, convicting, horrible, revealing, uncomfortable story. Just listen, and then act. Chris Singleton, whose mother died that day while studying God’s word, shared something on his website. I just listened:

“Love is always stronger than hate. If we just love the way my mom would, then the hate won’t be nearly as strong as the love is.”—Chris Singleton

For more information about the Emanuel Nine, visit emanuelnine.org

Blessings,
Pastor Jeff

LCH Office Hours During COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Order

The LCH office and church campus continue to remain closed as cases of covid-19 in the state rise, and as a precaution in accordance with the CDC, Hawai‘i State Governor’s Office, and Honolulu City and County Office of the Mayor’s recommendations regarding covid-19 virus safety. We recommend that you do not leave a phone message on the office voicemail. It is preferable that you please email LCH@LCHwelcome.org to contact the administrator, pr.jeff@LCHwelcome.org to contact Pastor Jeff, or scott@LCHwelcome.org to contact the LCH music director. If you prefer to leave a brief voicemail message, your call will be returned when someone is able to check in at the LCH office. Please visit the LCH website at www.lchwelcome.org for more information about weekly events and ministries, and to access the public LCH Facebook page for online worship services (you do not need a Facebook account to access the LCH Facebook page).

COVID-19 Update

Aloha! Like many organizations throughout Hawai‘i, LCH continues to operate on a modified schedule in response to the covid-19 pandemic. Our primary concern is the safety and health of everyone using the campus. While groups are being allowed to return to campus, they are required to follow CDC, state, and local guidelines for social distancing and sanitization, as well as holding LCH harmless for any covid-19 related illness or injury. Here are some updates on recent developments at LCH:

1. Worship
1. The congregational council has directed that in-person Sunday worship be delayed until after August 31, 2020. Online streaming worship will continue.
2. Limited in-person worship at midweek vespers may commence beginning in July. These services will be held in the courtyard observing all current recommendations for physical distancing and mask use.
3. The worship committee has appointed a working group to develop a plan for return to in-person worship which will include policies and procedures.
2. Office Hours—Staff continue to work from home with limited presence at the church office. Anne Sing monitors email daily from home and checks phone messages in the LCH office during twice weekly visits for necessary administrative tasks and supervision of contractors. We do continue to ask for your patience as some inquiries and requests may take longer to respond than usual. Carolyn Koehler keeps us up to date on billing and drafts check payments weekly. Pastor Jeff is in the office almost every day to assure campus security and maintenance. Scott Fikse is working mostly from home.
3. Community Groups/Tenants: Some community groups have requested permission to begin meeting on the LCH Campus. The council is allowing some groups to return with very stringent guidelines.
1. Western Presbyterian Church of Hawai‘i (WPCH) has begun in-person worship on Sunday afternoons and Wednesday evenings. They are a very small group and are diligently following the guidelines set forth by the congregational council.
2. Alcoholics Anonymous—one group initially asked to resume meeting at LCH, but due to leadership adjustments has had to postpone the resumption of meetings. They are cleared to begin as soon as they are ready.
3. Habitat for Humanity has resumed limited use of their office.
4. Christiansen Educators tutoring has resumed limited use of the campus.
5. Organ lessons will be allowed to resume on a limited basis.

Summer Schedules

At this time, in-person services are not scheduled to resume until September 2020. LCH live-streamed worship services will continue at 10:00 am through the summer. There will be no Compline during the summer months. Compline resumes on the first Sunday of September.

Mahalo to the backstage crew. We are very thankful for all the work our staff and choir members have been doing to livestream worship each Sunday. Naturally, the folks who are out front, especially our musicians, receive a lot of recognition and deserved praise. We are deeply thankful for all that they do. After all, Scott and his choirs are working very hard! But we also want to take this opportunity to thank the “backstage crew” who, although unseen, are crucial to our work in streaming worship. A lot of hands pull together to make it all possible. So, a huge thank you to:

• Anne Sing, who produces and edits bulletins each week.
• Jean Lilley, who comes in very early with Pastor Jeff to set up cameras and technology, sanitizes and organizes the nave, runs cameras, and then stays after worship to assist with clean-up and sanitizing.
• Marcus Fikse, who runs the streaming software and runs cameras.
• Bill Potter, who helps with final edits on publications.
• Renee Boeck and Taylor Ishida, who are backups for running the streaming software and assisting with cameras.
• Mark Wong, who has been an invaluable asset, both as a musician and as a technology consultant.
• Carolyn Koehler, who arranges for readers.
• Pastor Jeff, who writes the shooting scripts, handles technology, edits and posts video, and builds whatever we need.

Thank you for your hard work!

Angel Network In-Gathering

LCH is not collecting donations for Angel Network Charities until further notice. However, Angel Network is accepting donations at the Calvary-by-the-Sea Lutheran Church location in east O‘ahu: 5339 Kalaniana‘ole Highway, Honolulu 96821.

For those who are able and interested in donating, they accept donations on Thursdays and Fridays, from 8:30 am to noon. They will only accept packaged, unopened dry goods (e.g. cereal, flour, sugar, pasta, etc.) and canned goods.

Angel Network requires that donating drivers identify themselves and remain in their vehicle. Volunteers will offload donation items from your vehicle with protective gloves. Over 2,500 individuals are served monthly through this program. Mahalo for your generosity and support.

Book of Faith Bible Study

Thursdays, 10:00–11:45 am • Online via Zoom meeting login

The Book of Faith Bible Study usually meets on Thursday mornings in the LCH Boardroom. However, during the statewide “stay at home” mandate, meetings have been conducted via the Zoom online meeting platform. All are welcome to join this lively discussion of the Biblical texts, relevant current events, and historical foundations. Please contact Pastor Jeff at pr.jeff@LCHwelcome.org to receive an invitation to the next Zoom Bible study discussion.

LCH Office Closed for Independence Day

Friday, July 3

Adult Forum

Sundays at 9:00 am • Online via Zoom meeting login
On Sunday, July 5, Juditha Murashige will wrap up discussion of Artful Prayer.

All are welcome to join the Adult Forum Zoom meetings, live Sunday mornings. This works best if you download the free Zoom app beforehand. You may need to enable your microphone and video capabilities. Please contact Dr. Stephen Miller at stevedmiller.sm@gmail.com to receive an invitation to join the next Zoom Adult Forum discussion.

Virtual Coffee Talk with Pastor Jeff

Online Coffee Talk, Sundays, 11:15 am• Via Zoom Meeting login

You are invited to join with your LCH ‘ohana on Sundays for a virtual coffee talk following online worship. This discussion time will be via Zoom Meeting, and will run for approximately 20 to 30 minutes.

In order to avoid “Zoom bombing” (surprise visits from unsavory folks), you will need to contact Pastor Jeff, via email at pr.jeff@LCHwelcome.org, for a meeting number and password to log into the meeting. While these are not ideal gathering circumstances, we can at least enjoy a chance to commune together briefly.

Leadership Roundtable

Monday, June 6, 6:30 pm • Via Zoom Meeting invitation

Committee chairs and team leaders, please plan to gather for a short (45 minute) meeting. This month’s meeting will be conducted via the Zoom online meeting platform. Please refer to your email for the Zoom Meeting details. This is an opportunity for us to sit down together and share information on what is happening with all the ministries at LCH. If you are a committee or team leader, you will receive an email from Pastor Jeff, via Zoom Meeting, regarding login information. Please be prepared to share a little information on your activities with the group. Mahalo!

Midweek Vespers: Assurance in God’s Presence

Thursday, July 9, 7:00 pm

Please join us for Midweek Vespers, streamed live on our public LCH Facebook page. Music will be led by Scott Fikse, director of music and liturgy. Details will be provided, via eNews, prior to the service.

IHS Brown Bag Meal Prep

LCH continues our commitment to IHS to assist with feeding the homeless during these difficult times. Although stay-at-home orders may have relaxed a bit, we anticipate that all the requirements of social distancing, masks, sanitizing, etc. will still be in force. Therefore, only a small group will be asked to make sandwiches, and those individuals will be contacted directly by phone or email. We will keep you updated about when we can be back to our regular group. Thank you for your patience as we navigate our way through the uncertainty.

Mary Magdalene Society

Online Happy Hour Saturdays, July 11 and 25, at 5:00 pm • Via Zoom meeting login

We will continue to invite LGBTQI members and friends of LCH to prepare their favorite beverage and pupu and gather for an online happy hour every other week during July. Those who are already on the Mary Magdalene mailing list will receive an email with directions for accessing the Zoom meeting by the Wednesday before the scheduled meeting. If you don’t receive your invitation or want to be added to the mailing list, please contact Bill Potter, group facilitator, at bill.potter808@gmail.com to be added or for more information.

For July 11, we encourage participants to share their plans for when we are able to travel again. A suggestion for July 25 will be included in the invitation for that evening.

Food for Thought

Saturday, July 18, 5:00 pm, via Zoom online meeting

Food for Thought will meet via Zoom online meeting. This works best if you download the free Zoom app beforehand. You may need to enable your microphone and video capabilities. Please contact Dr. Stephen Miller at stevedmiller.sm@gmail.com to receive an invitation to join the next Zoom Food for Thought meeting.

LCH Women’s Book Club

Monday, July 20, 10:00 am, via Zoom online meeting

LCH Women’s Book Club will meet via Zoom online meeting to discuss This Tender Land by Kent Krueger. This works best if you download the free Zoom app beforehand. You may need to enable your microphone and video capabilities. Please contact Dr. Stephen Miller at stevedmiller.sm@gmail.com to receive an invitation to join the next Zoom online Book Club meeting.

Writers’ Workshop

Tuesday, July 21, 4:00 pm

Writers’ Workshop will meet via Zoom meeting, since restrictions on group meetings at LCH are still in effect. All are welcome! If you would like to participate, please contact Peter Flachsbart at pflachsbart@hawaiiantel.net for information on how to connect remotely.

Midweek Vespers: Mary Magdalene

Thursday, July 23, 7:00 pm

Please join us for Midweek Vespers, streamed live on our public LCH Facebook page. Music will be led by Scott Fikse, director of music and liturgy. Details will be provided, via eNews, prior to the service.

Regular Offerings

While we are not able to meet in person, you are encouraged to mail your offering check directly to the church: Lutheran Church of Honolulu, 1730 Punahou Street, Honolulu HI 96822. If you would like to set up regular electronic funds transfer from your checking or savings account, forms are available at www.lchwelcome.org/support or can be requested by email to LCH@LCHwelcome.org. If you prefer to make a one time contribution or ongoing pledge by credit card, there is a link in the bottom right corner of each page of the church website or you can go directly to www.lchwelcome.org/donate. Thank you!

An Easy Way to Donate

Did you know you can donate to Lutheran Church of Honolulu while shopping without spending any extra money? Shop at smile.amazon.com and increase donations to Lutheran Church of Honolulu! Any Amazon purchase can be made through LCH’s unique charity-link, which will take you directly to smile.amazon.com in support of LCH. Just type this URL in your browser and start shopping: smile.amazon.com/ch/99-0079975.

Edward Shipwright Memorial Piano Fund

The church has an ongoing need for maintenance of our current piano, which is on generous loan from Mark Wong. We also need to plan for eventual purchase of an excellent, permanent piano for LCH.

Therefore, we have established the Edward Shipwright Memorial Piano Fund. Dr. Shipwright was the head of the piano division of the Music Department at UH Mānoa. Many people associated with LCH were students or friends of Ed. The fund will be a fitting memorial to his 50 years of teaching and playing.

Electronic Funds Transfers for May

Offering Fund	Amount	Offering Fund	Amount
Offering	$6,757	Capital Improvements	$30
Music Fund/Instruments	$306	One Pot, One Hope	$20
Family Promise	$100	Angle Network	$20
Concert Fund	$50

Attendance and Offerings for June

Date	Worship Service	Attendance	Offering Fund	Amount
June 7	Online Worship	373 views	Offering	$4,770
			Social Ministries/IHS	$70
June 11	Lift Every Voice	1,019 views	Altar Flowers	$50
			Domestic Relief	$30
June 14	Online Worship	351 views	Offering	$6,821
			Family Promise	$130
June 21	Online Worship	284 views	Service Music Fund	$80
			Social Ministries/IHS	$30
June 24	John the Baptist Vespers	161 views	Music/Instruments	$10
			Concert Fund	$25
June 28	Online Worship	219 views

HeartBeat Deadline

Tuesday, July 21, 9:00 am

Arnold, Barbara M.-F., Billy S., Colleen K., George, Greg, Kathy M., Kathy S., Keahi, Kendra K., Patricia, Resi, Shirley S., Szewa, Vonia, William, Yvonne

July Birthdays

07/02	David Del Rocco
07/07	Ann C. DeVallee
07/08	Linda Miller
07/16	Whitney Walker
07/17	Bill Potter
07/19	Shane Shelton (Kaeo)
07/22	Christopher Khan
07/23	Karen Fay
07/24	Savannah McCreary
07/25	Georgine Stark

Calendar: July 2020

Day	Date	Event and Time
Thursday	July 2	10:00 am, Book of Faith Bible Study Zoom Meeting
Friday	July 3	State holiday—Independence Day observed
Sunday	July 5	9:00 am, Online Adult Forum 10:00 am, Streaming Worship Service 11:15 am, Virtual Coffee Talk
Monday	July 6	6:30 pm, Leadership Roundtable Zoom Meeting
Thursday	July 9	10:00 am, Book of Faith Bible Study Zoom Meeting 7:00 pm, Midweek Vespers: Assurance in God’s Presence
Saturday	July 11	5:00 pm, Mary Magdalene Zoom Virtual Happy Hour
Sunday	July 12	9:00 am, Online Adult Forum 10:00 am, Streaming Worship Service 11:15 am, Virtual Coffee Talk
Monday	July 13	6:00 pm, Worship & Music Zoom Meeting
Wednesday	July 15	12:00 pm, Finance Committee Zoom Meeting
Thursday	July 16	8:00 am, IHS Meal Prep (closed group, by assignment) 10:00 am, Book of Faith Bible Study Zoom Meeting
Sunday	July 19	9:00 am, Online Adult Forum 10:00 am, Streaming Worship Service 11:15 am, Virtual Coffee Talk
Tuesday	July 21	HeartBeat Submissions Deadline 4:00 pm, Writers’ Workshop Zoom Meeting
Thursday	July 23	10:00 am, Book of Faith Bible Study Zoom Meeting 7:00 pm, Midweek Vespers: Mary Magdalene
Saturday	July 25	5:00 pm, Mary Magdalene Zoom Virtual Happy Hour
Sunday	July 26	9:00 am, Online Adult Forum 10:00 am, Streaming Worship Service 11:15 am, Virtual Coffee Talk
Tuesday	July 28	6:00 pm, Executive Council Zoom Meeting 6:30 pm, LCH Council Zoom Meeting
Thursday	July 30	10:00 am, Book of Faith Bible Study Zoom Meeting