In this issue:
- A Message from Pastor Jeff
- LCH Office Hours
- Stewardship Corner
- Committee/Interest Group Chairs
- Barry Wenger Called as Director of Music and Organist
- Angel Network In-Gathering
- Give Aloha Returns September 1!
- Book of Faith Bible Study
- Restorative Yoga
- Godly Play Sunday School Is Back!
- Adult Forum
- Virtual Coffee Talk with Pastor Jeff
- Compline
- LCH Office Closed for Labor Day
- First Mondays Season Opener: Tree Trios
- Leadership Roundtable
- Mary Magdalene Society Potluck and Game Night
- IHS Brown Bag Meal Prep
- LCH Women’s Book Club
- Writers’ Workshop
- Seeking Volunteers and Donations for ONE POT, ONE HOPE
- Food for Thought
- Punahou Academy Fall Term Parking
- Regular Offerings
- An Easy Way to Donate
- Edward Shipwright Memorial Piano Fund
- HeartBeat Deadline
- Electronic Funds Transfers for July
- Attendance and Offerings for August
- Prayer Requests
- September Birthdays
- Calendar: September 2022
From Pastor Jeff
A Call to Worship and Service
At the very beginning of the pandemic, LCH was fortunate to be able to begin broadcasting of worship immediately. Over time, additional equipment was installed and volunteers were trained to being the best online worship experience possible. We are terribly indebted to our many volunteers who made online broadcasting such a quality experience. We offer our profound thanks to all who have and are serving that capacity! We intend to continue offering online worship and selected other events and are preparing to make final installation of high-end cinema cameras and a better broadcast system that should serve us well into the future.
We know that many of you have appreciated the option of online worship. It is a wonderful gift for those worshiping around the world, for those who are homebound, and for those who are unable to join us for other reasons. However, we would like to encourage our members and friends to join us for worship in person with more regularity. One of the unanticipated byproducts of online worship is a loss of a sense of participation. As one author recently put it “Worship as a participation sport, not a spectator sport.” Please don’t misunderstand, online worship is certainly participatory, but in a more limited way! Remote worship limits interaction with your faith friends, the infectious quality of mutual conversation is muted, and the opportunities to be present for the joys and sorrows of the person sitting next to you in the pew are lost. Your presence is missed.
Second, online worship limits the opportunity for you to participate in one of the longest-standing and most valuable traditions at LCH, lay worship leadership. The variety of voices being heard praying, singing, leading worship, and reading lessons is much less these days. We are thankful for the pool of truly dedicated volunteers who shoulder the joys of worship leadership each Sunday, but we also worry about overburdening too few people. We miss your voice when you are not here in person.
Third, online worship does not afford the opportunity for service on Sunday morning. Ushers, communion assistants, altar guild members, and those hosting fellowship are all vital participants in the faith life of our community. Through service we are the hands of Christ for our neighbor! Even more importantly, we look to you to help us reach out with service to our community and the world! Sometimes it is hard to hear the needs of our neighbors and respond to them when our only connection is through cyberspace. Your willing service is missed.
Lastly, we simply miss seeing you, talking with you, and worshiping alongside you week in and week out. While we rejoice when you worship online, we don’t always know you are there! We look forward to your Christian fellowship, your corny jokes, and your smiling face. We are not complete without you! So, we hope and pray that you will, whenever possible, worship in person here at your spiritual home, Lutheran Church of Honolulu.
Of course, for some, online worship will continue to be the only viable option, and we celebrate your presence every week! It is wonderful to have our community extend from New York to the Middle East and beyond. You are an integral and important part of this ‘ohana, and we look forward to your presence (and comments) on Facebook. This is certainly part of a new and overdue extension of the work Christ is doing in our midst. Please be sure to let us know how we can better serve you with online worship. Your input is crucial to our improvement.
Finally, a huge mahalo to all who have volunteered their time and talents for both online and in-person worship. We could do neither if not for your dedication to this ministry. May God bless us all as we share the Good News of Christ over the airwaves and in person.
Blessings,
Pastor Jeff
LCH Office Hours
- Monday—Closed
- Tuesday—9:00 am to 1:00 pm
- Wednesday—9:00 am to 1:00 pm
- Thursday—9:00 am to 1:00 pm
- Friday—9:00 am to 1:00 pm
- Saturday–Sunday—Closed
Given the persistence of covid in our community, the LCH office and church campus are generally closed to in-person meetings and gatherings as we continue to practice mutual care. We require masks for in-person interactions and recommend calling the office (808-941-2566) before dropping in to see Pastor Jeff or the administrator, as schedules may vary with appointments, other work commitments, and lunch breaks.
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.
Committee/Interest Group Chairs
| Committee/Group | Leader |
|---|---|
| Archive: | Jim Cartwright |
| Concert: | Scott Fikse |
| Communications: | Carol Langner |
| Community Life: | Larry Anderson |
| Council: | Dan Dennison |
| Fellowship: | Mary-Jo Estes |
| Finance: | Steve Miller |
| Financial Review: | Dori Palcovich |
| Food for Thought: | Marlise Tellander |
| Lay Ministers: | Carolyn Koehler |
| Learning Ministry: | Fred Benco |
| Mary Magdalene Society: | Bill Potter Roy Helms |
| Process Theology: | Carol Langner |
| Property: | Richard Mundell Pastor Jeff Lilley |
| Scholarship: | Fred Benco |
| Social Ministry: | Jean Lilley Miles Sato |
| Stewardship: | Phyllis Hörmann Willow Chang |
| Sunday School: | Linda Miller |
| Website: | Bill Potter |
| Worship & Music: | Roy Helms Randy Castello |
| Writers’ Workshop: | Peter Flachsbart |
| Youth: | Pastor Jeff Lilley |
Sharing God’s Love with National and Global Neighbors
We are nearing the end of the second year of a stewardship program that has focused on the ways each and every one of us is a steward of God’s love. We have lifted up the many blessings that God has both provided us and entrusted to our care. Most recently we highlighted how we share God’s love by reaching out to care for our local neighbors through some very specific ministries. Linda Muller gave a temple talk on our involvement in One Pot, One Hope, a ministry of the Hukilau, that provides food to the houseless in Wai‘anae. Others were lifted up in last month’s HeartBeat.
This month we focus on ways we share God’s love more broadly with our national and global neighbors. At first blush, reaching out to neighbors across the US or on the other side of the world seems like an impossible task, but a member of our Stewardship Team mentioned that he remembered someone in our congregation who had done that. So, I reached out to the member, Dr. Steve Miller and asked him to tell me about work he had done with blindness programs in Nepal and Tibet. Here’s what he told me.
I took my 16-year-old daughter, Alexa, on my first volunteer trip to rural Nepal to teach cataract surgery. Like all 16-year-olds, she acted a bit bored, but felt the joy of restoring someone’s sight so they could see their children or grandchildren again and return to usefulness in the community. This was and is a precious gift in the poor areas of the world where there are still 35 million people completely blind from lack of a-10-minute, $50 operation.
I was hooked. For the last 30 years I have volunteered to teach cataract and retinal surgery, as well as hospital administration in Nepal and Tibet. We went where there were no eye services at all, found compassionate energetic people, stayed friends with everyone, adapted surgical techniques to local conditions of poverty and minimal equipment, trained people to give good service, quality results, and price according to income—with half the patients getting free operations.
I worked with seva.org, an international blindness charity from San Francisco, because their idea was not to go and do, but to go and teach. We took co-responsibility for medical and financial success of the programs which were owned and run by the local people. In Nepal we co-established the Lumbini Eye Hospital which now cures 35,000 each year of blindness and has its own training programs. In Tibet we co-founded an eye unit with the Traditional Medicine Hospital. It now functions on its own as the eye referral center for Tibet and supports daughter programs in the remote villages for 2 million people.
While not church related at all, there were spiritual motivations and rewards. We worked very hard with compassionate people of many origins: villagers, herbalists, trained physicians, barefoot docs, sheep herders, Buddhist monks, Communist officials, Hindus, etc. They all had the same needs and feelings. “I slept and dreamt that life was joy, I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy,” Rabindranath Tagore.
As Steve’s story shows. we don’t have to be constrained by what we can do as individuals. Some of us already work with national and international organizations that minister to distant neighbors. In addition, as members of LCH, we are part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which has a full range of programs designed to share God’s love with neighbors near and far. As it says on the ELCA website, “We are a church that rolls up our sleeves and gets to work.”
If you have never checked out the ELCA website, I encourage you to do so. It’s full of all kinds of resources. For resources that help us reach out to our neighbors, click on the tab entitled “Our Work.” That section is divided into four categories: leadership, relief and development, global mission, and publicly engaged church. Browsing through each section reveals all the different opportunities to care for our national and global neighbors.
Some of us, like Dr. Miller, will choose to use our time and talents. There may be some in our congregation now who feel a calling to pastoral ministry, to service in church-related social ministry organizations, to ministry as volunteers in global ministry, and to participation as part of our publicly engaged church. The website provides information on all of these options.
Others of us will choose to engage financially. In fact, our congregation is already engaged that way since ten percent of what we give to LCH goes through the Pacifica Synod to the ELCA in support of these broader ministries of the larger church. What we give financially supports seminary education to equip leaders for ministry, volunteers who share their vocational expertise in other countries, ELCA missionaries, efforts to eliminate world hunger, and our response to natural and human-caused disasters. If you want to provide even more support to an ELCA ministry of your choice, just go to that section of the website, and there is probably a button you can use to make a donation.
There are many opportunities to be good stewards of God’s love as part of the ELCA, through other organizations, and as individuals. How will you respond to this call? Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work?
Each Sunday during September, the Stewardship Team will distribute information about opportunities through the ELCA for each of us to use our time, our talents, and our finances to reach out to neighbors across our nation and around the world. If you want to get a head start, just go to www.elca.org/Our-Work and begin to explore.
Phyllis Hörmann for the Stewardship Team
Willow Chang, Walter Cummings, Phyllis Hörmann, Cindy Scheinert, Barbara Poole-Street, Bill Potter
Barry Wenger Called as Director of Music and Organist
Dr. Barry J. Wenger joins the staff of LCH in November as its new director of music and organist. Barry has over 30 years of experience as a professional church musician. In his own words, “My hope is that my love of excellent music in praise and lament to God and my love of the Hawaiian culture and its beauty will be an excellent fit for the Lutheran Church of Honolulu.”
In addition to his position as organist/director of bell choirs at the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, Dr. Wenger has served as adjunct professor of organ at Lake Forest College and as adjunct professor of music at the University of Wisconsin at Waukesha, teaching future organists as well as directing the Concert Choir. His stated philosophy, “We join together and create much more than we can alone. To God alone be the glory.”
Thank you to the search committee headed by Scott Fikse for the numerous Zoom meetings and virtual interviews conducted during the last eight months. The entire community will benefit from their dedication to the future of worship and music at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu.
Barry will be joined in Honolulu by his husband, Steve Hoover, Paxton, their faithful dog, and three lovable cats as soon as details for relocating can be finalized.
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.
Give Aloha Returns September 1!
LCH Org Code: 78224
We are registered again to participate in the annual Give Aloha Program, sponsored by Foodland/Western Union. During the month of September, donations to Give Aloha will be accepted, up to $249, at any Foodland or Sack N Save. Don’t forget your Maika‘i card and use the LCH Organization Code (78224) at the time of your donation. Foodland and Western Union will match every gift received up to $300,000 for all combined participating organizations.
Book of Faith Bible Study
Thursdays, 10:00–11:45 am • Boardroom/Zoom Meeting
The Book of Faith Bible Study meets on Thursday mornings via the Zoom online meeting platform for the duration of the pandemic. 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.
Restorative Yoga
Thursdays, September 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29, at 6:00 pm • Via Zoom Meeting
Explore the restorative and ancient practice of yoga, led by LCH member Willow Chang. As a yoga practitioner for over 30 years, Willow shares the joy, wonder, and enthusiasm of a beginner. She emphasizes the origins, cultural context, and safe practice of yoga for all. In this 4-week session, she’ll share various aspects of yoga, from pranayama (breathing exercises) and yogic philosophy (ahimsa), to poses, referred to as asanas.
Join for one, two, or all four sessions from the safety of your own shelter-in-place. These unique classes also provide an opportunity to answer your questions about yoga practice and form. You don’t need yoga pants, previous experience, youth, flexibility, or any real-life experience in India to learn about yoga. Bring your amazing self to be in wonder of your abilities! Please contact Willow Chang (willowchang@hotmail.com) to be included in the weekly Zoom meeting invitation. Let’s learn and find a new center, together!
Godly Play Sunday School Is Back!
Since LCH services are now hybrid, we are presenting a hybrid on-line/in-person version of Godly Play starting up again after the summer break on September 4.
The in-person part will take place in Isenberg Hall at 9:00 and will follow the same guidelines as LCH in-person worship. Each Saturday the link for the on-line meeting will be sent to all who need to join from their home. The on-line meeting will be shorter, just covering the story. Contact the LCH office if you wish to be added to the invitation list.
This class is geared for children in kindergarten through 5th grade. All are welcome!
Below is the schedule of Godly Play stories for September:
- 9/4—The Holy Bible
- 9/11—Creation
- 9/18—The Flood and the Ark
- 9/25—The Great Family
Adult Forum
Sundays at 9:00 am • In-person in the Boardroom or Via Zoom Meeting
For the first two weeks of September, we continue our study led by Carol Langner of how the visual arts can contribute to our understanding of scripture and theology. Word and image have been entwined in religious art for millennia. How does an image explicate a scriptural passage, and how does scripture provide a context of understanding for a work of art? How do the two forms of expression enhance or detract from each other? Is your understanding of each enlarged by their relationship? We will look at the Lenten bulletin boards in the courtyard for 2020 and 2022, We’ll share ideas about the visual art selected, and discuss how these creative works relate to the appointed scripture and Lenten themes.
During the rest of September, Fred Benco will lead a discussion of Supreme Court decisions at the intersection of law and religion.
All are welcome to join the Adult Forum on Sunday mornings, either via Zoom Meeting or in-person in the Boardroom. If you are coming for worship, just head to the Boardroom at 9:00 and join the others who are there. You do not need to bring your own computer. If you are participating via Zoom, download the free Zoom app, click on the Zoom link sent to you, and enable your microphone and video capabilities. If you are not already on the list for the Adult Forum, please contact Stan Baptista at stan.baptista@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
You are invited to join with your LCH ‘ohana on Sundays for a virtual coffee talk following online worship. Discussion is conducted via the Zoom Meeting platform, and runs 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.
Compline
Sundays, September 4 and 18, at 7:30 pm • In-person and Via Livestream Broadcast
We warmly invite all people in all places of faith and life to Compline. Offered on the first and third Sundays of each month, this beautiful candle-lit service is a meditative experience of a cappella singing and chanting to commemorate the day’s end. Led by members of the LCH Men’s Schola, musical selections include Gregorian chant, Taizé chant, Renaissance polyphony, and more.
For those not attending in person, Compline will be livestreamed on our Worship Services page and the LCH Facebook page.
LCH OFFICE CLOSED
Monday, September 5, in observance of Labor Day
First Mondays Season Opener: Tree Trios
Monday, September 5, 7:00 pm • In-person and Via Livestream Broadcast
Join us for an exciting musical adventure exploring the various combinations of these four instruments in various trio formations. Yuseon Nam, violin, Alex Hayashi, oboe, Marie Lickwar, horn, and Jasmine Nagano, piano, perform music from the Romantic period into the 20th century. The lush romanticism of Brahms leads to the polytonality and quartal and quintal harmonies of Milhaud and on to the mature but lighthearted composition by Reinecke.
Suggested donation $20. For those not attending in person, the concert will be livestreamed on our Worship Services page and the LCH Facebook page.
Leadership Roundtable
Tuesday, September 6, 6:30 pm • Via Zoom Meeting
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!
Mary Magdalene Society Potluck and Game Night
Saturday, September 10, at 6:00 pm • Hörmann Courtyard
Mary Magdalene Society will meet in-person for our potluck and game night in the LCH courtyard on September 10. We invite LGBTQI members and friends of LCH to prepare their favorite potluck dish, bring a game to play, and join in the festivities. As part of our commitment to mutual care, participants should RSVP in advance, be fully-vaccinated, wear quality masks at all times except where individuals are actively eating and drinking, and maintain physical distancing.
An email will be sent around September 4 to those who are already on the Mary Magdalene mailing list, detailing the RSVP procedure. If you don’t receive your invitation, have questions, or want to be added to the mailing list, please contact Bill Potter, group facilitator, at bill.potter808@gmail.com.
IHS Brown Bag Meal Prep
LCH continues our commitment to IHS to assist with feeding the homeless during these difficult times. Although covid restrictions in the community have relaxed, we continue to practice the requirements of social distancing, masks, sanitizing, etc. in this ministry. 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.
LCH Women’s Book Club
Monday, September 19, at 10:00 AM • In-Person at the Murashige’s Home
LCH Women’s Book Club will meet in person on Monday, September 19, at the Murashige’s home. We will also be on Zoom for those who prefer to maintain distance. Paula Wheeler and Juditha will give informal book reports. If you are not already on the Book Club list, please contact Juditha Murashige at jcmurashige@earthlink.net to receive an invitation to join them. All are welcome.
Writers’ Workshop
Tuesday, September 20, at 4:30 PM • Via Zoom Meeting
Writers’ Workshop will continue to meet via Zoom meeting. All are welcome! If you would like to participate, please contact Peter Flachsbart at pflachsbart@gmail.com for information on how to connect remotely.
Seeking Volunteers and Donations for ONE POT, ONE HOPE
Saturday, June 25, at 9:00 am • Maluhia Lutheran Church in Wai‘anae
The One Pot, One Hope ministry, a Hukilau project, continues each month at Maluhia Lutheran Church in Wai‘anae, restarted on March 26. Please consider participating by joining the volunteers, at the next meet-up on Saturday, May 28, at 9:00 am. You can also contribute by donating 5-lb. cans of chili, cartons of granola bars, or large jars of peanut butter or jelly; or you can support this outreach with funds either by check or via the LCH Donate page. (Be sure to designate donation for One Pot, One Hope.) Food items may be dropped off during coffee hour on Sundays or left at the office during open hours. Contact pr.bree@LCHwelcome.org with any questions. Mahalo for assisting with this mission to provide meals to our neighbors.
Food for Thought
Saturday, September 24, at 5:00 pm • Hybrid In-person and Zoom Gathering
Food for Thought will have a hybrid gathering beginning at 5:00 pm on Saturday, September 24. Those who wish to come in person should be vaccinated. We will gather at the home of David Hörmann, who will provide the main dish, and others are asked to bring side dishes or dessert to complete the potluck.
If you would like to participate, please contact Peter Flachsbart at pflaschbart@gmail.com to receive an invitation to join the next Zoom Food for Thought meeting. If you wish to attend in person, contact Phyllis Hörmann at phllshrmnn7@gmail.com.
Punahou Academy Fall Term Parking
Monday–Friday • Church Lot & Poki Lot
The Punahou Academy fall semester began August 17. Student parking began in the LCH Poki Street and church parking lots on that date. There are 12 spaces reserved for Punahou students in the church parking lot for the fall and spring semesters. All spaces along the Poki Street side of the church lot and four spaces in the gravel area nearest to the dumpster are reserved. Please do not park in the designated student spaces Monday through Friday, from 6:00 am to 6:00 Ppm on school days only, through May 2023.
All Poki Street lot spaces are reserved for Punahou student parking, Monday through Friday, from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm on school days only, through May 2023. Please do not park in the Poki Street lot during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. Even if spaces are empty, they are paid for by and reserved for Punahou students.
It is recommended that you observe posted “Reserved Parking” signs and park in the church lot, against the LCH office building, during office hours when visiting LCH on regular business days. The church lot parking diagram is included here for guidance.
Please be aware that cars parked in the church lot after 10:00 pm will be towed at the owner’s expense.
Regular Offerings
If you are not attending church 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.
| Offering Fund | Amount | Offering Fund | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offering | $8,827 | Family Promise | $70 |
| Music Fund | $285 | Capital Improvements | $55 |
| Concert Fund | $90 | One Pot, One Hope | $20 |
HeartBeat Deadline
Tuesday, September 20, 9:00 am
Angela N., Aubrey A., friends and family of Billy S., Bruce H., Chuck H. and Nan W., Colleen K., Dan, Diane B., Harold W., Ilse L., Jenny P., friends and family of John David S., Judy M., Karen and Kerstin, Karen and Richard E., Kathy M., Kendra K., Kim B., Lissa G., Lori W., Mel S., Michael, Miriam S., Patricia, Resi, Samantha C., Steve, Sweetie K., Tom P., Tom R., and William
Please help us to keep the Prayer Requests list relevant. If you have a friend or loved one who should remain on the list, we are glad to keep them in prayer. Please email the office to let us know when a name may be removed from the list.
