In this issue:
- First Mondays Concert: A World Tour in Sound—Making the Pipes Sing!
- Ash Wednesday Worship
- Lenten Soup and Salad Suppers
- Lenten Wednesdays: Healing and Wholeness through Our Senses
- From Pastor Jeff
- LCH Office Hours
- Stewardship Corner
- Committee/Interest Group Chairs
- Angel Network In-Gathering
- Book of Faith Bible Study
- Restorative Yoga
- All Ages Sunday School
- Adult Forum
- Virtual Coffee Talk
- Leadership Roundtable
- Confirmation Classes
- IHS Sandwich Making
- Compline
- LCH Office Closed for Presidents Day
- LCH Women’s Book Club
- Writers’ Workshop
- Seeking Volunteers & Donations for One Pot, One Hope
- Mary Magdalene Society Potluck and Game Night
- Windward Wounded Warriors Update
- LCH Annual Meeting Report
- Maluhia Lutheran Church Sewer Update
- Food for Thought
- Regular Offerings
- HeartBeat Deadline
- Electronic Funds Transfers for December
- Attendance and Offerings for January
- Prayer Requests
- February Birthdays
- Calendar: February 2024
First Mondays Chamber Concerts: A World Tour in Sound—Making the Pipes Sing!
Monday, February 5, at 7:00 pm
Dr. Barry Wenger plays the Beckerath organ for our February concert “A World Tour in Sound: Making the Pipes Sing!”
You will be taken on a tonal tour through the music of Johann Sebastian Bach to more contemporary Max Reger. Also included will be music by Arvo Pärt and Alan Hovhanness. Come enjoy a “tour” of organ music on the wonderful von Beckerath organ.
All are invited to gather for pūpū in the Hörmann Courtyard and 6:15 pm. The concert is free, with a suggested donation $20. In addition, we will continue to collect packaged, unopened dry goods (e.g., cereal, flour, sugar, pasta, etc.) and canned food donations for the Angel Network at each concert.
Ash Wednesday Worship
Wednesday, February 14 + 7:30 pm + in the Nave
The season of Lent begins with a very special worship on Ash Wednesday. This beautiful evening service begins the Lenten season of reflection, prayer, and preparation as we hear the words from Genesis 3:19, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Ashes, a sign of mourning and repentance, are placed on our foreheads as a reminder of our mortality, but the ashes are in the shape of a cross, a sign of promise, and life, and hope. Ash Wednesday—and the whole season of Lent—calls us to reflect and remember the precious gift of life and love that God has given us in creation and community and to re-center our thoughts and spirit on what truly matters. As we gather around the communion table in worship on Ash Wednesday, we see our neighbor with the same smudged cross on her head, recall that our mortality is joined to hers forever in Christ, and remember that together we share the joy of life with all of God’s world.
Lenten Soup and Salad Suppers
Wednesdays, February 21, 28, March 6, 13, and 20, at 6:00 pm • in the Hörmann Courtyard
Please join in this wonderful time of fellowship and prayer, beginning each Wednesday of Lent with a simple soup and salad supper. Suppers are served at 6:00 pm, prior to 7:00 pm Lenten services in the nave. A sign-up sheet will be available in the courtyard for contributions to each week’s meal and for help with set-up and clean-up. See Jeanne Castello or call the LCH office for more information.
Lenten Wednesdays: Healing and Wholeness through Our Senses
Join us mid-week during Lent as we share Holden Evening Prayer. The sung prayer service begins at 7:00 pm preceded by a soup-and-salad supper at 6:00 pm in the church courtyard. This year’s Lenten theme, Healing and Wholeness through Our Senses, builds on our Stewardship theme for this year.
All are welcomed and encouraged to share this intimate prayer service and supper with us as we journey, in brokenness and healing, through the Lenten season.
From Pastor Jeff
Remember that you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.
On February 14 we will gather as Christ’s community to begin our annual journey of Lent on Ash Wednesday. To be sure, it will seem a little strange that, on a day usually associated with Valentine’s Day and the sentimentality and genuineness of love, we will gather in quiet meditation and receive ashes instead of roses. But there is something very powerful happening in that service that is important to ponder.
I remember as a child marching up each Ash Wednesday and having Pastor Richard mark my forehead with ashes saying “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” I didn’t really know what he was talking about. But it seemed pretty cool to have a dirty forehead in church and not have anybody yell at me for it. Time marched on, and many dirty foreheads later, I have come to cherish this moment each year. It’s not that I need a reminder of my mortality. My achy joints and lab reports from my doctor remind me often enough that time is not on my side. The pandemic, wars in Gaza and around the world, soaring political and economic conflict in our own country, and pervasive loneliness are all constant reminders of our mortality.
The power of the ashen cross on our foreheads is not a reminder that our time on earth is limited. The real power is that the cross reminds us that while we are here, we are deeply and infinitely loved. The cross on our foreheads reminds us that real love is not carried by pithy Hallmark cards, snazzy gifts, or a romantic dinner at Jack in the Box. Real love is a free gift of God that is carried in the deeper places of life itself. One of those deepest places was Jesus, whose cruciform love wraps itself around our very being and refuses to let go. That’s the part I was missing when I was a child. I didn’t see love in that cross. I didn’t see God’s healing in that cross. I didn’t understand that the cross on my forehead linked me to all the other cross bearers through time and space. I didn’t understand that the cross on my forehead was not proclaiming death; it was proclaiming love, the deepest love in the world.
Through this love, we come to find the healing and wholeness that we crave in our broken world. Through this love, we find the courage to serve our neighbor. Through this love, we set aside time to reach out to a neighbor who just needs someone to listen. Through this love, we are changed, and so is the world.
So come join us February 14 to share the greatest love there is. Remember you are dust….
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: | Barry Wenger |
| Communications: | Carol Langner |
| Community Life: | Larry Anderson |
| Council: | Dan Dennison |
| Fellowship: | Jeanne Castello |
| 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 |
Art and Healing
As the year progresses, we keep moving forward and exploring our theme “Continuing the Journey towards Wholeness.” In February and March we consider the ways that art—in all different forms—can be both occasions for and means of healing.
Most of us will probably say we love art, but too often we think of art only in aesthetic terms and neglect the many practical ways that the arts benefit us as individuals and as part of society. We’ve all probably seen memes noting the ways the arts benefit students in school. And we’ve all probably experienced times when looking at or making art has been healing. In my own life as a singer, I remember many times when I’ve gone to choir practice exhausted from a hard day at work, and the act of making music with the choir has revived and reenergized me.
I was pleased to find a blog post on the Psychology Today website, “How Art Heals: 5 Ways That Art Makes Everything Better,” that says, “just looking at art can be healing.” Here’s the list:
- Art lowers anxiety
- Art generates new solutions
- Art (both making it and looking at it) can have a role in therapy
- Art helps us deal with difficult realities
- Art builds safe, meditative, imaginative spaces
As humans, we are shaken by loss and grief, we struggle with the stress of everyday life, we suffer from physical and mental health issues, we experience natural and human-caused disasters, and we endure bouts of loneliness. In the face of challenges like these, we find or invent ways to cope and regain our equilibrium—to heal. During February and March, your Stewardship Team will offer opportunities to explore ways that both looking at (or listening to or reading) and making art can be healing.
During February, Carol Langner and Juditha Murashige will help us explore how reading poetry can be part of a pathway to healing and how the engagement with poetry and poetic language can soothe and mend ragged spirits. There will be two or three sessions, depending on how deeply the group chooses to dive into the topic, beginning Saturday, February 24, at 9:30 am in the Boardroom. Please speak to Carol at church or contact the church office (808-941-2566 or lch@LCHwelcome,org) to sign up for these poetry sessions.
This year’s our Wednesday Lenten Evenings, with the theme “Healing and Wholeness through Our Senses,” also tie into this Stewardship focus. The liturgy will use the serene melodies of Holden Evening Prayer; scriptures will center on healing and wholeness; responses to the scriptures during worship may include not only reflections but also poems, dance, stories, or other sensory experiences; and each week there will be image to contemplate.
In March, Willow Chang will lead of series of session where you can participate in artistic movement. Willow will provide information about the artistic movement activity in next month’s Stewardship Corner.
The arts can be powerful tools for many different kinds of healing. I encourage you to participate in these activities and to create your own opportunities to heal by making and enjoying art.
Bill Potter for the Stewardship Team
Pam Buckley, Willow Chang, Phyllis Hörmann, Barbara Poole-Street, Bill Potter, and Cindy Scheinert
Sunday coffee fellowship in the Hörmann Courtyard.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 am • In-person and Via Zoom Meeting
The Book of Faith Bible Study meets on Thursday mornings in-person or via Zoom meeting. All are welcome to join this lively discussion of the Biblical texts, relevant current events, and historical foundations. Please contact Cathy Baptista at cathynt@gmail.com to receive an invitation to the next Zoom Bible study discussion.
Restorative Yoga
Thursdays, February 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 by sharing aspects of yoga, from pranayama (breathing exercises) and yogic philosophy (ahimsa), to poses, referred to as asanas.
Join for one, two, or all 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!
All Ages Sunday School
Come explore with each other the highlights of our Judeo-Christian tradition. We will meet each Sunday in Isenberg Hall at 9:00 am for a story, discussion, and creative response. We will use the form and techniques of Godly Play. This approach will help us understand how our history and practice weave together to create today’s church. Everyone is welcome from the youngest child to the oldest adult.
All Ages Sunday School topics for February:
- 2/04—St. Brigid’s
- 2/11—Parable of the Great Banquet
- 2/18—The Mystery of Easter
- 2/25—The Faces of Easter I and II
Adult Forum discussion, “Living in Hawai‘i with Indigenous Hawaiians.”Adult Forum
Sundays at 9:00 am • In-person in the Boardroom
During February, join members of the Adult Forum as Fred Benco continues with a discussion on the topic “Living in Hawai‘i with Indigenous Hawaiians.” They began with the Apology Resolution passed by Congress in 1993 and will continue consideration of developments from the time of Western contact to 1887, the Bayonet Constitution and later overthrow (1887–1898), and the Mauna Kea telescope controversy.
All are welcome. If you are coming for worship, just get your coffee and head to the Boardroom at 9:00 to join the others who are there.
Virtual Coffee Talk
Sunday, February 4, 11:30 am • Via Zoom Meeting
Virtual Coffee Hour will be held at 11:30 am on the first Sunday of each month. Hope you can join us! You are invited to join with your LCH ‘ohana on the first Sunday 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 Cathy Baptista via email at cathynt@gmail.com 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
Tuesday, February 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 with login information. Please be prepared to share a little information on your activities with the group. Mahalo!
Confirmation Classes
Sundays, February 11 and 25, at 11:45 am • Rainbow Room
Confirmation is voluntary for youth, grades 6 and up, who would like to confirm their faith. At baptism we promise to “place in [your child’s] hands the Holy Scripture and provide for their education in the Christian Faith.” In confirmation class we study scripture, the Reformation, and Christian history, but we are more interested in helping young people develop as persons of faith.
Please contact Pastor Jeff at pr.jeff@lchwelcome.org for more information.
IHS Sandwich Making
Thursday, February 15, 12:00–2:00 pm • Isenberg Hall
LCHers will again convene to prepare sandwiches and pack sack lunches for distribution at Institution for Human Services (IHS). This continues a tradition stretching back decades. We meet monthly and could use a few new, dependable volunteers to join our dedicated group. Please join us. Mahalo!
If you would like to participate in this action-packed, fun activity, please let Brenda know at lch@LCHwelcome.org. She will pass your contact info on to event organizers.
Compline
Sunday, February 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. 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.
Compline is sung only on the third Sunday of the month from September through May. For those not attending in person, Compline will be livestreamed on our Worship Services page and the LCH Facebook page.
Celebration time! Pastor Bree Lloyd was installed as pastor of Ka Hana O Ke Akua Church UCC.LCH Office Closed for Presidents Day
Monday, February 19
LCH Women’s Book Club
Monday, February 19, at 10:00 am • In-Person at the Murashige’s Home and Via Zoom Meeting
LCH Women’s Book Club will meet on Monday, February 19, at the Murashige’s home. We’ll be continuing with The Odyssey in a new translation by Emily Wilson. Please come and join us for a fun morning.
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
Monday, February 19, 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. Mahalo!
Seeking Volunteers & Donations for One Pot, One Hope
Saturday, February 24, 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. Please consider participating by joining the volunteers, at the next meet-up.
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 Billie Jean Reis or Linda Muller with any questions. Mahalo for assisting with this mission to provide meals to our neighbors.
Mary Magdalene Society Potluck and Game Night
Saturday, February 24, at 6:00 pm • Hörmann Courtyard
Mary Magdalene Society will meet in-person for our potluck and game night in the Hörmann Courtyard. We invite LGBTQI members and friends of LCH to prepare their favorite potluck dish and join in the festivities. As part of our commitment to mutual care, participants should RSVP in advance and be fully-vaccinated. With the decline in covid cases, the group has decided that masks are optional.
An email will be sent on February 18 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.
You can find the best pūpū in town at our First Mondays Concerts.Windward Wounded Warriors Update
January was a busy month for us as we advocated for, assisted, and worked with Windward Wounded Warriors. A 12th Day of Christmas gathering for 300+ took place at the Honolulu Country Club, hosted by Wounded Warrior ‘Ohana, ‘Iolani Raiders for Wounded Warriors, and Toys for Tots. The festivities included Santa, characters, face painting, a gingerbread house contest, stockings and gifts, live music, crafts, a buffet, and prizes.
Other January activities included: $300 in grocery shopping for the barracks lounge courtesy of Semper Fi/America’s Fund, clothing and canned food to the Kailua homeless veterans project, brunch for 14 at Over Easy sponsored by Semper Fi/America’s Fund, and meet and greet with UCLA/USC ROTC midshipmen, a farewell dinner for 14 at Hale‘iwa Joe’s for 2 of our service members and their families, preparation for baptism for a Wounded Warrior daughter, and the birth of a third son to one of our families.
Also during January, Chaplain Jensen attend the VA Institutional Review Board as a veteran non-scientist voting member, the Wounded Warrior ‘Ohana board met, and we completed annual activity planning with troops, staff, and support agencies’
On February 11, we will hold a Super Bowl party at “Chaps’” (Pastor Steve’s) from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Volunteers are welcome.
Find out more about Friends of Windward Wounded Warriors on our Facebook page.
LCH Annual Meeting Report
The second portion of the LCH Annual Meeting was held after worship on January 28 with 36 members attending. The highlights of the meeting were:
- The annual budget was approved with proposed income at $479,165. This includes no anticipated increase in member and plate offerings for the year.
- The proposal to enhance and clean the Beckerath organ at a cost of $60,000 was approved. This work will be done in conjunction with the 125th anniversary of the church to be celebrated in 2025.
- Dan Dennison was elected for a second term on the Council. Xelhaun Anderson-Martinez was approved as the youth representative.
- Larry Anderson and Cindy Scheinert volunteered to attend the business portion of the Pacific Synod meeting to be held on June 15.
Maluhia Lutheran Church Sewer Update
Pastor Jazzy Bostock recently sent this update to Hukilau pastors: “I have some amazing news to share—we made our goal for our sewer project! Wahoo! We couldn’t have done it without your help and the generosity of your congregants. Thank you so, so much. I am absolutely astounded to know that we made it, and so relieved that we don’t have to take out any loans or be in debt! You have been an answer to prayer.
“Some monies are still coming in, and we will put them towards…even further sewer expenses. We need to cap the flush out lines to prevent any damage being done to the lines, and we need to plan towards lining one last section of the line.
“I sent out individual thank you letters to everyone who donated last week. Please share the happy news and the gratitude with your congregations. We are so blessed to be in community together!”
Food for Thought
Saturday, March 2, at 5:30 pm • Hörmann’s Home
Food for Thought meets at the home of David Hörmann, who will provide the main dish, while others are asked to bring side dishes or dessert to complete the potluck. If you would like to participate virtually, please contact Peter Flachsbart at pflachsbart@gmail.com to receive an invitation for the next Zoom meeting. If you wish to come in person, contact Marlise Tellander at marlisetellander@hotmail.com. Those who plan to come in person should be vaccinated.
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!
HeartBeat Deadline
Tuesday, February 20, 9:00 am
Betty H., Chuck H. and Nan W., Chuck P., Colleen K., Don Johnson, Dutton S., Elaine, George T. , Greg G., Harold W., Irene McLeod, James Takamiya, Johon R., Kawena Y., Mabel D., the family of Melinda J., Miriam S., Nancy R., the family of Ruth S., Salina R., Star W., Yvonne and Andy M.
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.
