Author Archive: admin

First Mondays Concert: May Day Is Lei Day • Mon., May 5, at 7:00 pm

Posted on by

concert graphicLei Day embodies the spirit of aloha, with each lei representing the heartfelt connection between giver and receiver. The creation of a lei—through the gathering of materials, preparation, and weaving—is infused with the mana, or spirit, of its maker. Honoring this celebration through music, the Lutheran Church of Honolulu welcomes vocalist Starr Kalahiki, who will lead us on a musical adventure that will warm your soul and uplift your spirit!

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.

Through the generous sponsorship of the Arthur and Mae Orvis Foundation and support from other individual supporters, this concert is free. Additional donations to support this concert and the entire series are gladly accepted online (details below) or at the concert.

First Mondays 2024–2025 Concert Series




Help Make “First Mondays” a Success by Becoming a Sponsor

Your tax-deductible donations make it possible for us to offer these free concerts to the community. Please consider a donation by sending a check (payable to “Lutheran Church of Honolulu”) to the church at 1730 Punahou Street, Honolulu HI 96822 or using the button to the right to make a secure donation via PayPal. Mahalo for your support.

LCH Celebrates Earth Day Sunday on April 27

Posted on by

The bounty of our Earth Day celebration 2024This year LCH will celebrate Earth Day with a special service at 10:00 am on Sunday, April 27. The worship service will use a special liturgy centered around creation care.

Before worship, the Adult Form will welcome Dr. Jonathan Scheurer to speak on water rights at 9:00 am in the Boardroom. Dr. Scheurer has twenty five years experience in public policy and land management in the public, non profit, and private sectors, in the Native Hawaiian and broader communities. He works with clients to develop strategies designed to avoid, manage, and/or resolve deep and complex conflicts over the control and management of natural resources.

In addition, sharing tables will be set up in the Hörmann Courtyard for members and friends to share nature’s bounty (plants, flowers vegetables, fruits, nuts, and crafts made of natural materials). The photo at the right shows one of the sharing tables from last year’s celebration.

Read about the history Earth Day, forms of climate activism, ways to get involved, and LCH’s commitment to creation care in the April HeartBeat.

Holy Week and Easter Worship at LCH

Posted on by

April 13 + 10:00 pm + Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. The service begins in the courtyard as a brass quartet leads worshippers in a procession with palm leaves around the church, recalling Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. The service then moves inside for a reading of the Passion Gospel and Holy Communion.

April 17 + 7:30 pm + Maundy Thursday

We remember Jesus’ command to “love one another” as we wash feet and share communion. Music includes Ola Gjello’s Ubi caritas and Ave verum corpus by Jessica French.

April 18 + 7:30 pm+ Good Friday

This powerful service recalls the bitter suffering and death of Jesus that leads to new life. The story of Passion will be told through the William Byrd setting of The Passion according to St. John sung by the LCH Choir.

April 19 + 7:30 pm + Easter Vigil

Following the service of readings and the kindling of the new fire, we move from darkness into the light of resurrection. The resurrection will be welcomed with Will Todd’s Jazz Missa Brevis, with full jazz combo, traditional Easter hymns, and the first Eucharist of Easter.

April 20 + 10:00 am + Easter Sunday

Christ is risen! Join us for our 10:00 am festival choral service, featuring a brass quintet to add to the celebratory nature of this worship service. The LCH Choir will share anthems of Easter joy by Howard Helvey and Elaine Hagenberg.

First Mondays Concert: Timeless Trios for Clarinet • Mon., April 7, at 7:00 pm

Posted on by

concert graphicJoin us for an evening of exquisite music featuring the captivating clarinetist Adam Ebert, accompanied by the harmonious sounds of Steve Flanter on viola, Sung Chan Chang on cello, and Megumi Pulido on piano. The program of Brahms and Mozart trios will take you on a journey through the rich tapestry of classical and romantic music, highlighting the beauty and versatility of each instrument.

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.

Through the generous sponsorship of the Arthur and Mae Orvis Foundation and support from other individual supporters, this concert is free. Additional donations to support this concert and the entire series are gladly accepted online (details below) or at the concert.

First Mondays 2024–2025 Concert Series




Help Make “First Mondays” a Success by Becoming a Sponsor

Your tax-deductible donations make it possible for us to offer these free concerts to the community. Please consider a donation by sending a check (payable to “Lutheran Church of Honolulu”) to the church at 1730 Punahou Street, Honolulu HI 96822 or using the button to the right to make a secure donation via PayPal. Mahalo for your support.

Join Us for Lenten Wednesdays • 5:45 pm (through April 9)

Posted on by

Members and friends prepare the plates for Lenten SuppersLenten Soup and Salad Suppers

Wednesdays, March 12, 19, and 26 and April 2 and 9 • 5:45 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 5:45 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.

Worship: Holy Lament

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 5:45 pm in the church courtyard. This year’s Lenten theme is Holy Lament.

All are welcomed and encouraged to share this intimate prayer service and supper with us this Lenten season.

“In Sorrow and Joy” • Thurs. March 13, 7:00 pm

Posted on by

concert graphicThe LCH Choir and orchestra present a concert in memory of Pastor Jeff Lilley Thursday evening, March 13, at 7:00 pm.

Music for the concert includes J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 38, “Out of the Depths, I Cry to Thee” and Ruth Watson Henderson’s “From Darkness to Light.”

We mark this five-month anniversary of Pr. Jeff’s passing through the beauty of music. Please invite friends and family to this beautiful concert of music to remember our sorrow and also to remember our joy!

First Mondays Concert: Four Seasons • Mon., Mar. 3, at 7:00 pm

Posted on by

concert graphicWelcome spring with the Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi. Darel Stark will lead our chamber orchestra for this 300th-anniversary performance with a narration of the sonnets upon which this work is based. Also featured on the program will be works by Darel Stark and Johann Sebastian Bach.

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.

Through the generous sponsorship of the Arthur and Mae Orvis Foundation and support from other individual supporters, this concert is free. Additional donations to support this concert and the entire series are gladly accepted online (details below) or at the concert.

First Mondays 2024–2025 Concert Series




Help Make “First Mondays” a Success by Becoming a Sponsor

Your tax-deductible donations make it possible for us to offer these free concerts to the community. Please consider a donation by sending a check (payable to “Lutheran Church of Honolulu”) to the church at 1730 Punahou Street, Honolulu HI 96822 or using the button to the right to make a secure donation via PayPal. Mahalo for your support.

Welcoming Pr. Lesley Radius, Our Interim Pastor

Posted on by

Pr. Lesley RadiusPr. Lesley Radius began serving as the interim pastor of LCH on March 1. We welcome her as our new shepherd and partner in ministry and look forward to all that we will do together over the next year or two. Pr. Lesley, who will be living at Luther Place, will be jumping right into her new call and preaching on March 2. Her email is pr.lesley@lchwelcome.org.

We ask everyone to remember that Pr. Lesley is severely allergic to scented flowers, incense, and perfumes. She has been in the Emergency Room in anaphylaxis, so all are asked to honor her allergy issues whenever you come to the LCH campus.

Pastor Lesley Radius grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and attended Hope Lutheran Church, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. When she was 13, “Mr. Lesley Radius” was invited to attend a program that fast tracked participants through high school, college, and seminary. With her invitation to that program,Lesley received a brochure entitled “So, you want to be a pastor!” Oddly enough, when Lesley was packing for Lutheran School of Theology, 30 years after she had received the brochure, she found the brochure in the very bottom of the last box she was sorting. This reinforced for Lesley her call to pastoral ministry, even if it took her a long time to know her call and be in a denomination that would allow her to be a pastor.

Lesley is trained in interim ministry, church planting, and church redevelopment. She has served churches in Missouri, Kansas, Tennessee, Maryland, Texas, and now Hawai‘i.

Lesley is very excited to be on this journey with LCH as we discover together what God is up to in our church, the greater community, the state, the nation, and the world. “God is loose in the world,” as Peter Mayer sings. During this transition time, we get the privilege to discern how we will be about doing God’s work, with our hands. May God bless our time together and continue the work of transformation each and every day in each of us. Always remember, Jesus loves you.

125th Anniversary Mission Fund Plans

Posted on by

LCH’s 125th Anniversary celebration includes two important elements—refurbishing the organ and mission objectives that were formed through the critical input from the ‘Ohana Groups and the ongoing discussions about what is God calling us to do.

The areas the congregation identified as the most important are:

  • Welcoming and Safe Environment
  • Liturgy, Music, and the Arts
  • Silver Tsunami

The area of liturgy and music is being covered by the money being raised for the organ and a generous $79,000 bequest from the Thomas Hilgers Trust that is to be spent on the music program, but specifically for items not in the ongoing budget, such as concerts, new musical commissions, and other ways to expand the music program.

To cover the Welcoming and Safe Environment and the Silver Tsunami, we propose the following:

  • Welcoming and Safe Environment—$50,000
    • Presenting a more welcoming face to the world (cleaning up the front of the church, painting the exterior and interior of the church, removing old playground equipment, repairing the rose window)
    • Landscaping, including creating a dog run for neighbors
    • Murals to capture the spirit of the church
  • Silver Tsunami—$4,000
    • Seed money to help determine the most beneficial programs for seniors and their caregivers.
  • Tithing to the ELCA through the Pacifica Synod—$6,000
    • Yes, tithing is part of our culture.

We will create task forces to oversee these efforts and make sure the congregation is involved in the planning. If you want to be part of one of these task forces, please talk to Olivia Castro.

As of publication, we have raised $9,000 for the mission part of the 125th anniversary celebration. We narrowed the focus and are now concentrating on raising funds. If you would like to contribute, we ask that you do the following:

  • Write a check and mail it in or give as your offering. Please designate 125th Anniversary Mission Fund on the description line.
  • Contact Brenda in the church office (808-941-2566 or lch@lchwelome.org) to start initiate a monthly EFT donation to the 125th Anniversary Mission Fund through Simply Giving or to add a new donation to your current contributions via Simply Giving
  • Go to the LCH website and click the Donate link. From the pulldown menu and click on 125th Anniversary Mission Fund.

If you have any questions, please contact Mary Fastenau, Olivia Castro, or Dan Dennison.

Youth Fundraiser—Punahou Carnival Parking

Posted on by

Happy parking volunteersEach year, the LCH youth raise money for travel to the continent with their Punahou Carnival parking fundraiser. This year the carnival is schedule for Friday and Saturday, February 7 and 8. If you are planning to visit the carnival, consider parking in the lot behind the church or in our Poki Lot, mauka of the church on Poki Street (behind the condo across Dominis Street from the church.)

Members and friends are encouraged to volunteer for a three-hour shifts during the carnival on either day. Event coordinators provide snacks and drinks, flashlights, and safety vests, and you provide the fellowship!