Please join us Saturday, September 25, at 9:00 am for God’s Work Our Hands Volunteer Day at Sand Island Beach Park. Though not the same day as God’s Work, Our Hands Sunday, this will be LCH’s opportunity to participate in the ELCA’s national day of service. God’s Work, Our Hands Sunday celebrates who we are as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America—one church freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor.

On September 25, we will serve our neighbors—humans, birds, turtles, plants, and fish—by cleaning and caring for Sand Island. This is a wonderful way to share our love for the earth and demonstrate our care for all God has made.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, we are limited to a group of 25 for this event; masks and social distancing are required to participate. Please register for the event by emailing Pastor Jeff at pr.jeff@LCHwelcome.org. Event details, including meeting place at the park, will be emailed to you once you register. Bring gloves, a water bottle, sun screen, and a sense of adventure! Trash bags, snacks, additional gloves, and spiritual support are provided by LCH.

“Shallow subsidy” is a program that provides short-term financial assistance to help prevent a family-at-risk from losing their housing. In many cases, a few hundred dollars helps a family meet their monthly expenses, making the difference between a stable home or life on the street. We partner with Family Promise, a faith-based organization focused on transitioning families into housing, to launch our shallow subsidy ministry at LCH. An additional goal is ensuring that families retain their housing, which can be challenging with Honolulu’s high cost of living.

Family Promise began operating in Hawai‘i in 2006, and they have succeeded in getting 80% of their families into sustainable housing within three months (more information at familypromisehawaii.org). The goal of Family Promise and its participating churches is to assist families as they transition to permanent housing. This is where LCH comes in. Family Promise matches shallow subsidy donors with families needing longer-term financial support to sustain their placement in permanent housing units.

On Easter Sunday, April 16, we kick off our fund drive by asking for pledges to the shallow subsidy fund. Our goal for LCH is $300 a month—$3,600 for the year. This amounts to 30 pledges of $10 each month (or $120 a year), or combinations of other amounts. Consistency in giving is the most important aspect of your pledge. Donors may make a full-year payment or contribute monthly by check or cash, indicating “Shallow Subsidy” on the contribution envelope or check memo line.

Please consider making a monthly donation—any amount you’re comfortable with. LCH will commit to support a family through Shallow Subsidy for a year. Pledge forms will be available in our Sunday worship bulletins. Please return them by Pentecost Sunday, June 4. If pledges are especially generous, we may be able to help two families!

In keeping with our theme of “Restoring Creation—Renewing Christ’s Community” we will be organizing a neighborhood cleanup on Saturday, November 19. On the surface our corner of Makiki is pretty neat and clean, but this is a chance to make sure everything is real ship-shape.

We’ll gather in the Courtyard at 10:00 am for some stretching and divide up into groups of two or three to get to work. The plan is to pick up the trash in the area from Wilder Avenue on the mauka side up to Nehoa on the makai, and from Punahou Street over to Makiki Street.

The Stewardship Committee will have vests for you to wear, trash bags, and disposable gloves if you don’t have your own work gloves. We expect to finish up in about two hours, and there will be lunch when the work is all pau.

We invite you all to join in as we restore this little bit of creation that is home to our congregation. Check your calendar and sign up in the Courtyard to be part of this neighborhood cleanup.