The HeartBeat

A Message from Pastor Jeff

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.

I Corinthians 13:11

Over the July 4th weekend, 40 Hukilau Youth and their friends gathered at Camp Erdman for the second annual OYEA Summer Camp. I was at the sign-in desk as youth and parents arrived for camp. Most of the kids were fairly happy to be there, but some were apprehensive, and others disinterested. One girl’s joy at being at camp dissolved into tears when I told her she would have to give up her cell phone and iPod for the week—ouch! By noon the next day I began to see a change in the kids that was just wonderful.

It started at evening worship as the camp counselors broke out the guitars and began to teach the kids new songs. Half-hearted responses began to grow in volume. Kids who had been standing at the periphery started to clap and sing. By the end of the evening, the enthusiastic were dancing and singing about Jesus, the boys were no longer consumed with looking cool, and even a few of the pastors were beginning to loosen up. That evening, I watched Ben, the camp counselor, lead a wonderful evening Bible study, and the kids (mostly) drifted off to sleep.

The next few days were filled with stories, outdoor games, swimming, Bible study, worship, music, and fun. What impressed me most about the counselors was that their faith was always present and visible, even while playing crazy games or disciplining a youth. They made it clear that respect and love need to govern our lives, not because it is nice but because Christ calls us to just that kind of life together. One evening I watched the kids and counselors shout and dance as they sang, “Dance before the altar of the Lord.” It was crazy, foolish, chaotic worship. With joyful abandon they proclaimed God’s word with loud voices and wriggling bodies bumping into each other on the chapel floor one moment, and the next they were listening intently as others shared their faith stories and words of scripture. They were so present with each other and with God. I envy their freedom to be fools for Christ’s sake.

Somewhere along life’s path many adults buy into the myth that growing up means giving up the foolish faith of youth. Paul seems to have bought into that in I Corinthians. Perhaps he missed Jesus’ sermon urging us to have the “faith of a child.” Teens yearn to grow up and put childish things behind them, and adults often forget what it is like to be a child. But this week at camp reminded me that while I have (and perhaps should) put many childish things behind me, I should never leave behind a child-like faith that trusts in the presence of God, is unafraid to express that faith in joyful dance and foolish clapping, and sits quietly listening for the wisdom of others. Perhaps we all have something to learn from the foolish faith of youth.

Pastor Jeff Lilley
pr.jeff@lchwelcome.org

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July Council Minutes

• For the month of June, plate offerings were good; we are catching up with budget.
• Council approved courtyard construction to remove the wooden covering, which will be replaced with the canopy covering.
• Punahou student parking is being filled with renewals and new students for fall 2009 and spring 2010.
• The Finance committee met with Thrivent for a quarterly review of church funds and endowments to evaluate performance of church holdings.

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Food for Thought

Food for Thought will meet for our next potluck supper and discussion at the home of Irmgard Hörmann on Saturday, August 1st, at 6:30 PM. All are welcome. For directions or information, please contact Kathryn Klingebiel through the Church Office (941-2566).

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Angel Network—Gather in Giving!

The July in-gathering for the Angel Network was satisfying. A shopping cart with saimin, canned goods, Spam, and personal care items was collected for the Angel Network located at Calvary by the Sea Lutheran Church. Thank you for all your support. In-gatherings are scheduled for the first Sunday of each month, so your next opportunity to participate is August 2nd.

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Leadership Roundtable

Sunday, August 2nd, at 11:15 AM, the chairperson or another representative of each committee will meet in the Boardroom with Pastor Jeff and Council President Olivia Castro. This meeting, repeated the first Sunday of every month, is to enhance communications among committees. See you there!

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You have undoubtedly seen Carol Langner’s beautiful spiritual gifts bulletin board which has graced the courtyard for the last month or so, but have you used it to match your own spiritual gifts with opportunities for service at LCH? If not, you’d better hurry since it will be coming down soon.

Just to help out, Pastor Jeff and the Stewardship Team have designated Sunday, August 2, as “Spiritual Gifts Sunday” at LCH. If you’ve already taken the Spiritual Gifts Inventory, bring the results with you, and one of us will help you navigate the bulletin board. If you haven’t done the inventory yet, stop by the office and we’ll help you do that.

See you on August 2!

The Stewardship Team

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Bring in your Prayer Shawls

If you have crafted a Prayer Shawl for the Summer Churchwide Assembly and wish for the church to mail it, please make sure it is into the office by Sunday, August 2nd, at the very latest. They need to arrive before August 10th. If you miss the deadline, ask Linda Miller for instructions for mailing it yourself. Thanks to everyone for all the hard work!

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Golfin’ ‘Ohana Fellowship

We will have another golfin’ event on August 2nd, at Shafter at about 12:00 NOON. All are welcome to participate in the fun and fellowship. Please contact Ms. Peggy through the Church Office (941-2566) for more details. Come join us!

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Writers’ Workshop

Writers’ Workshop will meet next on Monday, August 3rd, 7:00-8:30 PM in the Boardroom (or the Rainbow Room) at LCH. All are welcome. For information, please contact Kathryn Klingebiel through the Church Office (941-2566).

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Evangelism Team

The Evangelism team is off to a great beginning! Our next meeting is August 4th, at 6:30 PM in the Boardroom. In August, Evangelism will be co-chairing a “resume writing” workshop for the community. More info to follow in announcements and online.

Ms. Peggy
Chair

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In Stitches is Back!

In Stitches, the LCH craft group, will start up again on Saturday, August 8th, from 9:00 to 11:00 AM in the Boardroom. We meet and have fun working on crafts both for ourselves and for the church. Come join us.

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Process Thought Forum

One common way of speaking in Process Thought is to call God “the poet of the world.” So, the Process Forum for Saturday, August 8th, 9:30 AM, will look once again at selected poems.

Here is the list of poems to be considered, all of which can be found online if you search by author and title. Langston Hughes, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”; W.H. Auden, “Fish in the Unruffled Lakes”; e.e. cummings, “I carry your heart with me”; Don Lee, “A poem to Compliment other Poems”; Thomas Hardy, “Hap”; Louis MacNeice, “Variation on Heraclitus”; Gerard Manley Hopkins, “That Nature is a Heraclitean Fire and of the Comfort of the Resurrection.”

A repeat session will be offered on Sunday near 10:30 AM. For help or more information contact Fritz through the Church Office (941-2566).

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Social Ministries Meeting

If you would like to get involved with Social Ministry, our next committee meeting is August 16th at noon in the Boardroom. Please contact Bob Zimmer through the Church Office (941-2566) for more information.

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Mary Magdalene Society

The June meeting welcomed guests from St. Clement’s. There was a wonderful potluck, and we had “fun” games. Invitations will also go out to other Lutheran churches to join with us for future meetings.

The next meeting will be August 22. In addition to potluck and games, we will discuss a possible rummage sale. For more information, contact Bob Zimmer through the Church Office (941-2566).

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Scholarships Available

Before the upcoming school year, please submit your scholarship applications to the Scholarship Committee (Fred Paul Benco). You can obtain the applications from Kanani at the Church Office.

Fred Benco

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It’s Brunch Potluck Time

The Fellowship Committee will be hosting a Brunch Potluck on Sunday, August 9th, after the last 9:15 service for this summer. The committee will be furnishing a ham and dinner rolls. Please bring a dish to share as shown below:

We look forward to seeing you there!

Jeanette
Chair

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OYEA Summer Camp a Great Success

Over 40 youth from Oahu and Maui gathered at Camp Erdman in early July for a week-long residential Christian camp sponsored by Oahu Youth Education and Activities. Led by professional camp counselors from Camp Wapogassett in Wisconsin, youth focused their week on “discipleship” through Bible study, discussion, drama, and games. But all work and no play makes for a pretty dull camp. The kids had time at the beach, archery, rock climbing, swimming, and some of the craziest field games you ever saw to keep them occupied during the week. Each evening ended with chapel and prayer for the whole group followed by a Bible study in each of the cabins.

Three young persons from Lutheran Church of Honolulu attended the camp. Reid W., Collin B., and Jordan M. enjoyed a great week of fun together with friends from our neighbor Lutheran churches. Each LCH participant received a $250 scholarship from the LCH Youth group to attend the event. The youth group also supplied an additional $250 scholarship which allowed a youth from another congregation to attend. Individual donors from LCH contributed another $525 to assist with scholarships for those unable to afford tuition. Together with donations from the Warner Foundation and the German Benevolence Society, these scholarship made it possible for every person who wanted to attend to participate, regardless of ability to pay. Sounds like the Gospel!

Our campers enjoyed a variety of rambunctious games during OYEA Camp.

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What’s New on the LCH Website?

Bill Potter, Webmaster

On July 19, a number of us gathered following morning worship to learn about social networking and explore how this recent phenomenon might be relevant to our LCH ‘ohana.

These days everyone—from celebrities to news anchors—seems to be using Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking tools. Some call them a waste of time or symptoms of narcissism, while others say they can help restore a sense of community to our fragmented society. (If you’re interested in this discussion, check out these articles: “A Theology of Twitter” and “How Facebook Challenges Narcissism.”)

Our group concluded that Facebook, in particular, could be a useful tool both for increasing our sense of community at LCH and for reaching out those eager to hear the word of welcome and acceptance that God has entrusted to us here. Working from the ideas suggested that morning, Stephanie Miller created a page for In Stitches, a new LCH Facebook page was designed (and should be up by the time you get this in the mail), and Ruth Johnson is thinking about setting up a Facebook group for folks who used to be members at LCH but have moved away. If you’d like to help with this new outreach by setting up a page for your group at LCH, just talk to me, and I’ll help you get started.

One social networking tool we have had available for a long time on the LCH website is our LCH Table Talk discussion forums. To encourage you to give the forums a try, Pastor Jeff will be hosting an online Bible study on the forum as part of the Book of Faith initiative. Everyone is welcome to participate. All you have to do is register with LCH Table Talk so you can post your thoughts.

LCH Table Talk also has the capability for any group or committee at LCH to carry on private discussion, share documents, and so on. Talk with me, and I’ll show you how to get started with your group, or I can meet with the group and get everyone all set up.

To facilitate interaction with these social networking tools, the “LCH Table Talk” link at the top of each web page has been replaced with a “Social Networking” link. The Social Networking page will include links to all of our Facebook pages along with links to the major sections of LCH Table Talk. Take a look!

One other change you may notice is with our list of readings, hymns, and special music for worship services. The July list premiered a new look with a centered format that includes our masthead graphic and blue borders on each side. Beneath the surface, you will find more streamlined HTML code that is also standards compliant.

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Downtown Lunch Bunch

We had a great time on July 24th as we enjoyed a dim sum lunch at Mei Sum for the first meeting of the Downtown Lunch Bunch. Everyone who as there joins in the hope you’ll have lunch with us the fourth Friday of each month.

The next gathering will be for Indian food on Friday, August 28th, at Zaffron, 69 North King Street at Smith.

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The LCH Aloha Team Needs You!

Mahalo to all who have volunteered to serve on the Aloha Team during the summer schedule! We return to our fall schedule on August 16th and will need to double the number of weekly volunteers. This is only a 30 minute commitment each Sunday.

Here is what you will need to know as an Aloha Team volunteer:

• Team members—Team members stay at the Aloha Table to greet visitors and regular worshippers. Offer a stick-on name tags to visitors and help regular worshippers find their name tags if necessary. Present lei to visitors. Offer the guest book for visitors to sign. Offer a copy of The HeartBeat and/or other LCH literature. One team member is available to escort visitors to the Nave, restrooms, nursery, fellowship area, etc.
• Supplies—We are trying to keep everything we need in one general location. The Aloha banner, pole, and stand are in the large closet in the back of the Nave. The round table is behind the ushers’ stand in the Nave. All other Aloha Team supplies and the name tag boxes are on the chrome cart either next to the usher stand or in the large closet. Sometimes the name tag boxes get put in the credenza drawers in the Boardroom, so check in there if you don’t see them on the cart.
• Team I (8:00 AM service)—Set up the Aloha banner, two chairs, Aloha Table, and supplies in the Courtyard. Set up name tag boxes on a separate table in the Courtyard. Be ready to begin welcoming worshippers by 7:45 AM. One team member stays at the table until 5 minutes after worship begins.
• Team II (10:30 AM service)—Be ready to begin welcoming worshippers by 10:10 AM. One team member stays at the table until 5 minutes after worship begins. At the conclusion of the service, pack up and store the Aloha banner, two chairs, Aloha Table and supplies, and name tag boxes. Leave a note in the church office for Kanani to contact April when more supplies are needed for the following week.

We would like to have two volunteers for each service but this is also a great opportunity for an entire family—including the keiki—to serve in this important ministry. There will be a sign-up sheet on the Aloha Table, so be sure and put your name down to be an Aloha Team volunteer! Call team coordinator, April Smith, through the Church Office (941-2566) with your questions or for more information.

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Former LCH member Stephen Schmidt shows off his camel riding skills during a break from duty in Iraq.

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Pastor Jeff Lilley will be leading a trip to Germany June 4–15, 2010, to explore Lutherland and experience the Oberammergau Passion Play. Arranged through Reformation Tours and assisted by Gail Vachon, the tour will begin in Berlin and include visits to Wittenberg, Eisleben, Erfurt, Eisenach, Mainz, Worms, Heidelberg, Rothenburg, Augsburg, and Munich. At each stop, we will learn about the developing history of the Reformation and the theology of Martin Luther and other reformers, while enjoying the sights and sounds of Bavaria. The tour concludes with excellent seats at the Passion Play in Oberammergau. The tour is priced at $3,595 exclusive of air. All hotel, transfers, fees, and tips—and many meals—are include. For more information, please talk to Pastor Jeff or visit the tour website at <www.reformationtours.com/site/490868/page/929001>.

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Prayer Requests

Charles	Mark
Ron	Ruby

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August Birthdays

Date	Name
8/02	Arthur Wilson
8/04	Veronica W.
8/05	Nedra Walker
8/06	Sissy A.
8/11	Jonathan Scheuer
8/12	Charlotte D’Evelyn
8/13	Alexa Sueda
8/15	Elizabeth Christensen
8/15	Noriko Okumura
8/17	Gordon Wallace
8/18	Jean-Paul Klingebiel
8/22	Bruce Kishimoto
8/24	Dennis Hethcote
8/29	Selena Schmidt
8/29	Melisa Schmidt
8/31	Edward Beidleman

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Heart Beat Deadline

Next Heart Beat Deadline is Tuesday, August 18!

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Heavenly Humor

Humor for the hard times

A pastor friend put sanitary hotair hand dryers in the restrooms of his church. But after two weeks, he removed them.

“I asked him why and he confessed that they worked fine, but one day when he went into a restroom, he saw a sign above the dryer that said, ‘For a sample of this week’s sermon, push the button.’”

—via Fr. John Trimbur
St. Joseph Parish, Austintown, OH

Rev. Harry Mahoney (Dedham, MA) passes along this story:

An elderly woman loved the movie “The Wizard of Oz” so much that she put it in her will that one of the songs from the movie be played at her funeral.

A CD of the movie’s soundtrack was obtained, and at her funeral, the first song that came over the church speakers was “The Wicked Witch Is Dead.” A button was hastily pressed again to get to the song, “Somewhere over the Rainbow.”

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