Interim Pastor Lesley RadiusLesley Radius
Interim Pastor
pr.lesley@lchwelcome.org
808-941-2566
My perfect day is… a day spent with family and friends exploring a new place and ending that day gathered around a wonderful meal with lots of laughter and delicious food.
My biggest challenge is… remembering that I need to be about self-care, as well as caring for others.
My biggest pet peeve is… when people use “Can I” (which indicates ability) when they really mean “May I” (which indicates permission).
My life verse is… Micah 6:8: “Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.” For me, this is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit.
My favorite book is… The Giving Tree by Shel Sheldon.
My last meal would be… what my birthday meals growing up were—chicken and dumplings with angel food cake with lemon filling and egg white frosting.
My name is… Lesley. My parents read a different baby name book than most of the world. In that book it said the female spelling of the name ended in ey not ie. Believe me even my aunts and uncles who have known me all of my life still don’t spell it correctly. So don’t worry if you don’t spell it right. You are in good company.
My worst habit is… telling bad “dad jokes.”
I am happiest when… I am helping.
My favorite Bible character is… the Women at the Well. Jesus accepted her as she was, with no judgment, and invited her into new life. Her life was so transformed that she went and told the town, which she had been avoiding for many years because she feared their judgement of her, that she had met Jesus. Perhaps, she is the first female evangelist recording in the Bible.
The most transforming experience for me… I can’t name just one. The love of Jesus continues to transform me each day, and I give thanks for that amazing love.
The advice I would give to a 20-year-old is… count each day as a gift. Find your community that is courageous enough to tell you truth in love. Remember always that you are a beloved child of God and in you God is well pleased. Bottom line, Jesus loves you.
My guilty pleasure is… Cadbury Easter eggs, which only have a limited availability about four weeks before Easter and are on sale a few weeks after Easter.
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.
Directory of Music and Liturgy and Organist Barry WengerBarry Wenger
Director of Music and Liturgy and Organist
b.wenger@lchwelcome.org
808-941-2566
My idea of a perfect day is… sunshine, a light breeze, and being in the water!
My biggest challenge is… overthinking and a little procrastination
My biggest pet peeve is… folks missing the world around them, especially while on an electronic device.
My life verse is… be open to any possibility!
My favorite children’s book is… Dr. Seuss “Cat in the Hat”
My last meal would be… surf and turf with lobster and a beautiful fillet mignon.
My nickname is… Jaybird
My worst habit is… getting impatient with myself.
I am happiest when… I am with Steve and our fur babies. Also, when playing the organ!
My favorite Bible character is… Zaccheus
Transforming experience(s)… playing a concert on the 1738 Muller Organ at St. Bavo, Haarlem, the Netherlands.
I was born… in Minot, North Dakota, on a very cold November day.
The best advice I could give a 20-year-old is… find your passion and go for it!
My guilty pleasure is… a good martini and Popeyes fried chicken
My idea of a perfect day is… hiking, biking, or swimming, then relaxing outdoors.
My favorite sports team is… not my thing. I enjoy watching the Olympics.
The one thing I want to make sure people know about LCH is… the people are gracious and welcoming!
I came to LCH because… I had been there during the 1997 American Guild of Organists Convention, and it remained with me.
Barry Wenger is excited to be part of the historic music ministry at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu and to direct the excellent LCH Choir. He joined the staff of LCH in November 2022 after being a professional church musician for over 35 years.
Barry found his love for the pipe organ and its music at the age of 20. It wasn’t until the organist at his home church, Faith United Methodist in Minot, asked him to begin organ lessons that he even thought of playing organ. He signed up for organ lessons and was immediately hooked on the majestic dynamic range of the organ. He has a love of church liturgy, sacred choral music, bell music, and encouraging congregational singing.
Dr. Wenger studied with many wonderful teachers. He studied organ with Dr. Mark Dimond, Minot State University and the University of North Dakota, who had studied with Maurice Duruflé in Paris and Virgil Fox in New York City and Dr. John Obetz, the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Conservatory of Music, who studied with Vernon DeTar at Union Seminary in New York and with Marie-Claire Alain in Paris. Barry feels very fortunate to have had these experiences with two wonderful organ professors. He also studied harpsichord and piano with Dr. Jane Solose at the University of North Dakota during his master of music program. He studied choral conducting with Dr. Eph Ehly at the UMKC Conservatory.
Dr. Wenger has served several churches, playing the organ and directing choirs in Minot and Grand Forks, North Dakota; Kansas City, Missouri; and Chicago, Illinois. Most recently, Dr. Wenger was the organist and director of bell choirs at First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, Illinois. There he conducted two adult bell choirs and accompanied the Sanctuary Choir and two children’s choirs. In 2019, Dr. Wenger toured with his Lakeminster Ringers bell choir to the Netherlands. There they performed four concerts of bell music combined with a 45-minute organ recital. Dr. Wenger played a Cavaille-Coll Organ, and several famous Müller Organs at these concerts, including the 1739 Müller Organ at the famed St. Bavo Church in Haarlem. This was a highlight of his career as many organists, such as Handel, Mozart, and Mendelssohn, have played this organ!
Dr. Wenger’s career has included teaching piano, harpsichord, and organ privately for 28 years and serving as a professor at Lake Forest College, teaching organ, and at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Waukesha Campus. There he conducted the Concert Choir and taught class piano.
Brenda Barrios Brenda Barrios
Parish Administrator
lch@lchwelcome.org
808-941-2566
Brenda Barrios was born in Toronto, Canada, and grew up in the Greater Los Angeles area. Recently she and her family moved to Hawai‘i in response to a new call for her husband, an ELCA rostered minister. Brenda comes to us with extensive non-profit experience in church administration and operations working for parishes from the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the United Methodist Church. She is familiar with the natural rhythms and calendars of parish ministry and is a solutions-based leader.
Brenda is assisting her family in this new season as they settle into life in Hawai‘i. Most recently she took up standup paddle boarding as a hobby and is enjoying the close proximity to the ocean. She loves to spend time with her family and enjoys traveling and cooking. She is a mother of three children; Penelope, Amelie, and Hansel and wife to Moses, the senior pastor of Calvary by the Sea Lutheran Church in ‘Āina Haina. They currently reside in Hawai‘i Kai.