HeartBeat—March 2014

A Message from Pastor Jeff

A Flourishing Life

Dr. Melissa James, an ELCA diaconal minister serving the Pacifica Synod ELCA spoke recently at a theological conference and challenged a group of church leaders to rethink what it means to flourish in today’s world. Her passion and life’s work look specifically at food security and food systems from a theological and practical point of view. What she had to say is a powerful reminder that every person has a shared opportunity to participate in the worldwide phenomenon we know as food.

She began her time with the group by inviting each person to list every item eaten in the past 24 hours. She then asked participants to choose one item on their menu and trace each stage of its journey to the table. How many miles had it come? How many people were involved in creating each ingredient? How long had it taken from start to finish? The results were astonishing. One group chose a banana. They estimated it had traveled 1,750 miles, had taken over a year to produce, and had involved about 50 people from field to table. The cost of that banana was fourteen cents. It hardly seems possible. Along its journey there lie pockets of prosperity and poverty, fair treatment and slave wages. Most consumers simply never think about the journey of their food or even how it came to their table. Dr. James’ research has led to a genuine passion for seeing food not only from a nutritional and economic point of view, but also from a theological perspective. Food comes with a story that we often know nothing about. This came to light in the 70s and 80s when the plight of migrant farm workers emerged into public view. Cheap produce picked and packed in California and other states comes at the price of workers living in substandard housing and earning minuscule wages. The consumer could no longer simply ignore the fact that food has a story that extends well-beyond the packaged fruit purchased in the grocery store. Dr. James shared a story about a tortilla factory in Ohio whose workers were subjected to harsh chemicals on the production line. It was an accepted “cost of doing business” that the workers had chemical burns on their hands and faces. The tortilla factory refused to provide basic safety equipment like goggles or gloves.

Another part of food’s story is the soil itself, the very earth and water that make up the core of the food system. Most folks know about the depletion of the rain forest (the lungs of the planet) in order to grow more cash crops. Food ethicists wonder whether the price for cheap abundant food is too high in the long run. Is having an abundance of choices and huge quantities available really flourishing?

From a theological point of view, Dr. James challenges us to think in terms of “flourishing” rather than abundance. The word “abundance” sometimes carries the connotation of unlimited or nearly unlimited quantity. Her metaphor is the tomato plant. Tomato plants, given abundant nutrients, water, and light will grow into huge plants. They are greedy plants that the suck a lot of food out of the soil. Left unchecked, the plant will grow a lot of green, but not many tomatoes. To flourish and bear fruit, the plant has to have limits. Only then will it set flowers and bear fruit worth eating. Contrary to the concept of abundance as many of us understand it, flourishing involves limits—healthy, wonderful limits.

As a start to better understand food and food justice, Dr. James suggests we paint one thumbnail green. Every time we pick up a peace of food, we will see the green thumb. Before we eat, we might pray for those who planted and harvested the ingredients, give thanks to God for soil and light, and pray for those who will not have food to eat this night. It is a wonderful start to a life that flourishes.

Youth Group Thanks You!

There were:

• 2 days of Punahou Carnival
• 3 hour shifts
• 5 of 8 shifts worked by youth volunteers
• 9 adults volunteers working two or more shifts
• $15 donation per car
• over 40 adult volunteers
• over 500 cars parked

Thank you to everyone for supporting a very successful LCH youth group fundraiser!

Adult Form

Understanding Jesus’ Words
Every Sunday, 9:20 am, in the Boardroom

Jesus spoke Aramaic. The Gospels were written in Greek. What did Jesus really say? Please come share your understanding. Discussions will be led by Fritz Fritschel and Steve Miller. Here is the schedule:

• February 23: What is Aramaic? Levels of understanding of any writings: literal, al legorical, spiritual; Robert Frost’s poetry for practice.
• March 2 and 9: Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13)
• March 16: Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3–12)
• March 23: Other sayings of Jesus
• March 30: Benedictions

Here are some books to read in advance, available on Amazon Kindle or paperback: Douglas-Klotz, Neil, Prayers of the Cosmos, the Aramaic Words of Jesus and Douglas-Klotz, Neil, Blessings of the Cosmos.

On April 6, we will salute Broadway, Hollywood, and the world of music with our video/film compilation of the Passion Week.

Please bring your coffee and visit with us at 9:20 am each Sunday morning in the Boardroom!

Process Thought

Saturday, March 1, 9:30–11:00 am

Discussions have been stimulating and informative due to the generous participation of those attending. The March session will feature a version of Process Thought from a Christian perspective. We have seen over the last months that the Process perspective can and has been used by other faiths, including Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism, Jainism, to some extent Islam, and even atheism. So what’s a Christian angle on it? We will refer, but not necessarily rely completely on this page which can be found on the Jesus, Jazz and Buddhism website: www.jesusjazzbuddhism.org/the-process-christian.html.

Food for Thought

Saturday, 1 March, at 6:30 pm at the home of Irmgard Hörmann

This will be a potluck supper, video, and discussion. All are welcome. For information, please call Kathryn Klingebiel through the Church Office (941-2566).

Animate Faith Bible Study

Lenten Study Opportunity
Sunday, March 9, 11:45 am in the Rainbow Room at LCH

Some of you have experienced or at least heard about the Animate Faith Discussion series. Well, we’re ramping it up a notch and diving into the Bible together. The Animate series is a multiple week series adult exploration of the Bible.

There is a video and a journal that is used in the discussion. Topics will include such things as: History: Parchment to Pixel; Testaments: One Story, Two Parts; Gospels: unexpected Good News, etc. Each video is featuring a leading voice from the Christian faith and the group will be invited in to discussion and study about that topic.

This opportunity is a joint effort with brothers and sisters from St. Clement’s Episcopal Church down the street on Wilder Ave. Rev. Matthew Lukens and Rev. Angela Freeman will share the leadership. The group will switch back and forth from meeting at LCH and meeting at St. Clement’s Parish. We will walk or carpool together depending on physical ability. If there is a desire to have food at this time of day, we’ll also discussion that when we meet. For questions, please contact Rev. Angela via email or by calling the church office.

Writers’ Workshop

Monday, March 10, 7:00 to 8:30 pm at LCH

Further meetings are planned for April 7 and May 5. For information, please call Kathryn Klingebiel through the Church Office (941-2566).

Exploring Boundaries and Beyond

Re-defining Security • Sunday, March 16, at 6:00 pm

Lori Forman, life-long Lutheran and friend of LCH, presents a timely look at the emerging views of national and regional security for Exploring Boundaries in March. Dr. Forman serves as development advisor and professor for the Asia-Pacific Center

for Security Studies. Her areas of expertise include development assistance, economics, public-private partnerships and civil society. Dr. Forman has had a varied and distinguished international career, but not one normally associated with the Department of Defense. However, her experience is well suited to today’s changing definition of national and regional security. Lori’s presentation will draw on her lifetime of experience and on-going interaction with security practitioners from around the Asia-Pacific region.

Coffee Shop Office Hours • Sure Shot Café on Wilder Street

Wednesday, March 19, 9:00–11:30 am

Pastor Angela will be holding office hours out in the community at least once a month. She will communicate in the newsletters and Sunday announcements where and when they will be. You’re invited to stop by for some or all the time. Sometimes there will be a topic of conversation, and other times there will just be conversation about life and what God is up to for you all. Come and visit with Pastor Angela, have a cup of coffee (or not), and be the church out in the community.

Synod Assembly Delegates

Wednesday, April 30–Saturday, May 3

Lutheran Church of Honolulu is a member church to the Pacifica Synod and every year we gather for an assembly. We make decisions about our ministry and mission together, hear from inspiriting speakers, worship together and much more.

LCH and every congregation throughout the synod, is asked to send two voting delegates (along with the clergy) to the assembly to represent the congregation We are asked to send one male and one female representative. This year the Synod has also invited one additional youth (ages 13–17) or young adult (ages 18–29) representative from each congregation to attend. You must be a member of LCH and not have made a previous commitment to serve as an Assembly volunteer.

Please contact Pastor Angela or Council President April Smith if you are interested in attending as our representatives from LCH. Mahalo!

Youth News! Western States Youth Gathering

June 27–July 1, 2014 • California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA

This event only happens every two years in Southern California. What is it? Basically, it is an awesome trip we do together to CA to be with other Lutheran teens for loads of fun! Here’s the description from the newsletter for you:

Teens entering grades 9–12 are invited and encouraged to consider attending this year’s Western States Youth Gathering (WSYG)! WSYG is a mass gathering of teens and the church. The gathering features amazing speakers and musicians, learning and small group times, worship that leads in a new direction, an immersion experience in Los Angeles, a southern California beach party, and much more!

Please RSVP ASAP if you’re interested! Call, email, text, or bug Pastor Angela on Sunday or any time with questions concerns, or thoughts!

A Message from Pastor Angela

Lenten Dinner Church

Perhaps you may have read in the Sunday announcements or heard through word of mouth that we’re doing something different for our Lenten journey this year.

Well, it is true. We’re changing things up a bit. We’re going to have a worship experience and a dinner fellowship that is combined into an experience that is called “Dinner Church.” When I was an intern pastor in Copenhagen back in 2003, I called the experience “Agape Dinners.” Basically, it is both a meal with worship and a feasting with the Divine Love found in fellowship within community.

Dinner Church—or at least the concept—isn’t something totally new. In fact, it is thousands of years old. The experience is very different in our world today, of course, but the concept and experience is modeled after what the earliest disciples might have experienced when they shared a meal with Jesus in the Upper Room.

As we prepare ourselves for our Easter joy in the resurrection, we’re inviting you to come together to feast at the table, to be fed and nourished in body and soul, and to feast together as a faith community. We will break bread together, share in a meal, hear the Word, sing the Word, and bless the wine.

Those of you who adore the Holden Evening Prayer worship that is commonly used at LCH during Lent, rest assured, the liturgy used during dinner church will feel very familiar. We’re integrating the music and prayerful song from Haugen’s Holden Evening Prayer into our Dinner Church liturgy.

One of the most blossoming new congregations in the ELCA was founded by an acquaintance of mine named Pastor Emily Scott. Emily serves in Brooklyn, NY, to a congregation whose start and continued life together is founded on the practice and principles of Dinner Church.

I invite you to come and experience this worship opportunity, which is new to us at LCH. Please, trust your pastors and hold your fears and judgments at bay as much as you can so that you can come and receive what God might have for you in this experience. Imagine yourself feasting with the holy Son of God himself as you fellowship, feast, and feed with your brothers and sisters, for as we gather, Christ is with us.

Practically, we would appreciate your help to make this happen. There is a soup assigned to be made for each night of Dinner Church. We will worship this way for five weeks. If you would like to help with one of the soups, please sign up in the courtyard on Sundays or email me or call me.

I’m going to leave you with words from Pastor Scott that she used to answer the question, “Why worship this way, Dinner Church?” Pastor Scott said:

We do church this way because people are hungry. People in New York have hungry bellies that may be filled with home cooked food. They have hungry souls that may be filled with holy text, holy conversation. And these hungers are sated when we sit down together to eat.

We do church this way because people want challenge. People want the challenge of sitting down next to someone, someone they don’t know, who may be entirely different from them in every way, and working, reaching, to see her as God sees her: perfectly and wonderfully made. And we are challenged when we sit down together to eat. We do church this way because people are looking for Jesus. People are looking for Jesus and thinking that just maybe they see him, but then again maybe not. But when we sit down together and break bread, we glimpse him for a moment in one another’s eyes and say to each other, I see Christ at this table; I see him when we sit down together to eat. Come and worship, be fed and nourished.

(Emily Scott is the founder and Pastoral Minister at St. Lydia’s , a new Lutheran church start in Brooklyn. She holds an M.Div. from Yale Divinity School and blogs at sitandeat.typepad.com. She invites you explore the St. Lydia’s website www.stlydias.org.)

Prayer Circle

We’re trying something new and starting up a prayer circle that will consist of people who receive prayer requests and will commit to pray for those requests daily. There are requests that come in via our website, but also through evening prayer and pew cards from Sunday mornings. If you’d like to be connected to this circle and help build up the community through the power of prayer, please contact Pastor Angela via email pr.angela@lchwelcome.org or phone the office.

Pastor Angela’s Mutual Ministry Team

What is a Mutual Ministry (MM) team, you ask? The MM team is a group of lay people who will meet normally monthly with the pastor(s). We would talk about our shared ministry, check in if there are any concerns, celebrate the successes, and basically keep the communication between pastor(s) and congregation going. Also, in the past the Mutual Ministry teams I’ve had would offer support through regularly praying for me as pastor as well as keeping me accountable for self-care.

The only times we would meet more than once a month is if there is anything major happening in the life of the congregation that needs to be addressed. Each pastor has his or her own separate team. In our case, I am forming my team and Pastor Jeff has had one for many years. My team mates for this first year will be Mary Fastenau, Amanda Lippert, Jim Sullivan, and possibly one more person. That fourth person is still being finalized. Feel free to contact any of these folks to share highs and lows of our ministry or to ask a question you’d like them to bring forward. Thank you to the team for saying yes to the call to this service.

Council Highlights

January 2014

• Officers elected for 2014: President April Smith; Vice President Randy Castello; Secretary Amanda Lippert; Treasurer Gary Brauer
• Council members are: Fred Benco, Naomi Castro, Olivia Castro, Sophie Cheng, Craig Clissold, Lori Nishimura, Georgine Stark, Kirstin Yost, Pastor Angela Freeman, Pastor Jeff Lilley
• LCH will move our checking account to Hawaii USA Federal Credit Union due to repeated poor customer service from Bank of Hawaii.
• Worship service attendance has decreased. Nine families left us in 2013 mostly due to relocations; none for any dissatisfaction reasons.
• Council members were encouraged to attend a presentation by Rev. Tim Philips, Director of Evangelical Mission, Pacifica Synod on February 3.
• A campus ministry grant was received from the Pacifica Synod in the amount of $1,850.00<./li>
• Bryan Miyasaki of Drafting Solutions LLC has been contracted to pro vide engineering services for the Hörmann Courtyard covering.

Council meetings are the third Tuesday of each month. We welcome you to join us.

Congregational Meeting Highlights

The following items were presented at the second half of our annual meeting on January 25th:

• The Congregational Constitution has been amended to bring it into conformity with ELCA recommendations.
• The 2014 operating budget of $522,615 was adopted.
• The Annual Report for 2013 was accepted.
• Pastor Angela’s call to become a tenured co-pastor of LCH was ap proved by unanimous vote. Her compensation package was accepted.

O‘ahu Youth Gathering

March 2, 4:00 pm at Island Divers Hawai‘i

What: Whale Watching Outing for 30 kids including chaperones. I informed the shop that most of the kids would be high school age. Middle School is fine too.

Where: Island Divers Hawaii located at Hawaii Kai Shopping Center, 377 Keahole Street, Honolulu, HI 96825. Phone numbers are (808) 213-3019 or (888) 844-3483. I would recommend a hat, towel and a sweatshirt as the temperature drops after sunset. There is a cabin on board to keep things dry. Please bring a $5 or $10 dollar tip to help cover their costs of staff and fuel.

What’s New on the LCH Website?

Bill Potter, webmaster

Did you see the recent item in the Sunday announcements about the creation of an LCH Prayer Circle? The members of the Prayer Circle will commit to pray on a daily basis for the people who have submitted prayer requests that come into the church. This kind of intentional prayer makes a significant contribution to building up of LCH ‘ohana and strengthening us as individuals to answer Jesus’ call to “follow me.”

The announcement reminded me of something that had struck me the last few times I looked at the statistics on our website generated by Google Analytics (GA). Most mornings I take a quick look at the GA dashboard while having my morning cup of coffee. At the top is a graphic showing the number of visits each day. (It usually hovers in the range of 55–75 visitors each day, but every once in a while there is a big spike. For example, on January 28 we had 130 visitors, many of whom came to read the post about calling Pastor Angela as co-pastor.) Right under the graph is a list of the top ten pages in terms of pageviews and unique visitors. The home page is always number one, recently the page about calling Pastor Angela has been number five, the page describing our paraments and vestments number four, and the February music list number eight. The other six are from our Daily Prayer pages!

The prayer pages let visitors follow one of the “daily offices” (services like Morning Prayer or Compline) without having to open up the ELW, figure out the readings that should be used, or look them up in the Bible. There are other similar pages around the web, but as far as I know, ours is the only one that uses the readings appointed for each day in the ELW. (Most of the others use a different list of lessons in the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer.) If you’ve never tried one of these services, give it a try. For Morning Prayer, just go to www.lchwelcome.org/morning; or for Compline, go to www.lchwelcome.org/compline. Saying one of these services takes under 10 minutes, plus time for your personal prayers.

If the 10 minutes sounds like more time than you can commit on a regular basis, we also have a shorter option called Lutheran Devotions, based on the advice Martin Luther gave a friend who asked for directions for daily prayer. You can find those at www.lchwelcome.org/devotions.

Both Daily Prayers and Lutheran Devotions let you customize your experience by adding in or deleting optional elements.

One of my regular prayers is going to be for the LCH Prayer Circle and increased use of the prayer resources on the LCH website.

Attendance and Offerings for February

Date	Worship Service	Attendance	Offering Fund	Amount
February 2	8:00 am Service	55	Offering	$3,712
	10:30 am Service	86	Sunday School Offerings	$5
	Evening Prayer	16	Capital Improvements	$200
	Total	157	Music Fund	$25
			Mission Campaign	$60
February 9	8:00 am Service	46	Offering	$2,639
	10:30 am Service	84	Sunday School Offerings	$4
	Total	130	Angel Network
February 16	8:00 am Service	44	Offering	$1,567
	10:30 am Service	67	Sunday School Offering	$6
	Evening Prayer	25	Social Ministries	$42
	Total	154	Angel Network	$10
			Wounded Warriors	$185
February 23	8:00 am Service	46	Offering	$2,346
	10:30 am Service	82	Sunday School Offerings	$1
	Total	135	Music Fund	$130
			Mission Campaign	$100

Holoholo Pick-Up

Thursday, March 6 & 20, 2:00–4:00 pm

The Holoholo General Store is a Community Supported Agriculture organization, or css, that works with the Lutheran Church to bring you fresh produce from multiple, local farms

HeartBeat Deadline

Next HeartBeat Deadline is Tuesday, March 18!

Bob	The Gregors	Karen
Carl	Irene	Marvin
Diane	Jeff	Paul
Fay	Jerry	Stephen
Gene	Juanita	Trinity

March Birthdays

Date	Name
03/05	Hunter Nishimura
03/06	Nathalie Jones
03/07	Lillie Jones
03/07	Brian Weis
03/18	Ken Bauchle
03/18	Donald Womack
03/23	Nicholas Castello
03/28	Olivia Castro

LCH Worship Participants

Holy Communion (8:00 am)
DATE	March 2	March 5 Ash Wednesday	March 9	March 16	March 23	March 30
LECTOR	Mike Formby		Jimmy Castro	Adriane Clissold	Chuck Huxel	Jeff Yost
COMMUNION ASSISTANTS	Mike Formby Peter Lee Stephanie Luuloa Sheena Lim-Urban		Peggy Anderson Amanda Lippert Chuck Huxel Laurie Leach	Laurie Leach Amanda Lippert Mike Formby Sheena Lim-Urban	Carolyn Koehler Jim Sullivan Don Johnson Chuck Huxel	Kirstin Yost Bobby Broyles Peggy Anderson Stephanie Luuloa
LAYING ON OF HANDS			Stephanie Luuloa
ACOLYTE	Dylan D.		Charles C.	Sophie C.	Sophia S.	Wyatt Y.
USHERS	Fred Benco Billie Jean Ries Craig Clissold Jeff Yost		Fred Benco Billie Jean Ries Craig Clissold Jeff Yost	Fred Benco Billie Jean Ries Craig Clissold Jeff Yost	Fred Benco Billie Jean Ries Craig Clissold Jeff Yost	Fred Benco Billie Jean Ries Craig Clissold Jeff Yost
Choral Eucharist (10:30 am and Ash Wednesday)
DATE	March 2	March 5 Ash Wednesday	March 9	March 16	March 23	March 30
LECTOR	Peter Flachsbart	Aaron Gould	Olivia Castro	Chuck Pearson	Angie Niermann	Mark Russell
DEACON	Frank Haas	Jim Cartwright	Jim Cartwright	Bob Tellander	Mary Fastenau	Jim Cartwright
SUB-DEACON	Mary Fastenau	Bob Tellander	Bob Tellander	Aaron Gould	Frank Haas	Randy Castello
COMMUNION ASSISTANTS	Sue Haas Randy Christensen	Don Johnson Peggy Anderson	Phyllis Hormann Josie Bidgood	Josie Bidgood Ray Herradura	Sue Haas Randy Christensen	Phyllis Hormann Bob Tellander
LAYING ON OF HANDS  John Bickel
ACOLYTES	Savannah M. Max W.	Miranda L. Charles C.	Nathalie J. Lillie J.	Reid W. Max W.	Savannah M. Miranda L.	Coco J. Nathalie J.
USHERS	William Fay Peter Flachsbart Jean-Paul Klingebiel LaVerne Rickard		ALTAR GUILD	Josie Bidgood Lori Nishimura Sheena Lim-Urban Hanna Kath Lois Watanabe
COUNCIL IN CHARGE	Lori Nishimura

Calendar: March 2014

Day	Date	Event and Time
Saturday	March 1	9:30 am, Process Thought Forum 6:30 pm, Food for Thought 7:00 pm, Hawaii Pacific University Moonlit Serenade
Sunday	March 2	Angel Network In-Gathering 8:00 am, Holy Communion 9:20 am, Christian Education 10:30 am, Choral Eucharist 5:00 pm, O‘ahu Youth Gathering 5:30 pm, Concordia Choir at Saint Andrew’s Cathedral 7:00 pm, Poetry Group 7:30 pm, Evening Prayer
Monday	March 3	9:00 am, World Aids Day Meeting 6:30 pm, Mutual Ministry Meeting
Wednesday	March 5	Ash Wednesday 7:30 pm, Ash Wednesday Liturgy
Thursday	March 6	10:00 am, Book of Faith Bible Study 2:00 pm, Holoholo Pickup 7:00 pm, LCH Choir Rehearsal
Sunday	March 9	8:00 am, Holy Communion 9:20 am, Christian Education 10:30 am, Choral Eucharist 3:30 pm, Confirmation Class
Monday	March 10	6:30 pm, Worship & Music Meeting 7:00 pm, Writers’ Workshop
Tuesday	March 11	9:30 am, Hukilau Pastors’ Meeting
Wednesday	March 12	12:30 pm, Finance Committee Meeting 6:30 pm, Lenten Dinner Church
Thursday	March 13	10:00 am, Book of Faith Bible Study 7:00 pm, LCH Choir Rehearsal
Sunday	March 16	8:00 am, Holy Communion 9:20 am, Christian Education 10:30 am, Choral Eucharist 6:00 pm, Exploring Boundaries & Beyond 7:30 pm, Evening Prayer
Tuesday	March 18	Heartbeat Deadline 6:00 pm, Executive Council Meeting 6:30 pm, Council Meeting
Wednesday	March 19	6:30 pm, Lenten Dinner Church
Thursday	March 20	10:00 am, Book of Faith Bible Study 2:00 pm, Holoholo Pickup 7:00 pm, LCH Choir Rehearsal
Friday	March 21	1:00 pm, IHS Meals Prepared 5:30 pm, IHS Meals Served
Saturday	March 22	5:30 pm, EMH Concert
Sunday	March 23	8:00 am, Holy Communion 9:20 am, Christian Education 10:30 am, Choral Eucharist 3:30 pm, Confirmation Class
Wednesday	March 26	6:30 pm, Lenten Dinner Church
Thursday	March 27	10:00 am, Book of Faith Bible Study 7:00 pm, LCH Choir Rehearsal
Saturday	March 29	10:00 am, One Pot One Hope
Sunday	March 30	8:00 am, Holy Communion 9:20 am, Christian Education 10:30 am, Choral Eucharist