In this issue:
- First Mondays Concert: An Alf Hurum Centennial
- Lenten Soup and Salad Suppers
- Lenten Wednesdays: Healing and Wholeness through Our Senses
- Holy Week and Easter at LCH
- From Pastor Jeff
- LCH Office Hours
- Stewardship Corner
- Committee/Interest Group Chairs
- Angel Network In-Gathering
- Food for Thought
- All Ages Sunday School
- Adult Forum
- Virtual Coffee Talk
- Leadership Roundtable
- Game Day
- Book of Faith Bible Study
- Restorative Yoga
- Confirmation Classes
- IHS Sandwich Making
- LCH Work Day March 16
- Mary Magdalene Society Potluck and Game Night
- Compline
- LCH Women’s Book Club
- Writers’ Workshop
- LCH Office Closed for Prince Kūhiō Day
- Seeking Volunteers & Donations for One Pot, One Hope
- Notes from the Organ Bench
- New LGBT+ Caregivers Support Group
- Regular Offerings
- HeartBeat Deadline
- Electronic Funds Transfers for January
- Attendance and Offerings for February
- Prayer Requests
- March Birthdays
- Calendar: March 2024
First Mondays Chamber Concerts—An Alf Hurum Centennial: Celebrating a Norwegian Immigrant Who Made Honolulu Home
Monday, March 4, at 7:00 pm
The Northwest Edvard Grieg Society presents music by Norwegian-born composer Alf Hurum on the 100th anniversary of his immigration to Hawaii. Hurum was a renowned composer in Norway and was inspired by Debussy and Stravinsky. In the second half of his life, Hurum became a respected visual artist who was active in the Honolulu art scene. Featuring his compositions for men’s chorus, violin, and piano, and showcasing his paintings, this concert will explore the music and art of a man who called Hawaii home for over 40 years.
All are invited to gather for pūpū in the Hörmann Courtyard at 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.
Lenten Soup and Salad Suppers
Wednesdays, February 21, 28, March 6, 13, and 20, at 6:00 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 6:00 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.
Lenten Wednesdays: Healing and Wholeness through Our Senses
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 6:00 pm in the church courtyard. This year’s Lenten theme, Healing and Wholeness through Our Senses, builds on our Stewardship theme for this year.
All are welcomed and encouraged to share this intimate prayer service and supper with us as we journey, in brokenness and healing, through the Lenten season.
Holy Week and Easter at LCH
March 24 + 10:00 am + 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.
March 28 + 7:30 pm + Maundy Thursday
We remember Jesus’ command to “love one another” as we wash feet and share communion. Music includes Duruflé’s “Ubi caritas” and “Tantum ergo” by Jessica French.
March 29 + 7:30 pm + Good Friday
This powerful service recalls the bitter suffering and death of Jesus that leads to new life. The story of the Passion will be told through William Byrd’s setting of the “The Passion according to St. John” sung by the LCH Choir.
March 30 + 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.
March 31 + 10:00 am + Easter Sunday
Christ is risen! Join us for our 10:00 am festival choral service, featuring a brass quintet to add a celebratory element to worship.
From Pastor Jeff
One of the greatest joys of sailing is that, from your first time on a boat to the last time they let you take the tiller in your old age, you never stop learning the craft of sailing. A few years ago, I took up water color painting just in case someone decided I was too old to muscle a boat through 30-knot winds and tall swells. To my delight, I have found that like sailing, painting in watercolor is a constant exercise in discovery and learning; only when you make a mistake, nobody falls overboard and nothing expensive breaks!
One bit of learning that came to me several months ago was during an online lesson with a British artist. The title of the lesson was something like “You’ve been mixing colors all wrong!” It sounded like click bait, but since my color mixing couldn’t have been any worse, I took the plunge and watched his demonstration.
Early on, I learned to that if I was painting a sky, I should mix up enough material in the paint pot to complete the entire sky area. So, I took sky blue, cerulean blue, and a bit of umber paint and mixed them up on the palette and painted a late day blue sky. There it was, a nice uniform wash across the upper third of the landscape. Of course, I left in clouds for interest but the blue was, well, blue. But this artist suggested something more interesting. “Mix the colors on the canvas as you paint instead of mixing them all into a uniform color on the palette.” “Crazy,” I thought, “I will just end up with colors flowing everywhere!” As my grandson would say, “Oh my, what a mess!” But I was wrong. The artist demonstrated picking up each color and working them together on the canvas in a kind of flowing dance of the brush. The result was a harmony of hues that unlocked the depth of the final color as strands of the elemental colors remained unmixed. Not only was it more interesting; it more like real life! If you look, you will notice that hardly anything in nature is one uniform hue. The sky is mix of light and dark blue and a host of other colors depending on the position of sun and clouds and even the amount of dust and pollution in the air. Mixed on the canvas, individual colors harmonize in some places and hold their original hue in others, but all work toward some greater truth.
Lent is a time of reflection and repentance as we prepare for the coming of our Lord in Easter. But God is not looking for perfection, or moral purity, or perfect worship as a measure of worthiness. Sometimes Lent can be misinterpreted as an attempt to correct past sins or improve oneself to be as perfect as possible before God before the “big day.” It’s almost like we are trying to get the paint color just right before we ever lay the brush of our lives on the canvas of time. What if Lent, and frankly our faith, is more like mixing colors on the canvas as we go rather than getting it all perfect before we start? Sometimes we might pick up a color that doesn’t work—maybe envy or greed—so we are invited to pick up another color and work that into our lives and our relationship with God. Sometimes we are not sure what the painting is supposed to be before we start, but if we keep painting, keep experimenting, and lean on one another and God along the way, something unexpected and beautiful will emerge.
God gives us colors with names like “love,” “faith,” “courage,” “grace,” “hope,” “Spirit,” “Word,” and more in our palette. Let us mix them together in harmony and faith, knowing that God will journey with us through this time, and for all time.
Pastor Jeff
LCH Office Hours
- Monday—Closed
- Tuesday—9:00 am to 1:00 pm
- Wednesday—9:00 am to 1:00 pm
- Thursday—9:00 am to 1:00 pm
- Friday—9:00 am to 1:00 pm
- Saturday–Sunday—Closed
Given the persistence of covid in our community, the LCH office and church campus are generally closed to in-person meetings and gatherings as we continue to practice mutual care. We require masks for in-person interactions and recommend calling the office (808-941-2566) before dropping in to see Pastor Jeff or the administrator, as schedules may vary with appointments, other work commitments, and lunch breaks.
Please visit the LCH website at www.lchwelcome.org for more information about weekly events and ministries, and to access the public LCH Facebook page for online worship services.
Committee/Interest Group Chairs
Committee/Group | Leader |
---|---|
Archive: | Jim Cartwright |
Concert: | Barry Wenger |
Communications: | Carol Langner |
Community Life: | Larry Anderson |
Council: | Dan Dennison |
Fellowship: | Jeanne Castello |
Finance: | Steve Miller |
Financial Review: | Dori Palcovich |
Food for Thought: | Marlise Tellander |
Lay Ministers: | Carolyn Koehler |
Learning Ministry: | Fred Benco |
Mary Magdalene Society: | Bill Potter Roy Helms |
Process Theology: | Carol Langner |
Property: | Richard Mundell Pastor Jeff Lilley |
Scholarship: | Fred Benco |
Social Ministry: | Jean Lilley Miles Sato |
Stewardship: | Phyllis Hörmann Willow Chang |
Sunday School: | Linda Miller |
Website: | Bill Potter |
Worship & Music: | Roy Helms Randy Castello |
Writers’ Workshop: | Peter Flachsbart |
Youth: | Pastor Jeff Lilley |
Art and Healing II
In a world that increasingly seems to value science above all, few likely think of the pursuits of the ancient alchemists. The arts of alchemy are often reduced to the practice of finding ways to transform lead into gold. But there is much more involved, and one area is the healing arts of alchemy. The creation of medicines that allow greater vitality, healing, and longevity is its own type of wealth. Perhaps it is a beautiful coincidence that the Japanese practice of kintsugi, the use of gold to fill in cracks of broken pottery (introduced as part of last year’s Healing a Broken World theme) not only adds beauty but also mends something shattered.
An important healing balm for my spirit and soul has always been movement in its various forms. I was privileged to start my dance journey with Hawaiian hula in a hālau (school). I have since continued exploring movement, music, and practices that span from yoga to meditation and various dances from around the world, including raks sharki (Egyptian-style belly dancing), classic Indian dance, Bollywood, Japanese butoh, Argentine tango, and many more.
Dance and other kinds of artistic movement have afforded me connections with other cultures and people from literally all walks of life. They engage my mind and so many other faculties, including learning to listen to the body as well as training the ears to relate to music. In other words, dance has always been for me an occasion of healing.
When the Stewardship Team asked me to offer sessions for members of our ‘ohana to experience healing movement, without hesitation I recommended movement with the veil. This journey of finding ways to relate to your partner (the veil) and discovering the symbiotic relationship is both beautiful and humbling. You can’t zone out while dancing with a veil. You actually are instrumental in animating this piece of fabric. And when you think you’ve got it down, a gust of wind or a snag on clothing crashes the party. Veil dancing is truly an experience of the senses: touching the fabric while it moves, hearing the sound it makes while airborne, seeing the visual display of color as it moves…is quite the wonder. And, it is something that no one is born knowing or can lay claim to; everyone has to start at the beginning when engaging with the veil.
I joyfully invite all to come and try veil dancing. We’ll have sessions Saturday afternoons, March 16 and 23, at 1:00 pm in Isenberg Hall. I’ll play an array of music, provide clear tips to help you move, and, of course, include body conditioning to ensure healthy practices. No experience is needed, and I’ll bring the tunes and veils! See for yourself why so many love to move and be moved—by dance, by music, and by creation—and why these healing gifts are undeniable.
Willow Chang for the Stewardship Team
Pam Buckley, Willow Chang, Phyllis Hörmann, Barbara Poole-Street, Bill Potter, and Cindy Scheinert
Angel Network In-Gathering
LCH is not collecting donations for Angel Network Charities until further notice. However, Angel Network is accepting donations at the Calvary-by-the-Sea Lutheran Church location in east O‘ahu: 5339 Kalaniana‘ole Highway, Honolulu 96821.
For those who are able and interested in donating, they accept donations on Thursdays and Fridays, from 8:30 am to noon. They will only accept packaged, unopened dry goods (e.g. cereal, flour, sugar, pasta, etc.) and canned goods.
Angel Network requires that donating drivers identify themselves and remain in their vehicle. Volunteers will offload donation items from your vehicle with protective gloves. Over 2,500 individuals are served monthly through this program. Mahalo for your generosity and support.
Food for Thought
Saturday, March 2, at 5:30 pm • Hörmann’s Home
Food for Thought meets at the home of David Hörmann, who will provide the main dish, while others are asked to bring side dishes or dessert to complete the potluck. If you would like to participate virtually, please contact Peter Flachsbart at pflachsbart@gmail.com to receive an invitation for the next Zoom meeting. If you wish to come in person, contact Marlise Tellander at marlisetellander@hotmail.com. Those who plan to come in person should be vaccinated.
All Ages Sunday School
Come explore with each other the highlights of our Judeo-Christian tradition. We will meet each Sunday in Isenberg Hall at 9:00 am for a story, discussion, and creative response. We will use the form and techniques of Godly Play. This approach will help us understand how our history and practice weave together to create today’s church. Everyone is welcome from the youngest child to the oldest adult.
All Ages Sunday School topics for March:
- 3/3—The Faces of Easter III and IV
- 3/10—The Faces of Easter V and VI
- 3/17—St. Patrick object box
- 3/24—The Faces of Easter VII
- 3/31—Easter (no Sunday school)
Adult Forum
Sundays at 9:00 am • In-person in the Boardroom
During March, Wayne Gau will lead a discussion on slavery in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. The discussion will include both actual practices and the theology behind those practices.
All are welcome. If you are coming for worship, just get your coffee and head to the Boardroom at 9:00 to join the others who are there.
Virtual Coffee Talk
Sunday, March 3, 11:30 am • Via Zoom Meeting
Virtual Coffee Hour will be held at 11:30 am on the first Sunday of each month. Hope you can join us! You are invited to join with your LCH ‘ohana on the first Sunday for a virtual coffee talk following online worship. This discussion time will be via Zoom Meeting, and will run for approximately 20 to 30 minutes.
In order to avoid “Zoom bombing” (surprise visits from unsavory folks), you will need to contact Cathy Baptista via email at cathynt@gmail.com for a meeting number and password to log into the meeting. While these are not ideal gathering circumstances, we can at least enjoy a chance to commune together briefly.
Leadership Roundtable
Tuesday, March 5, 6:30 pm • Via Zoom Meeting
Committee chairs and team leaders, please plan to gather for a short (45 minute) meeting. This month’s meeting will be conducted via the Zoom online meeting platform. Please refer to your email for the Zoom Meeting details. This is an opportunity for us to sit down together and share information on what is happening with all the ministries at LCH. If you are a committee or team leader, you will receive an email with login information. Please be prepared to share a little information on your activities with the group. Mahalo!
Game Day
Wednesday, March 6, at 1:00 pm in the Boardroom
New! Please join me for GameDay on Wednesday, March 6th, from 1:00 to 3:00 in the Boardroom. We will meet for lively conversation and some fun games. If you have any questions or suggestions call me, Paula Wheeler, at 808-542-2843.
Book of Faith Bible Study
Thursdays, 10:00 am • In-person and Via Zoom Meeting
The Book of Faith Bible Study meets on Thursday mornings in-person or via Zoom meeting. All are welcome to join this lively discussion of the Biblical texts, relevant current events, and historical foundations. Please contact Cathy Baptista at cathynt@gmail.com to receive an invitation to the next Zoom Bible study discussion.
Restorative Yoga
Thursdays, March 7, 14, and 21, at 6:00 pm • Via Zoom Meeting
Explore the restorative and ancient practice of yoga, led by LCH member Willow Chang. As a yoga practitioner for over 30 years, Willow shares the joy, wonder, and enthusiasm of a beginner. She emphasizes the origins, cultural context, and safe practice of yoga for all by sharing aspects of yoga, from pranayama (breathing exercises) and yogic philosophy (ahimsa), to poses, referred to as asanas.
Join for one, two, or all sessions from the safety of your own shelter-in-place. These unique classes also provide an opportunity to answer your questions about yoga practice and form. You don’t need yoga pants, previous experience, youth, flexibility, or any real-life experience in India to learn about yoga. Bring your amazing self to be in wonder of your abilities! Please contact Willow Chang (willowchang@hotmail.com) to be included in the weekly Zoom meeting invitation. Let’s learn and find a new center, together!
Confirmation Classes
Sundays, March 10 and 24, at 11:45 am • Rainbow Room
Confirmation is voluntary for youth, grades 6 and up, who would like to confirm their faith. At baptism we promise to “place in [your child’s] hands the Holy Scripture and provide for their education in the Christian Faith.” In confirmation class we study scripture, the Reformation, and Christian history, but we are more interested in helping young people develop as persons of faith.
Please contact Pastor Jeff at pr.jeff@lchwelcome.org for more information.
IHS Sandwich Making
Thursday, March 15, 12:00–2:00 pm • Isenberg Hall
LCHers will again convene to prepare sandwiches and pack sack lunches for distribution at Institution for Human Services (IHS). This continues a tradition stretching back decades. We meet monthly and could use a few new, dependable volunteers to join our dedicated group. Please join us. Mahalo!
If you would like to participate in this action-packed, fun activity, please let Brenda know at lch@LCHwelcome.org. She will pass your contact info on to event organizers.
LCH Work Day March 16
It is time to spruce things up as we prepare for the Easter season. Please join Saturday, March 16, beginning at 9:00 am for rarin’ good time. Come a little early and enjoy some fresh coffee and baked goods before we put the shoulder to the wheel. We will be doing a number of projects that day including gardening, power washing, painting, yardwork, tree trimming, and general clean up. We have tools, gloves and sunscreen for your use, but feel free to bring your own. Water will be available throughout the day. We will break for lunch at noon and then finish projects and clean up afterward. No experience or special skills needed!
If you have any questions, please contact Pastor Jeff or Rich Mundell (property chair).
Mary Magdalene Society Potluck and Game Night
Saturday, March 16, at 6:00 pm • Hörmann Courtyard
Mary Magdalene Society will meet in-person for our potluck and game night in the Hörmann Courtyard. We invite LGBTQI members and friends of LCH to prepare their favorite potluck dish and join in the festivities. As part of our commitment to mutual care, participants should RSVP in advance and be fully-vaccinated.
An email will be sent on March 10 to those who are already on the Mary Magdalene mailing list, detailing the RSVP procedure. If you don’t receive your invitation, have questions, or want to be added to the mailing list, please contact Bill Potter, group facilitator, at bill.potter808@gmail.com.
Compline
Sunday, March 17 , at 7:30 pm • In-person and Via Livestream Broadcast
We warmly invite all people in all places of faith and life to Compline. This beautiful candle-lit service is a meditative experience of a cappella singing and chanting to commemorate the day’s end. Led by members of the LCH Men’s Schola, musical selections include Gregorian chant, Taizé chant, Renaissance polyphony, and more.
Compline is sung only on the third Sunday of the month from September through May. For those not attending in person, Compline will be livestreamed on our Worship Services page and the LCH Facebook page.
LCH Women’s Book Club
Monday, March 18, at 10:00 am • In-Person at the Murashige’s Home and Via Zoom Meeting
LCH Women’s Book Club will meet on Monday, February 19, at the Murashige’s home. We’ll be continuing with The Odyssey in a new translation by Emily Wilson. Please come and join us for a fun morning.
If you are not already on the Book Club list, please contact Juditha Murashige at jcmurashige@earthlink.net to receive an invitation to join them. All are welcome.
Writers’ Workshop
Monday, March 18, at 4:30 pm • Via Zoom Meeting
Writers’ Workshop will continue to meet via Zoom meeting. All are welcome! If you would like to participate, please contact Peter Flachsbart at pflachsbart@gmail.com for information on how to connect remotely. Mahalo!
LCH Office Closed for Prince Kūhiō Day
Tuesday March 26
Seeking Volunteers & Donations for One Pot, One Hope
Saturday, March 30, at 9:00 am • Maluhia Lutheran Church in Wai‘anae
The One Pot, One Hope ministry, a Hukilau project, continues each month at Maluhia Lutheran Church in Wai‘anae. Please consider participating by joining the volunteers, at the next meet-up.
You can also contribute by donating 5-lb. cans of chili, cartons of granola bars, or large jars of peanut butter or jelly; or you can support this outreach with funds either by check or via the LCH Donate page. (Be sure to designate donation for One Pot, One Hope.) Food items may be dropped off during coffee hour on Sundays or left at the office during open hours. Contact Billie Jean Reis or Linda Muller with any questions. Mahalo for assisting with this mission to provide meals to our neighbors.
Notes from the Organ Bench
March will include a wide variety of music as we continue our Lenten journey towards Holy Week. On March 3, you will hear Herbert Howell’s beautiful Psalm-Prelude based on Psalm 23, v. 4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” There is a constant low tone that pulses throughout the music. I find it to be like God walking with me as I walk this journey of life. Our two choral motets include William Byrd’s “Civitas sancta tui” (Your holy city has become desolate), and a song of pleading by Henry Purcell “Remember Not, O Lord, Our Offenses.” The postlude ties in with the Psalm of the Day through Benedetto Marcelo’s “Psalm 19.”
March 10 was designated as “Woman Composer Sunday” by the American Guild of Organists and their Task Force for Gender Equity. LCH is participating in the celebration of women composer’s by including many throughout the service. You will hear music by Alice Jordan, Jane Marshall, Jessica French, Ruth Norman, and Anna Laura Page. These composers have all created music in hymnody, choral and organ works, and handbell music.
March 17, the last Sunday of Lent, we turn towards the richness of German composers. The choir will share two of Johannes Brahms Op. 29, No. 2: Troste mich wieder and Schaffer in mir, Gott, ein rein Herz,’ meaning “Grant unto me the joy of thy salvation” and “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” Organ music of the day includes C.P.E. Bach, Schroeder, and Brahms.
Palm Sunday begins with a glorious procession around the building singing “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” and makes way into the sanctuary for “Ride On, Ride On in Majesty!” The day journeys from the “Hosannas!” to the passion story.
The LCH Choir shares two motets by Heinrich Schütz: “Ehre sei dir Christe” and “Das blut Jesu Christi,” translating to “Glory be to you, Christ” and “The blood of Jesus Christ.” We continue this theme through our hymnody and sing “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded,” and “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”
We continue on the journey of Holy Week with Maundy Thursday and choral music including a new hymn text “Three Holy Days Enfold Us” sung to Rockingham Old from the new hymnal “All Creation Sings,” foot washing antiphons, Duruflé’s stunning “Ubi caritas,” a new setting of “Tantum ergo” by Jessica French, and a final motet by Johann Kuhnau lamenting what is to come.
Good Friday will include the LCH Choir sharing “The Passion of St. John” by William Byrd and finish with John Bull’s beautiful “In the Departure of the Lord.”
Easter Vigil will continue the story starting in the courtyard and opening up to the glory of the risen Lord in the Nave with Will Todd’s “Jazz Missa Brevis”! Hear a full jazz combo with two trumpets, alto saxophone, bass, piano, and drums.
Then join us for a joyful Easter Sunday with choral music by Robert Lau, Eleanor Daley, and K. Lee Scott with brass quintet and organ to create a joyful noise unto God!
Barry J. Wenger
New LGBT+ Caregivers Support Group
Tuesdays at 8:30 am • Island Brew Coffee House
A new support group for LGBT+ caregivers has begun to meet every Tuesday morning at Island Brew Coffee House, t1108 Auahi Street in Ward Village, across from Whole Foods. Free parking. For more information, contact Pam Vessels at pamvessels@icloud.com.
Regular Offerings
If you are not attending church in person, you are encouraged to mail your offering check directly to the church: Lutheran Church of Honolulu, 1730 Punahou Street, Honolulu HI 96822. If you would like to set up regular electronic funds transfer from your checking or savings account, forms are available at www.lchwelcome.org/support or can be requested by email to LCH@LCHwelcome.org. If you prefer to make a one time contribution or ongoing pledge by credit card, there is a link in the bottom right corner of each page of the church website or you can go directly to www.lchwelcome.org/donate. Thank you!
HeartBeat Deadline
Tuesday, March 19, 9:00 am
Adam F., Betty H., Chuck H. and Nan W., Chuck P., Colleen K., Don J., Dutton S., Elaine, George T., Greg G., Harold W., Irene McLeod, James Takamiya, John R., Mabel D., the family of Melinda J., Michael, Miriam S., Nancy R., the family of Ruth S., Salina R., Star W., Yvonne and Andy M.
Please help us to keep the Prayer Requests list relevant. If you have a friend or loved one who should remain on the list, we are glad to keep them in prayer. Please email the office to let us know when a name may be removed from the list.