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Advent Procession · November 29 · 7:00 pm

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Advent wreath graphicSince 1975, the Lutheran Church of Honolulu’s Advent Procession has been a Hawai‘i tradition. This perennial favorite ushers in the Advent season with a service that melds music and word. This year’s 41st annual Procession is the first under the direction of Scott Fikse, our new director of liturgy and music

The service combines lessons from scripture with fine choral compositions by German composers Anton Bruckner, Franz Lizst, Felix Mendelssohn, and Josef Rheinberger.

The LCH Choir and Mark Wong, organist, perform under the leadership of Scott Fikse. The full listing or lessons and music is available on the November Music List.

All are welcome to attend this free service of worship. A freewill offering will be taken

Driving Directions / Bus Information

Giving Thanks in Worship and at Table (Nov. 25 & 26)

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Thanksgiving Eve Joint Worship

pies graphicWednesday, November 25, 7:00 pm at LCH

Lutheran Church of Honolulu is hosting the annual Thanksgiving Eve joint worship with our neighbors, the Parish of St. Clement (Episcopal), this year. Pastor Christopher Golding of St. Clement’s is scheduled to preach. LCH lay ministry will be assigned to assist during this Holden Evening Prayer service.

Our annual pie reception will follow immediately after worship in Isenberg Hall and the Hörmann Courtyard. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the pies as our guests, and members of LCH are encouraged to sign-up for the pie reception starting November 8.

turkey dinner graphic2015 Annual Thanksgiving Meal

Thursday, November 26, 2:30 pm in the LCH Hörmann Courtyard

All are invited to Join Pastor Jeff and Jean Lilley for a traditional Thanksgiving meal/potluck at Lutheran Church of Honolulu. We will gather first at 2:30 pm for pupus and final setup. Dinner will be at 3:00.

Pastor and Jean will provide a large turkey and fresh-baked rolls. If you would like to share in this meal, please take a moment to rsvp by email to pr.jeff@lchwelcome.org or sign-up on the sign-up sheet in the courtyard. Please indicate the number of people in your party and the dish you intend to bring. Keep in mind, we generally have about 40 people at this meal, so plan your portions accordingly.

Exploring Boundaries: Ethical Issues in Reporting the News (Nov. 15)

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LCH welcomes Patti Epler, editorial director and general manager at Civil Beat, an online investigative news source here in Hawaii, as our next speaker at Exploring Boundaries. Patti began her long career in journalism in 1976, serving newspapers in several states. Some of the events she covered include the construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline, the Exxon Valdez oil spill, quality of life for Alaska native peoples, and immigration enforcement practices along the southern US border.

According to her bio on the Civil Beat website, “Patti is an old-school investigative journalist in a new media world. She still values solid relationships with news sources and strong journalistic ethics. Like many of her colleagues, she’s been laid off (more than once) from what were once vibrant and thriving newspapers. She is now a true believer in online journalism and all that the Internet has to offer news operations.” She joined Civil Beat in 2011.

The transition from print to digital news is just one of the “boundaries” Patti will guide us across.

Exploring Boundaries begins at 6:00 pm in Isenberg Hall and ends in time for Evening Prayer at 7:30.

Exploring Boundaries: Molloy on Religious Pluralism (Oct. 18)

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Mike Molloy will speak on “Christians and People of Other Faiths” Sunday evening, October 18, at 6:00 pm.

Christians today often meet people of other religious backgrounds. What can we learn from them? What can they learn from us? Our featured speaker this evening is Mike Molloy, a student, teacher, and practitioner of the great religions of the world.

Retired from a long teaching career at Kapi‘olani Community College and author of Experiencing the World’s Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change, a commonly used textbook now in the 6th edition, Mike has traveled the world to personally experience the diverse spiritual beliefs of humankind embodied in religious practice. He will lead us in discussion as we explore ways to honor other faith traditions even as we find greater understanding of our own.

Following Exploring Boundaries, all are welcome to join in Evening Prayer at 7:30 pm. Evening Prayer services are quiet, meditative services held twice monthly on the first and third Sundays. The Evening Prayer liturgy is simple with emphasis on Word, reflection, and music.

Duruflé Requiem: A concert in memory of Carl Crosier (Nov. 1)

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Concert graphic

The Lutheran Church of Honolulu Choir will join with the Hawai‘i Vocal Arts Ensemble to remember long-time church musician, Carl Crosier, featuring Maurice Duruflé’s beloved Requiem and the world premiere of Frank Ferko’s Missa O Magne Pater based on medieval Hildegard chants.

Timothy Carney and Scott Fikse will conduct the combined choirs with members of the Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra, internationally-renowned organist Jonathan Dimmock, and soloists Laurie Rubin, mezzo-soprano and Leslie “Buz” Tennent, baritone. Mr. Ferko will be in attendance for the premiere of his Mass.

Duruflé’s Requiem, while composed on the Gregorian chants of the Mass for the Dead, allows the listener to focus on life rather than on death, while receiving comfort in the face of the unknown. Ferko’s Missa O Magne Pater was commissioned on the suggestion of Crosier, and is patterned after Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G minor for unaccompanied double chorus. These Masses, with their mystical feeling, have brought the beauty of the Latin Mass into modern times.

The concert is free, and all are welcome.

Sunday, November 1 · 7:00 pm
Lutheran Church of Honolulu · 1730 Punahou Street

Driving Directions / Bus Information

Barbershop Quartet for the Last Summer Sunday

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August 30, the last summer Sunday with only one worship service, Scott Fikse, our new director of music and liturgy, brought along the other members of his Barbershop Quartet to provide music for worship. Pastor Jeff joked that the roof might cave in because LCH is not used to this kind of music, but God was cool with it all, and the roof is still intact.

Society Dues, which includes Scott and three friends, is beginning their second year of competing within the Barbershop Harmony Society, so when Scott moved to Honolulu this summer to join the staff at LCH, they decided to rehearse here for the upcoming Evergreen District competition in October. (The sacrifices one makes for the sake of music!) Everyone at LCH was glad to welcome them to worship on Sunday and to hear their uplifting renditions of spiritual songs.

Outdoor Worship and Picnic July 5

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Worship

God’s People gather for worship

The LCH ‘ohana worshipped outdoors on Sunday as we dedicated the new eco-shade covering for the Hörmann Courtyard. The ensemble choir lead the congregation in worship as we heard God’s word and shared God’s supper. Following worship, everyone enjoyed a picnic lunch on the lawn.

Grillers

Grillmasters Craig and Walter at work

 

Hamburgers, hotdogs, watermelon, and a variety of side dishes made for a festive meal.

The congregation also had a chance for some friendly competition of Cornhole and Lawn Darts
We give thanks to everyone who helped make the Hørmann Courtyard Eco-shade covering possible. The courtyard is now usable in all weather conditions allowing us to better serve our community.IMG_1541

Beckerath Organ Celebration · May 24 · 5:00 PM

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organ rededication graphicForty years ago, the Lutheran Church of Honolulu sought to revitalize its music program, beginning with the purchase of a mechanical action organ, altogether unique and unprecedented in Hawaii, in a classic design made by one of the leading master organbuilders, Rudolf von Beckerath of Hamburg, Germany. It turned out to be the last organ he personally voiced and supervised in the United States.

Organist Joey Fala, who was intrigued by the sound of a pipe organ in a Honolulu preschool, returns to perform music by Bach, Reger, Wammis and Demessieux. He began lessons on the Beckerath organ with Katherine Crosier in the fifth grade and continued through his high school years. At Iolani School’s graduation, he won the Bishop’s Award and was proclaimed “the best organist in the state” by then-Headmaster Val Iwashita.

While concurrently pursuing bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture, Fala has given many recitals and won prizes for his organ playing. A recipient of the American Guild of Organist Hawaii Chapter and Eastern New York Chapter scholarships, the Robert T. Anderson Award, and the Pogorzelski-Yankee Memorial Scholarship, he has also received first prize in the NYC chapter AGO/Quimby Competition for Young Organists and most recently performed as a finalist in the Arthur Poister Organ Competition. This summer, Fala will present a recital as a featured artist at the Organ Historical Society’s national convention in Springfield, MA. In August, he will begin the Master of Music program in organ at Yale University under full scholarship, studying with Thomas Murray and Martin Jean.

Tours of the organ chamber will be given after the program, and a reception will follow in the courtyard.

A Joyful Easter Celebration

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Members and friends gather for a joyful celebration Easter Sunday morning. Between two festive worship services at 8:00 and 10:30 am, the younger children enjoyed a puppet show and then headed out to hunt for Easter eggs that the older children had hidden, and everyone enjoyed a bountiful potluck brunch.

Children’s conversation on Easter morningThe younger children enjoy a puppet show while the older children hide the Easter eggsHunting for Easter eggsA girl with her basket of Easter eggsA young baby with her grandmotherA family with their children and cousinsTwo children decked out for EasterThe bountiful Easter potluck

Easter Triduum—Easter Vigil

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The last part of the Great Three Days (Triduum) began with the congregation gathered in the Hörmann Courtyard for the kindling of the new fire and the lighting of the Pascal Candle.

Once inside the Nave, members of the congregation lit their candles the flame passed from the Pascal Candle and listened to the Exsultet

The service continued with the retelling of salvation history through lessons from the Hebrew Scriptures, the renewal of baptismal vows, the joyous Easter proclamation, and holy communion.

Following worship, the congregation returned to the Courtyard to break their Lenten fast with a sweet feast of champagne, strawberries, and cookies.

The Vigil began with the lighting of a new fire in the courtyard, and then the Paschal candle was lit from the fire.The congregation processed into the Nave and candles were lit during the singing of the Exulted.The first part of the Vigil centered around lessons from the Hebrew scriptures and recounting salvation history, beginning with the creation.Following the Litany of the Saints, the ministers returned in their Easter vestments to lead the Easter proclamation: Christ is risen! Alleluia!The Vigil concluded with the celebration of communion amid the beautiful array of Easter lilies.