Category Archives: Congregational Life

Join Us for Lenten Wednesdays • 5:45 pm (through April 9)

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Members and friends prepare the plates for Lenten SuppersLenten Soup and Salad Suppers

Wednesdays, March 12, 19, and 26 and April 2 and 9 • 5:45 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 5:45 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.

Worship: Holy Lament

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 5:45 pm in the church courtyard. This year’s Lenten theme is Holy Lament.

All are welcomed and encouraged to share this intimate prayer service and supper with us this Lenten season.

“In Sorrow and Joy” • Thurs. March 13, 7:00 pm

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concert graphicThe LCH Choir and orchestra present a concert in memory of Pastor Jeff Lilley Thursday evening, March 13, at 7:00 pm.

Music for the concert includes J.S. Bach’s Cantata No. 38, “Out of the Depths, I Cry to Thee” and Ruth Watson Henderson’s “From Darkness to Light.”

We mark this five-month anniversary of Pr. Jeff’s passing through the beauty of music. Please invite friends and family to this beautiful concert of music to remember our sorrow and also to remember our joy!

Welcoming Pr. Lesley Radius, Our Interim Pastor

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Pr. Lesley RadiusPr. Lesley Radius began serving as the interim pastor of LCH on March 1. We welcome her as our new shepherd and partner in ministry and look forward to all that we will do together over the next year or two. Pr. Lesley, who will be living at Luther Place, will be jumping right into her new call and preaching on March 2. Her email is pr.lesley@lchwelcome.org.

We ask everyone to remember that Pr. Lesley is severely allergic to scented flowers, incense, and perfumes. She has been in the Emergency Room in anaphylaxis, so all are asked to honor her allergy issues whenever you come to the LCH campus.

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.

125th Anniversary Mission Fund Plans

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LCH’s 125th Anniversary celebration includes two important elements—refurbishing the organ and mission objectives that were formed through the critical input from the ‘Ohana Groups and the ongoing discussions about what is God calling us to do.

The areas the congregation identified as the most important are:

  • Welcoming and Safe Environment
  • Liturgy, Music, and the Arts
  • Silver Tsunami

The area of liturgy and music is being covered by the money being raised for the organ and a generous $79,000 bequest from the Thomas Hilgers Trust that is to be spent on the music program, but specifically for items not in the ongoing budget, such as concerts, new musical commissions, and other ways to expand the music program.

To cover the Welcoming and Safe Environment and the Silver Tsunami, we propose the following:

  • Welcoming and Safe Environment—$50,000
    • Presenting a more welcoming face to the world (cleaning up the front of the church, painting the exterior and interior of the church, removing old playground equipment, repairing the rose window)
    • Landscaping, including creating a dog run for neighbors
    • Murals to capture the spirit of the church
  • Silver Tsunami—$4,000
    • Seed money to help determine the most beneficial programs for seniors and their caregivers.
  • Tithing to the ELCA through the Pacifica Synod—$6,000
    • Yes, tithing is part of our culture.

We will create task forces to oversee these efforts and make sure the congregation is involved in the planning. If you want to be part of one of these task forces, please talk to Olivia Castro.

As of publication, we have raised $9,000 for the mission part of the 125th anniversary celebration. We narrowed the focus and are now concentrating on raising funds. If you would like to contribute, we ask that you do the following:

  • Write a check and mail it in or give as your offering. Please designate 125th Anniversary Mission Fund on the description line.
  • Contact Brenda in the church office (808-941-2566 or lch@lchwelome.org) to start initiate a monthly EFT donation to the 125th Anniversary Mission Fund through Simply Giving or to add a new donation to your current contributions via Simply Giving
  • Go to the LCH website and click the Donate link. From the pulldown menu and click on 125th Anniversary Mission Fund.

If you have any questions, please contact Mary Fastenau, Olivia Castro, or Dan Dennison.

Youth Fundraiser—Punahou Carnival Parking

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Happy parking volunteersEach year, the LCH youth raise money for travel to the continent with their Punahou Carnival parking fundraiser. This year the carnival is schedule for Friday and Saturday, February 7 and 8. If you are planning to visit the carnival, consider parking in the lot behind the church or in our Poki Lot, mauka of the church on Poki Street (behind the condo across Dominis Street from the church.)

Members and friends are encouraged to volunteer for a three-hour shifts during the carnival on either day. Event coordinators provide snacks and drinks, flashlights, and safety vests, and you provide the fellowship!

Welcome to In-Person Worship at LCH

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With the progress in dealing with the covid pandemic, the Lutheran Church of Honolulu no longer requires vaccinations for those participating in worship or other events.

In the spirit of mutual care, we continue to encourage all members of our ‘ohana to care for themselves and others by keeping current with immunizations, monitoring their health, and worshipping online when they are not feeling well.

We continue to welcome those choosing to wear appropriate masks on campus.

On the Passing of Pr. Jeff Lilley

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I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.—2 Timothy 4:7–8

Pr. Jeff on their boatAs many of you know, Pastor Jeff Lilley passed away unexpectedly Sunday morning, [October 13,] before services. The congregation of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu is grieving, while providing support for Jeff’s wife Jean, and their children Seth and Meghann and family. Jeff had served this congregation for more than 16 years and was beloved both within and outside the church. Please keep his loved ones in your prayers and thoughts during this most difficult time.

As Bishop Dave Nagler told your church council Sunday morning, Pastor Jeff was one of a kind. We all have stories that bears this out and we will expect to hear and capture many others to honor his life in the coming days and weeks.

First and foremost, we need to support Jean, Seth, and Meghann and family through this very difficult time. The council has established a support committee for this purpose. The Lilley children, Seth and Meghann, will arrive on Monday. The council has decided that LCH will cover their housing during their stay and will also waive the rent for the pastor’s Luther Place apartment as long as Jean needs it.

We also need to be with one another in our grief. We have both in-person and virtual options for pastoral care or grief counseling below and hope to provide additional opportunities to you early this week.

In the meantime, Pastor Margarethe will join Thursday bible study at 10:00 am and Pastor Ruth will be at Choir Practice on Thursday at 7:00 pm.

We are receiving tremendous support from the Pacifica Synod, from the Hukilau Conference, and from the Council of Bishops.

We firmly believe Pastor Jeff would want our congregation to continue providing the spiritual sustenance, community outreach and goodwill, and special events that LCH is well known for.

Please take care of yourselves and your loved ones during this especially difficult time, and do not hesitate to contact another member of the LCH family or a council member if you feel the need to just talk.

And while we all grieve, please give the Lilley family time and space to do so in their own time and way.

On behalf of the LCH Council,
Dan Dennison

Memorial Service for Pr. Jeff, followed by JeffFest • Sat. Oct. 19

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Pr. Jeff on their boatPastor Jeff’s Memorial Service is scheduled for 4:00 pm on Saturday, October 19, at LCH. Pacifica Synod Bishop Dave Nagler will preach. The service will be live streamed on the LCH Facebook page. Overflow seating will be available in Isenberg Hall.

LutherFest is now JeffFest and is scheduled to begin at approximately 6:00 pm on Saturday, October 19, in the LCH Courtyard. Brats, salads, beer, wine, and non-alcoholic beverages will be provided. Please bring a non-perishable dessert, as the LCH refrigerator is full. Volunteers from other Hukilau churches are being sought to help with cooking and set-up in order to allow LCH member and friends to attend the service.

On Sunday, October 20, in the 10:00 am worship service, Bishop Dave Nagler will be preaching, and Pastor Ruth Peterson will lead worship. Kimberly, a social worker from Joy of Christ, will also be with us and is making herself available for emotional support.

Compline will not be sung Sunday evening.

Our sincere thanks to all the clergy, active and retired, the bishop, and many others who are assisting the LCH family through this very difficult time. And mahalo to each of you for continuing to support one another and the Lilley family.




The Lilley family has asked that memorial gifts made in honor of Pr. Jeff go to the Hawai‘i Health and Harm Reduction Center (H3RC) for their transgender program. Checks may be made out to Lutheran Church of Honolulu and sent to the church (1730 Punahou Street, Honolulu, HI 96822) or made via PayPal using the button to the left.

19th Annual Faith and Arts Weekend • September 28–29

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UH Scholarship Wind Ensemble play as part of 2024’s Faith and Arts Weekend

LCH’s annual celebration of Faith and Arts took place on the weekend on September 28 and 29. This is a time when members of the congregations recognize the many ways the arts enrich our lives and honor the artist of all ages who call LCH home.

The weekend began with performances Saturday evening. Works displayed Sunday morning represent a wide variety of media: needle craft, paintings, poetry, prose, photography, woodworking, and more. Participating artists included young children, working adults, and retirees. Some, like members of the Writers’ Workshop, meet regularly as a group, but many work at home and share as part of this annual event.

At right, the UH Scholarship Wind Ensemble played in the performing arts showcase on Saturday evening.

The slideshow below shows a collage of photos from Saturday evening (courtesy of Linda Muller, and the items displayed on Sunday morning. Clicking on most of the photos will open a larger version in a new window. (Because the files are rather large, it may take several seconds for the larger image to appear. Close the new browser window to return to the slideshow.)

Poetry and prose from members of Writers’ Workshop will be available soon.

Faith and Arts Weekend • Saturday Evening and Sunday Morning, Sept. 28–29

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Photo from Faith and Arts 2023Each year LCH celebrated the creativity of our ‘ohana with Faith and Arts Weekend. This event begins Saturday evening with a showcase of performing arts from spoken word to song and dance. This will be followed by a display of visual arts, crafts, and writing on Sunday morning. Everyone connected with LCH is welcome to participate with either newly-created works or past creations.

For more information, including details about how to participate, please see the September newsletter.

Faith and Arts Weekend is coordinated by Willow Chang and Peter Flachsbart.