The HeartBeat

A Message from Pastor Jeff

God’s Work, Our Hands

Walking out of worship after church on Sunday, I noticed a little girl standing in the shade by the entry gate. As I poured a cup of coffee, I wished her “good morning” and smiled my most winning pastor’s smile. She looked me straight in the eye and said, “I don’t like to go to church.” That was all she said. I stood there for a stunned moment, not sure how to reply. This little one always seemed engaged during the children’s sermon and has developed friends in the congregation; so her frank retort was a bit puzzling. Squatting near her I said, “I’m sorry you don’t like church. What don’t you like about church?” She squirmed a bit and wrung her hands uncomfortably and said, “I don’t know.” She seemed eager to get away, so I thanked her and said that I hoped we could talk again. “In the mean time,” I called after her, “I want you to know I love going to church and hope you will someday!”

She ran off to play with her friends and wait for her folks to come and take her home. I sipped my coffee and thought, “I would have said the same thing when I was her age.” I hated the little blue bow they made me wear to sing in the kiddy choir. I hated having to sit still while the Pastor preached. I hated having to wait for my parents to get done drinking coffee, talking, and smoking after church. I would be willing to bet the same is true for a lot of you who grew up in the church. So, if church was so bad when I was a kid, why do I keep going?

After a week of thinking about this little girl, it came to me that the stuff I hated about church as a child had been balanced by lots of really great stuff! Mrs. Herrig, who led the choir and was frustrated that I always tore the thing off at the first opportunity, always brought cookies and juice for us after choir. One of those long Sundays spent waiting for my parents to get done with church was due to the fact that a homeless family living in their car were sitting in the parking lot after church with a flat tire and no money. My dad and some other men in the congregation towed the car to our house, fixed the tire, repaired the motor, and did a brake job on the car while my mom and the other women dug through their own clothes closets to find some decent clothes for the children and parents.

I came to love church by meeting Walter, a recently released ex-con who the congregation adopted in order to help him enter society again. And who could forget the crazy Christmas pageants and glorious Easter sunrise services at Squaw Peak?

In the end, I came to love church because in my heart of hearts I knew that church loved me. My parents had the wisdom and persistence to keep bringing me back until I could see what was so freely and generously given—God’s love.

I doubt anything I say next to this little girl will help her to like church more. But I can do everything in my power to make sure she understands that she is loved by God and by the folks who surround her on Sunday morning. We can all help her have experiences that lift her up, help her learn more, and encourage her to explore the world through God’s eyes. We can listen to her, learn from her, share her frustrations, and challenge her assumptions. But most of all, we can be that steady, persistent presence of God that grows into her life. Maybe someday when she is an old woman, a little girl will say to her, “I hate church,” and she will smile and say, “Once upon a time I hated it too, but let me tell you a story...”

With peace,
Pastor Jeff Lilley
pr.jeff@lchwelcome.org

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August Council Highlights

Council met Tuesday, August 20. Here are some of the highlights of the meeting:

• Pastor Angela met with review team to discuss the associate pastor ministry thus far and its future. ‘Ohana gathering scheduled for August 31 for congregation to discuss the vision of this ministry at LCH.
• Since the PV installation, the system has avoided 246,683.28 lbs. of CO₂, with a total yield of 159,848.09 kWh.
• Mission Campaign pledges/receipts received at approximately 62% of total campaign.
• Financial Review Committee has been assembled and has completed reports through 2011. The 2012 audit report should be completed at their next meeting.
• Member/plate giving at approximately 86% of expected giving YTD.
• Hörmann Courtyard Update: Have received Kunkelworks materials proposal for $24,000. Pending architectural plans and permitting. Project should come in at less than $35,000.
• Two example versions of the new website template were presented for critique and input.

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Regular Worship Schedule Resumes!

Don’t forget that our regular worship schedule resumes on Sunday, September 1. Come join us for Holy Communion at 8:00 AM and Choral Eucharist at 10:30 AM. Evening Prayer will still take place every first and third Sunday at 7:30 PM.

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Writers’ Workshop

Writers’ Workshop will meet next on Monday, September 12, and September 16. All are welcome. For information, please contact Kathryn Klingebiel through the Church Office (941-2566).

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Fall Confirmation Classes

Students entering grades 6 through 9 are invited to a time of learning and faith growth we call Confirmation. Confirmation is typically made during the fall of the 9th grade year when the teen will affirm his/her baptism and continued commitment to the church as a young adult. This happens during worship on Sunday morning. The classes usually meet twice a month. The topics of learning range from the Bible, Lutheranism, and the wider Church to other faith traditions and discussions about our own personal faith in Christ and what it all means.

If you or your child is interested in participating, please contact Pastor Angela at <pr.angela@lchwelcome.org>. The first class will begin on September 15 at 3:30 PM in the Rainbow Room.

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Spiritual Deepening

Saturday, September 21 • 10:00–11:30 AM

“Lectio divina” and “contemplative prayer” are ancient spiritual disciplines that draw us deeper into our lives with God. Not only can practicing these disciples together with a small group help keep you accountable in prayer, but it can also add an invaluable dimension to your prayer life. Pastor Angela will be leading this evening of prayer and guiding the participants through the disciplines. If you have never used these practices or if you are a master, you’re welcome to gather in the Boardroom for the morning. Everyone is welcome!

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Adult Forum

Sundays, 9:20 AM in the Boardroom

All members and friends are invited to our varied and interesting Adult Forums on Sundays between the two morning services (starting September 1). Our schedule through October will include the following:

• September 1—Pastor Angela continues her series with “Healthy Communities: Mapping our Communities.”>
• September 8—ELCA celebrates 25th Anniversary of ELCA with service-to-community projects
• September 15—Introduction to the life and writings of famed theologian Søren Kierkegaard
• September 22—Further discussion of Kierkegaard, including his “leap of faith”
• September 29 through October 27—Dr. Steve Miller presents five weeks of “The Five Love Languages—Deepening your Relationships with God and with Others”
  • September 29—“If you really loved me....” and “Words of Affirmation”
  • October 6—“Quality Time”
  • October 13—“Gifts”
  • October 20—“Deeds of Service”
  • October 27—“Physical Touch”

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Exploring Boundaries and Beyond

Sunday, September 15, 6:00–7:15 PM in Isenberg Hall

Our first speaker this fall is Laurie Rubin, known to LCHers as the wonderful alto soloist from some of our concerts. Laurie has been blind since birth, but that didn’t stop her from following her dreams to become an opera singer. She now has an international career and has written a book especially aimed at a young audience, titled Do You Dream in Color? Insights from a Girl Without Sight. But her message is important for all of us at any age. Amazon Books includes the following descriptive blurb on Laurie’s book:

Colors, Rubin tells us, affect everyone through sound, smell, taste, and a vast array of emotions and atmospheres. She explains that although she has been blind since birth, she has experienced color all her life.

In her memoir, Laurie Rubin looks back on her life as an international opera singer who happens to be blind. From her loneliness and isolation as a middle school student to her experiences skiing, Rubin offers her young readers a life story rich in detail and inspiration drawn from everyday challenges. Beginning with her childhood in California, Rubin tells the story of her life and the amazing experiences that led her to a career as an internationally celebrated mezzo-soprano.

Rubin describes her past as a “journey towards identity,” one she hopes will resonate with young people struggling with two fundamental questions: “Who am I?” and “Where do I fit in?” Although most of us aren’t blind, Rubin believes that many of us have traits that make us something other than “normal.” These differences, like blindness, may seem like barriers, but for the strong and the persistent, dreams can overcome barriers—no matter how large they may seem. This is what makes her story so unique yet universal, and so important for young readers.

Please invite your friends, the young people in your life, and join us for a fascinating presentation by Laurie. You’re also invited to stay for Evening Prayer at 7:30 PM.

What’s New on the LCH Website?

Bill Potter, Webmaster

Not a lot has happened on the LCH website beside the regular additions to the HeartBeat and E-News pages, monthly music lists, and sermons and children’s conversations each week. Of course there hasn’t been a complete absence of activity either. New articles were also added to the Congregational Life page about In Stitches meeting in the courtyard after church, the outing to watch polo, a big crowd at IHS in August, and Kathy Crosier’s organ concert.

With the return of the regular worship schedule and Sunday School, you will also find changes to the Sunday schedule on the Home page, the Worship page, and the Children page.

I am told that our contracted web developer is making progress on the update to the website, so look for an unveiling of the new design early in the fall.

There will almost certainly be lots of other changes once September gets here, so you can expect a longer column in the next issue.

A Message from Pastor Angela

Missional Accompaniment

You might read that title for the article and think, “Pastor, what the heck is that!?” Well, the short answer is: that is how I understand ministry and my role as a church leader in Hawai‘i. But even more, “missional accompaniment” is what I understand the role of every Christian to be.

So, let me explain. Accompaniment literally means walking together side by side. The concept is Biblical and finds its roots in Luke 24:13–35. That is where you will find the Easter story of the disciples walking the road to Emmaus. It was after they had all journeyed together, talked story, and finally ate a meal together, that Jesus was revealed to them. Christ became known to the fellow travelers only after they had spent time together, developed a relationship, and journeyed together.

Now, I’m certainly not smart enough to come up with this concept on my own! Our beloved leaders in the global mission unit of the ELCA (the larger church body that we belong to) laid the groundwork for this thinking and pulled this important passage out of scripture to use as a model for mission work throughout the world. But honestly, even before I was trained as a missionary and deployed overseas many years ago, this idea of accompaniment was already on my heart and mind.

So, you’re thinking, “Pastor, we’re not overseas. We live in the U.S.!” Trust me, I know we’re U.S. citizens. But rest assured that no matter where I would be living—Boston, Honolulu, or overseas—I would feel the same way about how to engage the world as a faithful follower of Christ. Accompaniment happens when we journey together side by side with one another, not ahead or behind, above or below. It is only when we walk alongside another that we can hear one another and truly listen. The most important part of accompaniment for me is that there is companionship and mutual respect.

This thinking might not be all that radical for some and, yet, it does hold the potential to create a huge and radical shift of power within smaller local ministries and even political global relationships. As you go about your life and your work, I encourage you to begin to think of yourself as a missionary—walking side by side and sharing equal decision-making power as your partners, co-workers, friends, strangers, and those whom you might be “serving.”

Yours on the journey,
Pastor Angela Freeman
pr.angela@lchwelcome.org

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Meet the Woman Who Will Lead Evangelical Lutherans: ‘Religious but Not Spiritual’

A message from the ELCA News Service

Change has come to one of America’s largest Christian denominations. Last week the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) elected its first female presiding bishop, the church’s top office. Bishop Elizabeth Eaton won in a surprise 600-287 landslide at the denomination’s triennial Church wide Assembly in Pittsburgh. A 4 million-member denomination with nearly 10,000 congregations, the ELCA is twice as large as the Episcopal Church, which elected its first female presiding bishop seven years ago. Like most mainline denominations, however, the ELCA faces a membership decline — accelerated by its 2009 decision to allow openly gay pastors. Since then, half a million members have left the denomination.

Eaton, 58, is a Cleveland native and graduate of Harvard Divinity School and the College of Wooster. Her husband, the Rev. Conrad Selnick, is an Episcopal priest. Eaton will be installed on Oct. 5, possibly at Rockefeller Chapel in Chicago’s Hyde Park, and her first day in office will be Nov. 1. TIME caught up with Eaton shortly after her election. “I’m kind of stunned,” she says of her win. She opens up about gay clergy, spiritual direction and, in true Lutheran fashion, Jell-O.

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A personal note from Pastor Angela

Dear friends,

I wanted to share with you some personal news. When I arrived here over a year ago, you welcomed Michael and I warmly and with much aloha. A little over a year later, I’m letting you know that Michael and I have decided to part ways and end our marriage. We would have been married five year this August, but over time it has become very apparent that we both want different things for our lives and have different visions of marriage and healthy relationships. This divorce has been a mutual decision and amicable. Some of you have developed a relationship with Michael, and I want to assure you that you are welcome to continue those relationships as you feel led, but Michael will no longer be attending worship or events here at LCH. I have been in regular conversation about this life transition with Pastor Jeff and our other staff members, as well as with our Bishop Murray Finck. I have also been in conversation with our Church Council members. Please know that I am feeling held in my decision and that I am doing very well. God has been very present with me throughout this transition and I am grateful for the new life emerging for me.

Yours in Christ,
Pastor Angela

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LCH Volunteer of the Month for September 2013

Each month the LCH Council is pleased to honor an LCH member who has gone above and beyond in his/her service for the church. You will find this month’s volunteer at Bible studies, whether on Sunday or Thursday mornings. This volunteer is active in the Mary Magdalene Society and has devoted decades reaching out to those left on the margin by HIV/AIDS, drugs, or alcohol.

Need a deacon or an acolyte? Count on this month’s volunteer to say yes. In addition, this volunteer often serves at the healing station by anointing congregants with oil, laying hands on them, and praying for God’s help with their needs. The home phone is always open for calls whether for help or just to be a sounding board. Pick any liturgy booklet or music program in the church, and this volunteer was most likely responsible for helping staple it together.

When asked by the LCH Council, our volunteer said yes to be on several call committees and served as the last call committee chair. This volunteer’s dedication to team-building, prayer, and discernment has resulted in the fantastic pastors with whom we have been blessed with in the 21st century.

Our LCH September volunteer is none other than Bob Zimmer, who hails from Min-ne-SOH-ta! You can count on him to bring minced meat pie, yummy rice pudding, or apple dessert to any of our pot lucks. You can also depend on his smile and positive outlook in any situation. We thank you, Bob Zimmer, for all you do!

Much mahalo,
LCH Council

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Farewell and Thank You

A final message from the Parish Coordinator

It is hard to believe that three years have passed since the first time I entered the LCH office to interview for the position as parish coordinator. Despite my uncertainty of what to expect, I did know that everything about the job was a direct answer to prayer.

Looking back now, LCH has been even more of a blessing to my life than I could have possibly imagined on that fateful first day of employment. Although daunting at first, I have gleaned a wealth of knowledge about the ins and outs of managing an organization. But even more important than the business skills I’ve acquired, is my understanding of what a positive work environment should look like. For that, I have an incredible staff and welcoming congregation to thank. The support and love of this congregation has been overwhelming. You have gone above and beyond in welcoming me into the community and helping me both at work and in my personal life. From the first Sunday I attended a service to this moment I stand typing this letter, I have felt included as a valuable part of the ministry at LCH. It has always been apparent that I am part of the team and not just an employee.

Being a single, young woman living in Hawai‘i is difficult, but because of the support and generosity of the LCH ‘ohana, I have always felt cared for. During crunch time, I’ve depended on my “stuffing and stapling” crew to help me put together our thousands of liturgy and music booklets. Members have never ceased to keep up to date with my running and racing events, and have so generously contributed funds to my recent RUN10FEED10 campaign. When I’ve been sick or away for other work, there has always been someone to answer phones in the office on my behalf. Thank you to my check signers, who on more than one occasion, have made special trips just to make sure I could send out a check on time. When I haven’t been able to get away from the office to pick up some part or appliance, someone else has gone to buy it for me. At potluck events, I’ve never left without a member sending me away with a Tupperware full of food to take home—knowing I will appreciate/need the free meal. I’ve been given produce, extra tickets to concerts, coffee, and other treats, just because you care. I’ve been invited to participate in congregational events and enjoyed the conversation and fellowship each time. I’ve fallen back on a member’s expertise more often than I care to admit in order to better perform my job in the office. Members and staff have allowed me housesit, borrow appliances, and use them for numerous references. I have been given numerous rides to the airport, and on four occasions, when I have been without a vehicle, a member or staff has come forward to generously offer me theirs. For that I am eternally in your debt.

Enthusiastically supporting the annual LutherFest event.

I would also like to thank the staff of LCH, who have created a work environment so difficult to leave. Words cannot express my appreciation for our janitor “Saint” Gaylen, whose joyful spirit lights up the campus. There is nothing Gaylen can’t do, and he works harder than anyone I’ve ever known. Miguel, your computer savvy and absurd attention to layout detail have made my job so much easier! Your expertise has created a much more collaborative and efficient workflow to our worship programming. You are so skilled at what you do and have such a wonderfully artistic mind. Your sarcasm and humor have made working with you a true hoot, and in all honesty, have been critical to de-stressing the tensions that have often escalated during the chaos of Christmas and Easter. Thank you for making me laugh when in reality I just wanted to cry. Angela, even though I’ve only worked with you a year, it is a challenge to picture my life before you came to LCH. I have been so impressed by your passion for ministry, faith, and your boldness in jumping right in to this position. You wasted no time in getting to work and have done a remarkable job of getting connected with this congregation and with Hawai‘i. Thank you for the fresh perspective you have brought to leadership, for your discernment, clarity of purpose, humor, approachability, willingness to get to the job done, and genuine concern for the welfare of others. Not only have you been a joy to work with, but I am thankful for the friendship we have shared outside of work as well. You have been incredibly generous with me and have taken a genuine interest in my personal wellbeing. You are an inspiration to me and I will miss you deeply.

Finally, Pastor Jeff, I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done for me—both professionally and personally. The work experience and training you have provided me have set me up for success no matter where my future may lead. I have learned so much from you. You have been unendingly patient, mindful of my strengths and weaknesses, flexible with my schedule, and have entrusted me with a great deal of responsibility in running this church. You have made it easy to ask questions and have been a sounding board for advice far beyond the boundaries of LCH. Your management style has provided an incredible example as a boss—I honestly don’t believe that I will ever find better. I have been blessed to spend three years with a boss that inspires me not only professionally, but in his personal life and faith as well. I have laughed with you, cried in front of you, made a fool of myself in front of you, been stressed out with you, and challenged by you. You have brought me more cups of coffee than I can count, and have taken the time to care about my general welfare. Despite being my boss, I have often felt the comfort of having you there as a stand-in dad as well. You’ve encouraged, corrected, and supported me through it all, never ceasing to make sure that I knew how much I was appreciated. Words can’t fully express what you have done and meant to me, but from the bottom of my heart I say thank you.

Through my time at LCH, I have felt empowered to enhance the work this church is doing in the community and have felt welcomed as part of community with you. One of the biggest gifts from this job has been the opportunity to see what goes on behind the scenes and to see the true volunteerism and service that takes place when others aren’t watching. It is a joy to see the humble service and true heart of this congregation. For all of this and more, I thank you all for the opportunity and pleasure of serving as your parish coordinator for the past three years. I look forward to returning to the island next summer to reuniting with at future LCH gatherings next year.

Sincerely,
Sarah Roseberg

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Hawaii Keiki Stars!

Join us as part of the audience on Sunday, September 8, at 6:00 PM, as we cheer on LCH’s own Sophia S. She is performing in a televised final round of Hawai‘i Keiki Stars Vocal Competition to be aired on KHON2.

The location is New Hope Ministry Center on 290 Sand Island Access Road. Taping is on September 8, and the episode will be aired sometime in October. Admission is free!!! Contact Georgine S. for more details.

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Prayer Requests

Carl	Gene	Shirley
Chris	George	Stephen
Elaine	Karen	Susan
Eric	Maggie	Trinity

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September Birthdays

Date	Name
09/03	Mary Reese
09/03	Jimmy Castro
09/05	Michael Gorman
09/07	Ronald Mizuno
09/09	Joseph Zuiker
09/11	Naomi Castro
09/11	Carl Crosier
09/11	Iniki Shelton K.
09/11	Emily Okikawa
09/11	Kyra Ann Takamiya
09/17	Carolyn Ishikawa
09/21	Jerome Vasconcellos
09/22	Justin Juvinall
09/25	Sharon Von Deylen
09/29	Colette J.

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HeartBeat Deadline

Next HeartBeat Deadline is Tuesday, September 17!

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