Dear Faith Weavers,
When we began our Tapestry of Faith last December, we envisioned a visual representation of all that LCH does to weave faith through the arts, for social justice, for creation, for our community, and for ourselves. Together we have achieved that—to some extent—but the weaving has had to change and adapt. While we may not be weaving symbolic items into our tapestry, with God’s grace and through your gifts of time, talent and treasure, we have, instead, been woven together in new and unexpected ways. We struggled with isolation, separation, and technology. Yet we gathered together as a community of faith with friends and family from around the world. We found new ways to hold on to the traditions we hold dear while maintaining social distancing. While we may grieve not being able to physically gather together, our blessings abound, and for that we are grateful.
During the last few weeks, members of the congregation have shared their gratitude for they blessings they have received over the past years. Some of us from the Stewardship Team also want to join them in gratitude
- I am thankful for the evening services which bring calm at the end of a challenging day, and am grateful that they can be accessed on Facebook whenever the need arises—Barb
- My heart is filled with gratitude for all of you who make up LCH past, present, and future. I also feel gratitude for Pacific Health Ministry whose chaplains have been more closely woven together thanks to its leadership and the technology that makes it possible for us to gather weekly via zoom for peer support—Phyllis
- God has blessed me with colorful sunrises/sunsets as I drive to and from work, random phone calls from friends and family, city lights sparkling in the night, laughter, moon sets, (have you noticed how bright the stars are?), shorter drive times and the LCH community of faith. For these blessings I am grateful—Pam
- I am grateful for Zoom meetings with Bible Study, Mary Magdalene, Coffee Hour, and even the Stewardship Team that have allowed me to interact with real people while sheltering at home—Bill
- In what has been a most unusual year with COVID-19, LCH decided to make safety our focus, placing a premium on health. Moving forward, we’ve navigated new technology/platforms for worship, education, meetings, musical and gospel offerings. Gathered in a digital context, we share grace, remain in touch, and in turn, support our whole community—Willow
We thank you for your contributions to the Lutheran Church of Honolulu through this very challenging year. We now invite you to express your gratitude for the ways God has continued to bless, provide, and help us weave our ever-expanding tapestry. As the year draws to a close, we invite you to commit to supporting God’s ministry through LCH in the year to come.
Please use the enclosed 2021 commitment card (PDF) to make a commitment of your treasure. To help you in planning your financial commitment, you may wish to refer to these stewardship calculators. If you want to fulfill your commitment via electronic funds transfer from your bank account, please use the enclosed Electronic Funds Transfers form (PDF).
Please return your commitment cards so they can be dedicated on November 22. You’re welcome either to mail them to the church office or to scan and email them to commitments@lchwelcome.org.
With gratitude to you wonderful weavers,
Your Stewardship Team—Peggy Anderson, Pam Buckley, Willow Chang,
Phyllis Hörmann, Barbara Poole-Street, and Bill Potter