It’s a Sunday morning in Hawaii and instead of playing for church services, I’m sitting at home in my shorts! That is because Tropical Storm Lala which became Hurricane Lala, knocked out the power for 197,000 Hawaiian Electric customers with its intense rain and wind—including St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. In effect, no electricity means no organ. However, they were going to hold an a cappella service with a cantor.

When I woke up this morning, this was the message on my phone:

I had actually woken up earlier due to the noise of the wind and rain and was glad to be safely nice and dry inside my apartment. The power went out briefly but then I was awakened by the sound of my TV turning itself on and the sound of men talking.

When we arrived back in Honolulu on Friday, I received a text message saying that out of an abundance of caution, the Sunday service at Nuuanu Congregational Church was going to be cancelled.

And the Lutheran Church of Honolulu posted this photo on their Facebook page, cancelling their 10 am service.

Yet the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary service proceeded at St. Mark’s on Saturday night without incident. It was the first time in four weeks that the parishioners heard the organ—some people told me it was like going through Lent in the middle of August! I played Bach’s “Meine Seele erhebt den Herren” for the prelude and “In dir ist Freude” for the postlude. Although I practiced a couple of hours in the morning, it was the first time in 31 days that I had touched a keyboard and I felt a tad rusty.

It’s nice to be so appreciated!

The view outside my dining room window this morning.