At Christmas time I stayed two nights on the island of Kauai, where I played a concert with the Kauai Chorale, under the leadership of Shane Morris Wise. I told you about my rude awakening at 3 am in the morning when roosters began crowing. Go back and read my post, “No paltry amount of poultry.” No need for an alarm clock!

Feral chickens greatly outnumber the human population on Kauai—it’s estimated that there are 450,000 chickens to 73,000 humans, meaning that there are about 6 chickens to every person!

But chickens are not just a problem on the Garden Isle—the fact is that all of the Hawaiian islands are under attack, even in an urban setting like downtown Honolulu. To prove my point, here is an article you might be interested in reading: “‘It’s getting worse’: Hawaii’s feral chickens are taking over downtown Honolulu” The state notoriously has an ongoing problem with feral chickens, largely blamed on hurricanes setting them loose, tourists feeding them and even on cock fighting operations. The growing populations are a known nuisance in the suburbs and rural areas of the different Hawaiian Islands, but now the wild fowl are infiltrating the concrete jungles of Honolulu in greater numbers.

“Chickens are wandering around like they own the place,” Karin Lynn, a Honolulu resident, told Civil Beat. “They just don’t belong in an urban environment. It seems to be there’s no control over it and it’s getting worse. … It’s a feral menace.”

Today is Palm Sunday, and the reading of the Passion story is customary on this day in many churches. At St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, it was beautifully sung by the choir, with various members taking the parts of the narrator, Jesus, Pilate, the High Priest, bystanders and the like. If you’d like to hear this beautiful rendition, you can hear it here on the livestream: (I’ve cued it up to start right with the Passion reading)

But… it was at Nuuanu Congregational Church this morning where the feral chicken problem collided with the reading of the Passion story. While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant-girls of the high priest came by. When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.” He answered, “I do not know or understand what you are talking about.”

As if on cue, there was a large rooster who had settled into a small nook outside the window by the organ console, who let forth a blood-curdling “COCK-A-DOODLE DOO!”

(Everyone laughed).

The reader continued. Then the cock crowed. (More laughter!) And the servant-girl, on seeing him began again to say to the bystanders., “This man is one of them.” But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter. “Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.” But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know this man you are talking about.”

“COCK-A-DOODLE DOO!”

(Everyone laughed again.)

The moment was surely ruined by that @#$%! rooster! I have to admit this is the first time in four years that I have ever heard roosters crowing at Nuuanu Congregational Church.

And did I ever tell you the time a chicken got stuck underneath my desk in the office at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church! It took me 20 minutes to shoo it out of the office when then it promptly ran into the church and flew into the rafters, where it was unreachable by a broom.

Yesterday I and many of my organist colleagues attended the memorial service for our beloved friend, Nyle Hallman. It was a beautiful service, with many musical tributes to both Nyle and her late husband, Roy, who together founded the Honolulu Boy Choir. As was said in one of the eulogies, “You can’t talk about one without talking about the other,” even though it’s been 17 years since Roy passed away. Especially touching was that about 40 choir alumni, now grown men, gathered together to sing “This is our island home,” the Boy Choir’s signature song.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear former Central Union Church pastor, The Rev. Ted Robinson, talk about how Nyle started an annual concert by local organists to support the scholarship program of the American Guild of Organists. Thanks for the plug!

Today begins Holy Week … so you know where I’m going to be this week!