Today is Reformation Day and I wanted to share with you the visit of Martin Luther (aka John Bickel) to the Iolani School campus this week. John, a history teacher and long-time LCH member, recreates characters from the past such as Saint Francis of Assisi, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Napoleon Bonaparte, etc. and makes them come alive through dramatic monologues. Yes, that means John can put on convincing German, Italian, French, and Russian accents! And he has a closetful of period costumes!

This week he brought 500-year-old Martin Luther to chapel and talked about how the course of his life changed after a violent storm. It was the Bible verse from Ephesians which spoke to him, “For by grace you have been saved through faith: and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one should boast.”

John was for many years the Officiant at Compline, which sadly was discontinued at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu last June after being sung every Sunday night for 36 years. You can click here for a brief summary of this last prayer service of the day.

On a happier note, last night we had a joyful reunion with Pastor David and Karen Barber, who served LCH from 2000-2006. Pastor Barber is now retired from full-time ministry, having served Holy Trinity Lutheran in Kona after he left LCH. He and Karen are enjoying traveling and recently visited Italy. He was in Kona last week to preach at Holy Trinity’s 30th Anniversary celebration.