This Sunday at LCH we will observe Children’s Sabbath, a national celebration of “children as sacred gifts of the Divine, and (an) opportunity for houses of worship to renew and live out their moral responsibility to care, protect and advocate for all children,” according to the Children’s Defense Fund official website. We have done this for a number of years now, and it was news to me to learn that there are not only guidelines for Christian churches, but also Jewish synagogues, Islamic mosques and Baha’i houses of worship.

Particularly at LCH, Children’s Sabbath has become an opportunity for the extraordinarily talented children of our parish to display their musical gifts.

At the 8 am service, we’ll hear Azure S. on organ and Reid W. on cello at the communion. At the 10:30 am service, the extended prelude will include Savannah M. on violin, Sophia S., soprano and Raphael S. on hand drum, and Max W. on violin. At the communion, Nathalie J. will play the organ and Reid W. will perform on cello. The organ postlude will be played by Jordan M. Throughout the service, we’ll hear the sweet voices of the F.R.O.G.S. Choir (Families Revering Our God in Song).

The following announcement has been inserted into the Sunday bulletin:

The youth and children of Lutheran Church of Honolulu are delighted to welcome you to Children’s Sabbath Sunday this morning.  As part of worship, they will be sharing several musical offerings and ask that you kindly refrain from applause during the service.  We will have an opportunity to show our appreciation for their gifts at the end of the worship service. Mahalo.

Knowing that “the song will go on . . .” is one of the great joys of being at LCH.