Last weekend was the 50th anniversary of the dedicatory concerts by McNeil Robinson at the Beckerath organ of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, which in itself is an auspicious occasion — but whatʻs REALLY SCARY is that I was there in person, fifty years ago! Yikes! There were two dedication concerts, but since so much… Read More Fifty years later
When I used to work in a CPA office, the one thing we could never escape was deadlines— that is, deadlines to file taxes, deadlines to pay estimated taxes, deadlines for payroll, etc. — the deadlines never stopped. No sooner would you file taxes for yourself or for a client, and you’d be faced with… Read More Deadline: Iceland!
The latest bulletin board in the courtyard of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu focuses on the history of the music program with special focus on the Rudolf von Beckerath organ and organ concerts which have been held at the church since 1975. You may or may not know that Carol Langner, whom I call the… Read More Queen of the Bulletin Boards
The following is the text of Scott Fikse’s farewell address to the congregation. I was secretly thrilled that he included my name! I give thanks to God for leading me and Marcus on a path that brought us to all of you. I’ve told this story to many of you, but when Marcus graduated from… Read More Scott’s farewell
Guiding Spirit, comfort us who grieve the death of Fritz. As he remains fresh in our love and memories, assure us that he lives, and will continue, in the heart and mind of God. Fritz’s devotions were many: to the earth and all its creatures, to the poor and vulnerable, to the arts and good… Read More A full house for Fritz
If ever the Lutheran Church of Honolulu were to name a poet laureate, hands down it would be Pastor Fritz Fritschel. He was for many years the Assisting Pastor and was known for his use of frog puppets—all with names starting with F—during the children’s sermon. I won’t ever hear the names Felix, Fergus, Franklin,… Read More Our beloved poet laureate
Heart wrenching . . . if I had to describe yesterday’s funeral for Denise Dusenberry Ortal-Ballaibe, that’s what I’d say. I would also call it tragic—Denise died on December 15, 2016 at the age of 54 from ovarian cancer—too young and too soon. She was a long-time member of the Lutheran Church of Honolulu—from 1987… Read More Heart wrenching
Pastor Jeff Lilley exclaimed, “We used every single chair in the place! We even had to take the chairs from out of my office!” And so the ushers left the door open to the nave, enabling the 25 people who were in the courtyard to hear the concert inside the church, because there were no… Read More SRO Bravissimo!
From all accounts, last night’s 40th anniversary of the Beckerath organ was a grand and glorious occasion and the church should feel extremely proud to have put on a first class act. From Joey Fala’s stunning and magnificent playing, to the energetic congregational singing, to the colorful and elegant 16-page souvenir program, to the delicious… Read More Magnificent Joey!
In this week leading up to the anniversary of the Beckerath organ, I can’t help but think that there were three important people forty years ago who are no longer with us: Rudolf von Beckerath, Carl Crosier and McNeil Robinson who were so instrumental in putting this organ on the map: Rudolf von Beckerath, for building… Read More Remembering Neil