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Press release
The Lutheran Church of Honolulu, as seen in this 1929 photo,
was located on Beretania Street, where the state Health Department
is now, across from the Capitol. The building was designed by
renowned Honolulu architect C. W. Dickey. The church
is now on Punahou Street.

Isle Lutheran
Church celebrates
centennial

German food and music
celebrate a century of ministry;
one pastor came 'for beer
and the Bible'

---

By Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin

When the Lutheran Church of Honolulu celebrates its 100th anniversary, it will also be a commemoration of the German cultural heritage in the islands.

German music and food will intertwine with joyous worship services during festivities next weekend.

Founded by prominent German immigrants, the church served as a center of music and culture for Germans who came for jobs on sugar plantations and in island commerce during the 19th century. Henri Berger, Royal Hawaiian Band bandmaster and composer of the state anthem "Hawaii Pono'i," was a charter member and the first organist.

The Punahou Street sanctuary still serves as a concert venue with regular participation by symphony musicians and chorale group members. In April, Johann Sebastian Bach's "Saint Matthew Passion" was performed by 100 participants in three choirs, two orchestras with two organs conducted by Berger's modern successor, choirmaster Carl Crosier.

Bishop Murray Finck of Evangelical Lutheran Church of America's Pacifica Synod will join in the festivities next week, all of which are open to the public. They include the following events:

Heinrich Bach's cantata for choir, organ and strings "Ich danke dir, Gott" will be performed Friday at a 7:30 p.m. choral vespers service. The choir will sing Crosier's new choral arrangement of "The Queen's Prayer."

A baroque cantata for voices, organ and strings and other musical entertainment showcasing small ensembles will be featured at a recital beginning at 3 p.m. next Saturday.

A German dinner catered by The Chef's Table will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday. Reservations must be made by calling 941-2566.

The Honolulu Brass will perform during a 9:30 a.m. worship service Sunday, Sept. 10. Congregation members will gather afterward for a picnic at Magic Island.

A men's choir will sing at a candlelight Compline service at 9 p.m. Sunday.

University of Hawaii-Hilo history professor Sandra Wagner-Wright will autograph copies of her 208-page history, "For Beer and the Bible," during Saturday's event. The title is a quote from a former pastor who came to Hawaii in 1916 at the instigation of his brother-in-law who was manager of now-defunct Primo Brewery. The Rev. Arthur Hormann would tell people he came to Hawaii "for beer and the Bible."

The author chronicled the beginnings, when J.F. Hackfeld, whose family's merchandise store H. Hackfeld & Co. became Amfac and Liberty House, and Paul Isenberg, Kauai sugar plantation owner who joined Hackfeld's business, each contributed $25,000 to build a church and import a German minister and a pipe organ. In an attempt to maintain their culture, a German language school was established and social gatherings were held featuring German music and literature readings.

Wagner-Wright's history uses reminiscences of longtime church members who include Helmuth Hormann, 91, and his sister, Irmagard, 83, children of the quotable pastor. They'll participate in the weekend events.

"A lot of people who contributed to Hawaii's history were members of this church," said organist Katherine Crosier.

In response to anti-German sentiment in World War II, German-language services were halted and the name was changed from "Deutsch Evangelisch Lutherisch Gemeinde zu Honolulu."

The territory of Hawaii acquired the site of the original church, on Beretania Street near Washington Place, in the 1950s. An Isenberg family home formerly stood on the current site at 1730 Punahou St.