Religion Briefs
Star-Bulletin staff &
Associated Press
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Church choral concert free on Mother's Day
Kawaiaha'o Church has wrapped up a Mother's Day gift of music for the community.
The "Mother's Day Musical Extravaganza" will feature choral singers from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif. The College Choir, Chamber Singers and New Sounds ensemble will perform classical compositions by Bach and Mendelssohn, contemporary sacred music, folk songs and spirituals.
The 5 p.m. concert is free and open to the public. It is sponsored by the Kawaiaha'o ministry of music and performing arts.
Lectures to explore Hindu concept of mind
The Hindu understanding of the mind will be explored in a series of weekly lectures beginning next weekend.
Swami Bhaskaranandi of Seattle, spiritual guide for the Vedanta Society of Hawaii, will give the free public lectures at the Oahu YWCA, Room 307,1040 Richards St. He is a senior monk of the nonsectarian Ramakrishna Order. He is the author of "Esssentials of Hinduism" and "Life in Indian Monasteries."
The talks will be given at 11 a.m. on four successive Sundays:
» May 14 -- "Mind, the Great Mystery: Part I"
» May 21 -- "Mind, the Great Mystery: Part II"
» May 28 -- "Controlling the Turbulent Mind"
» June 4 -- "The Search for Consciousness"
For information, call the Vedanta Society of Hawaii, 734-1760.
Church organist group offering scholarships
Church organists in Hawaii are willing to pay to increase their dwindling number. The Hawaii chapter of the American Guild of Organists will help with the tuition of music students interested in taking organ lessons.
Katherine Crosier, dean of the Hawaii chapter, said there is a shortage of organists in churches worldwide as fewer people are willing to learn the complex musical instrument.
Auditions will be held June 17 at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, 1730 Punahou St. The group will pay half the cost of lessons for one year under its scholarship program.
Applications and information are available by calling Elizabeth Wong at 734-4571 or writing to her at ew_ago_hawaiichapter@yahoo.com.
Jehovah's Witnesses open new facility
The Jehovah's Witnesses will hold an open house next Saturday at their new Kapolei Kingdom Hall, which will be an assembly place for six congregations.
The public is invited to visit the new facility from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1005 Lauia St. in Kapolei Business Park.
The building was built by volunteers on a 1.1-acre site. Work crews of as many as 150 people at a time did everything from architectural design to carpentry, roofing and landscaping, said Jehovah's Witness spokesman Christopher Song. Members came from the neighbor islands as well as all Oahu congregations to complete the project. There is no cost estimate available, Song said.
The building contains two assembly halls and living quarters. It will be the gathering place for about 600 people in congregations from Nanakuli, Kapolei, Makakilo, Ewa Beach and Ewa Plain and an Ewa Filipino-language congregation.
3-day workshop will tackle life transitions
A spiritual training seminar on how to "Master Life's Adversities" will be presented May 19-21 at the Seicho No Ie study center in Kaneohe.
The three-day workshop of prayer and study is aimed at people who are at a crossroads in life, facing challenges, according to an announcement. It will follow the teaching of the organization's founder, Masaharu Taniguchi. Seicho No Ie, known as the Truth of Life Movement, is one of the nondenominational religious movements to arise in Japan in the 20th century. Its basic teaching is that all religions share belief in one God.
The seminar is open to the public. The cost is $50 and includes meals and lodging at the SNI Hawaii Jisso Center in Kaneohe. For information and registration, call 537-6965.