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Religion Briefs
Star-Bulletin staff &
Associated Press
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Program discusses church's role in disaster
A workshop to explore ways that church and temple congregations can serve their members and the wider community during a severe weather emergency or other disaster will be presented Feb. 11.
A.J. Lactaoen, author of "911, the Red Book for Emergencies," and spokesmen for emergency response agencies will speak at the 2:30 p.m. seminar at the Central Union Church Parish Hall, 1660 S. Beretania St. A representative of the United Church of Christ's national disaster response agency and Clarence Liu of Hospice Hawaii will address ways to meet spiritual as well as physical and emotional needs of people faced with calamities.
The program is free. Thursday is the deadline for registration. Call the Pacific Health Ministry at 591-6556.
The workshop is sponsored by the Multi-Faith Leadership Coalition representing several religious organizations in Hawaii.
Tickets go on sale for Dalai Lama's talk
The Dalai Lama will speak on "The Human Approach to World Peace" in one of two public appearances on Maui during his April visit to the Maui Dharma Center in Paia.
The free lecture by the leader of Tibetan Buddhism will be at 2 p.m. April 24 at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center in Kahului.
Tickets went on sale today for a second talk at 2 p.m. April 25. He will teach on "Eight Verses for Training the Mind," about the human values of kindness and compassion that are embraced by all religious traditions. Tickets at $25 are available at the center. Reservations may be made by calling (808) 242-7469 or online at www.mauiarts.org.
The 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, is recognized around the world as a spiritual leader. He has lived in exile in India since 1959, when he was driven from Tibet by the government of China. Since then he has traveled extensively to speak on world peace and nonviolent resolution of conflict, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.
No cameras or tape recorders will be permitted. The center will open early each day because of security checks, and attendees are advised not to bring large bags or backpacks, according to a news release.
For information on his visit, call (808) 579-8076 or see www.mauidharmacenter.org.
Sufi and Turkish folk artist performs Feb. 16
Turkish entertainer and composer Latif Bolat will perform poetry and music from the Sufi tradition of Islamic mysticism in a Feb. 16 Honolulu concert.
The performance will be at 7 p.m. at the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu, 2500 Pali Highway. Tickets, at $15, will be available at the door.
Bolat, of Mersin, Turkey, has performed around the world, and has released four CDs of Sufi and Turkish folk music. He composed music for the public television documentary "Muhammed: Legacy of a Prophet" and the George Lucas television series "Young Indiana Jones." He and poet Jennifer Ferraro published "Quarreling with God: Mystic Rebel Poems of the Dervishes of Turkey," translations of ancient Turkish Sufi poets.
Bolat will recite Sufi devotional poetry from the 13th century and play the lute and other traditional instruments. He will be accompanied by guitarists Larry Ward and Kip McAtee, and flautist Sangeet.
He will also appear in concerts on Kauai and the Big Island.
Survivor of Rwandan genocide to speak here
A Rwandan woman, who has described her escape from death in the international news media and her autobiography, will speak this month in Hawaii.
Immaculee Ilibagiza survived a 1994 campaign of genocide in which 800,000 people of her Tutsi ethnic group were slain by militants of the Hutu tribe. She and seven other women hid in a 3-by-4-foot bathroom for three months while the killing campaign raged in the Central Africa country.
Ilibagiza was interviewed on the CBS "60 Minutes" show in December. Her tale of faith, endurance and forgiveness of the enemy who killed her parents and grandparents was told in "Left to Tell: Discovering God in the Rwandan Holocaust," published last year. Now living in the United States, she is a motivational speaker and founder of the Left to Tell Charitable Fund, which helps Rwandan orphans and other children in Africa.
She will speak at 7 p.m. Feb. 16 at St. Ann's Church, 46-129 Haiku Road, Kaneohe. The lecture will be free, but tax-deductible donations will be accepted for her nonprofit agency. Her visit is sponsored by the Fathers and Brothers of the Sacred Hearts, Catholic Women's Guild and other organizations.
