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RELIGION

United Church leaders
to meet in Hawaii

Star-Bulletin staff

The top national leaders of the United Church of Christ will be in Hawaii next week to attend a convocation of the church's Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministries.

About 300 people will attend the five-day conference, which opens Wednesday at YWCA Camp Erdman at Mokuleia.

The leaders who will meet with delegates Thursday are the Revs. John Thomas and Edith Guffey of the Office of General Ministries, the Rev. Dale Bishop of Wider Church Ministries, the Rev. Jose Malayang of Local Church Ministries, and the Rev. Bernice Powell Jackson of the Justice & Witness Ministries.

The denomination, which sent the first Protestant missionaries to Hawaii, recently reorganized and streamlined its national structure from a hierarchy to a collegium or team approach, said local spokeswoman Michelle Pafford.

The Rev. Joan Ishibashi, who went from Hawaii earlier this year to become executive associate in the Wider Church Ministries, will also return with the top team.

The theme of the Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministries gathering is "Jubilee," with discussion on the biblical concepts of forgiveness of debts, release of prisoners and return of land to original owners.

Speakers will include Alicia Rodriguez, who was arrested in Puerto Rico in the struggle against the U.S. government there, and Rose Wu, who works in Hong Kong to build an inclusive community.

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Isle Buddhists sponsor
sovereignty symposium

"Current voices in the Hawaiian sovereignty movement" will be heard at a Wednesday symposium sponsored by the Hawaii Association of International Buddhists.

The discussion on "The Quest for Self-Determination" will be from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Tendai Mission at 23 Jack Lane. Speakers will include:

Annelle Amaral, former state legislator, with the Native Alliance for Hawaiian Unity.

Keanu Sai, of the Hawaiian Patriotic League, a participant in the Larsen vs. The Hawaiian Kingdom case before the International Court of Arbitration at the Hague, Netherlands.

Poka Laenui of the Institute for the Advancement of Hawaiian Affairs, delegate to 'Aha 'Oiwi Native Hawaiian Convention.

Noenoe Silva, of the American Friends Service Committee, Hawaiian sovereignty education subcommittee, a University of Hawaii political science professor.

Kyle Kajihiro of the American Friends Service Committee Hawaii be be moderator of the program.

Star-Bulletin