Religion Briefs
Saturday, October 6, 2001
Public invited to visit the new St. Ann Church on Oct. 14 prior to its official dedication Oct. 27
Members of St. Ann Church in Kaneohe will offer guided tours of their new, $4.8 million church from 1 to 4 p.m. Oct. 14.The 16,000-square-foot building replaces the church that occupied the site at 46-129 Haiku Rd. for 44 years.
Guides will point out the symbolism of the stained-glass windows, which were designed by the Rev. Bill Moore of California. One of the windows depicts feminine spirituality; another, masculine spirituality.
Squares representing the four directions of the earth are a motif carried out in the design and the koa liturgical furniture, said Sister Anne Clare De Costa, parish education director.
Services have been conducted in the church since July 21. But the 1862 church bell dubbed "Marie Rene," refurbished with funds raised by students in the parish school, will not be rung until the Oct. 27 dedication. Catholic Bishop Francis Di Lorenzo will consecrate the altar in a 4 p.m. ceremony.
Pastoral counselors meeting open to ministers
An American Association of Pastoral Counselors conference here next week is open to ministers and others who provide counseling to their congregations.The annual Pacific regional meeting of the professional organization will be from Friday through Oct. 14 at the Sheraton Moana Surfrider Hotel. The speakers will include Honolulu psychologists Paul Pearsall, who will discuss how he has integrated Hawaiian spirituality into his professional practice, and Bill Rezentes, author of "Ka Lama Kukui: Native Hawaiian Psychology."
The organization will honor the work of the late Phyllis Roe, former executive director of Samaritan Counseling Center, at a luncheon next Saturday.
Reservation information is available by calling the Samaritan Counseling Center, 545-2740.
Isle Falun Gong members to walk around Oahu
Oahu members of the Falun Gong are making an informational walk around the island this weekend, part of an international effort to draw attention to persecution of the movement in China.The Falun Gong or Falun Dafa "SOS! Global Rescue Walk" is also under way in Japan, Canada, Australia and other U.S. cities, said local spokesman Martin Larson.
Participants in the Hawaii walk left Magic Island yesterday and will stop to distribute literature and answer questions at shopping malls around the island through Monday.
Practitioners engage in a discipline combining meditation and movement similar to tai chi.
They are dedicated to living with "truthfulness, compassion, forbearance," said Larson.
St. Andrew's Cathedral to celebrate evensong
The musicians of St. Andrew's Cathedral will present their annual choral evensong and organ recital at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow in the cathedral.The Cathedral Choir directed by Arlan Sunnarborg will present music by Rheinberger, Gardiner and Stanford. Sunnarborg will play organ music including Bach's "Schmucke dich" and Prelude and Fugue in E-flat minor.
The presentation is free and open to the public. Calabash offerings are accepted.
Christian musician will perform here Friday
Tom Booth, who was named top Catholic musical artist for teens by YOU! magazine, will perform at a Honolulu concert Friday and conduct a workshop on music and liturgy for young adults.Reservations for the concert at 7 p.m. Friday at the Newman Center, 1941 East-West Rd., may be made by calling the center, 988-6222, or Soane at 864-1899. The cost is $15.
Call the same numbers to register for the workshop, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. next Saturday, also at the Newman Center.
Booth wrote "I Will Choose Christ" and "Cry the Gospel" and has recorded several albums.
Hawaiian hymn fest will be held in Waipahu
About 220 people in 10 choirs will perform Hawaiian hymns Friday in the Lokomaika'i Aha Himeni Songfest in Waipahu.The 7 p.m. concert at St. Joseph Church, 94-675 Farrington Hwy., is free and open to the public.
The Hawaiian Arts and Liturgical Inculturation Awareness committee sponsors the annual event to encourage church musicians to learn and use Hawaiian music and compose new hymns.
Each choir will share a favorite Hawaiian or Hawaiian-English hymn. The combined groups will perform "Blessed Assurance" or "Pomaikai Wale" arranged by Herb Mahelona, "Weave One Heart" by Marty Haugen and Joseph Camacho, and "Psalm 17" by Robert Mondoy.
Groups seek to reach out to gays during special events
Two organizations that represent homosexuals seeking acceptance in the worshipping community plan events this week.Dignity Honolulu will observe Solidarity Sunday tomorrow with two events. It is the seventh year of the nationwide observance, a project to raise awareness and end anti-gay violence and discrimination, initiated by Dignity USA, an organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics.
Members of the local chapter will attend the 10:30 a.m. Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in a consciousness-raising visit.
A Solidarity Sunday service will be held at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 539 Kapahulu Ave. The guest speaker will be Carolyn Golojuch, president of the Oahu chapter of Parents-Friends of Lesbians and Gays.
The First Christian Church, 1516 Kewalo St., will host a Monday meeting of the Gay, Lesbian and Affirming Disciples alliance.
The 7:30 p.m. gathering will be the first Hawaii meeting of GLAD, a national group working for the dignity and integrity of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Christians. The Rev. Vaughn Beckman, new pastor of the church and a member of the National GLAD Council, will speak.
The group will meet at the church on the first Monday of each month. Affirming church members who wish to minister to the gay community are invited to attend. Both organizations will participate in the National Coming Out Day rally planned for 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the state Capitol.
RELIGION CALENDAR
