Interfaith Alliance honors
its Hawaii chapter
The Interfaith Alliance of Hawaii won a national award last night for advocacy work that "exemplifies that religion can be a constructive force in public life."
Four Hawaii members of the organization accepted the award at the national conference of the Interfaith Alliance at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago.
The Bishop P. Francis Murphy Local Activism Award, named for a Baltimore clergyman who was one of the founders of the national organization, recognized the grass-roots base of the local chapter, which was organized in the past year.
"They mentioned that we have such a diverse group of people committed to standing up for issues, and we have tried to build cooperation among our differences," said the Rev. Vaughn Beckman, president of the Hawaii chapter.
The local organization has representatives from different religions, peace- and justice- advocacy groups, Hawaiian organizations and gay and lesbian groups.
Accepting the award with Beckman were Jerry Chang, the Rev. Renate Rose and Jo-Anna Nakata.
About 150 people are attending the convention, which marks the 10th anniversary of the Interfaith Alliance, which has members from several faith traditions.
