Floating lanterns
honor ancestors
Members of the Haleiwa Jodo Mission made 1,200 paper lanterns last week in preparation for their annual Toro Nagashi next weekend.
Thousands of onlookers traditionally join the small Buddhist congregation at the lantern-floating observance at Alii Beach Park. Rooted in the Obon tradition of honoring ancestral spirits, the ceremony has been adopted by non-Buddhists as a picturesque form of praying for the dead.
Some Oahu Quakers will join the participants at the 9:30 p.m. ceremony next Saturday night, using the event to pray for the victims of war.
"It is a nice way to honor the dead, especially those killed in conflicts going on in the world today," said Kyle Kajihiro, of the American Friends Service Committee. "We will pray for their souls and peace for their families. It is a reminder to ourselves that there is war and conflict and suffering in the world."
"It brings another dimension" to the tradition, Kajihiro said. "We consider those who are beyond our immediate families; we recognize that all souls deserve peace, and we want to honor them."
The Toro Nagashi has been staged for more than 30 years at the Haleiwa Jodo Mission as the finale to two nights of Obon celebration.
The observance will begin at 6:30 p.m. Friday with a bon service in the temple at 66-279-A Haleiwa Road. The bon dance on the grounds will begin at 8 p.m. Several food booths will be in business, offering teriyaki burgers, saimin, shave ice and other items.
The festivities will be repeated at the same times the following night, with the lanterns to be launched at 9:30 p.m.
BACK TO TOP |
New Life Church has new Honolulu location
It's out with the old at a Nuuanu sanctuary and in with the New Life Church, Honolulu.The nondenominational Christian church has moved into the building at 1190 Nuuanu Ave. that was vacated last month when Calvary Chapel of Honolulu moved to a new church in Aiea Heights.
The 10 a.m. Sunday service is open to all, said the Rev. Francis Oda. The church will be dedicated at the 10 a.m. July 4 service, with the Rev. Emanuelle Canistraci, of California, as guest preacher.
The congregation of about 100 people has met for seven years at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Moiliili. Associate pastors are Frank Kim and Laurie Bachran.
Oda said that one key mission of New Life Church is "marketplace ministry. We want to activate a sense of individual calling to the ministry and equip people to be minister in their own workplace, school, office, home. I am pastor of my firm as well as pastor of the church," said Oda, who is an architect and chief executive officer of Group 70 International.
He is a founder and chairman of the board of Hawaii Family Forum.
Jehovah's Witnesses tackle modern travails
Speakers will discuss how Christians should conduct themselves in the modern world of changing values at the Jehovah's Witnesses annual convention under way this weekend in Mililani."Walk With God" is the theme of the convention at the church's Mililani Assembly Hall at 239 Palii St.
The three-day session is the first of nine conventions to be held on successive weekends through mid-August. A total of 17,000 people throughout the state are expected to attend conferences held for separate geographic divisions of the church and sessions scheduled in Japanese, Korean, Samoan and other languages.
"We are focusing on practical help for families," said Ken Minner, a convention coordinator.
"This program is about getting the help we all need to raise kids, keep the family strong, work and live according to God's standards. All of us are deeply affected by the events of our time and do need guidance."
Minner said the daily convention sessions are open to the public. They begin at 9:30 a.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays; 2 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays; and 1:40 p.m. on Sundays.
Therapist to talk about strengthening families
Ann Marjorie Stark, a family therapist who specializes in dealing with trauma, will explore ideas for strengthening family relationships in times of happiness and difficulty in a Wednesday seminar.The program on "Raising Resilient Families" will be at 6:30 p.m. at Lanikai Elementary School Learning Center, 140 Alala Road. It is free and open to the public.
Stark has been a psychologist for 31 years and works with the emergency services in Tasmania, Australia, in critical incident stress management. She is in private practice in Hobart, Tasmania, teaches at the University of Tasmania and formerly was director of counseling with the Family Court of Australia in Tasmania.
The program is sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahais of the Hawaiian Islands and the Bahai Spiritual Assembly of Koolaupoko.
Medicine Buddha is subject of seminar
A seminar on the Medicine Buddha practice for health and healing is being taught this weekend at the Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Center, 26 Gartley Place.Lama Tempa Gyeltshen will give practical instructions on the meditative practice, which is done at the center each month on the eighth day after the new moon. Practitioners of all levels may attend any one or all three sessions.
The sessions are:
» Today -- 9 a.m. to noon, 2 to 5 p.m.
» Tomorrow -- 2 to 4 p.m.
The fee is $15 per session. Call 595-8989 for information.
Religion Calendar
