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Ceremony celebrates joint Waianae ministry

A Waianae church celebration today to install a new pastor will translate a historic agreement between two Protestant denominations into grass-roots reality.

The 1 p.m. ceremony at Maluhia Lutheran Church, 85-256 Farrington Highway, will install the Rev. Karen D.S. Perkins as pastor not just of that congregation, but of the neighboring St. Philip's Episcopal Church.

It is the first shared ministry approved by local Lutheran and Episcopal church leaders. It implements an agreement by the national governing bodies of the two denominations that was reached after 30 years of dialogue. The 2001 agreement called for "full communion" between the American branches of the two Christian churches, which have operated separately since the 16th-century Protestant Reformation.

Taking part in the Waianae service will be Bishop Murray Finck of the Pacifica Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Bishop Richard Chang of the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii.

Perkins comes to Hawaii from Los Altos, Calif. She received a Master of Divinity degree last year at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley. Her ordination last Saturday as a Lutheran pastor took place at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Mountain View, Calif.

Her first service as pastor will be at 8:30 a.m. Jan. 30 at St. Philip's Episcopal Church, 87-227 St. John's Road. The combined congregations will worship together and share a potluck lunch.

Salvation Army helps homeless in Sri Lanka

The Salvation Army will set up a tent village in Sri Lanka for families left homeless by the Dec. 26 tsunami, and plans to build 1,000 homes at the site.

The government gave the Christian humanitarian organization two parcels of land near the village of Galgodawatte in the hardest-hit part of the country, according to a release by the Salvation Army in Hawaii.

People who have been housed in schools since the disaster will be moved into tents within two weeks, according to the announcement. Permanent housing will be developed on the 344 acres.

"It took our breath away when the government publicly announced we were to be given such a large parcel of land," said Capt. Ted Horwood, Salvation Army relief team leader in Sri Lanka.

Donations for tsunami relief efforts in the 11 nations may be sent to the Salvation Army, P.O. Box 620, Honolulu 96809, earmarked for South Asia Disaster Fund. Donors may also call 800-725-2769 to make a credit card donation, or donate online at www.1800salarmy.org.

Churches meet to pray for isle leadership

Members of several Oahu Christian churches will gather in an arena Tuesday to pray for government officials and community concerns during a two-hour "Prayer Watch."

Organizer Virginia Domigan, a minister at the Prayer Center of the Pacific in Pearl City, said members of 57 congregations are expected to attend the 7 p.m. event at University of Hawaii Stan Sheriff Center.

Local pastors will lead prayers for God's help in resolving problems of drug addiction, domestic violence, homelessness and business failures.

Several church musicians will present praise and worship music. The event is free and open to the public.

Drugs, homelessness targeted in new grant

A Windward church congregation is putting its money where its heart is.

Christ Church Uniting Disciples and Presbyterians is offering a $5,000 grant for a program tackling the problems of homelessness or drug addiction.

Any group with a program affecting people between Makapuu Point and Kualoa Point may apply for the funding. It is open to new projects as well as efforts already in progress.

The 75-member congregation contributed the money as a way "to support the creative thinking that's already going on in the community," said the Rev. Buddy Summers. The initiative expands the church's tradition of donating smaller amounts to several groups.

"It's timely in terms of the consciousness of the larger community about these problems," he said. "We want to be helpful to a group who is addressing the problems, and to the homeless and addicted people they help."

March 1 is the deadline. For application information, call the church at 262-6911.