---

A CROSS TO BEAR

RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM A procession yesterday from Thomas Square to Central Union Church featured several people carrying a cross to re-enact Jesus' walk on Good Friday. Randy Reynoso, left, and Joey Gefroh were among those carrying the 6-foot-tall cross along South Beretania Street.

---

Easter services

The National Cemetery of the Pacific, Punchbowl, will host its 104th sunrise service to begin at 6:15 a.m. with the Royal Hawaiian Band and the Rev. Eddie Kelemeni on the program. The gates will open at 4:30 a.m.; parking is available in the crater. TheBus will run special shuttles starting at 5:15 a.m. at Monsarrat and Kalakaua avenues, and leaving the Alapai Express lot at 5:20, 5:40 and 5:55 a.m.

Kuhio Beach in Waikiki will be the scene of a 6:30 a.m. service. Music, message and fellowship will be offered near the Duke Kahanamoku statue. Sponsored by Hope Chapel South Shore and Ekolu Mea Nui.

The Hawaii Kai Community Sunrise Service will begin at 6 a.m. at Maunalua Bay Beach Park. Musicians and singers from six area churches will participate, with the Rev. Chuck Farber of Hawaii Kai Community Church as speaker.

North Shore Inter-Church Community Service, in its 28th year, will begin at 6:30 a.m. at Kaiaka Beach Park on Haleiwa Road, across from the fire station. Nine churches will provide music, and the Rev. Corey Arnold of Sunset Beach Christian Church will speak. The park gate will be opened at 5 a.m.

Makua Sunrise 2005 will begin at 6 a.m. in Makua Valley. The ninth annual nondenominational service is sponsored by Malama Makua, Hoa Aina O Makua and the American Friends Service Committee. Participants share music, readings and messages in an open-mike format. A potluck breakfast will follow. Call 696-4677 for information.

New Hope Christian Fellowship services will be held at the Blaisdell Center Arena at 4 and 7 p.m. today and 8 and 11 a.m. tomorrow. Retired Navy Cmdr. Scott Waddle will speak about his spiritual and emotional rehabilitation after the submarine he commanded had a deadly collision with the Japanese vessel Ehime Maru in 2001. Tenor Steve Amerson, who has been heard in movie soundtracks, television shows and commercials, will lead the music. Parking is free.

First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu will stage its Easter celebration at the Hawaii Theatre. Services at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. will feature a 75-member choir and 30-piece orchestra. Child care will be provided.

Horizon Christian Fellowship will gather at the Ala Wai Golf Course Clubhouse, 404 Kapahulu Ave., for a 9 a.m. service. The Rev. Francis Kamahele will speak, and special music and inspirational hula will be presented.

---

Opera performers tackle classic works

The music of classical composers will be performed by three artists from the Hawaii Opera Theatre in a free concert next weekend.

Kawaiaha'o Church, at 957 Punchbowl St., will be the setting of "A Springtime Affair" at 5 p.m. April 3. The concert will feature:

» Tony Cho, coach and pianist with Hawaii Opera Theatre and Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus. He has participated in opera productions and musical festivals in Italy, Paraguay, Los Angeles and other American cities.

» Soprano Amy Healey, professional opera performer for eight years. She has performed with the Opera Theater of Lucca, Italy, and with opera companies in Connecticut, Kentucky, Ohio and Pittsburgh.

» Soprano Malia Ka'ai, soloist with Kawaiaha'o Church Choir and other groups. She was a soloist in "The Merry Widow" and sang with the opera chorus in other productions this season.

Special isle program marks birth of Buddha

Island Buddhists will celebrate the birth of Buddha next weekend with a program sharing cultural music and dance of several Asian countries.

The Hanamatsuri service will begin at 9 a.m. April 3 at McKinley High School. It is the third year that members of Laotian, Vietnamese, Chinese and Korean temples will join Japanese Buddhist sects in the annual "flower festival." It is free and open to the public.

The Rev. Thomas Okano, director of the Buddhist Study Center near the University of Hawaii, will be keynote speaker.

It marks the birth in 560 B.C. of Shakyamuni Buddha, whose teaching and meditative path to enlightenment are followed by millions around the world.

People traditionally pour water or sweet tea over a Buddha statue, symbolic of the garden in which he was born and the cleansing away of winter darkness to prepare for spring.

Class studies theology in C.S. Lewis' works

The theology of author C.S. Lewis will be explored in a new class offered by the Bible Institute of Hawaii.

Students will use Lewis' "Mere Christianity," "The Screwtape Letters" and "The Chronicles of Narnia" to study the insights of the late-20th-century Christian author. The class will meet at Makiki Christian Church.

The institute's quarterly session will begin April 11, with weekly classes to meet in several churches on Oahu.

A repeat favorite in the institute catalog is "Acts: Dangerous People," which illustrates how "dangerous" people can be when they take Jesus seriously. The class will be taught in Mililani and Kailua churches.

For copies of the catalog and registration information, call Mary at 943-0833.