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Religion Briefs
Star-Bulletin staff &
Associated Press
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Conference to focus on Christian singles
A single person's perspective on dating, sex, parenting and spirituality will be explored at the Hawaii Christian Singles Conference opening Friday, sponsored by Hawaiian Islands Ministries.
John Ortberg, author of best-selling books including "The Life You've Always Wanted," will be the guest speaker in the two-day conference at First Presbyterian Church, 1822 Keeaumoku St. The Rev. Dan Chun, senior pastor at the host church, and Nancy Ortberg, former director of the Willow Creek Community Church ministry to young adults, also will speak.
Small group sessions will cover topics such as online dating, sex and the single, how to break up cleanly, divorce recovery and single parenting. The conference is intended to provide a safe environment for single people to discuss shared issues and nurture healthy perspectives, and to equip church leaders to meet the needs of single adults.
The conference will run from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Friday and from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. next Saturday. The cost is $99 at the door or $79 for people who pre-register at www.himonline.org. The cost covers a Friday pizza party and Saturday lunch. Information is available on the Web site or by calling 988-9777.
Jehovah's Witnesses to meet in Mililani
More than 8,000 members are expected to attend the Jehovah's Witnesses annual statewide convention, and they have invited at least that many strangers to join them.
The program under way this weekend at the denomination's Mililani Assembly Hall, 239 Palii St., is one of eight sessions throughout the summer on Oahu. The annual district convention is repeated each weekend to accommodate delegates from the 58 Hawaii congregations. This weekend session is in English, and next weekend will be presented in Chinese and English. Other sessions are presented for people who speak Korean, Japanese, Ilocano and Samoan.
Jehovah's Witnesses, who go door to door to distribute the Watchtower religious tract, have been distributing written invitations to the convention, which has "Deliverance at Hand" as its theme. The speakers will discuss the biblical basis for their beliefs about Jesus' role in delivering mankind from the effects of sin and about survival when God's day of reckoning arrives, according to an announcement.
No registration is required to attend the sessions, which begin at 9:30 a.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, and continue at 2 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 1:40 p.m. Sundays. The programs end by 5:15 p.m. daily.
Similar conventions are held in other states and countries. There are about 1.5 million Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States and about 6.6 million worldwide, according to the denomination's information service.
Program to discuss reincarnation tenets
Buddhist belief about reincarnation will be discussed Wednesday in a continuing educational series offered by the Pacific Buddhist Academy.
The "Dharma Circles" program also will feature a demonstration of mindfulness practices and "vipassana" -- insight meditation -- by Dr. Thanh Huynh, a Honolulu physician who leads a meditation group in mindfulness, a Zen practice based in Vietnamese Buddhist tradition.
Robin Fujikawa, a religion and philosophy professor at Kapiolani Community College, and Alfred Bloom, retired University of Hawaii religion professor and a Honpa Hongwanji minister, also will speak.
The 7 p.m. lecture at the academy, 1710 Pali Highway, Classroom 102, is free and open to the public. The "Dharma Circles" series exploring different Buddhist traditions will continue on Aug. 2 and 23.
The program offers participants the opportunity for questions and sharing of beliefs.
Hongwanji to host seminar by professor
The Oahu Hongwanji Council is sponsoring a July English Seminar, "A Taste of Nembutsu," featuring professor Eisho Nasu, July 23 at the Waipahu Hongwanji Mission.
The 7 p.m. seminar is free and open to all.
Nasu is a professor of Jodo Shinshu studies of the Institute of Buddhist Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif. He specializes in the history of Japanese Pure Land Buddhism in the Jodo Shinshu tradition.
His publications include "Engaged Pure Land Buddhism: Challenges Facing Jodo Shinshu in the Contemporary World," co-edited with Kenneth Tanaka.
For more information, call Waipahu Hongwanji at 677-4221.
