Holiday shows spur Christmas joy

Local church groups will do their best to get people in the Christmas spirit with concerts next weekend.

» Calvary Christian School, 98-1016 Komo Mai Drive, Aiea, will present the musical play “;Meet Me at the Manger”; at 6:30 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Dec. 21 at the Calvary Chapel Honolulu. Free.

» The annual free Christmas Concerts at the Honolulu Tabernacle, 1560 S. Beretania St., will be at 7 p.m. next Saturday and Dec. 21, presented by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Honolulu Hawaii Stake. Singers from nine churches will join in a massed adult choir along with the Concert Orchestra, youth and children's choirs and Drill Team Hawaii dancers. Audience sing-along is encouraged. Parking is available in the structure next to the tabernacle.

» The annual free Kawaiaha'o Church concert, “;Iesu Ka Hoola — Beautiful Savior,”; will be at 7 p.m. next Saturday at 957 Punchbowl St. Seasonal readings and hymns, carols and dances will be performed by the Sanctuary Choir, Bell Choir and Halau, Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus and Kawaiolaonapukanileo Vocal Ensemble with soloists Malia Kaai and special guest Roslyn Catracchia.

» The Honolulu Boy Choir will offer music and dance at “;The Merriest Hawaiian Christmas”; concert at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday at Central Union Church, 1660 S. Beretania St. Free.

» Calvary Chapel Pearl Harbor, 94-1044 Waipio Uka St., Waipahu, will offer “;The Prince and the Pauper,”; a Christmas musical play, at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 21 and 7 p.m. Dec. 24. Free.

» Classical music compositions for Christmas will be featured in the holiday concert by the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, 1730 Punahou St. The concert at 4 p.m. Dec. 21 will feature the choir, organ and harpist Melody Rose Lindsay. Britten's “;Ceremony of Carols”;; Handel's “;Hallelujah Chorus”;; works of John Rutter, Bach and Hindemith; and holiday favorites will be performed. Tickets at $20 general admission, $15 seniors and $12 students are available at the door or by calling the church, 941-2566.

Buddhists mark isle anniversary

Members of the largest Buddhist denomination will begin a yearlong celebration next weekend, marking the 120th anniversary of its mission in Hawaii and the founding of the Jodo Shin Buddhist movement in Japan 750 years ago.

A proclamation service will begin at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 21 at Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin, 1727 Pali Highway. Bishop Thomas Otani will deliver the message by the Rev. Koshin Ohtani, spiritual leader of the Japanese-based denomination, at the celebration that will be attended by members of all Hongwanji temples in the Honolulu district. It is open to the public. Ohtani, a direct descendant of the sect's founder, will visit Hawaii next year as the commemorative observance continues.

The celebration marks the life of Shinran Shonin, who taught about Buddhist philosophy and human liberation in Japan in the 13th century.

It also commemorates the arrival of the first Hongwanji minister who came to Hawaii for the spiritual well-being of Japanese immigrants. The Rev. Soryu Kagahi arrived in March 1889.