Red Mass prays for civic leaders

The tradition of praying for wisdom and divine guidance for civic leaders will be observed Thursday with the Red Mass at Our Lady of Peace Cathedral on Fort Street Mall.

The Catholic diocese invited federal, state, city and municipal officials as well as leaders of business, legal, religious and social service communities to the 9 a.m. service, at which Catholic Bishop Larry Silva will preside.

The Red Mass, named for the color of vestments worn at a Mass of the Holy Spirit, has been held in Hawaii for 55 years at the opening of the state Legislature. It is modeled on an annual event in Washington, D.C.

Past speakers have addressed issues before the state Legislature.

The topic this year will be Father Damien DeVeuster, whose care of leprosy victims in the 19th century sets an ideal of compassionate care for poor and marginalized people in society. The Rev. Herman Gomes will speak about the Belgian missionary who died in 1889 of leprosy after working with patients there for 16 years. The Vatican is expected to set a date later this year for Damien to be declared a saint.

MacPherson wins Peacemaker Award

The Monday evening Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at Church of the Crossroads will honor the Rev. Neal MacPherson as Peacemaker Award winner.

The 7 p.m. service in the church at 1212 University Ave. is open to the public.

MacPherson, who retired in October after 20 years as pastor of the church, was selected for his years as “;a leader and compassionate voice on many social issues including affordable housing and health care, gay rights, the environment and peace,”; said Mike Compton, co-chairman of the celebration committee.

MacPherson, a United Church of Christ minister, was one of the founders of Faith Action for Community Equity. He has worked with the UCC Transition House for Survivors of Domestic Violence, Project Dana, Family Promise and the Interfaith Alliance of Hawaii. He is a board member of Planned Parenthood of Hawaii and the Hawaii chapter of the Sabeel Ecumenical Centre in Jerusalem. He now manages the Henry Opukahaia Learning Center, an archive and library at the UCC Hawaii conference center.

This is the 23rd year of the annual celebration, which Church of the Crossroads began as a peace festival. The Martin Luther King Jr. Peacemaker Award has been presented each year since 1988 to a group or person who embodies the spirit of King's work and demonstrates a commitment to peace, justice and civil rights.

Free classes cover variety of subjects

Topics from caregiving to cooking with Scriptures, from resolving disputes with grace to watching movies with “;faith eyes,”; are on the agenda for the First Presbyterian Church's “;Wednesdays at Koolau.”;

Twenty-one free classes for adults will begin Jan. 28 and continue for five weeks at the Koolau Golf Clubhouse, 45-550 Kinaole St., Kaneohe. There will be two sessions, at 5:30 and 7:30 p.m., with a one-hour break for dinner and fellowship. Dinner will be available for $8 for adults, $5 for children. There will be activities for youngsters from toddlers through high school.

Registration information for the classes, open to the public, is available by calling 532-1111. Jan. 25 is the deadline. Round-trip shuttle service will be available from the Roosevelt High School parking lot.

Church members will teach in areas of their expertise, including practical advice on digital photography, budgeting and financial managing, family caregiving and even golfing. On a more spiritual plane, there will be classes on the following:

» How to Be a Christian in the Real World
» Spiritual Gifts: Seven Special Callings
» Leadership for Believers
» Fingerprints of God, for women
» Words with Wings, the use of poetry to express faith and chronicle life
» Healing Prayer

8 church choirs will join for concert

The holidays are over but the music continues.

More than 100 singers from eight church choirs will perform “;Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs”; in a free concert and worship service at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Central Union Church, 1660 S. Beretania St.

The performance is the finale of a choral festival sponsored this weekend by the church and the California-based Mark Thallander Foundation. Eric Dale Knapp is director of the music, and internationally known concert organist Frederick Swann will accompany the Festival Choir.

Singers from the choirs at Kawaiaha'o Church, Central Union Church, St. Andrew's Cathedral, Church of the Crossroads, First Presbyterian Church of Honolulu and Our Redeemer Lutheran Church will participate. The Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in California and the youth choir from Peachtree Road United Methodist Church in Atlanta will also perform.

Churches to mark annual prayer week

Members of several local churches will join together to mark the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity at a Wednesday service at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu, 1730 Punahou St.

Hawaii Episcopal Bishop Robert Fitzpatrick will preach at the 7 p.m. event.

The annual observance on the mainland and elsewhere is an expression of a worldwide movement to promote dialogue and heal divisions among Christian churches and communities.

“;It is an attempt to recognize and hold up what we have in common: one Lord, one faith, one baptism,”; said the Rev. Ruth Peterson, pastor of Joy of Christ Lutheran Church.

“;We see how religion is used as a weapon in today's world. This is the antithesis, how to broaden our understanding of each other and seek to come closer,”; she said.

The theme comes from the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel: “;That they may become one in your hand,”; selected by a South Korean ecumenical movement.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is a program of the World Council of Churches.