A panel discussion exploring the status of K-12 education in Hawaii and what the faith community can do to encourage excellence and equity for all is slated for Tuesday at Harris United Methodist Church.
The 7 p.m. event, “Education Excellence and Equity: Where Are We, What’s Next?” is sponsored by The Interfaith Alliance of Hawaii.
The moderator will be the Rev. Deborah Bond-Upson of the Social Justice Council-First Unitarian Church of Honolulu. Bond-Upson is a board member of Parents for Public Schools-Hawaii.
Panel members include Corey Rosenlee, president of the Hawaii State Teachers Association; Darrel Galera, chairman of the recently assembled Governor’s Education Task Force and executive director of the Education Institute Hawaii; Father Jack Isbell, parish pastor of Saints Francis and Clare Parish; Lois Yamauchi, president of Parents for Public Schools-Hawaii; and Tammi Oyadomari-Chun, assistant superintendent of strategy, innovation and performance for the state Department of Education.
The panel discussion will be followed by a meeting in smaller focus groups to discuss problems and provide input to the DOE, the governor’s task force and Parents for Public Schools- Hawaii. Informational handouts will be available.
For more information, contact the Rev. Thomas Lynch at tlynch@interfaithacademy.org or call 799-4866. The church is on the corner of Nuuanu Avenue and South Vineyard Boulevard.
Arctic refuge activist to speak on isle tour
An Arctic refuge activist will begin a speaking tour in the islands next week sponsored by Hawaii Interfaith Power and Light, the Sierra Club-Our Wild America and other environmental groups and churches.
Miho Aida will give a talk 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday in Weaver Hall at the Church of the Crossroads, 1212 University Ave. Her talk will compare the Arctic and Hawaiian communities on climate change, women’s rights and traditional knowledge.
There will also be a screening of Aida’s award-winning short film, “The Sacred Place Where Life Begins: Gwich’in Women Speak.”
Here is Aida’s Oahu tour schedule: 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hawaii Filmmakers Collective, 3167 Waialae Ave.; 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Patagonia Haleiwa, 66-250 Kamehameha Highway; 6:30 p.m. Friday at Church of the Crossroads; 6:30 p.m. June 18 at RevoluSun/Patagonia Honolulu, 210 Ward Ave. No. 140; 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. June 19 at Christ Church Uniting, 1300 Kailua Road; and 10:15 to 11 a.m. June 19 at Central Union Church, 1660 S. Beretania St.
On Hawaii island she will speak at 6 p.m. June 23 at the Kona Civic Center; 7 p.m. June 27 at Volcano Arts Center’s Niaulani Campus; and 6 p.m. June 28 at the Mokupapapa Discovery Center in Hilo.
See Aida’s full schedule at 808ne.ws/1PK5D2h.
All events are free and open to the public. For additional information, contact Chuck Burrows at 372-7594 or chuckkb@gmail.com.
Kailua church to hold ministry for youths
A summer youth ministry program will get underway at Kailua’s Emmanuel Epis- copal Church on Sunday.
Tailored for children ages 3 to 14, “‘AHA Mind, Body and Spirit: Weaving It All To- gether” will be held at 10 a.m. Sundays through Aug. 28. A Sunday worship service will be held at the same time at the church, 780 Ke- olu Drive.
The program’s coordinator, Sara Ka‘imipono Banks, describes it as culture-based curriculum “weaving Chris- tian values and beliefs with Hawaiian values, beliefs, practices and language.”
Open to the public, students may attend one or all sessions. No registration is required. For more information, call 262-4548 or email office@emmanuelkailua.com.
