Conference addresses grief

St. Francis Hospice is holding its first grief conference Friday.

"Life, Love, Grief … and You: A Conference for Professionals and Laypersons" will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Koolau Ballrooms and Conference Center in Kaneohe. The cost is $125 and registration deadline is Wednesday.

The keynote address will be "Clear Presence & Great Compassion: Embracing the Personal and Universal Dimension of Change, Loss, Grief and Death." It will be delivered by the husband-and-wife team Joel and Michelle Levey of Minnesota Medical School’s Center for Spirituality and Health, adjunct faculty members of the Institute for Spirituality and Health at the University of Texas Medical Center.

Dr. Jean Shinoda Bolen will speak on "The Meaning of Life at the Threshold of Death: Insights in the Midst of Grief." She is a psychiatrist, Jungian analyst, author and former clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco.

Contact Felicia Marquez-Wong, bereavement services manager of St. Francis Hospice, at 547-8145 or fmarquezwong@stfrancishawaii.org.

Churches host pet blessings

St. Nicholas Episcopal Church in Kapolei and the Parish of St. Clement in Manoa will celebrate the traditional Blessing of the Animals Oct. 3.

The blessings, open to anyone with pets, are held in honor of St. Francis of Assisi, remembered for his profound love of animals and ability to communicate with them, said Father Paul Klitzke, of St. Nicholas.

St. Nicholas will hold the blessing at its 10 a.m. worship service at Island Pacific Academy, 909 Haumea St. Participants will receive a dated certificate for their animal’s blessing. Cat and dog treats and water dishes will be provided, as well as ice cream and other refreshments after the service. Call St. Nicholas Church at 753-7788 or visit www.stnickschurch.org.

The Parish of St. Clement, at 1515 Wilder Ave., invites all animal lovers to bring their pets of any sort or size for music, readings, prayers and blessings at 10:15 a.m. Professionals who care for animals also will be there. Call 955-7745.

Oshiro, church earn honor

The Japanese American Citizens League’s Honolulu Chapter will present state Rep. Blake Oshiro and the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii with its 2010 Distinguished Service Award. Tickets are available for a luncheon next Saturday.

The award recognizes the exemplary courage and commitment to justice demonstrated by an individual and organization, who stood up for civil unions and same-sex equality, the JACL announced.

The annual general membership luncheon will be held from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii in the Manoa Grand Ballroom. Tickets are $35 for JACL members and seniors, and $45 for nonmembers. Table sponsorships are available.

Call Shawn Benton at 524-7575, ext. 4; e-mail honolulu@jacl.org; or visit www.jaclhawaii.org.