The Honolulu Advertiser - December 27, 2008 - B Section

Christmas in Hawaiçi wasall Barack Obama all thetime, so where else to startour “flASHback” on theweek’s news that amused andconfused:

• The vacationing presi-dent-elect caused a stir whenhe was photographed show-ing off his bod. I shouldn’thave laughed when John Mc-Cain compared him to ParisHilton.

• Security forces won’t al-low baby strollers or lawnchairs for the elderly at theObama inaugural. It’s just aswell. It won’t be healthy foryoung eyes or old hearts if hetakes off his shirt.

• The Hawaiçi State Societywas disappointed its Wash-ington inaugural ball wasn’tincluded among the 10 “offi-cial” balls the Obamas willattend. They should havemade the dress swimwear in-stead of black tie.

• Rep. Neil Abercrombiesaid the national pulse drops10 points every time Obamagoes on TV because of hisHawaiçi-bred calm. I guessthat’s better than the nationalIQ dropping 10 points whenGeorge Bush is on TV.

• But Abercrombie talkingabout calm? Please. If hewere any more cranked up,he’d be a one-man space pro-gram.

• Mayor Mufi Hannemannplanned to greet Obama’splane, but was waved offwhen the family asked forprivacy. Poor Hannemannhad to spend the rest of theday looking for somebodyelse’s glow to bask in.

• In non-Obama news,Gov. Linda Lingle sent outholiday e-cards instead ofreal Hallmarks this year tosave money and postage. It’s going to take more than e-loha to balance the budgetin this economy.

• Three alleged leaders of acopper theft ring were indict-ed for racketeering, conspira-cy, money laundering, drugtrafficking and false swear-ing. If I was looking at 10years in Hälawa, I’d swearfor real.

• Scientists are droppingunderwater mikes off the BigIsland to record deep-seavolcanic eruptions and whalesongs. I can’t wait to hearwhales that swim too close tothe volcano singing “Hot HotHot.”

• A Kauaçi man wascharged with causing sevenaccidents in 20 minutes ashis car careened throughLïhuçe and Kapaça. Thankgoodness they won’t let theSuperferry bring Kauaçi driv-ers to Oçahu.

• June Jones settled withthe University of Hawaiçi forhalf the $400,000 he owedfor skipping out on his foot-ball contract, none of whichhe’ll pay personally. Heshould patent those magicpockets where money goes inbut never comes out.

And the quote of the week... from Obama to photogra-phers at his golf outing:“Come on, how many shotsdo you need?” I hear his golfpartners were asking him thesame question by the thirdhole.

David Shapiro, a veteranHawai‘i journalist, can bereached by e-mail [email protected]. Hiscolumns are archived atwww.volcanicash.net. Readhis blog, Volcanic Ash, at HONOLULUADVERTISER.COM/BLOGS.

See video of

yesterday’s

protest at

HONOLULUADVERTISER.COM

HONOLULUADVERTISER.COM/localnews

LOCAL NEWS DESK

E-mail: [email protected] | Telephone: 525-8090SATURDAY | December 27, 2008

S E C T I O N

B][

Hawai‘iGET BREAKING NEWS ON YOUR CELL PHONEText hibreak to 44636 to get local breaking newsalerts on your cell phone. For more alerts, go to

HONOLULUADVERTISER.COM/TEXT

flASHbackDavid Shapiro

YOUR BEST SHOT

If you captured the greatest

sunset ever with your digital

camera, yours may be

among the pictures we’ll

highlight in our Best of

Reader Photos feature.

Submit your proudest shots

by Monday to our galleries atHONOLULUADVERTISER.COM/READERPHOTOS

Select the category that best

suits your picture — travel,

neighborhoods, pets, break-

ing news, catch of the day,

pictures of paradise, sports

and holidays. Please keep

the size of your photos to 6

megabytes and under.

We’ll choose the best reader

shots submitted and present

them online on Tuesday at

HONOLULUADVERTISER.COM.

They came clean laterabout incident on flightto Hilo, report says

BY MARY VORSINOAdvertiser Staff Writer

Two go! airlines pilots whoseplane overshot Hilo airport byabout 30 miles initially lied aboutinadvertently falling asleep inthe cockpit while the plane wason autopilot, according to a re-cently released National Trans-portation Safety Board report.

The pilots, who were fired af-ter the Feb. 13 incident, later ad-

mitted to dozing during the flight.go! airlines officials did not re-turn calls yesterday on the 11-page report, which provides arundown of what happened dur-ing the flight and also gives newinformation on the pilots — oneof whom was a 53-year-old withmore than 20 years of flight ex-perience.

The 53-year-old, the plane’scaptain, told NTSB investigatorsthat he inadvertently fell asleepafter experiencing “operationalstressors” and a hectic schedule.“We had gotten back on sched-ule, it was comfortable in the

cockpit, the pressure was behindus,” he said, according to the re-port. “I just kind of closed myeyes for a minute, enjoying thesunshine and dozed off.”

Meanwhile, the 23-year-oldcopilot who had been on the jobfor five months, told investigatorsthat with the morning sun shin-ing in he entered a sleep-likestate from which he could “hearwhat was going on, but could notcomprehend or make it click.”

Flight 1002 to Hilo took offfrom Honolulu Airport at 9:16a.m.

There were 40 passengers and

one flight attendant aboard the50-seat aircraft.

About 9:55 a.m., the planepassed over Hilo InternationalAirport at 21,000 feet and con-tinued straight over the openocean for nearly 30 miles. Whenthe first officer awoke about 9:58a.m., he realized the plane wasoff course, according to the re-port, and woke the captain.

He also noted that the planehad enough fuel for another hourand a half of flying.

Shortly after waking, the cap-tain radioed air traffic controllers.When asked whether there was

an emergency on-board, the cap-tain said, “No, we must havemissed a handoff or missed a callor something.” The captain, ac-cording to the report, also liedto the Federal Aviation Admin-istration after the plane landed,telling the agency that the planehad “lost radio communicationsbecause the flight crew had se-lected an incorrect radio fre-quency.”

The captain later came cleanthat day in an incident report toMesa Airlines, the parent com-

SEE GO!, B2

go! pilots lied about napping

Broad Native Hawaiianconstituency demandswithdrawal of appeal

BY GORDON Y.K. PANGAdvertiser Staff Writer

Members of the normally con-servative Royal Order of Kame-hameha I and the Association ofHawaiian Civic Clubs joined oth-er Native Hawaiian groups at thestate Capitol yesterday to protestGov. Linda Lingle’s position onceded lands — lands that oncebelonged to the Hawaiian gov-ernment before the 1898 over-throw.

“It’s not so much the number ofpeople here today but it’s whocame out,” said Vicky HoltTakamine, a kumu hula and pres-ident of the çIlioçulaokalani Coali-tion, which coordinated the rallyattended by roughly 100 people.

Members of the pro-inde-pendence umbrella group Hui Püand the newly formed HawaiianIndependence Alliance also wereamong those taking part.

The groups are protesting thestate’s appeal to the U.S. SupremeCourt seeking to overturn aHawaiçi Supreme Court ruling inJanuary temporarily barring thestate from transferring or sellingceded lands pending unresolvedclaims by Native Hawaiians.

The U.S. Supreme Court hasagreed to hear the state’s appealin February.

Leimomi Khan, president ofthe Association of Hawaiian CivicClubs, said her group opposesthe sale or transfer of ceded landsuntil claims by Native Hawaiiansare resolved.

“If you’re going to have a na-tion, you need to have an eco-

Storm that also hit partsof O‘ahu dumped 12inches in some places

Advertiser Staff

The Big Island yesterday waspelted by heavy rains and evensnow as a winter storm made itsway across the island chain.

The National Weather Serviceissued a flash-flood warning. Atone point yesterday the Kaçü Dis-trict was hit with 2 inches of rainper hour, while Laupahoehoe re-ceived an inch per hour.

For the 24-hour period endingat 5 p.m., Waiakea Uka received12.61 inches of rain and Laupa-hoehoe got 12 inches, the weath-er service said.

The rains caused flooding, butofficials reported no major dam-age or road closures.

Meanwhile, an additional 4inches of snow were forecast tofall at the summit of Mauna Kea,Hawaiçi’s highest peak, on top ofthe 8 to 12 inches the mountainreceived on Christmas Day.

The storm also dumped rainin brief but fierce bouts acrossOçahu yesterday.

Big Island socked with heavy rains, snow

TIM WRIGHT | Special to The Advertiser

A Hawaiçi County Civil Defense worker encounters a flooded roadway on Pauahi Street in Hilo. Someareas of the Big Island got as much as 2 inches of rain per hour yesterday.

ABOVE: Richard Kinney,standing in front ofWashington Place across fromthe state Capitol, was one ofdozens who participated in arally yesterday opposing Gov. Linda Lingle’s appeal to the Supreme Court onceded lands.

LEFT: Organizers said thebroad range of NativeHawaiian interests thatparticipated in the rally showedthe deep concern over thelegal fate of ceded lands. Theysaid Native Hawaiian claims tothe land must be resolvedbefore the state can transfer orsell them.

Photos by JEFF WIDENER |

The Honolulu Advertiser

SEE LANDS, B2

Groups protest ceded-land stance

Thumpthump, it’sshirtlessObama

LLOYD PCLARIN ALBINIO JR.

30, of Kapaça, Kauaçi, died Dec. 11,

2008. Born in Honolulu. A land-

scaper with Stonetree Construc-

tion. Survived by father, Lloyd Sr.;

mother, Joni O’Donnell; son, Lloyd;

daughter, Leiani; brothers, Lloyd

N. and Lloyd J.K.; grandmother,

Betty Wilson. Visitation 1:30 p.m.

Wednesday at The Kapaça King-

dom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses;

service 2:30 p.m. Private inurn-

ment. No flowers. Aloha attire.

Arrangements by Kauaçi Memorial

Gardens & Funeral Home.

CLEO ELIZABETH

IAEA BERMOY

77, of Kaläheo, Kauaçi, died Dec.

24, 2008. Born in Honolulu. Sur-

vived by husband, Henry Sr.; sons,

Henry Jr. and Wayne; daughters,

Sandra Quinsaat, Stephanie

Bermoy, Colleen Kapu, Trudy

Silva, Linda Nicolas and Charlene

Paden; grandchildren; brothers,

Joseph Jr., Huddy, Jonah,

Christopher, Harold, Lani and Neki

Iaea; sisters, Nani Trelor, Olivia

Miller and Hedy Iaea. Visitation 9 to

10 a.m. Jan. 3 at Garden Island

Mortuary; service 10 a.m. Casual

attire.

VIOLET QUINTANA COCKETT

81, of çAiea, died Dec. 15, 2008.

Born in çOçökala, Hawaiçi. Retired

Radford High School teacher and

librarian. Survived by husband,

Reuben; sons, Reuben “Marty” Jr.,

Randy; Keala and Kevin; daugh-

ters, Maura Alvaro and Jonell; sis-

ters, Victoria Sanborn and Peggy

Echavez; 16 grandchildren; nine

great-grandchildren. Visitation 5

p.m. Sunday at Mililani Downtown

Mortuary; service 6:30 p.m. Burial

10 a.m. Monday at Hawaiian

Memorial Park. Casual attire.

Arrangements by Mililani Mortuary..

SHIONG-SHIANG LEE

74, died Aug. 20, 2008. Born in

Taiwan. A former Honolulu pathol-

ogist. Survived by wife, Wang-Yen;

sons, Chong-Chia and Richard;

daughters, Men-Jean and Ming-

Shing; seven grandsons; a grand-

daughter. Service 2 p.m. tomorrow

at Community Church of Honolulu.

Ashes were buried at Hawaiian

Memorial Park. Donations to the

S.S. Lee Fund, Cancer and Fertili-

ty Society, www.cancerandfertili

tysociety.org.

RUI YING LIU LIN

71, of Honolulu, died Dec. 12,

2008. Born in Huzhou Village Ban-

fu Town, Zhong Shan Guangdong,

China. A homemaker. Survived by

sons, Jie Shan, Jie Peng and Jie

Chuang; daughters, Feng Shi, Li

Shi and Ai Shi; four grandchildren.

Visitation 9 a.m. Wednesday at

Borthwick Mortuary; service 10

a.m.; burial 1 p.m. at Hawaiian

Memorial Park. Aloha attire.

BRIAN KUNIYUKI MIYAGI

60, of çAiea, died Dec. 14,

2008. Born in Honolulu.

Retired from the state of Hawaiçi.

Survived by wife, Jill; son, Scott;

daughter, Shannon; a grandson;

mother, Barbara; brothers, Gary

and Paul. Visitation 5 p.m. Tues-

day at Mililani Mortuary Mauka

Chapel; service 6 p.m. No flowers.

Casual attire.

HARLAN WADE SILVA

56, of Waiçanae, died Dec. 14,

2008. Born in Honolulu. Survived

by father, Frederick; brothers,

Alfred and Christopher; sisters,

Fredlyn Nishikawa and Christina

Silva. Mass 11 a.m. Tuesday at Co-

Cathedral of St. Theresa; inurn-

ment 1 p.m. at Mililani Memorial

Park. Arrangements by Mililani

Downtown Mortuary.

JACOB JAMES TRANNEL

15, of Onalaska, Wis., died Dec.

16, 2008. Born in Honolulu. Avid

soccer and hockey player who

played with Team Wisconsin and

the Western Wisconsin Blue Dev-

ils. Survived by parents, Thomas

and Dena; brother, Nathan; sister,

Molly; grandparents, Karen

Vandermillen, Jim Vandermillen

and Bette Trannel; special friend,

Morgan Poss. Mass held in Wis-

consin. No flowers. Donations to

the Jacob James Trannel Memor-

ial Fund. Condolences to:

www.schumacher-k ish .com.

Arrangements by Schumacher-

Kish Funeral Home, Onalaska, Wis.

JUDITH MISAKO TSUKIYAMA

66, of Honolulu, died Dec. 14,

2008. Born in Hilo, Hawaiçi. Sur-

vived by sisters, Betty Tsukiyama,

Matsuko Motooka, Lily Tsukiyama

and Amy Okada. Private service

held. Arrangements by Nuçuanu

Memorial Park & Mortuary.

EDITH “DEE DEE” WOODS

65, of Maine, died Dec. 21, 2008.

Born in Port Chester, N.Y. A dental

hygenist and longtime Oçahu resi-

dent. Survived by children, Paul

Woods, Julia Ann deForest

Karlsson and David deForest

Woods; four grandchildren; broth-

er, Peter Hills; and sister, Susan

Coursey. Service in February 2009

at First Presbyterian Church of

Koçolau. Cremation held. Condo-

lences: www.CrosbyNeal.com.

Arrangements by Crosby & Neal,

Newport, Maine.

CHARLES ISAO YAMASHIRO

91, of Honolulu, died Dec. 21,

2008. Born in Nïnole, Hawaiçi. Re-

tired MTL bus driver who formerly

owned Beauty Clothes Cleaners.

Survived by wife, Haruko; sons,

Daniel and Ronald; daughters,

Lillian Goda and Cynthia Mishina;

five grandchildren; a great-grand-

child; brothers, Harold and Minoru;

sister, Theresa Yamamoto. Visita-

tion 5 to 6 p.m. Friday at Hosoi

Garden Mortuary; service 6 p.m.

No flowers. Casual attire.

KATOSHI “KATO” YANO

94, of Honolulu, died Nov. 26,

2008. Born in Honolulu. Retired

Universal Motors journeyman parts

employee. Survived by wife,

Nancy Misao Yano; nieces;

nephews. Private service held.

Arrangements by Nuuanu Memor-

ial Park & Mortuary.

B2 | Saturday, December 27, 2008 The Honolulu Advertiser •

Share tributes and more online. Search and read our daily and past

obituaries, view family-written funeral notices and write a tribute in guest

books at honoluluadvertiser.com/obits.

HonoluluAdvertiser.com/obits

OBITUARIESThe Advertiser publishes obituaries about people of interest to itsreaders as a free public service. Obituaries may be submitted by

mortuaries or, with proof of death, by indi-viduals in writing. Fax 525-8037 or write toObituaries Editor, The Honolulu Advertiser,P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802. Include a

contact name and phone number. We reserve the right to edit forform, style and newsworthiness. Date of publication cannot be guar-anteed. To publish paid death notices, call the classified ads depart-ment at 521-9111.

Flag indicates

service in the

U.S. armed forces

RECENT DONATIONS

TO THE ADVERTISER

CHRISTMAS FUND

In Loving Memory of Florence Morinaga . . . . . . 1000

City Council Secretaries & City Council Administration -Gemma, Paulyne, Harriet, Ann, Mark, Faith, Dot, Sylvia, Nanette, Clayton,Colleen, & Ruth. . . . . . . . . . 395

Pali Momi - Respiratory Department Staff . . . . . . . . 344

The Staff at Queen's Federal Credit Union . . . . . 200

Eleanor Y. McCabe. . . . . . . 200

Elaine & Jamie Wong . . . . 200

James Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

In Memory of Derek Arita. . 100

In Memory of Barney Nakagawara . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Dan & Wilma Seeman . . . . 100

In Memory of Charles A.Wothke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Office of Council District VII - Sharleen, Corinne, Ryan & Ruth . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Ralph & Gregoria Aranita . . . 50

In Memory of Pete & Peggy Ewart . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

In Memory of Policarpio & Leonarda Pizarras Aneuber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Enid Pittman & Randi Creamer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Betty Joao . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

In Memory of Kenji & Mitsuo Sagawa . . . . . . . . . . . 25

In Memory of Brigit . . . . . . . . 20

Dana Kalima & Dawnyette Sheldon . . . . . . . 10

Anonymous . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,314

Previous total . . . 142,432.24

Grand total . . . . . 145,746.24

pany of go! airlines, admittingthat he and his co-pilot inad-vertently fell asleep about 9:33a.m. — 17 minutes after take-offfrom Honolulu. The two weresuspended and later fired.

The report says the flightcrew had been experiencing“operational stressors” beforethe incident, including being as-signed an aircraft with a “faultyflight management system” theday before. Also, on the day ofthe flight, the crew started 30minutes late because of a sched-uling error. That meant that thecrew had to rush during sever-al flights to make up for the de-lay.

The report said neither pilot

had ever inadvertently fallenasleep during a flight before.

But the captain did say he hadtaken “intentional naps” before.

After undergoing a sleep eval-uation, he was diagnosed with“severe obstructive sleep ap-nea,” which his doctor saidcould lead to “significant fa-tigue.”

The captain also reportedfeeling “burnt out” in recentmonths. The captain lived inMissouri and had been based inTennessee, before taking a tem-porary assignment in Kahuluiin January. The assignment wassupposed to last until Feb. 9,but was extended by 28 days.

The first officer of the flightsaid he had never fallen asleepon a flight before.

Reach Mary Vorsino at [email protected] or754-8286.

go!CONTINUED FROM B1

nomic base,” Khan said. “We’dlike to have a decision made bythe Hawaiian nation as to whathappens to those lands.”

Others at the rally such asTakamine and Clifford Hashimo-to, aliçi nui for the Royal Order,said they do not believe the stateshould sell or transfer cededlands — period.

Hashimoto, in a statement readby Royal Order spokesmanWilliam Souza, said “the fall ofthe Crown Lands will result inthe final solution of Hawaiians.The actions of the Old Order areback.”

Former OHA Trustee Adelaide“Frenchy” DeSoto said cededlands should be used to benefitNative Hawaiians by providingthem housing and health servic-es.

“Maybe our people don’t haveto be on their knees all the timebegging,” DeSoto said.

Native Hawaiian rights attor-ney Dexter Kaiama took issuewith the state’s position thatHawaiians may have a “moral”but not “legal” high ground whenit comes to ceded lands.

Rather than have a U.S. courtdecide what happens to cededlands, “ask your country to sub-mit itself to the internationalcourts,” Kaiama said.

The Lingle administration hasinsisted that it has and will con-tinue to support Native Hawaiiancauses and that its appeal to theU.S. Supreme Court, which is be-ing backed by a brief supportingthe appeal by 29 other states,does nothing to diminish that.

Attorney General Mark Ben-nett, after yesterday’s rally, alsoreiterated his view that the state’sposition on the case has notchanged since it was filed against

the Cayetano administration in1994.

The original lawsuits broughtby four Native Hawaiians andthe Office of Hawaiian Affairs,and then later joined, sought totemporarily halt the sale of about1,500 acres in Lahaina and Konato private interests to finance af-fordable-housing projects formoderate- and low-income fam-ilies regardless of whether theyhave Hawaiian blood, untilHawaiian claims to the lands hadbeen resolved.

“We continue to believe thatthe Hawai‘i Supreme Court’s de-cision was legally incorrect andthat it’s our responsibility to askthe U.S. Supreme Court to re-verse the decision because webelieve it was fundamentally,legally incorrect,” Bennett said.

The Lingle administration be-

lieves the issues raised by Na-tive Hawaiian groups should beaddressed by the legislativebranch of government, he said.That’s why both he and Linglehave lobbied hard for Congres-sional passage of the Akaka bill,which creates a process thatleads to federal recognition of aNative Hawaiian government en-tity.

There is no inconsistency inarguing that ceded lands are themanagerial jurisdiction of thestate government while lobby-ing for the Akaka bill, he said.

Some of the groups at yester-day’s rally oppose the Akaka billwhile others support it.

Ceded lands are the 1.2 millionacres once owned by the Hawai-ian government and subse-quently taken over by the U.S.as a result of the 1898 annexa-

tion. Those lands were thenpassed to the state and designat-ed for five purposes, includingbut not exclusively for the bet-terment of Native Hawaiians.They make up a bulk of state-owned lands and 29 percent ofthe state’s land mass.

Takamine said her groupplanned yesterday’s rally to co-incide with the Christmas vaca-tion visit by President-electBarack Obama in hopes in gain-ing his attention on the matter.

Takamine’s group is planninga larger event that will take placein Waikïkï on Jan. 17, the an-niversary of the 1893 overthrowof Liliu‘okalani, Hawai‘i’s lastmonarch.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang [email protected] 690-8908.

JEFF WIDENER | The Honolulu Advertiser

Kaho‘onei Panoke with the Ilioulaokalani Coalition spoke to the rally at the state Capitol.

RICHARD AMBO | The Honolulu Advertiser

Meg Genone, sales clerk at Pacific Fireworks on Nimitz Highway, puts out a sign showing the company has New Year’s fireworks for sale.

CHRISTMAS IS OVER, BRING ON THE NEW YEAR

LandsCONTINUED FROM B1

Faith MARY KAYE RITZ | 525-8035

PAGE B3

SATURDAY | December 27, 2008

EXPRESSIONS OF FAITH

By Joyce Lyon

CALENDARAdmission is free unless otherwise noted.See a comprehensive listing of events at www.honoluluadvertiser.com.KWANZAA OBSERVANCE, 6 p.m. Dec. 27,

Unity Church of Hawaiçi-Diamond Head. 735-

4436, www.unityhawaii.org .

HANUKKAH FESTIVAL BANQUET, “It’s About

Two Great Miracles That Took Place in

Jerusalem, 164 B.C.,” 6:30 p.m. Dec. 27, 960

Ähua St. No. 603, $12. Tickets: 349-0721.

KOREAN CHRISTIAN CHURCH 90th anniver-

sary celebration, 10:15 a.m. Dec. 28 worship

service, followed by community program and

feast, 1832 Liliha St.; 536-3538.

CHANUKAH EIGHTH LIGHT LIGHTING CER-

EMONY, 5:30 p.m. Dec. 28, Maui Mitzvah Cen-

ter, 360 Hoçohana St., Suite 208, Kahului, Maui;

$10 prepaid; 808-249-8770.

ST. ANDREW’S EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL

NEW YEAR’S EVE CELEBRATION, with 10:15

p.m. organ concert; 11 p.m. communion serv-

ice, and 12 a.m., blessing of the city, Dec. 31;

524-2822.

IZUMO TAISHAKYO MISSION traditional New

Year's blessings; with new ofuda and omamori

available, midnight Dec. 31 to 5 p.m. Jan 1; and

7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 2, 3 and 4, at the mis-

sion; 538-7778.

NEW YEAR’S LABYRINTH WALK AND EU-

CHARIST, a chance for contemplative prayer

for the past and new year, with communion

planned in the center of the labyrinth, 6 p.m.

Jan. 1, St. Clement’s Episcopal Church, Makiki;

955-7745.

STATEWIDE PRAYER WATCH, a time of fast-

ing and prayer, sponsored by a network of

Christian churches, doors open, 3 p.m.; pre-

event worship, 3:30 p.m., and event, 4 to 6:30

p.m. Jan. 3, Aloha Stadium; 456-7729.

Send announcements to: Faith Calendar, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802;[email protected], with “Faith Cal” in the subject line; or fax525-8055.

Conservative pastor not conservative enough for some

BY RACHEL ZOLLAssociated Press

Rick Warren is in a place henever expected to be: at the cen-ter of a culture war.

The pastor chosen by Presi-dent-elect Barack Obama togive the inaugural invocationbacked Proposition 8, whichbanned gay marriage in hishome state of California. But hedid so belatedly, with none ofthe enthusiasm he brings tofighting AIDS and illiteracy.

When other conservativeChristians held stadium ralliesand raised tens of millions ofdollars for the ballot effort,there was no sign of Warren.Neither he nor his wife, Kay,donated any of their consider-able fortune to the campaign,according to public records andthe Warrens’ spokesman.

In fact, his endorsementseemed calculated for minimalimpact. It was announced lateon a Friday, just 10 days beforeElection Day, on a Web sitegeared for members of his Sad-dleback Community Church,not the general public.

For gay rights advocates, thatstrategy was nothing more than

an attempt to mask Warren’sprejudice. They were outragedthat Obama decided last weekto give a place of honor to apastor they consider a generalfor the Christian right.

Lost in the uproar was theirony of Warren’s plight. Eversince he began his climb toprominence in the 1980s, he hasbattled complaints from fellowevangelicals that he isn’t nearly

conservative enough.“The comments from many

of the evangelicals further tothe right of him are often criti-

WEEKLY THOUGHTS

A child’s piggy bank is often foundin the home. It is a device to teach achild thrift. Mother would say to herchild, “Save your pennies. Put themin the piggy bank.” It is important totrain our children to save money, butit is also important to train them togive so they will derive pleasure ingiving freely and generously some-thing that is their own.

Thoughts by the late Rev. Paul Osumiare selected weekly by his family

In talking with people inHawaiçi, I encounter somewho are not happy to behere.

They are homesick andyearn to be someplace else.This is especially truearound the holidays, whenwe hear songs like “I’ll BeHome for Christmas.”

A few years ago, I had totravel from my home inHawaiçi to California to havesurgery. While I was there, afriend gave me a plaque thatread, “Home is where theheart is when your body has

to be some-place else.”

That hitthe nail onthe head forme.

It was noteasy to beaway fromthe familiarplace I

loved and felt so comfort-able.

Nevertheless, I was able toreason that:

1) This was not my perma-nent situation and it wouldpass.

And …2) I was there for a specif-

ic, important purpose. For those two reasons I

could relax and be content,for a time. You can bet whenthe time was right to returnto Hawaiçi, I appreciated it asnever before!

Too often, I take my life inHawaiçi for granted. And Imust admit there are thingsabout my home state thatdisturb me a lot. But, ofcourse, that would be truewherever I lived.

So, when irritations arise,it is again necessary for meto reason:

1) This is not my foreverhome. I’m just a-passin’through, and being a seniorcitizen I’ve already passedthrough the majority of mytime on this earth.

And …2) There is a home being

prepared for me which ismuch greater than anything Ican imagine.

How do I know? The Bibletells me so, in John 14:2 and 1 Corinthians 2:9.

When I accepted Jesus asmy savior my restlessnessbecame contentment, be-cause I then understoodthere was a purpose for mylife.

I don’t lose the peace andjoy I have today because ofsurgeries, problems andtears. But just as the ApostlePaul stated in Philippians4:11, I, too, have learned to becontent in whatever state Iam in, be it Nebraska whereI grew up, California in ahospital, or Hawaiçi where Ipresently live.

It matters little becausemy citizenship is in heavenaccording to Philippians3:20, and I’m just a-passin’through.

When Jesus was returningto heaven after his 33 yearson earth, he comforted histroubled disciples by tellingthem in John 14:1-3 that hewould be preparing a placefor them.

When my place is readyI’ll be raring to go, never tobe homesick again.

Joyce Lyon attends Faith Bap-tist Church in Kailua. She is amother and grandmother whoalso belongs to a Christianwriters’ group. Expressions ofFaith is a column that wel-comes submissions from pas-tors, priests, lay workers andother leaders in faith andspirituality. [email protected] or call 525-8035. Articlessubmitted to The Advertisermay be published or distrib-uted in print, electronic orother forms.

Lyon

No placelike our home inheaven

BY CATHY LYNN GROSSMANUSA Today

Worship services may still bethe nation’s most segregatedhour, but fewer congregationsare now completely white, findsa study comparing churches, syn-agogues and mosques last yearwith a decade ago.

The National CongregationsStudy says 14 percent of prima-rily white congregations report-ed no minorities in their midstlast year, compared with 20 per-cent in 1998.

Such steep change in a shortperiod is noteworthy because“religious traditions and organi-zations are widely considered tobe remarkably resistant tochange,” says sociology professorMark Chaves of Duke Universi-ty School of Divinity.

The study, in the journal Soci-ology of Religion, compares 1,505congregations in 2006-07 with1,234 in 1998. It is based on sur-veys by the National Opinion Re-

Galileo returns to gracePope pays tribute toastronomer considereda heretic 400 years ago

BY NICOLE WINFIELDAssociated Press

VVAATTIICCAANN CCIITTYY — GalileoGalilei is going from heretic tohero.

The Vatican is recasting themost famous victim of its Inqui-sition as a man of faith, just intime for the 400th anniversaryof Galileo’s telescope and theU.N.-designated InternationalYear of Astronomy next year.

Pope Benedict XVI paid tributeto the Italian astronomer andphysicist Sunday, saying he andother scientists had helped thefaithful better understand and“contemplate with gratitude theLord’s works.”

In May, several Vatican offi-cials will participate in an inter-national conference to re-exam-ine the Galileo affair, and topVatican officials are now sayingGalileo should be named the “pa-tron” of the dialogue betweenfaith and reason.

It’s quite a reversal of fortunefor Galileo Galilei (1564-1642),who made the first complete as-tronomical telescope and used itto gather evidence that the Earthrevolved around the sun. Churchteaching at the time placed Earthat the center of the universe.

The church denouncedGalileo’s theory as dangerous tothe faith, but Galileo defied itswarnings. Tried as a heretic in1633 and forced to recant, he wassentenced to life imprisonment,later changed to house arrest.

The church has for years beenstriving to shed its reputation forbeing hostile to science, in partby producing top-notch researchout of its own telescope.

In 1992, Pope John Paul II de-clared that the ruling againstGalileo was an error resultingfrom “tragic mutual incompre-hension.”

But that apparently wasn’tenough. In January, Benedict can-celed a speech at Rome’s La

Sapienza University after a groupof professors, citing the Galileoepisode and depicting Benedictas a religious figure opposed toscience, argued that he shouldn’tspeak at a public university.

The Galileo anniversary ap-pears to be giving the Vaticannew impetus to put the matter torest. In doing so, Vatican officialsare stressing Galileo’s faith aswell as his science, to show thetwo are not mutually exclusive.

At a Vatican conference lastmonth entitled “Science 400Years after Galileo Galilei,” theVatican No. 2, Cardinal TarcisioBertone, said Galileo was an as-tronomer, but one who “lovinglycultivated his faith and his pro-found religious conviction.”

“Galileo Galilei was a man offaith who saw nature as a bookauthored by God,” Bertone said.

The head of the Vatican’s Pon-tifical Council for Culture, whichco-sponsored the conference,went further. Archbishop Gian-franco Ravasi told Vatican Radiothat Galileo “could become forsome the ideal patron for a dia-logue between science and faith.”

He said Galileo’s writings of-fered a “path” to explore howfaith and reason were not in-

Associated Press library photos

St. Peter’s Basilica has loomed large in Rome’s skyline for hundreds of years, and many notable momentsin history occurred under its dome. Galileo’s fall from grace was one such moment, now revisited. SEE GALILEO, B4

Servicesmorediverse,poll says

Fellow evangelicals critical of Warren

SEE DIVERSITY, B4

ADVERTISER LIBRARY PHOTO | Aug. 16, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama chose Pastor Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation, whichangered gay rights advocates. Warren backed California’s Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage.

SEE WARREN, B4

Astronomer Galileo Galilei isgoing from heretic to hero in theCatholic Church’s eyes. TheVatican is rehabilitating its mostfamous victim of the Inquisition.

B4 | Saturday, December 27, 2008 The Honolulu Advertiser •

cal for his lax stance on their pas-sionate issues,” said Scott Thum-ma, a professor at Connecticut’sHartford Seminary who re-searches megachurches andwrites about the challenges forgay and lesbian Christians.

On paper, Warren might looklike any other religious tradi-tionalist. He is the son of a South-ern Baptist pastor, graduate of aSouthern Baptist seminary, andhis megachurch in Orange Coun-ty is part of the conservative de-nomination.

But Warren holds a differentworld view than his roots sug-gest.

He has spoken out against theuse of torture to combat terror-ism. He has joined the fightagainst global warming and, en-couraged by his wife, has put hisprestige and money behind help-ing people with AIDS. The War-rens have done so at a time whena notable number of conserva-tive Christians still consider thevirus a punishment from God.

“If you want to save a life, Idon’t care what your backgroundis and I don’t care what your po-litical party is,” Warren said in arecent interview with The Asso-ciated Press. “I think some ofthese humanitarian issues tran-scend politics, or ethnic or reli-gious beliefs.”

While many religious conser-vatives openly condemn Islamas inherently evil, Warren reach-es out to the American Muslimcommunity. This past Saturday,he gave the keynote address atthe convention of the MuslimPublic Affairs Council, based inLos Angeles.

“His social consciousness issomewhat left of center, but histheological, ethical stance is rightof center,” said the Rev. WilliamLeonard, a critic of the SouthernBaptist Convention and dean ofWake Forest Divinity School inNorth Carolina. “That’s the thingthat makes him potentially abridge person.”

Warren’s outlook has come ata price. Many from the Christ-ian right don’t trust him.

A registered independent whodoes not endorse candidates, hehas called old guard evangelicalactivists too partisan and overlyfocused on gay marriage andabortion.

In the run-up to the Saddle-back forum he led last Augustwith Obama and Republican Sen.John McCain, those giving War-ren the most grief were conser-vatives. They were convinced hewouldn’t be tough enough on

Obama. (Obama wound up stum-bling in his appeal to religiousvoters while answering Warren’squestion about when a baby getshuman rights. Obama said it was“above his pay grade” to respond“with specificity.”)

“For probably the last 25 years,evangelicalism became co-opt-ed, and for most people it be-came a political term,” Warrensaid. “And it got identified with acertain style of political lean-ings.”

The attacks on Warren stretchto how he presents the Gospel— watered-down and soft, ac-cording to his theologically tra-ditional critics.

Warren’s phenomenal best-seller, “The Purpose Driven Life,”which has sold more than 30 mil-lion copies worldwide, partly re-flects the self-help ethos of babyboomers, although he insists itisn’t an advice book and he de-fends its religious content.

Still, the tone of his writing isdeliberate. Warren, 54, is amonga generation of pastor-CEOs whouse marketing studies, pollingand census data to create con-gregations that will attract peoplewho never go to church. One ofWarren’s most important men-tors was the late Peter Drucker,considered the father of modernmanagement.

Warren started Saddlebackwith one other family in 1980 inCalifornia, a state with one ofthe lowest percentages of church-goers in the country. Saddlebacknow draws more than 22,000worshippers each week.

As the church grew, so did thecritiques. “The pioneers get thearrows,” he says.

Warren survives the pound-ing partly because of his person-al integrity. He donates 90 per-cent of his many millions in bookroyalties back to the church. Hesays he stopped taking a salaryfrom Saddleback six years ago.

No scandals have tainted his min-istry.

He is also one of the savviestleaders among his peers.

His speaking invitations rangefrom church groups to the DavosWorld Economic Forum and theUnited Nations. Saddleback’sreach is now so broad, it’s near-ly its own denomination.

Warren provides sermons,study materials and guidance tohundreds of thousands of clergyworldwide through pastors.comand his other Web sites. War-ren’s “40 Days of Purpose” spir-itual campaigns have been con-ducted in more than 20,000churches, and he recently joinedforces with Reader’s Digest tolaunch a multimedia global jug-gernaut based on his “PurposeDriven” writing.

Now he is trying to revolu-tionize faith-based humanitari-an work through his P.E.A.C.E.program. It unites local church-es, businesses and governmentsto fight poverty and disease, pro-mote peace, and combat what hecalls spiritual emptiness. The pi-lot project for this effort began in2005 in Rwanda, which has beendubbed the first “purpose-drivennation.”

It is no surprise that he andObama have become friendly.Each tries to operate outside astrict liberal-conservative divide,and has risked angering his sup-porters to do so.

“You can’t have a reformationwithout somebody opposing it,”Warren says. “If I wasn’t mak-ing a difference, nobody wouldbe paying attention.”

compatible.The Rev. John Padberg, a

church historian and the direc-tor of the Institute of JesuitSources at St. Louis University,said he suspected the Vatican’snew emphasis on Galileo’s faithcame from the pope himself.

“Pope Benedict XVI is ar-dently convinced of the congru-ence of faith and reason, and heis concerned, especially in thepresent circumstances, of givingreason its due place in the wholescheme of things,” he said.

While it is widely acceptedthat Galileo was a convincedCatholic, Padberg questionedwhether he could ever be ac-cepted as some kind of a posterchild for the faith and reasondebate. “That’s going to be along shot for an awful lot of peo-ple, on both sides, by the way,”

he said.Benedict, a theologian, has

made exploring the faith-reasonrelationship a key aspect of hispapacy, and has directed his dai-ly newspaper, L’Osservatore Ro-mano, in particular, to take upthe charge.

On Monday, the newspaperpublished a piece on the possi-bility of alien life on other plan-ets as well as one on the popeswho were “friendly” to astrono-my.

Benedict clearly is: In his Sun-day blessing, he noted that theVatican itself has its own merid-ian — an obelisk in St. Peter’sSquare — and that astronomyhad long been used to signalprayer times for the faithful.

But the Vatican’s embrace ofGalileo only goes so far.

There were plans earlier thisyear to give Galileo a perma-nent place of honor in the Vati-can to mark the anniversary ofhis telescope: a statue, to be lo-cated inside the Vatican gar-dens, donated by the Italian

aerospace giant FinmeccanicaSpA.

The plans were suspended af-ter some Vatican officials voiced“problems” with the initiative,said Nicola Cabibbo, the presi-dent of the Pontifical Councilfor Science. He declined to elab-orate.

Finmeccanica spokesmanRoberto Alatri said the Galileostatue was just an idea that nev-er got off the ground.

Italian news reports suggest-ed the Vatican simply didn’twant to draw so much perma-nent attention to the Galileoepisode, which 400 years on,still rankles some.

“The dramatic clash betweenGalileo and some men of theChurch left wounds that are stillopen today,” the Vatican’s chiefastronomer, the Rev. Jose Fu-nes, wrote recently in Osserva-tore. “The Church in some wayshas recognized its errors.

“Maybe it could do better.One can always do better,” hewrote.

search Center at University ofChicago. Margin of error is plusor minus 2.5 percentage pointsfor 2006-07 data, 3 percentagepoints for 1998 data.

The increase in diversity isonly among primarily whitechurches; black churches are assegregated as ever, Chaves says.The percentage of primarily

white congregations reportingat least some blacks rose from 27percent in 1998 to 36 percent;those reporting some Hispanicsrose from 24 percent to 32 per-cent.

Worship is also “more infor-mal and more enthusiastic byevery measure,” Chaves says,with more shouting, clappingand hands raised overhead inpraise. Use of drums in worshipjumped 70 percent from 1998.“We find drums almost every-where, even Catholic and Jewishservices,” he says.

Both clergy and congregationsare grayer now than in 1998. Theaverage age of the primary cler-gy person has risen from 48 to53, and one in three membersare over 60, up from one in four.This is partly because peoplelive longer, but also becausefewer young families join.

Two-parent families with chil-dren are less common than theyused to be, Chaves says, and“each generation ... seems to bejoining or returning at a slightlylower rate than the one beforeit.”

GalileoCONTINUED FROM B3

DiversityCONTINUED FROM B3

WarrenCONTINUED FROM B3

Associated Press library photo

Pope Benedict XVI leafs through a book of documents of the trial of Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei(1564-1642). The Pope paid tribute to Galileo on Sunday, honoring his works.

HECTOR MATA | Associated Press

Evangelical pastor Rick Warren holds a different world view than hisSouthern Baptist roots suggest. He has joined the fight against globalwarming and put his money behind helping people with AIDS.