Culture & Art

Aloha Saint Damien: Alleluia!

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

This is an ongoing blog about Father Damien from Molokai Dispatch reporter Megan Stephenson.

Saint Damien was also featured in a number of publications over the weekend, ranging from fellow Catholics commemorating, to national, leading newspapers.
• A parish from New York state blogged about the renamed St. Damien parish (http://blog.beliefnet.com/deaconsbench/2009/10/hawaiian-church-to-be-renamed-for-st-damien.html);
• An editorial appeared in the New York Times about the stigma of leprosy and Father Damien’s message (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/opinion/11sun2.html?_r=1);
• An article calling Damien the first Ironman for his endurance in American Spectator (http://spectator.org/archives/2009/10/09/the-first-ironman-of-hawaii);
• The Voice of America wrote of Damien’s story (http://www.voanews.com/english/AmericanLife/2009-10-09-voa25.cfm);
• USA Today asked if the honors of Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize and Damien’s sainthood inspired people (http://content.usatoday.com/communities/Religion/post/2009/10/barack-obama-sainthood-nobel-peace-prize-catholic-damien/1);
• The first news piece on Wikipedia’s news segment on Oct. 11 was Father Damien’s canonization (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)

A Hawaiian Hollywood

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

Molokai Film Festival premieres local documentary.

By Dan Murphy

The sixth annual Molokai Film Festival debuted in a new setting last weekend at Coffees of Hawaii in Kualapu`u. The festival, previously held at Duke Maliu Park in Kaunakakai, drew hundreds of Molokai residents who were treated to a night of live music and Hawaiian cultural films.

“I wanted the opportunity for all Hawaiian filmmakers to share their work. If you have the courage to make a film, there should be a place to show it,” said Kenny Burgmaier, the co-founded and organizer of the yearly event.

This year’s lineup consisted of 16 Hawaiian films including historical dramas, animations and documentaries. The event was headlined by the world premiere of “Meth on Molokai: Recovering from an Epidemic,” written and directed by Molokai native Matt Yamashita.

Aloha Saint Damien: What will you do to celebrate?

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

This is an ongoing blog about Father Damien by Molokai Dispatch reporter Megan Stephenson.

While this is a special day on Molokai, and around Hawaii – Governor Lingle has already proclaimed October 11 to be Saint Damien Day – there are four other special souls who will be sainted with Father Damien.
Sister Jeanne Jugan (1792-1879) of France, a nun with the Little Sisters of the Poor; Rafael Arnaiz Baron (1911-1938), a Spanish Cistercian; Francesc Coll y Guitart (1812-1875), also from Spain, he was a Dominican priest; and Zygmunt Szczesny Felinski (1822-1895), a Polish bishop.

The many Hawaiian groups that made the long journey to Europe have been posting their news via blogs and Twitter. The Boy Scouts of Oahu enjoyed Rome yesterday, visiting the Colesseum and attending Mass at St. Peter’s. Those in the Hawaiian Catholic Herald group, the official delegation from the Diocese of Honolulu (with Bishop Silva) posted the ‘Hawaiian pilgrims’ are headed to St. Peter’s Square around 7am (their time) for the canonization Mass. There blog can be found here: http://hawaiicatholicherald.wordpress.com/

In just a few hours, at 10pm Hawaiian time, Father Damien will become Saint Damien. Of course, it will be 10am local time, so it’s as if Hawaii gets a peek into the future!
Go out and celebrate!

Aloha Saint Damien: It’s Almost Time!

Friday, October 9th, 2009

This is an ongoing blog about Father Damien by Molokai Dispatch reporter Megan Stephenson.

I am also searching for contemporary news on Father Damien. There are two popular and notable blogs about the upcoming canonization: Countdown to St. Damien by the Honolulu Advertiser, and the Saint Damien Boy Scouts of Hawaii. Both are in the action: sending photos, videos and information back to Hawaii about the Belgian celebrations and (soon) the canonization ceremony in Rome.

One of the things the Advertiser reporter, Mary Vorsino (who is traveling with Honolulu Diocese Bishop Larry Silva) pointed out was how difficult it is to gauge how popular Father Damien is outside the Catholic, Belgian or Hawaiian worlds. A Google News search of ‘Father Damien’ brings up mostly articles from Catholic publications, Hawaiian publications, and a few AP article syndicated to other newspapers like the Philadelphia Inquirer. Not many US publications are picking up on this event.

But there are only eight American saints, and six Blessed persons ‘adopted’ because of their service to America, including Father Damien and Mother Mary. Out of over 10,000 saints by the Catholic Church in the past millennia, less than 20 people associated with America are astounding!

http://stdamienboyscouts.wordpress.com/
http://countdowntostdamien.honadvblogs.com/

Aloha Saint Damien: His Presence on Topside Molokai

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

This is an ongoing blog about Father Damien by Molokai Dispatch reporter Megan Stephenson.

In light of these recent thoughts, I am exploring Damien’s legacy on the very island he served. A week or so ago, I was driving on the Kalae Highway and saw a sign for a Kalaupapa exhibit. My nerdy self got excited: it combined my work, writing about Father Damien and his impact here on Molokai, and indulged my hobby of visiting museums.

So today, I went to the Molokai Museum and Cultural Center. It’s primarily the R.W. Meyer Sugar Mill Museum, dedicated to Rudolph Meyer, who started the sugar mill after he arrived on Molokai around 1848 as the public works superintendent. He worked closely with Damien during his tenure, often helping the missionary find the resources he needed.

Very understated, the Kalaupapa exhibit focused on the patients. There were many donated crafts, photos, and other artifacts from present patients in Kalaupapa: a coconut lamp, a wood-burned image of Father Damien, and black-and-white photographs of the peninsula, the nuns, and life throughout the years. The museum gave a very honest impression of how private the peninsula’s residents are, as well as the island’s protective nature of their privacy.

Setting it in Stone

Thursday, October 1st, 2009

Public opinion sought for Kalaupapa Memorial.

By Dan Murphy

The Hansen’s disease patients at Kalaupapa will not be around forever. But their history and the history of thousands of others who have passed before them will not be forgotten. In March, President Obama signed a bill that allowed a memorial to be built in honor of all those who were sent to Kalaupapa. Now the monument’s details are in the hands of the community.

The National Park Service (NPS) and Ka Ohana O Kalaupapa held joint public meetings on several islands including Molokai last week to discuss the particulars of the memorial. The meetings are the first step in a three-step process to select a design and location for the memorial. After public mana`o is collected, the NPS and Ka Ohana will select three alternative sites and a preferred site for the monument. If the preferred site passes the necessary environmental assessments and does not disturb any burial grounds or sacred lands, construction can begin.

“There are certain processes that we are required to go through by law, but we want to get this done as fast as we possibly can,” NPS Kalaupapa Superintendent Steve Prokop said.

A Long Night of Aloha

Monday, September 28th, 2009

Kama`aina Mano

Friday, August 14th, 2009

The shark and fisherman of Waikiki

Story and art by KK

Have you ever wondered why there are no shark attacks in Waikiki?  This mo`olelo tells the reason why there are no shark attacks in Waikiki.

In the days of old, Waikiki was very famous for its beautiful taro patches and wonderful sands that went miles out to the sea.

Inland from the beach, where Waikiki is now densely populated and filled with buildings and streets, the area was all lo`i kalo – lush taro patches fed by freshwater springs and streams.

Many fishermen would cast their nets out into the sea near Waikiki because there was an abundance of fish feeding from plentiful springs which nourished the ocean reefs and living things.

There was a man called Pau`ole, whose name means “never ending.” He was a very good farmer and fisherman. But for some reason, the fish were scarce in this wa kahiko (days of old) and not running for quite a long time. And the ‘ia kau la’i (dried fish) was beginning to run low.  So Pau`ole, went out into the sea, trying to find the fish to feed his Ohana.