Where We Worship
Religious Science 'very welcoming'

By Zenaida Serrano Espanol
Advertiser Staff Writer

• Name of church: Religious Science Church of Honolulu, also known as the Center for Positive Living
• Our denomination or affiliation: Religious Science International, based in Spokane, Wash.
• Where we are: The center's administrative office, Hale Aloha, is at 2926 Woodlawn Drive in Manoa. Members gather for services, called Celebrations of Life, on Sundays at the Ala Moana Hotel.
• Our numbers: 300-400
• Our leader: The Rev. Frank White, director and senior minister
• What we believe (our mission statement): "This church exists solely to teach and promote a healthier, happier, more prosperous and loving approach to living based on a recognition of the Oneness of all things and an understanding of spiritual law." "We're generally in the category that is called New Thought," White said. The teaching of religious science is called science of mind and was developed in the 1920s by an American philosopher named Ernest Holmes. "If I were to try to sum our philosophy up in a single sentence, it would be, 'It is done unto you as you believe,'" White said. "That's our basic premise, is that we create our experience through our belief system — how we think and what we do. And so we really work on the power of the mind in determining one's experience. "We see God as a principle, not a personality, and we believe that God is all there is. So regardless of how we may be living our lives or how our lives may appear — that, too, is God — if it's not something we like very much, then we can change it by changing our thinking. Ernest Holmes used to say, 'Change your thinking, change your life,' and that's what we endeavor to do, is help people change their thinking in order to create a better experience." White added that they believe strongly in "the power of what most people call prayer; we call it spiritual mind treatment."
• Our history: The center was founded in 1978 as the Community Church of the Islands. Its founding minister was the Rev. Marlene Oakes, and it was originally affiliated with Divine Science. The Rev. Helen Street became its minister in 1981, at which time it became affiliated with Religious Science International.
• We're excited about: "We're pleased that in June we'll have the Rev. Dr. Jay Scott Neale, who is one of the outstanding ministers in Religious Science International," White said. Neale, a minister of the Religious Science Church in Fremont, Calif., will be a guest speaker June 10 at the church's Celebration of Life. The center is also working on plans for its 20th anniversary celebration in July when, White said, the church will be recognized for its 20 years of service to Religious Science International at an annual conference in Asilomar, Calif.
• What's special about us: The Religious Science Church of Honolulu is the only Religious Science Church on O'ahu and is one of four Religious Science Churches in the state. The other churches are in Kona, Hilo and Kihei. White said he is proud that Religious Science churches are inclusive. He said, for example, that a majority of their ministers are women, and that its members are multicultural and multi-racial. "If everybody is an expression of God, how can you (discriminate)?" White said. "So we're very welcoming."
• Contact: 988-6907, e-mail info@HonoluluReligiousScience.org or visit www.HonoluluReligiousScience.org. The church also has a 24-hour "Dial an Inspiration" number, which White calls a "a mini-lesson in spiritual mind treatment." Call 988-1587.

If you would like to recommend your church, temple or faith organization for a Where We Worship profile, e-mail faith@honoluluadvertiser.com, call 535-8174 or write: Where We Worship, Faith Page, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802.

Correction: The Web site for the Religious Science Church of Honolulu is www.HonoluluReligiousScience.org. A wrong Web address was given in a previous version of this story.