The September 11th attack
Prayer, patriotism mix in Hawai'i churches

By Tanya Bricking
Advertiser Staff Writer

Everyday moments took on more poignancy here and across the nation yesterday as Americans found comfort in rituals.

Deborah Oyama of Kane'ohe, center, held hands with other church-goers during services yesterday at Windward United Church of Christ. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

At Hope Chapel Kane'ohe Bay, a large American flag hanging at the front of the church was the first clue that things were different on this Sunday.

Associate Pastor Aaron Suzuki started with a slide show with scenes from around the nation and around the world showing the outpouring of grief and sympathy for the victims of the terrorist attacks and unity with America.

"I've cried a lot this week," Suzuki said, "for people I don't even know." It showed him "we really are one," he said, putting his hand to his heart.

From Kane'ohe to Kahului, Maui, many Christian churches abandoned scheduled hymns and replaced them with more patriotic ones.

The stage at Farrington High School, where New Hope Christian Fellowship conducts its services, was draped in red, white and blue bunting. A flutist opened the service playing "God Bless America," and when worshippers recognized the song, they stood up and sang along, cheering when it was over.

Ala Lani United Methodist Church in Kahului handed out ribbons to churchgoers and invited them to write their feelings about Tuesday's events on a banner made by the church's youth group.

As the ripple effects of the disasters spread, public prayers went out:

Joan Deeks asked her Ala Lani 'ohana for prayers for grandson Noel DeWitt of Florida, who just finished Air Force basic training in Texas. "I was a little girl when they bombed Pearl Harbor," she said, "and now they've done it again."

Mildred Yoshimura sought prayers for nephew Glenn Nakamaru, a search-and-rescue specialist with the San Diego Fire Department, assisting with the rescue effort in New York.

The Ala Lani service closed with "The Battle Hymn of the Republic."

At Kawaiaha'o Church in Honolulu, where the work of missionaries first began on O'ahu, 10 American flags lined the columns below paintings of Hawaiian royalty.

Church member Walter Wakinekone, 80, said he's 75 percent Native Hawaiian, but he's never felt so American.

He was a civilian working at Pearl Harbor when it was attacked in 1941. He was here when Hawai'i became a state. And he is standing behind calls for war.

Wakinekone was among the millions around the world who heard sermons calling for peace on this day but could not reconcile that idea with his desire for revenge.

"Peace is not in my mind," he said. "I just don't believe in that word, peace. Whatever the U.S. thinks of doing is what I'll favor. Do what should be done."

Faith amid chaos

At Honolulu's Kawaiaha'o Church, 10 American flags lined the columns below paintings of Hawaiian royalty. Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser

"It is time to turn back to spirituality," said the Rev. Fred Sterling, who spoke at the Honolulu Church of Light about finding strength through prayer. "It may be the only thing that will get us through this."

Rabbi Itchel Krasnjansky of Chabad Lubavitch of Hawai'i was preparing yesterday for Rosh Hashana. Services begin tonight and call for reflections on man's beginnings and his place in the world, Krasnjansky said. Judaism teaches that each individual has the power to change the world.

"What happened Tuesday showed us the destruction one person or group of people can bring about," he said. "One of the tenets of Judaism is that the power of the Godly, the holy, the sacred and the good is more powerful than the forces for evil."

Krasnjansky said he will ask his congregation to reflect on the capacity for positive action in light of tragic acts of last week.

"This forces us to get off the fence," he said. "We can't be passive. We must recommit our lives to do good."

At Buddhist temples, the message also was one of peace.

"In the Buddhist word of Dharmapada, hatred is not overcome by hatred," said Shigenori Makino, associate chief minister at Honpa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in Honolulu. "Hatred is overcome by love."

The Lihu'e Hongwanji Mission in Kapaia, Kaua'i, started with a moment of silence for the people who passed away.

At the Manoa Ward, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Darren Wong gave a sermon about getting through the heartache and outrage.

"This is not the first time the United States has come under attack, and as in times past, the adversity has galvanized our commitment and love for our country and has opened our hearts in greater measure to each other," he said. "This tragedy was a wake-up call to the American people for not only our physical safety and way of life, but more importantly in our spiritual and personal convictions."

At Lihu'e United Church, which rang a bell in memory of the victims, Pastor Wesley Elmore told his flock that terrorism "is evil. There is no good in this."

He said the appropriate response is to turn to face the danger and turn to God, not to turn away.

"One of the images is the firefighters, who, despite the danger, still went, seeking to save lives," he said. He used the language of the 23rd Psalm, which includes the words, "I will fear no evil."

The Manoa-Punahou Catholic Community received a message in the weekly bulletin from the Rev. Marc Alexander talking about his own anger:

"It's almost embarrassing for me to admit the thoughts and feelings I had against the perpetrators of this horrific act of terrorism," he said, but he wrote that he also found comfort in a Psalm about delivery from evil.

Catholic parishioners at Holy Cross Church in Kalaheo, Kaua'i, heard Father Christopher Keahi warn that dangers remain, but that America is growing stronger in response to the crisis.

He said the nation is coming together as a people and also finding its way back to the church.

Keahi warned that Americans must not mistreat Arab Americans in the way Japanese Americans were treated during World War II.

And at Central Union Church in Honolulu, the Rev. Ted Robinson said, "there are times when war is just — when one must rise up in self-defense, or when one must meet violence or the slaughter of the innocents." He added, however, that violence "must not be selfish."

"Violence that is directed against evil is sometimes necessary, but it must be disciplined in the service of God and humanity," he said, quoting Thomas Paine's reminder that "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must ... undergo the fatigue of supporting it."

He and religious leaders said this is a good time find joy in what is good.

"If we were told we were going to be annihilated in five minutes, every one of us would be on the phone with family because we'd want to say, 'I love you,' " he said. "Why wait until that moment?"

Merne Farrell, a deaconess there, can relate to the spectrum of emotions that come along with love and war.

She said she was blessed to learn her daughter went to vote before going to her marketing job at the World Trade Center on Tuesday. Joanne Farrell called her mother at 3 a.m. Hawai'i time to give her the good news.

The rest of Merne Farrell's week has not been as reassuring.

"I'm feeling very thankful," she said. "But I have a son in the reserves, and he's been called up. So that's not so happy."

Patriotism and prayer

Yesterday was a time for meditation in many places statewide, on sailboats and seashores and in unlikely spots for sanctuary.

At Warriors Lounge inside the Hale Koa, shell lei and worship programs lined the counters as the Waikiki military hotel bar became a gathering place for the faithful.

Heightened security measures closed the Protestant chapel at Fort DeRussy, so hymns poured out from a cocktail lounge and a chaplain took the stage to give comfort to an audience made up largely of retired military couples on vacation.

Fort DeRussy Chapel Senior Pastor Terry Whiteside said prayers must continue, even without explanations for pain.

"Father, we do not know the answer to why," he said. "We do not know what tomorrow holds. Yet we hold onto our faith."

Joe Yakemonis, of Glendale, Calif., a retired Air Force veteran who served for 22 years, said he came looking for peace of mind, and he found it.

Charlene Kaufman, of Sacramento, Calif., wiped away tears as said she took time from her vacation to pray because she needed "a sense of comfort."

Barbara Lee, who used to sing for chaplains at their services during World War II, was so moved she could barely even speak.

"I can't sing because I feel very weepy and sad for our country," said Lee, 76, of Pearl City, who left the service early because she was overcome with emotion. "I feel so sad that this happened to our country, and I feel our country must turn to God."

Advertiser staffers Dan Woods, Christie Wilson, Jan Tenbruggencate, Karen Blakeman and Rod Ohira contributed to this report. Reach Tanya Bricking at tbricking@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8026.

Correction: A previous version of this story transposed the first and last name of the Rev. Shigenori Makino.