Evangelicals join ice campaign
By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer
A group that wants Hawai'i to be the first Christian state in the country and advocates Bible reading and prayer in schools is launching a prayer and fasting campaign to fight the ice problem here.
Led by a former Puerto Rico televangelist and a rabbi licensed with a Christian denomination, Assemblies of God, the organization purchased a $2,800 full-page advertisement in The Honolulu Advertiser on Thursday announcing a meeting at 7 p.m. Jan. 13 at 1270 Queen Emma St., Suite 305.
The advertisement featured a letter of aloha to the organization from Gov. Linda Lingle in which Lingle sent "warm greetings to all who have come together for the purpose of working to end the 'ice' epidemic in Hawai'i."
That doesn't mean the governor endorses the group, however, said Lingle's press secretary, Russell Pang.
Pang said the staffer who sent the letter to Pray Hawai'i asked how it would be used, but received no indication it would show up in an ad.
"Normally, we do like to know how and where these messages will be used. ... The governor issues proclamations, letters to hundreds, thousands of groups," Pang said. "It's not uncommon. It's a message of good will and congratulations. It's not an endorsement."
Pray Hawai'i's upcoming meeting will be at Rabbi Daniel Vargas' church, Family Life Church, at the Queen Emma Building.
"Our ministry is a messianic ministry, which means my family, which is from Israel, ministers to Christians that are Jewish, or Jews that have become Christian," Vargas said, but added that Pray Hawai'i is not affiliated with Assemblies of God.
Vargas, who is pictured in the advertisement blowing a shofar, or trumpet made from a ram's horn, has been the statewide prayer coordinator for the Hawai'i Christian Coalition for three years.
Charlotte Miyoko Kaide, who lives on the Big Island, said she founded Fast and Pray International, which had a weekly TV broadcast in Puerto Rico. She and Vargas created the Pray Hawai'i organization, and she said her group is also seeking to turn Hawai'i into "the first Christian state." She said the organization also hopes to bring about prayer in schools as well as the reading of the Bible in schools.
That news surprised Department of Education spokesman Greg Knudsen.
"Students are afforded individual rights to exercise their religion, but there are clear prohibitions against state-led religious activities," Knudsen said. "We don't know what form (their requests) would take, but there's an absolute line against having the teachers and administrators involved in having the promotion of any religion. We follow the federal guidelines on that."
Reach Mary Kaye Ritz at 525-8035 or mritz@honoluluadvertiser.com.
