Interfaith

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Lo'i (Taro Cultivation) Photo Credit: Bishop Museum

I did not go looking for interfaith.  It found me.  Scott and Lori Hurd, new friends in Waipahu, are missionaries with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  They encouraged me to help get the religions together in this side of the island.  

Together, we were able to get fourteen different partners together for our second gathering, held at my church.  We will continue to meet at Waipahu United Church of Christ as we get our feet on the ground.  Our church members Maurice and Clarence are involved, so I feel there is support for our church's involvement at the beginning. 

As I love wordplay, I thought of the acronym L-O-I, for Leeward O`ahu Interfaith.  In Hawaiian, the word lo`i refers to a tradition cultivated wetland for taro farming.  The people liked the word association, so maybe it will stick. 

There are reminders of what I did, and our faith partners did, in Central Michigan and in higher education for over a decade.  But this time, I am not an institutional chaplain, but rather a church pastor.  Also this time, I am more aware of the dynamics behind such movements.

Interfaith is inherently unpredictable, more so even than intercultural work.  As I told the Hurds, the work is akin to herding cats.

Photo Credit: ProjectMetrics.co.uk


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