This year’s Marianist VILAC (Valley Isle Liturgy and Arts Conference) will be presented as a Lenten retreat/conference for the Maui vicariate at St. Anthony Church in Wailuku, March 3 and 5.
The conference will open with a free concert at 7 p.m. March 3 with noted composers Jesse Manibusan (“Open My Eyes”) and Father Michael Joncas (“On Eagle’s Wings”).
The conference continues on Saturday, March 5, with a prayer service, keynote talk and workshops.
Conference workshops include “Keynote Follow-up Workshop,” “Pope Francis: His Life and Thought,” “Practical Applications of Mercy on Maui Today,” “Music Ministry Today,” “Living Aloha” and “Brainstorming Volunteer Opportunities.”
In addition to the co-keynote speakers Manibusan and Father Joncas, presenters include Kevin Newell, Joe Camacho, Joe Farias, Paulette Ching, kumu hula Sissy Lake-Farm and Toni Bissen of the Pu‘a Foundation.
The conference theme is “Iko makou mau ola. Hana oe iko makou mau ola — The Spirit of Malia: Let your will be done through our lives.”
Organizers explain the theme as adapting the spirit of the Jubilee Year of Mercy where the spirit of Malia, the Spirit of Mary, is the model of how to respond to Jesus’ call to mercy: mercy to the poor, the forgotten, the marginalized, the prisoners, the homeless, the hungry. In the spirit and example of Malia, the response is, “let your will be done through our lives.”
For more information and to register, go to www.marianistvilac.wordpress.com, email vilacmaui@gmail.com or call Rosie Johnson at 385-8049.