Paulist Father Ricky Manalo
Musician-composer Paulist Father Ricky Manalo will be the featured artist at this year’s Marianist HILAC (Hawaiian Islands Liturgy and Arts Conference) March 15-16.
Father Manalo, 2018 winner of the prestigious Pastoral Musician of the Year award, will perform with recording artist Lori True and Hawaii composer Joe Camacho at the conference’s opening concert, 7 p.m., March 15 in the Mystical Rose Oratory on the Chaminade University/St. Louis School campus in Kaimuki.
The concert will also feature liturgical dance, sacred gesture and hula in the spirit of this year’s theme: “Come Share the Journey: Hua ka‘i hele ‘ia makou.”
HILAC continues on March 16 with a slate of prayer, panels and workshops. This year’s keynote presentation will again be part of the Father Robert Mackey, S.M., Marianist Lectures Series, “Catholicism in Prophetic Dialogue,” but with a twist. It will be a dialogue, featuring panels on “LGBTQ” and “Medical Aid in Dying: An Interfaith Perspective.”
Members of the panel from Catholic, Protestant and Buddhist communities will share their respective traditions’ teachings and pastoral practices on these sensitive topics. Ben Gutierrez of Hawaii News Now will moderate the discussions and the follow-up workshops.
Father Manalo will also share new music and ways to integrate diversity in worshipping communities with his workshops “On the Horizon: New Songs for the Latest Forecast,” and “Do You See What I See? The Three Cultural Lenses for Pastoral and Liturgical Ministry.”
Camacho and Father Alapaki Kim of the Diocese of Honolulu will lead a workshop demonstrating how to incorporate the wisdom of native Hawaiian culture into worship.
True will present a workshop on the skills needed by those engaged in music ministry.
Live entertainment, food and prayer services will round out this special biennial program. Formerly held in the fall, the spring date for HILAC makes it a timely Lenten event. It provides both a retreat atmosphere on the beautiful school campus and an opportunity for deepening the understanding and practice of the faith.
This year’s free concert and a reduced registration fee make the program more accessible to all ages.
Marianist HILAC begins 7 p.m. March 15 with the Friday concert. The Saturday program includes light refreshments, coffee, tea and a boxed lunch. The program ends at about 4:15 p.m.
For more information, go to www.marianisthilac.com or contact Brother. Dennis Schmitz, SM,baldschmitz@aol.com, 232-6691, or Marianist Center of Hawaii, 3140 Waialae Avenue, Honolulu, HI 96816.
