La Salette Father Efren Tomas celebrates his 44th jubilee. (Courtesy Audie Pascual)
Special to the Herald
Christ the King Church in Kahului had a busy Lenten season, hosting multiple events for its own parishioners and for faithful across Maui.
On March 22, Christ the King hosted a music ministry workshop for Maui music ministers. Led by the diocese’s Office of Worship, the gathering featured songs, prayers, informative dialogue and a review of Bishop Larry Silva’s recommendations for music ministers. Bishop Silva encourages congregations’ participation in singing and not just listening to the choir.
Christ the King parishioners celebrated the 44th ordination anniversary of their pastor, La Salette Father Efren Tomas, on March 25 with a potluck dinner and entertainment.
The Eucharistic Women of the Cross ministry on March 29 led a pilgrimage to other churches on March 29 (known as a “visita iglesia”) with about 50 participants. The churches visited were St. Anthony in Wailuku, and Our Lady Queen of Angels Church and Holy Ghost Mission in Kula.
At St. Anthony, Father Ese’ese “Ace” Tui spoke about the history of the church. He mentioned that St. Damien and St. Marianne Cope started their missions there. He also explained the story of the church’s beautiful stained-glass windows.
Mary Jean Bega discussed the history of Holy Ghost Mission, including that the Portuguese community was instrumental in building the church. (Even the captions under the Stations of the Cross images are written in Portuguese.) Mary Ann Turek spoke on the history of the Divine Mercy.
At Our Lady Queen of Angels the group walked through and prayed the stations of the cross, utilizing the church’s outdoor stations constructed by its pastor, La Salette Father Anton Nyo. The pilgrimage ended with a picnic lunch on the church grounds, prayer and song.