The diocesan Office of Clergy is sponsoring this month a two-and-a-half-hour orientation session about the Catholic Micronesian culture for local clergy to help them better understand Hawaii’s newest immigrant group.
Two experts in Micronesian anthropology will present “Who is My Neighbor: Chuukese Catholic Immigrants in Hawaii,” 9:30 a.m.-noon, Aug. 8, at St. Stephen Diocesan Center on Kaneohe. They are:
Julie Walsh, a faculty specialist at the Center for Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. Walsh, who has a doctorate in anthropology, teaches courses about Pacific island communities with emphases on Micronesia. Her research into the Marshall Islands started when she served there as a Jesuit International Volunteer from 1990 to 1992. In 2012 she published “Etto Nan Raan Kein: A Marshall Islands History,” a high school history textbook used in Marshall Islands schools. She co-founded the non-profit organization, Small Island Networks, and has provided training in cultural competency for Hawaii’s state agencies and non-profit communities.
Jocelyn Howard, a teaching assistant with the Center for Pacific Islands Studies. Howard earned degrees in anthropology and biology from the University of Hawaii-Hilo after emigrating to Hawaii in 1989 from her home island of Onoun in Namwonweito Atoll, in Chuuk State. She was the first director of Goodwill Hawaii’s Imi Loa employment education program, and has provided numerous cross-cultural competency trainings through various organizations across the state. She is currently a master’s degree candidate in the Myron B. Thompson School of Social Work.
Micronesia consists of many nations, cultures and languages. The largest population of Micronesian Catholics comes from the state of Chuuk. Smaller Catholic populations can be found in the Marshall Islands, Yap and Pohnpei. Micronesians immigrate to Hawaii as a result of their nations’ Compact of Free Association with the U.S.
Walsh and Howard will discuss cultural values and cultural differences, the challenges of prejudice and racial stereotyping of Micronesians in Hawaii, and their needs in the areas of housing, health, employment and education.
Walsh and Howard will explain the challenges of the Chuukese people trying keep and practice the Catholic faith, the structure of the local Chuukese Catholic Association and its connections with its home Diocese of the Caroline Islands.
The presentation will offer concrete ways of engaging Chuukese immigrants in long-term relationships based on mutual understanding and appreciation.
This orientation is open to all clergy. To register, contact the Office of Clergy at 585-3343 or dcachola@rcchawaii.org. Lunch will be served.
