For the past 16 years, the Hawaii Catholic Herald has hosted an annual “Lenten Luncheon,” gathering diocesan staffers to share meatless recipes right before Ash Wednesday. The event not only provides eager office cooks a chance to savor fare for Lent’s meat-free Fridays, but is as well an opportunity for friends and co-workers to sit down at table as one ohana.

“We’ve always seen it as a ministry.” Ed Coda sits in a conference room at the Honolulu office of his family-run financial planning business. He and his wife Betty on Oct. 26 are taking time out of their day job to reflect on the other major work they’ve undertaken for the last three decades — teaching Natural Family Planning.