Moanalua High School students in the award-winning orchestra have proudly raised $200,000 over the last 6 years through their annual holiday concert.
These students, who have performed at Carnegie Hall in New York three times, don’t keep the money to buy new instruments, travel abroad or help their school.
Instead, they send $30,000 they raise every year overseas to a well-known charity, Mercy Ships, which is current housing American doctors in Africa on a medical mission. These doctors help the poorest of residents – some who have never seen a doctor – with urgent medical and dental needs.
It is the students’ gift to the world during the holidays and their chance to make difference for others in need.
The seventh annual fundraiser was set for this weekend, and students have been practicing for months to ensure their performance was perfect.
But an atheist activist, who has shown up to protest city hall Christmas tree lighting ceremonies as well as city council hearings and legislative events where there is prayer, has turned up as their Christmas Grinch and put a stop to the kids’ best-laid plans just hours before the show.
Mitch Kahle, founder of Hawaii Residents for Separation of Church and State, wrote a letter to the Department of Education on “Freedom from Religion Foundation” stationary on December 3 demanding state officials stop the concert. He claimed the public high school was in cahoots with New Hope, one of Hawaii’s largest Christian churches.
It’s true that some of the New Hope parishioners volunteered to sell tickets or work on the set. But the concert is run by school staff and features its students, and tickets are sold both on campus and by phone. One hundred percent of the proceeds go to Mercy Ships. Historically, Mercy Ships, which has been the beneficiary of the concert for 4 years, used the $30,000 from Moanalua’s concert to get another $30,000 from matching donors.
“People are assuming this is a New Hope event when it is not. They cancelled a high school event,” said Chad Brownstein, a volunteer with the concert, graduate of the school and employee of New Hope.
“For the people at New Hope, this not an issue because they (activists) are not fighting against New Hope. But the students had practiced and rehearsed and were excited to do it.”
Michael W. Perry, Hawaii’s best-known radio talk show host, has been covering the controversy extensively on his morning show on KSSK, a Clear Channel station.
“It is an unfortunate situation in which one person writing one letter to the DOE has disrupted a $30,000 fundraiser going on for 6 years now, and for what reason? He claims the Constitution says there can be no involvement with school and church and there is no such statement in the Constitution,” Perry said.
Donalyn Dela Cruz, director of Communications for the DOE, said the decision announced Monday to cancel the Friday concert was made by the DOE after consultation with the Attorney General’s office.
“The Department applauds both the students who were hoping to provide this concert, as well as the charitable purpose behind it. However, after some consideration, the Department realized that the concert could have been better structured,” Dela Cruz said.
Kahle is Hawaii’s only well known atheist who makes God an issue.
He’s protested the police department using the words “so help me God” in their oath of office, and got the Honolulu Police Department to remove the words from the oath in September 2002.
On his web site, Kahle proclaims proudly under a cartoon poking fun at the police, that “God Gets the Boot!”
Kahle appears to enjoy the media attention, because he has his media mentions posted prominently throughout his web site dating back for several years including the most exposure he’s had in an interview with Bill O’Reilly on Fox’s O’Reilly Factor.
But besides threatening letters that on occasion are backed by the ACLU, and the tantrums he’s thrown at city hall and the legislature when God is mentioned, Kahle has had few actual legal successes.
His group is made up of a handful of atheists who want God banished from the planet. One of his main sidekicks is his wife Holly Huber.
Kahle doesn’t win in court so much as he gets his way by getting people in government to simply bend to his wishes through bullying and threats.
He has intimidated Senate leadership into cancelling its daily prayer during the 60-working day session.
He’s pushed the Honolulu City Council leadership into cancelling only prayer a month typically held before its monthly meeting.
He’s harassed the military until it took a cross down from its property.
And when loved ones lost their family members on Mothers’ Day, May 9, 1999, during a tragic land slide at Sacred Falls park, and they posted eight small crosses by the roadside in remembrance, Kahle insisted the state remove them from the public sidewalk.
Kahle also takes credit for getting Boy Scouts programs and oath restricted on public school campuses in 2002, getting the phrase “I believe in God” removed from Navy youth cards, as well as getting “God Bless America “removed from the tax department and health department facilities shortly after the 9-11-2001 terrorist attack on America.
“I guess it is not a career enhancing move to have your government agency sued, because you stood up to this guy, but someone needs to,” said KSSK’s Perry.
“The DOE is in ‘duck and cover mode’ because of one guy and one letter. There are all kinds of organizations that would be happy to take him on and win. But he wins because they quickly capitulate.”
Perry, who emcees the City Hall Christmas Tree lighting celebration, experienced Kahle’s protests firsthand when Kahle, in front of thousands of children, tried to shout down the Buddhist and Christian religious leaders offering prayers ahead of the tree lighting.
When Perry took the stage, he told the children that “someone probably wouldn’t be getting a visit from Santa Claus”, and their laughter drowned out his Kahle’s protests.
“It is infuriating, this one little gnat keeps buzzing around. That one person who just uses threats can get his way and stop something that will really help people in need.”
There have been government officials who have stood up to Kahle.
House Speaker Calvin Say, a Democrat who represents Palolo, refused to ban prayer in the House of Representatives’ daily sessions even after Senate’s Democrat leadership capitulated.
Despite the ban on prayer in the Senate, Senate Minority Leader Sam Slom also rebuts Kahle’s demands by mentioning God every day in his closing remarks. Kahle is often there with his wife filming Slom.
While the student concert will not go on, New Hope will try to make up for the $30,000 that was promised Mercy Ships, by holding its own concert on Friday, December 7.
The event will take place at 290 Sand Island Access Road at 7:30 p.m.
Ticket holders to The Gift of Hope Charity Concert may use those tickets to attend the New Hope concert. Refunds from the Moanalua Winter program are also available Friday night at New Hope’s weekend services or at Moanalua High School. Brownstein said all refunds unclaimed after December 21st will be donated to Mercy Ships.
More on the web
https://www.enewhope.org/news/000768/
If you are an athiest, doesn't that mean you don't believe it God? If you don't believe in Him why do you care? I don't believe in The Easter Bunny. Santa Claus, Spiderman or Tinkerbell – does that mean if I write a letter children in public schools mustn't draw them, have school bags with their pictured on? Should we remove Santa – oh, and the Elves – from the Honolulu Chritmas lights (or is it Holiday lights, now – excuse my lack of PC-ness).
This nation's founding fathers believed in God and based the constitution on Christian values. Separation of Church and State was meant to protect the Church from interference by the State – not vice versa – they must be turning in their graves …
Hmm, not sure which founding fathers you refer to…do you mean the ones who ratified the Treaty of Tripoli, which states in article 11…"as the united states is not in ANY sense founded on the christian religion…" those founders?
Point me to where in the constitution it mentions the Christian religion… or even religion in general. The Supreme Court of the United States chooses how to interpret the constitution, and they have often upheld Thomas Jefferson's "wall of separation" ideal. Government and church to be kept strictly separate.
Let me debunk your founding fathers claim right here and now:
1. "Christianity is the most perverted system that ever shone on man"- Thomas
Jefferson
2. "The hocus-pocus phantasm of a God like another Cerberus, with one body and three heads, had its birth and growth in the blood of thousands and thousands of martyrs." -Thomas Jefferson
3. "It is too late in the day for men of sincerity to pretend they believe in the Platonic mysticisms that three are one, and one is three; and yet the one is not three, and the three are not one- Thomas Jefferson
4. "And the day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. But we may hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away with all this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this the most venerated reformer of human errors."- Thomas Jefferson
5. "There is not one redeeming feature in our superstition of Christianity. It has made one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites."- Thomas Jefferson
6. "Lighthouses are more useful than churches."- Ben Franklin
.
7. "The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason."- Ben Franklin
8. "I looked around for God's judgments, but saw no signs of them."- Ben Franklin
9. "In the affairs of the world, men are saved not by faith, but by the lack of it."- Ben Franklin
10. "This would be the best of all possible worlds if there were no religion in
it"- John Adams
11. "The New Testament, they tell us, is founded upon the prophecies of the Old; if so, it must follow the fate of its foundation.'- Thomas Paine
12. "Of all the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst."- Thomas Paine
13. "I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Turkish Church, by the Protestant Church, nor by any Church that I know of. My own mind is my own Church. Each of those churches accuse the other of unbelief; and for my own part, I disbelieve them all."- Thomas Paine
14. "Take away from Genesis the belief that Moses was the author, on which only the strange belief that it is the word of God has stood, and there remains nothing of Genesis but an anonymous book of stories, fables, and traditionary or invented absurdities, or of downright lies."- Thomas Paine
15. "All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit."- Thomas Paine
16. "It is the fable of Jesus Christ, as told in the New Testament, and the wild and visionary doctrine raised thereon, against which I contend. The story, taking it as it is told, is blasphemously obscene.”- Thomas Paine
17. "Religious controversies are always productive of more acrimony and irreconcilable hatreds than those which spring from any other cause. Of all the animosities which have existed among mankind, those which are caused by the difference of sentiments in religion appear to be the most inveterate and distressing, and ought most to be depreciated. I was in hopes that the enlightened and liberal policy, which has marked the present age, would at least have reconciled Christians of every denomination so far that we should never again see the religious disputes carried to such a pitch as to endanger the peace of society."- George Washington
18. "The Bible is not my book, nor Christianity my profession."- Abraham Lincoln
19. "It may not be easy, in every possible case, to trace the line of separation between the rights of religion and the Civil authority with such distinctness as to avoid collisions and doubts on unessential points. The tendency to unsurpastion on
one side or the other, or to a corrupting coalition or alliance between them, will be best guarded agst. by an entire abstinence of the Gov't from interfence in any way whatsoever, beyond the necessity of preserving public order, and protecting each sect agst. trespasses on its legal rights by others."- James Madison
20. "Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise."- James Madison
2.) Jefferson prefaced your quote (directed not towards Christianity, by the way) with "No historical fact is better established, than that the doctrine of one God…" Indicating the factualness of this doctrine in history.
3.) Jefferson was expressing his skepticism to John Adams at the doctrine of the Trinity (God the Father, Son & Holy Spirit). He clearly held to his belief in God as fact, but was concerned about the "religious" systems created over and above the doctrines of Christ.
4.) Jefferson again expressing his views to John Adams regarding the attributes of God and giving no place to human constructions. This was a closing statement in his letter… the entirety of the letter is a tremendous testimony to Jefferson's belief in God and his defense of Jesus Christ. "…I hold (without appeal to revelation) that when we take a view of the Universe, in it's parts general or particular, it is impossible for the human mind not to percieve and feel a conviction of design, consummate skill, and indefinite power in every atom of it's composition."
5.) I have found no documented proof that the first sentence was ever penned by Jefferson. The second sentence, however, is taken from Jefferson's "Notes on Virginia" referencing the attempt at uniformity by way of coersion: "What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth" ~ Read this document – it is amazing!
6.) Not found in any of Franklin's works. There is reference to a shipwreck and the ensuing thoughts: "The bell ringing for church, we went thither immediately, and with hearts full of gratitude, returned sincere thanks to God for the mercies we had received: were I a Roman Catholic, perhaps I should on this occasion vow to build a chapel to some saint, but as I am not, if I were to vow at all, it should be to build a light-house". Clearly Ben Franklin recognized God and His presence.
7.) This is the first half of the phrase from Franklin… the second half is: "The Morning Daylight appears plainer when you pout out your Candle". Meaning… all your reason is nothing compared to the magnitude of faith. CLEARLY Ben Franklin is endorsing faith and not debasing it.
Whew… this research is taking longer than I had hoped! But knowledge of the truth will dispell the fury and fear of the unknown.
Check your facts and sources.
The fact that school property is being used as a way to gather funds for a religious charity. Don't you have venues for that already?
The Constitution was not based on Christian Values, it was based off the Algonquin Constitution ( yes, they had one, and they were very democratic)… a Tribe that we were allies with through our roughest times in the colonies. You seem to be confused about the Constitutions purpose. It's to limit the Governments ability to tell the Citizenry what to do. But good job for being stupid, go sit in the corner and play your poo.
Founded on Christian values? The first commandment is in direct violation of the first amendment.
It's also a joke to say that separation of church and state is a one way street. If church can control the state then by an extension the state is controlling the church. You would be singing a completely different tune if the religious majority were muslims pushing sharia law.
Well, I was going to tell you that many of the founding fathers were atheists and even the religious ones, wanted to make sure to create a secular country. But someone already pointed it out.
Kahle, after an extended e-mail debate with an opponent back when he objected, successfully, to an obscure Navy children's Boys & Girls Club handbook mentioning God, admitted (losing the argument) that he is specifically and tenaciously opposed to Christianity….he is not that concerned about traces of other religions' observances in public.
But rather than blaming him, we need to focus on the pusillanimous caving-in by bureaucrats and others in authority, and, in this case, they caved so quickly! Make the complainant fight a little harder before you completely disrespect the efforts of hundreds of students and parents! What's wrong with a charity concert? Where do you think the idea of charity came from anyway? Hospitals? Poor relief? Public education? hello……Christianity.
Our public leaders need to get some backbone in these matters. The constitution prohibits the Federal government, not the states, from establishing religion (meaning, employing priests and proclaiming an official religious sect), while States were within their rights to do so–Maryland and Virginia, for example, had established religions. It says nothing about a State or City school's loose association with a charitable fundraiser!
Right! Why should they just give in and obey the law! They oughta fight for Christian privilege in defiance of the Constitution, and waste money on pointless, doomed lawsuits instead of using it for educating people's children!
Grow up.
I agree with a few of his previous efforts, though not his methods, which are appalling and annoying. Stopping the concert is wrong because it was clearly raising funds for a worthwhile charity and didn't directly involve Church officials. Still, religion is a personal matter that has no place in government. If you don't understand why atheists care about the blatant proselytizing by government officials, think of how uncomfortable you would feel if the Legislature openly prayed to Krishna or Pele or Zeus for guidance. Better yet, think about how uncomfortable you would feel if every time you started a new job you were forced to say, "I will uphold my responsibilities, and also I don't believe in God." Having a government openly profess a belief in any religion immediately disenfranchises members of other religions. The point isn't to proclaim atheism as a state religion (impossible, since atheism isn't a religion), but to ensure that all citizens have the same rights and privileges, regardless of their beliefs or lack thereof, under the law.
well said. I am atheist and I am uncomfortable listening to Christians advertise their beliefs. It is impossible to have every religion, philosophy represented at public ceremonies. Maybe one day all people can share a universal hope for peace in the world. A hope for peace can be expressed at the beginning of each public ceremony. No prayer is necessary, needed or is meant to be shared by everyone. Only hope. Extreme measures were necessary: Christian advertising has gone too far. Thank you Momi for your articulate response.
look up Mercy Ship, idiot.
Not surprisingly, the author of this article forgot to mention that Mercy Ship is a christian ministry.
Too focused on "on no!!! not again! those damn godless atheists will do anything to [umm] threaten our way of life [?]"
They can have a concert, just not on school grounds. This isn't hard to remedy yet everyone wants to cry about it instead of finding a solution. Raise money for the charity outside of school ffs if it's that important. I can't get why if they can't, and rightfully shouldn't, be allowed to favor their religion in school that they just give up. They play the victim too hard in this one.
Shedding tears of sadness for our keiki at Moanalua High School (so proud of them)! Shedding tears of joy that New Hope will do a concert in its place. Bottom line, the Mercy Ship will get contributions because of this controversy. All praises to God!
Which god?
Three points addressing three posts:
(1) You, sir, are correct! =) Atheism – as well as Secularism – are both religions, and oftentimes practiced with more religious fanaticism than those they attack.
(2) Yes, don't mention this turd's name in public media institutions. Generalize.
(3) Yes, turd's religious bigotry is directed specifically against those who follow the Nazarene. Over the years, there have been many opportunities to address his hatred against other faiths but that brings neither the joy nor orgasm as relentlessly poking His Body with a stick.
responses like this only demonstrate your ignorance. I am an atheist. Prayer of any kind is needless. That is why there is exercise, Yoga, etc. If you want to pray, please do so in private. It is not a spectator sport, although the Christians are trying to develop it as one.
atheism is not – in any stretch of the imagination, fantasy, or myth – a religion. Period. Look it up.
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:6
The fact that you don't know what atheism is is very telling about your level of education; no rationale at all. And the orchestra can still perform, they just can't do it in school. How easy it is to give up instead of being resourceful and just finding another venue for the concert. Play the victim more.
Looks like the state funding that should've gone to teaching your class about critical thinking got wasted on a lawsuit to try to defend Christian violations of the Constitution…
"Stationary" means unmoving or incapable of being moved. "Stationery" is writing materials such as paper and envelopes. You are a professional writer; act like one.
Atheism is no more a religion than "bald" is a hair color.
ATHEISM is NOT A RELIGION. THose that claim it is will find that out in the end. God have mercy! People are so blinded by the veil of Satan. How can someone dare say you were a christian growing up and now a atheist. They never knew God. There hearts are hardened. They are blinded and deaf spiritually. Guess when they all take there last breath..and meet our maker…. and he say's "depart from me for I never knew you" that they will spend eternity in a place called Hell where there will be gnashing of teeth and separation from God eternity. Eternity is forever.. How sad it is that people can be so foolish and blinded.
blah blah blah blah, take your silly fairy tales somewhere else.
If you want to actually understand why atheists don't want your religious nonsense in their government, try imagining how you would feel if your money said "In Allah We Trust".
It does. Allah is simply Arabic for God. Christians who speak Arabic call God Allah. Arabic translations of the bible say Allah. 🙂
Yes, what you say is strictly true, but look up "equivocation" — we both know Christians wouldn't be OK with having "In Allah We Trust" on their money.
Keeping the wall between church and state is very important. It's frightening how many of you see the lawmakers and state officials as "caving in" when they are merely seeing the laws being broken. It is a shame that the concert isn't going to happen, perhaps they should chose different music. Please, keep your religions out of state run facilities and programs, off public property.
You know how much money the churches put into the public schools in Hawaii? You know how much money and labor the churches put into the fix up of the public schools? Lets look at Farrington High. $40K A MONTH, OVER 120,000 FOR NEW SEATS IN AUDITORIUM, another 80K for Air conditioning unit in Auditorium. You take them out, you take that support away from the school, staff, and children. Maybe they should raise state taxes so people in your postion would have the opportunity to put their own money where there mouths are.
And perhaps if we taxed the churches, we would have much more money to spend on our schools.
Point taken of taxing churches if it applies to Mr Kahle's organization that also runs on contributions. Also ask Kahle when did his organization renovate a school. . Yet his anti Christian campaign was in HNN's 5/20/12 report on HSCS's other "justified lawsuit' @ https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/17206492/group…. _Even the new HPA director Hakim Ouansafi, who seems to be of another religion, is reluctant to go through with it. _Check this out. Even your Obama respects churches helping out schools as had Rick Warren pray for his inaguration remember? Warren, a best-selling author and leader of a Southern California megachurch, is one of a new breed of evangelicals who stress the need for action on social issues such as reducing poverty and protecting the environment, alongside traditional theological themes. YET the glbt's complained to him in a letter._"By inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans have a place at your table," the letter said._Obama, however, pointed out that a couple of years ago, he was invited to speak at Warren's church, despite their disagreements on a number of issues.
Gee, write slanted articles much? This is clearly a case of using public resources (the schools) to support a religious activity. Mercy ships is a *ministry*. https://www.mercyships.org/pray/
Ask yourself this – would you feel the same way about this issue if the charity in question promoted Islam?
Helping others is a act of caring and love. This endeavor by these kids was one of choice. Which is freedom of choice by the way. Volunteering happens everyday. These kids worked hard and had a passion to perform and give back to those that are less fortunate. It wouldn't matter what the name of the non profit was now would it if in the end, the results was helping and caring about those that can't help themselves which are innocent children all over the world. The hearts of people that agree with this foolish man are just as hardened and blinded as his. In addition, people always volunteer for a lot of things. It just so happened that volunteers from New Hope were giving there time, energy and hearts to a endeavor that would benefit so many children. If you don't want to participate in anything like this then don't but don't drag the rest of those that do. This is nonsense and it is my opinion that if one doesn't like what others may doing to help mankind go find another place to live. What a waist of time and energy. If these atheist people want to live this way my suggestion is go to another island in the pacific and start up your on culture. What this atheist and his followers have sown they will indeed reap. May God have Mercy and bless these kids 7 fold and all those involved.
Yes, I would, because I am tolerant of other's faith. I am not threatened by the religion of others. Why are you?
Yes, in my religion, we don't believe in Zeus, Odin, or Ba'al. It's still one religion though.
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