Chaminade University of Honolulu

Religious Studies

The Fujitani Interfaith Program at Chaminade University Focused on Pathways to Peace

Maya Soetoro-Ng, Ph.D., the keynote speaker, asked the crowd to reflect in silence on their personal definitions of peace and peacebuilding.  The nearly 100 people in Mystical Rose Oratory obediently paused and reflected.  They had gathered on April 28 – a Friday night – for a presentation by the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK) Fujitani Interfaith Program of Chaminade University featuring “Pathways to Peace in the Workplace: How Practices of Faith Bring Peace within Diverse Career Fields.”

“All right, please share your thoughts.  We’ll do it popcorn-style,” said Soetoro-Ng.

People popped up with their definitions, ranging from personal peace, spiritual harmony, and working in harmony. She encouraged people to connect with strangers around them and share their definitions of peace.

Affirming everyone, Soetoro-Ng shared that the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution also defines peace as action and will work through public policies and innovative social projects.  The organization looks for “opportunities to nourish peace in the actions we take” as a way to develop peacebuilding leaders.

Soetoro-Ng serves as the director of Community Outreach and Global Learning at the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution and earned her doctorate at the University of Hawaii in multicultural education. She has taught multicultural education, social studies methods, and peace education for many years at the University of Hawaii’s College of Education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels

Soetoro-Ng told stories of her mother as a social-cultural anthropologist and as a bridge builder. Soetoro-Ng recalled the poignant story of her mother’s desire to have her ashes scattered in the ocean so that “Mom could share herself and connect with all the people she had ever worked with and loved in her lifetime.”

Soetoro-Ng also shared stories of compassion shown across diverse communities that she saw during her global travels. “The vast majority of the world are comprised of the faithful. What if people of all faiths mandated peace and peacebuilding as their goal? Can you imagine how expansive that embrace would be for the family of humans?” she asked.

Soetoro-Ng then turned the discussion to the respondents.

Vima Lamura had led the audience in meditation earlier that evening.  As the audience meditated aloud, she orchestrated the diverse sounds into a chorus and pulled the participants into a harmonious choir.  Lamura spoke about the value of being at peace and in harmony in work with choirs and orchestras.  She had spent her life immersed in the traditional ancient wisdom of the Vedas, chant, sacred sound and mantra, which have inspired her creative works in music, speaking and writing.  She shared how meditation was useful for her inner peace and in building peace with the people she collaborated with on music tours, concerts, studio recordings, and operas.

Pieper Toyama, the founding head of the Pacific Buddhist Academy, spoke of integrating Buddhist values in an academic setting.  The school discipline, curriculum, and relationships between students, faculty, and staff needed to reflect these values, including the fostering of peace, pursuing inner peace and the practice of peace with others. Toyama has retired from Pacific Buddhist Academy, the first Shin Buddhist high school in the Western Hemisphere, and currently serves as president of Hawaii’s organization of Hongwanji’s 34 Buddhist temples.

James P. Walsh, Jr., the director of Pastoral Planning for the Diocese of Honolulu, worked in Hawaii’s medical field from 1975 to 2009 in various executive positions at Straub Clinic and Hospital and with HMSA.  He has taught at Chaminade University from 1979 to 1999 as an adjunct Business professor. Walsh spoke about negotiating between employees and employers and practicing his faith through conflicts. He encouraged people to become more aware of what they are grateful for and challenged them to look for opportunities to correct inequities.

Soetoro-Ng asked the audience for their thoughts and questions, as well as to connect with others in the room. The discussion was robust.

In closing, Soetoro-Ng shared an Indonesian phrase she learned as a child that translates to “wash your eyes.” “Yes, wash your eyes; refresh your gaze,” she repeated. “Make a commitment to faith and peace in action. Remember small connections can build an organism that can grow to supplant major power. ”

The Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai Reverend Fujitani Interfaith Program, established in 2003, brings together the Buddhist community with all other religious communities in Hawaii to promote interfaith dialogue and provide opportunities for understanding and action for peace and justice in our communities.

Chaminade’s Religious Studies program offers the student an opportunity for in-depth reflection into the nature of religious experience, the communities which arise in response to it, and their actions. Grounded in Roman Catholic theology and Marianist educational philosophy, this reflection is ecumenical and conducted in the context of a multicultural, interfaith dialogue, exploring the meaning of the faith and working for justice among many peoples and cultures. The program fosters an understanding of human responses to the sacred that invite personal and communal commitment to faith in action and spiritual growth.

Chaminade’s Caring Crocheters Serve Military Families with Hanks, Skeins and Balls of Yarn

Associate professor of Religious Studies, Regina Pfeiffer, DMin, looked over her supply of yarns and crochet needles.  Students participating in the Caring Crocheters service-learning project sorted through the material provided. Many had already wound unending threads into balls from skeins and hanks of yarn.

Students crocheting

Throughout the semester, Pfeiffer taught her students the basics of crocheting and offered continued guidance as they advanced through their projects. It usually took only three to four sessions to master the skill. Once mastered, students were welcome to work independently.

By the end of the fall semester, participants had each completed a baby blanket.  Some students also crocheted booties, scarves and hats. The finished crocheted pieces went to the U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii New Parent Support Program, which assists military families who are expecting a child or have at least one child age zero to three.

Feedback from the agency and the military families that it serves have been quite positive. “Often, enlisted troops are separated from their families. Spouses with new babies may be living alone in a new area, without family or friends for support. We crochet baby blankets, washcloths, hats, scarves, and other items. These become personal, hand-made gifts for new families of enlisted troops,” Pfeiffer explained. “The military families also benefit because they realize that someone they don’t even know cares about the sacrifices they give to our nation.”

Student crocheting

Pfeiffer started the Caring Crocheters service-learning project in fall 2014 and has just finished her fifth semester with the project. She is pleased with how popular it continues to be. Students have reflected on how much they have enjoyed the project and how it has helped them relieve stress. Crocheting provided students with the means to cope with hectic lives, be creative and take risks by trying something that they may never have considered. When students create fabric by interlocking loops of yarn using a simple hook needle, they invest themselves into the pieces that they are creating.

“Our society sustains itself on bought items rather than on creative activities from which they give a part of themselves in terms of time and talent,” Pfeifer commented.

Pfeiffer shared another big takeaway from this service-learning experience. The students are asked to give away their piece anonymously. That piece represents a piece of themselves, and so they experience doing something good and giving themselves without any expectation in return.