We won the lottery! Seriously.
Posted: November 23rd, 2008, 7:40 am
Not the FINANCIAL lottery: Each year since 1984 the City & County of Honolulu has mounted a huge Christmas display called Honolulu City Lights. Big deal here.
Several blocks of lights, trees, huge Mr. & Mrs. Santa dangling their feet in the fountain... and a few non-profits get space. Year after year it has become more secular, with groups having NOTHING to do with Christmas in there -- political groups, health charities, friends of gays & lesbians, etc.
I had a sense that there were not hundreds of applicants for the 5 non-profit slots but nobody would tell me how many entrants there were. So I applied.
And WON one of the 5 slots!
Turns out there were only 9 applicants this year, so the odds were pretty good. Of the 5 groups, only TWO will be Christian.
From the Saturday Honolulu Star Bulletin:
» Chabad of Hawaii, an Orthodox Jewish organization. It erects a giant menorah at Waikiki Gateway Park each year to mark Hanukkah, which begins Dec. 22 this year.
» Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Liliha. It has sponsored booths depicting the birth of Jesus several times in recent years.
» Reunion Church, ministry of Hawaii Church of God of Prophecy, a new entrant.
» Parents, Family, Friends of Lesbians and Gays -- Oahu. It has sponsored past exhibits extolling tolerance and peace.
» Hawaii Brain Aneurysm Foundation (Friends of Michele Higa), a new entrant.
The tradition began in 1992 when a church group convinced former Mayor Frank Fasi that his new Honolulu City Lights show should include the real Christmas story among the sectarian, bigger-than-life scenes of elves and toys and snowmen. A challenge over religious displays on government property was resolved when the city set up a lottery open to all nonprofit groups.
If you had this opportunity, what would your display look like? What would the central message be. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is likely to have the traditional nativity display they have used before.
Our area is 20' x 20' x 12' tall max, must be surrounded by a white 3' picket fence for display consistency, will have one electrical outlet but no sound is allowed.
Several blocks of lights, trees, huge Mr. & Mrs. Santa dangling their feet in the fountain... and a few non-profits get space. Year after year it has become more secular, with groups having NOTHING to do with Christmas in there -- political groups, health charities, friends of gays & lesbians, etc.
I had a sense that there were not hundreds of applicants for the 5 non-profit slots but nobody would tell me how many entrants there were. So I applied.
And WON one of the 5 slots!
Turns out there were only 9 applicants this year, so the odds were pretty good. Of the 5 groups, only TWO will be Christian.
From the Saturday Honolulu Star Bulletin:
» Chabad of Hawaii, an Orthodox Jewish organization. It erects a giant menorah at Waikiki Gateway Park each year to mark Hanukkah, which begins Dec. 22 this year.
» Good Shepherd Lutheran Church of Liliha. It has sponsored booths depicting the birth of Jesus several times in recent years.
» Reunion Church, ministry of Hawaii Church of God of Prophecy, a new entrant.
» Parents, Family, Friends of Lesbians and Gays -- Oahu. It has sponsored past exhibits extolling tolerance and peace.
» Hawaii Brain Aneurysm Foundation (Friends of Michele Higa), a new entrant.
The tradition began in 1992 when a church group convinced former Mayor Frank Fasi that his new Honolulu City Lights show should include the real Christmas story among the sectarian, bigger-than-life scenes of elves and toys and snowmen. A challenge over religious displays on government property was resolved when the city set up a lottery open to all nonprofit groups.
If you had this opportunity, what would your display look like? What would the central message be. Good Shepherd Lutheran Church is likely to have the traditional nativity display they have used before.
Our area is 20' x 20' x 12' tall max, must be surrounded by a white 3' picket fence for display consistency, will have one electrical outlet but no sound is allowed.
