DOE was correct to cancel concert

It is hard to do the right thing sometimes, especially when the wrong thing feels comfortable and no harm was meant by anyone. And so it is especially laudable that Kathryn Matayoshi, Hawaii schools superintendent, came down on the right side of the always sticky issue of the separation of church and state.

The problem — which led Matayoshi to cancel last Friday’s Christmas concert at Moanalua High School because it was too intertwined with a New Hope Oahu church fundraising effort — stemmed from a change in the "Gift of Hope Charity Concert" since the event’s origins several years ago. The Moanalua orchestra had worked with New Hope Oahu’s singers in past events, which served as a benefit for Mercy Ships, a charity that provides the world’s poor with medical care.

However, this year the beneficiary seemed to be the church’s own mission. Mitch Kahle, founder of Hawaii Citizens for the Separation of State and Church, noted that no charity was listed. When he asked how to get tickets, he was instructed to get them from the church at a service, where he was told to write out the check to New Hope.

Matayoshi rightly concluded that, while schools collaborating with outside groups on a separate charity may have been appropriate, participating in a direct church fundraising effort represented too close an alignment for the school orchestra.

For those who believe such an action was an unneeded crackdown, consider this: A pairing of this sort sends a message that the school essentially sanctions the church and its mission. This may leave many students — those of other spiritual traditions or those who practice no religion at all — feeling their own standing was unequal. It’s never easy being a teen, least of all one who may feel they are on the outs.

It would have been better if the orchestra had settled on a separate beneficiary for the event and taken care of its own share of the ticket sales.

As it turned out Friday night, New Hope church was able to resurrect the concert fundraiser — minus the Moanalua High band — at its Sand Island facility. And in a positive turn of events, support due to publicity over the original concert cancellation surged ticket sales to about 700, 200 more sold than for the original show.

Hawaii residents are typically tolerant of various faith practices because of the islands’ exposure to religious diversity. Many people have crossed religious boundaries without offense for years to share in some rituals — the Japanese obon festivals, for example — as an artifact of the state’s melting-pot heritage.

But the religious intrusion into the public space doesn’t always play out in such a benign fashion, and people need to address it.

Ask a person of a non-Christian faith what it’s like participating in the religious aspect of Christmas, and he may tell you that it can be uncomfortable.

Many faiths and nonreligious cultural practices include an element of celebration during the winter season. It’s no accident that several have set various lights festivals for December, which otherwise can be a dreary time.

There’s nothing wrong with such a human impulse, and it’s one reason why a secular aspect of Christmas is such a big part of the holiday. Commercial and spending pressures aside, on the whole these are fun times that everyone can share.

Religious associations are wonderful for those who enter them by choice. But they don’t mix as comfortably with the broad mission of a public school educating people of various faiths, or none at all.