DOE was correct to cancel concert

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Dec 10, 2012

~~<p>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.</p>
<p>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.</p>
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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. Login for more...