Parents who have children with special needs may be leery of taking them to church, where everyone typically is expected to sit quietly and follow protocol.
Sarah Beppu’s son Dylan has a form of autism, which she said kept her from taking him to Mass.
"He would inevitably have a meltdown," she said. "The smells of incense were too much, the music too loud, and he couldn’t relate to anything."
But last year she and her family started attending Holy Trinity Catholic Church near Hawaii Kai, where Ohana Mass is designed especially for those with special needs and the disabled with an adapted liturgy that’s easy for everyone to understand. Since then, she wrote in a January entry in her blog, God has become real to her son, now 10, who now turns to his rosary or pocket-sized Bible whenever he needs comfort.
The Office of Social Ministry for the Catholic diocese sponsors Ohana Mass at 1 p.m. on the last Sunday of every month. Director Iwie Tamashiro said about 50 people have embraced the service since it began in May.
On Sunday another Ohana Mass will be inaugurated at Resurrection of the Lord Parish in Waipio Gentry, 94-1260 Lumikula St., to accommodate those who live in Central and Leeward Oahu. It will be held at 2 p.m. every third Sunday of the month.
"People worry all the time about how people will look at their children," Tamashiro said.
She points to autistic children who flap their arms to express emotion or someone who drools as examples of behavior beyond their control.
Parents are stung by any rude comments.
"There is so much hurt," she said.
But Ohana Mass families are all in the same boat.
"You’re not going to find a more patient, understanding group," Tamashiro said.
The service offers a simplified liturgy, also interpreted in American Sign Language, so those with special needs can be more engaged in the service, not just sit and watch, Tamashiro said. They’re given the opportunity to help as altar servers, ushers, readers, collection plate passers and with music.
Or they can take part in a skit to dramatize the gospel so its message is clear. Various priests take turns delivering a short, simple homily, followed by a fellowship potluck.
Beppu, who is also Mrs. East Oahu International 2014, writes a blog (aspiewarriormom.wordpress.com) about raising a son with Asperger’s syndrome and is an outspoken advocate against bullying, of which her son is a victim. In a Jan. 26 entry, she wrote about the Ohana Mass, "No one is judging if anyone happens to walk around or doesn’t conform to standing or sitting when the rest of the congregation does. The music is truly music to our ears and at a level not too loud for the sensory sensitive. The scriptures are read by our special family members most of the time and no one judges them when it isn’t read as most others would read it."
Tamashiro started a sign language choir a few months ago and is overjoyed that even those who can hear and speak copy the choir’s signs. She laughs as she says, "Nearly everyone in church is signing ‘Alleluia!’ It’s a very joyful celebration, a joy conveyed in word, song and by hands. It’s great!"
Tamashiro said it was natural to start the adapted Mass at Holy Trinity because the church has long had two altar servers with Down syndrome: Lisa Yamasaki and Brett Berk.
Carole Suapaia, a Trinity pastoral associate, trained Yamasaki over 20 years ago and Berk about 12 years ago. She said she couldn’t think of any Sunday the two altar servers have missed.
"They’re very faithful," she said. "It didn’t take a whole lot of time to train them. They love serving, dressing up in their albs (robes) and carrying the cross. They lead everybody in with the cross to start Mass and lead everybody out."
Their duties include setting up the altar, bringing a bowl of water and towel for the priest to wash his hands, and holding the books he reads from.
Trinity’s Father Dennis Koshko said Yamasaki and Berk are "right on the mark" at every service.
"It’s very edifying to see how excited they are to do it," he said.
Koshko said those with special needs and disabilities should be given more opportunities to participate in services because "we should be taking care of the needs of all parishioners," referring to Matthew 25:40: "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
Valery O’Brien’s daughter Katie is deaf and has cerebral palsy and developmental delays. They’ve been attending Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Community in Ala Moana for 17 years because there’s a special sign language service every week.
But they also go to the Ohana Mass, where Katie "just loves seeing everybody," O’Brien said.
"She loves helping — sort of — with usher duties, or maybe that’s just being a bossy child," her mom quipped.
The family and friends who attend the Mass have formed a faith community, said O’Brien, one of the catalysts behind the Ohana Mass.
"Their inner circle has grown," she said. "They enjoy each other’s company. They pick each other up and feel welcome."
O’Brien sits on the bishop’s Advisory Board for Persons with Disabilities with Tamashiro.
