Dance and comic offer safe haven

The First Unitarian Church of Honolulu will be transformed into a dance club April 29 to raise funds to carry out its mission to “boldly grow compassion, justice and joy,” a news release said.

“Club Safe Haven” will be open from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at 2500 Pali Highway. Tickets are $60 per person and include two beverage tickets for a cocktail, wine, beer or sparkling water, and 20 different tapas.

“We’ve marched for freedom whenever and wherever it is limited or missing. Since November (the presidential election), many people who feel marginalized or who stand with the marginalized have felt menaced. Come feel safe again at our Safety Dance celebration,” the release said.

The event will feature a live band, directed by Dennis Graue, a “hits” playlist, comedy by Brandi Morgan, and live and silent auctions. Tarot card readings will be available for a nominal charge. Free child care and parking will be available.

Tickets can be purchased here, or contact the office at 595-4047 or office@unitariansofhi.org. The First Unitarian Church of Honolulu is a progressive, inclusive, noncreedal church.

Environment-expert duo to speak at service

Church of the Crossroads’ annual Earth Day Sunday worship service at 10:30 a.m. April 23 features Maxine Burkett, a law professor and international expert on environmental law and climate-change policy from the University of Hawaii, a news release said.

She and husband Josh Stanbro, director of the Hawaii Community Foundation’s environment and sustainability program, will speak on “Refuge & Resilience: A View of the Horizon,” and at 9 a.m. share their life journeys at the preceding adult education class.

As part of the Earth Day Sunday service, interim pastor Dave Kieffer will bless and dedicate the recently installed solar photovoltaic system. Later, the church’s schoolchildren will plant their vegetable and flower seedlings, native plants and a breadfruit tree in the campus gardens.

Burkett is a professor at the UH William S. Richardson School of Law and a global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. An expert in the law and policy of climate change, she has presented her work on diverse areas of climate law throughout the U.S. and in West Africa, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. Her work has been cited in numerous news and policy outlets, including BBC Radio, the ABA Journal, The New York Times and Nature Climate Change. She was a 2016 recipient of Williams College’s Bicentennial Medal for distinguished achievement.