Ohanafest is the theme of Catholic Campus Ministry/Newman Center’s annual Silent Auction and Brunch is 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Oct. 21, at the Hawaii Convention Center. To go with a tasty brunch, the event will auction off hotel and restaurant certificates, jewelry, services, household items and much, much more. Tickets are $50 for adults, $20 for children under 12. Call Catharine Low at 988-6222 to arrange for tickets and reservations.

Damien Memorial School selling fundraiser barbecue chicken

Damien Memorial School will sell Hoku BBQ chicken, Saturday, Oct. 27, as a general school fundraiser. Pick up is 8 a.m.-1 p.m. in the school parking lot. A whole chicken, from State Poultry Processors, Inc., sells for $7.50. Sushi will also be available for sale. The proceeds from this and other fundraisers will go into the general fund to be used for financial aid, capital improvements, classroom renovations, and other purposes. Please call the school at 841-0198 for additional information or to purchase tickets.

Chaminade to host Big Read Hawaii teachers workshop

Chaminade University of Hawaii will host a Big Read Hawaii teachers workshop entitled “Using Literature and Biography to Teach History and Reading,” 9-11:30 a.m., Oct. 27, in Henry Hall.

Designed for social studies and language arts teachers, the workshop will feature Mitch Yamasaki of Chaminade, Craig Howes of the Center for Biographical Research, Ruth Hsu of the University of Hawaii-Manoa, and Seri Luangphinith of the University of Hawaii-Hilo.

Participants will receive the teacher’s guide to The Joy Luck Club by the National Endowment for the Arts, and Immigration: Triumph and Tragedy in History produced by National History Day and ABC Clio.

The event is presented by the Hawaii Council for the Humanities, co-sponsored by Chaminade, the Hawaii Council for History Education and Big Read Hawaii.

Big Read Hawaii is part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Big Read initiative to restore reading to the center of American culture. For further information, contact Mitch Yamasaki at myamasaki@chaminade.edu or (808) 735-4824.

Social ministry conference offers networking and collaboration

The Office for Social Ministry’s annual Social Ministry Conference, Oct 26-28, at St. Stephen Diocesan Center this year will focus on learning and practicing strategies for “keeping the flavor” of social ministry. The meeting will offer opportunities for networking with fellow social ministers and sharing parish ministry ideas and challenges.

The conference — from 8 a.m., Friday, Oct. 26, to 1 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 28 — is sponsored by the Office for Social Ministry with the Hawaii Catholic Conference.

Registration is $50 for Oahu commuters and $75 for those staying overnight. The fee includes meals and workshop materials. Airfare scholarships are available for those participants traveling from a neighbor island.

For more information, contact Iwie Tamashiro or Sister Roselani Enomoto at 203-6702 and 203-6734 or itamashiro @rcchawaii.org or renomoto @rcchawaii.org.

Jesuit priest, retired firefighter offer West Maui parish mission

A Jesuit priest and a retired firefighter will lead a parish mission for Maria Lanakila Church in Lahaina and its Sacred Hearts Mission in Kapalua in early November with a theme of faith grounded in everyday life.

Jesuit Father Tom Allender and Donald Fisher, co-authors of the book “God Loves an Unmade Bed,” will present “Life’s Journey,” which focuses on “spirituality for the imperfect” and helping people recognize God’s unconditional love. Fisher and Father Allender developed “Life’s Journey” during 20 years of preaching in the U.S. and Canada.

The mission will take place in two parts. The first series will be at Maria Lanakila, Nov. 5-7, with talks at 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. each day. The second series will be at Sacred Hearts Mission, Nov. 12-14, with talks at 7 p.m. each day.

For more information, call Maria Lanakila Parish at 808-661-0552 or visit www.lifesjourney.org.

Talk to examine Nouwen’s book The Inner Voice of Love

Lay spiritual director and catechist Maxine Pollock and her Scrub Bucket Gospel Ministries is offering a public review of Henri J.M. Nouwen’s book, The Inner Voice of Love, described as “a journey through anguish to freedom,” 8:30-noon, Nov. 10, at St. Stephen Diocesan Center in the first floor conference room. There is no charge for the talk, but a free will offering will be accepted.

Marriage annulment workshop on Kauai open to all interested

Father Mark Gantley, the judicial vicar for the Diocese of Honolulu, will present information on the Tribunal process of petitioning for a declaration of marital nullity (commonly called an annulment) on Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. at Immaculate Conception Church in Lihue. Anyone interested in the topic may attend. Questions are welcome.

Father Gantley will give an advocate workshop for priests, deacons and advocates the same day, 9 a.m.-noon, also at Immaculate Conception Church.

The Tribunal is planning more neighbor island workshops and instructional nights beginning in January.