The Honolulu Advertiser from Honolulu, Hawaii • 9

"The thoughts have hardly gotten out of my head, and I get feedback from all over Orlando, the nation and the world." DAVID LOVELESS Senior pastor of Discovery Church in Florida STORY BELOW PAGE B3 SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2009 MARY KAYE RITZ: 525-8035 EXPRESSIONS OF FAITH By Swami Bhaskarananda Tweets keep flock liniked. The propriety of congregation members tweeting while worshipping goes to the crux of what many churches don't understand, or can't accept, about the use of social media in religion, said Bill Reichart, a social-media consultant in Atlanta who works with churches and faith-based organizations. "If you are into control, social media will frustrate you," Reichart said. "The people listening may change the message for you. Twitter is a lot of conversation and people interjecting things." In a recent sermon, Loveless spoke about how we all live within the ellipses of our lives those three little dots that connect what came before and what is ahead.

In the sermon, he asked the congf ega-tion to think about who has influenced their lives and who is influenced by them "I asked, "Who are you following, and who is following Loveless said. "That is the language of Twitter." churches communicate with their congregations. The church bulletin is not going away, but it's being augmented by the instant, interactive communication of the laptop, iPhone and BlackBerry. "It's a better way to reach people where they are at these days," said Adrian Traurig, who handles worship and creative arts for Journey Christian Church in Apopka, Fla. "It keeps people connected.

We post all our events and all the happenings here at Journey." Churches all over the country are using the 140-character messages of Twitter to notify members of events taking place that day, or that very moment. An Episcopal church in Worcester, tweets its members about its "Between Jobs Workshop," while another church updates its congregation on efforts to resettle an Iraqi family. Journey Church in Apopka solicits new members by inviting motorists on U.S. Highway 441 to check out its Facebook page. Oth Churches embracing social media to stay in touch with congregation BY JEFF KUNERTH Orlando Sentinel David Loveless' wife pulled him aside before he left the house one morning and gave him a talking-to.

It was one of those "uh-oh" conversations that happen between husbands and wives. Moments later, the senior pastor of Discovery Church in Orlando, was still thinking about what it means to have a partner who can straighten you out when things start to swerve off course. So, using his BlackBerry, he posted a "tweet" on social-networking site Twitter, recounting the lesson he just learned and asking his followers whether they had somebody like that in their lives. The use of social media Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and pod-casts is changing the way Baha'i schism battles it out V4V I Become unselfish to lose your fears According to Eastern psychology, attachment causes fear. Wherever the thoughts and "mine" are involved, there is attachment.

Let us suppose that a person in New York is walking down an infamous alley at midnight, carrying an attache case containing $100,000. In this situation, there is a real possibility that he or she may be mugged. Will that person be scared of losing that money? The answer can be both "yes" and "no." If the money being carried is the person's own, and if he or she is very much attached to it, that person will surely be afraid of losing it. But if the person is not attached and does not mind losing it, there won't be any fear. The following quotation from Vairagya Shatakam, an ancient book by Yogi Bhar-trihari of India, beautifully explains how attachment or selfish involvement causes fear: If a person is attached to physical enjoyment, he will have the fear of diseases.

If he is attached to his social status, he will be afraid of losing it. If he is attached to his wealth, he will fear hostile kings or robbers who may snatch it away. If he is attached to his physical beauty, he will fear his old age. If he is attached to his scholarship, he will fear those who may challenge his eruditioa If he is attached to his body, he will be afraid of death. All the things of the world pertaining to man are fraught with fear.

By eliminating the attachments mentioned above, many kinds of fear can be overcome. The fear of death caused by attachment to the body is hard to dispel. But if we think deeply, we shall realize that the fear of death is also caused by attachment to sensual pleasure. We enjoy sense pleasures beautiful sights, delicious food, pleasurable tactile sensations, sweet music and fragrances using our bodies. As long as we desire these pleasures, we shall remain attached to our bodies.

Had we lost our sight, hearing, ability to smell, taste, or touch, would we be afraid of death? The answer is "No." Then death would come as a relief to us. All sense pleasures are rooted in selfishness, because the sense of and "mine" is associated with them. Therefore, the cure lies in learning how to be unselfish. But it is not easy to do that. Yet, using an ancient proven technique of India, it can be done.

The technique consists of changing one's attitude of mind. Those having faith in God should learn to transform all their activities into service of God. They should remember that all human beings are God's true children because God doesn't have any stepchildrea When taking care of their own families, they should think that they are serving God's children. Swami Bhaskarananda, a senior monk of the Ra-makrishna Order and the spiritual guide for the Vedanta Society of Hawaii, will give a free talk, "Way to Fearlessness and Freedom," at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow at 1040 Richards Room 309.

The talk is open to the public. er churches are following the lead of Livechurch.tv, which links its Web site to its Facebook page and YouTube channel. All offer church members a chance to react to a minister's message sometimes instantly. Within minutes of Loveless' recent tweet, he had 100 responses and the raw fodder for a possible Sunday sermon. "The thoughts have hardly gotten out of my head, and I can get feedback from all over Orlando, the nation and the world," Loveless said.

"That's pretty amazing." But Twitter is a two-way street. By nature, it invites a response. It encourages chatter. And that has led to some controversy over whether tweeting during church is being actively involved in the service or just plain rude. Loveless is among those who encourages it.

"In the middle of a sermon, they can give me immediate feedback," he said. i i i 'fymJA ft mainstream Baha'i denomination for One," a traderrlarked sacred symbol their solution, one of them declared that Effendi actually had intended for him to be the next guardian. Charles Mason Remey, then in his 90s, said Effendi had addressed him in letters as his son or spiritual descendant. The National Assembly of France and about 100 others followed Remey. But the rest of the Baha'i community expelled him from the faith and successfully sued his followers, barring them from calling themselves Baha'i and using the sacred symbol.

Remey's group disbanded, but orthodox believers reorganized and continued to maintain the guardianship. Thirty years later, Jeffrey Goldberg, a Baha'i in Barrington, 111., came upon the splinter group on the Internet. He became convinced that he had been duped by the mainstream Baha'is. Goldberg quietly resigned from the community with no explanation, because he knew the consequences. When Ba-hai's are declared covenant-breakers, they are shunned or ostracized.

Dr. Boggs, 1 p.m. June 1, Pohai Nani, Blue Room. 371-9360. WEDNESDAYS AT ST.

ANDREW'S, brown-bag concerts of chamber and choral music, and recitals by guest musicians and the cathedral's own musicians, 12:15 p.m. June 3, Episcopal Cathedral of St. Andrew (brown-bag lunches in the cathedral encouraged). 524-2822. OPEN TABLE, discussing "Faith Journey to Kalihi: A Frank Assessment" and "Community Service and the Hare Krishna," a.m.

June 3, Harris United Methodist Church. 536-9602. Send announcements to: Faith Calendar, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; with "Faith Cal" in the subject line; or fax 525-8055. ii j' a 1 the at in court STACEY WESCOTT I Chicago Tribune orthodox community, holds an issue in the lawsuit.

But Janice Franco wouldn't let Goldberg go that easily. She insisted on knowing why he left. After plunging herself into Baha'i literature, Franco decided Goldberg might have a point. Both Goldberg and Franco were declared covenant-breakers and shunned. Goldberg's wife was encouraged to divorce her husband.

In 2006, the mainstream Baha'is filed a lawsuit, accusing the orthodox believers of violating the court order issued 40 years earlier. The Orthodox Baha'is insist they aren't the same group. They also say a religious denomination can't trademark truth. The term Baha'i refers to a follower of Baha'u'llah. That applies to them, they say.

Though the mainstream denomination would not explain why it waited four decades to enforce the court ruling, experts say modern missionary methods might be the reason. Barring the orthodox believers from using the name "Baha'i" would keep them from popping up in a Google search. WEEKLY THOUGHTS We live where our thoughts are. If your thoughts are confined only to your business, only to your physical welfare, only to your narrow circle of friends, then you live a narrow and circumscribed life. But if you are interested in what is going on in other parts of the world, if you read good books or listen to fine music, then you live in a big world.

Thoughts by the late Rev. Paul Osumi are selected weekly by his family. Main denomination says orthodox group is violating faith trademark BY MANYA A. BRACHEAR Chicago Tribune Every religion has been riven by struggles over authenticity. Buddhism began when a maverick Hindu prince inspired disciples to embrace asceticism Judaism sprouted branches, from ultra-orthodox to ultra-liberal, even Jews for Jesus.

Christianity went through profound splits, such as the 16th-century Protestant reformation and the 19th-century Mormon movement. Now the Baha'i Faith, the organization representing the most recent sect to spring from Islam, is struggling to defend its identity in federal court in Chicago, where North American Baha'is have been based ever since believers came to the U.S. about 90 years ago. It contends that a tiny band of believers known as the Orthodox Baha'i Faith can't call themselves Baha'i or use one of its key symbols without violating trademark law or a court ruling from more than 40 years ago. In the hands of the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, the case could set a precedent for settling religious schisms, doctrinal disputes and claims to truth by way of the U.S.

judicial system "The word Baha'i carries with it implications for a certain set of beliefs and we have to protect that," said Robert Stockman, a practicing Baha'i and religious studies instructor at DePaul University. Adherents of the Orthodox Baha'i Faith believe the international community has strayed from the religion's original teachings. That, they say, threatens to interfere with God's plan for the world. Baha'u'llah, who founded the faith in Iran in the mid-19th century, is regarded by Baha'is as the most recent messenger of God in a long line including Abraham, Buddha, Krishna, Jesus and Muhammad. Baha'is believe Baha'u'llah revealed God's plan for humanity to one day unite into a single race.

On its www.truebahai.com site, WE'RE LOOKING FOR COLUMNS Would you like to write a single 500- to 600-word column on any topic related to religion, faith, spirituality or ethics? We're seeking columns for the weekly Expressions of Faith feature. Send your column to faithhonoluluadvertiser.com, or to Expressions of Faith, Wanda Adams, Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 31 10, Honolulu, HI 96802; or fax it to 525-8055. Include a brief biographical note, your photo if possible, and a daytime phone number (not for publication) where you can be reached. Janice Franco of Illinois, who left the Arabic script rendering of "The Great the orthodox group faults the mainstream denomination for corrupting that plan by electing a legislature to govern instead of abiding by the succession of guardians prescribed by the founding prophet.

The mainstream Baha'is have responded with a lawsuit to bar the orthodox from calling themselves Baha'i and from sharing the "The Greatest Name," a sacred and trademarked symbol. Baha'is believe they are not only safeguarding their identity, they are defending the truth with a capital T. The orthodox say that is not a matter for the courts to decide. The Baha'is first took breakaway believers to court in 1966 after a tumultuous time internally. Nine years earlier, Shoghi Effendi, guardian of the faith and a direct descendant of the founding prophet, had died unexpectedly and allegedly without tapping a successor.

Leaders decided that a Universal House of Justice envisioned by Effendi would oversee the faith. But shortly after the leaders announced CALENDAR Admission is free unless otherwise noted. See a more comprehensive listing of faith-related events at www.honoluluadvertiser.com. CHURCH YOUNG ADULT LEADERSHIP LECTURE SERIES, by Rodger Y. Nishioka, a Columbia Theological Seminary associate professor of Christian education, 9 a.m.

May 30, Nu'uanu Congregational Church; free. 595-3935, www.nuuanu.org. "WAY TO FEARLESSNESS AND FREEDOM," discussion of Hinduism's ancient methods of overcoming stress, by Swami Bhaskarananda, spiritual guide for the Vedanta Society of Hawai'l, 1 1 :30 a.m. May 31 Richards Street YWCA, room 309. 818-734-1760 INTERFAITH CONVERSATIONS, presented by the Windward Chapter of the All Believers Network, discussion of whether religion inspires genocide, with I-.