Christian Emphasis Week (CEW), an annual event at HBA, is nearing again for the high and middle schools.

The week is a time to focus more on worship, studying scripture, and understanding God, and less on the everyday tasks that often consume students’ regular school weeks.

The chapel theme this year has been “Love Does,” and it will also be the theme for CEW. The focal verse for CEW is 1 Samuel 16:7: “…For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” The week will feature chapel services everyday as well as seminars geared towards students’ spiritual and intellectual growth.

Christian Ministries Director Rob Lockridge said, “(A) highlight is the Friday Love Does All School Fellowship. This will be similar to what we did in the first quarter, with adjustments made from comments received from the first one. Students will be paired with by the same grade levels as before so there will already be a connection.” There will also be voluntary evening chapels on Tuesday and Thursday.

[one_third]Lunch Bands
Mon: The Proletarians
Tue: The Fresh Preps
Wed: David Tamaoka Band
Thu: Streetlight Cadence[/one_third]

Chapel worship will be led by a new group this year—the worship team from New Hope Sand Island—for the first time in 10 years. Lockridge said, “They are an outstanding worship team that I know the students will love. We are also going to have some great lunchtime bands this year; you are going to love it!”

On Monday, The Proletarians (featuring boys from the senior class) will be performing at lunch. The Fresh Preps will play on Tuesday, the David Tamaoka Band on Wednesday, and Streetlight Cadence will play on Thursday. This year’s CEW chapel speaker is Sterling Lee, who was previously a Bible teacher and Christian Ministries Director at HBA, and a HBA wrestling coach. He is currently the Pastor of First Baptist Church, Pearl City.

Among the many new and unique seminars this year, Rest has been brought back. This seminar is a time for students to get some shut-eye or just relax by themselves. The idea for the seminar came from Soldiers of Light teacher Todd Yokotake, who has led the seminar before. Lockridge said, “Sometimes you just get exhausted and you need to take a break.”

CEW will start next Monday and complete the last week of the third quarter. Students will attend two to four academic classes per day, and seminars on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Lockridge said, “I am really looking forward to the excitement of the week, and all that God will be doing! I can’t wait to see what is going to happen this year.”