Our Story
Our church was founded in 1849 by the Rev. John D. Paris, a missionary for the 9th company of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) to the Sandwich Islands. A church of coral and lava rock was constructed along the shoreline of Hoʻokena.
In 1900, a second church was built in the upper village of Keālia to accommodate the growing Christian community. Both churches served simultaneously until 1950, when the first church sustained significant structural damage following an earthquake. Three walls remain standing and it continues to be a pilgrimage site for those journeying along the shore.
Since 1950, the second (or, keiki) church has served as our primary house of worship; and, remains the spiritual center of our community.
Seven generations and 175 years later, we celebrate a new chapter in our journey together. With thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness and for the faithfulness of those through whom God has sustained this church, we continue to be a community in pursuit of Jesus and his goodness, proclaiming the gospel through our words and actions, and living out our lives as vessels of God’s peace, justice, and holy love.
Mission
God calls us to be a house of prayer, refuge, and belonging for all people; and, to edify, equip, and empower a community of faithful disciples who boldly proclaim through word and deed Christ's love, justice, and peace.
Vision
A loving, safe, and inclusive community where faith in God is strengthened and nurtured; relationship with Christ and one another is built and fostered; disciples are equipped to go into the world to serve others and to pursue peace and justice for all; and, ultimately, lives are transformed by, through, and for, Christ.
We are the United Church of Christ.
The United Church of Christ came into being in 1957 with the union of three Protestant denominations – the Evangelical and Reformed Church, the Afro-Christian Convention, and the Congregational Christian Churches.
Missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) brought the Gospel to Hawaiʻi in 1820 and organized the Hawaiian Evangelical Association. The HEA became the Hawaiʻi Conference UCC in 1959.
Therefore, our theological identity can be described as:
Christian.
Kalikiano.
We declare ourselves to be a part of the Body of Christ, continuing the witness of the early disciples to the reality and power of the risen Christ, Jesus of Nazareth.
Reformed.
Hoʻoponopono Hou.
We confess the authority of God, the primacy of the Scriptures, the doctrine of justification by faith, the priesthood of all believers, and the principle of Christian freedom.
Congregational.
Kalawina.
We affirm the autonomy of the local church as inviolable but seek trustful covenantal relationships that bring the wider United Church of Christ into being.
Evangelical.
ʻEuanelio.
We fulfill the “work of the people” to proclaim in word and deed the Gospel of God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ to individual people and society in gathering for the worship of God and engaging in the service of humankind.
Hawaiian.
Hawaiʻi.
We celebrate and perpetuate the language, history, traditions, values, and principles of our kupuna - our native ancestors - through whom we have received the heritage of faith.
Our Beliefs
We believe in the one, true, triune God: Creator, resurrected Christ who is the sole Head of the church, and the Holy Spirit who guides and brings about the creative and redemptive work of God in the world.
We believe in the divine inspiration, not verbal dictation, of the Bible. We view the Bible as a sacred collection of stories of relationship and response to the Divine recorded over millennia by people of all walks of life. We do not believe the Bible is the word of God, but instead leads us to the Word of God. Therefore, we approach and interpret Scripture through the lens of Jesus, as a source of inspiration, understanding, guidance, and timeless ancestral wisdom, and as a channel through which God is still speaking to us today.
We believe that God calls us to be servants in the service of others and to be good stewards of the earth’s resources. "To believe is to care; to care is to do."
We believe that all people of faith are invited to join Christ at Christ’s table for the sacrament of Communion. Just as many grains are gathered to make one loaf of bread and many grapes are gathered to make one cup of wine, we, the many people of God, are made one in the body of Christ, the church.
We believe that all of the baptized ‘belong body and soul to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.’ No matter who – no matter what – no matter where we are on life’s journey – notwithstanding race, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, class or creed – we all belong to God and to one worldwide community of faith.
We believe in the power of peace, and work for nonviolent solutions to local, national, and international problems.
We believe that each person is unique and valuable; and, that each person is at different stages of a spiritual journey. It is the will of God that every person belongs to a family of faith where they have a strong sense of being valued and loved.
We believe that the United Church of Christ is called to be a prophetic church. As in the tradition of the prophets and apostles, God calls the church to speak truth to power, liberate the oppressed, care for the poor and comfort the afflicted.