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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Saturday, June 29, 2002

WHERE WE WORSHIP
Faith, culture unite at Kaumakapili

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Faith Editor

At Kaumakapili Church, in the Kalihi-Palama area, rituals, proceedings and hymns are spoken in Hawaiian. The second-oldest Hawaiian Christian church prides itself as the church of the maka'ainana, or common folk.

Deborah Booker The Honolulu Advertiser

Name of church: Kaumakapili Church

Our denomination: United Church of Christ (Congregational)

Where we are: 766 N. King St., Kalihi-Palama area

Our numbers: 220 members, though average Sunday attendance is about 150

Our kahu mua (first pastor): The Rev. David K. Kaupu, ordained from Pacific Theological Seminary in Berkeley, Calif.

What we believe: As part of the Calvinist (Kalawina, in Hawaiian), or Congregational, movement of Hawai'i's missionary past, the church has adopted and adapted several basic tenets of this type of Protestantism.

Their vision statement: "Kaumakapili Church, united and uniting our Christian faith and our Hawaiian cultural values, proclaims the reign of God on earth as it is in heaven."

As an example of that union, Jack Keppeler, one of the church's na makua, or elders, translated a few of their basic tenets: "Aloha ke akua" and "Aloha i kekahi i kekahi" as "love God" and "love one another, one to one," respectively.

"That's really shrinking the religion down," he explained.

What's special about us: As the second-oldest Hawaiian Christian church, Kaumakapili's distinction is that it's the church of the maka'ainana, or common folk.

And that fame continues today, said Keppeler, who estimated that the smallish membership numbers belie the fact that the church's reach within the Hawaiian community is great.

"We have a very large impact on Hawai'i," said Keppeler, adding many Native Hawaiians trace their lineage to early members of the church and come out in force at funerals and other community-wide events, such as the church's annual lu'au.

The church was settled in 1837, just 17 years after the first missionaries arrived in Hawai'i, on land that was a gift from the ali'i. Taro farmers, fishermen and other rural folk — those who had no claim to any royal order or house — flocked to the first site near Foster Gardens.

"We still service that (principle of the everyday folk), and do it in a special way," he said. "We try to maintain openness, aloha to everybody and are extremely Hawaiian at the working level. (For example, there's) no protocol about who gets to sit where."

The rituals, proceedings and hymns are all spoken in Hawaiian. The scripture is read in Hawaiian paired with English, he said.

"We're pretty much a bilingual church," said Keppeler.

And being situated in Kalihi-Palama makes it an inner-city church, as well, ministering to waves of immigrants with outreach programs that aim to address the needs of their Tongan, Micronesian and Korean neighbors, to name a few. There's the "free store" (offering more than food), literacy program, community school and two of the largest 12-step groups in Honolulu.

Our history: Kaumakapili was started with 74 parishioners from Kawaiaha'o Church and 'Ewa and the Rev. Lowell Smith as the first minister.

The name came from a legend, Keppeler said: In ancient time, there was a benevolent bird creature (probably a Hawaiian heron) revered by fishermen, which would perch on a piece of land. People would come to make offerings to the bird, which sat, focused, with its eyes closed (pili). Kaumakapili means "perch with eyes closed."

A second church was a twin-steepled church on the Smith Street site. But it burned to the ground when sparks flew from fires set in 1900 to wipe out plague-infested slums near Chinatown.

The current, twin-steepled building was erected 1911.

What we're excited about: The congregation has been working on raising money to start an estimated $1.25 million renovation project for the 90-year-old building.

While from the outside, the church facade looks as if it's made of stone, it's actually made of wood, and suffers all the problems age brings, such as rot, termites and the like.

The two stained-glass windows were dismantled after termites and vandals in the 1960s did their worst. The windows were replaced with sheets of colored plastic.

Only the art glass, a gift of the Dillingham descendants, remains. The story glass (so-called because it tells the story of founding missionary Smith) was crafted by artisans from New Rochelle, N.Y., who formerly worked with Tiffany. It costs about $5,000-$7,000 for an estimate of what the repair of the art glass will cost; Keppeler expects it to run about $350,000.

The church's annual lu'au will be July 20, with seating at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 ($15 for takeout, which will be available from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Contact: 845-0908

If you would like to recommend a faith organization for a Where We Worship profile, e-mail faith@honoluluadvertiser.com, call 525-8035 or write: Where We Worship, Faith Page, The Honolulu Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802.