A group of religious leaders and members of their congregations held a candlelight vigil last night at Turtle Bay Resort to pray for a resolution to ongoing labor problems there.

The demonstration, coordinated by Faith Action for Community Equity, or FACE, was attended by nearly 80 people who met at the entrance to the resort off Kamehameha Highway and marched to within 100 feet of the hotel to hold the vigil.

The marchers — including members of Local 5 of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union as well as the church leaders and members of their congregations — sang "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "We Shall Overcome."

"Just like college days," the Rev. Sam Cox of Interfaith Alliance Hawai'i said. "We're very enthusiastic and proud."

Turtle Bay vice president Abid Butt characterized the vigil as "an inappropriate marriage of church and union organizations," in a statement released by the resort.

"Frankly, at a time when throughout our country people are organizing candlelight vigils to pay respects to the troops killed in Iraq, we find this activity inappropriate," Butt said.

The Turtle Bay statement also said that FACE recently had been granted a $25,000 U.S. Labor Department grant to assist in worker training and placement.

Drew Astolfi, director of FACE, said the grant was in no way connected to or in conflict with the vigil. Astolfi said FACE, which represents 26 churches and a Buddhist temple, had decided to hold the vigil because "we are universally outraged at the company's behavior."

About 340 unionized employees at the Turtle Bay Resort have been working without a contract since the last agreement expired in 2002. Local 5 has called for other unions and organizations to boycott the hotel, and recent years have been characterized by strife between workers and managers.

The Rev. Stanley Bain, a FACE member and retired United Methodist minister, said the United Methodist group representing Hawai'i, Guam and Saipan joined a resolution supporting the boycott, and he hoped the problems at the resort would be over soon.

"I'm here to show support for the workers," he said.

Reach Karen Blakeman at kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.