Members of the United Church of Christ were saddened by news that plans to bring its 2011 general synod to the Islands were canceled because of high airfares.

"The circumstances were out of our control," said the Rev. Charles Buck, the Hawai'i Conference minister who oversees the 50-plus churches here. "Fuel prices are affecting all of us."

Buck said the decision, while necessary, sits heavy on his heart, and that officials did discuss the impact on Hawai'i's economy.

"(Ours is) probably a smaller convention than others," he said, noting that it's difficult to predict whether the airfare situation will change. "We have to go with what you know now. It's always difficult to have the synod in the west, because so many live in the Northeast and Midwest."

Initial synod plans were going to highlight Hawai'i's diversity, bringing together volunteers from Neighbor Islands and offering worship with Micronesian and Samoan churches here, Buck said. Trips to O'ahu's various churches for Sunday services also were considered, as well as having the host churches provide tropical fruits such as papaya instead of the traditional cookies at the synod, he said.

"That would have been healthier, too," Buck said with a laugh, then added, "For some people, it's also a relief. It's a lot of big planning, and a lot of people were worried about pulling it off. Me, I'm mixed. I understand both sides."

Edith Guffey, a UCC official in Cleveland who oversees synod planning, called the decision "difficult."

"We were looking forward to experiencing the general hospitality of our membership in Hawai'i, as well as the breadth and depth of culture," she said. "We're totally a church with a commitment to be a multicultural church, and this would have been a way to immerse ourselves in that."

Even with the cancellation, the 2011 synod may get a taste of Hawai'i. On the UCC's Web site blog, a Portland, Ore., minister lobbied to switch destinations to his fair city. "We've got Mt. Hood and the Pacific Ocean (though not as warm as the Hawai'i Pacific, I'll concede)," wrote the Rev. Chuck Currie. "... I know we're not Hawai'i, but if you time a visit here right you can attend the lu'au at the UCC-related Pacific University."