There’s a humble, one-room Hawaiian church at the mauka end of Kurtistown that’s stood for a century now, but one that daily commuters on Highway 11 might not even notice as they focus on the road.
Ka Mauloa oka Malamalama was founded April 28, 1918, and celebrated its 100th anniversary on Sunday with a rededication service. The church, known simply as Ka Mauloa, is part of Ho‘omana Na‘auao o Hawai‘i, the first independent Christian organization in the islands, founded in April 1853 by J.H. Pooloailehua of Kukuihaele, who believed he was healed of a deadly illness through prayer.
Forty-six people, including ministers, ushers and the organist, gathered at Sunday’s 11 a.m. rededication service. The service was conducted in Hawaiian and English. All the himeni (hymns) were in Hawaiian and are originals peculiar to Ho‘omana Na‘auao. There was no choir, but the voices of the congregation’s singing soared above the continual din of the nearby highway.
Among the celebrants was Kalena Silva, professor of Hawaiian language and studies at the University of Hawaii at Hilo, whose doctoral dissertation included a comparative study of hymns from Ni‘ihau, where the Hawaiian language is dominant, and those of Ho‘omana Na‘auao. Silva said he was embraced by Ka Mauloa’s congregation when doing his research in the 1980s.
“I myself was raised a Roman Catholic, so I knew nothing about this very rich tradition that the people continue to maintain and perform so beautifully,” Silva said.
“So it’s just a real joy to celebrate with them this hundredth anniversary of Ka Mauloa, truly it is.”
While Sunday’s congregation was representative of Hawaii’s multicultural population, Ka Mauloa’s core membership is Hawaiian and multigenerational, and the church’s community outreach far exceeds its claimed membership of about 200. The Rev. Pi‘ilani Ka‘awaloa is the granddaughter and hanai daughter of the late Rev. Minnie Halekulani Elderts Ka‘awaloa, a Ho‘omana Na‘auao minister and revered community elder. Ka‘awaloa also works at Kamehameha Schools, as neither she, nor any Ho‘omana Na‘auao ministers or officers, draw a salary.
“I’ve seen generation after generation after generation of great leaders in service to the community with the help of the Lord Jehovah and his son Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit,” she said. “To just be able to be here at this time and to experience the mana, the power, that has been shared to the years, I’m just grateful to be able to follow in the footsteps of my mom and grandmother.”
The Rev. Bettina M. Recca, Ho‘omana Na‘auao president, came from Honolulu to deliver the rededication sermon.
“Look at how beautiful this church is. It takes hard work to do that,” Recca said. “… For many of us who were very fortunate to be born and raised in this church, we’ve seen so many dedicated souls and their dedication to this church, and it’s through their hard work that we’re able to celebrate 100 years. When you have God, the Lord Jehovah as your foundation, it’s a strong foundation. Without him, nothing. You teach your children, your children will teach their children. … You must implant that seed to perpetuate that same value.”
Nani Masaki, a longtime Ka Mauloa member, was thrilled with Recca’s rededication message.
“As she was saying, the church depends on the people who come and cut the grass and clean the bathrooms and make the flowers,” Masaki said. “They don’t get paid, but God pays them, so they come and do that work. That’s the most beautiful thing about the body of Christ, to me.”
Recca’s brother, the Rev. Joseph P. Recca, Ho‘omana Na‘auao vice president, was also present Sunday. He said the milestone “shows the tenacity of a small community church to withstand the changes around them and still continue to hold services every Sunday at 11 for 100 years.”
“Uncle Joe” Recca, a longtime Waikiki entertainer and now a Waikiki historian in addition to his ministry, noted his sister’s mention of the Rev. Ku‘ulei Warren. Although the church is 100 years old, most of its written records go back only to 1933 when Warren was the church’s kahu (pastor).
“When she started preaching here, there were sometimes only two in the congregation. And as far as she was concerned, she said, ‘If there’s just two of us praising the Lord, it’s going to be welcomed with the ears of angels and God Jehovah himself,” he said.
According to Ka‘awaloa, “The love that members have for each other is the unity of the church itself.”
“I think many families look for the Hawaiian language today,” she said. “You don’t hear the Hawaiian language fluently in many churches. They come to seek the word of God. I think it’s the word of God, the combination of English and Hawaiian and the family feeling.”
“How beautiful that the Hawaiian language has remained at Ho‘omana Na‘auao through much of our Hawaiian history where we’ve seen so much change — from nationhood, to the time we became a territory, to a state, to 2018,” added Silva.
“And the Hawaiian language exists and it continues to thrive at Ho‘omana Na‘auao and Ka Mauloa oka Malamalama. It’s really a beacon of hope, I think. And as frail as the Hawaiian language did become, I think it’s getting stronger now. The traditions have survived at Ho‘omana Na‘auao and Hawaiians survived with it.”
Of Ka Mauloa’s 200 members, only a handful usually occupy the church’s pews on Sunday, so Masaki said she’s gratified by the larger-than-usual turnout for the rededication.
“We normally have between 15 and 25, but today we had 46,” she said, beaming. “As the minister talked about today, the cornerstone is Jesus Christ and this is our temple.
“We’re just happy to be around for the second hundred years.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.