100 Years of Worship: Ka Mauloa Church

By Denise Laitinen

If you stop and listen on any given Sunday as you travel along Highway 11 in Kurtistown, you may hear the sounds of church parishioners singing in Hawaiian.

Small in size and humble in nature with roots tracing to Hawaiian royalty, Ka oka Malamalama Ho‘omana Na‘auao o Hawai‘i Church (HNOH) has played an important role in both Hawaiian culture by perpetuating the Hawaiian language, and the Hawai‘i Island community through its many outreach efforts. This April, the little church marks a big milestone celebrating its 100th anniversary.

History of Ka Mauloa Church and its Ties to the Hawaiian Monarchy

Ka Mauloa Church is part of the Ho‘omana Na‘auao o Hawai‘i HNOH congregation of churches across the State of Hawai‘i. On O‘ahu, the HNOH church organization dates back to April 1853, when Hawai‘i Island resident J.H. Poloailehua of Kukuihaele created a ministry there when he believed he was healed of a deadly fever through prayer. While preaching on Hawai‘i Island in 1881, Rev. Poloailehua stayed at the home of Kohala resident John Kekipi. Rev. Kekipi, who is regarded as the co-founder of Ho‘omana Na‘auao HNOH Church, was believed to have healed Queen Kapi‘olani from an illness through prayer. Rev. Kekipi was going to ask Queen Kapi‘olani’s husband, King Kalākaua, to declare HNOH as the official church for the Hawaiian people, however the king passed away in San Francisco before the request could be made.

Ho‘omana Na‘auao o Hawai‘i HNOH, which means to worship with wisdom, was the first independent Hawaiian Christian organization in Hawai‘i and remains independent to this day. After the first church was built on O‘ahu, eleven more churches were built within a decade across the state, including Ka Nani oka Malamalama built in Kohala in 1897, Ka Uwila oka Malamalama in Kailua-Kona, Ke Kilohana oka Malamalama Ho‘omana Na‘auao in Hilo and Ka Hoko Malamalama in Papa‘ikou.

Each congregation usually started in members’ homes before parishioners built a church. For instance, Ka Elele oka Malamalama Ho‘omana Na‘auao was built in Kapoho for residents in lower Puna while Ka Mauloa oka Malamalama Ho‘omana Na‘auao Church was built in upper Puna, in Kurtistown.

Although the Kurtistown church dates back to 1918, records of the early years are sketchy. Many of the church records only go back to 1933 when Rev. Ku‘ulei Warren was the kahu (pastor) of the church. By that time, church membership had waned and some weeks Rev. Ku‘ulei, who also served as postmaster for Kurtistown, conducted the service for herself. Slowly, more families started coming to church and membership grew.

Today, Ka Mauloa Church has about 200 members, although it is not unusual to find only a handful of Hawaiian families seated in the church’s 12 pews on an average Sunday. Rev. Pi‘ilani Ka‘awaloa notes that it can be challenging for members with children to attend as much as they would like since youth athletics and work schedules can make it difficult to attend church every week. However, both she and Rev. Gladys Brigham point out that special occasions such as baby blessings can draw a standing room only crowd.

Church leaders explain that babies are blessed after they are one month old, however to be considered an official church member, a person may join once they reach age 18. That way they can decide for themselves if they want to join the church as an adult and be baptized.

“When we have special occasions our church is always full, especially at holidays such as Easter and Christmas, or a funeral,” says Rev. Pi‘ilani. “If someone has a baby blessed, the whole church is full,” adds H. Kanoeokalani Cheek with a smile. Kanoe, who resides on O‘ahu, is the HNOH property manager, as well as secretary and director of the board.

Community Activities

Ka Mauloa Church does a tremendous amount of community outreach. “The purpose of the church is to promote Christianity and ameliorate human suffering,” says longtime church member Kehaunani (Nani) Masaki.

Church members work with numerous nonprofit agencies to help distribute towels, blankets, and hygiene items all year long to the island’s homeless, as well as toy and gift bags at Christmas. Organizations they partner with include Child & Family Service, Children’s Justice Center, Strong Families, Child Protective Services, Hui Mālama Ola Nā ‘Ōiwi, Under His Wings Ministry, Veteran’s Outreach, Salvation Army, and Hope Services. They also partner with local businesses. For instance, Hilo dentists Dr. Steven Sakata and Dr. Neal Nakashima have donated toothbrushes and toothpaste for hygiene kits.

Ka Mauloa Church members also work with other churches and organizations, such as Our God Reigns, New Hope, Pentecostal Disciple, Alpha-Omega Church, and Kurtistown Assembly of God to supply hygiene items, school backpacks, and fresh produce to those in need. Every year church members donate shoeboxes filled with small toys and toiletries for Operation Christmas Child.

In 2015, five different California quilting circles donated 54 quilts for those in need. Church members, families, and friends also take hygiene bags, school items, and blankets into their communities to help struggling families.

After Tropical Storm Iselle, church members cut trees, distributed water, and supplied towels, personal hygiene products, and fleece blankets to Pahoa School for showers for the community.

“We are active in our community because it glorifies God,” says Nani. “We know we cannot do everything, but we can do something.”

Perpetuating Hawaiian Language

Given that native Hawaiians founded the church for Hawaiians, Ka Mauloa Church and its sister churches have helped perpetuate the Hawaiian language over the decades.

“There was a time when the Hawaiian language was banned and you could not speak Hawaiian in public,” says Kanoe. Her great-grandfather, Rev. Kekipi, co-founded the religious organization and built churches providing Hawaiians with a sanctuary where members were able to speak the Hawaiian language freely. “My aunties used to go talk in the church [to speak in Hawaiian].”

“The churches helped keep Hawaiian language intact,” adds Nani. “The language was spoken in the churches and it was the churches that helped keep the language alive.”

Indeed, church services include scripture in English and Hawaiian and hymns are only in Hawaiian.

“The uniqueness of our church is that we still do our services in Hawaiian and our hymns are original hymns that are in Hawaiian too,” says Rev. Pi‘ilani.

Pi‘ilani, who works at Kamehameha Schools, is also the main Sunday school teacher. She notes, “There are a few of the children that are fluent in the Hawaiian language. I speak to them in Hawaiian and we read our scripture in Hawaiian and English, just as during the worship service.”

“Our churches have always been bilingual in English and Hawaiian,” says Rev. Gladys W. Brigham. “One minister would read in Hawaiian and another would speak in English, whichever one was most comfortable with either language.”

As it so happens, Rev. Pi‘ilani is fluent in Hawaiian and Rev. Gladys prefers English, so each minister delivers sermons in the language she is most comfortable speaking.

Like many members of the church, Rev. Gladys and Rev. Pi‘ilani have deep ties to the congregation and their families have attended the church for generations. A life-long member of the church, Rev. Gladys’ great-granduncle, Rev. Clement K. Hauanio was ordained as a minister at the Kurtistown church in 1933 and her father, Rev. John K. Hauanio Jr., became kahu of Ka Mauloa church in 1984. Rev. Pi‘ilani’s grandparents were ministers and her mother was a member of Ka Elele O Ka Malamalama Ho‘omana Na‘auao, in Kapoho, which burned down in the 1960 lava flow. Rev. Pi‘ilani’s mother later became a minister at Ke Kilohana oka Malamalama church and then kahu at Ka Mauloa church.

Both Rev. Gladys and Rev. Pi‘ilani were ordained at the same time after the church’s two ministers, Rev. Minnie Ka‘awaloa (Pi‘ilani’s hānai mother) and Rev. Adam Warren died within a month of each other in 2014. Since that time, Rev. Bettina M. Recca, President of Ho‘omana Na‘auao o Hawai‘i HNOH in Honolulu, who is also descended from kahu within the church, and Rev. Gladys and Rev. Pi‘ilani have overseen weekly church sermons while the church seeks a new kahu.

Essentially, the church members vote on a new kahu, explains Rev. Gladys. She adds that it is not that simple when talking about the search for a new kahu.

“It’s also a calling,” says Rev. Pi‘ilani. “It’s very powerful. The way our founders established our church, it was through the grace of God. They were very powerful back then with their relationship with God. With the way they brought families together, all their knowledge and gifts came from the Bible and the power of prayer. And so it wasn’t about ‘you’re a good speaker, you’ll make a good minister, get up there [on the pulpit].’” “In this church, God chooses the ministers,” says Nani.

In addition to searching for a new kahu and their many community assistance programs, church members are actively gearing up to celebrate the church’s 100th anniversary.

Celebrating 100 Years of Worship

On Sunday, April 29, the church will celebrate its 100th birthday with a rededication at the church followed by a pā‘ina (party) for members and guests at the Hilo Hawaiian Hotel. As the congregation gets ready for this important milestone, parishioners are also busy fundraising to make much-needed repairs to the church.

Fundraising for a New Roof

Like many old wood buildings on Hawai‘i Island, Ka Mauloa Church is dealing with termite damage and roof issues. Church members have been fundraising and applying for grants in order to raise $155,000 to repair and restore the church in time for the centennial in April.

“We recently had a giant yard sale at the Haili Tent in Panaewa,” says Nani. “We’ll also have a cookbook and t-shirts available to purchase at the celebration to commemorate 100 years of blessings.”

As the congregation enters its next hundred years of service, Rev. Pi‘ilani says, “Our hope is to gain more members and to also pray for the return of our existing members.” ❖

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For more information: call 808.778.5598
Ka Mauloa oka Malamalama Ho‘omana Na‘auao Church HNOH
17-604 Volcano Road (Highway 11), Kurtistown
PO Box 435, Kurtistown, HI 96760
Church services are held every Sunday at 11am