May 2023
Hokuloa to Host Spring Mokupuni
Churches of the Hawaii Island Association will convene for the Spring Mokupuni at Hokuloa Church on Saturday, May 6th. Contact the church office if you can help us welcome our sisters and brothers in Christ for this semi-annual event.
MELE PUKE Examples
Hawai'ian for Song Book
Mele (songs) are an integral part of worship in Hawaiian Christian churches. A hymn in Hawiian is included in nearly every service at Hokuloa UCC. Many of the familiar hymns we sing were translated into ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi by Lorenzo Lyons, the Congregational missionary who founded Hokuloa and many other churches in our area.
Jonathan Roach, Associate Conference Minister reflects on the 200-year history of publication of hymns in Hawaiian by the UCC and its predecessor organizations in this weekʻs edition of the Coconut Wireless newsletter.
Posted from the Coconut Wireless Newsletter:
Our Associate Conference Minister Shares Reflection (6)
Singing Our Prayers
In February, a friend of mine was looking through a box of "church" stuff, and as I walked by, I noticed he was putting a beat-up, faded black book back. I gently lifted it out of his hands, smiled, and went to talk with the last member of the congregation. I asked her if this copy of Leo Hoonani Hou (1953) could join my collection of hymnals as a resource for my ministry.
It now sits next to my copies of Na Himeni O Ka 'Ekalesia (1999) whose editorial committee was headed by one of my predecessors, Richard Kamanu, and a copy of the 1972 sesquicentennial edition of Na Himeni Haipule Hawaii. Two hundred years ago this year the first Hawaiian hymnal Na Himeni Hawaii: He Me Ori Ia Iehova, Ke Akua Mau was printed in 1823. Music is so foundational to journeys of faith here in Hawai'i, just as it has been around the world for so many centuries.
One of the earliest accounts of Christian worship, from over 1900 years ago, noted that the Christians would gather on the first day of the week before the sun came up to sing. Our music teaches our faith to the next generation, it empowers us to remember those who walked this road of faith long before us, and it strengthens us for the days ahead. It is medicine for our souls. When we sing, we are praying. As you continue your Lenten journey, I encourage you to sing your prayers. Lift your voice!
Jonathan Roach, Associate Conference Minister
Puako Petroglyph
Walk led by James Heacock, President of Puako Historical Society and accompanied by Boyd Bond, Hawaiian History expert and Hokuloa Church Cultural Committee members.
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