Church Lu'au Tradition Dishes Up Thousands of Meals Each Year
It takes more than fifty pigs, thousands of pounds of poi, and hundreds of hands to do the work.

This is just some of what is required of the churches that carry on the lu'au tradition in the Hawai’i Conference. Kaumakapili Church, United Church of Christ-Judd Street, Lili‘uokalani Church, and Pearl City Community Church (PCCC) have provided thousands of lu'au meals every year for decades. Together the churches serve more than 13,000 meals each year and raise thousands of dollars for ministry within the church as well as outreach to other churches and the community.




To understand the magnitude of preparation involved in this kind of event, one church shared that each year they need 462 pineapples, 800 pounds of potatoes, 750 pounds of tomatoes, 350 pounds of long rice, 680 pounds of chicken, 15 gallons of opihi, 170 pounds of salmon, 2100 pounds of poi, and 600 pounds of raw fish.

Clarence Hohu (Uncle Kenny) is given credit as being the lu'au master for most of these churches. Clarence, a member of Kaumakapili Church, organized a group from the church to go to PCCC and UCC-Judd Street to help with their events.

“We started teaching other churches how to make the Haupia, chicken long rice and prepare the pig. Even today, UCC-Judd Street borrows pans,” said Kaumakapili Church member Henry Maunakea.

When Clarence died, all of his pans were brought to Kaumakapili for storage.

“Any church Uncle Kenny helped with is able to borrow the pans,” said Henry. “He drove trucks for Standard Oil but doing lu'au was his passion. He had an imu at his home and a lot of the preparation was done there.”
Today, most of the churches have their own imu or dig one on the church grounds.

Many creative ideas have developed over the years to make lu'au preparation go more efficiently. At UCC-Judd Street, a member created a machine for dispensing poi. The machine, similar to an ice cream machine, is very helpful in dispensing the 2000 pounds of poi the church sells each year.

PCCC has the recognition of being the longest-running lu'au in Hawai‘i with a tradition of 53 years. Kaumakapili Church did not start their own luau until 1971.

“People asked us how come we help other churches but don’t do one ourselves,” said Henry. “When we started it in 1971, it was primarily to increase fellowship of the church and that is still the emphasis today.”

While the churches primarily started out with a tent on the lawn for a sit-down dinner and entertainment, all four churches now offer a take-out service with numbers surpassing what they would be able to serve in a sit-down meal. Only Kaumakapili and Pearl City Community Church have continued to offer a sit-down meal with entertainment.

The lu'au are offered at different times throughout the spring and summer. Although PCCC is traditionally the first of the churches to hold its lu'au each spring, this year the church has decided to take a Sabbath year and there will be no spring lu'au. One reason the church made the decision to take a break this year is the number of people it takes to orchestrate an event of this magnitude.

“As the church has aged, it has become increasingly difficult to sustain the effort to carry out the lu'au,” said PCCC member Cheryl Uechi.

The congregation will meet at the end of this year to decide whether to have a lu'au next year.

Kaumakapili Church’s lu'au is held the third Saturday in July. Lili’uokalani Church’s lu'au is the first Sunday in August and the UCC-Judd Street lu'au is also in August, on the Saturday after State Admissions Day.

All four churches talked about the amount of work involved. Committees are formed to do work months in advanced but they all agree that the majority of work happens the week of the lu'au. From preparing the pigs the weekend before to chopping vegetables, baking cakes, and pounding poi, each church relies on its members, family, and friends to make the lu'au a success.

The churches expressed appreciation for the help and support from community organizations and businesses. From donations of food and facilities in which to prepare the food to helping hands that come out and work alongside members, the churches recognize the importance of each person’s help.

Proceeds from each of the four lu'au range from $15,000 to $30,000. Kaumakapili Church donates ten percent of their proceeds to mission and the remaining money is used to support the operating budget. In the past, Kaumakapili has been able to give money to projects such as the restoration of the bell tower at Lili‘uokalani Church, Hauula Church restoration, and the Community Services building at Waipahu UCC.

PCCC has given away their proceeds for the past four or five years, according to Cheryl. Groups that have benefited from the church’s generosity include sister UCC churches and ministries such as the UCC Transition House, Kahikuonalani Church, Filipino UCC, and Ka Hana O Ke Akua.

Lili‘uokalani Church said the proceeds from their lu'au is used for church operating expenses.

UCC-Judd Street chooses a beneficiary each year who will receive twenty percent of the proceeds. Past beneficiaries include Partners in Development, River of Life, Lani Kamaha’o, and Waikīkī Health Center. A past benefactor, Good News Prison and Jail Ministry, brings prisoners each year to help with the lu'au preparation.

“It’s a good way to fulfill a lot of the church’s mission. We are doing outreach and evangelism,” said UCC-Judd Street church member Herb Lum. “It exposes the church to a lot of people. And they help us do our work.”

Each year the churches need to decide whether to continue with the lu'au tradition. The amount of work required and having enough people to help, especially the young people, is always a concern.

“We’ve never considered not doing it. For one thing, we need the money and for another, we offer a community service,” said Herb.

The church lu'au leaders all admit finding ways to pass on the tradition to the younger generation is always a challenge. But, as member Kuulei Kaio said, the end result always gives them energy to continue.

“There is always talk about how we will continue to do this event and when I see the many different people with different talents come together, I know that the Lord is the Lord of them. And when next year rolls around, by then, we have forgotten all our aches and pains and are ready to work side by side again with one goal that is for Christ and the Church.”

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Moanalua Community Church Celebrates the Gifts of Children
Fifth Sundays of the month are often special Sundays in many churches, a chance to do something different. At Moanalua Community Church (MCC), they celebrate the gifts of the children.

Whenever there is a fifth Sunday, the children of the church (with some help from adult leaders) are responsible for the morning worship.

The church’s Sunday School program centers around a particular theme for the months leading up to the fifth Sunday, and Bible stories related to that theme are chosen for each Sunday. Through interaction with the children and by listening carefully to their questions, the Sunday School leaders then create a worship program to be used on the fifth Sunday.

“The children are clamoring to do things in worship,” said Joy Lacanienta, who leads the program. “The emphasis [for our worship programs] is on every child having a part and taking leadership.”

The lessons offer a multi-cultural, multi-sensory approach to learning, which integrates God’s word through creative avenues that include dance, theater, sign language, and hula.

For the first two or three months of 2008, the children focused on faith and talked about how particular Bible characters lived their lives in faith. The culmination of this study on faith was a joint worship service with the children of Trinity Samoan Church and Joy of Christ Lutheran Church on March 30.

Approximately 25 children and youth participated in the service. Prior to the message, the children used streamers as they sang, danced and signed to “Testify to Love.” The message that followed focused on the story of Doubting Thomas and was presented by the children through a puppet ministry presentation. The children concluded their presentation by singing “We are the Reason.” Throughout the morning worship, the children read the scripture passages, served as ushers, and assisted with Communion.

“Working with our youth is so important because they are the future of the church,” said MCC Pastor Andrea Godwin-Stremler.

Joy of Christ Lutheran Church Pastor Ruth Peterson agreed. “To see such enthusiasm from our children gives me so much hope for the future.”

When MCC began this children’s program two years ago there were about four or five youth involved. The program has grown, and recently Trinity Samoan Church, which worships in the MCC sanctuary Sunday afternoons, and Joy of Christ Lutheran Church have come to share in the ministry.

Joy said she worked with Dee Schiemer of Joy of Christ Church to plan the service, and each church held its own practices. Then all three churches came together for two Saturday morning practices.

“I really liked doing it together. It was fun. We worked for a long time and practiced hard,” said Selina, a third grader at MCC. “We all liked working together on the song.”

“I thought it was terrific because it was our one chance to yell and run in the church,” said Ella, also a third grader at MCC.

Dee said, “I would love to do it more. We are a small church and MCC is a small church, so to do something together makes a big group doing something wonderful.”

Joy summed up the spirit of the program and its focus on building confidence and leadership skills in the children when she said, “It doesn’t matter how well you do, but that you can tell your parents, ‘I was a leader in church today.’ “ 

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Serving God Through Music for Over Forty Years Pearl Nishino calls her retirement “disemployment” because she has every intention of continuing to serve in the ministry she loves. For 43 years, Pearl has worked with the music ministry of Kahului Union Church on Maui. “I didn’t even consider it a job,” she said. “It was all fun and play.” Pearl came to Kahului Union Church in 1964 after graduating from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. She had originally intended to major in music, but after two years of college she was married and moved with her husband to the mainland. When she returned to Hawai’i ten years later she decided she wanted to finish her degree but changed her major to sociology. Still, it was her love of music that influenced what she did next. Upon graduation, she volunteered at the church as the choir director. This then became a part-time job for her and eventually led to her being hired full-time to oversee the music ministry of the church. No one, including Pearl, can remember the exact date that she was hired part-time or even became a full-time employee, but everyone agrees she has been instrumental in the music ministry of the church for over 40 years. Church Pastor Dexter Teruya said that although she was originally hired as the choir director, over the years her job description changed and Pearl became the person primarily responsible for the Magnification Ministries of the church, which includes worship and creative arts, choirs, praise band, hula ministry, signing, drama and dance. “One of the outstanding things I see in Pearl is her loyalty and love for the church,” said Dexter. Church Member and Friend Mabel Sakuma agrees. “She’s touched many lives and has positively influenced many young people,” she said. “She has deep and sincere love for God. Her commitment to God is very deep.” Pearl said one of the things she loved about her job, besides being able to listen to music all day, was the people. “People are so good to me. God is so good to me,” she said. Two of Pearl’s three sons have developed her gift for music. One is a drummer in the Praise Band at Kahului Union Church, and the other plays guitar and sings at his church in Colorado. As music director, Pearl’s responsibilities included: playing the organ for the Nichigobu congregation as well as at some of the church’s English services; choosing and ordering music for the choirs, which included the Chancel Choir, directing a youth choir called The Rainbow Choir, as well as ensemble groups, the bell choir, and a senior citizens choir called Na Leo O Ona Kupuna. Now that she’s retired she says she will continue to volunteer as the organist for the Nichigobu congregation and possibly continue her work with Na Leo O Ona Kupuna. “I don’t know where God is leading me to, but I am open,” she said. Whatever Pearl decides to do now that she is “disemployed,” no one doubts that it will be a special gift that serves and honors God.  Back to Top Makiki Christian Church Reaches Out to Incarcerated Women and Their Families Having a family member who is incarcerated would be hard for anyone. But when that person is in a prison thousands of miles from home, it can be unbearable. For the past ten years, Makiki Christian Church (MCC) has participated in a ministry to help families and friends of prison inmates on the mainland stay connected with their loved ones and ease some of the pain of separation. The first Saturday of each month, family and friends of prison inmates in the Otter Creek, Kentucky, facility come to the church for a 15-minute video visit. MCC Member Marion Ikeda said the ministry began over ten years ago when Church Member Gloria Imamura and Good News Jail and Prison Ministry Chaplain John Vaughn came to speak to Makiki Church's Mission Board Board (now the Christian Witness Board). Chaplain Vaughn asked if someone from the church would serve on its Board and Marion volunteered.  One of things she did as a member of this Board was to help Gloria and John at Nu’uanu Baptist Church, which was an original site for hosting the video visits. When more churches were needed, MCC was asked to be a host site and the ministry began. Marion said many members have served in vital roles within this ministry over the years, including Paul Fereza, Alma O'Day, Susan Kamida, and Christian Witness Board Chair Becky Ashizawa. At first, the church hosted families of male inmates in an Oklahoma prison. All these visits were scheduled by the Good News Ministry. Over the years, the ministry has changed and currently the church is hosting families of the women inmates in Kentucky. The visits are now scheduled by the Hawai’i State Department of Public Safety. The State provides the camera and the cable connection, and the church provides a monitor.  The church also provides refreshments, which are. Each month, volunteers arrive at the church around 7 a.m. to set up for the visits. At 8 a.m. family members begin arriving. On any given Saturday, the church hosts families of as many as 16 inmates.  Marion remembers one man who came to the church every month with his four daughters for a video visit with his wife who was an inmate in the Kentucky prison. One day, Marion was at Kāhala Mall and someone tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned around she saw it was this man, his daughters, and his wife. “He gave me the biggest hug and introduced me to his wife who had been recently released from prison,” said Marion. Another story is of a woman who gave the church $20 to help with refreshment costs and then talked about how she had no more money. “I asked her why she was giving us money if that was all she had and tried to give it back but she refused,” Marion remembered. It was all the money the woman had but she wanted to show her appreciation to the church for what they were doing. Another way the inmates and their families are served through the church is with photo greeting cards. A couple in the church takes pictures of the families and then uses their own money to make and send photo cards to the inmates for holidays such as Christmas, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. “I’ve seen a change in me over the years of doing this,” said Marion. She remembers one time being very stressed because she had shingles and yet felt she needed to get the musubi made for a video visit that was to take place that day. She was up at 3 a.m. making the musubi before she realized God was teaching her something else. “I realized it’s not about the food but about the relationship,” she said. Marion said a testament to the value of the ministry is that many of the visitors don’t leave when their visits are over but choose to stay around and visit with other families and church members. It becomes a much-needed support time for these families. “It’s about having a time to share. You would think I helped to change others though this ministry but they’ve changed me,” she said. “They’ve been a blessing to me. The power of God does not go just one way but both ways. I know I have changed but it is God who deserves the praise. We are all just servants."  Church World Service Needs Your Help  Church World Service (CWS) is asking for your help to re-stock its shelves with school kits and clean up buckets. CWS keeps a supply of "Gift of the Heart" Health Kits and Emergency Cleanup Buckets on hand to immediately send to people in the event of a hurricane or other major disaster. At present, there are no clean up buckets available and with hurricane season just around the corner, this has become a priority. Through this service opportunity, church members are asked to assemble kits using specific guidelines and mail them to the Church of the Brethren campus in New Windsor, Maryland. The kits are kept at the center ready for any need that might arise throughout the world. Click HERE for more information and guidelines for assembling the kits and HERE for the coupon to submit with the kits. (Note: One change being implemented as a result of the survey is that people are asked to NOT include toothpaste in the kits, even though it is listed as one of the needed items. Kits are sometime stored for a year before they are shipped and CWS is finding that the toothpaste is no longer usable by the time recipients receive the kits. Toothpaste will now be purchased in bulk by New Windsor staff and included in kits just prior to shipping.)   Back to Top

 

Click the banner above to find out about mission opportuntiies available through the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ.  Mission Bulletin Stories Click HERE for the latest bulletin inserts featuring one of our missionaries. This latest bulletin is by Ruth Edens, former Global Missionary Intern who served in Beirut, Lebanon before being forced to evacuate.  GM Partner in China to Offer Made-In-China Bibles During 2008 Olympics Speaking at the celebration of the printing of the 50 millionth Bible by the Amity Printing Company (APC), Mr. Ye Xiaowen, Director of State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA) announced that Bibles printed at APC will be made available at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. He underscored what Rev. Cao Shengjie, President of China Christian Council (CCC), said in her speech earlier, that the Olympics is a great opportunity for sharing between Chinese Christians and Christians around the world. The TSPM/CCC is preparing to provide free Bibles and church services during the games to participants. Click HERE to read the entire article.   Sponsor a Child Child Sponsorships are a great way to support mission in the United Church of Christ. Sponsorships cost between $25 and $30 a month. There are no administrative fees--100% of the gift goes directly to the child. To learn more, click HERE. Back to Top

Letter from CGMB: Arab-Israeli-Palestinian Peace: From Crisis to Hope  (A Document for Peace in the Middle East)

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