Community Vigil for Peace: Marking the Deaths of Those Killed in Gaza
- Hawai‘i Conference
- 2 hours ago
- 1 min read
In a three-hour service on Saturday, May 16, 2026, following the 78th anniversary of the ongoing Nakba (“catastrophe” in Arabic), people of conscience gathered to share from their various faiths and spoke aloud the names of 968 individuals under one year old and 262 journalists killed in Gaza between October 2023 to July 2025. The purpose was to hold space, to remember and honor the lives taken, to know we are not alone in our grief, to allow the magnitude of loss to move us.
This service was held at Central Union Church of Honolulu and organized by Faith Action for Community Equity with participation from the wider faith community. Various Christian denominations were present including voices from the Buddhist community, Muslim community, and Jewish community. Participating from the Hawaiʻi Conference was Rev. Rushan Sinnaduray (Central Union), Rev. David Hubert (United Church of Christ - Judd Street), Rev. Kyle Lovett, Kristen Young, and Rev. Dr. David Popham (Conference Minister).
This vigil aligns with a resolution that was affirmed at the ʻAha Paeʻāina in 2024 calling us to education and action regarding the crisis in Gaza, to publicly pray and call for an immediate and permanent
ceasefire in Gaza and Palestine.
While the service centered around Gaza, where over 75,000 have been killed since October 2023, thoughts and prayers include all who have been maimed, murdered, held captive around the world.
The shared commitment to peace, justice, and the dignity of every human life was affirmed.
