Set in the heart of historic Haleiwa Town on Oahu's North Shore, Lili'uokalani Protestant Church occupies a stone sanctuary surrounded by a cemetery, an entry stone arch, and grounds where an 'iwa (great frigate bird) weathervane has stood watch since 1985. The congregation is among the oldest continuous Protestant churches in the Hawaiian Islands, tracing its roots to 1832 when missionaries Rev. John S. Emerson and his wife Ursula sailed into Waialua. Today the church carries the name of Queen Lili'uokalani, the last monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom, who kept a home along the Anahulu Stream in Haleiwa and worshipped in the predecessor sanctuary during her visits. The congregation's Hawaiian motto, "E onipa'a mau i ka hana o Ke Akua," translates as "Remain steadfast in the work of the Lord."
Sunday Mornings at Lili'uokalani
Sunday unfolds in a deliberate, unhurried rhythm. Adult Bible Study opens the day at 8:45 a.m. inside the church, while Sunday School for all ages gathers at 8:30 a.m. and then splits into children's, youth, and makua (adult) classes at 9:00 a.m. At 9:45 a.m. the Singspiration, an extended time of group singing, fills the sanctuary, leading into the main worship service at 10:00 a.m. Holy Communion is observed on the first Sunday of every month.
The Board of Deacons tends the spiritual life of the congregation, preparing the communion ware, calling on the sick and the needy, and distributing charitable offerings as available. Those exploring membership complete three Membership Invitational classes and an interview with the Deacons before the Church Council welcomes them. Visitors can speak with a deacon or leave a prayer request on the podium as they enter the sanctuary.
From Grass Hut to Stone Sanctuary: A Long Hawaiian Story
The congregation began on July 24, 1832, when Rev. John S. Emerson and Ursula Emerson sailed from Honolulu to Waialua aboard a "little native schooner." Greeted offshore by High Chief Gideon Peleioholani La'anui, grandnephew of Kamehameha I, the Emersons had come around Cape Horn aboard the whaleship Averick from New Bedford, Massachusetts. In the fall of that year the first church, a hale pili (grass house), was dedicated with sixteen members. A 100-year-old, fifteen-inch pū (conch shell) called the people to worship, and more than 2,000 Native Hawaiians attended the dedication on the corner where the Hale'iwa Hotel once stood and where Hale'iwa Joe's stands today.
Three sanctuaries have stood on or near the present site. The second, built of adobe in 1840 to 1841, rose on what is now the cemetery and measured roughly one hundred by forty-two feet; its bell still rings. A third wooden church went up in 1890 on the spot the current building occupies, and it was there that Queen Lili'uokalani worshipped during her Haleiwa summers. Construction of the present stone sanctuary began in 1960, and the building was dedicated in 1961. Designed by architect Theodore A. Vierra, who was born in 1902 and died in 1987, the new campus included the stone "Endeavor Arch" at the entry drive, an idea of Archibald Maha'ulu, whose parents had been retainers of the missionary couple. When the wooden church was replaced, the bronze tablet once mounted on the archway was moved to the front of the new sanctuary.
The original Hawaiian charter name of the church, long shortened for everyday use, was "Ka Ahahui Kahu Malama Waiwai O Ka Ekalesia O Kawailoa Ma Waialua." Members and neighbors shortened it to The Hawaiian Church, then Waialua Protestant Church. The charter was renewed when the present sanctuary opened and the congregation officially adopted the name Lili'uokalani Protestant Church, though the name had been used informally for years.
The Emersons and Queen Lili'uokalani
Rev. John S. Emerson (1800 to 1867) served the Waialua congregation twice, from 1832 to 1842 and again from 1845 to 1864. His wife, Ursula Sophia Newell Emerson (1806 to 1888), raised their children first in a grass hut on the banks of the Anahulu Stream and later in a larger home built on the stream in 1834. As missionaries they were pastors, school teachers, doctors, farmers, and mechanics all at once, and Hawaiians long remembered them as "na makua o ka pono," the fathers of righteousness.
Queen Lili'uokalani (1838 to 1917) gave the congregation two of its most distinctive treasures. Around 1860 she donated a large steeple clock for the adobe church completed in 1843. Then on New Year's Day, January 1, 1892, she presented a one-of-a-kind, thirty-two-inch-diameter clock with seven hands, said to have been made in Connecticut and patented in 1889. The Queen replaced the numerals on the dial with the letters of her name, and the price reportedly paid was $60.00.
Stained Glass, the 'Iwa Weathervane, and Sanctuary Treasures
The stained glass that fills the sanctuary was designed by Erica Karawina (Hsiao), who was born in Germany in 1904, came to the United States in 1923, and trained under Frederick W. Allen of the Boston Museum School and Charles J. Connick of Chicago's First Presbyterian Church. After moving to Honolulu in 1949, Karawina developed a faceted-glass technique, hammering and chiseling rough pieces before setting them in epoxy. She designed the Rose Window in June 1961 as a memorial to members who had contributed to the building fund but did not live to see the sanctuary completed. Her work can be seen across Hawaii, from the Honolulu Advertiser building to the dome of Kalanimoku Hale.
The sanctuary's individual windows draw their themes from the writing of the late Rev. Dr. Samuel M. Saffery, Sr., who served the church from 1940 to 1971 and shaped the modern congregation. The Chalice, the Fish, the Alpha and Omega, the Vine, the Fountain, and the Crown all bear his name in their dedications, alongside memorials such as the Bush (from the Kauahikaua family in memory of Mary Pailolo Kawahakui), the Eye (from the Gilman family in memory of William Kaawaloa and Hannah Kahanawale Kaui Gilman), the Manger, and the Star, each a gift from a family remembering one of its own.
The 'Iwa weathervane was dedicated on May 12, 1985, a gift of the Cox Ohana (with descendants including the Inainas, Plemers, Maunakeas, Kaapanas, Waiwaioles, Dempsters, and Coxes). It replaces a traditional rooster weathervane that had topped the previous sanctuary and shows an 'iwa bird clutching a fish in its beak. Haleiwa itself means "home of the 'iwa," and the early Hawaiians watched circling 'iwa birds to read an oncoming storm and followed their dives to find schools of fish. The fish in the vane's beak echoes Matthew 13:47 to 48: "The kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind." Two leaves of the 'iwa kiloumoku fern sit at the base.
Annual Luau and Stewardship Missions
The Annual Church Luau, held in early August, is one of the most anticipated fundraisers on the North Shore. The menu runs to kalua pig, chicken long rice, squid luau, lomi lomi salmon, poke, opihi, raw crab, sweet potato, haupia, kulolo, pineapple, rice, and poi. Preparation begins midweek, with the pigs lowered into the underground imu on Thursday and lifted out on Friday for the Saturday feast under a large white tent. The Board of Stewardship, made up of Nicole Andrade, Eileen Hirota, Jennifer Hirota-Tulikihihifo, and Meri Peter, organizes the event, with John Hirota as luau chair and Eileen Hirota as entertainment chair. Proceeds support the church's mission and help sustain a full-time minister.
Each spring the congregation hosts the Annual Kalua Pig Fundraiser on the church grounds, with plate lunches, baked goods, jams and jellies, and craft vendors. The Stewardship Board also partners with the United Church of Christ on four annual mission offerings: One Great Hour of Sharing on the fourth Sunday in Lent, Strengthen the Church on Pentecost Sunday, Neighbors in Need on World Communion Sunday, and the Christmas Fund on the Sunday before Christmas.
Music, Hymns, and Hawaiian Heritage
Music Director Eileen Hirota, supported by pianist Kyle Ladao, leads the Music Committee. The 9:45 Singspiration is one of the more distinctive features of Sunday morning, and the Hawaiian hymnal Na Himeni O Ka Ekalesia remains a particular point of pride. Published in eleven editions since 1821, when the earliest Protestant missionaries first translated their favourite songs of worship into Hawaiian, it is the only Hawaiian hymnal still in print in the world and pairs traditional and contemporary hymns in the Hawaiian language, with a taro-plant cross on the cover to mark the family's role in faith.
Until the early 1940s, services at Lili'uokalani were conducted in Hawaiian. The congregation still carries the name Ekalesia o Lili'uokalani in prayer and bulletin, and the church continues to honor the Hawaiian tradition of kūpuna, the elders, as the transmitters of hā, the breath of life, to younger generations. The church year follows the rhythms of Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and the long Time after Pentecost.
Visiting Lili'uokalani Protestant Church
The church is at 66-090 Kamehameha Highway in Haleiwa, with the mailing address P.O. Box 187, Haleiwa, Hawaii 96712. The office can be reached at (808) 637-9364 or at info@liliuchurch.com. Sunday mornings begin with Sunday School at 8:30 a.m., Adult Bible Study at 8:45 a.m., the Singspiration at 9:45 a.m., and worship at 10:00 a.m., with Holy Communion on the first Sunday of each month. The church provides baptisms, blessings, marriages and renewal of vows, and memorial services or funerals. Emerson Hall is available for gatherings, and the on-site cemetery remains open for visitors who want to walk among the founders of the congregation and those who shaped Christianity in Hawaii. Giving supports the local ministry and the four UCC mission offerings, with mail gifts welcomed at the P.O. Box.