Our Story
Our church was founded in 1849 by the Rev. John D. Paris, a missionary for the 9th company of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) to the Sandwich Islands. A church of coral and lava rock was constructed along the shoreline of Hoʻokena.
In 1900, a second church was built in the upper village of Keālia to accommodate the growing Christian community. Both churches served simultaneously until 1950, when the first church sustained significant structural damage following an earthquake. Three walls remain standing and it continues to be a pilgrimage site for those journeying along the shore.
Since 1950, the second (or, keiki) church has served as our primary house of worship; and, remains the spiritual center of our community.
Seven generations and 175 years later, we celebrate a new chapter in our journey together. With thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness and for the faithfulness of those through whom God has sustained this church, we continue to be a community in pursuit of Jesus and his goodness, proclaiming the gospel through our words and actions, and living out our lives as vessels of God’s peace, justice, and holy love.
Our Mission
Sent forth by the Spirit, we follow Jesus into the world -loving God and community through our service, our witness, and our faithful stewardship of creation.
Our Vision
We envision Pukaana Congregational Church to be a house of prayer, refuge, and belonging for all people where lives are transformed by the gospel, disciples of Jesus are nurtured and equipped, all are drawn into loving, faithful relationship with God through Christ and compassionate action in the world; and, rooted in our kūleana to mālama
ʻāina, our commitment to the faithful stewardship of the land, waters, and historic spaces entrusted to our care is lived out as an expression of our love for God, creation, and future generations.
We are the United Church of Christ.
The UCC came into being in 1957 with the union of three Protestant denominations – the Evangelical and Reformed Church, the Afro-Christian Convention, and the Congregational Christian Churches. Missionaries from the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions brought the Gospel to Hawai'i in 1820 and organized the Hawaiian Evangelical Association. The HEA became the Hawai'i Conference UCC in 1959.
Therefore, our theological identity can be described as:
Christian.
Kalikiano.
We declare ourselves to be a part of the Body of Christ, continuing the witness of the early disciples to the reality and power of the risen Christ, Jesus of Nazareth.
Reformed.
Ho'oponopono Hou.
We confess the authority of God, the primacy of the Scriptures, the doctrine of justification by faith, the priesthood of all believers, and the principle of Christian freedom.
Congregational.
Kalawina.
We affirm the autonomy of the local church as inviolable but seek trustful covenantal relationships that bring the wider United Church of Christ into being.
Evangelical.
'Euanelio.
We fulfill the “work of the people” to proclaim in word and deed the Gospel of God’s love revealed in Jesus Christ to individual people and society in gathering for the worship of God and engaging in the service of humankind.
Hawaiian.
Hawai'i.
We celebrate and perpetuate the language, history, traditions, values, and principles of our kupuna through whom we have received the heritage of faith.
Our Shared Beliefs
We believe in the one, true, triune God: Creator, resurrected Christ who is the sole Head of the church, and the Holy Spirit who guides and brings about the creative and redemptive work of God in the world.
We believe in the divine inspiration, not literal dictation, of the Bible. We view the Bible as a sacred collection of writings about relationship and response to the Divine recorded over millennia by people of all walks of life. We believe that the words of Scripture lead and guide us to the true Word of God - Jesus Christ. We approach and interpret Scripture through the lens of Jesus, as a source of inspiration, understanding, guidance, and timeless ancestral wisdom, and as a channel through which God is still speaking to us today.
We believe that God calls us to be servants in the service of others and to be good stewards of the earth’s resources. "To believe is to care; to care is to do."
We believe that all people of faith are invited to join Christ at Christ’s table for the sacrament of Communion. Just as many grains are gathered to make one loaf of bread and many grapes are gathered to make one cup of wine, we, the many people of God, are made one in the body of Christ, the church.
We believe in and practice the Sacrament of Baptism as an outward and visible sign of the grace of God where a person is joined with the body of Christ. In baptism, God works in us the power of forgiveness, the renewal of the spirit, and the knowledge of the call to be God’s people. In our tradition, baptism is made available to infants, children, youth, and adults.
We believe that all of the baptized ‘belong body and soul to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.’ Whoever you are and wherever you may be on life's journey – notwithstanding race, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, class or creed – we all belong to God and to one worldwide community of faith.
We believe in the power of peace, and work for nonviolent solutions to local, national, and international problems.
We believe that each person is unique and valuable; and, that each person is at different stages of a spiritual journey. It is the will of God that every person belongs to a family of faith where they have a strong sense of being valued and loved.
We believe that the United Church of Christ is called to be a prophetic church. As in the tradition of the prophets and apostles, God calls the church to speak truth to power, liberate the oppressed, care for the poor and comfort the afflicted.
We believe that all members shall have the undisturbed right to their own individual interpretation of the principles of the Christian faith according to the dictates of each member's own conscience enlightened by the Holy Spirit.
Creeds &
Statements
Our church affirms the UCC Statement of Faith and the historic Christian creeds, such as the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds, as meaningful expressions of our shared faith. They are valuable testimonies to the love of God and the life of Jesus Christ, helping to connect us to the wider Christian community across time and place. While we honor these statements, we do not require uniform belief in them—trusting instead that faith is a personal journey and that honest questions and diverse understandings are part of our life together in Christ.
UCC Statement of Faith
The United Church of Christ Statement of Faith was first written in 1959 as a unifying expression of belief for the newly formed denomination. It was crafted not as a test of faith but as a testimony, celebrating God’s ongoing relationship with humanity through creation, covenant, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. The Statement emphasizes themes of justice, love, freedom, and service, reflecting a progressive Christian commitment to living out the gospel. It has been presented in several versions—including in inclusive language—and remains a foundational expression of shared faith and purpose in the UCC.
Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed was developed at the Councils of Nicaea (325 CE) and Constantinople (381 CE) to articulate the core beliefs of the early church and to affirm the full divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ. It was created in response to theological disputes, especially around the nature of Christ and the Trinity. The creed affirms belief in one God, Jesus as the Son of God, the Holy Spirit, the Church, baptism, resurrection, and eternal life. It is widely used in liturgical traditions and continues to serve as a central statement of Christian orthodoxy across denominations.
Apostles' Creed
The Apostles’ Creed is an early summary of Christian faith, developed as a baptismal confession in the Western church by the 4th century, though its roots are earlier. Despite the name, it was not written by the apostles, but it reflects their teachings. It affirms belief in God the Creator, Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, the Holy Spirit, the Church, forgiveness, resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Its simple and clear structure has made it a beloved and enduring statement of faith across many Christian communities.