PUKAʻANA CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
Our Worship
Join Us Sunday
Mornings at 8:30
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Extravagant
Welcome
This is God's house of prayer, refuge, and belonging for all people. We believe that no matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here.
There are too many exclusive spaces in this world - including some churches. WE ARE NOT ONE OF THEM.
We are a safe, loving, and inclusive space where all are invited and all are welcome to experience the love and presence of God and community just as they are.
Worship Services
Our worship life as a congregation is expressed in our Sunday Services, in services commemorating "holy" days sacred to the story of universal Christianity and to the Hawaiian congregational churches, and in services celebrated together with the wider United Church of Christ family.
Our services continue to follow a liturgical pattern - calls to worship, invoking prayers, scripture readings, sermons, prayers for the people, offertory (or, collection of offerings), holy communion, and, of course, the singing of hymns and praise songs.
And, yes, we are old school. We still format, print, and distribute worship bulletins. All of our bulletins may be found here.
Languages
As a historic, Hawaiian, congregational church, our services are conducted in both English and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi - in our singing, praying, reading of scripture, and preaching. Our church, however, welcomes people of all languages and dialects to share in our services and activities in ways they are most comfortable.
In recognition of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi being the native language of these islands and of the majority of our members, and the history of the illegal annexation and colonization leading to near extinction of our language, our congregation remains committed to the preservation and perpetuation of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi through our worship services and in other areas.
Holy Communion
In April 2024, our congregation began celebrating Holy Communion weekly reflecting a deeper understanding of Communion and of our shared desire to make it a central part of our worship life and experience together. Communion serves as a tangible reminder of redemption, reconciliation, and restoration available to us all through Jesus Christ.
We are moved by Christ's leading to break bread together and share the cup "as often" as possible - creating as many opportunities to invite and welcome all to come to the table just as they are to experience the love and presence of God in community.
This is the table, not of the church, but of God. We believe that it is Jesus' desire for us to meet him there. So, we invite all with extravagant welcome to join us at Christ's table.
Musical Style
Our congregation loves to sing. We continue to sing hymns that have been passed through the generations in English and ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi. Our English-language hymnal is Worship & Rejoice (2003), and our Hawaiian-language hymnal is Nā Hīmeni O Ka ʻEkalesia (1999).
We also enjoy singing contemporary praise and worship songs which make regular appearances in our worship services.