WHAT WE BELIEVE
The Pillars of our Faith Tradition
Our congregation’s faith tradition is rooted in being Christian, Reformed, Congregational, Evangelical, and deeply Hawaiian—an identity shaped by the meeting of biblical faith with the lived wisdom and resilience of our kūpuna. We stand in the Congregational Christian heritage brought to Hawai'i in the 19th century, yet our theology has been continually shaped, enriched, and sustained by Hawaiian language, culture, and values. As a congregational church within the United Church of Christ, we affirm the autonomy of the local church, the authority of Scripture, the centrality of Christ, and the guiding presence of the Spirit, walking together in covenant as a people of aloha, justice, and hope.
Christian.
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.
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.
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.
We proclaim in word and deed the Gospel revealed in Jesus Christ to individual people and society in gathering for the worship of God and engaging in the service of humankind.
Hawaiian.
We celebrate and perpetuate the language, history, traditions, values, and principles of our kupuna through whom we have received the heritage of faith.
Our Common 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.
UCC Statement of Faith & Creeds
Our church affirms the UCC Statement of Faith, the Nicene Creed, and the Apostles’ Creed, and other historic Christian 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.
Our Covenant of Faith
WE BELIEVE IN GOD, KE AKUA, Creator of heaven and earth, who forms us in love and calls us into a life of justice, mercy, and aloha. We believe in Jesus Christ, the living Word, our Teacher and Savior; and in the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide; and that these three are one God, united in love.
WE REVERENTLY RECEIVE THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
as a living witness of God’s presence. We trust the Scriptures to guide our faith and practice as they are interpreted through prayer, study, the life of Jesus, and the wisdom of our community.
WE BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, who “was with God and was God” (John 1:1), who lived among us full of grace and truth, who welcomed the outcast, healed the broken, stood with the oppressed, and offered his whole life for the reconciliation of the world. In his resurrection, God’s love overcame death, fear, and injustice.
WE BELIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT leads us to turn from all that harms, divides, or destroys, and calls us to follow Christ’s way of self-giving love. As Jesus said, “If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34).
WE BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION and in the ultimate justice and mercy of God. We trust Christ’s promise: “Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:26), and we place our hope in God’s future of restoration, healing, and peace for all creation.
WE BELIEVE WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH, not by our own doing, but by God’s abundant love. The good we do is the fruit of that grace, not its cause. Therefore, we offer our gifts, our service, and our lives as expressions of gratitude to God and as participation in Christ’s work of compassion and justice.
WE AFFIRM OUR CONGREGATIONAL WAY, honoring the Hawaiian ancestors who built and sustained this church and embracing the freedom and responsibility to seek God’s will together. In covenant with one another and the wider United Church of Christ, we listen, discern, and lead as one 'ohana (family).
WE JOYFULLY COMMIT OURSELVES to the life and ministry of this church, promising to support its peace, unity, and mission by our prayers, our presence, our resources, and our aloha, so long as God grants us fellowship within this 'ohana of faith. Amen.