Members of the Kapa‘a Seventh- Day Adventist Church have been dedicating their time and energy to assist with the construction of their church. Should all go as scheduled, the members will start worshipping in their church by the end of
Members of the Kapa‘a Seventh- Day Adventist Church have been dedicating their time and energy to assist with the construction of their church.
Should all go as scheduled, the members will start worshipping in their church by the end of the summer.
The facility is located on a parcel of land owned by the church since 1930, which once contained a church, social hall and two homes.
In January 2000, the church board decided that the existing structure couldn’t survive the many repairs it needed, and planned to have a new one built.
Construction should have been completed within a year.
Nearly four years later, contractor Curtis E. Law stepped in to help the parishioners complete the project.
“Curtis E. Law was an answer to a prayer in waiting. Once Law stepped in as the lead contractor, things began to move in full swing,” church leaders said.
“With the help of other individuals, the final outcome will be a new, modern and beautiful church, which will soon open its door and welcome the community for worship.” “The fact that we have been, in a sense, ‘homeless,’ has been difficult for our members, but knowing that we will soon worship in out own new church is worth the wait,” said Pastor V.G.
Arreola III, Ph.D. While the church is under construction, Seventh-Day Adventist Saturday services and potluck dinners and lunches have been held at All Saints Church, First Hawaiian Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, all in Kapa‘a. “It was a real heartbreak to have it come down because of all the memories we had there, as it is with any old church. It went down in January 2000 with the intentions that it would be rebuilt within a year,” said Stella Hew, a longtime member. Her father-inlaw, Peter Hew, was well-known in Kaua‘i as a man who often lent people vehicles and other things they needed, she said.
Peter Hew was among the first Seventh-Day Adventists on the island and was instrumental in developing a church here, she added. Hew’s friends and contemporaries came forward to donate funds for the church construction.
She said that though many pieces of the original church were not able to be saved, some members kept glass doors, glass doorknobs and other furnishings.
‘The sad part of this is some of the old-timers were hoping their final days of worship would be in that new church, but unfortunately several of them passed away before it was completed,” Hew added.
In 2000, members tried to hold services in their own homes, or attend the church in Lawa‘i. After nearly a year, Pastor Putts (since moved to Honolulu) and the board decided to rent space from the LDS church. Often, groups of visiting Seventh-Day Adventists come to worship on Saturdays and join the following potluck lunches.
The Kapa‘a Seventh-Day Adventist Church was established 74 years ago. Members are looking forward to continuing with various community programs.
The church has received donations for furnishings, and are still raising funds for furnishings for a children’s room. Parishioners usually meet Sunday mornings to work on the grounds, stone wall, roofing and cement work, followed by a potluck lunch. “Although there have been several stumbling blocks and years of waiting for the completion, the faith of the members has remained strong knowing that all things will soon be back to normal,” church leaders said.
The Kapa‘a Seventh-Day Adventist Church is located at 4- 1132 Kuhio Hwy. Services are being held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Kapa‘a, just across the Waikaea Canal. The church will be holding a fund-raising yard sale in the next month or so.
For more information, call Pastor Arreola at 821-2258.
