The new Central Union Church was dedicated 102 years ago.
Cover Image: Masthead of Ka Nupepa Kuokoa printed on April 3, 1924.
Image: Central Union Church [Kaukeano], Honolulu, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. ca. 1934. Bishop Museum Archives, SP 241561.
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Image: Central Union Church [Kaukeano] by night, Honolulu, Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. Photo by Tai Sing Loo. Bishop Museum Archives, SP 241560.
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The construction of the new Central Union Church [Kaukeano] was completed in April 1924. The ceremonies associated with this dedication ran from the 18th of May to the 25th.
Image: “Ma ka La 18 o Mei e Hoolaaia ai ka Luakini Hou,” Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, April 3, 1924, p. 5.
The New Church to be Dedicated on the 18th of May
For the dedication of the new Kaukeano Church1 that stands on Kapunahou, the president of the Pacific School of Religion at Berkeley, Herman F. Swartz, D. D. will be the speaker on that day, and he will arrive here in Honolulu on the 13th of May as per the news received over the wireless telegraph and announced by Rev. Albert W. Palmer, the pastor of Kaukeano this Sunday morning.
On the 18th, the new church will be dedicated and Dr. Swartz is a speaker befitting the dedication excercises. During that entire week, from the 18th to the 25th, only activities related to the dedication will take place on those days, with the inclusion of dedicatory hymns and the dedication of all other matter.
News was also received over the wireless telegraph from William W. Carruth, that he is arriving as well aboard the same steamship as Dr. Swartz to play the organ for these dedication ceremonies. Mr. Carruth is the head of the department of Mills College and a graduate of the Yale School of Music and a student of Jepsen and Parker, the famous organ teachers of Yale College. He was also taught by Widor, the French organist renown at St. Sulpice in the city of Paris, and he is a member of the American Guild of Organists.
The new church of Kaukeano is complete today and there are very tiny things remaining that are being cleaned up, however the work will be done before the time it is to be dedicated. It is one of the beautiful and elegant churches in stature in this city of Honolulu, and it was built in a peaceful location and very far away from the street cars which are noisy and disruptive during prayer; one of the reasons why the church was set apart on Kapunahou.
1Kaukeano was the Hawaiian name for the Fort Street Church (also Luakini Halepāpū). In 1886 however, fire consumed the Pōlelewa church, or Bethel Union (Luakini Betela) and resulted in the merging of the two congregations to form Central Union in 1887. From then on, Central Union would carry the name Kaukeano.
This post is part of He Aupuni Palapala: Preserving and Digitizing the Hawaiian Language Newspapers, a partnership between Bishop Museum and Awaiaulu with assistance from Kamehameha Schools. Mahalo nui loa to Hawaii Tourism Authority for their support. Learn more about this project here.
