Historic Churches Celebrate
First National Fund Training in Fort Worth
On October 23, 1819—a chilly morning in Boston Harbor—the sailing ship Thaddeus embarked for the “Sandwich Islands.” Among the passengers were Christian missionaries Asa and Lucy Goodale Thurston, accompanied by four Hawaiian youth.
They arrived at their destination on April 4, 1820. An entry in the ship’s journal says, “At 10 o’clock this morning, 163 days from Boston, we came to anchor…about a mile from the palace.” That palace belonged to King Kamehameha and Queen Regent Ka’ahumanu. The royal couple granted the Thurstons permission to teach their faith, and they founded Mokuaikaua Church, the first Christian congregation on the Hawaiian Islands.
By 1837, the congregants built a sanctuary adorned with recycled stones from an ancient Hawaiian temple. The interior featured lustrous koa wood. That structure, majestic and beautiful, still sits in the middle of Kailua Kona on the Big Island, welcoming over 4,000 visitors every month. It became part of the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
Mokuaikaua is one of 14 churches selected in the first round of the National Fund for Sacred Places. Made possible by grants from the Lilly Endowment, this partnership between PSP and the National Trust for Historic Preservation will provide up to $10 million in capital and development grants to 50 congregations of diverse faiths over the next four years.
Nine of the fourteen met in Fort Worth on January 23-25 for the first National Fund Training. Led by Partners’ staff, participants focused on effective capital campaigns. This will be vital as each team prepares to apply for matching grants ranging from $50,000 - $250,000. The nine represented a broad, fascinating cross-section of American sacred places, including:
- Divine Redeemer Presbyterian Church (San Antonio, TX)
- First Christian Reformed Church (Grand Rapids, MI)
- Kadesh A.M.E. Zion Church (Edenton, NC)
- Broad Bay Congregational United Church of Christ (Waldoboro, ME)
- Mokuaikaua Church (Kailua-Kona, HI)
- North Christian Church (Columbus, IN)
- Trinity United Methodist Church (Idaho Falls, ID)
- Trinity-St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (San Francisco, CA)
- Urban Grace (Tacoma, WA)
David de Carvalho has been Pastor at Mokuaikaua since 2011. He says this about the training. “Partners for Sacred Places is highly skilled, professional, and efficient. It’s encouraging to know they will help us raise the money and community support we need. We will use the funds we obtain to repair the landmark steeple of our historic church.”
The team from Kadesh AME Zion Church, Denton, North Carolina. (Left to right): Rev. Michael Gaddy; John Hildreth, VP National Trust, North Carolina; Mike Irvin, Executive Director of the Commission, Denton Historical Foundation
Our Director, Suzy Yowell, and Program Manager, Alison Hernandez worked tirelessly to coordinate the many details for the gathering.
“The level of energy, dedication, and talent was remarkable,” says Yowell. “This opportunity will be a game changer for both these congregations andtheir communities as they preserve their rich spiritual, historical and architectural assets for generations to come.”