KAILUA-KONA — Mokuaikaua Church, the first Christian church built in Hawaii, recently received a $250,000 grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places to support restoration efforts at the historic site.
The quarter-million-dollar grant was previously announced in 2016, when Partners for Sacred Places and the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the church among a list of 14 inaugural grantees for the program.
Earlier this year, Mokuaikaua Church, which was founded in 1820 by the Rev. Asa Thurston with the support of Royal Gov. John Adams Kuakini, launched its “Campaign of Spiritual Renewal,”to support its own efforts toward restoration and preservation.
“With a minimum goal of $3.4 million, the campaign will allow the church to address critical preservation work,” said a release from the church. “The preservation will be done in phases; the first of which will address the safety and structural stability of the sanctuary while maintaining the church’s historic construction character.”
“Mokuaikaua Church is a revered sacred place that is suffering the ravages of time through nearly 200 years of usage,” said the Rev. David deCarvalho, senior pastor, in a statement from the church. “In order to continue to serve the needs of congregants and visitors alike, we need to come together and preserve our historic church. We’re extremely grateful for the prestigious grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places and hope the community will respond in kind as a tribute to our founders and as a legacy for the future.”
A 2016 press release from the National Trust for Historic Preservation said the fund would provide for as much as $250,000 in capital grants, as well as planning grants and a variety of services, for at least 50 congregations representing a diversity of faiths across four years.
The Kailua-Kona church, West Hawaii Today reported at the time, was selected for support because of its historical legacy as well as its unique building. The church’s website says the stone-and-mortar structure, which was completed in 1837, was likely made from stones from a nearby heiau with lime made from burned coral. Its construction beams meanwhile are fashioned from ohia.