Pastor Amy visits Ke’anae Market on Maui

May 31

As many of you know, Pastor Amy recently returned to her home islands of Hawaii to care for her parents and to work as interim pastor at the Community Church of Honolulu. In May, she had the chance to visit the Ke’anae Market on Maui and visit with founder Kamaile Pahukoa. Here are some of the highlights of the visit.

Kamaile Pahukoa, granddaughter of one of the church members of Ke'anae Congregational Church on the island, and her team founded the Ke’anae Market after seeing an opportunity to help the community retain essential community property. The market offers local vendors, farmers, and artists the chance to sell their products on the heavily traveled tourist road to Hana. Vendors at the market include farmers, local artists, bakers (the area is famous for banana bread), and candy makers.

Due to the legacy of colonization, generational poverty, and racism in Hawai’i, The church is in danger of losing their property; funds from the market will help with church expenses, maintenance and restoration. Lanakila ‘Ihi‘ihi O Iehowa O na Kaua Church, known as Ke‘anae Congregational Church, was built in 1860 and is the only building in the area to survive the tsunami in 1946. Restored in 1969, the church holds history and significance for this community and its people.

A native Hawaiian, Kamaile moved to the mainland and attended Grand Canyon University in Arizona. She returned to the island to care for her kupuna, her grandmother, after she suffered a stroke. Her grandmother is one of the remaining members of the Ke'anae church. It was then she became aware of the plight of the church.