RELIGION
COURTESY OLIVE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Olive United Methodist Church commemorates its 100th anniversary tomorrow at its present site in Wahiawa, 108 California Ave. Founded by Korean immigrants, the church holds weekly Sunday services in English, Korean and Samoan for its multicultural congregation.
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Multilingual church hits 100 years
The congregation in Wahiawa will host festivities for its anniversary
The multicultural congregation attending Olive United Methodist Church in Wahiawa prays in three languages -- English, Korean and Samoan -- at the weekly Sunday services.
Tomorrow the 300-member church will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its founding by Korean immigrants who came to Hawaii to work on sugar plantations.
The 2 p.m. event at 108 California Ave. will include remarks by dignitaries including Republic of Korea Consul General Dae Hyun Kang, Mayor Mufi Hannemann and state Sen. Robert Bunda.
The Rev. Sang Ho Yi, senior pastor, will be joined by the Rev. Woong Min Kim, superintendent of the United Methodist Church, Hawaii conference, and former pastors. A 30-member choir will lead the music.
Yi said speakers will reflect on the church's history and also celebrate the positive influence the church and its members have had on the community through the years.
COURTESY OLIVE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Members of Olive United Methodist Church pose for a group photo, circa 1930-40, at right.
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The Wahiawa church's festivities are another chapter in the statewide celebration of the centennial of Korean immigration which began in 1903. According to information compiled for the centennial, at least a third of the first Koreans who arrived in Hawaii were Christians. Several Methodist churches on Oahu have roots in that first wave of immigration.
"Remembering the Korean Brethren," a history of that church-founding first generation, is being sold for $25 during the celebration at Olive Methodist.
The congregation moved from its original location on Olive Avenue to its current location where the present church building was completed in 1964. Construction of the Education Building was begun in 2002. It is used for Sunday school, Bible classes, meetings, youth activities and community activities.
Olive was honored in 1979 by the United Methodist Church's California Pacific Conference as the "First Inclusive Church of the Year" in recognition of its diverse congregation.
Yi said, "We hope to be deserving of that honor for the next 100 years."
