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By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Kawaiahao Church deaconess Geraldine Hewett kisses
the hands of the Rev. James A. Fung

Kamehameha
graduate named
Kawaiaha‘o pastor

The Rev. James Fung has led
congregations on the
mainland for 25 years

By Mary Adamski
Star-Bulletin

A Kamehameha Schools graduate who has been a pastor to Connecticut and Michigan congregations for the past 25 years has been named pastor of Kawaiahao Church.

Members of the historical downtown church yesterday selected the Rev. James A. Fung, 52, to fill the vacancy left when the Rev. William Kaina retired more than two years ago.

Fung and his wife, Faith, live in Kalamazoo, Mich. He had been senior pastor of the Portage United Church of Christ in Portage, Mich., since 1991. The church has undergone a 70 percent growth in membership during his tenure, according to a report from the Kawaiahao pastor search committee.

The search committee considered 35 candidates during the two-year vacancy. Church bylaws required that the senior pastor be of Hawaiian ancestry and be fluent in the Hawaiian language.

The latter requirement was eased to call for someone who "can articulate Hawaiian and is willing to learn" the language, said church moderator Brickwood Galuteria.

By George F. Lee, Star-Bulletin
Violet Akaka congratulates the newly elected pastor,
who preached to the congregation yesterday.

Fung preached at Kawaiahao on Jan. 9 and again yesterday. He was introduced to members at a social gathering in the church hall Saturday night.

He was in the 1965 graduating class of Kamehameha Schools. He received a bachelor's degree at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, and a master's degree from Drew Theological School in Madison, N.J.

He earned a doctorate in ministry from Hartford Seminary in Connecticut.

He was ordained in 1974 in the Michigan Conference of the United Church of Christ. He was an associate pastor at churches in Greenwich and Wethersfield, Conn., before taking his current post.

He is the son of Catherine Wilcox Fung, who is a Kawaiahao Church member. He and his wife have two grown children.

Fung "not only meets Kawaiahao's needs, but will in time exceed them," said Sally Akaka Truong, chairwoman of the search committee, in an announcement to the congregation.