The Rev. Raymond Kalili, of Kamalamalama O Keao Church in Hauula, holds a freshly caught squid which he will use for the church's fund-raising luau next Saturday. The tiny chapel seats just 80, but as many as 1,000 people are expected at the annual event.
Luau for the Soul
An annual taste treat raises money
to restore a church
A tiny Hauula chapel with seating for 80 isn't always full for the Sunday morning service in the Hawaiian language. But the members of Kamalamalama O Keao Church expect as many as 1,000 people to join them next Saturday for their annual luau.
The fund-raising effort means hours of hard work for the 38-family congregation, which is preparing an old-fashioned feast. It draws people from Honolulu and the Leeward Coast who recognize the bargain of a $10 Hawaiian banquet in the country setting with music and hula all afternoon.
It's the sixth year of the money-raising to finance the repair and restoration of the green landmark church next to Sacred Falls Park. This year, the goal is to replace the windows that rattle in their termite-damaged frames.
Kamalamalama O Keao Church
» Address: 53-800 Kamehameha Highway, Hauula
» Sunday service: 8 a.m.
» Annual luau: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. next Saturday
» Hawaiian plate: $10
» Kalua pork takeout: $6
» Also available: Stew plate lunch
On a typical day last week, Kahu Richard Kalili strolled across Kamehameha Highway for an hour in the ocean searching for squid to add to the freezer stash. "I need 20 more, 40 at least for the squid luau," he figured.
When he got back, he settled down to some serious painting, the finishing touch to wooden picnic tables that he built earlier.
Those were just two chapters on the story of a typical country luau. His wife, Lenora, makes the haupia in their commercial standard kitchen. The imu is in their yard. A niece owns a piggery. The United Fishery auction house donates fish. Taro is part of the landscaping at the church, but friends in Waikane are the main source for the poi. People seek donations of luau leaf, onions and tomatoes. Neighbors for three doors down offer their yards for parking.
And there are the extra special touches. Kalili is hunting rock crabs. He and his wife prepare loko from the pig intestines, a touch that separates the old-timer gourmet from the plate lunch palate.
"If you can't eat salt, you shouldn't buy our plate," Kalili laughs.
For the pastor, preparing the banquet is part of the job, and he loves it.
Kalili, 63, works without wages at the Protestant church, which is not affiliated with a denomination. He was ordained in 1990 by the founding pastor, the late Kahu Richard Gaspar, who built the church in 1942 on land donated by the Adams family and Castle & Cooke, Kalili said.
"Kahu pulled away from other churches because he didn't believe in man-made laws. The 10 Commandments are the only law," said Kalili.
The services are based on the American Bible Society's Hawaiian-English Bible translation. Kalili said God guides him to the sermon topic each week. He lets the Bible fall open and preaches on whatever that page reveals.
Some of the congregation members were brought to the church because he is a practitioner of hooponopono, mediation of family, personal and emotional distress, he said.
"I have them come to church three Sundays in a row," the pastor said. "It's all from the Bible, not from me. I stick with the book.
"I try to help people survive in today's world, in our everyday world," said the pastor. "I tell people, if I could change, anyone can change. I was rotten, I did drinking, all kind of bad things."
The Kalilis live on his pension from his first career in the construction industry. He brought glazing and carpentry skills to the job as pastor of the church his parents had attended when he was a child.
Last year's fund-raiser aimed to pay for termite treatment. But an earlier published account led Aloha Termite and Pest Control and Gima Termite Control to donate their services. So the termites are gone, but the damage is still enough to inspire many luaus to come.
Kalili said the church has been stymied in its reconstruction plans because government officials mistakenly think it is a historic building and have limited what materials can be used. For years, one of the Hawaii Visitor Bureau warrior signs stood at the curb identifying it as the oldest Protestant church on the Windward coast.
Not true, said Kalili. The sign originally stood outside the Hauula Congregational Church up the road and was moved years ago, reportedly to ease reconstruction at that church, he said. It is no longer to be found at Kamalamalama O Keao, either.
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