Why I wrote this book
One week, when searching for another Sunday experience on the Big Island of Hawaii, my wife and I drove around Church Row in Waimea. Here, there are many choices of religious beliefs as well as venerable old buildings with character and stories to tell. One stood out from the rest; most likely because the sign in front declared the Imiola Congregational Church a Hawaiian Historical Site. The next Sunday we attended service and were captured by the message and the people.
For the next four years, Imiola became a highlight of our Hawaiian vacation. I sought to learn more about Imiola. How did this church come to occupy this land? Where did the beautiful wood which clads the interior come from? Who are the two people whose portraits hang over the front pews? I thought, perhaps, I could produce a book of pictures and words that would satisfy my curiosity and that of others. And so this project began. I thought it might also be a way to repay, in part, some of what Imiola has given to me.
Finally, I became enamored with the special opportunity to explore a place where less than 200 years ago a Polynesian kingdom bloomed. Nowhere else in America is a history this diverse so accessible.
One week, when searching for another Sunday experience on the Big Island of Hawaii, my wife and I drove around Church Row in Waimea. Here, there are many choices of religious beliefs as well as venerable old buildings with character and stories to tell. One stood out from the rest; most likely because the sign in front declared the Imiola Congregational Church a Hawaiian Historical Site. The next Sunday we attended service and were captured by the message and the people.
For the next four years, Imiola became a highlight of our Hawaiian vacation. I sought to learn more about Imiola. How did this church come to occupy this land? Where did the beautiful wood which clads the interior come from? Who are the two people whose portraits hang over the front pews? I thought, perhaps, I could produce a book of pictures and words that would satisfy my curiosity and that of others. And so this project began. I thought it might also be a way to repay, in part, some of what Imiola has given to me.
Finally, I became enamored with the special opportunity to explore a place where less than 200 years ago a Polynesian kingdom bloomed. Nowhere else in America is a history this diverse so accessible.
The Little Koa Church
