Mokuaikaua Church receives grant for preservation, protection

Mokuaikaua Church, the first Christian church in Hawaii, on Tuesday received the first half of a $50,000 grant award from First Hawaiian Bank National Fund.

The funding will be directed toward the third phase of the preservation and protection of Mokuaikaua Church in Kailua Village. Included in the final preservation phase are additional steel mooring supports for the noteworthy steeple, period interior finishes, parking lot resurfacing and widening of iron gates. The project is anticipated to conclude in early 2023.

Mokuaikaua’s original structure – using coral and ohia timber from Kona’s inland forests – was completed in 1837; 17 years after the Thurstons arrived from Boston. Nearly all of the original structure still stands to this day, a key point of emphasis during the renovation of the building that was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and designated as one of America’s 11 most endangered historic places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2014.

For more information, call (808) 329-0655 or visit www.mokuaikaua.com.