A HISTORIC CHURCH
The official beginning of Makawao Union Church was the issuance on April 20, 1861, of its charter...a charter handwritten by Lot Kamehameha, then Minister of the Interior, who two years later became King Kamchameha V. But this was preceded by regular religious meetings started in 1857 by Reverend Jonathan Green in his Makawao home, with services conducted in English rather than Hawaiian for the benefit of "foreigners" in the community.
Reverend Green arrived in the islands in 1828 with the Third Company of Missionaries, and served in several locations until 1843 when he resigned because he felt the American Board of Foreign Missions did not take a strong enough stand against slavery. He then helped the Hawaiians in the Makawao area establish the first self-supporting church in Hawaii at Pookela. He continued to serve as their pastor as well as pastor of the new Makawao Church which was built in 1861 at the present location of the Makawao Cemetery.
At the new church Green was assisted by Reverend C.B. Andrews, who arrived in 1844 with the Eleventh Company of Missionaries. Andrews had earlier started Mauna Olu Girls' School, subsequently Mauna Olu College.
Among the early members of Makawao Church were Henry Perrine Baldwin, son of Dwight and Charlotte Baldwin who arrived with the Fourth Company of Missionaries in 1831, and his wife Emily whose parents were William and Mary Ann Alexander, who came to Hawaii in 1832 with the Fifth Company. Although Henry Baldwin was not a minister but a pioneer in the growing of sugar cane in partnership with his brother-in-law Samuel Alexander, he was a deeply religious man who actively supported with both his money and his time not only Makawao Church but other churches and schools on Maui, as well as the leper settlement on Molokai.
In 1888 Baldwin offered the church trustees a new church nearer the center of the community population at that time. The decision was to build it on the foundation of the former sugar mill at Paliuli near Rainbow Gulch. This lovely white frame building, complete with bell tower and spire and looking like New England transplanted to Hawaii, was dedicated on March 10, 1889. The following year the church was expanded to provide room for a choir loft and pipe organ. Stained glass windows were also added. And in 1889 the ladies of the congregation met to organize the Ladies Aid Society "for all ladies interested in the benevolent work of the church."
In 1911 a community hall was built adjacent to the church. This was originally called the Paia Community House, and since such facilities on the Island were limited, it was in almost continuous use by a variety of community groups, especially after a larger stage, dressing rooms and the kitchen wing were added.
Following Mr. Baldwin's death in 1911, his family decided to build a new church in his memory. The frame church was razed in 1916 and construction of the new stone building on the same foundation was started at once. On September 2, 1917, the new Makawao Union Church was dedicated.
Through the years the size of the Makawao Union Church congregation has varied greatly. During World War II it was substantially expanded by the many servicemen stationed on Maui; they also contributed to an enlarged choir under the direction of H.W. Baldwin, who led the choir for over 40 years. But after the war there was a steady decline in the population of Maui due to the lack of employment opportunities, and church membership suffered as a result.
During the post-war period there was a close relationship between the church and nearby Mauna Olu College. The college president, Dr. K. C. Leebrick, and several staff member joined the church, and students made up much of the choir, which was directed by Charles Barbe, the college's music instructor. In 1955 Dr. Leebrick became the church's first elected moderator.
With the development of tourism, starting in the mid-60's, the job market improved and Maui's population slide was reversed. Church membership increased slowly but steadily. A contributing factor was an ambitious music program, starting in 1974 under the direction of Don Allton, that produced an outstanding choir which recorded albums and even made a tour of Europe in 1987. The church's original organ was replaced in 1974 by a new Reuter pipe organ.
Membership continued to grow in the 1980's. The church constitution and by-laws were updated to better define the roles of the Moderator, the Church Council, and the various Boards and Committees. This resulted in the participation of more church members, and more efficient management of church affairs. Provisions were also made for associate memberships for the growing number of part-time Maui residents.
In the 1990's the major emphasis has been placed on the revitalization of the church's Christian Education program. Sunday school classes for the children are held concurrently with the morning worship service, and special youth activities are organized periodically. For the adults, neighborhood Bible Study classes have been resumed.
In 1994 the church acquired from the Baldwin Foundation the two-acre property adjoining the church, in order to insure a suitable parsonage for the church's pastor, and to provide additional space for future expanded activities.
