Missionaries / Churches / Religious Buildings | Page 96

March 23, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Stone House

In 1840, a land dispute between Mr. Richard Charlton, the first British ambassador to Hawaiʻi, and the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi would spark the infamous “Paulet episode” which led to the forced cession of the Hawaiian Islands to Britain in 1843. (KSBE)

“The restoration of the Hawaiian Monarchy in July 1843 – ending the five-months-long illegal seizure and occupation by the Englishman, Lord George Paulet – created the chief, and indeed the only, notable site in Kulaokahu‘a.”

“The exact locale – the future Thomas Square – leaped into history with, literally, a bang. On the morning of July 31, two pavilions decorated with greens and a flagstaff stood on the plain east of town.”

“On the street line to the west, tents from warships in port punctuated their arid surroundings. A thick mat of rushes paved the line of march. Thousands waited for the ceremonies of the day.”

“At 9:30, Rear Admiral Richard Thomas of the British navy called on the King to sign official documents. A half hour later, several companies of English sailors and marines were drawn up on a line facing the sea, with an artillery corps on their right.”

“Admiral Thomas and his staff arrived in the King’s state carriage, while the Monarch himself came on horseback, accompanied by the household troops. The artillery honored His Majesty with a 21-gun salute.”

“At a given signal, the British flag officer bowed his colors; the British flag was then lowered and the Hawaiian flag raised amid salvos, first from Thomas’s HMS Carysfort, then from English and American warships, merchantmen and whalers, and finally from the Honolulu fort and the Punchbowl battery.”

“A great cheer arose as the wind caught the folds of the Hawaiian flag. Admiral Thomas read a long declaration, after which marines, sailors, and artillery passed in a review witnessed by Commodore Lawrence Kearney and officers of the USS Constellation.”

“Hawaii’s sovereignty had been restored.” (Greer)

“‘Her Majesty’s Government,’ we learn in a letter from the Earl of Aberdeen, ‘viewed with the highest approbation, the whole of his proceedings at the Sandwich Islands, as marked by a great propriety and an admirable judgment throughout …’”

“‘… and as calculated to raise the character of British authorities for justice, moderation, and courtesy of demeanor, in the estimation of the natives of those remote countries, and of the world.’” (Polynesian, August 3, 1850)

“Richard (Darton) Thomas was born at Saltash, county of Cornwall. … This officer entered the navy the 26th of May, 1790, on board the Cumberland 74, Captain John M. Brule, and sailed in the course of the same year with a squadron under Rear Admiral Cornish, for the West Indies”. (Polynesian, August 3, 1850)

“The King too, Kamehameha III, moved by gratitude, intimated a wish that the Rear Admiral would sit for his portrait in full uniform, that His Majesty ‘might have and preserve in his palace the likeness of a British officer who …’”

“‘… in restoring to him his kingdom, dared to act on his own sense of right, counting upon the approval of his magnanimous, Queen, in which he was not disappointed.’” (Polynesian, August 3, 1850)

“No nobler men ever touched those Islands, than some of the officers of the American and English navies.” (Richard Armstrong) Admiral Thomas died in Stonehouse, Devon on August 21, 1857.

“Our home ‘Stone House’ was named after the English residence of Admiral Thomas, of the British Navy, who restored the national flag which his subordinate, Lord George Paulet, had, in his absence, hauled down, taking possession of the Islands in the name of the Queen.”

“Lord George was compelled by the Admiral to restore the flag and salute it with his own guns. The day was thereafter kept as a national holiday, and the name of Admiral Thomas is held in grateful remembrance.” (Richard Armstrong)

Later, in 1881, the Sacred Hearts Father’s College of Ahuimanu moved from the windward side into the former Rev. Richard Armstrong’s home, “Stonehouse” on 91 Beretania Street adjoining Washington Place.

At that time, the name ‘College of St. Louis’ was given to the institution in honor of Bishop Louis Maigret’s patron Saint, Louis IX.

Then, on September 19, 1883, the Punahou Preparatory School was opened for the full term at Stone House “Three of the trustees were present at the opening exercises, together with many parents of the pupils, of whom there were 85 present, with a prospect of a larger attendance …”

“It is the design of the trustees to have no pupils at Punahou proper, except such as are qualified to proceed with the regular academic course.” (The Friend, October 4, 1883)

By the 1898-1899 school year, there were 247 students in grades 1-8 in the Punahou Preparatory School. Later, in 1902, the Preparatory School was moved to what is now known as the Punahou campus, where it occupied Charles R Bishop Hall.

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Armstrong-Stonehouse

March 20, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Himeni

Oli and mele were a part of the Hawaiian tradition. “As the Hawaiian songs were unwritten, and adapted to chanting rather than metrical music, a line was measured by the breath; their hopuna, answering to our line, was as many words as could be easily cantilated at one breath.” (Bingham)

When the American Protestant missionaries first arrived in the Islands, they broke into song. Hiram Bingham notes that on April 1, 1820, off Kawaihae, Kalanimōku came onboard their boat. “Then, ere the excitement of the chiefs’ visit was over, Mr. Thurston and his yoke-fellow (Bingham speaking of himself) ascended the shrouds …”

“… and, standing upon the main-top (the mission family, captain and crew being on deck), as we gently floated along on the smooth silent sea, under the lee of Hawaii’s dark shores, sang a favorite song of Zion (Melton Mowbray), which they had sung at their ordination at Goshen, and with the Park St Church choir, at Boston, on the day of embarkation.”

Once established in the Islands, missionaries used songs as a part of the celebration, as well as learning process. “At this period, the same style of sermons, prayers, songs, interrogations, and exhortations, which proves effectual in promoting revivals of religion, conversion, or growth in grace among a plain people in the United States …”

“… was undoubtedly adapted to be useful at the Sandwich Islands. … some of the people who sat in darkness were beginning to turn their eyes to the light”. (Bingham)

“Before the year 1823 had closed the (Bingham and William Ellis) had prepared a small hymn book of sixty pages, of which 2000 copies were printed in December. Mr. Ballon says: ‘A large proportion of the hymns were original, but among them were translations of Watt’s 50th Psalm, Pope’s ‘The Dying Christian to his Soul,’ several choruses from Handel’s Messiah.’”

“‘This book also contained a translation of more than forty select passages of Scripture.’” It was called Na Himeni Hawaii; he me ori ia Iehova, ke Akua mau’. “Literally-translated the title reads thus, ‘The hymns Hawaiian for the praise of Jehova the God continuing’”. (Westervelt; Thrum)

On October 23, 1823, missionaries wrote: “We are about to put to press within a few days an edition of twenty hymns prepared principally by Mr. Ellis. We purpose also to print a catechism and a tract.” (Ballou & Carter)

“A large proportion of the hymns were original, but among them were translations of Watts’ 50th psalm, of Pope’s ode, The dying Christian to his soul, Owhyhee’s idols are no more (originally Taheite’s), the jubilee hymn, several choruses from Handel’s Messiah, &c.” (Ballou & Carter)

“In August of 1825 the 2,000 copies of this first edition had all been given out gratis and it was felt that hymns were needed more than any other textbook. On March 10, 1826, it was recorded that 10,000 copies of the second edition of hymns, nearly through the press, would exhaust the paper on hand.”

“The next issues of this little book then appeared in what now seems rapid succession: 1827, 1828 and 1830. In the edition of 1826 the number of hymns had grown from 47 to 63; in the third, fourth and fifth editions 100 hymns were printed on 108 pages.”

“Each of these four issues, from 1826 to 1830, was published in an edition of 10,000 copies, except that of 1828, of which 20,000 were printed.”

“The fifth edition, of 1830, was delayed because the old type was so worn down by long usage as to be quite impracticable.” (Wilcox; Damon The Fiend, March 1935)

The missionaries wrote other songs – and sang with the ali‘i. “The king (Kamehameha III) being desirous to use his good voice in singing, we sang together at my house, not war songs, but sacred songs of praise to the God of peace.” (Bingham)

One of the unique verses (sung to an old melody) was Hoʻonani Hole – Hoʻonani I Ka Makua Mau. Bingham translated it to Hawaiian and people sang it to a melody that dates back to the 1600s – today, it is known as the Hawaiian Doxology.

Another popular Hawaiian melody was written by another missionary, Lorenzo Lyons. “Lyons was eminently popular with Hawaiians and with all men. His nature was guileless, cordial, enthusiastic, cheering. He was remarkable for hospitality to Hawaiians always seeing that his visitors passing through Waimea had something to eat.” (Hawaiian Gazette, October 19, 1886)

Lyons was an avid supporter of the Hawaiian language. He wrote a letter to the editor in The Friend newspaper (September 2, 1878) that, in part noted: …

An interminable language … it is one of the oldest living languages of the earth, as some conjecture, and may well be classed among the best…the thought to displace it, or to doom it to oblivion by substituting the English language, ought not for a moment to be indulged. … Long live the grand old, sonorous, poetical Hawaiian language.”

Lyons was lovingly known to Hawaiians as Ka Makua Laiana, Haku Mele o ka ʻĀina Mauna (Father Lyons, Lyric Poet of the Mountain County).

Lyons was fluent in the Hawaiian language and composed many poems and hymns; Lyons’ best known and beloved work is the hymn “Hawaiʻi Aloha,” sung to the tune of “I Left It All With Jesus” (circa 1852.) The song was inducted into the Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame in 1998.

“Widely regarded as Hawaiʻi’s second anthem, this hymn is sung in both churches and public gatherings. It is performed at important government and social functions to bring people together in unity, and at the closing of Hawaiʻi Legislative sessions.”

“The first appearance of “Hawaiʻi Aloha” in a Protestant hymnal was in 1953, nearly 100-years after it was written. Today, people automatically stand when this song is played extolling the virtues of ‘beloved Hawaiʻi.’” (Hawaiian Music Museum).

Queen Liliʻuokalani, while a student at the Chiefs’ Children’s School, learned and became fluent in English, and studied music and the arts. Her talent for music blossomed and she eventually wrote more than 150 songs, including “Aloha ʻOe.”

“To compose was as natural to me as to breathe; and this gift of nature, never having been suffered to fall into disuse, remains a source of the greatest consolation to this day.”

“… Hours of which it is not yet in place to speak, which I might have found long and lonely, passed quickly and cheerfully by, occupied and soothed by the expression of my thoughts in music.” (Liliʻuokalani)

“In view of the fact that the best modern Hawaiian music, now known the world over, owes much to the musical form of these early hymns, one wishes that history had been less restrained.”

“Yet, even in default of any direct, consecutive record, one may piece out quite a little of the story of Hawaiian hymns from references in early letters and accounts of their printing.”

“And when one has the good fortune to touch with one’s own hands many of the early songbooks printed in Hawaiian, the search toward a complete account of them becomes a fascinating pursuit.” (Wilcox; Damon The Fiend, March 1935)

“When our Protestant missionaries came to hymnody in Hawaiian – as they very soon did – they reared a natural superstructure upon this rich and rhythmical foundation of the Bible. It was a veritable treasure house.”

“But strangely, too, another very deep-seated source of balance and rhythm and figured speech flowed in the cultural consciousness of the Hawaiian people to whom these new Christian messages were being brought. Instinct in the Hawaiian mode of thought was the impulse and the act of prayer, of supplication, of praise.” (Wilcox; Damon The Fiend, March 1935)

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Na Himeni Hawaii

He Mau Himeni

March 18, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Alii Letters – Liholiho to ABCFM (1823)

Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives (Mission Houses) collaborated with Awaiaulu Foundation to digitize, transcribe, translate and annotate over 200-letters written by 33-Chiefs.

The letters, written between 1823 and 1887, are assembled from three different collections: the ABCFM Collection held by Harvard’s Houghton Library, the HEA Collection of the Hawaii Conference-United Church of Christ and the Hawaiian Mission Children’s Society.

These letters provide insight into what the Ali‘i (Chiefs) were doing and thinking at the time, as well as demonstrate the close working relationship and collaboration between the aliʻi and the missionaries.

In this letter, King Liholiho expresses gratitude to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions for sending the missionaries and introducing the word of God. He reports that his people are happy to have learned the word of God.

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was a Christian organization that sent companies of missionaries to Hawaiʻi beginning in 1820.

Liholiho, Kamehameha II, was the son of Kamehameha I. He inherited his father’s rule and was the sovereign of Hawaiʻi at the time of this letter.

“Oahu March 18, 1823”

“To those of the American Board,”

“Deep regards to all of you dwelling there in America. Here is my bit of message to all of you. We have recently learned literacy, we have seen and heard the good word of Jehovah.”

“We really desire the good teachings of Jesus Christ. What he has taught all of us is excellent indeed and we have finally become learned.”

“We were shown compassion by Jehovah, who sent Mr. Bingham and Mr. Thurston and all the teachers. And they dwelled with us here and our lands have become enlightened.”

“Our hearts rejoice for their good teaching to us. Our hearts are joyful at Jehovah’s words to us. That bit of message is finished. Here is another message: you may have already heard. I will clarify so that you all hear.”

“We had wooden deities before, during my father’s time. In my time, I have abandoned wooden deities. It turns out my abandoning of them beforehand was appropriate, for Mr. Bingham, Mr. Thurston and all the teachers were arriving.

“It is through our father that I may greet all of you. Jesus Christ was good in speaking to you, saying to you all, ‘Go and teach throughout the islands, and preach the good word of salvation.’”

“The ministers sailed here to do good things for us, we were overjoyed. And later on we may well be fully virtuous. We observe the sacred day of Almighty God in heaven, savior of us all.”

“Greatly beloved are all of you for thinking of us, for sending them here. Thankfully you sent teachers or our lands would be completely ignorant. But no, you showed us compassion.”

“Our lands have become enlightened. Deep regards to all of you. May we have salvation through Jehovah and Jesus Christ our Lord.”

“Tamehameha King of Hawaiʻi”

Click HERE for a link to the original letter, its transcription, translation and annotation.

On October 23, 1819, the Pioneer Company of American Protestant missionaries from the northeast US, led by Hiram Bingham, set sail on the Thaddeus for the Sandwich Islands (now known as Hawai‘i.) They arrived in the Islands and anchored at Kailua-Kona on April 4, 1820.

Over the course of a little over 40-years (1820-1863 – the “Missionary Period”,) about 180-men and women in twelve Companies served in Hawaiʻi to carry out the mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) in the Hawaiian Islands.

One of the earliest efforts of the missionaries, who arrived in 1820, was the identification and selection of important communities (generally near ports and aliʻi residences) as “stations” for the regional church and school centers across the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaiian Mission Houses’ Strategic Plan themes note that the collaboration between Native Hawaiians and American Protestant missionaries resulted in the
• The introduction of Christianity;
• The development of a written Hawaiian language and establishment of schools that resulted in widespread literacy;
• The promulgation of the concept of constitutional government;
• The combination of Hawaiian with Western medicine, and
• The evolution of a new and distinctive musical tradition (with harmony and choral singing).

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Liholiho – ABCFM Mar 18, 1823-1

Liholiho – ABCFM Mar 18, 1823-2

March 14, 2018 by Peter T Young 1 Comment

Parker’s Tour

“The wide extent of country beyond the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, with its inhabitants and physical condition, has been a subject of interesting enquiry …”

“Many things, relating to the possession of this country, its future probable importance in a political view, its population and trade, have occupied much attention.”

“The Christian public have not been in attentive to the interests, moral and religious, of those whom the God of providence has placed in these remote regions, and who are without the blessings of civilization and Christianity.”

“The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions appointed an exploring mission (led by Rev Samuel Parker and Dr Marcus Whitman) to ascertain by personal observation, the condition of the country, and the character of the Indian nations and tribes, and the facilities for introducing the gospel and civilization among them.”

“That difficulties and dangers would be incident to a journey through a country of such extent, uninhabited except by wandering bands of Indians, where no provisions could be obtained besides uncertain game, could not be doubted.”

“It was not a consciousness of undaunted courage, or indifference to suffering, or the love of romance, which fixed my purpose; but it was the importance of the object.”

“Although it was painful to bid adieu to my family and friends, unapprised of the events of the future, yet committing all to the guidance and protection of an all-wise Providence, the enterprise was undertaken without reluctance, on the 14th of March, 1835.”

“Pursuing the journey by the way of Buffalo, and Erie, I arrived at Pittsburgh on the 25th … Leaving Pittsburgh, which, from its multiplied manufactories, may be styled the Birmingham of America …”

“Having traveled over a greater extent of territory than any who had preceded, and with the express object of exploring the condition of the aboriginal population, this position can not be considered as assumed.”

“Messrs. Lewis and Clarke passed the Rocky Mountains under a governmental appointment to explore the country, more than thirty years since … yet their opportunities beyond the mountains were somewhat limited.”

“They passed over the great chain of mountains from the head waters of the Missouri between the 45° and 46° of north latitude, and came upon the head waters of the Cooscootske, and followed that river to its junction with the Lewis or Snake river …”

“… and then proceeded by water to the Pacific ocean at the mouth of Columbia river, wintered upon the south side of the bay, and early the following spring returned to the mountains by the same route which they pursued on their outward journey. …”

“As it was the principal object of my tour to ascertain the character and condition of the Indians beyond the Rocky Mountains, their numbers, and prospects of establishing the gospel among them, it will not only be proper but important to give a full and connected description of these particulars.”

“These live in the upper country from the Falls of the Columbia to the Rocky Mountains, and are called the Indians of the plains, because a large proportion of their country is prairie land.”

“The principal tribes are the Nez Perces, Cayuse, Walla Wallas, Bonax, Shoshones, Spokeins, Flatheads, Cceur De Lions, Ponderas, Cootanies, Kettlefalls, Okanagans, and Carriers.”

“In their persons the men are tall, the women are of common stature, and both men and women are well formed. While there is a strong natural as well as moral resemblance among all Indians, the complexion of these is much the same as other Indians, excepting a little fairer.”

“There is a great resemblance in their dress, which generally consists of a shirt, worn over long, close leggins, with moccasons for their feet. These are of dressed leather made of the skins of deer, antelope, and mountain goats and sheep; and over these they wear a blanket or buffalo robe.”

“They appear to have less of the propensity to adorn themselves with painting, than the Indians east of the mountains; but still at their toilet, vermilion, mixed with red clay, is used not only upon their faces, but also upon their hair.”

“The dress of the women does not vary much from the men, excepting, that instead of the shirt, they have what may be called a frock coming down to the ancles. Many of them wear a large cape …”

“As regards the religion of the Indians, (they resemble that of the) ancient Jews, that they believe in one God, in the immortality of the soul, and in future rewards and punishments.”

“They believe in one Great Spirit, who has created all things, governs all important events, and who is the author of all good; and who is the only object of religious homage.”

“They believe he may be displeased with them for their bad conduct, and in his displeasure bring calamities upon them. They also believe in an evil spirit, whom they call cinim keneki meohōt cinmo-cimo; that is, the black chief below …”

“They believe in the immortality of the soul, that it enters the future world with a similar form, and in like circumstances to those under which it existed in this life. They believe that in a future state, the happiness of the good consists in an abundance and enjoyment of those things which they value here, that their present sources of happiness will be carried to perfection …”

“Taking the various circumstances under deliberate and prayerful consideration, in regard to the Indians, we came to the conclusion, that, though many other important stations might be found, this would be one.”

“So desirable did this object appear, that Doct. Whitman proposed to return … and to obtain associates to come out with him the next year, with the then returning caravan, and establish a mission among these people, and by so doing, save at least a year, in bringing the gospel among them.” (Parker)

Upon return from his shorten investigative trip, Whitman had observed that it was possible to take women over the Rockies, hence he could return, be married to Narcissa Prentiss to whom he was engaged, and took her with him to Oregon.

Whitman hoped to find another couple to join them in their Oregon venture. He heard of Henry and Eliza Spalding who were to be missionaries among the Osage people; they had already started for their destination, but Marcus caught up to them and convinced them to join the Oregon missions.

The Whitmans and Spaldings formed the forerunners of the ABCFM’s missionary effort in the Pacific Northwest. In April 1836 Whitman’s party set out; he ultimately chose a spot in southeastern Washington on Mill Creek on the north bank of the Walla Walla River, 22-miles above its junction with the Columbia and the Hudson’s Bay Company post of Fort Walla Walla.

The local Indians, the Cayuse, called the spot Waiilatpu (“Place of the Rye Grass.”) Spalding chose a site 110-miles farther east, where he founded among the Nez Perce Indians what came to be known as the Spalding Mission, Idaho. (LegendsOfAmerica)

Parker continued his journey and ultimately, as part of his exploring mission came to the Hawaiian Islands, as well as other areas in the south Pacific. “On the 18th of June, according to previous arrangements, I took passage in the steam-boat Beaver, for Fort George to join the barque Columbia for the Sandwich islands.” (Parker)

Parker returned to the continent in 1837; he wrote a book that went through five editions, and was published in England, and with his subsequent lectures through the East.

In his later days Mr. Parker did much volunteer missionary work, and preached with his old vigor far past his three-score-and-tenth year. He was a plain, practical, prayerful, and earnest man. He died at Ithaca, 1866. (ancestry)

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Exploring Tour Beyond the Rocky Mountains-Parker

March 11, 2018 by Peter T Young Leave a Comment

Alii Letters – Nāmāhāna to Evarts (1828)

Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives (Mission Houses) collaborated with Awaiaulu Foundation to digitize, transcribe, translate and annotate over 200-letters written by 33-Chiefs.

In this letter, Lydia Nāmāhāna writes to Jeremiah Evarts testifying to her strong Christian faith and practice.

Lydia Nāmāhāna Piʻia, a high ranking chiefess, was a wife of Kamehameha I and daughter of Keʻeaumoku Pāpaʻiahiahi, also being Kaʻahumanu’s sister. Nāmāhana was an early convert to Christianity and wife of Gideon Laʻanui, another early supporter of the missionizing effort.

Jeremiah F. Evarts was an early leader of the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions (ABCFM). He was a reformer who advocated for the rights of Native Americans and wrote under the pseudonym William Penn.

“Oahu, March 12, 1828”

“Mr. Evarts,”

“May you live well into your old age. I send great affection to you and all the brethren.”

“Here is my message to you, I am informing you that the holy word of Christ, his laws and all his good practices are being taught.”

“We have obtained some small portions, but have gained no more.”

“The desire of my heart moves day and night to ask him that my spirit attain eternal life in heaven.”

“My wishes, my affection, my heart, and my intention, I have bundled them securely and submitted them to him; his words and his laws are what I follow in my heart …”

“… that my house be populated with his powerful spirit, his eternal love, his true goodness and his patience that all of us from where the sun rises to where it sets be saved by him.”

“The heart fears God because of the extent of physical wrongs, existing in a house of earthly pleasures, nearly killing the body and spirit in a house of earthly delights.”

“Thus my fear of God that makes my heart repent every night and day of my life, yet the heart does not say that it needs to pray to God or repent wrongdoing, no.”

“Goodness is up to God, as is wrongdoing.”

“And what I do is repent of my wrongs and place them upon him, with the confidence of my heart, spirit and my will being with him, so that I may be eternally saved through Jesus Christ. This concludes my message.”

“By Lidia Namahana”

Here’s a link to the original letter, its transcription, translation and annotation:

Click to access b3b4f77b0675ecac208bac25a2e67171.pdf

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