KALAUPAPA - "Adjourned With a Prayer" is a newly published book providing a valuable chapter in the history of Kalaupapa on Molokai.
It is published by Ka 'Ohana O Kalaupapa, a nonprofit organization dedicated to remembering everyone who was sent to the settlement on the Kalaupapa peninsula best known for the work Saint Damien did there. The book is based on the minutes kept by the congregations of Siloama and Kanaana Hou churches from 1866 to 1928.
Siloama Church, affiliated with the United Church of Christ, was the first church organized and built at Kalawao, the original settlement on the Kalaupapa peninsula where people with leprosy were sent beginning on Jan. 6, 1866, according to a release.
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“Adjourned With a Prayer” bookcover
Its congregation included kama'aina joining with those who had been taken from their families on their home islands to be sent to Kalaupapa.
The church was built in 1871. A branch of Siloama was established on the Kalaupapa side of the peninsula in 1878. This branch later became Kanaana Hou Church which was built in 1915.
The first church secretary was J.D. Kahauliko, the first person whose name is listed in the Kalaupapa Admissions Register. Kahauliko and the 15 secretaries who followed him are listed as the book's authors.
The minutes were kept in Hawaiian and recorded in a ledger that became lost sometime after the last entry in 1928. It was rediscovered 10 years later by the Rev. Alice Kahokuoluna.
The minutes were still easily legible and were translated into English by the Rev. Henry P. Judd in the mid-1940s, according to a release. Judd also copied down the names of hundreds of members of Siloama and Kanaana Hou.
Historian Anwei Law edited the minutes and provided additional text with quotes from current or recent Kalaupapa residents. Carol L. Silva provided additional translation.
The book costs $20 each with $6 shipping charges for books ordered through the mail - one or two books can be shipped for the $6 charge.
(For slower delivery that takes up to six weeks, the shipping cost is $3.)
Books may be purchased by sending a check to the Hawaii Conference United Church of Christ, 1848 Nu'uanu Ave. Honolulu 96817.
Maui residents may purchase books by phoning 'Ohana coordinator Valerie Monson at 573-2746.
Books are also available through the 'Ohana website: www.kalaupapaohana.org.
