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COURTESY EWA COMMUNITY CHURCH
Randy Reynoso was ordained May 17 as the new minister of Ewa Community Church.
The historic Ewa Community Church, affiliated with the United Church of Christ, ordained and installed Randy R. Reynoso as its new pastor this month.
Before Reynoso’s May 17 installation, he served in a number of positions in Oahu UCC churches, concentrating on youth and adult ministries, a news release said.
Located within the Historical District of Ewa Villages, the church originated in the 1840s, when Ewa was serviced by the Congregational ministers who “rode circuit” to separate Japanese, Hawaiian, Filipino, Portuguese and English missions around Ewa Sugar Plantation.
The plantation’s Englishspeaking residents built a small frame church on the park near Ewa Mill early in 1900, which later became the Ewa Union Church. A new church was built in 1937 at its present location at 91-1258 Renton Road.
The church looks like it’s been “lifted from the heart of New England,” with stained-glass windows and steeple, according to the release. Television fans of the popular ABC drama series “Lost,” filmed in Hawaii, may recognize the facade as a church used in flashback scenes, according to the release.
The church is undergoing a renovation funded by a grant administered by Historic Hawaii Foundation, with Mason Architects consulting. A fundraising campaign will begin in the fall, including a Plantation Harvest Festival open to the community.
‘Heaven’ and ‘Hell’ authors to speak
Christian authors Bill Wiese and Don Piper will be speaking at three Oahu churches Wiese’s book, titled “23 Minutes in Hell,” spent at least three weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. And Piper’s book, “90 Minutes in Heaven,” remained on the Times best-seller list for more than five years, a news release said. Piper’s book has also been adapted into a featurelength film, which is set for release this fall.
All events are free. Here is the speaking schedule.
» June 7, 6:30 p.m.: Kalihi Union Church, 2214 N. King St.
» June 10, 6 p.m.: Ohana Family of the Living God, 54-058 Hau‘ula Homestead Road.
» June 12 and 13, 6:30 p.m.: First Chinese Church of Christ, 1054 S. King St.
For more information, contact Suzanne Maurer at 286-0264 or email suzanne.maurer@gmail.com.
