Disasters in Paradise

Lahaina today reveals all the tell-tale signs of a community just beginning a painfully slow and very long recovery. During my visit there last week, I saw some newly built businesses and homes scattered throughout the town. Other construction was in progress, the sounds of hammers hitting wood punctuating the air. But the majority of what I saw was a large number of sad and empty lots, steps leading to nowhere, bits of foundation marking the edges of what used to be.

Waiola Church, a United Church of Christ congregation founded in 1823 and a National Historic Landmark, was one of the casualties of the devastating wildfires. It once stood in the heart of Lahaina, just two blocks from the harbor. Now there’s only a lonely bell and the sacred ground of Waine’e Cemetery, where Hawaiian royalty are buried alongside early Christian missionaries and treasured church members of years gone by. A bright white tent  is also erected on the grounds; this is where the congregation worships once each month, lifting prayers to God that recovery will finally come. 21 of 26 families of Waiola church lost their own homes to those same fires three years ago.

Just 15 minutes from Kula is Po’okela Church, a United Church of Christ congregation that started serving as a volunteer host site for disaster recovery volunteers in October 2025. (The site is jointly supported by the UCC and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance-PCUSA.) Rev. Dr. Kimberly Fong is the pastor there, and has been for 22 years. When I visited Po’okela Church, she proudly showed me the accommodations they’ve arranged for volunteers and talked about the adjustments the congregation has made to host this new ministry. So far just three groups have arrived to volunteer. She hopes more will come and that Kula and its people will not be forgotten.

Being forgotten is a secondary harm that all who’ve suffered disasters unfortunately experience. Media attention and public interest fade quickly, but the grueling process of recovery drags on for years.  While the rest of the world moves on to normal routines and other news, nothing is ‘normal’ for many disaster-struck communities for a very long time. It leaves disaster survivors feeling isolated and dismissed, deepening the trauma that already plagues them.

The commitment of the United Church of Christ to those who have suffered disasters is to accompany them over the long term of recovery. Our grants, volunteer efforts, and various other supports often invest in these communities for years after the disaster itself. For those who have lost everything, being remembered and truly seen— long after the rest of the world’s gaze has shifted —is a precious lifeline.

At the annual gathering last week of the Hawaii Conference UCC, the scripture that anchored our time together was Romans 14:19: “Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for the building up of one another.” This is the work of our disaster response and recovery ministries, to build up the community of God’s people and to be vessels of healing and peace where loss lingers.

You can contribute to the long-term recovery of communities who suffered such loss in the Maui wildfires by giving to the Maui wildfires appeal. Hawaii Conference communities also suffered devastating flooding in late March 2026 due to three separate Kona storms. Contributions to assist with that recovery are also welcome. Check out all the ways you can help the UCC’s Global H.O.P.E. Team invest in communities ravaged by natural disasters here.

The Reverend Shari Prestemon began her service with the national ministries of the United Church of Christ in January 2024. As the Associate General Minister & Co-Executive for Global Ministries she has the privilege of overseeing several teams: Global Ministries, Global H.O.P.E., Public Policy & Advocacy Team (Washington, D.C.), and our staff representative to the United Nations. She previously served as pastor to local UCC congregations in Illinois and Wisconsin; the Executive Director at the UCC’s Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, Mississippi; and as Conference Minister in Minnesota.