Past Services – First Unitarian Church of Honolulu

Sunday Service: "The UUies: An Awards Themed Service"

Mar 08, 2026 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Speaker: Pastor Keola Whittaker

The 8th Annual UU Movie & TV Awards makes its Honolulu debut after seven years in California! This fun, interactive service reveals the surprising, inspiring, and sometimes scandalous connections between Hollywood and Unitarian Universalist history. We’ll present four awards connecting films and performances to UU values and our radical past, plus “Wait, Wait… Don’t Nominate Me!” where two brave volunteers compete in a live quiz show testing their knowledge of Hollywood’s UU connections. Whether you’re a movie buff, a history nerd, or just curious about where Oscar night meets religious rebellion, expect laughter, learning, and surprises.

Sunday Service: "Our Spiritual Home"

Mar 01, 2026 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Speakers: Dan Carpenter and Rev. Deborah Bond-Upson

Once the gracious mansion of a missionary sugar baron, our church was reborn as a haven for worship, service, and justice. Within these walls—shaped by history yet alive with new purpose—we gather to reflect on the sacredness of care. How does tending to this beloved space mirror our tending of spirit and community? From plumbing to Feng Shui, from reverence to repair, we celebrate the transforming power of love that turns privilege into promise and a house into our spiritual home.

Sunday Service: Love in the Time of AI

Feb 22, 2026 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Speaker: Pastor Keola Whittaker

In a world where nearly one-third of Americans now have romantic relationships with AI, we face an urgent question: What is love? This sermon explores why love requires bodies that can be wounded, why the fear of loss is inseparable from love itself, and what it means to choose transformation over comfort.

Sunday Service: "Intersecting Faiths - InterFaith Harmony Month"

Feb 15, 2026 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Speaker: Rev. Deborah Bond-Upson

Where do we converge? Imagine the beliefs of our world religions overlaid in a single multi-orb Venn image. Join us to experience the intersection of Hindu, Bahai, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, and Unitarian Universalist faiths. Let us focus together on the jewel all faiths share.

Sunday Service: "Healing and Accountability: Dignifying our Pasts"

Feb 08, 2026 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Speaker: Rev. Samantha Wilson

FUCH is looking to its 75th anniversary in 2028. What value might there be in looking at its past to celebrate its future — including looking at places that are harder to look at together? Our Hope for Us Coach, Rev. Samantha Wilson, will share her reflections on healing and accountability through the lessons of her own ancestors and the peace-making efforts of healers who try to make a different future possible by tending their community’s pasts.

Sunday Service: "The Thaw"

Feb 01, 2026 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Speaker: Pastor Keola Whittaker

In 1977, Archbishop Óscar Romero was a cautious conservative who avoided conflict. Three weeks after his appointment, his friend was killed and everything changed. His story invites us to ask: In a society of hardened positions, how do we make space for transformation? What kind of community can we build that welcomes those who are ready to change? This is a sermon about the slow, sacred work of thawing, both in the world and in ourselves.

Sunday Service: UU Heroes Then and Now

Jan 25, 2026 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Speaker: Rev. Deborah Bond-Upson

The first freedom of religion laws were enacted by the first (and only) Unitarian King. Throughout the centuries, Unitarians and Universalists have led support for freedom, social justice, and human rights. From heroes then and now, we will draw inspiration, courage, and even tactics to lovingly protect all beings in our vibrant, fragile world.

Sunday Service: A Transylvanian Perspective on Community Empowerment

Jan 18, 2026 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Speakers: Éva Patkó, Rev. Deborah Bond-Upson

Our communities need empowerment.
How can we practice to make our voices heard and not be intimidated?
For this, we need partners, just like we need partners when playing ping-pong.