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St Stephens Episcopal Church in eList Hawaii Directory

A man stood on the North Shore of the Island of Oahu in Hawaii. As he looked out upon the vast expanse of Gods handiwork, the ever tumultuous multicolored sea, the green mountains, the fields covered with cane, the beautiful blue sky, the brilliant white clouds, he dreamed a dream. The man was the first Anglican Bishop of Hawaii, the Reverend Thomas Nettleship Staley. His dream was of establishing a mission and school for the agricultural areas in Waialua He was not to see this dream fulfilled. The second Bishop of the Anglican Church in Hawaii, the Right Reverend Alfred Willis met with more success. During his episcopacy he appointed Mr.George Ditchman to be the first school-master and lay reader of the Waialua Mission. The land was bought on September 1, 1863 and a chapel and living quarters were soon built. In the summer of 1874 the Reverend William Caulder was assigned to the school and mission. He left at the end of the school year. Mr. Edward Hore, from Iolani School took charge of the mission school until 1878. The Reverend Abel Clark was licensed as a missionary and was appointed to officiate at the mission and school where he remained until 1886. The Church school was now named St. Stephens. I wonder if the abundance of the rocks and the blood red color of the soil had anything to do with the name. The church work at the mission continued intermittently from 1898 - 1943. The Islands of Hawaii were annexed by the United States, which lead to the transfer of the Anglican Church to the Protestant Episcopal Church. The Right Reverend Harry Bond Restarick was the first Episcopal Bishop of Honolulu, serving from 1902 to 1920. In 1930 the third Bishop, the Right Reverend S. Harrington Littell, was consecrated. He was interested in the little mission on the North Shore. He assigned Deaconess Sarah Swinburne to be in charge of the school. Under her loving care it flourished. She shepherded the small congregation in an old school bus for Sunday classes. A meeting hall was eventually established on Kamehameha Highway next to the Community Center in Haleiwa. This was considered to be unsafe after the attacks on North Shore air bases during the second World War. The Reverend Harry S. Kennedy became the fourth Episcopal Bishop in October of 1943. Under his guidance Wahiawa was chosen as the logical location for a permanent Episcopal presence in this part of the island. Part of the reasoning behind this was the close proximity to Schofield Barracks, which became the home of the U. S. Armys 25th Infantry, Tropic Lightning, Division. The first service of St. Stephens in-the-Fields was held in the Baptist Church in Wahiawa on Christmas Eve in 1944, with Bishop Kennedy as the celebrant. Since part of the thought behind the move was safety, I dont quite understand the reasoning because Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Army Airfield were pummeled far worse than the North Shore. Perhaps the increase in personnel in the area was also a factor in the decision. There are not enough records available to give an adequate explanation for this, and old timers are equally uncertain. Eventually land facing California Ave. was donated by Frank Widdifield. An additional portion was bought that adjoined the property in the rear. The Reverend Sidney H. Croft was the first Vicar of St. Stephens in-the-Fields in Wahiawa. An Army surplus mess hall was purchased and became the first chapel building. This building was dedicated by Bishop Kennedy on June 16, 1946. Father Croft and then Junior Warden John Kim, who is still a faithful communicant, planted a monkey pod tree in 1947. At Father Crofts last service with St. Stephens he said, I hope you will become a self supporting parish when the monkey pod tree takes tap hold in its roots. July of 1949 saw the ordination of a newly graduated seminarian, Claude F.Duteil at St. Stephens. He became the next Vicar of the growing mission.He was very innovative and his ministry contributed greatly to the growth that occurred. In 1950 the old mess hall had been outgrown. The present church building was dedicated on December 9, 1951. The altar, pews, and organ were among the many gifts and memorials given to the mission. Father Duteil was followed, in 1954, by the Reverend Gerald G. Gifford. The continuing growth of the church called for the purchase of new land along California Ave. The 25th Division had returned from Korea and the church served many of the military families. Gen. Powel regularly attended St.Stephens during this time. The fourth Vicar, The Reverend William Edwin Bonsey, Jr., who grew up on Maui, came to St. Stephens in 1957. During his ministry the new building was consecrated by Bishop Kennedy on December 8, 1961. Fr. Bonsey was followed by the Reverend Howard B. Kishpaugh in 1963. The final payment for the land was made and the new parish hall was built. This building was dedicated by Bishop Kennedy on July 27, 1964. Then, at last, on February 27, 1965, St. Stephens became a self supporting parish with Father Kishpaugh as the first Rector. The dream of Bishop Staley was finally realized. Bishop Kennedy retired in 1969 and was succeeded by the Reverend Lani B. Hanchett. Bishop Hanchett was the man who deployed Father Alex Geston and his wife, Simeona, from the Philippines. Fr. Geston was made Vicar of St.Columbas church on the Big Island. This was a momentous event for St.Stephens because Fr. Alex is now our own loved and valued Rector. The Reverend Thomas K. Yoshida, a native of Hawaii from West Kauai, became the sixth priest, and second Rector. One thing he did while at St. Stephens was to baptize a beautiful baby girl named Noe Melvin. The Reverend George Hartung was Interim Rector from July 1979 to May 1980. He was followed by Reverend Eric Potter, our seventh priest. Fr. Potter left to become Canon Pastor at St. Andrews. Reverend Peter Besenbruch served as Interim Rector from September 1984 to January 1986. Before departing to become Presiding Bishop in 1985, Bishop Browning appointed Reverend Richard Rowe as our eighth priest. Fr. Rowe resigned in June of 1989 to become managing director of The Peanut Butter Mission. The Reverend Canon Kishpaugh returned to be Interim Rector from October 1989 through January 1990. The Reverend Peter Besenbruch became Rector until April 1993. The man appointed to become Interim Rector this time was the Reverend Alejandro S. Geston. He was given that position by Bishop Hart in 1993. In May of 1995 Fr. Alex was installed as our eighth priest. He continues to serve the people of St. Stephens who come from Wahiawa, Mililani, and the North Shore.

Address: 1679 California Ave. Wahiawa, HI 96786
Telephone: (808) 621-8662
Website: http://members.tripod.com/~St_Stephens/