Friendly, inclusive staff and congregation make visitors feel welcome. Nice accommodations for…read moremothers with infants and welcoming groups for children and youth, Activities for all ages. Giving back to the community is encouraged.

Free food, groceries, haircuts, signing up for social services (assuming you have an ID), etc the…read morelast Tuesday of every month for the homeless. Now THAT is Christianity.

We had our ceremony of matrimony (outside the mass) at St. Anthony of Padua Church in March 2024,…read moreand it was absolutely perfect! My husband's family is from Oahu, and we currently live in Oregon, so coordinating from afar could have been challenging, but working with the parish and their front office made everything smooth and simple. The ceremony was beautiful, and Kepa was incredibly accommodating with the music. The homily was heartfelt, and we felt so welcomed despite my husband's family not being Catholic. It was an intimate, unifying experience, and we're forever thankful for the church's generosity in allowing us to get married there. We couldn't have asked for a better setting for such an important day. Thank you, St. Anthony of Padua Church, for making our ceremony so special!

OK let's start off with the facilities beautiful immaculate, very nice very very nice. The. The…read morefather that I spoke to very nice.. little bit of background I go to ST. JOHN Vianney I was thinking about possibly moving to Saint Anthony's of Padua however, after the smirking of the offering collectors at me comments from them under their breath as they give $100 to their offering ask anybody at St. John Vianney how generous John L is. And Saint Anthony's of Padua will know what they lost . I will pray for this church . It's the only time I ever felt like beating the crap out of somebody in the middle of a church.

3 years later we returned. My son called the church and explained who he was and that 10 days is a…read morelong time to go without practice. He asked if he could rehearse during the week in exchange for an music offering at Sunday service. They remembered him! They were so kind. After service we were invited for fellowship and conversed with the regular members. There was a guest pastor, as they were in "new search" mode. The guest pastor was great, gave an interesting, engaging sermon. I hope they found a new pastor. It's a sweet church in a nice location. I think I may miss them this next trip due to time constraints, but will look them up again next time my son travels with me to Oahu.

Please read my earlier review, for my original impressions of this church…read more After several months, I am back on Oahu and visited this church again. In the intervening time I have attended many, many other supposedly Christian churches. Kailua Christian Church is one of the rare churches where Jesus would walk in the door, get a warm welcome, and in fact recognize that the people are living his teachings, 2000 years later. (I don't think Jesus would really recognize...or approve of... a lot of the wealthy...hateful... or just plain ignorant people that loudly proclaim themselves as "Christians" today). Kailua Christian Church is "the real deal." Not fancy... modest... but very cool. Trying to be better people, help each other and the community, through tolerance, love, and service. This Sunday, the Pastor's message to the kids was about how our favorite superheros are really people who serve others, not themselves... who dedicate their superpowers to making the world a better place. Then in his adult sermon, he talked about using Jesus as a mirror to really see yourself, and what you need to improve before you walk out the door into your community. I thought it was a great message. If you could just stand in front of Jesus, and look at him, and him look at you, without saying anything, what would you see in yourself and realize you need to change? Their music program has evolved since my last visits... I was pleased to hear a really good anthem from their (new?) choir. (the only thing I still don't care for, is the screen that comes down over the altar for lyrics... at least they roll it back up when not in use... if you're going to project the words, I wish they would also project the notes... how else are people going to learn to sing and read music ??) In addition, they are apparently excellent detectives.... despite my using a pseudonym and a profile picture of my dog, they figured out my identity as their previous positive reviewer!!! The ladies of Kailua Christian Church solve the case of the mystery reviewer! LOL. You should attend a service! Finally I would like to see them study and adopt an Open and Affirming resolution http://www.ucc.org/lgbt/ona.html#FAQ_about_ONA . They would join rare company as I believe only one other UCC church on Oahu is ONA, and only 2 at this time in the whole state of Hawaii ! To me it is a real symbol of saying "you know what, we want to be ahead of the curve on civil rights issues... and recognize and fight discrimination EARLY rather than look back decades later and say "how could they not see?" Adopting this ONA resolution is often a challenging process for a church, but hey, as I heard in a recent sermon at another UCC church... "Christianity is not for wimps."

The church is great. However, the dirty looks from fellow parishioners is reprehensible…read more I challenge you to read the Bible and have a consistent concise understanding of Catholicism. Leave your dirty looks at home . I'm John Lambertson and I approve this message

I was recently in Kailua and had the opportunity to go to Mass at St. John Vianney. I felt welcomed…read morefrom the moment I entered the church. The usher asked if I would be willing to take up the gifts and felt honored to do so. I will cherish the rosary given to me as a first time visitor. Mahalo nui loa. The church itself provided a very nice atmosphere. The Deacon gave an outstanding homily. I certainly will return on my next visit.

I shared this on my instagram but then my daughter suggested I share it here..thank you thank you…read morethank you God for loving me so. Quite some time ago, Sandals had a guest pastor visiting from Hawaii. Pastor Wayne shared a message that coincided with his book, Divine Mentor, and I remember leaving that day feeling incredibly blessed. Then, during a trip to Hawaii in 2022, I wanted to attend New Hope Church in Oahu. I drove all the way there... and then drove right past it because I was too scared to walk in alone. This year, I've been praying for courage. I've been asking God to help me do the things that stretch me, the things I don't always feel confident enough to do. Today, I finally walked through the doors of New Hope. From the moment I arrived, I was welcomed with so much kindness. They placed a shell lei around my neck, took the time to talk with me, and made me feel like I belonged. I couldn't help but tear up. It reminded me so much of what Sandals felt like 15 years ago, the warmth, the authenticity, the love, and the joy of being surrounded by people who genuinely reflect the heart of Jesus. God showed up in a mighty way. The first song alone was confirmation He knows me and my fears and blesses my willingness to walk through them and in these doors. I'm so thankful I didn't let fear win this time. God continues to show me that courage isn't about having no fear, it's about trusting Him enough to take the next step anyway. So much to be grateful for. Giving thanks to Him for it all. The good and the not so good. I know He has a plan. #gratitude #faith #courage #newhopeoahu

Fellowship was great. The welcome and worship both exciting. A Great experience and very…read morewelcoming. Music was great and the message also good. Everyone was welcoming.

So thankful that our ʻohana found Pearlside Kaneohe. We have been attending for a little over a…read moreyear. This church is very simple...no flashy production...just focused on teaching and sharing God's word...which is exactly what we were looking for. In lieu of a themed series, Pearlside Kaneohe goes verse by verse through a book in the Bible. Worship is awesome, too!

Pastors and congregation there are so welcoming when you arrive. The comment I hear most from my…read morefamily when they come is how one of the Pastors greeted them and made them feel welcome. "Pastor Kei is so nice, he always greets us even when we don't always come." "Pastor Robbie always comes and tells me good morning" Feeling welcomed tends to make walls come down. I appreciate all my Pastors and the hospitality team for this simple but valuable gesture.

Word of life is my home church is alive and the word is active its place where you are loved and…read morewelcoming to everyone

Absolutely adore their Christmas mass…read more I'm visiting here for the holidays, and it was a full on show! They have three screens (modern church), live music with singers, and a Christmas presentation where children were dancing to religious Christmas music. They also had "fake snow" fall from the ceiling for a part of it. In addition, there is ample and free parking. A whole parking lot is dedicated toward this church on Sunday. The holiday sermon was about 2 hours long from 11 am to 1 pm. It was a lengthier mass I've been to, but it was definitely enjoyable!

My family and I came here for Saturday mass in honor of my aunties 2nd year death anniversary…read more Coming from Ewa beach, it was a bit of a drive but well worth it. This church is beautiful. Not the biggest church but you can tell it is very well taken care of. As someone who hasn't attended mass in awhile, I like that they had laminated sheets so you know what to respond with so you don't feel an out of place.

Now, my home parish after weeks of trying different Catholic Churches. Here's why:…read more 1) Franciscan spirituality: a true holy man resides here as our beloved pastor. He is a Capuchin Franciscan who is the model priest. Firm and no nonsense (which I love) but with the compassion and kindness of Christ. Franciscans celebrate the presence of God in all of His creations: animals, plants, sun, moon, stars... yes even rainbows! Father's homilies might run a tad long, but they are jam packed with rich poignant truth-based concepts grounded in natural law and Christian "bedrock". I wouldn't wish one word less...every word of his helps me defuse the confusion of Christianity and I always come away enlightened. 2) adherence to the truth: so many times we gravitate to that which we want to hear versus what we need to hear. How many times do we "google" a topic but only chose to read the posts we happen to agree with, while dismissing the rest, regardless if they are more truthful than our previously adopted biases? That's not helping us to fully use the gifts of logic and reason God gave us. What personal growth is there in only listening to our own self centered egos and only those thoughts that seem to validate our conceits? In a world full of anger and shouting and hate and political correctness, and euphemism....it's nice to hear the unvarnished truth. I welcome truth the same way a poor, naked man welcomes warm clothes in the middle of a blizzard. 3) Aloha: I'm aware that this word may not mean today what it meant years ago, but in general (aside from the occasional curmudgeon like myself), the people here are warm, friendly, and try their best to imitate Christ. Do we fail? You bet. Several times a day... but we are called to "press on til the end"... and so we try. Most everyone here radiates Aloha. 4) Keeps traditions alive: while we all need to do a better job liturgically in some areas of tradition (as spelled out clearly in Sacrosanctum Concillium), we are one of the few churches that celebrates one Sunday Mass each month in the Hawaiian language. Come join us the third Sunday of the month to experience this. It is both amazing and inspirational. 5) History and Architecture: we are one of the few churches on island that did not jump on the 70s/80s/90s bandwagon of architecture revolution and renovate to a circular design (which is actually paganesque and not Christian). Our architecture reflects centuries of Catholic imagery... we have a proper Nave, Sanctuary, Altar and Tabernacle that is the central focus of our liturgy since everything visually in our architecture points to Christ as the center of our worship, and the presence of Christ in our midst. Our church was first established in 1840 as a result of the then persecution that drove the move of the faithful from Honolulu to the Windward side. Saint Father Damien of Molokai visited and said Mass here! The original wooden church structure burned down in a fire back in 1937. By 1939, a new block constructed church was built (which is the current one today). Our bell in our tower was a gift from the kind people of Nantes, France, and has a dedication and year marking on the bell that shows it was cast in 1845! There is something about the sanctity and feel of a church where so many generations of Hawaiians have worshipped in and prayed. It gives the church, a peaceful holy feel. If you are looking for a place to worship, you might like this parish. In any case, peace and goodness to you all... or in the words of St Francis d'Assisi: "Pax et Bonum ". Mahalo for reading my review.