By Anna Weaver | Hawaii Catholic Herald
A “freakish storm” the Sunday before Christmas knocked over and shredded up the tent that St. Michael the Archangel Parish in Kailua-Kona has been using for its worship space since the parish’s unstable 159-year-old church structure was vacated in fall 2007.
St. Michael’s pastor, Father Lio Faletoi, said the 60-by-80-foot tent fell down on Dec. 20 after the 9 a.m. Mass when, thankfully, no one was inside. A quick thinking audio technician had cleared out the tent when it seemed it couldn’t handle the storm.
“Strong winds came pounding down and there were two water funnels out in the ocean,” Father Faletoi recounted. “The tent withstood several other strong winds but this one it couldn’t withstand.”
The 11 a.m. Mass that day was held in the parish hall and the county allowed the parish to use the community center across the street for the 4 and 6 p.m. Masses that day.
Three days later St. Michael was able to get a 60-by-70-foot replacement tent up in time for its Christmas Masses, all of which enjoyed good weather.
“It was a powerful message because Christmas is the time when God makes his dwelling with us, literally when God comes to pitch his tent,” Father Faletoi said. “We had to pitch a new tent.”
The tent is a temporary accommodation until the old St. Michael Church can be torn down and rebuilt. The parish has made significant progress toward that goal. In November there was a decommissioning ceremony for the old church. Father Faletoi said the parish has hired an architect, received approval of its report to the State Historical Preservation Division, and gotten a permit from Hawaii County for demolition of the church.
After asbestos removal took place the first two weeks of January, demolition was scheduled for Jan. 19. The final designs for the new St. Michael Church are underway, and three trees on the church property have been taken down to make way for the new, slightly larger building. The new church should accommodate 500-plus parishioners versus the current 350. The trees cut down have been sent to a mill to eventually be turned into furnishings for the new St. Michael.
“The new church is going to resemble the old church, just made of new materials that are stronger,” Father Faletoi said.
Dick Leander, St. Michael’s parish planning and building committee chair, estimates it will be 12 to 18 months before building starts on the new church.
The parish is also planning a new community center to replace the current termite-plagued parish hall. The center will have a kitchen, offices and meeting rooms and be available to the wider community for use.
Plans are also being made for a separate building to house a food bank and social ministry offices on the first floor and an apartment for visiting priests on the second floor.