The Huaka‘i Project is thriving in its second year
By Celia K. Downes
Hawaii Catholic Herald
The Diocese of Honolulu has been making a concerted effort to reach and engage a key demographic in the Catholic Church — young adults, defined as people between the ages of 18-39. Comprising a wide swath of vocations and life stages, young adults have come into the spotlight both locally and globally as Church leaders look to the future of the faith.
The Huaka‘i Project, a diocesan initiative that seeks to promote fellowship, faith formation and a commitment to service among young adults across Hawaii, has drawn hundreds of participants from dozens of parishes since it debuted last year. The team overseeing its objectives and strategies is optimistic about the results so far as it looks to the project’s future.
Kainoa Fukumoto, associate director of the diocesan Office of Evangelization and Catechesis, said during a Huaka‘i Project leadership meeting Aug. 20 that participants’ service projects have impacted thousands of people so far, reflecting the project’s goal of urging young adults to “go beyond the walls of the churches (and) build relationships” outside the parameters of the program.
The Huaka‘i Project — which is in the second year of its five-year slated run — is the result of a partnership between the diocese and the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life that began in 2024, when Honolulu was one of 10 entities across the U.S. chosen to work with the institute to support young Christians and encourage lives of service.
The diocese is receiving a total of $500,000 to establish and implement the Huaka‘i Project over its five-year lifespan. (Notre Dame was given a $10 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to support its work with the 10 entities, which range from dioceses to nonprofit organizations.)
Small groups, big impact
The Huaka‘i Project centers on a small-group format to build relationships among diverse groups of young adults — moms, working professionals, men, women and more. During “seasons” of three months each, these groups set weekly meetings in which they talk, pray and discuss how they can serve the wider community.
Season 4 is set to begin later this month.
In preparing the project’s blueprints, the Diocese of Honolulu partnered with EPIC Ministry, a local lay organization focused on young adult Catholics that specializes in the small-group setup. Dallas Carter, an educator and the president of EPIC Ministry, was tapped to help with the curriculum.
Carter emphasized that the Huaka‘i Project’s small groups are “not a Bible study.” One of the program’s goals, he said, is to bring to the same table young adults whose faith lives manifest in different ways — those who focus on prayer, for example, versus those who focus on social justice — and help all see that “we’re all on the same team.”
While seasons do have catechetical and faith formation aims — Season 4, for example, will look at Mary and the saints in anticipation of All Saints’ Day — small-group leaders, who receive training from the diocese and EPIC Ministry, also help participants realize “the importance of service and encountering Christ in serving others,” Carter said.
During the Aug. 20 planning meeting, Malcolm Zara, executive director of EPIC Ministry, provided an example of small groups who swiftly rallied to help an elderly woman when her home flooded.
“What we are doing works,” he said, adding that the Huaka‘i Project helps participants realize that “you can help, you can make the sacrifice” to serve.
Small groups tackle service projects throughout each season, working with organizations including the Institute for Human Services and HOPE Services Hawaii or at locations such as the King Street cemetery.
As a bonus, Carter added, some Huaka‘i Project members who were not Catholic have since “journeyed into the church,” showing that the initiative’s impact goes beyond faith formation and service.
Excited for new season
The kickoff for Season 4 took place last month at EPIC Ministry’s community house in Kaneohe on Oahu, but the Huaka‘i Project’s reach spans several islands.
Ethelyn Schumacher is entering her second season as a group leader on Kauai.
“It’s always nice to be surrounded by people with different perspectives because we can learn from each other’s experiences and find ways to apply those lessons to our own lives,” she said in an interview with the Hawaii Catholic Herald.
One of Schumacher’s small-group members, James Thesken, said that he joined the Huaka‘i Project about a year ago because “I wanted to surround myself with young adults who love Christ and inspire me to live my faith to the fullest.”
Both Schumacher and Thesken are parishioners at Immaculate Conception Church in Lihue.
Christine Licato, a parishioner at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Wahiawa, joined the Huaka‘i Project at its inception last year and has been a group leader for several seasons, meeting with a small group of women on Oahu.
In an interview with the Herald, she encouraged young adults debating whether to join the program to “just jump in.”
“There is something so special about being in a small intimate setting with others who are in the same or even different phase of life as you,” Licato said. “The bond is so special and really allows for people to come just as they are.”
Meagan Buchanan and her husband, who are parishioners at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Kailua, made the leap based on their experience with EPIC Ministry, which they joined when they moved to the islands a few years ago.
Buchanan has participated in most of the Huaka‘i Project’s seasons, this year as a small-group member. She highlighted the program’s faith formation component as well as its focus on service as reasons other young adults should give it a try.
Looking to the future
Huaka‘i Project leaders agreed during their Aug. 20 meeting that the project’s impact is increasingly being felt at parishes across the diocese.
Zara noted that more than 50 small groups have been formed, comprising hundreds of young adults representing more than 30 parishes.
Fukumoto said that the project is now trying to engage pastors and parishes to encourage their young adults to try the Huaka‘i Project. Getting the word out remains a challenge, he said.
What is encouraging, Carter said, is that some participants are bringing what they have learned through the Huaka‘i Project back to their parishes and taking on bigger roles in their communities.
A group leader role within the Huaka‘i Project might translate to a leadership role in a home parish, Fukumoto noted.
Fukumoto said that next year, at the halfway point of the five-year grant, the diocese and the McGrath Institute will assess the Huaka‘i Project’s progress and how to sustain it when the funding ends.