Oʻahu, Hawai‘i Pilot

From 2022-2025, Emmaus Encounters traveled to Oʻahu, Hawai‘i. The location was selected because Andover Seminary and Yale were the two institutions that educated the first missionaries sent from New England to Hawai’i more than two hundred years ago.

The two schools share a connection with Henry Opukaha’ia (1792-1818), a Hawai’ian who traveled with merchants from Hawai’i to New Haven, and then Andover, seeding interest in sharing the Gospel in Hawai’i.

Additionally, Andover Newton and Yale have partners in Hawai’i, such as schools and churches founded by graduates, many of which share the same concerns about faith communities today. Consequently, these partnerships open the possibility of ongoing, reciprocal relationships.

In the spring of 2018, Andover Newton at YDS welcomed the Rev. Dr. George Scott as visiting instructor from the Punahou School, founded by Andover missionary Hiram Bingham, and commissioned lecture from Professor Tisa Wenger on the ethics of commemorating the Andover and Yale Hawaiʻi mission bicentennial. From 2019-2022, partner relationships were cultivated from afar during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first Emmaus Encounters took place in January 2024, followed by the second in January 2025. To learn more about the Oʻahu, Hawai‘i pilot and read reflections from participants, please see the additional links below.