Our parish was facing a dilemma. We had outgrown the little church on Fr. Weaver Road. Expanding the old church was not the solution. Not only would it be expensive, but even then, there still wouldn’t be room to accommodate the growing Catholic population of Ewa Beach.

      The parish school on North Road was built on federal surplus land. According to the provision, for twenty years, the land could not be sold and could only be used for education or health purposes. Since the property on which the school was built was provided in 1966, that meant the that church could not be built there until 1986. The only other option was to purchase the surplus property outright. But where would the money come from? Even if the land was purchased, there would hardly be any money left to construct the church. What to do!

     If this were a purely human endeavor, the story would probably have ended here. But this was the Church Our Land of Perpetual Help. Our Lady was not giving in that easy. She would provide a way. She had already done it several times in the brief history of the parish. She would do it again.

      It turns out that some property across the street from the school, was donated to the church. It was sold, and the proceeds were used to purchase the right to build a church on the school grounds. What’s the odds of that happening just at this particular time? Thanks again to your Mother Mary.

      A special committee was formed and met regularly to discuss immediate plans for the new church. A building fund began to grow, and an architect was secured. A new era was dawning for OLPH. Construction of the present church began in 1977. Ground breaking took place in October of 1977. The rectory (or priest’s residence) was built behind the church. Both church and rectory as economically as possible. To meet the needs of the population, the church had to be built as soon as possible. The parish did not have the financial means so the Diocese of Honolulu would have to provide the necessary financing. It was simple, there were no frills, but it was three times bigger that the old church on Ft. Weaver Road. There was also ample parking, and a rectory that had room the three priests.

      Parishioners worked hard and diligently on landscaping, relocating the Marian alcove, and putting the other finishing touches that transformed it from a stark hollow tile facility into a spiritual home for the Ewa Beach community. (I got a good laugh when I saw a notation that the rectory was built for the substantial cost of $12,000.00.)

     We now had a parish school, a parish church building, a rectory, substantial parking, along with several undeveloped acres behind the school for expansion. The future looked good. But one of the drawbacks in building a bare bones facility, was the lack of sufficient space for offices, meeting/conference rooms, and storage space. There wasn’t enough money to build a parish hall or multipurpose center. But this was still a milestone and quite an accomplishment. Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish had finally arrived at its permanent home. The first Mass celebrated on Christmas of 1997 at midnight. However, it was an open air Mass as the building was far from being completed. The vault of heaven provided the first ceiling. Only the four walls were standing, and there was no roof yet. The old church on Ft. Weaver Road was sold to the Espcopalians. The formal dedication of the new church took place on April 9, 1978, and was dedicated by Bishop Scanlon.

Next:  Part IV - Where Are We Today.