Church service in Maui

[Puffs]

We will be sailing on Pride of America in May. We will get to Maui at 8am on Mothers Day and would really like to attend a church service. We are renting a car and so not sure how long that will take. Does anyone know of a church close to port or one that we could get to in time for services? One that doesn't mind visitors. Thanks for any help you can give.

[southerngirl528]

Aloha Puffs,

 

We truly love attending church during our long stays every other year on Maui! Where will your ship be docking? At Kahului Harbor or anchoring in Lahaina? (which requires tendering into shore)

 

We love Calvary Chapel's services on West Maui/Lahaina. We particularly love the beach front services in a roadside park between Ka'anapali and Lahaina. This is their 2nd service each Sunday with their first being in a building they have up above Lahaina Farms Foodland across from Cannery Mall in Lahaina. If you dock in Kahului, Calvary Chapel has services in central Maui in Wailuku which is mauka (more up the mountainside) from Kahului. We have always found the parishioners most warm and welcoming.

 

Business clients that were with us this February are Catholic and really enjoyed mass at an old church in Lahaiana. There's lots of great churches to choose from and I think you will find all of them very welcoming. Happy Mothers Day!

[Puffs]

Thanks Southern girl,

 

We port in Kahului, I will google Calvary Chapel and see if I can find the service times. A beach side service sounds wonderful. I will be with a group and I know they will enjoy it. What a special Mothers Day right! How long do you think it will take to get there from the port?

[Puffs]

It looks like the beach service is at 10:30am. Perfect. Thank you!

[southerngirl528]

Aloha Puffs,

 

Happy that Calvary Chapel will work for you. I believe that Calvary Chapel has a service in South Maui (Kihei/Wailea area) as well, though I'm not sure if they have a beach front service. If they do, that location would be closer to Kahului for you. For the service in Lahaina, I would allow an hour for the drive from Kahului, though with no traffic it should run about 40 minutes.

 

Once you pass through most of Lahaina town and begin to see the oceanfront/beach again, you will almost immediately see the sign on the right for the Lahaina Post Office and the Civic Center. There is traffic light right at the Post Office on Honoapi'ilani Highway, be sure to be in the left lane immediately after this light as your turn off into the beach park where the services are is very soon after. From the direction you will be approaching, you will actually pass the one-way EXIT to this park before you get to the entrance. If you go as far as the turn off (on the left) to the Ka'anapali resort area, you have gone a bit too far. There is usually a banner out front of the park on Sunday mornings.

 

Lastly, most of the seating is low folding beach chairs. The very short kind. There are only a couple of rows of chairs that are almost as tall as a "normal" folding chair and they fill up fast so it pays to get there early if anyone in your party would have difficulty getting up and down from almost-on-the-ground seating. There are a couple of picnic tables nearby too that folks sometimes sit on. Pastor Steve is a great teacher and you'll find everyone very friendly! And the views of the other islands are spectacular as well. And I've yet to attend a service there that honu (Hawaiian for sea turtle) don't poke their heads up to get a breath as they feed on the algae on the rocks in the immediate area! Beautiful! :)

[Puffs]

Thank you for all the information. We do have a couple of folks who are in early 80's so the seating might be an issue. I appreciate the advance warning. We can pick up our car rental at 8:30am so I think we will have plenty of time to get there early. We had planned on visiting Lahaina any way so the beach service will be perfect. From the website it looked like shorts and capris would be ok. Since we will be out exploring that day it would be nice to not have to take along a change of clothes. Sounds wonderful. Can't wait.

[southerngirl528]

Very casual clothes are the norm. Capri's, sundresses, even longer (no Daisy Dukes! LOL) shorts and tops would be fine. I think you will really enjoy the service and the incredible views!

 

Lahaina has lots to see and though I don't care for many of the shops, there are some jewels among them and tons of great places to eat. If you do some strolling along Lahaina's Front St, beware of all the new fancy skin care shops, I don't think I've ever encountered such "slick" salesmanship. I just avoided eye contact, smiled and said no thanks as I passed. Not to say they might not have some great stuff, but I've heard they are super pricey and how many folks ended up paying big bucks before they got out of one of these places. There's only a few, but they're there! :roll eyes:

 

Try to stop by an Ululani's Shave Ice (it's not "shaved", but "shave"), theirs is IMHO, they BEST! They make their own syrups and they are yummy.