Apology Needed for Hawaiʻi
Delegates at this month’s United Methodist Church General Conference will have the opportunity to vote for a formal apology for the illegal overthrow of the independent nation of Hawaiʻi (Petition #20582-IC-R9999, page 899 ADCA). The UMC needs to repent for its responsibility for the armed participation in the overthrow in 1893 and the illegal annexation of the nation in 1898.
On January 17, 1893, a group of mostly sugar cane plantation owners seized the independent nation of Hawai‘i, aided by 162 U.S. Marines who acted without the knowledge of the U.S. President. Rev. Harcourt W. Peck, who later became Pastor of First Methodist Episcopal Church
in Honolulu, took up his rifle to participate in the removal of the monarchy. He succeeded in solidifying Methodism in Hawai‘i through his continued armed participation with the revolutionaries.
After an official investigation, U.S. President Grover Cleveland concluded the overthrow was illegal and worked to return the Kingdom to its Queen Liliʻuokalani. But before that could be accomplished, William McKinley – a Methodist – was elected President. In 1898, President
McKinley and the United States annexed Hawai‘i without a treaty, against international law, and contrary to the petitions of the Hawaiian people. The Queen was arrested and imprisoned in her own palace. Royal lands and property were stolen, and the Hawaiian language was banned.
Today the people of Hawai‘i continue to experience the after-effects of the overthrow. As United Methodists, our faith calls us to pursue the path of repentance, reparations, reconciliation, and restoration; to follow the way of Jesus Christ; to live the love of God and to seek justice for all who have been harmed by colonialism.
This Apology Petition was written by the Hawaii District Acts of Repentance Task Force and approved at the 2018 California-Pacific Annual Conference and the General Commission on Religion and Race.
This story was provided by Amy Wake
A video prepared by the California-Pacific Conference.