About St. Timothy's

Our Mission: Loving God. Loving Others. Living Aloha!

St. Timothy's Episcopal Church is a welcoming and inclusive faith community dedicated to creating a place of belonging, where Christ's love is known and shared through our worship and outreach to the 'Aiea and Pearl City region of O'ahu. Whoever you are, however God made you, wherever you are in your spiritual journey, you are welcome here. We are delighted you have found our page. Come join us for worship!

Who We Are: St. Timothy’s is a vibrant and diverse community of followers of Jesus. It’s a place to call your spiritual home, a sanctuary to retreat from the turmoil of life. But it is also a place where our faith moves beyond the sanctuary into the world. At St. Tim’s, we take community seriously. Here you will be inspired to worship meaningfully, reflect deeply, learn wisely, and serve joyfully, together. Our church family doesn’t simply sing and listen — we are active in our faith. That’s why St. Tim’s is such a unique, welcoming, diverse, inclusive community committed to living the Good News of Jesus Christ and transforming this world with the spirit of Aloha. Come see for yourself! Find your spiritual home at St. Timothy’s.

No matter your background, race, gender, orientation, or political affiliation, you will find aloha here at St. Timothy’s!

Our Church Campus in ‘Aiea: You can see our A-frame church building on Moanalua Road, from many streets and freeways. We’re across from Pearl Ridge Elementary School and near Pearlridge Center. We have plenty of free parking here. Our campus is always busy as we host several community service-oriented organizations, and we have our own outreach ministries to serve those who are food insecure.

Our History: We are part of the Episcopal Church in Hawai'i and are connected to the worldwide Anglican Communion. St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church was founded in 1953 when ‘Aiea was still “country,” far from the big city. It moved from the central O’ahu area of the current 'Aiea Shopping Center to its Moanalua Road location in 1970. The city has grown in the years since, and more development is projected. And St. Timothy’s remains a visible and vital leader in the community.

Our diocesan history in the islands owes its presence to the efforts and patronage of King Kamehameha IV and Queen Emma, whose Christian witness founded the Queen's Medical Center, welcomed the establishment of the Church in Hawai'i, and supported the founding of schools for the education of Hawai'i's children. We honor our Ali’i annually on or about November 23rd with the celebration known as the Feast of the Holy Sovereigns.

St. Timothy’s is very proud of the consistent reaction from visitors and new members – they let us know that they feel truly welcome in the church and during fellowship afterwards. And clergy who knew the church during earlier difficult years have said that they can feel the love when they enter the church – so different from before. Something that is so good to hear!

St. Timothy’s is a relatively young church in the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii, founded when the population on O’ahu expanded significantly in the ‘Aiea/Pearl City area in the 1950s and early 1960s. The church provided a worship option for those who did not want to drive into Honolulu or onto the base at Pearl Harbor to worship at St. George’s.

Founding members of the congregation stayed through the growth of the church as it moved to its current, permanent site on Moanalua Road in ‘Aiea, built the chapel, then the pre-school, and in the 1980s, the parish hall. Children and grandchildren attended the pre-school and grew up in the church. Church members came, and still come, from a broad range of backgrounds. There is no predominant ethnic group. The church has benefited from the proximity to Pearl Harbor Naval Base and Hickam Air Force Base (now Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH)), welcoming service members and military families since it was founded. This has without a doubt contributed to accepting people regardless of background. We truly practice the “All Are Welcome” declaration on our roadside banners.

St. Timothy’s enjoyed growth and stability during the 25 years that Rev. Dr. Vincent O’Neill was vicar and rector. His retirement in 2008 caused a significant disruption to this stability. Almost 15 years passed during which there were multiple changes, multiple leaders, a reversion to mission status, and a drop in membership, especially among families with children. However, there was still a core of church members who did not give up on their church.

In 2022 Rev. Karen Swanson was assigned as interim priest while the church went through the process of calling a full-time permanent vicar. Rev. Karen brought energy and enthusiasm that was sorely needed. After years of no Sunday School, there was a Christmas Pageant in 2022 – the children were returning. And the Sunday School was re-started. And the Search Committee was able to interview candidates for the vicar’s position with recommendations for interviews by the Bishop’s Committee to issue a call. And Rev. Peter Wallace accepted the call in 2023 and became vicar in February, 2024.

Fr. Peter has been a perfect fit for St. Timothy’s. The revitalization, growth, and pastoral care that started with Rev. Karen has continued. The church is moving forward in what we believe are the right directions in worship and community. The congregation has continued to grow and the programs have kept pace. There is hope amongst the core of church members who did not give up on St. Timothy’s that we are on the path to the vibrant and vital church it was in the past as we move into the future.

St. Timothy’s has always had a tradition of Outreach, the only ministry mandated in the by-laws. This started even before moving to the permanent location, with church members providing meals to the Institute of Human Services. This continued until IHS found other ways to feed their guests. But St. Timothy’s continued, providing meals to those staying in Neal Blaisdell Park until this was no longer allowed. Then meals were provided at St. Timothy’s. This expanded to include a Food Pantry, initially stocked by donations, but as the need in the community grew, to becoming a Food Bank partner. Currently, groceries are distributed to ~100 recipients every week, and meals are provided to a similar number of people twice a month. Volunteers are not just from St. Timothy’s – former recipients and others in the community who are looking for an opportunity to assist are part of the Outreach Team.

St. Timothy’s also has a chapter of the Daughters of the King, the Kai’kamahine-Aloha Chapter, currently with 15 daughters and growing. Daughters are part of the “core” of church members and are involved in church leadership and in every ministry.

St. Timothy’s is also host to Kama’aina Kids Preschool at St. Timothy’s, Hale Hau’oli Hawaii (Senior Day Care), Venture ABA (autism behavioral analysis for keiki and families), CPR Hawaii (community CPR training), an Al-Anon group and a NarcAnon group. The Unity Full Gospel Church (Marshallese) also uses the chapel for their services Sunday evenings, and another church group meets regularly on campus. These community organizations and groups are just the current providers of services that St. Timothy’s has hosted for decades, and hopes to continue to host for the community.

Current challenges are finding space for our expanding Sunday School and accommodating the space needs of the congregation for activities outside Sunday worship. There is also the ongoing challenge of caring for the seniors in our congregation as they become less independent but still want to be part of the worship community and related fellowship.

As far as the “business” aspects of St. Timothy’s, maintaining the campus has always been an important priority. So far this has been more than adequate. Major projects, such as repaving the (fairly sizeable) parking lot have been accomplished in the past two years, without having to borrow funds. Next major project is solar, also without having to borrow funds, as our contribution to a more environmentally responsible congregation. Multiple other initiatives have been accomplished in the past two years, such as revamped website (which has attracted new members), renovation of the original church offices, now the Takafuji Room, and the installation of artificial turf in the large courtyard between the chapel and Sumida Hall (parish hall) to remove the “trip and stumble” hazard that the original grass had become. Ceiling fans in the chapel and a new, upgraded audio system are in the installation process. Generous church members have also donated replacement vestments and altar hangings to help keep the chapel looking fresh. Activities such as the annual campus cleanup keep the congregation involved in more than just worship, and we have fun.

Join us! Feel the love, enjoy our worship, participate and have fun with our ministries! There is always room for more, and every new member and visitor has enriched our church. Remember, ALL ARE WELCOME at St. Timothy’s!

Visit our website: https://www.sttimothysaiea.org/
Visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/sttimothysaiea.
Visit us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@sttimothysaiea5028

By Nancy Chun, Bishop's Warden
September 2025