PYE Aloha: TalkStory Pilgrimage 2026

The purpose of our own Province VIII PYE (Provincial Youth Event) was to replace TECʻs canceled EYE that was scheduled for Summer 2026 (it was a once per three-year event). Since the Diocese of Hawaiʻi was planning their own Diocesan Youth Event (DYE) to replace EYE, other Province VIII youth ministry coordinators last year asked if their diocesan youth could join what we had already planned in Hawaiʻi - thus the DYE became PYE. 

As a result, we grew from one diocese (Hawaiʻi) to hosting 12 of the 19 from Province VIII: Arizona, California, Hawaiʻi, Idaho, Navajoland, Nevada, Olympia, San Diego, Spokane, Taiwan, Utah, and Western Oregon. We had a total of 147 participants: 112 Youth Pilgrims and 35 Adult Chaperones.

Our pilgrimage theme was "TalkStory: Lessons from Indigenous Hawaiians and Island Immigrants." We underlined the Hawaiian expression "talk story," which is always more than just mere chit-chat or discussion, and instead all to do with sharing our own stories with one another (to understand each other better, especially across differing opinions of issues) as well as to learn from the ancient stories of Indigenous Hawaiians and other immigrants to our islands, showing the positive influences of immigration. 

All arriving dioceses were greeted with a lei and took part later the first evening of 28 July in a luʻau dinner, followed by an Indigenous Hawaiian approach to Evening Prayer, with Hawaiian music and Ōlelo (Hawaiian language) blended with English. Everyone stayed on the grounds of St. Andrew's Cathedral Square, which includes the Cathedral, St. Andrew's School, and St. Peter's Episcopal Church.

The first full day of our youth pilgrimage focused on Indigenous Hawaiian stories and values. We took the group to Camp Mokulēʻia, the Episcopal camp on the North Shore of Oʻahu. Many of the pilgrims had never even seen the ocean before, so this was a special treat! We also had a poi-making lesson from a kanaka maoli (Indigenous Hawaiian) kumu (trained and recognized teacher). After spending the day there, we went back to the Cathedral square, where we had dinner and a talk from a kanaka maoli instructor on Ancient Hawaiian values and their impact today.

The next full day, we traveled to Hawaiian Village Estates, which is still set up like the old plantations where recent immigrants to the islands used to work in the 1800s and early 1900s. The pilgrims learned firsthand about both the positive contributions of waves of Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Filipino, African-American, and Latinx immigrants, as well as examining some problems regarding full integration into society. We concluded the day with a Jazz Vespers service at St. Peter's at the Cathedral Square, followed by a delicious dinner served by the good folk from St. Peter's. During the service, our diocesan "delegations" made presentations to the larger group to share their own cultural stories from the areas they represent.

We concluded the last morning of our pilgrimage with a mass clean-up effort, emphasizing a traditional kanaka maoli value of "malama ke ʻaina," or Care for the Land, followed by our concluding Morning Prayer.

Mahalo nui loa (thank you very much) for your prayers and support! Please encourage your youth who got to attend the Pilgrimage to share what they have learned and how their lives have transformed as a result.

Maluhia a me Aloha (Peace and Love),

The Rev. David "Kawika" Jackson