OUR HISTORY
Since 1996, Faith Action has been a grassroots, interfaith 501(c)3 non-profit organization driven by a deep spiritual commitment to improving the quality of life for our members and all the people of Hawaii. Through our common values and collective power, we address the root causes of social justice challenges facing our community. We are the only organization of its kind in Hawaii.
WHAT WE DO
We seek to be a connective voice and network for movements and organizations doing justice on our island. Bringing awareness and wisdom to local faith communities and generating pathways for action.
OUR COMMUNITY
Faith Action is an organization of organizations mainly centered on the island of Oahu. We represent a large constituency that is diverse in race and ethnicity, religious affiliation, economic class, and neighborhoods. We prioritize justice and equity for all people
of Hawaiʻi.
Faith Action Board
Rev. Dr. Moses D. Barrios, President
Dr. Jon Davidann, Treasurer
Kristen Young, Secretary
The Rev. Dr. Moses D. Barrios is the President of Faith Action Hawaiʻi. He is an Indigenous American of Mayan descent, born and raised in Los Angeles, CA with more than 24 years of ministry experience, serving throughout California and Hawaiʻi. He has been married to his wife Brenda for 23 years, and they have three terrific children, Penelope and Amelie who attend college in New York City and Hansel, a Junior at Kaiser High School in Hawaiʻi. Pastor Moses received both his graduate and post-graduate degrees from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA. His doctoral project titled, “Confronting the Lack of Racial Unity in the American Christian Church,” is the one of his passions behind his ministry work.
His other theological and biblical studies derive from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (P.L.T.S.) in Berkeley, CA, Centro Hispano de Estudios Teologicos (C.H.E.T.) in affiliation with North Park Theological Seminary in Compton, CA and Chicago, IL and Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN. He is an Ordained Roster Minister of Word and Sacrament with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Additionally, Pastor Moses is the Senior Pastor of Calvary by the Sea Lutheran Church. A bold, inclusive and racially diverse congregation leaning into its mission as church, responding to the cries of injustice in our world. For more information, click here CBTS. He has extensive experience as a chaplain working with disproportionate people groups. Most notably with the skid-row houseless community in downtown LA and the queer community in the Greater LA area. Moreover, he has served in numerous traditions and denominations. This spectrum of theological and liturgical history has created an ecumenical approach and devotion to the engagement and reconciling of the local church and all creation.
Moses enjoys speaking on racial reconciliation, LGBTQI inclusion outside and inside the church, church advancement strategies in the urban context, and liberation or prophetic preaching. Furthermore, as an advocate and activist for inclusion, racial reconciliation, and the repair of all creation. He fully believes the Trinitarian flow of the divine is healing the world.
Jon Davidann is the Treasurer of Faith Action Hawaiʻi. He was born and raised in southern Minnesota. Located at the top of the so- called Bible belt, the area was dotted with many churches. He and his friends went to church for fun, in some cases several times a week. He is a member of Christ Church Uniting and is the treasurer for Faith Action. He got his Ph.D at the University of Minnesota and is professor of history at Hawai’i Pacific University. He has published six books on U.S.-East Asian relations and world history. His most recent monograph, The Limits of Westernization: American and East Asian Intellectuals Create Modernity, 1860- 1960 (Routledge, 2019) won the Kenneth W. Baldridge Prize in 2020. Davidann’s brainchild History Lens, a video podcast that examines current issues and puts them in historical perspective, broadcasts on Thinktech Hawai’i. He lives in Kailua with his wife Beth, son Eli, and dog, Neilani. His hobbies are bicycling, paddling, and reading.
Norman Rockwell, the famous illustrator of the Saturday Evening Post, in 1961 drew an amazing multicultural scene for one of its covers. The title of it was the golden rule “Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You.” Rockwell stated that the reason he drew it was because it was the one thing that all religions held in common. He believed that if everyone followed the rule, humans could live in peace. That is my prayer.
Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), Golden Rule, 1961. Oil on canvas, 44 1/2”
x 39 1/2”. Story illustration for The Saturday Evening Post, April 1, 1961. Norman
Rockwell Museum Collections. ©SEPS: Curtis Licensing, Indianapolis, IN.
Kristen Young in the Secretary of Faith Action Hawaiʻi. Complete bio is coming soon.