On the Wednesday, November 20 broadcast of the Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons Show I’m welcoming Hawai‘i-based playwright and actor Moses Goods. He is the founder and artistic director of ‘Inamona Theatre Company.
Goods was recently in the New England states in partnership with Hawaiian Mission Houses Historic Site and Archives to present his one-man play, “My Name is Opukahaia,” receiving rave reviews.
How does this relate to our history?
At the turn of the 18th century, Opukahaia on the island of Hawai‘i was orphaned by warriors embroiled in a power struggle. His parents and infant brother were killed -but Opukahaia was spared.
Later, Opukahaia took to the seas by boarding an American sailing vessel, voyaging around the Pacific Rim.
He eventually arrived in New Haven, Connecticut. Opukahaia ended up under the wing and in the home of Timothy Dwight IV -the president of Yale- who taught him theology and secular subjects.
Opukahaia developed a deep desire to return and proselytize in Hawai‘i, inspiring the creation of the Foreign Mission School, whose purpose was to bring the Christian word to far-flung lands that included the Hawaiian Islands.
Opukahaia -who became known as Henry Obookiah- died aged 26 of typhus in 1818. His published memoirs were a national bestseller in early 19th century America, inspiring American Protestant missionaries to answer the call to serve in Hawai’i starting in 1820.
American Protestant Congregationalists from Greenwich, Stamford and Danbury were among those who departed for a lifetime of Christian mission-inspired service in Hawai‘i. Read about them here: (CLICK HERE)
Most all of them never returned to see their ancestral homes and loved ones here again. Here are more articles:
Charlotte Close Knapp Dole, Missionary to Hawaii (CLICK HERE)
When Yankee Missionaries Went to Hawaii (CLICK HERE)
When Town Missionaries Met the King of Hawaii (CLICK HERE)
Dr. James William Smith, Stamford Missionary to Hawaii (CLICK HERE)
Charlotte Close Knapp Dole, One of Punahou School's First Teachers (CLICK HERE)
Dr. James William Smith, Physician Missionary in Hawaii: A Connecticut Ancestry (CLICK HERE)
Rev. Chauncey Wilcox of North Greenwich: His Dismissal and Abolitionism (CLICK HERE)
Honorary Members of the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions (CLICK HERE)
Most all of them never returned to see their ancestral homes and loved ones here again. Here are more articles:
Charlotte Close Knapp Dole, Missionary to Hawaii (CLICK HERE)
When Yankee Missionaries Went to Hawaii (CLICK HERE)
When Town Missionaries Met the King of Hawaii (CLICK HERE)
Dr. James William Smith, Stamford Missionary to Hawaii (CLICK HERE)
Charlotte Close Knapp Dole, One of Punahou School's First Teachers (CLICK HERE)
Dr. James William Smith, Physician Missionary in Hawaii: A Connecticut Ancestry (CLICK HERE)
Rev. Chauncey Wilcox of North Greenwich: His Dismissal and Abolitionism (CLICK HERE)
Honorary Members of the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions (CLICK HERE)
Greenwich, A Town For All Seasons airs on Radio 1490 WGCH Greenwich, Connecticut USA and WGCH.com anywhere via live audio streaming. It is the first show ever focused on the stories of Greenwich history as well as that of area communities. Tune-in every-other Wednesday morning after the top-of-the-hour 9:00 a.m. news.
