Three Years Later: Rev. Amy on Healing, Hope, and the Power of the Lāhainā Community

As this year marks the third anniversary of the devastating wildfires on Maui, the physical landscape continues to evolve. Homes are being rebuilt, churches are planning for the future, and neighborhoods are slowly regaining their footing. Yet for many residents, healing remains a deeply personal journey – shaped by grief, resilience, and a commitment to caring for one another.

For Rev. Amy Crowe, Pacific Health Ministry (PHM)’s Maui Disaster Recovery Spiritual Care Coordinator, the anniversary brings back a memory she says never left her. “I always go back to the shock,” she recalled. “That evening, I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw the words, ‘Front Street Apartments are gone.’ That told me everything.”

Amy had previously served as a priest in Lāhainā before leaving in December 2019 to return to the hospital. She was preparing to receive treatment for long COVID on Oʻahu when the fires devastated Lāhainā. Today, she continues her ministry as a priest at both Trinity by the Sea and Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, one of Lāhainā’s historic churches destroyed in the fire. She also leads PHM’s disaster spiritual care efforts across the island. “You wonder why it all had to happen, but we don’t have those answers. We just do the best we can as an island and as a community.”

That perspective has shaped her ministry over the past three years. Rather than trying to provide answers to unimaginable loss, her work has focused on walking alongside people through uncertainty and creating space for healing. “It has been very humbling,” she said. “I’m grateful and honored to have the opportunity to serve. We just don’t know from day to day, but we’re doing the best we can.”

The community’s efforts to remember and honor those who died have become an integral part of Lāhainā’s recovery. One of the most visible memorials is a “memory wall” along the bypass road, featuring photographs of the 102 individuals who died in the fires. Families and loved ones continue to visit the site, leaving lei and other tributes in their honor.

The memorial takes on even deeper significance at night, when lights illuminate the photographs. “When I went out there one night for an evening event, I remember driving by it. Oh boy, the emotion caught me off guard,” she recalled. “It’s really powerful.”

While Amy’s work has supported survivors, first responders, and caregivers, much of PHM’s focus has centered on local faith leaders, many of whom are balancing their own grief while navigating the challenges of rebuilding, from insurance claims and contractors to permits and difficult questions about what comes next.

Many of these leaders are balancing the emotional weight of rebuilding with the practical challenges that follow a disaster, including insurance claims, architects, contractors, permits, and difficult questions about what comes next.

One moment that has stayed with Amy came from a faith leader who expressed a simple yet powerful desire. “She said, ‘I just want my church back.’ That’s the essence of it all. People just want their church back.”

Three years later, many churches are still finding their way forward. Some are rebuilding physical spaces, while others are reimagining ministry after losing the places that once served as the heart of their congregations.

Holy Innocents Episcopal Church was completely destroyed in the fire. As the congregation looks toward the future, it is also finding ways to honor what was lost. “They want to keep the metal beams in the columbarium as part of the art to remember,” Amy said. “It’s pretty impactful.”

While recovery remains deeply emotional, it has also led to one of PHM’s most meaningful initiatives: the formation of the Lāhainā Interfaith Council, which brings together faith leaders from across Lāhainā’s diverse religious communities.

The council grew out of two efforts that were underway at the same time. Amy had been working on an initiative to connect and support Lāhainā’s faith leaders, while the daughter of a local priest was also reaching out to bring faith leaders together. Those efforts merged in September 2025, when faith leaders gathered to listen and assess the needs of their peers in Lāhainā town.

Amy immediately recognized the need for connection. Rather than creating another organization or adding responsibilities to already overwhelmed faith leaders, the council became a space where they could gather, share openly, and support one another throughout the recovery process.

The group has continued to meet monthly at the Lāhainā Comprehensive Health Center, a space where community groups can gather and access resources. The council includes representatives from Buddhist, Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist, and United Church of Christ communities, as well as leaders from Lāhainā Jodo Mission, Lāhainā Methodist Church, Holy Innocents Episcopal Church, and other local congregations that have continued serving residents despite losing their physical spaces.

For many of these faith leaders, the council became a rare opportunity to gather not as caregivers but as individuals experiencing their own grief. The monthly meetings begin with a check-in, followed by sharing personal experiences, emotional challenges, and the realities of rebuilding. “My role has really been to hold space. Sometimes people come in frustrated or angry because of delays or challenges, but underneath that frustration is grief.”

One of the most meaningful parts of watching the council develop has been seeing faith leaders realize they do not have to carry the weight of recovery alone. “They’re realizing they have each other,” she said. “They’re supporting one another and walking this journey together.”

That support has also helped faith leaders look beyond rebuilding individual churches and consider how they can collectively serve the wider Lāhainā community.
That collaboration led to the council’s first major effort: an Honor and Remembrance Interfaith Service held on August 1 at Lāhainā United Methodist Church. The service brought together multiple faith traditions to honor the new connections made and remember the 102-plus who died. It also provided a space for the community to grieve together.

Lāhainā Interfaith Council

The group chose to hold the service before the official anniversary date, recognizing that the days leading up to an anniversary can be especially emotional for survivors. The gathering featured prayers and music from different faith traditions, the reading of the names of those who died, and Tibetan prayer flags bearing their names as a visual reminder of the lives honored.

As the group planned the service, Amy encouraged each congregation to contribute its own traditions and gifts. When the group discussed who would offer the reflection, Amy was surprised when members unanimously asked her. “Reverend Hironaka looked at me and said, ‘You’re the one that got us all together. You’re the one that keeps us connected. You bring us together.’” Later, after meeting Amy’s husband, Reverend Hironaka shared another message that stayed with her. “He told my husband, ‘We were all dots in this town, but your wife, she connected the dots.’”

For Amy, those words reflect not only her role but also the broader impact of PHM’s support. “The Maui Disaster Recovery Grant, which is funded by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, has created the opportunity for those dots to connect,” she said. “It gave people the space to build trust, support each other, plan, and dream about what ministry can look like in Lāhainā.”

The council’s collaboration will continue beyond the anniversary service. In September, the Lāhainā Interfaith Council will participate in Lights for Lāhainā, a community remembrance event held on September 11 and 12.

Rather than each congregation hosting a separate booth, the group decided to come together as one. The shared space will highlight that Lāhainā’s faith communities remain active and united, even as many continue rebuilding after losing their physical spaces. “The biggest thing they really want to share is to let people know that they’re there,” she said. “These churches are having services. They’re different. They’re different places. They all look different, but they’re happening. They’re still present. They still exist.”

Beyond her work with the Lāhainā Interfaith Council, Amy has continued to witness countless examples of resilience throughout the community. As residents navigate the long recovery process, gatherings and shared spaces have become important reminders that Lāhainā’s sense of community remains strong.

Monthly music nights held on church properties affected by the fire have become opportunities for healing, reflection, and reconnection. Residents bring chairs, enjoy live Hawaiian music and spend time together, creating moments of normalcy.

One gathering place that has become especially meaningful is the pavilion at Lāhainā Methodist Church. It has become a place where people reconnect after losing so many familiar gathering spaces. “It’s about having that place where people can gather,” she said. “Because so many of these churches lost their buildings, but the ministry didn’t stop. The people are still there.”

Other organizations continue to support long-term recovery efforts, including Mennonite

Disaster Service and Samaritan’s Purse, which have helped families rebuild. “There’s this whole line of people coming together to support and connect with these volunteers,” she said. “If you look at all of that, it’s like, wow, that’s where the joy comes from.”

Looking ahead, the Lāhainā Interfaith Council is also exploring how faith communities can play a larger role in future disaster preparedness. The idea stems from recognizing the role churches and community spaces have historically played in times of crisis. Conversations are underway about how churches could be better prepared to serve as disaster-response hubs by providing resources, charging stations, communication support and places of refuge. “Disasters are not over, and they keep happening around us,” Amy said. “There’s a lot of conversation about how we can work together.”

For Amy, showing up has meant more than being present during moments of crisis. It has meant listening to stories, supporting faith leaders, creating space for grief, and walking alongside the community as recovery continues to unfold.

Three years after the fires, Lāhainā’s recovery continues – not only through rebuilt homes and restored buildings, but also through the relationships, faith communities, and connections that have carried people forward.