The fellowship was unusual for its time because its leadership consisted of women (Rosemary Mattson as chairwoman and Ruth Iams as program director) and because it made efforts to engage in interfaith dialogue with Jewish and Buddhist congregations in Honolulu.

[1] In September 1969, the church made national headlines when it offered refuge to U.S. service members protesting the war in Vietnam.

The resulting action brought about an unsuccessful lawsuit filed by the church against the military - Bridges v. Davis, 443 F.2d 970 (9th Cir., 1971).

[2] The private memorial service for Madelyn Dunham, grandmother of US President Barack Obama, was held there in December 2008.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s call to march from Selma to Alabama during the Civil Rights era.