LIHUE — In his farewell address at his 10th and final Mayor’s Prayer Luncheon on Saturday, Bernard Carvalho Jr. stood before the crowd of about 1,000 people, and sang, “He Raised Me Up.”
During the song, when the lyrics paused and instruments played, he recited, loudly and with conviction, a Bible verse, John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The crowd at Kilohana Luau Pavilion roared.
A few minutes later, Pastor John Cabello hugged the mayor and took the microphone.
“We love you, God bless you, and our prayers are for you,” he said.
Again, the crowd applauded and cheered.
The 14th annual Mayor’s Prayer Luncheon on a cloudy morning was marked by prayers, praise, hula and faith. It was emotional at times, and tears flowed as people held hands at the end and sang “Hawaii Aloha” together.
During the nearly four-hour event, they prayed for businesses, marriages and military. They prayed for families and churches and fathers at the event organized by Kauai Island Ministries.
Rep. Jimmy Tokioka led the prayers for government, judiciary and law enforcement. He referenced the fact that an elected leader was openly sharing his beliefs at large public gathering, which is unusual.
“It’s not easy to do things like this. You all know that,” he said. “But this mayor, and Mayor (Bryan) Baptiste, stood up and said, ‘We’re going to do this.’”
The prayer luncheon started under Baptiste, who died in 2008. Carvalho has served as Kauai’s mayor since 2008 and is being termed out of office. He is running for lieutenant governor.
“We thank our government officials for making this beautiful day happen, this beautiful gathering happen,” Tokioka said. “Lord, it is courageous people like Mayor Carvalho who stands up and does that. And I pray that going forward, when his term is ended, I’m hopeful that this will continue.”
Pastor Joe Onosai of Destiny Christian Church Hawaii was the keynote speaker. He played football with Carvalho at the University of Hawaii and participated in the World’s Strongest Man competitions for several years.
In a humorous, passionate 30-minute talk, “Leaving a Legacy, ” he shared stories of his faith, his mentors and his hopes. He marveled that the prayer luncheon united many different churches.
“What you have here is a God thing,” he said. “Not a man-made thing. A God thing. Because pastors can be very competitive. They have decided to put aside the flesh and come together in unity to create this atmosphere that you have today.”
At one point in his presentation, he referred to Carvalho as “Pastor Bernard,” which drew laughs and cheers.
“Know that what you have here, God has used the mayor, his passion for God,” Onosai said. “But God is beyond the mayor. But whoever comes next, this will continue.”
Onosai, an imposing man who stands 6 feet, 4 inches tall, looked down from the stage and spoke directly to Carvalho.
“I just want to say, mayor, God has gifted you with such amazing wisdom and a great heart,” he said.
Onosai played next to the mayor on the UH offensive line when he was a freshman and Carvalho was a senior. Carvalho, he said, was a comforting, guiding force.
“He’s still the same. Just a little bit more grayer, a little bit more heavier,” he said, draws laughter from the crowd.
Onosai became an ordained pastor at age 33. He took to heart a mentor’s message to stop being a follower and be a leader.
“I gotta tell you, I didn’t realize how childish I was being so much of my life, always trying to be the man, always trying to prove I was strong, always trying to feed the insecurity that was inside of me,” he said. “It wasn’t until somebody introduced me to Jesus Christ that God began to do an amazing work in my life. And today my desire is to fulfill God’s plan, destiny and purpose for my life.”
God, he said, uses people to shape the lives of those around them.
“Some of you don’t even realize, God is using you to leave a legacy for others,” Onosai said. “Somebody is out there waiting for you to be a blessing to them.”
Carvalho, in his final words to the crowd, said, “This is not the end. We continue our journey. The waters are open.”
Kauai is setting an example for the world in regards to its expression of faith and trust in God and will continue to do so, Carvalho said.
He told the crowd to “just embrace each other, hug each other and know that when you leave here today and go back home, God is always with us. He’s navigating our way.”
