While serving aboard the USS Charles Berry (DE-1035) the ship made a refueling stop at Pago Pago, American Samoa in 1966. Since refueling would take the entire day because of the limited facilities available and since it was Sunday, several junior officers decided to go into town to attend church.
Matafao Peak above Pago Pago Harbor in American Samoa.
We randomly picked the first church we came to on the main street walking from the pier into town. Services were in Samoan so we didn’t understand a word that was being said but when the choir started singing, accompanied by a small reed organ being pumped by hand by two small boys, the language was immaterial.
This was singing such as none of us had ever heard. The voices the rhythms and the harmonies so perfect it was difficult to believe this was just an “ordinary” church choir.
Upon returning to our home port at Pearl Harbor I related this experience to my wife and told her I now knew what the Heavenly Host must sound like and should we ever get the opportunity, she had to hear what I had heard.
Then in 2003 we booked a cruise to Tahiti which included a trip to Western Samoa (now the Republic of Samoa) and to Pago Pago, American Samoa. As luck would have it our port call at Pago Pago was going to be on a Sunday. Everyone on the ship was wondering what there was to do in Pago Pago on a Sunday and when asked we said we intended to go to church and proceeded to explain why.
So off my wife and I went, back to the same church 37 years later. The church is The Parish of Fagotogo, Ekalesia Faapotopotoga Kerisiano, Amerika Samoa. It is made of wood, with stairs and a steeple and painted white.
Harry and his wife.
We were warmly greeted in English by the pastor as we climbed the stairs and I told him about my prior visit to his church. It was very warm and humid and one of the ladies in the congregation immediately offered my wife a hand woven coconut leaf fan. The services began and we were given hymnals. Upon opening mine I was astonished to see that there was no music, only the words to the hymns and of course everything was in Samoan.
When the choir, with the women all dressed in white dresses with hats, and the men all dressed in tropical white shirts, started singing, it was as if time had reversed itself and it was 1966 all over again. As the singing continued I could see tears running down my wife’s cheeks, she was so moved by the beauty of the voices. At the end of the service my wife tried to return the fan she had been given but the woman who had given it to her told her to keep it as a memory of her coming to church in Samoa.
So to all of you cruisers out there who want to know what to do on a Sunday in American Samoa, do yourself and those you are traveling with a favor and go to church. You will never regret it, even though you will not understand a word they are saying.
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We first visited Pango Pango and Apia in 1966 on a cruise to Tahiti and return to Oz, and their beautiful singing and friendliness remains in my memory to this day. We have returned many times since, on various cruises to this area – so close to Oz.,and still remains a delight.
We visited American Samoa on our World Cruise in 2001. My husband and I were close to taking a job at the American hospital in Pago Pago about 20 years before that, and had turned it down. We always wondered what we missed and have always regreted it some. When the World Cruise was going to Pago Pago, we knew we had to go there. You have been telling about the people in the church. I wish we could have heard the choirs. But we were there on a weekday, and the thing I remember most about Pago Pago is how bold their Christianity is. We ate a dinner with a family. The family did native cooking for a group from the ship. We ate in their meeting house. Before we ate, the head of the family prayed for all of us visiting and to bless the food. My husband and I were touched and again sorry we had not taken the opportunity to move there for a short time. The people appear to have such a sincere heart.
This, to me is what cruising is all about. Seeing the locals going about their day to day lives. The experience you had was wonderful and then to have the opportunity to share that not only with your wife but now with all of us other cruisers. It will definetly be on my to do list on Pago Pago. Thanks for sharing.
What a beautiful experience and so wonderful that you were able to relive it with your wife by your side. Thank you for letting us know of the beauty that awaits us if we’re in Pago Pago on a Sunday.
Harry, this is the essence of travel…finding the extraordinary as we journey to different places. The choral music of Pago Pago is certainly one of those experiences. Thanks for sharing!
What a delightful story Harry! Such a great way to experience the way the people really live (and sing).
Many thanks for sharing your moving story Harry! You can almost hear the choir through your words!
I had a very similar experience. I know how you felt when hearing the magnificant singing of the Samoan people. It was a glorious Sunday morning and the Tahitian Princess was approaching Pago Pago. From my balcony I could hear the harmonious sound of a glorious church choir. It got louder as we approched the harbor, and by the time we berthed, it was an experience I will never forget. There must have been at least 30 men and women dressed all in pristine white clothing just singing their hearts out. So harmonious, so moving, so unforgetful. Years later I can still remember that lovely morning and the inner beauty of the Samoan people. It is a very beautiful island which will remain with me forever.