Twenty-three birds sitting on wires share a room with a "Ghost Mom" and a golden canyon at the First Unitarian Church of Honolulu.

The three pieces are among 28 on display at Gallery on the Pali, one of the few, if not the only, galleries housed in a church multipurpose room.

"Basically, the Unitarian Church recognizes the broadness of a spiritual life," said David Friedman, who became chairman of the gallery in 2011, after longtime chairwoman Norma Nichols retired.

"That includes service to the community and representing the cultural life of the community, not just its members, but bringing the community into the church. This enriches the congregation and brings members of the community into the church, hopefully looking at the faith the church offers."

The space itself is beautiful, with floor-to-ceiling windows that let in natural light. From the nine shows held in the gallery this year, eight artists have returned with new pieces to show: Friedman, Joan Dubanoski, Patrice Ann Federspiel, Anderson O’Mealy, Christine Ohtani-Chang, Stuart Robson, Brennan Simcock and Jimmy Tablante.

The gallery’s volunteer staff decided the final show of 2014 would be a retrospective of the year’s exhibitions. Friedman hopes it will become an annual event, which would provide artists with two opportunities a year to display their masterpieces.

Friedman said the gallery scene in Honolulu has been thinning out over the years. He attributes that to the club scene squeezing out some of the galleries in Chinatown, the loss of the Honolulu Advertiser building and the loss of Amfac Plaza.

"Artists need walls, actors need stages, athletes need fields," said Friedman, who has six colorful pieces hanging in one corner of the gallery, near the church’s kitchen. "We (artists) need audiences and venues. In this diminished environment, the Gallery on the Pali has become more significant as an opportunity.

"(Although) Gallery on the Pali cannot host a major show, we can provide a rare and special opportunity for individual and small groups to exhibit their work."

Past exhibitors have included prison art programs, cancer survivors, handicapped artists and Dole Middle School teachers, among others.

The gallery also tries to help artists financially when they sell works during shows.

"The general practice is for the church to take 30 percent, and 70 percent goes to the artist," Friedman said. "Most commercial galleries charge 50 percent, sometimes even more. It’s a challenge for artists to price their work when the gallery takes half of the money."

Federspiel, who has four watercolors in the current show, passes on the generosity — she donated some of her proceeds from an earlier show this year to a women’s shelter.