Lord of all hopefulness

It's Wonderful!!

via GIPHY

What is?

Mmm.... I knew you'd ask, and that's the problem really, because I can't tell you just for the moment. But it really IS wonderful and I look forward to feeding back very, very soon. It's news from this side - full of hope and excitement.

In the meantime, over that side, the British Methodist Conference has started meeting and here's hoping that's wonderful too. Should you wish to be in the know about doings and goings on, the requisite link is here including livestreaming options for a lot of it.

Here's a bit about the new VP who's into hope also. Praise God for that.

30 June 2018

New Vice-President reflects on Transforming Hope

In his address made earlier today, Bala Gnanapragasam, the newly elected and inducted Vice-President of the Methodist Conference, reflected on ‘Transforming Hope’.

At the Methodist Conference, taking place at the University of Nottingham until 5 July, Bala Gnanapragasam, a Trustee at Christian Aid and former Labour Councillor, shared emotive stories that looked at the importance of inspiring hope and challenging injustice. 

Reflecting on hope, Bala said: “Hope is vital, and it is right at the heart of our faith. I want to engage in the sort of listening and conversation that makes friendships, builds communities, and encourages hope.” 

Bala spoke of his passion for social justice: “We face poverty and injustice at every point of our lives and in every place. So I ask myself constantly: 'Can this be what God wants for his people?' 

“A church that abandons the poor is no longer the church of Jesus Christ and we do abandon the poor if we don’t challenge these ideas. 

“But in the middle of this apparent hopelessness, I know that God must be doing something – changing things, calling us to new journeys so we have to be ready!” 

Mr Gnanapragasam gave his address to an audience at the Conference which included friends from Sri Lanka celebrating the first Sri Lankan Methodist to be made Vice-President of the British Conference. 

The video of Bala Gnanapragasam’s address is available here

The text of the Vice-Presidential address is available here

It's at this Methodist Conference that the report from the Church's national Stationing Committee is passed. That's the Committee that makes matches between available Methodist ministers and requesting Circuits, hoping to unite persons and places, gifts and needs in a Holy Spirit-prompted way. Methodist ministers [Presbyters and Deacons] who are pretty sure they're going to serve in a particular place and appointment come 1st September, nevertheless await the final Conference decision to be absolutely sure. Stationing is 'subject to Conference'.

As the Stationing Committee's report is in the public domain, as with lots of other material on the Methodist Conference website - which is fabulously helpful and transparent - you could take a look if it's of any interest and empathise with some of the agonies.

How would you solve it? Hopes and dreams?

Back here at home, Rosy married Krishneel. More matching and praying, hoping and dreaming. A Christian-Hindu marriage arranged by their families, a white dress was worn, prayers were said and rings exchanged at Rosy's home in Nanuku settlement. In about three weeks' time she'll move to Krishneel's family's place in Sigatoka, about 2-3 hours from Suva, and they'll take it from there. 

As Rosy got her Certificate in Cookery not so long ago - graduation featured on this very blog - and her new husband is a pastry chef, expectations are high about the quality of raisin buns and custard slices from the new marital home. God bless, you two, and many, many prayers. Expect a visit! 

Saptapadi - seven steps fire ritual in traditional Hindu weddings.

Elders, Youngers, Philosophies and Mission.

As mentioned in the last post, many elders of Oceania did indeed gather this week, in a mighty and moving way, for an Inaugural Pacific Philosophy Conference (IPPC). Clicking on that link will take you to posts from the Conference where many who were named as philosophers: the wise and revered thinkers of the region, came together to share with each other their knowledge, their skills and their heart for Pasifika. It was described as 'a gathering of people with the purpose of progressing and advancing our Pasifika yet keeping intact our traditions and our ways' and was organised collaboratively by an awesome quartet of voices: the Pacific Theological College, the University of the South Pacific, Fiji National University and the Pacific Islands Association of Non Governmental Organisations. 

Welcome ceremonials with the offering of kava and woven baskets awaiting offerings of wisdom from the elders as the conference progressed

Revd Dr Tevita Nawadra Banivanua leads Day One Worship

The gathering heard on day one from His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Tupuola Tufuga Efi, who spoke on the importance of recognising that the departed still have a lot to offer us, in acknowledging our ancestry, our lineage, and our ways of life.This was followed by presentations by Rev Dr Iaitia Tuwere and Professor Manulagi Meyer, amongst others. 

I was in and out of the Conference because of juggling commitments back at PTC - very humbled, as someone of non-Pacific origin, to be allowed to attend at all - and heard Hon Sir Justice Taihā Kurei Durie (pictured below) speak on day two about Māori perspectives on law, faith and well-being. He is Chair of the Māori Council and was the first Māori appointed as judge of a New Zealand Court. He offered many examples of how traditional wisdom has been, in his experience, suppressed by imported 'Western' wisdom, to the detriment of well-being in life, society and faith. Those strong themes were recurrent throughout the Conference, with key concerns being decolonisation, the reclaiming of Oceanic values, critique of church and mission history, and the rediscovery and rechampioning of Pacific wisdom. 

Through Pacific eyes....

On Saturday I attended another Conference in Suva which was again wholly Pacific, but so markedly different in tone and spirit that you wonder, sometimes, if you can be in the same city, let alone the same country. The Sunday School Rally of the Methodist Church in Fiji's Indian Division gathered at Dudley Intermediate School. Its proud evangelistic theme was 'Bring a friend to Jesus', and well over 200 children and young people were given suitably emblazoned new T-shirts, immediately pulled over heads and worn with immense pride.

Like before, here was a Conference that knew what it was about and had clear agendas. The Divisional leaders and Sunday School teachers are as passionate about mission activity and Christian conversion as the Pacific philosophers might be about mission critique and decolonisation. And, to be fair, a simplistic dualism isn't helpful as a passionate, indigenous Pacific philosopher may well hold a vibrant, rooted Christian faith as well. At the philosophy conference I didn't notice any speakers of Indo-Oceanic origin, interestingly. But I may have missed them. So here at the Sunday School rally we sang with gusto, 'I have decided to follow Jesus - no turning back!' and browsed through, not indigenous Pacific artwork or philosophical publications, but a Bible Society of Fiji bookstall offering Bibles (good) and a table full of glossy, popular paperbacks generated by Korean and North American evangelists. 'Anything written in Fiji - or the Pacific?' I asked hopefully. 'No Madam - we get all these from overseas'. 

Both Conferences invited me to lead opening devotions. So I did. It really is an honour to be asked and, even after all these years in ministry all over the place, I still feel totally inadequate and unworthy; searching and praying hard in the attempt to be God's instrument and mouthpiece, with the 'right' word for the 'right' occasion.

For the philosophers, I played guitar - we like to strum here - and offered song. I set new words to the inherited hymn tune St Denio, well known here as a result of missionary endeavour, and which most people use for 'Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise'. 

Maybe it captured something? Maybe not. A tiny love-offering for the woven baskets anyhow.  See what you think...

Reclaiming, reweaving, reviving our ways,

Researching, respecting, to God be all praise;

When seated expectant; when listening with awe,

Descend, Holy Spirit; your influence pour.

Recording, retelling, reliving the past,

Refining, reframing the truths that will last;

Creator of nations, O Wisdom supreme,

That Your will be done is our prayer and our dream.

Recalling, responding to ancestral voice,

Reflecting on legacy, challenge and choice;

O God of our forbears and those yet to be,

Your Gospel amazes: so rooted, so free.

Rejecting, rebuking when sin causes pain,

Reseeding, restoring; by grace born again;

In chaos of climate, in rape of the earth,

We cry: resurrection; redemption; rebirth!

Reclaiming, reweaving, resourcing for now -

today’s generations: but Lord, show us how?

May mortals repent and may stars realign,

Through vision Pacific and Wisdom Divine.

So, above leading worship among Pacific Elders. Below, leading Bible Study among Pacific Youth. God's wisdom? To be discovered in both places. And hallelujah for that. 

Wisdom in the Pacific Way

Walking back through campus after the Saturday market trip, I came across this friend...

We don't rear pigs at PTC - they do at the Methodist College up the road - so it's not a usual encounter. What we can safely assume, I think, is that there'll be pork aplenty at an upcoming feast on Monday when the PTC community welcomes paramount Chiefs and other Pacific elders gathering in Suva for an inaugural conference on Pacific Indigenous Philosophies. Or possibly they'll be gifts? I'll wait to be educated on this one, as on so many other matters. Memories of making official visits to Zambian chiefs in former days when presentations of chickens and other edibles were vital, ceremonial protocols before conversation. Certainly if the conversation was about land. 

Here's the official description of the Conference and a video clip of our Faculty colleague Dr Aiava explaining more.

The Inaugural Pacific Philosophy Conference (IPPC) with the theme: "Vuku ni Pasifika-Wisdom of the Pacific: Indigenous Relational Philosophies of Life", hosted by the Pacific Theological College, Pacific Islands Associations of NGOs, University of the South Pacific, and Fiji National University from 11-14th June, Suva. Bringing together elders and custodians of wisdom from around the region to discuss the relational philosophical underpinnings of life in the Pacific (logo designed by Islands Business and flyer by Shelvin Naidu Eddi

Breakfast at Fiji One

Breakfast at Fiji One. 14K likes. Breakfast@Fiji One is the first show of its kind in Fiji and the Pacific. Watch it LIVE every weekday from 6am to 7am on Fiji One.

It's extremely humbling that I've been asked to lead morning devotions at this on the Wednesday, and in such a setting and among such illustrious company, prayers for a small pinch of English wisdom would be appreciated.

We've celebrated younger wisdom at PTCEE this week as well. We presented Maiarii Pohue from Maohi Nui with a book and certificate for passing her 'Themes in Theology' course: making a particular fuss of her because in doing that she became PTCEE's first student to submit and complete a course ONLINE! 

We wondered who'd be the first. We even have a Pacific student in Texas signed up now. But in fact it was Tahitian Maiairii, currently Fiji based, but we know she's going to be such a wonderful ambassador for PTCEE when she's elsewhere in the world. We loved the last part of her assignment, and share it with you. Links in beautifully with the news about the Pacific philosophy conference because here, Maiarii as a younger person, draws with great love and respect on the indigenous myths and wisdom from her own roots that she's been taught and which she proudly lives and breathes. She's a very inspiring example of a young person who fully embraces her ethnic identity, has a living Christian faith and has the ability to communicate some of that to the present age through online theological education. Here's that sample of her work. The story of the breadfruit tree...

4C - Longer Assignment

a) The mythical story that I have chosen for this assignment is entitled, Ruataata – Te Uru. This story is about the time of famine and drought. At that time, there were no crops that could grow, and therefore, the whole population was affected and many have begun to starve. As a result, people started to die from that terrible season. Then came a time when a man could no longer support seeing his family suffer from hunger. He was so heartbroken when he saw his own family starve to death and didn’t know what to do. After that, he found a solution, but the option he thought of, which will help his family, was a hard decision. In order for his family to be happy again, he had to sacrifice himself. It meant that this man had to give up his life to the gods in order to bring joy and happiness. As a fact, the man was in deep sorrow and cried for help to the gods to save his family and the whole population from starvation. Then, the gods answered him saying that they will help him, but in exchange he will have to give his own life to restore balance and give a fertile land. After their agreements, the man started to transform into a tree, and it was not just any tree, but it was a breadfruit tree. The breadfruit tree gave a new life for the whole community as it bears enough fruit to feed the villagers and his family. Through his sacrifices, people rejoiced again. However, it also brought sorrow into the man’s family who had to live without a husband and a father. But on the other hand, he will always be remembered for his courage and his deep love towards his family and his people. Even though the man was not physically present, the family could see him every day, because the tree remained in their compound.

This is a famous story back home because it’s a story of good moral values and whereby several people made a dance out of the song written for this story. Also, I first heard this song through my little sister, and ever since she told me about that song, we kept on singing that song at home until today. As a fact, someone as to which I do not know the name of, has written a song about this story, but it is more like a sad and an encouraging song too. It is a song which reminds us of his sacrifice he has made through the deep love for his family and the courage he had of sacrificing his life in exchange for the survival of his own village. The lyrics of the song describes and the melody expresses perfectly the man’s feeling during that time. The song that I will talk about expresses sorrow, sadness, compassion, love, courage and determination. As an overall, he felt heartbroken, sad, and courageous at the same time because he felt the need to save not only his family, but also his people from starvation and hunger. In my perspective, this story is a strong one because is teaches us humility, respect, courage, and sacrifices, but not only that, it also teaches that love is a strong weapon which enables us to fight for our loved ones and the strength to face any obstacles or difficulties with our head high. And also, because once you love someone, you will overcome your fears and realise the impossible to be possible.

Here is a link for anyone who is interested in listening the song: 

This is the lyrics of the song: Ruataata-Te Uru.Tahitian song

English translation

I te hoe tau oe
Uatopatateroimata of Ruataata
I roto ite ava itiuapoia tana mautamarii
Teoto noa ra
O Ruataata

Aue, uamauiuitonaaau
No reira, uapupuoia (i) tonatino
E tapaoteuru no te here metua
Tetumu o teora
O Ruataata

During the time of drought
A man called Ruataata was grieving
In the valley, his children cried of hunger
Ruataatafell in deep sorrows

He was heartbroken
That is why he sacrificed himself to save them all
The breadfruit is a symbol of a parent’s love for his children and his people
He is the source of life

b) The first symbol used in this story is drought and famine which symbolises death, starvation, hunger and a world without life. This symbol clearly shows the struggles villagers had to go through without any sign of food crops grown. The second symbol is the man’s sacrifice. This shows the heart of a man who has no limit when it comes to saving its own family. We can also see that this man was willing, with all his heart and soul, to give his life to save and free his family and his people from famine and drought. This truly is an inspiration to me because he would do anything for the one he loves. Also, when we come across difficulties, parents always do their best to comfort, help and save the family, and sometimes parents have to sacrifice for the sake of their children. As a result, we can see that through the strong love of a parent towards his family and also the deep responsibility of a parent towards the family.

Nevertheless, the breadfruit in this story symbolises a new life, a new start for the people to rejoice again. Furthermore, I would like to put into detail the structure of the breadfruit tree in my tradition. Firstly, the leaves of the tree represent the man’s hands. Secondly, the branches of the tree itself are his arms, the roots are his feet and legs. The trunk represents his whole body and at last, the fruit represents the man’s head. As you can see, the gods have perfectly transformed the man into something that will be useful for the village. Therefore, the tree gives food, shelter, and medicines for villagers. Additionally, this mythical story gives us another perspective and understanding to the life that we live in with all its structures.

Lastly, there is also another point I would like to share and that is the name of the man called, Ruataata. This name is a special name which I did not tell the meaning of the name from the beginning of this assignment. But now I will tell you the meaning. Ruataata in TeReoMaohi means, two persons or people. Rua means two and the word Taata means a person. As you can see, the name is divided into two sections which means that Ruataata is one person that transformed into something else. In this case, the man was transformed into a tree which was able to feed the whole village. Therefore, it is one person with two distinct faces and body. Finally, this story is a story that I will cherish and pass it on to my children because it contains great and beautiful meanings behind it and as a Tahitian young woman, I am proud of my culture and my history. 

Congratulations Maiarii!

And another first. First time back in the office since shocking fall and painful surgery. Nisha's presence on Friday made PTC very happy indeed. Not yet on legs, but wheels will do just fine for now. Praying for your speedy, full recovery and all respect to Nurse Nitesh too!