Women's retreat June 2013

Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa NZ.

 

 

PI SYNOD REFLECTION CENTRE PROJECT
First meeting of Pacific Island Women in the life of the PCANZ.

 

 

THEME: How can women pass on the torch from women leaders to daughters within the life of the Church, as was the case of mother to daughter that saved Moses who led the Israelites out of bondage.

In order for these treasures to be passed on, they need to be named, recognized and valued by the whole community and the church. The gifts of  motherhood, is synonymous with stewardship, leadership, resourcefulness and most importantly faithfulness to God.

How can building capacity among women be encouraged.

In the Pacific, the Pacific Conference of Churches are offering training to women, scholarship to study theology, and opportunities for Churches to consider women into leadership role for the whole church, however not downplaying the strength of the churches now with women managing women affairs that are reported to the whole church.

It is my belief that Pacific Women in the PCANZ who already are offering leadership in the life of the church as lay and ordained leaders, can help to encourage work of building capacity of women in the Pacific.

Pacific Women must therefore take stock of what God has blessed them with and bring the community with them to a better understanding of what scripture portrayed as being made in the image of God. “God created male and female in his own image.”

The gathered group of women from the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa NZ as can be seen here, consist of three ordained ministers, two wisdom figures over the ages of 80 years young, minister's wives, elders and women leaders of the Uapou Fellowship, Niue Fono Motu, Fono Samoa, Fono Tokelau and Tuvalu, and English Speaking, and women from Newtown PIC Wellington.

 

Apologies  were received from three of the women from Wellington, and a guest speaker from the Knox Centre of Ministry and Leadership, The Very Rev Dr Graham Redding.

 

Speakers at this inauguration forum for the mission and ministry of women in the PI sector of the PCANZ were approached for specific programs that they have either attended, their experiences in women ministries at Fono and Congregational level, a voice of a young women sharing how she see this transition encouraged, and a speaker who spoke of ordained ministry of women in the PCANZ.

   Rev Marie Ropeti              
Miss Masele Bukalich        
Mrs Lealofi Setefano

    

The weather was not very kind to us where three of the Wellington women were not able to attend due to canceled flights, and the Rev Dr Graham Redding was not able to attend due again the frozen state of Dunedin at the time.

 

Rev Ere Talagi-Ikitoelagi                         Mrs Jane Poa

(I will forward scripts from the speakers on their presentation in the next week or so depending on when I receive these)

 

As far as the presentation from the absent presenter Rev Redding, this was done with the aid of the use of skype, which proved very useful.

 

A general overview of some of the issues raised in the retreat:

 

Bible Study was based on the topic of Eradication of violence against women in the pacific.

Why did the serpent give the apple to eve?

 

Mrs Lealofi Setefano spoke passionately about her sense of call to serving God she found in her marriage to a minister. She saw her ministry as tied up with her husband in serving God by taking the leadership role of women in the congregation. How her husband appear in terns of his vestment and his general attire is the role she managed with pride. Ensuring that his ministry needs are in no way be effected by his health and domestic duties. He need to be focused in his calling, even to ensure that her whole attired is that of a minister's wife, where everyone would know that she takes very good care of the minister. Other women's ministers also share how they themselves ensure that the only person the minister sees in the congregation as he leads service is his beautiful flower in the minister's wife sitting in the front row of the church.

 

Such a beautiful portrayal of the faithfulness and the team spirit offered by the minister's wife to what it is obviously a shared ministry.

Rev Marie Ropeti spoke of the pathway of women taking up a sense of call into being an ordained minister. She offered a good illustration of the empowerment journey she had experienced in being called not as supporting someone else, but as a woman minister with the capacity of taking leadership of the congregation which is inclusive of women, youth and the Ekalesia.  She offered as a challenge to the women in the retreat this pathway of saying yes to God's call. Marie also shared some of the challenges faced by ordained women ministers in terms of working in traditionally male structures. She highlighted the slow moving of some of the Pacific Churches to call as their minister Pacific Women ministers.

 

Role of women in the life of God's Mission is clearly multi-faceted. When one makes an observation of women's aspiration to serve God, one need to ask what the particular class of women  saw as their mission in life.

Some may see the pathway to be an ordained minister, the other may set their objective of service is vested with giving their husband support in what seem to be a shared and team ministry[Minister's Wife model]. It seems clear that  in both pathways, women do need to see their roles as complimentary, and not to see them in competition with one another. 

 

The role of women represented by the minister's wives and the respected networkings within the church must be encourage and supported. The Church at large need to recognize this model of ministry as an effective role with Pacific Churches in Aotearoa NZ.

On the other hand, there is also a need for the PI Synod and its work within the PCANZ to encourage women who feel called to ordained ministry. This pathway is a recognized ministry in the PCANZ, however there is a slow movement of Pacific congregations to calling such women ministers to Pacific congregations. Just as much as the wider Church needing to recognized ministries of ministers wives, the Pacific congregations need to support and embrace women ordained ministers into their charge. 

 

The voice of the young was represented by one young woman who has grown up in the PIC Newton Church. Masele did a wonderful presentation illustrating how ministers and congregations need to use illustration, and multi media to convey the message of Jesus to the young. There are many young people who have left the churches that they grew up in, and either joined the Pentecostal Churches or just enjoyed the Sunday with family approach.

 

Masele has involved herself with youth ministries for many years now, and she shared how she has been employed by a congregation at Glendowie Presbyterian to be their youth leader.  Her involvement at Newton has been with both the Samoan group as well as the English Speaking Group. Masele await constantly the torch from her mums and aunts of PIC Newton. She tries to receive it with humility, acknowledge it with love, and pass the gospel to the next generation with gratitude.

 

Jane was given the opportunity to share ministry from the mothers of the Uapou Fellowship: the Vainetini. I will forward her paper that she presented on the day. Thanks Jane.

Ere's paper and bible study also will be forwarded in the follow up email.

You have made evaluations and passed these on, however I would still encourage your comments on how you liked the program, the speakers, the hospitality and of course the organiser (smile). 

You can even suggest if you would like such a retreat to be planned for the future as an on going passing of valued information from mother to daughter.  Please forward these to my email: don.ikitoelagi@gmail.com

 

I would like to thank the following presenters:

 

Rev Ere Talagi-Ikitoelagi,

Mrs Lealofi Setefano,

Mrs Jane Poa,

Miss Masele Bukalich,

Rev Marie Ropeti

Rev Dr Graham Redding (Principal of KCML)

Mrs Moana Pule Dunn and Lafulafu (Vanila) Ekenasio (PIC Newtown Wellington)

I speak on behalf of all who enjoyed the meals provided by Jenny Talagi for the tasty meals on both days of the retreat.

The members of the Women's Retreat thanked me for the contribution you all made to make it a very special couple of days of learning, in which they  enjoyed every minute of it.

 

May God bless you for sharing your talents with the women of the Pacific.

 

There is thinking of running a similar retreat in Wellington, as we were unable to invite many of our mothers and their daughters to travel to Auckland.

I may approach one or two of you to present in that forum, with the possibility of inviting local speakers to be co-presenters.

 

All the photos will be made available for all our attendees in the next few days.

 

Kia monuina mai he higoa a Iehova Sapaota

 

 

Rev Don Ikitoelagi.

(Pasifika Misionare.)