Amazing Grace Reuben
Grace Reuben is a candidate to become a Methodist minister, alongside over thirty candidates which includes six other women. I’m all for women as ministers and this has been customary in the Australian Uniting Church for many years. In Fiji women usually become deaconesses. Grace is married to Michael, and she has been a local pastor already. Her father is Rev. Lucas.
The Deaconess Order in the Methodist Church in Fiji was initiated and developed by Pauline Campbell, a missionary from Australia, and has had hundreds of excellent young woman from various ethnic communities in Fiji. Pauline worked for many years in Fiji and loved the people.
There have been very few female ministers in Fiji. Rev Meraia Siri, who worked for a few years in Labasa amongst the Indian community, is a beautiful and compassionate person. We first met Meraia as a little girl in Rakiraki when her father Ari Siri worked in the sugar industry and we had Sunday school in their bure. Ari came from a family in Navua. I used to visit Meraia each time we went to Labasa and we would sit down to a meal of dhal and rice and coconut pie as she told me stories to get me up to date with news.
I remember Loloma Tukai, one of those early deaconesses who worked in the Ba-Ra Indian Division, and later went to Vanuatu, married a pastor there. And by a wonderful coincidence, she is now in Geelong! I was so amazed to have a phone call from Loloma a few days ago. We had barely met since the time she stayed with us for three months in Rakiraki!
By the way, Mrs Reuben is from Labasa and has been a lay pastor for the past ten years.
5 comments:
From Tarisi Ratawa
I know Grace very well she ia same age as me. We were togather in the time of Apakuki and Hare Siri late 80 and they used to come to Nukutatava.
Bula nana Wendy
I am trying to talk to Grace and the partner, but they were not in Nausori Park, and maybe on monday in Bau Island. The Wailevu Choir sang for Vatudova Church and they won the second trophy out of 40 choirs in the class 4 I went to say thank you for representing the smallest Church in Fiji.
Peceli
Hello Tarisi,
Are you in Labasa or Suva this week? Give my loloma to your Mum and all the gang in Vatuadova.
Nana Wendy
Hello Peceli,
Very good for Wailevu to win a trophy. What happened to Tepola's choir from Melbourne?
I'm tired - I walked from the city to Drumconda and back today.
W.
Nice to know that Loloma is in Geelong give hir my best regards.
Good news the Rev Tepola s' Choir won again in their section class 3 but Fiji Parish in Sydney they also won and give the big soli more then $50.000.00
The Radini ni Ovisa gave us a big feast in Nasova last night a thank you for their last year trip to Melbourne
Peceli
Peceli, you must be getting really fat with feasts every single day! Hey, you had better go to the Rabuka gym and exercise some of it off!
The doctors from Fiji should arrive here tomorrow night for a week. The conference is on Obesity later in the week. We'll take some gifts of food to them from our Fiji Friendship Club to help with the snacks and breakfasts.
Loloma levu yani
W.
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