Canterbury Fijian Church

from w
Peceli and I spent most of Sunday at the Canterbury Uniting Church in Sydney. (We went up there by plane for a family wedding on the Saturday.) Canterbury is a Fijian congregation with four or five other church communities as part of the parish. The morning worship was at 10.30 and at 4p.m. the three vanua groups gathered for second services scattered around the church compound. So there was opportunity for talking with old friends and making new friends, kava drinking (which was tabu for a while) and delicious meals of Island food. They have built a new hall which is very fine and useful. I went out with the Sunday School teenagers rather than listen to a sermon! They have a beaut big Sunday school with many older students. As next Sunday is Palm Sunday and in the Fijian custom - Children's Sunday, four girls were practicing their sermons under the tutoring of a fine young teacher. It was a lovely day for Peceli to meet up with friends, and I even met up with an old Lelean student. Now if he is now 67, what does that make me feel? Canterbury has one of the best Fijian choirs I have ever heard and they must miss their annual trips to Fiji conferences. Let's hope there'll be one next August. Vina'a va'alevu to our friends- old and new - at Canterbury, for the lovely time together. Praise God that we can use our own languages, customary ways, and music in our migrant community churches.