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Positive Messages from the Pulpit
Reverend Fatu Tufuga of the Manurewa Samoan Methodist Church delivered a powerful ‘Positive messages from the Pulpit’ sermon last month to more than 100 parishioners.
The sermon was supported by testimonies from family members of people with disabilities, and was followed by a presentation on disability from young people within the church communities.
Messages from families were clear; it seems we only really take it seriously when it is us or our family members that are directly affected by disabilities, forgetting that we all play an important role to break down those barriers of stigma and discrimination in our church community.
Personal testimonies from family members of Pasifika with disabilities were effective and thought provoking, sharing their experiences of being on the receiving end of adverse clergical and community perceptions.
Many talked about how, in our own Pasifika languages, disability is seen and referred to as a disease; other language translations view disability as punishment, sin or a curse.
In closing, Reverend Fatu Tufuga posed two questions to parishioners:
- What would Jesus do? and
- What words would Jesus use?
He then challenged the congregation to choose their words wisely to foster positive attitudes, encourage acceptance, inclusion and participation; and in doing so creating a more welcoming environment for everyone!
Ensuring meaningful engagement
Le Va’s disability lead Ben Tameifuna makes sure we are being effective in our work with churches by asking parishioners attending the church workshop how we did (using a plain English and Samoan language questionnaire). This evaluation is undertaken at every church engagement.
Of the 100 parishioners surveyed:
- there was a marked increase in engagement and connection to disabled parishioners following the church workshop – from an average rating of 5.3 out of 7 pre-workshop to 6.1 out of 7 post-workshop
- Pasifika parishioners find churches to be an important community to provide support for Pasifika disabled parishioners – with an average rating of 6.8 out of 7.
Check out our latest resource promoting acceptance and inclusion for our Pasifika people in churches #WeAreChurch and the suite of disability resources available for downloading from our website, including Your guide to Disability Support Services, words matter guides.
Reverend Fatu Tufuga of the Manurewa Samoan Methodist Church delivered a powerful ‘Positive messages from the Pulpit’ sermon last month to more than 100 parishioners.