Stop drinking grog and smoking was the message Methodist Church in Fiji president the Reverend Dr Semisi Turagavou had for church leaders as the country’s biggest religious organisation begin their week-long conference in Suva today.
During the official opening church service at the Vodafone Arena yesterday, Dr Turagavou said many pastors were against the idea of leaving the two habits.
“Sa tukuni tiko vei keda na issue ni yaqona kei na kana tavako sa bau dredre saraga vei so vei keda meda veisau. (We have been told about the issue of yaqona and smoking but a lot of us found it hard to change),” he said.
“This year ena lutu sobu vakalailai so vei kemudou na vakatawa. (This year the number of our vakatawa will be decreased).”
Dr Turagavou said the pastors should focus more on bringing more people into the church.
“Kevaka e lewe levu nai vakatawa kei nai talatala mera biuta vakadua na tavako kei na yaqona sa na dua naka na tubu bulabula ni lotu Wesele i Viti. (If we leave smoking and yaqona all together we will see the growth of the Methodist Church in Fiji).”
The Methodist Church president also called on their leaders to refrain from taking on responsibilities that would take them away from their calling.
“Sometimes some of us pastors want to control everything.
“We take on the role of the Tuiraralevu, the treasurer and organise unnecessary meetings.”
He said the church has set a target of 64 per cent confirmed members in 2026.
“We have 186,015 members.
“I know we are growing in numbers, and the percentage of confirmed members is also growing from 60 to 62 per cent.
“Now we are targeting 64 per cent in 2026 and hopefully we can attain that number of confirmed members within the church.”