THE Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma wants its lay preachers to practise what they preach, with a proposed smoking ban from next year and a call to rethink post-service yaqona pactices aimed at restoring the church’s image and strengthening the conduct of its leaders.
Speaking at the church’s annual conference yesterday, president Reverend Dr Semisi Turagavou proposed that every lay preacher abstain from smoking from January next year as part of the church’s liberation and reformation agenda.
He linked the proposed restriction to the responsibility of lay preachers to set an example for their congregations and said personal habits could affect the credibility of their ministry.
“I am very much concerned about the physical appearance of some of our lay preachers of today,” he said.
He said the issue was not only about the health risks linked to smoking but also about restoring the image of the church and ensuring its leaders lived according to the word they preached.
“I am proposing that every lay preacher (dauvunau) of the Methodist Church shall abstain from smoking effective January 2027.”
Mr Turagavou also raised concerns about the practice of presenting and drinking yaqona to ministers and lay preachers immediately after church services, known as luva-ni-tai.
He said the practice, although deeply rooted in custom, should be reconsidered because it could conflict with the discipline expected of pastoral leaders.
“If we who preach that word are ourselves still captive – bound by yaqona, marked by the smell of smoke, weighed down by habits we have not surrendered to Christ then our message loses its power.”
He said traditions of hospitality and respect should still be preserved.
