Sermon - Drysdale Uniting Church- 10.45 Service- 8 June2014

Sermon - Drysdale Uniting Church- 10.45 service- 8 June2014

© John Norman

Theme:UnitingWorld experiences

The reason I have been asked to speak today is to share with the congregations my experiences while working with Uniting World. I shall follow the following pattern – first I shall talk about going, then of my time in Samoa, then in Tonga, then in Papua New Guinea, with a final word on the situation now.

Going

I went because as I left a service here one Sunday morning I picked up a pamphlet which said Uniting World needed workers. I asked about ‘mature age’ workers and they said, ‘Come and let us see’. So I went to Sydney to an orientation course – which both enabled us to receive some advice, to meet others going to other places, and enabled them to assess our suitability for the challenges which needed to be filled.

Now a major difference from when I went in the early sixties, is that we are now in the ‘post colonial’ period, so where we went initially to evangelise - then to preside - we now go to assist – to meet needs that may need to be filled.

And they told me that they had a need in the Methodist Theological College in Samoawhere opportunity for staff to go to New Zealand on scholarships had been too much to resist and they had left themselves short staffed.

In the past the Mission Department paid missionaries with a family, 800 pounds a year. Now, they told me, they expected volunteers to be backed by their Church which must raise several thousand dollars to pay to them and they would then dole it out as needed.I told them that I had been at this church so briefly that I could not do that but that Becie said she would prefer to not go and by continuing to work she could fund me;and that is how we did it. Some who did go from their Church took boxes of good things from their congregations and they were really appreciated!

Samoa

Samoa – first the general situation.

Samoa is an independent democratic state – founded on God, their motto says – and kept in order by very strict rules. They are big people – very big and strong – and where they are unrestrained as in USA they present a major problem to law and order. But each village in Samoa has a council headed by a chief – and they really control. If anyone flouts their rules they may have all their possessions piled in their homes, all of it burnt and they exiled for the rest of their lives. In such ways they keep order. I saw a car travel fast one day and was told it would be stopped in the next village and the driver beaten up. Indeed while I was there a tourist stopped his hire-car to help a troubled villager –and was dead before he could explain to the villagers that he had not been responsible for the man’s injuries.If they hit you – you stay hit! I stayed with a minister who told me he had never met a man he couldn’t handle one-on-one; he had been an enforcer with the Mafia in USA before finding the Lord and I am sure he was right. In fact at a baptism ceremony I saw a baby lean over and clobber the baby in the arms of the mother next to his. They are strong and formidable.

Samoa is also very religious. On Sunday everything is forbidden except attendance at church. All schools begin their day with prayer, Bible and hymns. Then after school is Sunday School and in the villages there are groups of children under shady trees from 3 to 4pm being taught. The annual examination is a big occasion – the children dress in white and go to the appointed centre for their district– and there is a feast afterwards. And it is the same on the Sunday when results are announced. Then each evening there are family prayers at 7pm and there is a Guard in the street to see that no one disregards the occasion.

I taught at Piula Methodist Theological College – and the same characteristics prevailed. It was religious in that we had services three times on Sunday along with Class Meetings (as prescribed by John Wesley) – and also on Monday and Wednesday evenings and Friday at 5am. We also had devotions at 10 am each day – and of course prayers with the meal at 7pm.

We also had a Discipline Meeting at 5pm on Monday for if the students were to be called ‘Reverend’ they needed to be so in every respect. If they did not shave well enough, or dress well enough – singlet, white shirt, tie, white coat and white vala on Sundays – they would be punished. On one occasion while I was there a wife was punished for not ironing her husband’s shirt well enough. No lateness or idleness. First year had to run everywhere – not walk. They began each day with prayers then hard physical work about the college and in the college gardens before classes – and it was so at other times also.

Lessons were about six topics – Old Testament, New Testament, Theology, Church History, Arts of Ministry and Other subjects (maybe Greek or a specialty). Four years got them a diploma then good marks enabled them to go on to a BD after another two years. That meant that each of the six areas was studied over maybe six years, so they were divided up and for the Old Testament for example you might study subdivisions like the Pentateuch, History Books, Major Prophets, Eighth Century Prophets, Minor Prophets, Writings and Wisdom Literature – and so with each of the six divisions.

My allotment of subjects in Samoa included Church History which included other things like Missiology – and various elements of the Old Testament. They liked Theology where they can ramble a bit so the only theological subject I took was Philosophical Theology for final year BD students, which was a bit more demanding. There were fourteen weeks each semester and three classes each week which meant forty two lessons to be prepared.

It was fine – living was easy (apart from the heat) – and the students were cooperative.

But at the end of the year they had a teacher returning from studying in Fiji and I was no longer needed. But by this time Tonga had got wind of my availability and they had me definitely lined up for the following year.

Tonga

The need in Tonga was different. It was essentially to upgrade the quality of the teaching in the many Church schools.

Tonga itself is much more Westernised than most of the islands – a perfect climate and living conditions and much contact with and money from families in NZ and Australia. It became a democracy the year I was there and I went to the first meeting of parliament. It had been quite feudal and that spirit still stands especially in Church circles where individual authority prevails.

And religion is important there too – the Church I attended would have 1000 take communion for example, with hundreds of children following to the communion rail to be blessed by the team of preachers. And the preacher continues to be a leader in each village.

The standard of teaching could be good – but often was not - and on one occasion I handed out ten-paanga awards to teachers who had turned up to school every day – more if they had been on time – even more if they had prepared their lessons!

I visited the Church’s secondary schools in each of the four island groups, participated in a number of special occasions, then wrote a blue print for future development and a handbook for first year teachers in Church Schools.

A particular concern was religious education. Mostly it was subjective – an essay on how it felt to be saved maybe – and the Director decided they should actually learn something – ideally, about the Bible. First I was asked by the government to prepare a course on Bible for the Tongan School Certificate – then the Church asked me to prepare courses for such lessons for each level of secondary education. Having met the teachers I decided I needed to prepare a commentary on each of the books to go with the courses and did that also.

In the end I had to set the examination and mark the papers for the School Certificate which had its amusing aspects – like the answer to the question asking about a notable achievement of Elijah. He drove a burning chariot all the way to heaven, one wrote, and never even burnt his hands. Notable indeed!

In second semester a teacher of Church History at the Theological College won a scholarship to NZ and they asked if I would cover for her for the rest of the year. It was very different from Piula – not strict at all – women students as well – and not many planned to be ministers. One had been a torpedo in the Mafia in USA and his parents sent him to learn better ways – another told me he had been getting drunk on a daily basis in Fiji so his parents sent him to do a course there. (And incidentally at these colleges the students came from far and near!)

I taught for the second semester and they invited me to stay on – but a more pressing need had arisen – at The United Church’s Rarongo Theological College in PNG. In fact it was so needy they offered me a salary of $150 a month and while I did not mind about that aspect (Becie was still working!) it was an indication of the keenness of their sense of need.

Papua New Guinea

PNG is a rich country in terms of minerals and potential for agriculture – but the people are poor and life there is tough. There are pythons and crocodiles and wild men – but in that hot and humid climate, so perfect for the promotion of life of all kinds, the worst problem was from the myriad insects of every shape and size. Each night I would spray the mattress before I lay down but several times each night I would awake because of bites.

The people had primitive dwellings, and each student had a plot to grow vegetables, and access to an outrigger canoe to catch fish. ‘Paul was right,’ one told me – ‘if you don’t work, you don’t eat’. And what they grew could be stolen before they could harvest it.

But the people were just as nice to me as at the other places. The need there was that they want to start a United Church University offering post-graduate degrees – and needed me because of my higher qualifications to give authentication to the bid. I was designated Academic Dean of the college which offered much the same sort of courses as the other colleges – plus one for graduates of the ten Bible Colleges who just wanted to upgrade their titles from ‘Pastor’ to ‘Reverend’.

It was not of high academic standard but as one said to me when I asked if I was being unkind in my classes on preaching, that they would, as Rarongo graduates, be expected to be really top quality preachers, so I must get them to be as good as possible.

Which reminds me of the first service I attended. We were singing the second last hymn and the teacher next to me said, ‘Time to go up’ – ‘Go up where?’ – ‘to the pulpit’. ‘Why would I do that?’ ‘Because you are preaching!’ Not a lot to time to anguish about it!

At RarongoI taught many subjects mainly because their favourite was Theology which they could proclaim - volubly! Mostly I taught about the New Testament and Church History – along with things like the Pentateuch and Church Growth and so on as need arose.

We had three candidates for the new Master of Theology degree – to be done by course work and minor thesis. I covered the course-work and lined up the theses during that year but they had a teacher returning from seven years study and work in England who could take over from there - and so that need ceased to exist also.

The Situation Now

In fact the needs of those churches are pretty well covered with qualified people - and they do not want others to take over the limited opportunity for work. But Australians can still help.

In Tonga a family from NSW came to spend his LSL – doubled, on half pay – and they lived in a group of islands with Church schools. The parents helped generally and the children attended the schools. And they entered into the life of the community – growing tomatoes etc – learning to weave and dance – father a key player in their soccer team. When I visited, the twelve year old daughter had just baked her first banana cake which was delicious – and they had a ball.

So now – it is not so much a matter of meeting a particular need as offering to go – you pay – Uniting World organises, including accommodation – and like the family in Haapai you join in and help - sort of incidentally. And my experience is that they love having you.