LMS pastor wants justice: Issues chanllenge on money and lifestyle

Rev. Elder Dr. Elia Taase has called for justice in the use of offerings by church members some of whom hardly have enough to take care of their families.

He also said church elders, some with little formal education, who have passed on, understood that holistic education, is concerned with the education of the “mind, body and soul.”

Taase congratulated the Kanana Fou Theological Seminary faculty for their work in preparing those who will serve as missionaries either in Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa (CCCAS) parishes or foreign countries.

But he observed if the graduates cannot do something about their bodies at Kanana Fou, what will happen when they go out to parishes where food is a sign of a congregation’s love for their faifeau (pastor).

Taase also has questions about how church resources were being used.  He told delegates he had heard that none of the construction contracts that the church put out were completed within the bid amounts.

He said after the contracts were awarded, the contractors sought additional money.

Taase said he’s been told that the projects ended up costing twice the bid amounts.

He recalled historical events where farmers, the poor and down trodden, lost their lands, or short changed by the traders and the wealthy, and they could not seek relief from the courts because justice had been bought.

He told delegates they will be given a lot of documents during the assembly, and they should read them carefully as they are reports from the various church committees detailing their work in the past year.

He suggested  that as delegates chosen by their parishes to the fono tele (village meeting) they should use the information given them to base their decisions on how to make use of church resources and improve on the missionary work of the CCCAS.

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News category: Asia Pacific.

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