The reaction came in the wake of a response by the Prime Minister Rear Admiral (Ret) Voreqe Bainimarama on Wednesday suggesting the letter was causing racial discord and did not unite Fijians.

The letter was written by the Methodist Church's secretary for Christian Citizenship and Social Service, Reverend Iliesa Naivalu, to divisional superintendents.

The general secretary of the Methodist Church, Reverend Tevita Nawadra, says he will be writing to the Prime Minister.

"I will be writing to the Prime Minister to affirm him of our earlier stance that we are willing to work together for the betterment of our beloved Fiji," Nawadra said.

He said the church was optimistic of a good working relationship with the government in spite of the embarrassing issue which had caused a slight rift between the two parties.

Nawadra said the issues raised in the letter were based on resolutions passed in the 2014 conference in which more than 1000 pledgees and lay members representing the 56 divisions of the church deliberated and voted on.

"With the election fast approaching, we wanted our members to be fast aware of the conference resolutions before they make up their own mind on who to vote for.

"As you will see while there are references to past government work and policies, there is no mention of any particular political party.

"My understanding of the situation is that Reverend Naivalu's efforts were well intended."

Source

• The Fiji Times
• Republika
• Image: FijiOne

The Methodist Church is the second biggest land owner in Fiji.

"We want people to utilise the land and make a living for themselves, especially farmers," says the Church's newly-elected president Reverend Tevita Nawadra.

He said the next land development the church would be focusing on was the housing development in Davuilevu where the church had vacant pieces of land it had agreed to be used for housing.

Source

• The Fiji Times
• Image: lh5.googleusercontent.com

Church general secretary Reverend Tevita Nawadra said they were grateful that government kept its promise for a new Constitution before the general elections in September next year.

"Fiji needs a democratic government and we are on the right path to achieve that," Mr Nawadra said.

When asked of his view on the content of the Constitution, Mr Nawadra said he had not read the document.

"But I am glad we have a Constitution that will guide us through democracy."

The New Zealand Government has also recognised that progress is being made towards the restoration of democracy.

Foreign Minister Murray McCully says the New Zealand Government welcomed recent moves toward elections, including the release of the final constitution, and wanted to support the elections process.

"A senior official from the New Zealand Electoral Commission has recently participated in elections planning work in Fiji. New Zealand will now offer to resource the on-going work that is taking place."

"The Cabinet has also agreed some changes which recognise both the progress that has been made in Fiji and the need for support for free and fair elections."

Not everyone is happy however. Last Friday when about 100 people assembled across the road from Fiji's presidential residence in Suva to protest against the promulgation of a new constitution, Police took fourteen of them into custody and then released some hours later without formal charge.

Source

• Fiji Times
• Pacific Scoop
• Lowy Institute
• Image: The State.com

Methodist Church general secretary Reverend Tevita Nawadra said the church had asked government for two weeks in which to hold the annual conference.

"We wanted to hold our singing competition in the first week and hold our conference on the second week annual conference," Nawadra said.

He said the 40 hours given to them by the Fiji Police Force was not enough to complete their agenda.

They have sent a letter to Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama asking for more time and were hoping to get a reply soon.

"We have not heard from the PM and we are hoping to get a time extension for more democratic talks on issues surrounded by the church."

Nawadra said if their request to the PM's office is unsuccessful and the time is not extended, they will prioritise the agenda to make sure all major issues get discussed at the annual conference despite the restricted four-day permit.

Source

• The Fiji Times
• The Fiji Times
• Image: FijiLive.com

Confirming this, church general secretary Reverend Tevita Nawadra said despite their intentions not to participate in the elections, they would still be part of the country's political agenda.

Mr Nawadra said their main aim was to spread the word of God and would focus on that.

"We (church ministers) will not stand for elections," Mr Nawadra said.

Source

• The Fiji Times
• Image: FijiLive.com

This was confirmed by church general secretary Reverend Tevita Nawadra on Monday.

Nawadra said the special committee was headed by church senior officials.

"We will make sure the submissions are handed in to the government before the deadline," he said.

Last week Nawadra said neither the head office nor any of their branches will have anything to do with politics in 2014.

Nawadra says the church will not affiliate itself with any political party.

He added that political involvement in the past has hurt the church.

"The Church has learnt their lesson from the past and we are coming out of that and we are even discouraging the use of the Methodist Church building or premises for politics because we have suffered from that in the past."

Nawadra says office bearers have also been informed that they must leave office if they are planning to contest the 2014 polls.

"If they are forming a political party, that is good and that is their prerogative but the hope is that the current Government have to resign before hand to enable another form of Government to continue or deal with this election and that will be fairer to other members."

Source

• The Fiji Times
• FBC News
• Image: FBCNews

Last week the annual Methodist Church conference, was told that the membership this year was 4658 less than the previous year.

According conference media officer, Reverend Abel Nand, the executive is trying to find out why the decline is occurring.

He said since the rift between the church and the government in 2009, some members had opted for other denominations for their own safety.

The Church will offer spiritual guidance to members of the group who seek their advice.

The acting general secretary of the Methodist Church in Fij, Reverend Tevita Nawadra, says the church was adamant that a union between a man and a woman alone was sacred and the scriptures abhorred any other kind.

"It (the promotion of sexual minority rights) is against the morals and the teachings of the church, we do not condone any such activities."

Mr Nawadra said the church respected the individual rights of the members of sexual minority groups.

"It is in their every right to stand up for what they believe in but the issue itself is not condoned by the church based on our beliefs and the principles of the Bible," he said.

Source

• The Fiji Times
• Image: KETK

The Church's general secretary, Reverend Tevita Nawadra, says the church will continue to stand firm against homosexuality because it is not scriptural.

Nawadra said the church would not accept same sex unions because it was against its theology.

"The church is founded on the concept of husband and wife - our concept of family is father, mother, and child and not father and father and child, or mother and mother and child," he said.

"This is not our definition of family."

Source

• The Fiji Times
• Image: Matavuvale

The Church's general secretary Reverend Tevita Nawadra made the comment after Prime Minister Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama announced a new body would be appointed to replace it.

Mr Nawadra said it was a sad day for those of iTaukei heritage to see a national institution abolished in such a manner.

A former British governor, Sir Arthur Gordon, set up the Council of Chiefs -as it was known then - in the 1870s to represent the interests of indigenous Fijians in colonial Fiji. "For more than 100 years, its power was unassailable. In fact, it would have been inconceivable just a few years ago that the GCC could have possibly been challenged by anyone, let alone disbanded, such was its power and influence in modern Fiji", said Graham Davis on his Blog Grubsheet

Source

• The Fiji Times
• Image: Custom and Culture