12th General Assembly

Kanaky New Caledonia, 19-23 November 2023

‘DO KAMO: Khrist! Transform us into your authentic humanity’

The Kanaky family of faith opened their spaces and stories to us and they also literally opened their hearts and homes for pre-assemblies and generously catered for our meetings with local produce. We were lifted in music and song in our worship and during meeting breaks. We thank God for their fellowship and pray for their elders and communities discerning their pathways to self-determination. 

In a monumental move, and after years of preparation, there was the official signing of the Pacific Ecumenical Community Charter. The Charter saw the Pacific Theological College, Suva, the Pacific Conference of Churches and the South Pacific Association of Theological Schools (SPATS), come together as regional ecumenical institutions committed to greater collaboration, dialogue and partnership to furthering the vision and mission of Pacific churches.

	Above L-R: Liz Stone, Rev Dr Tevita Havea, Rev James Bhagwan, PCC General Secretary & Rev John Gilmore

The General Assembly welcomed new members to the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) including the National Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA) and Anglican Church of Australia. We join the Uniting Church of Australia as Australian members of PCC. (See photo)

Rev Dr Tevita Havea of the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga made a stirring farewell address to the General Assembly after ten years as PCC Moderator:

“We are back to where our ecumenical elders, the Pacific Church Leaders in 1966, held the first assembly of the Pacific Churches [in Lifou, New Caledonia] … three years shy of 60 years.

“Today, much has changed since those years. Change is the only constant in our human lives, but not always comforting. But what I see today is deeply disturbing. We are attempting to cooperate [as a Pacific Ecumenical Community] without changing the narratives which development and politics in our region are framed and presented.

“We are holding on to an ecumenical theology that is long past. Our ecumenical theology today should be about the household, about our indigenous wisdom, and our spiritualities that connect us to God, the universe, our ancestors, and the land and seas. That ought to be our moral tapestry today. We have much to offer, from our biblical and indigenous wealth and resources. These two sources, present in the lives of our people, are the foundations for our resilience.

“These traditions reaffirm our relationships, and connectedness to each other. Relationships sustain us and our people, as they have done to our people for centuries. These traditions ought to be the foundation of our new ecumenical journey – the Pasifika household of God.

“If then we care so much about the impacts of climate change, West Papua and her people, the safety and wellbeing of women and children, the compensatory justice demanded by our people who suffered from the nuclear fallout in the Marshall Islands and elsewhere in Pasifika, we will have to work harder in the future to champion and defend those institutions and traditions that we cherish so much. Institutions such as marriage, the family, community and congregations, and traditions of resilience and agency present in our faith and indigenous knowledge and wisdom. These are the seedbeds of the virtues on which our survival as the Pasifika household depends.”

The PCC’s 12th General Assembly approved an Outcomes Statement that can be downloaded below:

pdf PCC 12th General Assembly Outcome Statement 23 Nov 2023 (109 KB)

Liz Stone

NCCA General Secretary