Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
Isaiah 58:6
| Text size: +/-Fast for Fiji
The Methodist Prayer Handbook remembers Fiji on the 25 February, and Methodists in Britain and Ireland are encouraged to fast during the daytime and to pray both alone and as part of special prayer meetings for the situation facing the Methodist Church in Fiji.
Please consider donating at least the cost of the meals you would have eaten during your fast. Your gift will go to support the amazing variety of work that the World Mission Fund supports, including solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Fiji.
Background
The Fijian Methodist Church is under increasing pressure from the country’s government, led by Commodore Bainimarama, which has forced the Church to cancel its annual Conference and choir festivals until 2014. Local districts and circuits are also having their activities restricted, with administrative meetings banned.
Revd Stephen Poxon, ex-president of the British Methodist Conference and Secretary of the Methodist Missionary Society, said; “In the UK, it’s easy to take our religious freedoms for granted. The Methodist Church in Fiji simply desires to worship God and serve the people of Fiji with their ministry, but the government’s unreasonable restrictions are making the Church’s daily life almost impossible. Through fasting and prayer, we want to show our solidarity with our Fijian brothers and sisters.”
All members of the Fiji Methodist Church Standing Committee have been charged with attending an unauthorized meeting (held last April), and have been held for questioning by police. A number of church ministers have also been accused of spying on the government, although the allegations have yet to be substantiated.
The Fijian Church has requested a meeting with the government to discuss the ban and explore alternatives. ‘We are a people who believe in knocking,’ said one minister, ‘even ’til midnight!’ However one superintendent was overheard saying he would hold meetings anyway, and was reported to the military, who took him in for questioning.
Despite the pressures, the Fijian Church’s chaplains continue to serve the police and the military, leading devotions frequently in churches and barracks.
Under new legislation, speaking out against the government is deemed treason, and sending criticisms of the regime to or from abroad will be regarded as sedition. As any such criticism (whether made in Fiji or abroad) is now being treated as a criminal act.
A prayer for Fiji:
God of truth and love, Lord of the day and the night
We pray for our brothers and sisters in Fiji.
They have day while we have night and night during our day
but we walk alongside them in this difficult time
together we need the light of your truth and the warmth of your love in every hour.
May all the people of Fiji work together for good
The Methodist Church, the Government, the Hindus, the Christians
Till justice rolls like the waters of the ocean
And peace rests as securely as the land. Amen.
